BERSERK AND THE BAND OF THE HAWK

Description :
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk, known in Japan as Berserk Musou (Japanese: ベルセルク無双, Hepburn: Beruseruku Musō), is a musou game developed by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Microsoft Windows. It is a collaboration between Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors video game series and Kentaro Miura's Berserk manga series. Berserk and the Band of the Hawk was released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, as well as PlayStation 3 in Japan on October 27, 2016, and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, & PlayStation Vita internationally in February 2017.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk Trailer Video

Story Guide for Berserk and the Band of the Hawk (Source Internet)

Story :

Modes

Story Mode

The story is a re-telling of the manga of the same name, with a total of six chapters. The story primarily follows Guts through his early battles as a wandering mercenary to the becoming the Black Swordsman, although several other characters such as Griffith can be used in certain stages. Proceeding through this mode is necessary for unlocking characters and Guts's true potential.

Clear Story Mode once to break the maximum floor limit for Eclipse Mode and to unlock the option to change the main menu background.

Free Mode

Free mode is identical to other Warriors titles. Players can choose any character that has been previously unlocked in the story mode, and can select any stage regardless of whether the selected character actually appears in it.

Endless Eclipse Mode

Similar to the survival mode that has appeared in other Warriors titles. Players select missions ('Desires') that act as requests from specific characters, though some are unique to each character. Each floor is filled with enemies and random objectives. Recovery items will become scare on higher levels. Players who want to unlock Wyald need to complete 30% of this mode.

There are initially a maximum of 100 floors. Escape points appear every twenty floors. Checkpoints are specifically assigned to the 1, 21, 41, 61, 81, and 101 floors. If the player loses on a non-checkpoint floor, they can restart from their last earned checkpoint. Character specific accessories and specific mounts can be earned by getting to floor 100 with every playable character. Additional Behelits can be collected within this mode.

Defeat the hundredth floor at least once to see a special ending movie and to unlock Griffith's transformation into Femto.

Characters :

GUTS :

Guts (ガッツ, Gattsu) is the main protagonist of Berserk and the initially available character of BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk. Players will have to use him to unlock the rest of the game's playable cast in Story Mode.

Raised all his life to be a warrior, Guts has rarely lived far from the battlefield. After his foster father's death, Guts had a lonely life as a mercenary. It is during one of his mercenary jobs that he is coerced by Griffith to join the latter's mercenary unit, the Band of the Hawk. Despite their rocky start, Guts is gradually accepted by the group, and he eventually appreciates and befriends his new comrades. After they gain prestige with their royal benefactors by winning a regional war, Guts feels confident enough to carve his own path in life and leaves the Band of the Hawk to start his own journey.

Guts believes that he left on amicable terms, but he is unaware that his departure dealt a deafening blow to Griffith's pride and psyche until a year later. Although he returns to try to make amends, Guts and the rest of the Band of the Hawk are sacrificed by Griffith to the God Hand, the evil entities of the setting. During the dark ritual, termed the Eclipse, the Band of the Hawk are branded as food for the Apostles, or demonic monstrosities of the setting, to feed Griffith's ascension into the God Hand. The entirety of the once powerful mercenary group are then utterly devoured by the demons. Thanks to Skull Knight's intervention, Guts and Casca are the only survivors of the Eclipse.

Having lost his right eye and left arm to the ordeal, Guts recovers and initially embarks on a quest for vengeance. He mercilessly hunts and slays Apostles posing as humans within the mortal realm, leading to him gaining his infamous moniker The Black Swordsman (黒い剣士, kuroi kenshi). In the bloody path built by his blind rage towards Griffith and himself, Guts nearly loses touch with his own humanity; it takes time and deep moments of self-reflection for him to regain it. Once he does, Guts focuses his energies on protecting Casca with his own band of newfound comrades. The goals of his current journey are to restore Casca's sanity and to stop Griffith. To fight against the stronger Apostles, he eventually dons an enchanted suit of black armor named the Berserker Armor; though dangerous for his mind and body to wear, it grants him inhuman durability and strength.

