This Berserk Game was released for Dreamcast System. The storyline is, I believe, a continuation from the manga series at around the Millennium Falcon Arc and revolving around parasitic plants named Mandragora.Game play is quite simple, mostly just button mashing, but the true gems of this game of course are the fluid 3-D animation and the story telling magic. The story goes like this...Gutts, Caska, and Puck enter a town and encountered a group of performers being attacked by bandits. Gutts helped out the young female performer name Rita. The performing group consists of Rita, An older man, a large quiet man, and a dog. Gutts sensed and suspected that the large man maybe a demon...though he didn't act upon his instinct.
Rita invited Gutts to go see her performance... Convinced by Puck, Gutts headed toward the town. In town, they saw Rita's performance. Then the large man name "Job" was a part of the show as a strongman. While swinging a huge weapon, he tripped....the villagers then realized that Job's possessed by a monster known as the Mandragora and started throwing stones at him. Job then transformed into a mandragora monster and killed several town people. The monster headed toward Caska and Gutts place where the monster fought with Gutts to his death.
Rita got angry at Gutts for killing her buddy. At that moment a chariot arrived. A baron Balzac was introduced. He's there to inspect the Mandragora monster. Balzac explained about the Mandragora and the symptoms of those who got infected. He claimed he might be able to cure Caska and offered Gutts to come to his castle. Rita, however, was taken by the soliders....
Balzac asked Gutts to come alone to his secret lab while Caska and Puck was wandering about the Castle where they found a painting of a beautiful lady. Balzac told Gutts how the Mandragora disease got spreader. He explained that at the edge of town lives a nun name Eriza who is the mandragora main supporter. He also told Gutts how Caskca can be cured by using the Mandragora's heart extract. He said he has the partial heart but that's not enough to cure Caska. He then told Gutts that the full heart can be retrieved from that nun.
Balzac offered a proposition to Gutts that he'll cure Caska once Gutts gave him the Mandragora's heart. Though suspicious, Gutts agreed to get the heart for the sake of his love, Caska. Rita was brought to the castle to be slain. Caska and Puck came and saw what was about to happen. At that time the castle was attacked by a group of resistant. The resistant killed the soldiers who were harming Rita and continued raiding the castle.
A foot solider went on to report to Baron Balzac. Balzac then excused himself to attend the emergency. Puck flew in and reported what just happened to Caska. They hurried out and found Rita's dog that led a way to the resisting group. A man name Dunteth introduced himself with Rita and told Gutts that Rita almost got killed by Balzac's underlings. Dunteth explained his motive why he attacked the castle. The reason of the raid was to release his comrades from Balzac human-mandragora experiment.
Dunteth also said that Balzac once was a good leader who did not oppress town people....but everything changed ever since the disease starting to spread. Gutts asked for Caska...and Dunteth showed the way down to meet Caska. Gutts told them he will go get Mandragora's heart as promised to Balzac. Dunteth joined in with Gutts to go to that town to retrieve the heart. Leaving Caskca, Puck, and Rita behind....Gutts and Dunteth went on to the Mandragora town. While Gutts was out, Balzac advisor attacked the hideout place and captured Caskca. Rita was able to escape.
At the Mandragora town, one solider picked up Mandragora tree which made other Mandragora monsters angry. Dunteth was killed by one single swiped. A nun came out and clam the fight down. She introduced herself as Eriza....At the same time; Rita ran out and told Gutts what had just happened to Caska. Gutts rushed to the nun and asked for heart of the Mandragora. The nun then told a story of an innocent boy name Niko and his death. (The picture of Niko's death depicts Niko holding on to a Behelit) She asked why the boy has to die. She said the Mandragoras are happier since they don't have to face with Pride, sadness, anger, and ambition. Gutts didn't care...and said he's here for the heart no matter what. Then the nun fled from Gutts.
In the castle jail where Caskca's imprisoned, Puck came and tried to rescue her...The night has arrived, and spirits started to appear around Caska. Then!...The ceiling of the prison was broken and appeared Nosferatu Zodd. Zodd simply said "You're that branded swordsman's woman&..Ha ha. Then he must be nearby&Interesting! Something else fun to do! I'll eat you later little girl&".and just flew off. Puck and Caska were able to escape from the prison. They met up with a girl they thought to be Balzac's daughter. The girl has similar symptoms with Caska.....mindless and insane. Caskca and Puck then went into a secret room where the partial Mandragora's heart was stored. While Balzac came into the room, she picked up the heart and the heart began to regenerate on her.
At the Mandragora village, Gutts and Rita went into the church where the nun had fled into and found an underground passage that leads to the heart of the Great Tree...this time Gutts went down alone. There he met Eriza as a Mandragora monster and the heart of the Mandragora tree(Niko). Gutts fought with the two monsters and cut down the Mandragora tree. But the nun Eriza was able to get a hold of the heart and started running to the surface where she found her town (Mandragora) people were killed by Balzac advisor, Gyove, who led a band of foot soldiers and a Mandragora monster solider. She was sad...and decided to commit suicide by running herself and the heart into the burning church. There she dropped a little pendent.....the blue Behelit that Rita picked up later.
Right before Gyove could command anything, Zodd dropped down from the sky and killed the Mandragora-solider and Gyove's men. Gyove and the rest fled Zodd with fear. Zodd and Gutts then engaged in a conversation about Griffith and his motive to raise an army of monsters. Then they fought ferociously but could not determine the winner. Zodd excused himself and took off.
After the Mandragora's tree was destroyed, the villagers turned to normal. But not with sorrow, they blame on Gutts that he murdered their sons/daughters/relatives. Gutts left the scene without a word......While Rita simply thought to herself...."They were so happy. Before...before we came&."
Back in town, Puck reported the Caskca incident with the Mandragora's heart to Gutts. They hurried in, they met with the other insane lady and took her along. Baron Balzac was in the room, Balzac asked wondering how the girl got there....Rita asked why the baron turned bad, Balzac replied at the time when he was younger he had people to protect, someone to love.....but those became his burden... He said he had a dying wife who couldn't recover...... Rita asked back that isn't a daughter enough to make him happy. Balzac then said...the girl is not his daughter but was the dying wife whom he kept alive by using the Mandragora's heart extract. He also said that though she'd remain like this for the rest of her life, his wife would never be able to remember past things with him... With that, he took the Mandragora's heart extract for him to be strong enough to fight with Gutts. Gutts defeated Balzac and hurried out and continued to look for Caska. At this hurry moment, Rita unknowingly dropped the Behelit pendant to the floor where Balzac was dying.
He found Caska who was swallowed up in a giant Mandragora tree. He fought ferociously with eh giant tree and was able to save Caska from it. While the Mandragora possession power still active, Caska was able to recognize Gutts....but soon.....she went back to her crazy self. Puck just quietly explained...."She went back to normal because she was possessed by the Mandragora. It makes sane people crazy, but crazy people sane."
The Behelit got activated by the baron ho had chosen his new fate by sacrificing his wife. He turned into a huge beast weilding 2 large battel axes. Gutts had the final fight with this newly anointed Behelit Apostle. After the defeat of this fiend, the town went back to normal.........but not without sorrow.
In the final scene, Gutts and Puck bid farewell to Rita........and continued on his journey with Caska and Puck.
The ending of the Game also show Skullknight came to the Castle scene, took and swallowed the blue Behelit, and took off into the air. Pretty classic ending (^_^)