Developer: Chara-ani Corporation
Publisher: NIS America Inc.
Platforms: PC, PS4, Switch
Tested on: PS4
Langrisser I & II – Review
Remastering old classics is becoming more popular by the day and a big upside of this trend is how a lot of obscure titles from overseas are now making their way into the mainstream circuits. Especially Japanese games have seemed to profit from this in recent years, with the increased popularity of anime meaning there’s a bigger audience for them. Langrisser is much the same, with the first two games originally releasing in the 90s and never becoming international successes. Chara-ani Corporation decided to take the plunge this year and release both titles with a completely new look for modern consoles and PC. And we’re sure a lot of JRPG fans will be more than glad for it.
Story
The Langrisser series covers six games in total, telling an epic tale taking place in El Sallia, a world governed by opposing gods. There is Chaos, god of darkness and Lushiris, Goddess of light. Naturally, the people who worship either of them are in constant conflict. Each god has a sword which harbors their powers, which they can gift to a worthy hero to fight for their cause. The first game focusses on Prince Ledin, who has to defend his kingdom and the entire world when Kaiser Digos brings an army to claim the power of Langrisser, the sword of light. The second game takes place many years later and follows Elwin, a young traveler who witnesses the kidnapping of a mysterious girl and impulsively decides to embark on a quest to save her, not knowing how important she could truly be to the fate of the world.
The story is conveyed to the player in short visual novel type segments before and after each battle, with each game having many different story branches and endings dependent on your choices. Because of the flowchart, it is easy to keep track of where you are in the story, as well as to go back to pivotal points later if you want to see how the other branches would play out.
Graphics
This remake of Langrisser comes with completely updated art, though you have the option to play with the original sprites if you want to. The new art is a lot cleaner and the designs look great. There are also a few pretty CGs sprinkled in the visual novel parts. The battles use a more simplistic art style with a top-down view, playing a short animatic when two troops engage each other. All in all, there is little to complain about here.
Sound
Just like with the graphics, the music was redone for the remaster, with players having the option to use the original instead if that’s more their style. Either way, the soundtrack is decent with a lot of fast-paced music that gets your blood pumping. Both games have a complete voice cast for their characters, even down to the regular troops who only have a few spoken lines, and the voice work is really well done.
Gameplay
Langrisser is a turn-based RPG where you take control over a handful of commanders and their mercenaries in large scale battles. The win and lose conditions can change from chapter to chapter, though most will focus on taking out all enemy units. Just like you, they have specific commanders and defeating them is the fastest way to take care of their underlings, though often they won’t leave their commander easily accessible.
Each turn will allow you to perform actions with your units. Moving them across the map and attacking an enemy can be done in the same turn, so that is the fastest tactic. Your commanders might also have magic at their disposal, though using this will take up your entire turn. There are offensive spells that cause damage but also buff spells that can increase your allies’ stats or heal them. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of directing every unit separately, you can also have your commander tell them what to do, saving time. When you’re satisfied, you end your turn, letting any NPC allies make their moves and then the enemy’s phase begins.
Killing enemies will reward your commanders exp which they use to level up and earn class points. Winning battles also grant you gold. In-between battles you can manage your commanders by spending their class points to advance their class (similar to a skill tree) and switch out their equipment or spells. There is also a store you can visit to buy better weapons or armor and sell the spare things you don’t need. Just be sure to keep some money aside for your next battle though, as hiring mercenaries cost money too and you don’t want to go into battle with too few men and be completely outnumbered.
Conclusion
The fact that Langrisser got a remake speaks volumes of the changes in the gaming community and the increased interest in international releases. With its modernized graphics and music, but still keeping hold of nostalgic gameplay elements, it can certainly please fans of the JRPG genre. Hopefully, the other games in the series will soon get the same treatment.
Langrisser I & II - Review,
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