Berserk the Golden Age Arc III: The Advent

I had a lot of concerns going into the final film of this trilogy, most of which came from my fear of there being missing content everywhere from the manga. A concern I found dissipate quite swiftly as the film progressed. I was pleasantly surprised by it all, I will say. I feel i should note too, that a part of me began to wonder if this trilogy would become more centered around a returning audience rather than new viewers, but i think it's safe to say it's enjoyable for all. I will however, warn viewers interested in this film that it's not for those who don't do well with extreme levels of gore and sexual content. The gore especially can be a little unnerving for the most part.

The story starts a year after the events of The Battle of Doldrey end and quickly goes about getting back into the swing of things, with battles immediately. It doesn't really slow down from there too much either as for the most part, it sticks to what's made the series tick so well so far, it's focus on action. Battles are bloody and very well choreographed, with no slow down ensuring your adrenaline is pumping throughout. Guts makes sure heads are flying(and there is a good amount at that in this one, rest assured) while taking the majority of the limelight However, while guts ensures your gory combat needs are met, Casca's mental state before, during and after Griffith' rescue brings her to the forefront . Her emotions take a toll and it shows, with them fluctuating everywhere, she's a mess. It doesn't go unnoticed either, as it essentially acts as the ever developing rift between Guts and Griffith' friendship. This rift effectively brings about how “The Advent” comes to pass in all it's gory and bloody nature. Fans of gore will enjoy what's to come, while many others will find it very hard to stomach. However, while I say all this, there is still something...lacking. That something ends up being the rest of the characters and how much they are developed in general.

And that is where I think the problem with this lies and quite possibly the entire trilogy at that. It's a trilogy of feature films, so characterisation was always going to suffer a little. Guts, Griffith and Casca get a good amount of screen-time to develop as decent and strong enough characters, but for the general scope that the golden age covers, it's not enough. The secondary characters don't get enough coverage, and it hurts this film more than it should. The second half of this film is supposed to be quite a hard segment to watch, but understanding everyones' relationships to one another, the feeling of a “family” which Guts became a part of that should be weighing down heavily as “The Advent” takes place...doesn't. And that's a damned shame. The impact is lacking. That's not to say it's non-existent, it definitely isn't. It's just not there as much as it needs to be.

However, moving past all that, it's still able to bring out its best when the action is in full flow. You will be greeted with some fantastically animated battle sequences which will please you all to see. Which brings me to the animation, which starts to show signs of maturing here at long last. It has hiccups however, with one stand-out scene making me immediately think I should take hold of my PS3/Xbox 360 controller as it looked like a scene out of a game of that generation. A little off-putting to say the least. But you get moments where you can see where they learned to add more hand-drawn here or CG there to improve how things just look in motion. It still looks very experimental, but something I think can certainly work now i've seen it improve so quickly over the trilogy.

The music too, deserves a good mention. Shirou Sagisu does an amazing job with this one, making it even more cinematic and alluring to me. Coming off of stellar soundtracks from the Rebuild of Evangelion films and EVA itself though, I should've expected no less. He is able to capture the right emotions at the right time. What's more, the deliberate removal of any music at certain points like the scenes just before “The Advent” with Griffith help to capture the helplessness he feels for everything.

All in all. This film is the best of the three. It's attention to detail in battles, action-sequences and atmosphere is brilliant. While the main trio are covered decently well however, the loss of any major coverage for the supporting cast hinders what could've been a perfect finish for the trilogy. For those that are worried this will just "end", fear not, as the end of the film does finally cover more than the original TV series did, and does hint at more to come. 

Oh, I do still wonder why the hell there is a music video at the end of the film however. It feels a little out of place.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc Film 2: Battle for Doldrey

After a quick set of flashbacks to remind you of the events from the first film, The Battle of Doldrey wastes no time in getting straight back into the action. Flying heads are everywhere as you'd expect(i lost count this time after about 12), battles are all extremely well set up and choreographed to boot, but while the film stands out in many areas, it starts to fall short in others.

