Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia

 Switch
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 69 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 69
  3. Negative: 8 out of 69
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  1. Kryss_Everson
    Aug 21, 2020
    10
    An excellent Tactical RPG game, the sequel to one of my favorite games. I am happy that the result of the development is up to par, although the game could have been better done on some points.
  2. LazersGoPewPew
    Jul 23, 2021
    10
    In general, absolutely love it!

    1 ). Game description (to go straight to my verdict, skip to Number 2 below) In this game, there are 6 different nations at war for territory on a large continent. Each nation starts with its own territory, Ruler, Rune Knights (generals) and Units (monsters). The monsters have to be paired with the knights to be brought to battle. Each knight can bring    In general, absolutely love it!

    1 ). Game description (to go straight to my verdict, skip to Number 2 below)
    In this game, there are 6 different nations at war for territory on a large continent. Each nation starts with its own territory, Ruler, Rune Knights (generals) and Units (monsters). The monsters have to be paired with the knights to be brought to battle. Each knight can bring multiple monsters depending on their Magic Pool (monster-controlling capacity). Naturally, more powerful monsters require more portions of the knight's capacity pool.

    Imagine Final Fantasy Tactics, but each Knight is also a pokemon trainer, and your 6 pokemons go to war with you side by side--kind of.

    Both Knights and Monsters have different classes (such as wizard, archer, paladin,etc for Rune Knights; centaurs, hydras, unicorns, etc. for the monsters). They can level up and gain more powerful forms (e.g. unicorn evolve to pegasus at lv.10, Mage can change class to Wizard at lv.20) and can be equipped with items.

    Finally, you then command the Knights to battle for other countries's territory, and with each territorial gain, you gain more Mana each turn (the currency), which will be used to feed the monsters you have (called Upkeep) and summon new monsters, as Monsters can die if defeated in battle. You finish the game when you conquer the whole continent, and each Nation's storyline unfolds as your territory grows.

    2 ). Verdict:
    a. Gameplay: 10/10
    b. Story: 7/10
    c. Music: 8/10
    d. Visuals: 8.5/10

    3 ). Verdict description:
    a. Gameplay (10/10)
    Very intense strategy gameplay! If you are new to the series, you will, most certainly, learn the ropes the hard way. Expand recklessly and you will spread yourself too thin to defend your territory. In battle, your generals will get focused and injured. Precious monsters will die or even be captured by the enemy (idk which one is worse!). However! once you manage to figure out the knacks of each monster type, each knight class, and their abilities; it would get much better. You will then be able to customize your own roster of knights & monsters depending on your playstyle, and you will thoroughly enjoy "strategizing" and thinking as a general would, which is exactly what a good SRPG Gameplay should be!

    In terms of gameplay, there is no other game like it, which is insane considering it has been 20+ years since its original release! The Brigandine games could very well be their own genre, just like the way Pokemon is. It is a medieval/fantasy-themed war simulation game at its finest.

    Suggestion:
    - Add more depth to the tutorial to ease newcomers to play (e.g. tutorial for each monster type?)

    2 ). Story (7/10)
    Unfortunately, the story falls short when compared to other RPG Games. It is an improvement from the 1998 game but still not enough depth, and the "twist" comes too late and we don't really care with the parties involved for it to make enough impact.
    There is another layer of the story which are hidden behind the "flavour-text" description of each Rune Knight (which are awesome by the way), but they rarely come to life through cutscenes or interactions.

    Suggestion:
    - More engaging whole story
    - Make the "flavour-text" more alive, maybe add more stories when questing certain knights together, or make it possible for the questing knight to meet their relative at another country if they are also currently on a quest. RPGs are centered around the characters. Good RPGs often go through painstaking ways to deeply show each character's story. Brigandine has 100 characters, so adding more side stories to more characters would be very very welcome!

    c. Music: 8/10
    Great music, but they can't hold candles compared to the original. Sorry. The original (TLOF, not GE) are just so good, so maybe the bar was set too high here, thus 8.

    d. Visuals: 8.5/10
    Wonderful art design for each character, designed by an experienced character designer. Beautifully drawn and NOT overly sexualized. The knights' clothing wonderfully match their country of origin, so we can get a feel of a country's character from the way the knights look.

