This past Monday, Namco Bandai announced several games for worldwide release, the most notable of which are “Tales of Berseria” and two installments from the “God Eater” series.

“Tales of Berseria” is a prequel to “Tales of Zestiria.” It takes place in a world known as the Wasteland. Unlike “Zestiria” you are not restricted to a single continent, but the central continent is said to eventually become Glenwood, the setting of “Zestiria.” Despite this, the world is very different from how it is in “Zestiria”  While the location names and terms are different, there are some undeniable connections. For example, a major plot point is an ailment known as Goma Disease, which turns people into monsters known as Goma. Some victims turn feral but others retain their personality and intelligence, similarly to the Hellions from “Zestiria.”

The main plot revolves around a young woman named Velvet Crow, the first woman in the Tales Series to have the main character role to herself. Velvet used to be a very kind and gentle person, but a traumatic experience changed her to become hateful and filled with barely contained rage. Said incident also caused a mutation in her left hand, causing it to sprout claws when not kept bandaged. She will also be accompanied by a boy named Laphicet, who is said to be the “light” to Velvet’s “darkness.”

“Berseria” keeps the seamless transition between exploration and battle, but the battle system is further refined from “Zestiria.” You may now assign artes to each of the four face buttons. The attacks you use will even change based upon which order the buttons are pressed.

“Tales of Berseria” is being developed for both Playstation 3 and Playstation 4, as well PC. The game is set to be released in Japan sometime in 2016, while release dates for the rest of the world have not been announced. However, the PS3 version of the game will not be released outside of Japan.

Namco Bandai also announced that “God Eater Resurrection” and “God Eater 2 Rage Burst” will be be released worldwide in Summer 2016 for PS4, PS Vita, and PC. The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in which creatures known as the Aragami have consumed most of Earth’s biosphere, leaving remnants of humanity as the last of the worlds life. The Aragami, being cell clusters that take on the traits of what they eat, are immune to conventional weaponry. In response, the Fenrir Corporation has formed a group known as the God Eaters, who wield weapons known as God Arcs that are effective against Aragami, to act as humanity’s last stand.

The original “God Eater” was released in Japan for the Playstation Portable in 2010, before its updated re-release, “God Eater: Burst” got an international release in 2011. The North American version of the game was renamed “Gods Eater Burst” in order to avoid offending followers of monotheistic religions, despite actual deicide not being part of the game. This version of the game introduced an additional storyline following the original game’s ending. “God Eater Resurrection” is a remake of “Burst” introducing elements from later games and an additional story to connect the game to “God Eater 2.”

“God Eater 2” was released for PSP in 2013, but did not make it out of Japan. Like the first game, it got an updated re-release called “God Eater 2 Rage Burst,” this time for PS4 and Vita. Like “Burst,” this is the first version of “God Eater 2” to be released outside of Japan. The story revolves around a new special forces team of God Eaters known as Blood as they continue to struggle against the Aragami.

While “Resurrection” and “Rage Burst” are not going to arrive until Summer 2016, international gamers will still get a taste of the latter, as two of its characters, Ciel Alencon and Nana Kouzuki, will appear in “Project X Zone 2” for Nintendo 3DS.