Warsong is the only title of a series of famous strategy games, known as Langrisser in Japan, to ever see an official release outside of Japan. It is set in a typical medieval fantasy setting and features traditional turn-based combat.
The player controls several generals who can command up to eight different units ranging from ordinary soldiers and archers to more exotic creatures like mermen or lizards.The generals fight alongside their units, however they are much more powerful and are able to use more diverse commands than just moving and attacking, like recovering a small amount of HP or casting spells. Each unit has certain strengths and weaknesses; for example soldiers are good against archers but weak against cavalry etc.
Combat is also influenced heavily by terrain types. When two units engage in combat a small animation, similar to those seen in Advance Wars or Fire Emblem, is shown.










#1
Mii be you said:
What a beautiful name for a game.
#2
Damo said:
This is one of my favourite games of all time, if this comes to the West then VC gamers are in for a real treat!
#3
Jogurt_the_Yogurt said:
This is one of the best strategy-RPGs of all time for any system. I thought it was too obscure to ever be released on the VC. I hope it doesn't stay in Japan!
#4
TheNintendoBoy said:
A promising first entry in a great series.
#5
Sharecrow said:
I remember that I absolutely loved this game, but I can't remember much about it...
#6
thatweirdguyoverthere said:
Judging from that box art, this game should be pretty cool. Come on - it's an armored guy with a sword on a horse! That just screams "AWESOME!"
#7
JNoodles said:
Do I sense a Fire Emblem-like game?
#8
Damo said:
You sure do.
I really hope this comes out in the West.
#9
Jogurt_the_Yogurt said:
Bring Warsong to the West!
#10
Sage_Joch said:
Hi guys, this is actually one of the games i've been wanting to come out here for a long time now.
what do you think the chances are of this coming to europe?
#11
Roderich said:
This is in many respects a true wargame and one of the best if not the best on early consoles, more than fire emblem on modern consoles if you like, as it had zones of control f.e. iirc. A friend of mine got so addicted to Warsong, that he played it through more than 20 times, always optimizing his skill, learning the maps etc.
#12
Citan said:
This HAS to be released here....Unfortunately, the company who took care of its localization went bankrupt and, thus, this game may not be released in the States. Which is why we have never seen Langrisser 2 here.
This game is seriously worth it. A solid 4 out of 5.
#13
Gameguardian said:
I will be getting this without a doubt if it reaches European VC.
#14
CanisWolfred said:
So it's basically a Fire Emblem rip-off that somehow became popular. Pass, just give us Famicom Wars.
#15
Bass_X0 said:
Famicom Wars will never happen because its unplayable if you don't know Japanese I'd assume. And they're not likely to translate it either.
#16
CanisWolfred said:
I'll manage, I've played a japanese Shining Force Rom, as well as a Japanese Phantasy Star Portable Demo, so I think I can handle Famicom Wars.
I was making a joke, you're right it would be confusing, but I'm still going to hope.
#17
CanisWolfred said:
Hey wait, does this have that stupid perma-death thing, because I don't think I could handle a game like that. The only way I'm able to get through Shining Force is because I can bring people back to life when I lose. I don't have to be perfect, I can accept some loses without having to restart the entire fight, losing all of the experience I had gained. I don't think this is going to be a bad game, but if it has that obnoxious permadeath, I'm a lost customer.
Boy, I must be having a bad day...
#18
Danthrax said:
Nah, Warsong is one of the nicest strategy RPG's around. Plus, even if you do happen to lose a character, it's usually not the one you've leveled like crazy unless you're really careless, since the leveled characters are pretty beastly.
Oh, and to make the best out of the game, use the level skip code to go backwards. It's quite handy since you get to retain your experience. The only odd thing that happens is if you level skip to a board where you first obtain a new character, it resets their experience to their starting point. It's at least a small way to improve replay-ability in my opinion. Also, if any of you Euro guys have an email address, I own the game and have a ROM backup if you want to talk about it.
#19
CanisWolfred said:
Well, then I guess it'll be okay. They don't make many strategy RPGs these days, so I might as well take what I can get. Better than Fire Emblem.
#20
TheLuigiDude said:
Better than Fire Emblem? We'll see, though I do look forward to its (hopeful) release on the VC!
#21
Jogurt_the_Yogurt said:
Better than Fire Emblem? But you haven't played it? Heh.
Anyway, Warsong is one of my favourite strategy games. It does have permanent deaths, and that's part of what makes it so good. Another part of what makes it so good is the awesome music. You'll be able to get through this game just fine if you don't play like a sloppy drunk and put your weak characters in harm's way.
I'm getting impatient for Warsong! To eBay!
#22
Sage_Joch said:
Was this game ever released in PAL-regions, or only in NA? because if it was only released in NA, i guess we can forget ever seeing it on the VC in Europe
. It's a real shame cause i really want to play this game (without having to resort to emulation)
BTW, the fact that it hasn't even been released in NA makes me think they are actually unable to obtain the rights/licenses for releasing it outside of Japan. What do you think?
