Line #49 VideoGame/Langrisser


1	[[quoteright:249:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/langrisser-venus_2451.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:249:Leading lords and ladies of ''Langrisser I'', ''II'', and ''III'']]
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4	''Langrisser'' is a series of TurnBasedStrategy games by Creator/{{NCS}} that is mostly [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]]. The main series of ''Langrisser'' games is made up of five installments, many of which have been ported and [[UpdatedRerelease updated]] a bewildering number of times. From a gameplay perspective, ''Langrisser'' is similar to games like ''Franchise/FireEmblem'', but what sets ''Langrisser'' apart is its sense of scale. In a typical TurnBasedStrategy game, the player commands around twelve fighters per battle, while in ''Langrisser'', there are hundreds of soldiers on the player's side alone, organized into battalions which are led by [[HeroUnit more powerful commanders]]. While ordinary soldiers fight in groups, commanders can single-handedly mow down scores of enemies in a single turn.
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6	The main series games are set in a MedievalEuropeanFantasy world, and most take place on a continent called El Sallia (later games introduce a second continent). El Sallia's history is not so much a series of conflicts as one long knock-down, drag-out war where everyone is fighting everyone else. Constantly. To make matters worse, there's an ongoing feud between the [[GodOfEvil dark god]], Chaos, and the [[HotGoddess goddess of light]], Lushiris. Starting with ''Der Langrisser'', the remake of ''Langrisser II'', many of the games feature multiple story paths which allow the hero to ally with each of the factions. ''Der Langrisser'' was especially good at making all the different groups seem sympathetic. ''Langrisser III'' adds RelationshipValues and {{Romance Sidequest}}s to the mix as well, which reappears in all the games to follow.
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8	Titles in the ''Langrisser'' series:
9	[[index]]
10	* ''[[VideoGame/LangrisserI Langrisser]]'' - [[Platform/SegaGenesis Mega Drive]] (1991). Released in English under the title ''Warsong'' in 1992. Also released on the [[Platform/TurboGrafx16 PC Engine]] CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] System, Platform/PlayStation, Platform/SegaSaturn, [[Platform/MicrosoftWindows Windows]] (both [=Win9x=] and 98/ME/2000/XP), and [[MobilePhoneGame NTT DoCoMo FOMA900i and 901i]].
11	* ''[[VideoGame/DerLangrisser Langrisser II]]'' - Mega Drive (1994). Received an UpdatedRerelease titled '' Der Langrisser'' on Platform/SuperFamicom and ''Der Langrisser FX'' on PC-FX, which became the basis for versions on [=PlayStation=], Sega Saturn, and [=Win9x=]. There is also a Windows 98/ME/2000/XP version based on the original ''Langrisser II'', and a remake for Platform/PlayStation4, PC, and Platform/NintendoSwitch that includes the original ''Langrisser''.
12	* ''VideoGame/LangrisserIII'' - Sega Saturn (1996). Also released on Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and Platform/PlayStation2.
13	* ''VideoGame/LangrisserIV'' - Sega Saturn (1997). Also released on [=PlayStation=].
14	* ''VideoGame/LangrisserV: The End of Legend'' - Saturn (1998). Also released on [=PlayStation=].[[/index]]
15	* ''Langrisser Millennium'' - Platform/SegaDreamcast (1999). Also released on Windows 98/ME/2000/XP.
16	* ''Langrisser Millennium WS: The Last Century'' - Platform/{{Wonderswan}} (2000)
17	* ''Langrisser Tri-Swords'' - Web browser (2012)
18	* ''Langrisser Re:Incarnation -Tensei-'' - Platform/Nintendo3DS (2015)[[index]]
19	* ''VideoGame/LangrisserMobile'' - Windows, Platform/{{Android}}, [[Platform/{{iOS}} (January 22, 2019)
20	[[/index]]
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22	The development team behind the earlier installments split from NCS in 1996 to form Career Soft. Career Soft remained involved with subsequent installments until 1998, when they began to develop the ''VideoGame/{{Growlanser}}'' series for Creator/{{Atlus}}. As the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin subtitle of]] ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Langrisser V]]'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin suggests]], the series originally concluded right around the time Sega abandoned the Platform/SegaSaturn. NCS went on to produce the ''Millennium'' [[GaidenGame spinoff]] series without the input of the main series development team.
