Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs - Royal Edition

If you are looking for a tactical RPG with comical themes, an unlikely protagonist, and plenty of heart, Regalia is worth its weight in gold.

Regalia is a wonderful love letter to JRPGs of yore with beautifully realised graphical style and evocative music. More than worth checking out, our current obsession in fact.

Content in Regalia: Royal Edition is spectacular; there’s no question. The art style is unique, in abundance, and vibrant, the world is brimming with lore the same way each character brims with personality. To top it all off, the voice acting is stellar. But the game suffers from quality-of-life challenges that feel pronounced on the console version.

Porting the game to the PlayStation 4 after a successful PC Kickstarter project pays off relatively well. Although the controls aren't really suited to the DualShock controller the story managed to captivate us. The game is challenging and the voice-acting is solid. Combat can sometimes be a drawn-out borefest and the game suffers from repetitiveness somewhat but generally you won't mind since it still manages to entertain.

If you’ve been crying out for a good console strategy RPG you should give Regalia a go, it’s not perfect, but it’s an exceptionally well told yarn.

When it comes to turn-based strategy games, Regalia: Royal Edition is worthy of attention due to its unique and multifaceted mechanics. However, SRPG enthusiasts may be put off by a few counterintuitive design decisions.

Its friendly difficulty options cater to all abilities, providing strong challenges to those who want it and not getting in the way of those who don't, while the humour and vibrant graphics provide a great first impression. Its combat and gameplay loop can become a bit stale towards the end, with the kingdom building only playing a bit part and there being a few UI and control issues to overcome, but there's still plenty to like and no reason whatsoever for the developers' dynasties to end here.

If we analyze its individual aspects, Regalia doesn't do anything particularly outstanding, but as a whole it works pretty well and it's a very enjoyable adventure.

I found my time with Regalia to be mostly enjoyable, despite some glaring issues that presented themselves to me in what felt like an oversight on the developer’s part. However, knowing this game was kickstarted, it’s an impressive title that gave me hours of enjoyment and things to do. If you’re looking for a game that rings similar to the titles Regalia has drawn inspiration from, or are looking for a hammy homage to the JRPG Regalia might just be for you.

I was blown away by the gorgeous character designs and illustrated portraits and the tactical combat also impressed me with unique systems that made it a bit more than just a cookie cutter tactical RPG. Unfortunately, for as much as I loved those aspects, hamfisted humor and clunky menu navigation on console dampened what could have otherwise been a magical experience. It’s hard to get past those issues, but if you’re able to, there some truly special stuff here in Regalia.

What Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs is though, is a JRPG that stands on its own two feet, and despite taking many influences and using certain generic conventions, it manages to carve its own identity.

If you've been itching for a good strategy RPG, it's hard to go wrong with Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs on PS4. While it's a little rough around the edges, there's a clear passion behind the game that's endearing, and this shines through thanks to the title's colourful cast of characters and dedication to lighthearted humour. Regalia doesn't reinvent the wheel and it probably won't come close to blowing you away, but it's a pleasantly entertaining RPG that just about anyone can enjoy.

Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs is a mish-mash of a game that combines tactical RPG battles with a visual novel and world building elements to create a fairly new experience. There is a lot of fun lines in the dialogue and the game provides an urgent, multifaceted challenge, but is poorly paced and plagued with loading screens that take away from the polish and joy that could have been.

Compelling combat would allow you to look past some of Regalia’s rougher edges, but the frequently dull and repetitive battles on offer here don’t get the job done.

Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs is charming at times, and there's plenty to do, even if it may not always be exciting. However, the Royal Edition release is rotten with performance issues, including crippling lag and frustrating crashes.