    The map is more detailed compared to the original game, and it beautifully reflects the terrain of the battlefield; and what kind of quest would be available at each base. There are no longer cutscenes during attack/magic, but they are replaced by beautiful short animations which reduces loading time.

    Some people say that the characters are too sexualized but I disagree... Except for the shinobis (which I guess are just the way they are designed..they are a tribal society after all), the women actually have layered and covered clothing common to the medieval/fantasy genre.

    Suggestion: Is it too much if I ask for cutscenes during attack/magic just like the original? It can make the monsters and knights more "alive".

    Overall, still 10/10 because to me SRPGs are more about the gameplay!    … Expand
  3. Mistoltean
    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 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 theShort 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.    … Expand
  4. Cj22714
    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 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.    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 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!    … Expand
  5. Hij45g
    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
  6. Escargot
    Jun 29, 2020
    10
    Just bought this when it's released and having lots of fun!

    I haven't played the previous game and I'm tired of reading reviews complaining how the game is different to the previous one. Does it have to be the same? And I'm not concerned about the graphics or 3D models, or character stories. It's great as a strategy game, for players to plan out domination and execute it. The makers do    Just bought this when it's released and having lots of fun!

    I haven't played the previous game and I'm tired of reading reviews complaining how the game is different to the previous one. Does it have to be the same? And I'm not concerned about the graphics or 3D models, or character stories. It's great as a strategy game, for players to plan out domination and execute it.
    The makers do not advertise it as a RPG but as a war simulation game
    Game isn't too hard or complicated either, as long as you go though the tutorials and play it a bit you should be able to understand it. Not for those who are willing to try though.
    You can also form your own units so you don't have to fight battles that are too easy for your level.
    The enemy AI is better than fire emblem in my experience.
    I'm looking forward to creating my own tactics and testing them out on the enemy!    … Expand
  7. bdcgone
    Jun 27, 2020
    9
    I rarely ever write reviews for games, but I feel the need to get word out about this game. This is a game that understands what long time fans of strategy games are looking for. If you are a person that missed the days of the original Ogre Battle or wish another game like Dark Wizard was made, this is the game for you. It has a strategic over world map where you really have to plot outI rarely ever write reviews for games, but I feel the need to get word out about this game. This is a game that understands what long time fans of strategy games are looking for. If you are a person that missed the days of the original Ogre Battle or wish another game like Dark Wizard was made, this is the game for you. It has a strategic over world map where you really have to plot out your strategy when trying to conquer the world map. Then it has tactical battles that are surprisingly intense. I've had several battles where it was extremely close. Overall, it scratches that old school strategy fix better than most games.

    On top of all of this, all units can level up. Your monsters can level up. Your Knights can level up. You can find equipment. for all of your units. Overall, it's the micromanagement that older strategy rpg players live for.

    I have heard comparisons to Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I loved Fire Emblem, but this game is not meant to be Fire Emblem. If you go in with that expectation, you will be disappointed. This is a larger scale war and it's about managing units as you progress.

    I haven't moved far enough in the story to pass much judgement, but it seems okay. The artwork for the characters is beautiful though. The battle graphics are acceptable, but it can get a little bit muddled. The over world map gets the job done. The game can be slightly difficult to understand at first, but after a few turns, you should be fine.

    To conclude, the creators of the game understand their audience. They scratch a strategy itch that only a few games are able to. I highly recommend it especially if you have been looking for something comparable to Ogre Battle and Dark Wizard for the past thirty years like I have.    … Expand
  8. Hangedman84
    Dec 6, 2020
    10
    EDIT 06/12/20 (update "Titans and the Iron Front"): The great game becomes even greater after free update!
    Here's a little bit about what we got:
    1. Two new high LVL monster types. 2. Better AI (Guard Castle Hex mode) 3. Auto mode and a number of quality of life functions that improve playability, such as a vanage items UI, Info panels, options settings, and others. 4. Custom    EDIT 06/12/20 (update "Titans and the Iron Front"): The great game becomes even greater after free update!
    Here's a little bit about what we got:
    1. Two new high LVL monster types.
    2. Better AI (Guard Castle Hex mode)
    3. Auto mode and a number of quality of life functions that improve playability, such as a vanage items UI, Info panels, options settings, and others.
    4. Custom difficulty mode witch allows you to customize up to 8 in game settings. Plus now we can play game on the highest difficulty without any time limit! (it gives us almoust infinity game if you want it to be!).
    [link omitted per site rules]