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24	So far, only five games have been translated into English. In 1992, Treco officially released the original Mega Drive version of ''Langrisser'' stateside under the title of ''Warsong'', and a [[GameMod fan-made delocalization]] exists. There are also fan-made translations for the Windows 98/ME/2000/XP version of ''Langrisser'', the original Mega Drive version of ''Langrisser II'', its Super Famicom remake ''Der Langrisser'', and the [=PlayStation=] version of ''Langrisser IV''. In 2016, Creator/AksysGames officially released ''Langrisser Re:Incarnation -Tensei-'' internationally. The latest in the series is a mobile ''Langrisser'' game, which was released internationally, and is a direct continuation of the original five games.
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26	On March 10, 2020, [[Creator/NipponIchi NIS America]] released the ''Langrisser I & II'' remake for Nintendo Switch, PC, and [=PlayStation 4=] outside Japan. In addition to updated music and art (with the old styles still available), it greatly expanded the content of the first game, adding new playable characters and more branching narratives when all prior releases had a linear story.
27	----
28	!!This series provides examples of:
29	* AntiGrinding: Certain mechanics are in place to prevent the player from getting max level with all their characters. The most notable is that there is only a limited number of XP you can earn per map; the amount of XP per map is heavily calculated. Characters only earn experience from killing enemies, so this mitigates the XP gained from chipping an enemy's health down.
30	** The only loophole to this rule are Healers. Healers gain experience from healing people, so they are completely exempt from the rule. Even characters with low level healing spells can exploit this loophole.
31	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: [[Franchise/FireEmblem Just like another famous TurnBasedStrategy series out there]].
32	* BlobMonster: A reoccurring enemy type, with one prominent example: the slimes that show up in the fourth mission in ''Langrisser'', which are resistant to physical attacks. You're not actually trying to beat them...you just need to [[HoldTheLine stay alive long enough]] for them to retreat. They are, however, weak against [[KillItWithFire fire]], which is used by [[spoiler:Chris' guardsmen when she and Sir Thorne come to rescue you at the halfway point]].
33	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Happens a lot in the series. One can even call it a trademark.
34	** Chris in ''Langrisser I'' (Chapter 17 of the original/"A" Route).
35	** Lana in ''Langrisser II''.
36	** Flare in ''Langrisser III''.
37	** [[spoiler:Rachel]] in ''Langrisser IV''.
38	* CostumePorn: The character designs. Costumes are lavish, hair is [[AnimeHair over-the-top]], and considering that Satoshi Urushihara is the man behind them, porn is an ideal word for it.
39	** {{Stripperiffic}}: [[ChainmailBikini Chainmail bikinis]] and leotards for all!
40	** ShouldersOfDoom: Another staple of the series.
41	* {{Crossover}}: In ''IV'', ''V'', and ''Mobile'', the ''VideoGame/ChoAniki'' cast show up as trainers that can be fought to boost unit stats. In ''Der Langrisser'', they appear as bosses in a hidden map, but [[spoiler:they overcharge their power and self-destruct after a set number of turns]].
42	* DecapitatedArmy: Killing an enemy leader will cause the rest of the units under his squad to die as well. However, doing so will steal any possible experience the player can gain from killing the other units. On the other hand, killing individual units will take longer, as they benefit from a number of stat boosts so long as they stay under their leader's area of influence.
43	* DubNameChange: Ubiquitous in ''Warsong''.
44	** Occurs in the mobile title as well, due to many characters coming from titles that were never sold internationally.
45	* EliteTweak: The games have a lot of these. One of the biggest is how you can start Elwin off as a Warlock in ''Der Langrisser'', which requires only a tiny fraction of the experience that other classes need to level up, allowing you to get your first class change near the beginning of the ''second scenario''.
46	** Further compounded by the fact that one of the quiz paths leading to Warlock allows Elwin to start with obscenely high stats (31 AT - 21 DF). Considering that Der Langrisser is about the easiest game ever made, it's really just a wee bit silly.
47	** Most characters' class development paths have "best practices" that are usually easiest to determine by reading a guide. However, the games always feature a couple of Runestones which allows a character to reset their class to the very first class change, turning [[AwesomeButImpractical useless final classes (such as High Master or Ninja Master)]] awesome via carrying over their skills unto another class and turning it into a hybrid (bow-using Dragon Lord for instance).
48	* FactionSpecificEndings: Present in ''Der Langrisser'', ''Langrisser III'', ''Langrisser IV'', ''-Tensei-'' and both parts of ''Langrisser I & II'' depending on who the party allies with.
