Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 31
  2. Negative: 0 out of 31
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  1. 90
    Having not played the original Brigandine, I don't know if this new one does justice to the legacy of the original. I do know that original is well-respected (and quite rare, therefore expensive), but I'm comfortable saying this: developer Matrix Software has done something special with Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia, and this effort deserves to have a legacy all of its own. The Switch is by no means short on great tactics experiences, but Brigandine might just be the best of all of them.
  2. Jun 25, 2020
    88
    With two distinct but well-integrated strategy modes, Brigandine offers a huge amount of gameplay that feels both old school and fresh at the same time. A fantastic tutorial eases new players into the game with little friction, and the seeming complexity becomes quickly manageable. While the graphics are nothing to write home about, the care taken in each story thread is evident, and the tactical gameplay offers a ton of replay value. Brigandine is an utterly unique offering on Switch, and should appeal to RPG fans and strategy buffs alike.
  3. Jul 13, 2020
    85
    In the end, Brigandine: Legend of Runersia is one of the finest turn-based wargames on consoles in years. The concepts aren’t necessarily new or even deep compared to others in the genre, but they are masterfully rendered in service of a narrative that brings wargaming’s original sin forward into a harsh light.
  4. Jun 26, 2020
    85
    Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is a wonderfully crafted grid-based strategy game with plenty of planning needed. Some battles will be tough, but winning is rewarding every time. There are times when you'll be frustrated by your units missing attacks while the enemy beats you down, but that just forces you to adapt.
  5. Jun 25, 2020
    85
    After the credits rolled, I immediately wanted to dive back into the continent of Runersia for another 30-40 hour campaign from a different nation's viewpoint.
  6. Jun 25, 2020
    85
    Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is an excellent strategy RPG with all the classic elements of the Brigandine series paired with modern gameplay mechanics. The entire experience is well balanced and addictive across many battles and phases and it is made better through the excellent character writing featured in each campaign, even if some interactions are a bit dry. If you ask me, this is a must-play SRPG for any Switch owner.
  7. Jun 25, 2020
    83
    It's hard to believe that a sequel to a game from 1998 released so much later but it was worth the wait. Brigandine The Legend of Runersia is an excellent strategic experience that will blow SRPG fans' minds with its immersive level of depth.
  8. Jun 25, 2020
    82
    An entertaining conquering expedition somewhere between Defender of the Crown and King’s Bounty.
  9. Sep 15, 2020
    80
    The Switch is a great platform for games to dip into for a bit when you have a few minutes, but Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia isn’t one of them. It’s a commitment. A rewarding one, perhaps! But it asks players to stick around and learn, stick around and strategize, stick around and grind through dozens of battle maps. It’s more of a hobby than a diversion, but players looking for just that will find a game that gels well with their sensibilities.
  10. Sep 10, 2020
    80
    Coming as a complete surprise, the quality of the art and characters deserves tremendous praise. A single story is interesting, avoiding typical RPG tropes, and engaging from start to finish, which makes it more insane is that there are six stories in this game. Frequently Brigandine will surprise you with moments of extra quality, like the frequency of the artwork screens depicting what's happening. The only thing holding back this title from being a truly phenomenal experience is the repetitive music, some small graphical issues battle-wise, and how much time the actual warfare can take.
  11. 80
    Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is a really fun game. The Risk-like strategy gameplay is quite enjoyable and makes sitting through the six campaigns a breeze. Both on and off the battlefield, there is a lot to tinker with, giving you the freedom to play the game by your design. The battles can take a little long, though it never really bothered me. That being said, the models and story could definitely be a bit better. Nothing reaches below par, but some polish would've made this adventure even more memorable.
  12. Jun 29, 2020
    80
    Because of its dedicated focus on strategy, Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is a refreshing change to today’s gimmicky turn-based JRPGs. Its serious story, unique gameplay elements, and challenging scenarios will appeal to those who recall a time when tactical games were more about strategy and less about selecting their waifu.
  13. Jun 28, 2020
    80
    Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is a delightful experience that respects its audience enough to know that sometimes change isn't necessary for quality to shine through.
  14. Jun 25, 2020
    80
    In summary, playing Brigandine is like the board game "Risk", its brilliantly complicated at first but also a fascinating game at the same time. If you want to try something different from the standard tactical RPG, Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia offers something unique that any fans of the genre should give a try.
  15. Jul 9, 2020
    78
    Brigandine The Legend of Runersia is a welcome return to form of a long forgotten strategy franchise back in the PsOne era. It is a deep and artistically inspired alternative to titles such as Fire Emblem or Valkyria Chronicles.
  16. Jul 7, 2020
    75
    There’s a beautifully detailed game just waiting to be explored inside of this sequel to a forgotten cult classic, one that will have hardcore RTS fans in their element if they can overlook a clunky campaign flow and dive deep into its many layers of strategy. Fortune favours those who are bold and prepared in Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia.
  17. Jun 30, 2020
    75
    Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia does everything pretty adequately, but there’s also nothing all that remarkable about the experience. I felt like I was going through the motions without anything meaningful to keep bringing me back for these tedious takeovers. The repetition just dulls the adventure, and everything plays out predictably. The game is decent and functional, but it doesn’t have any surprises, big innovations, or memorable moments.
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 69 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 69
  2. Negative: 8 out of 69
  1. Jun 27, 2020
    10
    This is a really good rpg reminds of old time RPGs when the story was really good and you would find unique character's in it
  2. Jun 26, 2020
    9
    Short review: a great game, the true spiritual successor to Brigandine: Legend of Forsena Grand edition. More balance and less tedious thanShort review: a great game, the true spiritual successor to Brigandine: Legend of Forsena Grand edition. More balance and less tedious than the predecessor, but with a less impressive story and its telling style and subpar 3D art model with color swapping. There are a few rooms for improvement. Looking forward to the Grand edition version. I give 8.5/10 because I see potentials in the enhanced version so I plan to give 10/10 when it happens.

