Tales of Eternia
The scenario was written by Naoki Yamamoto, who had previously worked on "Zestiria". Despite being a distant prequel to "Tales of Zestiria"—taking place in the distant past and containing references—the game's story was designed to be able to work on its own. This distant connection concept was inspired by the developer's wish to emulate the similar distant narrative connection between "Tales of Phantasia" and "Tales of Symphonia". It also featured nods to earlier entries in the series, such as the party's ship being named after a similar transport ship in "Tales of Eternia". The main theme of "Tales of Berseria" is the conflict between emotion and reason, with Velvet being the incarnation of emotion and rage. This theme is represented in the game's title, which stems from the term "Berserker", legendary warriors who were imbued with uncontrollable power. The game was the first in the "Tales" series to feature a sole female protagonist, with the previous leading female character being Milla Maxwell from "Tales of Xillia", who shared her role as a main dual protagonist with male protagonist character Jude Mathis. As Milla had been popular with the "Tales" fanbase, it was decided that "Berseria" would have a female lead. The decision was also influenced by the growing demands for female lead characters in gaming, particularly from the West.