Mercenaries Saga Chronicles doesn't shine in any of its aspect, but the volume of its content and the almost total absence of contenders make it a good choice for strategy lovers.
It may not be as daring as it needs to be in design, but Mercenaries Saga Chronicles will help to scratch that strategy itch until something else comes along.
If you love Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics you will enjoy this game.
Lots of grinding and the story keeps you engaged and wanting to see what comes next, so win win!
You have a switch buy this game, its price and 3 games in one is to good to pass up on.
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles is about as straightforward as a strategy RPG can be, its greatest asset being an impressive volume of content that eclipses its meager asking price.
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles offers an awful lot of tactical turn-based strategy content for the asking price, but the dull storylines, repetitive gameplay, and absolutely identical nature of all three titles make us question the reasoning behind packaging them all together as a bundle. In their own right, each game will provide you with hours of well-designed battles, but we doubt many players will genuinely want to sit through all three games as they would be effectively playing the same game three times.
There’s so much raw content in this package that, as long as you’re a fan of the standard tactics JRPG formula, you won’t be able to help but get plenty of value out of this trilogy. And the standard tactics JRPG formula is so damn good that it’s timeless. Making Mercenaries Saga itself functionally timeless.
This game is solely and exclusively intended for the genre lovers. It keeps to its function as an RPG without any addendum and not standing out in any other field.
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles brings a compilation of the first three games of the series to the Nintendo Switch and as far as tactical RPGs are concerned, they present an interesting and enjoyable gameplay with plenty of variety amidst the characters. Unfortunately the game does not leave its comfort zone and does not introduce any new elements that could make it stand out among its peers, with the aggravating factor that its plot is simply not compelling enough to command any interest among the players.
This comes from the same people who made Adventure Bar Story which is considered one of the best Indie Games on the 3DS. I have always like grid based RPGs since I picked up Fire Emblem Awakening but never had the passion or love for them that I have developed after playing Fire Emblem 3 Houses! This is a very good one and not to mention that there’s three titles with over 100 hours across all of them combined according to ****! Now there is always the need for true Quality over Quantity, but this has that quality most would be looking for. Very textbook in gameplay, story, and level design, but the game is beautiful, has amazing charm, and is just a joy for anyone with a love for SRPGs (Strategic Role Playing Games). The UI is not the most convenient or user friendly when it comes to preparation, management, and purchasing, but in the gameplay, it works smoothly. I picked it up on a $7 sale and honestly, I would’ve paid the full price! The gameplay can get repetitive, but that is something with almost every SRPG. However, for those of you that don’t find the gameplay loop of RPGs repetitive, this is an instant buy! I certainly don’t find it repetitive and the story of Blue Lions actually hits a bit of a branching point at chapter 7, which sets apart from most indie RPGs. Rideon Japan got the love and respect they deserved on the 3DS with Adventure Bar Story, I hope they get the love and respect on the Switch with Mercenaries Saga! For those of you who aren’t into RPGs, this may not be a good pick up for you, but for those of you who are, it’s a definite pick up! By the way, Rideon is similar to Square Enix when it comes to the majority of their games being RPGs, they have 5 Mercenaries titles (it’s a whole series) but if you want to get into the series, play this first. I’m currently going through 1 right now and after I play 2 and 3, I plan on playing the other games in the series (if I even have enough time XD)!
For starters, there's a LOT of content in here. For the price per hour of gameplay it's hard to beat this trilogy. The games themselves are not bad; the stories of each are a little dry at times and some of the dialogue is corny but it's overall not horrible. The gameplay is a pretty standard SRPG with some cool character customization options later on. There's also a magic item "crafting" system that isn't too complex but helps to make use of less powerful items you find. There isn't a ton of variety in the gameplay though, and there's the necessity for a lot of grinding at the higher difficulties (not necessarily a good or bad thing, since some people play these games for the grind). The camera can be a bit frustrating at times since it's at an angle and you can't change your view. This can lead to some longer than necessary turns just trying to navigate your units around the camera angle.
I can't bring myself to give it an 8 or higher but I'd say it's worth a purchase. It's just kind of... average in all areas. Nothing really stands out enough to make this game "great." If you're looking for a cheap game(s) you can sink tons of time into though, this is definitely the pick.
Short Review:
7.5/10, forced to round down. With a large amount of content for its price and solid gameplay, Mercenaries Saga Chronicles is definitely worth a look from those who enjoy the SRPG gameplay, but not if you're looking for interesting story and characters, or if you're looking to get into the genre.
Long(er) Review:
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles is a compilation of the Mercenaries Saga games. This marks the debut of Will of the White Lions, the first game in the trilogy, on consoles. The other two, however, are available on 3DS as well at the cost of $5.99 each.
Gameplay:
Mercenaries Saga presents solid SRPG gameplay. There's nothing astounding here, but nothing terrible either. It's simply solid. Grid-based movement, Final Fantasy Tactics-esque combat, so on and so on. It's very generic, but it holds up well. The only notable feature is that maps feature elevation advantages, which is something that I did quite like and isn't necessarily in all SRPGs. Overall, though, there is a large amount of content since it is a trilogy of games. There's easily enough content to get your money's worth in hours played.
Story:
One of the game's weaker areas. The stories are all very bland and really just a way to push more enemies into your path. There's no investment in the plot or characters, most of which are just generic templates. Definitely don't buy the game if you're looking for an engrossing story.
Graphics:
Serviceable, but not great. The tileset is the epitome of generic, but there's some good spritework in the game. Enemies and allies have well-made sprites that definitely add to the overall presentation. Generally, though, map tiles look generic and a little underwhelming.
Controls:
These can take a bit of getting used to. Joystick is pretty much unusable for movement, which isn't overly surprising in a grid-based game. D-Pad works well, but sometimes the camera angles can disorientate the user and cause a few bad inputs. Nothing serious, but something that occasionally occurs.
Overall, the game is a solid 7.5/10, but I can't bring myself to bump it up to an 8 for Metacritic. I simply can't recommend the game to those that aren't genuinely looking for an SRPG to play. It's not a great entryway, but it's a solid way to scratch the SRPG itch for cheap.
Control system of this game is not acceptable.
The game is "Quarter view". It means the war-field grid is twisted 45 degrees.
The problem is.. the control space is also twisted 45 degrees...
If you press "up" button, the cursor goes to upper right direction.
(I can's sure it is upper left or upper right… But I'm sure that is not upside..).
If you press "left" button, the cursor goes to upper left direction
If yo press "up-left" direction... the cursor goes upper right (or upper left, by random)…
As you know, the game with poor control, is ****.
SummaryFeaturing Mercenaries Saga: Will of the White Lions, Mercenaries Saga 2: Order of the Silver Eagle and Mercenaries Saga 3: Gray Wolves of War, Mercenaries Saga Chronicles assembles the heroes from this fantastic series in one collection.