Griffith :

Griffith (グリフィス, Gurifisu) is the main antagonist of Berserk and a playable character in BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk. Complete "First Battle" in Story Mode to unlock his human form.

Originally born as a peasant, Griffith has aspired to obtain glory in war and to defy the accepted fate of the suppressed and unceremonious poor. He is inspired by the Behelt he obtains in his childhood to make his dreams of ruling his own country a reality. Through his cunning, skill, and raw charisma, Griffith establishes his own mercenary unit called the Band of the Hawk many years later. It is during its formative years that he inspires Casca to join him; Griffith beats Guts in a duel and forces him into the group three years before their contract with the Kingdom of Midland.

Under his royal benefactors' banner, Griffith covertly executes any who conspire against his rising favor with the king to seal the Band of the Hawk's future with Midland. Just when it appears that Griffith's plans are coming into fruition, Guts defeats Griffith in a duel for his freedom from the Band of the Hawk. He is unable to handle the shock of his first sound defeat; in his depression, he jeopardizes the Band of the Hawk's future by sleeping with the princess and angering the king. While the Band of the Hawk are forced to scatter, Griffith is held captive in Midland's gaols and is brutally tortured for a year. His comrades save him, but his body is so crippled and frail at the time of his rescue that their victory is muted. Griffith's misery peaks when he learns that Guts and Casca have become a couple.

When the God Hand-the leading evil entities of the setting-appeal to him through the Behelt shortly after, Griffith sacrifices the Band of the Hawk to the Eclipse, a demonic feeding ritual for his ascension into the God Hand. At the cost of his former comrades' lives, Griffith becomes the inhuman Femto (フェムト. Femuto). After the Eclipse, Griffith assumes a form that resembles his physical prime during his human life to continue his mortal dream. He leads the Neo Band of the Hawk, a combination of humans and Apostles (demonic monstrosities), to conquer segments of the human realm.

Casca :

Casca (キャスカ, Kyasuka) is a key female protagonist in Berserk and a playable character in BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk. Complete "First Battle" in Story Mode to unlock her.

Born into poverty and sold during her childhood, she is saved from an abusive life by Griffith. She joins his mercenary unit, the Band of the Hawk, as its lone female member. She becomes a skillful swordswoman and leads her own command within the unit. When Griffith coerces Guts to join, she feels her position as the second most capable within the group is threatened and immediately antagonizes him.

After Guts leaves the Band of the Hawk and Griffith is imprisoned, Casca is the one to lead the remaining mercenaries to safety. She spends the next year keeping the band away from headhunters and planning for Griffith's rescue. Although she reconciles with Guts and wants to travel with him, she feels too sorry for the crippled Griffith to leave him. Her sympathy spurns Griffith, which helps contribute to him deciding to sacrifice the Band of the Hawk to the God Hand (the leading evil entities of the setting). During the Eclipse, Casca is branded to be food for the Apostles, or the demonic monstrosities of the setting, and raped by Femto.

She survives the ordeal, but she miscarries her child and her mind is shattered. Casca wanders aimlessly with childish dementia and a strong hatred for men. Casca is also completely defenseless to the Apostles still hunting her. She is only calmed in the company of women. One of Guts's current goals in the story is to restore her sanity.

Judeau :

Judeau (ジュドー, Judō) is a secondary character in Berserk and a playable character in BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk. Complete "First Battle" in Story Mode to unlock him.

Although he is very skilled, Judeau has never excelled in any specific area, and he considers himself a master of none. Like Casca and the others, he is inspired by Griffith to join the Band of the Hawk as the commander to his own unit. When Guts is coerced into the group, Judeau's friendliness and faith in him hastens the loner's acceptance with the others.

He stays loyal to the Band of the Hawk after Griffith's imprisonment and acts as Casca's second-in-command. Judeau is the one to welcome Guts back and to inform him of events that had transpired since his absence. During the Eclipse, Judeau prioritizes his efforts on defending Casca, the woman he loves and the one he thinks is the symbol of hope and leadership for the Band of the Hawk. He resists valiantly but is fatally wounded by the demonic monstrosities surrounding them. He tries yet fails to confess his feelings for Casca before succumbing to his injuries.