    P.S. Btw the developer directly hinted that there will be further updates and perhaps even full fledged DLC! ;-)

    Original Score 9: I would really like to give this game a maximum rating of 10 out of 10. But unfortunately I can’t force myself to do this despite the fact that I am a huge fan of Brigandine and consider LoF one of the best tactical games on consoles. My score is 9 and only because it is Brigandine (although to be honest, I would put LoR no more than 7).

    Let's start with the good:

    - The mechanics of the game have been preserved, and it still remains as attractive and exciting as it was back in 2000.

    - Very detailed and good ingame tutorial.

    - The history of the world as a whole is not bad, although the plot in the first game was better, imho.

    - Beautiful 2D art, but some drawings are worse than others.

    - Some great and epic music tunes.

    Now about the bad:

    - There are much fewer classes and upgrading branches for rune knights. Many rune knight classes was cut out without replacement.
    For example - martial artist class character in LoF was represented by Ranger ➜ Grappler ➜ Champion and 2nd one Priest ➜ Monk ➜ Guardian.
    LoR have only one class Monk ➜ Grappler ➜ Champion.
    Also, the developers did the same with monsters. They cut many monster types and their upgrade trees. Some branches of monster upgrade tree generally look very strange. For example all five dragons type (each with their own element) evolve in the only one final version ancient fire dragon!

    - The complete lack of lore text descriptions of game items (weapons, armor and etc) is a big omission because it would add more depth to the world of Runersia.

    - The complete lack of unique quests with text description, not counting those where you find new knights.
    Why couldn’t developers add some quests, to find some unique relics that would give bonuses to your entire nation? Or quest which must be done with specific knight (s) in specific strongholds to find some unique monster, or piece of some legendary equipment. These quest could be pretty rare, but this would add even more interest to the game and give it some cool secrets to find.

    - The design and graphics of knights and monsters 3D models are pretty generic and bland. In addition to bad graphics, when your knight or monster turns into a new class, it remains almost the same, only the color palette changes!

    The overall feeling that the developers had a strictly limited time frame and pretty small budget. It feels like the game was left unfinished in terms of the amount of content. I really hope that the developers will please us with an improved version of the game (Grand Edition) and fix all the flaws and fill in all the gaps.

    P.S. Some critics and players want to see multiplayer gameplay options in LoR but I think its impossible, simply because in even with 3-4 players game match, just think about, how long will it take to wait your turn. ;-P    … Expand
  9. vieira171
    Jun 27, 2020
    8
    The base game is good and for my first campaign. It was played without any bugs. The plot is ok and forgettable with the cliche of our terrible politics. I miss the multiplayer game choice. My impressions is that every faction is balanced in its ways. I miss the multiplayer game choice. Why not a Hotseat mode or even an online game possible? The 2d art is good but i could not say the sameThe base game is good and for my first campaign. It was played without any bugs. The plot is ok and forgettable with the cliche of our terrible politics. I miss the multiplayer game choice. My impressions is that every faction is balanced in its ways. I miss the multiplayer game choice. Why not a Hotseat mode or even an online game possible? The 2d art is good but i could not say the same about the 3d graphics and i still remember the great animations in Brigandine: Legend of Forsena Grand Edition in the Play Station 1. I hope more games like these come to the new generations of consoles or pcs. A remake of Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena Grand Edition for the Switch could be superb!… Expand
  10. GerardCS
    Jul 19, 2020
    8
    Gran juego, el apartado artistico de los graficos no es de mis preferidos, pero es bastante bueno. se echa de menos la aleatoriedad de las misiones del juego de psx, el poder mandar a las unidades a quest sabiendo las posibles recompensas le quita parte del encanto del original, donde era todo una sorpresa. Una lastima tambien lo del idioma, en un juego de estas caracteristicas seGran juego, el apartado artistico de los graficos no es de mis preferidos, pero es bastante bueno. se echa de menos la aleatoriedad de las misiones del juego de psx, el poder mandar a las unidades a quest sabiendo las posibles recompensas le quita parte del encanto del original, donde era todo una sorpresa. Una lastima tambien lo del idioma, en un juego de estas caracteristicas se agradeceria poder jugarlo en tu propia lengua.… Expand
  11. chatrabbita
    Oct 26, 2021
    9
    I am about 10 hours in the game (PS4), playing the green tribe. It is certainly an upgrade from the Grand Edition/ Forsena. It is beautiful and fun to play. The story is not so bad. I just wish they have some animation cut scene.
  12. watergazing
    Aug 14, 2021
    10
    I don't expect the game critics would understand. Brigandine is a game that gets better as you play more of it, as you understand the playable nations' different situations, motivations, and struggles. Moreover, the game mechanics are definitely not in the realm of "instant gratification" like so many games nowadays.

