On May 8th, 2021, legendary Berserk manga creator Kentaro Miura passed away. In the days since the announcement of his passing, fans around the world have come together to show their love for Miura's work, namely his long-running dark fantasy manga Berserk. The impact of Berserk in dark fantasy media is undeniable, and has inspired countless creators including video game developers such as FromSoftware and Capcom.
Berserk started publication in 1989 in Monthly Animal House magazine. Since its debut over 30 years ago, the series has gone on to sell over 50 million copies, while also influencing a generation of writers and creators with its bleak world and mature storytelling. One may not know it, but some of the most beloved video game franchises of the past two decades have been inspired by Miura's magnum opus, including some games that have been based directly off the manga. Here is a rundown of Berserk's impact on video games.
Berserk Games
While a little more on the nose than some titles we'll discuss later, one may not know that Berserk has inspired some video games of its own since its inception in 1989. The first of these video games is the 1999 Dreamcast title Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage (known in Japan as Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Flower of Oblivion). The game is set during the manga's titular Millennium Falcon Arc and falls somewhere between the 22nd and 23rd volumes, although its story is considered to be non-canon by fans.
While not much about the game's story is noteworthy other than its placement in the story, Sword of the Berserk actually featured some art and character designs from Kentaro Miura. The game was also the first piece of Berserk media ever released in North America, predating the 1997 anime's first U.S. home release, which would not come until 2003, and Dark Horse Comic's first release of the manga, which did not start until 2003. The game even featured a full English dub, with the localization coming from Eidos Interactive, the publisher best known for the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex series (now a part of Square Enix). The game was developed by Yuke's, the developer known recently for its work on the WWE 2K series up until WWE 2K19.
Following Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage, in 2003 Yuke's released a Japan-only sequel for the PlayStation 2 titled Berserk Millennium Empire Arc: Chapter of the Holy Demon War. Unlike its predecessor, this entry did not feature an original story set between chapters of the manga. Instead Yuke's decided to adapt volumes 22 to 27 of the original manga, even bringing the original voice cast for the 1997 anime adaptation on board, which is noteworthy considering that the anime only covered the events of the Golden Age Arc. Chapter of the Holy Demon War is noteworthy for building off of its predecessor by featuring larger maps and more fleshed out combat than the 1999 game. As previously mentioned, this title was never released outside of Japan.
The final and most recent Berserk game to ever be released was Koei Tecmo and Omega Force's Berserk and the Band of the Hawk, which came to PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita in February 2017, with a PlayStation 3 version also releasing in Japan. Known as Berserk Musou in Japan, this game is a crossover between Omega Force's Dynasty Warriors series and the Berserk manga, directly adapting the manga all the way up to the Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc, which at the time was the most recently completed arc in the manga. The game plays similarly to Omega Force and Koei Tecmo's One Piece: Pirate Warriors or Attack on Titan games, cutting chunks of the story up into large-scale hack-and-slash missions. Some of the game's cutscenes are taken directly from the Berserk: The Golden Age Arc film series, however it is one of the only adaptations of the manga to continue past the Golden Age Arc.
Games Inspired By Berserk
While Berserk has had some noteworthy games of its own, Kentaro Miura's real legacy in the games industry shines in the works that have been directly inspired by Berserk. Let's start with the obvious one, FromSoftware's Dark Souls series and, more directly, its 2015 PlayStation 4 exclusive Bloodborne. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki has been outspoken about his love of Miura's work for over a decade, and his love shines in the many Berserk references that can be found throughout FromSoftware's games.
Another video game director that has been outspoken regarding his love for Kentaro Miura's work is Hideaki Itsuno, director of multiple games in the Devil May Cry franchise and the 2012 cult classic RPG Dragon's Dogma. Itsuno revealed in a GDC talk in 2019 that much of the inspiration for Devil May Cry 5's tone and style came from Berserk, but nowhere is Itsuno's love for Miura's manga more clear than in Dragon's Dogma, which even included armor sets based off Guts and Griffith's as part of a collaboration to promote the Golden Age Arc film series.
Finally, another creator that you may or may not know was inspired by Kentaro Miura's work is none other than NieR and Drakengard creator Yoko Taro. Like Miura, Taro is known for exploring dark, mature themes in his work, and he is often eager to point out where he gets his inspirations from. Taro has claimed in the past that Drakengard protagonist Caim was inspired by Guts. Fans have also noted that the recurring Drakengard and NieR weapon Broken Iron bears an uncanny resemblance to Guts' Dragon Slayer sword.
The passing of Kentaro Miura was sudden and tragic, with the world losing one of its greatest creators of all time. While it may also be sad that Berserk will never truly reach its conclusion that Miura intended, fans can at least have hope that Miura's work has definitely left a legacy that will continue to inspire generations of creators in manga, animation, video games, and many other mediums.