49	* FantasticRacism: Everyone treats the Demon Tribe as if they were AlwaysChaoticEvil when that is simply untrue. ''Some'' of them were subjected to MoreThanMindControl by Böser, but for the most part, they only supported Chaos because everyone else treated them like crap. This actually makes the Light path [[LightIsNotGood seem really horrific if you think about it]], as it implies the continued marginalization and possible genocide of an entire race just because Lushiris never liked them and they have funny ears.
50	** Also, the lunar Crimzonians towards all land dwellers, demons, and humans alike.
51	* HalfHumanHybrid:
52	** Sonia in Der Langrisser is half-demon, causing her to be driven from her home village.
53	** From ''IV'', [[spoiler:Landius is half-lunarian.]]
54	** Matthew, the protagonist of the mobile title, also has demon blood in him [[spoiler:in addition to lunarian, as Landius' descendant]].
55	* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Langrisser gains power from the amount of faith it gathers from the people around it; the more people traveling with the hero, the stronger it will be. In comparison, Alhazard feeds upon its wielder's ambitions and desires. Depending on the man, it can achieve just as much.
56	* HeroicLineage: Throughout the series, the protagonist is one of the "Descendants of Light" who have the capacity to wield the SwordOfPlotAdvancement, Langrisser. [[spoiler:This is subverted with Landius, the hero of ''Langrisser IV''.]]
57	* LightIsNotGood[=/=]DarkIsNotEvil: Games that let the protagonist side with the Demon Tribe (or as an Independent conqueror) often have sympathetic demon allies that the Descendants of Light could willingly slay.
58	* {{Magitek}}: Although the first two games shy away from the mention of magitek, magitek features prominently in both the series' backstory and end. In the backstory an ancient world war was fought between the natives of Gaia, and the lunar race of Crimzo, using flying battleships and weapons so powerful that, in the end, struck the red moon into a new orbit. The games are set in an era where this history has become mostly forgotten, barely hinted about by the other characters until the last game.
59	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Langrisser sword. Its name is German for "lung ripper".[[note]]The actual German word would be "Lungenreißer"[[/note]]
60	* OmnicidalNeutral: The games that have plot branches include an "independent" path in which the protagonists take on the world...and kill everyone who gets in the way.
61	* OneHitPointWonder: The {{Mooks}} under you all only have one hit point each (with a couple of exceptions), which is part of what makes the hero characters...
62	* OneManArmy: Every hero under your control will probably kill at least a hundred enemy soldiers over the course of the game. Yes, even that healer/caster in your back line.
63	* PlayerPersonalityQuiz: A tradition started by ''Der Langrisser''. It affects the main character's starting class and stats, although your starting class is sometimes overridden by your first promotion (such as in ''Der Langrisser'', which always turns Elwin into a warrior type). This is expanded in later games to affect the main's ''entire class tree''.
64	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Jessica, in all incarnations.
65	** All the Crimzonians in ''5'', having landed around the time of Der Langrisser.
66	** Also [[spoiler:Heine]] as of ''4''.
67	* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: The Langrisser.
68	* TacticalRockPaperScissors: Staple gameplay mechanic. ''Langrisser I'' uses soldiers > archers > cavalry > soldiers. ''Langrisser II'' and the games that follow switch to soldiers > spearmen > cavalry > soldiers.
69	* ThatsNoMoon: The blue moon Pelia is actually a space station from the Gaian-Crimzonian war.
70	* WaveMotionGun: The ''Gal Shok'' class cannons.
71	----
72	!!Langrisser III provides examples of:
73	* TheEvilPrince: Paul. He becomes the reoccurring villain Böser by the end.
74	* OddballInTheSeries: ''Langrisser III'' introduces new gameplay mechanics, but most of them get rolled back in the games that follow.
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76	!V (Which shares a setting with IV) provide examples of:
77	%%* BeleagueredAssistant: General Wiler to the King of Caconsis.
78	%%* EmotionlessGirl: Lambda, one of the heroines from ''Langrisser V'', starts out as this.
79	* GreenEyedMonster: Angelina is secretly jealous of her sister Shelfaniel, who is beloved by everyone for her kind nature.
80	* PlantPerson: Female lead Lambda has the ability to communicate with plants.
81	----
82	!!Langrisser Re:Incarnation -Tensei- provides examples of:
83	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The game's title literally means "Langrisser Reincarnation Reincarnation."
84	* SuperDeformed: Units turn into [[ArtShift chibi 3D models]] when engaging in battle.

Context VideoGame / Langrisser