Standard Edition, If you like…

When I heard Langrisser I & II were coming to PlayStation 4, Switch and PC on March 10 courtesy of the fine folks at developer extreme and Chara-ani Corporation thanks to US publisher NISA, let’s just say that was a good day indeed.  I still own my originally purchased new copies of Warsong and the two Sega Mega Drive Langrisser imports (see below), and from playing the demo versions last night, it’s as if I went back in time and then forward, thanks to the game’s wise inclusion of old and new art styles.

Playing the new game bought back many old memories and we’re looking at a massive campaign, restored to its roots and many hours (and endings) to be discovered. I had to play the second game partially from some hefty notes and magazine clippings I got from a friend in Japan, but I know I missed a lot of story as the paths I got weren’t fully translated in the notes. So this time out, I’m preparing for this much bigger game now in English.

The new art by Ar Tonelico artist Ryo Nagi and the super-clean new UI are fine and all, but joy of joys, the choice of original Satoshi Urushihara artwork is just pure nostalgic perfection, especially as these aren’t the altered sprites we got in the US back in 1991. Now, the new art is quite good here and the battles in the remake which can be toggled off, are pretty exciting with that lightning strike effect used for emphasis. But going back to the old art style and menus brought a bigger smile here and seeing it in scan-line free HD was pretty thrilling.

Here’s a walkthrough of the Switch demo, but all the demos look and run the same, as far as I’ve played. I hear that saving your game here unlocks stuff in the final version, so go do that if you decide to pick this up:

If you’ve never played Warsong in the US or the second game in any form, feel free to get a rundown on the first five games in the series at old standby Hardcore Gaming 101. The other games in the series were very hit or miss, as a few developers tried a few different and questionable approaches with the gameplay over the years. But the first two titles were the finest, so this set is absolutely an essential in my book. Standard Edition as shown above or Limited Edition set? A coin flip for me, as those FIVE soundtracks tempt my wallet greatly, but being on a budget these days forces me think of just playing the main game for all it brings to the forefront.

Or Limited Edition with a bunch of extra omake including FIVE soundtracks??? I don’t know whether to faint or drool or both.

I’ll leave you all in suspense as to what I get, but here’s another trailer to distract you while I think:

-GW