In terms of it's character development, The Battle for Doldrey is somewhat lacking in comparison to that of the first film. Saying that, it covers what i feel is the most important parts well. You're given a glimpse into Cascas past and how she was introduced to Griffith, well placed within what i feel is one of the best moments of the film between Guts and Casca. Not only does this show the dedication that Casca has to Griffith, it shows just how lost Guts is as well, trying to find a purpose amongst the bloodshed. The other particular moment comes into play at the latter half of the film, which shows a fall to madness of a character, though the execution may come across as a little humorous at one point despite the fact it's meant to be pretty serious. Outwith that,  it's rather limited in what else it shows, something that shouldn't surprise me considering there is only so much they can pack into three films.

Saying that, the main focus this time round seems more aimed at covering the major battles than just the characters themselves, so we're greeted with some more bloodshed from the fights incoming. I'm fine with this in many ways though, as the battles are so well done that they keep you hooked. Its definitely feeling more like the films are aimed at covering the action from the series than it is anything else, but my only issue is that, whether its because they want to tackle the battles mostly or not, something feels...off. While it still feels like anyone can enjoy this, there is that feeling inside me which thinks, this really is aimed more at appealing to the fans of Berserk already and less at the newcomers. Missing scenes here and there feel like they've neglected some pivotal plot points all round(especially one particular scene that is missing from the end of the film), but at the same time, it doesn't entirely hurt the story around the band of the hawk, instead removes some of the depth for the story.

For the most part, the films hybrid style of animation looks and feels great, but it does still go a little too CG at points, some parts being way to evident and a little distracting. It's definitely a pretty film to watch though, and they really do catch the feel of medieval europe in the designs of the castles, landscapes and dress sense. Sagisu Shiros soundtrack for the film again stands as very powerful in it's execution, from helping to bring out the adrenaline from battles to the tension between characters. It really captures the feel of Berserk.

For those interested in extras of any kind, i'm afraid to say that, like the first film there isn't any to be had. You get your options for audio, chapter select and that's all there is. The dub itself is fairly passable as well for those that prefer a english cast to the japanese. While i would still recommend the subtitles and japanese voice track, i think you'd be ok for going with either.

Overall, the film is still extremely enjoyable for the most part, but it doesn't feel aimed so much at the new audience the first film would have brought in, but more at those that have read the manga previously. There are moments which are covered too swiftly, and moments where are just not covered at all, and that's a shame. But for all the flaws in that respect, it still does a damned good job at covering the atmosphere of the series, and all that bloody combat we've come to love from the series.

It's just a shame it'll never get shown to dolphins

DmC:Devil May Cry - Dante returns...wait, his hair is black?

Devil May Cry has been a fairly iconic series for Capcom since it's original release back on the Playstation 2 in 2001, so when Ninja Theory showed up with a retake on the title, and some kid essentially posing as Dante, we all raged. And we did, and we expected to just bash it to hell because it wasn't THE Dante we all wanted. But fortunately, things took a different turn as more was revealed. Now the question is, Does DmC match up? And how does it stand as a new title in itself?

DmC starts off by showing off the new dante in a strip club, with an all new attitude, and a thing for the ladies. Following the intro cinematic and the introduction of Kat straight at the beginning of the game with a rather under-dressed dante, you get flung into where you spend 95% of the game, Limbo, and learn soon after someone is targetting Dante, and he gets pulled into Limbo whenever they find him. It's quite the interesting idea, one that is eerie yet strangely gorgeous to gaze your eyes upon. The whole world is basically pulled into the demon realm. Asides from an area or two, it's has a great aesthetic to it, never being truly bland. Dante can only use his sword in limbo, as it's a demon weapon, so anytime you may spend outside of it, you don't do combat. It's basically story based segments leading up to limbo. Perhaps a missed opportunity, but a minor complaint all the same. while the story doesn't focus on limbo, you get a basic jist of what it is from explained, and from the world itself. It's well executed, and the characters do help to carry it forward as well. What's more, you can easily tell that one of the main choices in this re-take was to essentially add the modern world to DmC, something that becomes more evident and maybe more relavent in the later half of the game.

