Elden Ringfinally got itsgameplay reveal trailer, and it actually included several references to legendary mangaBerserkby the late Kentaro Miura. Here are the five biggest references in the trailer you need to see as soon as possible.
Just likeKing’s Field, Demon Souls, Dark Souls,andBloodbornebefore it,Elden Ringby FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki is distinctly inspired byBerserk, as reflected in its character and monster design, world building, and aesthetics.
Note that this article contains spoilers forBerserk.
Berserkreferences inElden Ring- The World Tree
Needless to say,Berserkdid not invent the concept of a world tree/ Yggdrasil. However, the gargantuan tree towering over the world ofElden Ringgreatly resembles the World Spiral Tree ofBerserk, appearing over the world after Fantasia happens, merging the real world and the Astral realm.
Black swordsman inElden Ring- Guts swallowed by the Berserker armor
The gameplay trailer forElden Ringincluded a swordsman clad in black armor and a cape, crouched with his sword over his shoulder. Most importantly, the man has a wolf head, and is howling. This is strikingly similar to several manga panels inBerserk, with Guts swallowed by the Berserker armor and holding his Dragon Slayer above his shoulder.
The Berserker armor also howls when it takes over Guts' personality and reason. The armor is also personified with the image of a dog or wolf.
Note how the armor’s design - the way the joints parts are structured especially - is strikingly similar to the Berserker armor.
Mysterious knight’s helmet, Farnese’s armor inBerserk
This one was already spotted over a year ago onRedditwith the first reveal ofElden Ring. The knight with red hair, iconic character of theElden Ringkey visual, appears again in the new trailer. The knight’s helmet is very similar to the one Farnese used before changing her ways and joining Guts' party.
Helmet character - Skull Knight inBerserk
One character in the trailer has a helmet similar to Skull Knight’s with a very similar design. Now, that one might be a bit of a stretch, but Skull Knight is one of the most charismatic and enigmatic characters ofBerserk.
Seeing theElden Ringgameplay trailer revealed a werewolf knight modeled after Guts in berserker form, it’s very likely characters modeled after either Skull Knight, Griffith, Casca, Zodd, or other iconicBerserkcharacter will appear in the game.
Elden Ring’s overall atmosphere
Really now,Elden Ringis pretty much a new game adaptation ofBerserk. Like itsSoulsbornepredecessors, the game most notably seems to feature several areas similar-looking to the Qliphoth ofBerserk, the Astral layer where trolls and ogres reside.
Started in 1989, the mangaBerserktrail-blazed pretty much everything dark fantasy in Japan, andElden Ringis far from being the sole work inspired by it.Berserkin itself was also inspired by several manga, most notablyVersailles no Baraby Riyoko Ikeda, whose iconic character Oscar de Jarjayes heavily influenced Kentaro Miura for Griffith. You should definitely give the anime adaptation a watch if you never did.
Elden Ringis launching on January 21 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. What did you think of the trailer, did you noticeBerserk’s influence, do you wanna know Rose of Versailles? Hit me up on Twitter@A_iyane07.
