Berserk is easily one of the greatest and most influential manga of all time. The tale of Guts as he embarks on a journey of revenge is truly engrossing and makes for an excellent tale that people can sink hours into. Kentaro Miura was a master of his craft, and the fact that so many things inspired by Berserk have become legendary in their own right is a testament to the sheer quality of his artwork and storytelling. It's understandable as to why fans all over the world mourned this legend's demise.
There are several games inspired by Berserk that pay homage to this legendary series in many ways. Here are some of the best and most notable titles in this regard that deserve a mention.
Updated July 10, 2021 by Ritwik Mitra: Berserk's influence in pop culture is truly immense, with everything from anime to video games being heavily inspired by Kentaro Miura's magnum opus. This applies to video games as well, and the industry has definitely seen some incredible titles that draw heavily from Berserk in some way or the other. Keeping this in mind, here are some of the most popular games that have been inspired by Berserk.
Drakengard
Yoko Taro became a game director that people knew and loved due to his work on Nier: Automata. However, before his big breakthrough, he was heading a rather unique franchise in the form of the Drakengard series.
The fact that the main character, Caim, was inspired by Guts should be proof enough of this fact. Aside from this, the themes and motifs of Drakengard series — especially in the first game — draw heavily from Berserk as well.
Final Fantasy Tactics
For the longest time, Final Fantasy was considered to be a series with its roots deeply entrenched in the JRPG genre. However, this changed with the advent of Final Fantasy Tactics, which ended up changing up the formula and taking on the systems of an SRPG in wonderful fashion.
This game ends up taking several notes from Berserk when it comes to the plot elements. For starters, Ramza and Delita's relationship mirrors that of Griffith and Guts'. Along with this, the functionality of the Zodiac Stones also seems oddly similar to that of the Crimson Beherit.
Tales Of Berseria
A game whose name itself is quite similar to that of Berserk, Tales of Berseria is an excellent action RPG in the Tales series that arguably led to the series gaining massive popularity in the West.
Velvet is an excellent protagonist who genuinely feels like a female version of Guts at times. Aside from this, the story and themes also feel heavily inspired by Berserk. Notable examples include the villain sacrificing a child for the betterment of the world — an act that was somewhat replicated by Griffith himself.
Dragon's Dogma
A dark fantasy title that ends up feeling like a wild ride mainly due to its combat system, Dragon's Dogma is easily one of Capcom's most underrated titles. One of the biggest draws of Dragon's Dogma is definitely its rich open-world that's quite a treat to look at.
The design of this open-world feels heavily inspired by the dark art style of Berserk — a comparison that Capcom never denied. In fact, Dragon's Dogma wore this inspiration proudly on its sleeve and released two armor sets as limited-time equipment as a cross-promotion with Berserk for the release of the film trilogy Berserk: The Golden Age Arc.
Final Fantasy VII
When Berserk was released for the very first time, readers witnessed the striking art style of Kentaro Miura in all its glory... especially when it came to Guts, the main character. One thing that stood out about this character was his giant sword —a striking part of Guts' character that had never been seen before.
Fast-forward to modern times, and the idea of anime heroes and villains carrying massive and stylish weapons has become quite commonplace. The most notable example of this is Final Fantasy VII, with the famous Cloud Strife carrying his iconic — and ridiculously huge — Buster Sword in stride.
Along with this, one has to admit that Sephiroth's appearance is largely reminiscent of Griffith as well!
Final Fantasy XIV
The Final Fantasy series has paid its homage to Berserk and Kentaro Miura in many ways. However, Final Fantasy XIV takes the cake for being a title that was heavily inspired by the iconic dark fantasy series.
The fact that the developers of the game outright stated that they looked to the pages and art of Berserk for inspiration is a testament to just how iconic Kentaro Miura's artwork really was. The game's players also held a virtual ceremony for Kentaro Miura after his passing, with a large number of players appearing in black armor and huge swords to pay tribute to a legend.
Soul Calibur
Soul Calibur is one of the most iconic fighting games of all time. While its Berserk influence might not be as strong as some of the other games on this list, it's still worth a mention regardless.
The two characters that need to be mentioned here are Siegfried and Nightmare. The former is a fallen hero who lost people close to him and wanted to seek out revenge — a story that seems perfectly in line with that of Guts'. Meanwhile, Nightmare is Siegfried's darker half and looks oddly similar to Guts in his Berserker Armor as well.
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry is one of the most high-octane hack-and-slash titles of all time, featuring demon slaying across the board. Such a series with massive swords and hyper-stylized characters was bound to be featured by the Berserk manga in some form or the other.
A rather notable inspiration is certainly the red soul orbs, which are obviously a reference to the Beherits in the series. In fact, series frontrunner Hideaki Itsuno stated that he looked to Berserk's artwork for inspiration since he wanted his game to be as cool as possible for fourteen-year-olds.
Bloodborne
Of course, it would be impossible to talk about games inspired by Berserk without mentioning the work of Hidetaka Miyazaki. This genius video game maestro has helped develop some of the greatest modern games of all time, with most people considering Bloodborne to be his magnum opus.
The designs of the various monsters present all over Bloodborne should be indicative enough of Berserk's influence on the title. Aside from this, the Hunter's Mark looks eerily similar to the Brand of Sacrifice from Berserk as well.
Dark Souls
Out of all the games on this list, the Berserk influence is most prominent in Dark Souls. This hard-as-nails action-adventure title has certainly deserved the moniker of being one of the most important game releases of all time.
Dark Souls is full to the brim with Berserk references. From the oversized swords to the design of certain characters — Artorias is easily a reference to Guts in his Berserker Armor — it's amazing to know that Berserk influenced one of the most iconic games of all time.