Characters wise, Dante still has that attitude of his, but made to suit that new age and look to him. He's quite the ladies man, enjoys his booze, and still has that "couldn't care less" approach to everything. If it doesn't affect him, he won't care. Good to see it stick, but the development of him learning who he is, what his past is, his relationship to Vergil and who Mundas is adds a new depth to him that really hasn't been explored before. Also, for those that wonder, why his hair isn't white is dealt with too. Panic over. Vergil is not bad, though i feel he doesn't get covered as much as he could. He wants Mundas dead, and will do anything to get it done. People knowing the series prior to this will know what's in store for him later, but it's covered subtly throughout the later half of the game. Kat acts as a good grounding for Dante in this. She's there to help Vergil however she can, and eventually for Dante too, helping when she can and however she can. Being able to see Limbo plays a lot into the progression of things. Overall she's a pretty well designed character, one whom i'd love to see more of.

Get that style combo up and you'll be hitting SSS in no time

Now gameplay. Combat is extremely fluid, and feels fantastic when you get it down, i'd even go as far as to say it's the best of the series in many ways It doesn't take long to get to grips with things, and they've happily supplied you with a training mode in the menu so you can work with combos and learning how to switch between weapons. The longer you can keep your combo going without getting Hit, the more rewarding it is. The Style system ranges from D to SSS, based on your attacks/combos, and how you mix it up. Just doing the one combo all the time will stop it increasing after a while, so upgrading for more attacks is quite handy. All your attacks come from Y(triangle) and B(circle). B being a launcher, Y being your main attack. And X(square) of course, being your guns. You get demon and angel weapons not too far into the game which require you to holding down the right and left triggers respectively to activate and you can dodge with RB/LB(R1/L1). Angel weapons are generally faster and weaker while demon is slow but deadly. Trying to find the best ways to mix these up for SSS is a nice challenge, but it's not so daunting as to scare away new players. it's introduces you fairly gently, and you get the grasp of things by experimenting when you can as well. Devil Trigger allows dante to change into his old colour scheme(red clothes, white hair) and the world to turn white, in this mode throws enemies to the air and you do more damage, take less, health regens, you also get bonus style for air combos, so use it to your advantage. While there is some minor hiccups in framerate here and there, combat doesn't ever really get affected by this, so the performance is top notch as well.

The levels don't take too long to complete, i'd say you'd get about 5-7 hours of gameplay before you beat the game on your first playthrough, and then you could easily best the game afterwards in about 2 hours when you try to increase your rank and find all the secrets. It's pretty much all linear as well, though the secrets usually have you searching a bit. Keys for doors to secret missions are scattered everywhere, and Lost Souls are hidden in most levels too. Cleverly, or to some irritating, you can't get everything in the early levels straight away. You need to progress some first then go back to old ones to get what you couldn't. This helps increase the replayability. The difficulty is my main issue. Of the three you start with, Nephilim is the hardest. And the main concern i have is that it feels more like normal than anything else. Companies still have this tendency to make "hard" normal now, and it bothers me. Thankfully the 4 extra difficulties you unlock after make up for it. I'd have just liked a bit more complexity on my first playthrough. Also, for those of you that like a challenge, there is the "complete the game on Nephilim with all stages SSS'd" which, at the time of writing this, seems to be all i'm focusing on instead of the next difficulty.

Revisiting early levels with new weapons can grant you access to new secrets

And of course, lastly, the music. The game goes for that heavy to death metal style, which to those that have played DMC before will recognise as a staple for the series. It really gets you going in the early levels too, with a fairly decent soundtrack. It's not my music of choice, but with DmC, it never feels out of place.

All in all, DmC stands it's ground. The combat is easy to learn and incredibly well executed and both the story and characters are well designed, surprisingly deep and interesting for DmC, with so much more obviously set to tell. Sure this isn't the old Dante, but this one stands on his own two feet, and is just as deadly as the previous one. Give DmC a chance, don't just throw it under the rug and imagine it doesn't exist, i think it may surprise you just how good this game is.

