Review: Langrisser I & II

In 1991, a tactical niche title called War song launched to western fans on the Sega Genesis. In Japan, this series was known as Langrisser. After War song, the series will not see any other official release in English outside of a mobile title until this year with the launch of Langrisser I & II. For many, this is probably the first time that they will have the opportunity to sit down with this title which somewhat reminds of other early tactical titles like Fire Emblem, but now they can see where Langrisser actually started many RPG tactics and staples.

The story of the first title follows the young Prince Ledin who is propelled into battle after his kingdom is invaded. While at first he is forced to flee the fighting, he returns to claim the land once more and discovers that more things are happening than he seems. With close friends and comrades, they must band together to save the world from the darkest forces at play. The second title follows a traveler by the name of Elwin who is caught in the middle of many decisions throughout his trip. History has several paths that Elwin can take and changes depending on the person with whom he decides to ally himself along the way. He can take the path to find the murderer of his instructor or follow one of the other three paths offered to him. Each path will change its allies in combat, but offers a unique replayability to try each one again and see the many different stories before it.

The basic gameplay between each title is generally the same. At the very beginning, a goddess asks the player a variety of questions. These determine the starting statistics of the main character and if they are not to their liking, the quiz can be repeated for an alternative configuration. Players also have the option to start with bonus money and combat points if they wish to make starting easier. Once this is completed, players can immediately jump into their first quest where the tactical combat begins. Like most of the genre, each team on the field sails and attacks in turn with physical or magic attacks. Magic cannot be used without moving, which makes positioning the forward turn important when planning attacks or assisting in healing. Langrisser has a unique mechanism that allows each character to summon their own protective mercenaries by their side, which greatly helps in combat, as almost all bosses will also have them with them. These mercenaries cost gold at the start of each battle, but are important in battles. If the main character who summoned mercenaries is defeated, whether enemy or ally, the additional mercenaries will also disappear. This makes the leader's attack strategy important to help weaken the additional forces.

Outside of combat, players must manage their commanders and their equipment. By progressing and fighting, commanders will earn battle points. These points are essential for improving commanders by changing classes. Each character has a class tree that will increase their skills, the units they can summon and the type of unit they can be. It is important to keep this in mind as the type of combat unit has weaknesses and resistances to others. The main triangle to keep in mind is that the spears are weak for the infantry, the mounted units are weak for the spears and the infantry is weak for the riders. These are an integral part of the additional damage, especially against smaller generic units. Other units can also be important in their ability to travel and inflict neutral or ranged damage on the battlefield, all of which depend on the scenario in question. The equipment is generally simple with weapons, armor and an accessory all fair for each character. Any character can take equipment, but the skills are more specific to the characters and class they choose. Two skills can be equipped from a list of those unlocked by the classes the character has attended and these can be useful for improving statistics. Those who want to get even stronger have the ability to replay missions, but this comes at the cost of the story going back to the chosen chapter which also includes the playable characters available. It is nice to have it for all those who like to grind, but for those who do not care about having to re-equip the characters obtained after this card, which is mainly only one problem at first.

The artistic style of the first and second titles is interchangeable and allows players to choose between the retro art seen for the characters or the modern look redone for this version. This can be freely exchanged at any time and also changes the backdrop on which the characters play for a more modern or retro style. Music can also be freely changed between original or modern rendering from the main menu, so players can decide the best way to enjoy their trip. One thing most players will notice at the start Langrisser is that there is no tutorial of any kind and that it rather plunges players into battle without an introduction to the most basic mechanics. While it might have made sense at the time with tutorials included, for a remake it would have been nice if there was the least amount of advice to explain the bare minimum. While neither title has stories of intense depth in modern RPGs, the second title in particular feels the most engaging due to decisions drastically altering the outcome of the story and feeling impactful instead of a simple tale guiding the characters to the end. Some characters feel generic and forgettable, but the pleasurable combat makes up for the somewhat lackluster stories.

Closing comments:

Langrisser is a real return to retro roots. This enjoyable remake is one that longtime Warsong fans or those who have been interested in the series for a long time finally have the chance to play. Although a tutorial is missing, the mechanisms are generally easy to understand with a little research around the menus to understand how everything works. The updated artistic style is wonderfully drawn, but the inclusion of the original art is what shines most with a wonderful nostalgic anime style from the early 90s. The story may not last in most memories, but fighting makes it a fun game with a lot of challenge. Any fan of tactical titles should definitely consider diving into Langrisser I & II.