Langrisser IV dared to reshape the remains of the well-intentioned misstep that came before it, cleverly polishing Langrisser III's unpopular albeit inventive rock into the shining gem it always could have been, guiding the series in a thrilling new dire— Oh wait no Langrisser IV is actually trying very, very, hard to be Der Langrisser v1.1. In fact this is so keen … Continue reading Langrisser 2+2
Category: _Strategy
Throwing it all away
After Der Langrisser made all that effort establishing the series' most recognisable formula, Langrisser III then goes and throws most of what worked straight out the window. The branching multi-multi-path scenario's gone straight in the bin and been replaced by a linear set of 30+ battles (as well as five optional and easily missed additional stages). The battle system's been … Continue reading Throwing it all away
A big game for a dead console
Der Langrisser FX appeared on the PC-FX in 1996, about two years after the game's original Mega Drive debut as the more straightforwardly titled Langrisser II, one year after Der Langrisser, the first of what would turn out to be several remakes, appeared on the Super Famicom, and roughly a year before the game finally made the leap … Continue reading A big game for a dead console
Descendants of the Light
A quick word of warning before we begin: All of the English interpretations of Japanese text found here are for better or worse my own, and often paraphrased for brevity's sake. Please consider them general aids designed to convey the gist of what's going on or indicate the general mood of a scene rather than … Continue reading Descendants of the Light
Before the beginning
Langrisser begins here. Not with the 1991 Mega Drive game of the same name (released in the US as Warsong), but in 1987, with Elthlead. This computer-born strategy game pits the familiarly named good King Sieghart against the dark forces of Böser, although the campaign here isn't a linear series of battlefields but a persistent overworld designed … Continue reading Before the beginning
HUGE art… and really tiny scraps of strategy
How could I possibly resist a Shin Megami Tensei themed SRPG, the happy combination of two of my favourite things - tiny people waiting to be ordered around a large map and demon-infested 90's cyberpunk? And oh, that soundtrack! Hidehito Aoki's work on Majin Tensei's soundtrack is just superb, a sort of dark industrial goth rock via the SNES' soft-sounding … Continue reading HUGE art… and really tiny scraps of strategy
Night has fallen and the Foul are abroad!
The Lords of Midnight's manual opens with what ordinarily would be described as some self-important trumpet blowing: "Welcome to the World's first-ever Epic game..." it boldly declares, weary 21st Century eyes reflexively performing a well-practised roll at the sight of such easily ignored waffle. The thing is, between the game's advanced age (at the time … Continue reading Night has fallen and the Foul are abroad!
Episode V: Roots of “Diabolic Embryo”
This supposed fifth episode in the "Nameless Brave Saga" is, like so many other games with decorative subtitles, actually the first entry in a PC exclusive SRPG trilogy by Chrome Six (as far as I can tell they made these games and nothing else). At a glance Angelic Vale looks like yet another game straight out of the … Continue reading Episode V: Roots of “Diabolic Embryo”
New tricks
Berwick Saga, Tear Ring Saga's 2005 PlayStation 2 follow-up, managed to annoy me before I'd even opened the box. The reason is down to the subtitle, "Lazberia Chronicle Chapter 174", a rather grandiose label that at first blush appears to imply Shouzou Kaga, the game's creative lead and strategy-loving force behind Nintendo's Fire Emblem series, had 173 … Continue reading New tricks
A fresh start in a new era… well, maybe
There's something about Langrisser Millennium, Masaya's 1999 entry in the long running SRPG series, that we need to make very clear very quickly: It's not like its older and infinitely better known tactical forebears by design, even going so far as to have the back of the box spell out this game's desire to be a new … Continue reading A fresh start in a new era… well, maybe