Please note i've not touched the PC version of the game, so i can't really add anything about performance or framerate for that here.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 1 - The Egg of the King

Let's be honest, by now some of you may have at least heard the name "Berserk" thrown out there in some way, shape or form, and considering the series is nearing 23 years old(15 year old in terms of anime), that's to be expected. The main question here is, can this film be enjoyed by those both new to Berserk and those coming in from the manga and original series?  The answer to this is very much - Yes.

So what is Berserk? or rather, what is the Golden Age of Berserk? The golden age is where it all began, the story of Guts meeting Griffith, Casca, The Band of the Hawk, and the last few years of the hundred years war between the midland army and the Tudor Army, covering the many battles which the hawk are thrown into, and the struggles between as well. For those of you who are watching this film having seen the anime series previously, you won't get much new in this film, however you will get a far more action packed film compared to that. Not only that, but since it is a film instead, expect the gore/blood levels to be higher, so if you are a little uneasy with that, there is your warning.
Don't be thrown off purely by it being more action orientated however, fans of character development will get a good dose too with Guts, our tragic hero of the series, Griffith, the leader of the Hawk, and Casca, Griffith's Second-in-Command, who comes across as having a rivalry with Guts, and the bond you see start to form between the three, and the one formed with the Band of the Hawk as a whole. We get a good glimpse into Guts' past as well, and for the most part, it shows off as being extremely dark, and almost a struggle to survive. And this carries over to his stature and character here too, wildly swinging his sword as a mercenary in an attempt to earn a living. Griffith comes across, almost like his polar opposite to some degree, being far more refined in everything he does, and it makes for an interesting friendship/partnership between the two which is worth watching for in itself.  It's a good balance, one which i think could have done maybe a bit more coverage for the other characters, particularly Casca, who has a slightly smaller role here than you may come to expect, but it's well executed for the most part.

Guts and Griffith duke it out

I was expecting to be one of those fans who enter this film with me going "oh but this is missing, that is missing", being a fan of the originals, however you don't get that at all. Studio 4C do a brilliant job in getting all the important parts of the series into the film, to the point that nothing ever feels out of place, nor too rushed either. It all works. You get this feeling that this has been made with the intent of not only attracting the fans of the original to watch, but letting all those who have never had the chance, or maybe didn't see the appeal previously start here. The opening sequence itself kind of helps this too, in that it is extremely foreshadowing on whats to come, but in such a way that you don't get spoiled. Kind of to say "watch this, then come back begging to find out what this means after".  A tease, if you will.


The animation is very much unique. When Berserk was introduced to the audience, we where told that they had taken on this "hybrid" style, part of the film was done in CG, like bodies, horses, etc, whilst faces and limbs where traditionally animated. While this may sound fairly unappealing, it's quite stunning to watch. There are moments where i feel it lapses a bit, taking for example a scene where Griffith walks down a hill towards Guts, you see it fully in CG, and it doesn't look it's best.  However for the most part it's well done, and the CG mostly covers the background action while the animation is used to keep focus on the main parts of each scene.

The hybrid animation helps bring the battles to life so well

It's hard for me not to bring up the music of this film, as it's such a fantastic soundtrack to listen to. "Aria", the theme song by Susumu Hirasawa helps capture the sinister feel of the series and what's to come within the opening, whilst the rest of the soundtrack brings so much more emotion and atmosphere the film itself. What's more, it doesn't take long to get thrown into the music either. As soon as the film starts, you're hit by this epic seige of a castle, and the music captures the atmosphere for this perfectly, almost deliberately getting your adrenaline pumping for the rest of the film. That's the kind of soundtrack i love to see in a film, one that not only helps to bring out the best in the film, but pushes you to want to see more.


Whilst perhaps this won't bring much new to the table in terms of content, it covers the first part of the golden age well, never feeling rushed, and always keeping itself exciting. A film everyone can enjoy, just be prepared for a lot of blood and gore. Oh, and see if you can count the number of heads sent flying, i counted five.