Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage for Sega Dreamcast

Released: March 15, 2000
Platform: Dreamcast
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Developer: Yuke's
Genre: Action

Eidos published a lot games for Dreamcast, but Sword of the Berserk was the only one that was exclusive. Most were ports of PSOne games like Tomb Raider that were better off never being released. When Eidos cancelled the Dreamcast version of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2, Dreamcast fans were furious. But, in March 2000, the Dreamcast market was pretty dry, andSword of the Berserk represented a genre of bloody hack and slash fun that was underrepresented on Sega's thinking console.

I didn't find out until later that this was based on a popular Japanese manga called "Berzerk," or that there was an anime series. I just knew that the game was easy to play, and that watching enemies gush with blood after whacking them with an over sized sword in a way that would make Ed Boon blush.

And is it fun? Well, yeah. It really is. It's not deep, it's short, and it's not fantastic, but it's entertaining for the few hours that it lasts. The game has a plot that revolves around saving a girl named Rita, who is a travelling performer that the protagonist (Guts) saves from bandits in the opening FMV. Guts has two traveling companions. Casca is mute and I get the feeling that Guts thinks she's cute. Puck is a naked genderless fairy. There are also plant zombies that kill people for no reason. So, you take Guts on a quest to heal Casca and stop the insane zombies.

In battle you can use your ridiculously large sword combined with special moves to slice through a dozen enemies at a time with massive combos and much visual impressiveness. And that's what they get for standing so close to you. You also have a projectile weapons (grenades, gun, infinite throwing knives) which comes in handy when enemies have a cross bow, or when you're in a place that's too frustratingly fucking narrow to actually use the sword that you've come to love like a pet. There are some occasional camera issues too. It pays off though when you go into a "rage." The screen is tinted red, Guts' one eye glows red, and enemies just explode into red splatters.

If you have a Dreamcast, and you haven't played this, it's worth the $10 that it goes for used. Just watch the video and see just how much blood can be on the screen at one time. Doesn't that look a little fun?