#23
Starwolf_UK said:
because if it was only released in NA, i guess we can forget ever seeing it on the VC in Europe
Columns 3, Puyo Puyo 2 and Gley Lancer were also never released in Europe and they're on the VC.
#24
Jogurt_the_Yogurt said:
Sage, we've had to wait a long time for games before, and they were games in popular series. So I wouldn't take a long wait as a sign that this is never coming. We may just have to wait longer than usual because it's not a popular game in an equally underrated genre.
When I made my last comment about going to eBay, I really did, and now I have the cart sitting here on my shelf.
#25
CanisWolfred said:
@Jogart
I only said it was better than Fire Emblem because I hated Fire Emblem, and since this game doesn't have Permadeath, the reason why I hated Fire Emblem, it is automatically better, at least to me, than Fire Emblem.
#26
2hip2beskware said:
If it's like Shining Force, I shall buy it.
#27
jongalt said:
1.) It DOES have perma-death.
2.)Unless you're a 3 year old with no sense of strategy, the above doesn't matter.
3.) This game IS NOT a rip off of fire emblem, Fire emblem was first released in 2003. WARSONG was released in 1991. In other words this is Fire Emblems grand father. So if anything FE is a rip off of WS.
This game was a standard setter back in the day, you could literally have hundreds of units at a time(with descent graphics) and battles could take hours. The maps were huge and terrain was even a consideration, spells were cool and music was great, and not to be overlooked was the super long and engaging storyline. One of the most under rated games of all time.
If your like me and loved shining force you will love this game. Just don't expect quick battles with 12 troops. Try long battles with 100 troops. Oh and no towns to explore or anything like that. But trust me its worth whatever you pay.
#28
tatemon555 said:
It looks okay, but it doesn't appeal to me. Oh, and @ jongalt, it probably was a rip-off of Fire Emblem, because the first one was released in Japan only on the Famicom.
#29
CanisWolfred said:
@jongalt
Well, from your description, this game now sounds really boring. Guess I'll have to pass on this one.
#30
Digiki said:
Looks sweet, BTW when'd the video get put up?
This game IS NOT a rip off of fire emblem, Fire emblem was first released in 2003. WARSONG was released in 1991. In other words this is Fire Emblems grand father. So if anything FE is a rip off of WS.
lul, FE has been around since the Famicom (NES in JPN), the GBA game was just the first worldwide release, where did you think Marth and Roy came from?
#31
DrJonAngus said:
I personally think Shining Force 1 and 2 are the top contenders for best strategy type games on the Genesis. I've barely played this on my emulator, so I can't say that for sure, but this seems pretty fun.
#32
jongalt said:
Your right Digiki, I did some more searching and the original Fire Emblem was released 1 year before Warsong. I never knew that, thanks for the info.
Either way though, Warsong was and is a great game, if you haven't played it don't miss it if they ever release it on the VC.
Also, I agree with you Drjonangus, SF 1&2 were extremely well done games and are very worthy of that distinction.
#33
Jogurt_the_Yogurt said:
Yep, this does have permadeath, and as has been stated before, that doesn't matter since only suckers get their generals killed anyway.
This isn't a rip off of Fire Emblem, but it is a very similar kind of game, and if you like one you'll probably like the other as well.
#34
tatemon555 said:
@ jongalt: What about me? I said the same thing as Digiki a week before him! I'll just exclude you from my guest list to my party...
#35
KnucklesSonic8 said:
Yay, more strategy games!!
#36
President_Leever said:
This one is alright, it plays like a hard version of shining force 1 stripped down to just the battles, and switching the orchestral score with an 80s hard rock soundtrack. It's just as addictive if you like the genre. However the japan-only sequel is so much better in every way that this game becomes near obsolete. Hopefully they'll release that one over here as it is long overdue to say the least.
Regarding permadeath, it wouldn't be much of a problem at all if the game didn't decide to throw new enemies at you in the midst of a battle that can kill a general before you have a chance to react. Oh and the battle outcomes are way random, much more so than in FE or shining force. Thankfully the sequel remedies the problem by only taking away the experience gained in the most recent scenario played, and making the battles more predictable.
#37
Zinjak said:
so this game is basically the sega version of Fire Emblem and the other Nintendo wars-esque series? well then does it improve on those games by allowing you to revive fallen comrades? because that really bogs those games down for my taste
#38
Zinjak said:
perma-death is ok in a game like this...because its a bunch of nameless soldiers like in advance wars, with only a handful of named guys...who you usually won't lose ( i still do in advance wars, but not always...but i find the most recent one to be really hard) you can always make more guys. in Fire Emblem however, in which all your characters are unique and the outcome of so many battles seem like a flip of the coin unless your just a master strategist, then its bad and thats why most western players find those games to be very punishing.
#39
RetroNL said:
Interesting ! !