Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia

Lore & Background

The game features a multi-faceted war between six nations for control of Runersia, instigated in the year 781 by a series of events: the Norzaleo Kingdom's monarch dying under unexplained circumstances, civil unrest in the Holy Gustava Empire precipitating an invasion of Norzaleo, the disappearance of the Republic of Guimoule's president, a revolution within the Mana Saleesia Theocracy, the emergence of the Shinobi Tribe, and the United Islands of Mirelva seizing the opportunity to plunder the mainland. Each nation has its own leader and ideology, and five of the six bear powerful armor relics called Brigandines.

Gameplay mixes tactical, turn-based battles and grand strategy. The player controls one of six nations, using troops composed of monsters under a human Rune Knight leader. There are over 100 unique Rune Knights. The game has two main phases: Organization and Attack, combined into a 'season'. A year consists of 24 seasons, with difficulty settings imposing time limits: easy has no limit, normal caps at 120 seasons, hard at 60 seasons. The game includes a Main Mode with a story for each nation and a Challenge Mode where players assemble a semi-custom army and earn a Strategy Score.

Reader's Guide

Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia revived a dormant franchise after the dissolution of E3 Staff, the original developer of the 1998 game. Producer Kazuhiro Igarashi, who joined E3 Staff in 1998, was unable to work on a Brigandine title until Happinet reopened its game development department in 2013. Initially considering a remake, the team instead created a new entry, hiring Matrix Software after learning many of its employees were fans of the series and brought a strategy guide for the first game to their initial meeting. The developers focused on tactical elements, which they saw lacking in pay-to-win strategy games popular in Japan at the time. Kenji Terada, known for writing scenarios for the first three Final Fantasy games, was brought on as scenario writer, crafting an 'old-fashioned, traditional fantasy story' with a large cast and distinct national histories. The game's significance lies in its faithful expansion of the Brigandine formula, its emphasis on tactical depth over monetization, and its role in setting up a sequel, Brigandine: Abyss, announced for 2026.

Did You Know?

• The game took two and a half years to develop.
• Producer Kazuhiro Igarashi joined E3 Staff in 1998, the same year the original Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena was released.
• Kenji Terada, the scenario writer, wrote the scenarios for the first three games in the Final Fantasy series.
• A multiplayer option was considered during planning but was dropped because campaigns take tens of hours to complete.