Brigandine

This game is probably one of the best strategy rpg's ever. This is a game I could never forget. It introduced me to the strategy RPG genre and consumed over a hundred hours of my life. It came out in late 1998 on the Playstation. I picked it up from Funcoland. I Had no idea what kind of game I was even buying; I just thought the box art looked cool. Little did I know it would be such a good game. The tactics combat really gave me a challenge I wasn't quite ready for. Once I got the hang of things I was spending days and nights trying to conquer the continent of Forsena.

There are 6 nations to choose from, each with its own Rune knight captain and territory Identified by a color across regions of the continent. The story told by Brigandine is of a Nations king killed in a rebellion by one of his generals. The Kings son flees and regroups with the kings loyal followers in a another Nation. All hell breaks loose, alliances soon fall and each Nation is attacking one another to claim the continent. You start out with a nice big chunk of land that you must defend from attack by the other nations. At the same time you must send out your Rune knights to attack your opponents regions.


The battle system and character mechanics were excellent. On the battlefield you are in control of the rune knight (that you selected to attack or defend) and his troops. Rune knights and monsters gain levels and new abilities and can also change classes or receive promotions. You can change classes or promote unites in battle. Battles are waged on a hexagonal grid with different terrains affecting your movement and attack capabilities. The Goal of a battle is to capture the enemy castle or kill their rune knight captain. Battles can take quite a long time with several units each taking a turn consisting of movement - attack / ability. After initiating an attack two units are animated in 3-D to show the attack and counter.

There are many different units available to you. Most of them are classical mythological creatures. Some are only acquired once certain conditions are met. You can also attain enemy nations Rune knights or monsters. Rune knights may be sent on quests that puts them out of use for combat with the chance of coming back with special items or units (or they might just get killed... forever). If you lose a unit in combat its gone for good, So you have to be careful. Its funny how perma-death is such a shocker these days. Most Strategy rpg's in the late 90's early 2000's had such a mechanic. 

Brigandine went on to have a upgrade in japan about 2 years later. Sadly, there was no mention of its name after that. It stands today as an example of quality and imagination. An expensive one at that. It sells for 100 - 400 bucks depending on the condition of the product. I would love to play it again some day. Hope you had a good read up on an old school rpg. I would also like to make it a fact that none of above pictures are mine.