While the game definitely has flaws that may be deal-breakers for many modern gamers, I found Langrisser R to be exactly what I wanted for a 3DS revival of the title. There's a hellstorm of negative reviews out there and I recommend finding them and reading them to better understand the vast amount of problems with the title, however, I feel that the completely negative reviews (even ifWhile the game definitely has flaws that may be deal-breakers for many modern gamers, I found Langrisser R to be exactly what I wanted for a 3DS revival of the title. There's a hellstorm of negative reviews out there and I recommend finding them and reading them to better understand the vast amount of problems with the title, however, I feel that the completely negative reviews (even if they take a moment to praise the title) do not do the game justice at all. As such, being a long-time fan of the series, I will offer my review as unbiased as possible.
The Good:
-The 3DS version comes with a music CD and an artbook. While the main artist for Langrisser has changed in this release, I feel that the art is definitely reminiscent of the old-school Langrisser style. While not a perfect adaptation it still has the unique allure that Langrisser had. Also, the music is a perfect revival and fits right in.
-Classic Army-styled scenarios often times pitting hundred of characters against each other via the troop method.
-Some of the maps are modeled after previous versions (for example the giant bridge is a near-replica of the giant bridge in Langrisser II). Adds a sense of nostalgia and the changes to the maps (like the location of the bridge) add flavor to the idea of the world changing over time (especially since in Langrisser II they burn the bridge down, although I am pretty sure that bridge makes re-appearances in future titles but I am not exactly sure which ones).
-The beginning questions which decide your class, stats, etc adds a lot of customization to your beginning character in a very thoughtful way. I am pretty sure this extremely similar to how they utilized this method in Langrisser III and IV (pretty sure it was used in one or both of those--definitely one but maybe both. Also, I can't remember if they used it in II but definitely not in I).
-Hidden tiles are still in the game and the fact that there are no guides for them is both refreshing and frustrating. On one hand I love the thrill of finding an item using old-school tactics by searching for possible tiles, but on the other hand I lament knowing that I've surely missed several of them.
-Relationship system is done well--not every answer is a good answer and some answers seem to annoy the person you're talking to.
-Multiple paths (I've played through 3 of them but there may be more, not entirely sure without going through once more and trying a different combination). Basically allowing for 3 unique stories.
-Classic Langrisser storyline with basically two themes running parallel: the war that the main character has been thrust into as well as his personal goal. In this case he is trying to reunite with his sister.
-The enemy of my enemy is my ally. You play along with practically every character at some point in the game and under each path you control basically everyone at some point. I love how the game does not pigeon-hole you into a single path or faction.
-Lots of content. Even as a seasoned veteran of all Langrisser series I've put in about 80 hours and have not completed all of the content on max difficulty yet. The three paths add a lot of longevity to the game.
The Bad:
-The quickest and most obvious critique is that the battle scenes are chibi 3D modeled, slow-paced sequences that are not terribly thrilling. While I did not mind it, in every previous release of the game I have always turned those battle scenes off for the sake of efficiency. This is the the biggest concern everyone seems to have and I do not share the sentiment--they criticize how horrible this battle scene is and I do not know ANY fan of the previous Langrisser titles who actually cared for watching the battle scenes--they have always been mediocre at best and so to expect FE quality battle scenes is beyond me.
-Lack of ability to see stats on weapons/items before purchasing. I didn't mind this. Typically the more expensive the item the better it is and the description at the bottom basically tells you what it does. For example a Rod (200pt) would increase magic damage. Compare that to the Elemental Rod (2500pt) which also increases elemental damage. Use common sense and realize Elemental is noticeably better.
With the limited character space I want to discuss the constant comparison to FE since yes, they're both similar tactical RPG's. However, while FE has tons more money put into production value for a more polished, better-looking product I feel that Langrisser has something FE will never have. The heart of Langrisser is a deep war-based story where great men and women lead mercenaries to accomplish their goals. It's more about war-based scenarios rather than 10 superheroes vs 10 villains fighting wars. While FE is a fantastic series with lots of money behind it, don't let the chibi battle scenes in this game scare you away. If you were a true fan of Langrisser and wanted at least one more title, then this will satisfy that desire.… Expand
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