    Thus it requires many many hours (we're talking at least tens, to    I don't expect the game critics would understand. Brigandine is a game that gets better as you play more of it, as you understand the playable nations' different situations, motivations, and struggles. Moreover, the game mechanics are definitely not in the realm of "instant gratification" like so many games nowadays.

    Thus it requires many many hours (we're talking at least tens, to hundreds) just to understand and appreciate, which I don't expect most casual "gamer" critics could do sadly, I expect they just go in and play like, half a run using 1 country...? just to understand the mechanics and "criticize" the game.

    But considering these limitations, I'd say this game has done well enough!    … Expand
  13. Crusaderwallop
    Oct 24, 2021
    10
    Great game, Like Risk and srpg mixed into a fun war game, Tons of replayibility, I wish there was more music tracks but what's there is terrific all in all a worthy sequel worth the 20+ years of waiting.
  14. Tradnux
    Aug 8, 2022
    10
    Brigandine has that formula that no other turn-based strategy games ever pick up upon, a formula that itches the need for map domination and local large scale battle tactics (story is just secondary), sure it had predecessors of similar gameplay system but I think Brigandine hit the spot for me.

    And in this modern Brigandine title Legend of Runersia that formula is still ever present,    Brigandine has that formula that no other turn-based strategy games ever pick up upon, a formula that itches the need for map domination and local large scale battle tactics (story is just secondary), sure it had predecessors of similar gameplay system but I think Brigandine hit the spot for me.

    And in this modern Brigandine title Legend of Runersia that formula is still ever present, while story, quests and character storytelling is not as plentiful as the previous Brigandine game, it still has enough in the story department to keep you invested.

    But the bulk of why you play Brigandine is the game itself, the hexagonal turn based battle system on a rather large scale battle ground featuring tons of mythical beast and monster along with their commanders of many different classes, and then after the battle, comes the war, you need to capture all of your enemy country domains and claim the whole map to yourself, what happens next is for you to play out.

    Legend of Runersia obviously is 20 years older than its predecessor and in many categories like graphics, art style, and voice acting plus some quality of life added features it is definitely enjoying modern improvements, while keeping that good old Brigandine formula in tact.

    While it is not exclusive to Nintendo Switch, the handheld gaming device is a perfect console to play this gem on the go.

    Definitely one of the best turn based strategy rpg around that everyone should experience playing.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

75
#75 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. Hobby Consolas
    May 22, 2021
    72
    Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia it's not a game for everybody. If you're a pro on tactical and strategy RPG, you'll likely love it, even knowing if it's a harsh game when you are entering in it, it won't help you in your first play and that some decisions will, probably, make you scratch your head.
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  2. Switch Player
    Oct 6, 2020
    70
    Brigandine: Legend of Runersia is a beautiful-yet-unapproachable masterpiece of a tactical RPG. It’s certainly rough around the edges, with its difficulty and UI being particular points of contention, but well worth the venture if you’re able to stomach it.
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  3. Siliconera
    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.
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