Nosferatu Zodd :

Nosferatu Zodd (不死のゾッド, Nosufueratu no Zoddo) is a secondary antagonist of Berserk and a playable character in BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk. Complete his eponymous mission in Story Mode to unlock him.

For about two hundred years, Zodd has been famed as a legendary and immortal mercenary who is unbeatable in battle. He is actually one of the Apostles, or a demonic monstrosity of the setting, who roams random battlefields in search of strong warriors. It is during one such encounter that he duels Guts and Griffith. Zodd overpowers their combined assault in his Apostle form, but ceases his aggressions when he spots the Behelt dangling from Griffith's necklace. He warns Guts to not trust the man he thinks is his friend.

After Griffith is inducted into the God Hand, Zodd considers hunting Guts until he encounters a spiritual projection of Griffith. He challenges the spirit and is defeated by it. Submitting to his "new master", Zodd follows Griffith's commands henceforth. He continues to occasionally cross swords with Guts.

Wyald :

Wyald (ワイアルド, Waiarudo) is a minor antagonist of Berserk and a playable character in BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk; unlike other characters, this game marks his first appearance in any adapted medium of the manga. Complete 30% of Eclipse Mode to unlock him.

Formerly a nameless farmer, Wyald succumbed to the dark forces of the world sometime before the main story. During his imprisonment in Midland's gaols, he is enlisted with the other prisoners to form a special unit called the Black Dog Knights. Wyald is named the group's leader.

The Black Dog Knights are ordered to kill Griffith who has been freed from his torture by the renegade Band of the Hawk. Wyald is a bumbling leader, falling victim to many of the mercenaries' traps; even his Apostle form is defeated swiftly by Guts. He feigns his death before stripping the crippled Griffith bare. Wyald wants to find Griffith's Behelt and enact the Eclipse-the dark sacrificial ritual to become a near omnipotent evil entity-to save himself. While the Band of the Hawk are demoralized by Griffith's naked and emaciated figure, Wyald is fatally impaled by Zodd so that the true owner of the Behelt can use it for himself.

Serpico :

Serpico (セルピコ, Serupiko) is one of the main characters of the current story arcs in Berserk and a playable character in BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk. Complete "Witch" in Story Mode to unlock him.

He is the illegitimate son of Fredrico (Farnese's father); Serpico lived his early years caring for his mother, a commoner who succumbs to illness and then madness later in life. He only learns the truth of his heritage by finding a pendant of his mother with Fredrico. When his talents lead to servitude in the Vandimion household, his mother ostracizes him for "abandoning" her and his father pressures him to stay silent about their family ties by giving him a noble title. Serpico would have been miserable if Farnese hadn't taken him in as her personal servant. He is eventually moved by her character to swear eternal loyalty to her.

Years later, he enlists in the Holy Iron Chain Knights and serves under Farnese's unit. It is through her orders that he hunts Guts for the murders of seemingly innocent people (actually Apostles). When Farnese deserts the knights, Serpico follows her to be one of Guts's trusted companions. When their group meets Schierke, she gifts Serpico with the Sylph Sword and Sylph Cloak to aid her fight against trolls. The wind spirits residing within these artifacts favor him and aid him in battle.

Schierke :

Schierke (シールケ, Shīruke) is one of the main characters of the current story arcs in Berserk and a playable character in BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk. Complete "Witch" in Story Mode to unlock her.

Schierke is an apprentice witch who lives at the Mansion of the Spirit Tree with her mentor Flora. She is sent by Flora to save Guts and company from trolls nearby. They exterminate the trolls, so she guides them back to her home. It is attacked by Griffith's Apostles who consider the witches to be a threat to him.

As she burns alive, Flora entrusts her disciple with the Berserker Armor to give to Guts. Reluctantly leaving Flora and her home, Schierke travels with Guts and aids her new comrades with her magic. Her spirit is used to keep Guts from succumbing to the evils within the Berserker Armor.

(Complete)