    Long review after finishing Norzaleo's true end and normal difficulty.
    Pros:
    + hold the spirit of Foresena very well. If you like Foresena, I believe you also like this game
    + balance improvement over the Foresena's. Caster types get deserve nerfs in stat and mp cost to cast spells. A rather weak class like Nightmare gets reasonable buffs.
    + Sending knights to do quests is less tedious.
    + Better tutorial to newcomers. This game is more new-face friendly than Forsena.
    + more complete information of character, e.g. their element, on the screen, saving time to look into it.
    + there are record mode that you can revisit the event scene, looking at knights you obtained.
    + there are special enemy to grind after unifying the continent to fight the last boss.

    Cons:
    - The story, based on Norzaleo's route, is too focused on character. There is no grand plot or interaction between nations before the end game. It is like they just fight each other without talking things out or finding out why they want to eliminate each other unless you see the talk event, e.g. Tim and Rubino, before the battle begins. Most of ruler's interactions are like "surrender to my justice or I will conquer you." I feel I like the story of Forsena more. The story in Forsena has more twists, turning points, and less pacing issue than Runersia's
    - 3D models do not look very pretty. Most high-tier classes are just palette swap of low-tier's. And because 3D's models are bigger than the hexagon, sometimes it is hard to see which hex they are in!!
    - There are fewer monster's secret classes and their secret promotion items, about 5-6 items only. Unique classes are also a few in this game, mostly just rulers. I hope they add more in the grand edition, if happens. Training monsters and knights are one of the most fun part of the game so less secret classes is a bit of disappointment.
    - AI in normal mode seems less intelligent than the Forsena's. A knight always charges ahead and get killed, even though they are mage!!
    - Cannot see/check the location of knights in the upcoming attack phrase before entering the attack phrase. Now, I have to recall where I move my knight to. Hope they add the same one as in Forsena's
    - Unimpressive final boss, story-wise, appear out of nowhere, and no involvement with the story before unifying. I like Brunoil's writing and his motivation in Forsena more. I feel like Happinet did not have enough time to flesh out them. Hope they fix it like they did in grand edition with Forsena's.
    Full Review »
  3. Jul 5, 2020
    10
    I’ve been waiting for this sequel for 22 years and I can honestly say it does not disappoint. I’m not sure what others think is so differentI’ve been waiting for this sequel for 22 years and I can honestly say it does not disappoint. I’m not sure what others think is so different from the originals but imo it’s pretty spot on with some minor tweaks.

    The characters all have their very own backstory and each faction has its own storyline and reason for joining the battle. Like the original, it has a ton of replay value. Every faction has its own starting position and knights, all making it a totally different experience each time through. As with the original, every play through varied for me depending on my tactics and the tactics of the AI, even if I used a faction I had played with before. On top of this, there are also 20 additional recruitable knights. These knights are sought out by sending your current knights on quests to certain areas. Some of these knights you might recruit but others the AI factions might.

    The combat is great and the rng is fair. You will be able to see the percentages and projected damage of the attacking and defending unit. The battlefields also vary depending on which stronghold is being attacked and from which position. The battles take place on a hex system so positioning is key, especially with your spellcasters. There is also equipment, weapons and one time use tonics to help improve your characters and monsters alike.

    With all of this being said, I clearly love this game and all that it brings. My favorite part of it all is the progression system though. You are able to advance your characters to stronger classes once gaining enough experience. There are often skill trees and choices to make regarding which path and class you want an individual to take. For example: A level 1 fighter, once advancing to level 10, will have the choice of becoming a Knight or a Swordsman. At level 20 the knight becomes a Paladin and the Swordsman a Sword Master both with varying stats, usable equipment and special skills and abilities. Some monsters also have these paths but are a basic variant of a dragon for example. All very useful, especially while taking your army composition into consideration because the units element comes into play during battle as well. Obviously a Demon should do additional damage to a Paladin and that’s reflected as such.

    I truly love everything about this game. So much that I’ve been playing the original on PSone all this time. So much so that I even downloaded an Emulator so I could play the Grand Edition. Then spent countless hours searching for and finally successfully implementing the English translation so I could get the full experience as the Grand Edition was only made in Japanese. Needless to say, my favorite game of the genre.

    This is my first review on here but I felt it was necessary to let people know about this game. The first one certainly went under the radar, with the exception of some die hards. Put it this way, I was offered $450 for my physical copy of Brigandine: Legend of Forsena and refused. I would’ve purchased the Switch solely for this game. Was it worth it? Absolutely! If you enjoy the genre, you’ll love this game!
    Full Review »