In an announcement that is sure to aggravate fans, Bandai Namco has revealed that the upcoming Tales of Berseria Remastered will be using the censored international version as the basis for every region. Set to release on February 26th, 2026, Bandai Namco didn’t outline every change that comes with the overseas release, but it specifically highlights the death of Laphicet at the hands of antagonist Artorius.
The scene, in question, is notable for featuring violence against a minor. While video games have been tackling heavier subjects for some time now, it seems that Bandai Namco didn’t believe overseas audiences were ready for that kind of material in 2017. Sadly, instead of trusting audiences to make a judgment call for themselves or even offering a sensitive content toggle, Berseria Remastered will be censored for everyone. A note on the official website reads, “Some content of this product uses expressions from the original overseas version of ‘Tales of Berseria,’ and some specifications differ from the original Japanese version of ‘Tales of Berseria.’”
While I can’t find a list of everything that was tweaked from the original Japanese release, I’m betting the reason Bandai Namco went this route was down to easing the porting process. While there could have been another Japanese and international release situation, it was likely easier to consolidate the two and pick the version that won’t ruffle feathers anywhere. It’s still a shame as it does a disservice to the impact that the original story has. No one likes watching kids die, but if the story’s themes are built around that kind of loss, sanitizing the end product is a weak cop out.
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Tales of Berseria Remastered announced for February 27th release
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
