Today we’re taking a look at Langrisser Mobile, a mobile take on the long running Langrisser series. Being a Japanese SRPG with a medieval fantasy setting, there’s obviously a lot of comparisons you could make to the better known Fire Emblem series.

Indeed, if you’re checking out this review, then you’ve probably at least heard of Fire Emblem Heroes, which is certainly among the best tactical RPGs available on mobile platforms. It’s a genre that isn’t well represented on mobile, which is a shame – it’s a genre that excels on a touch based interface.

Mermen and pegasus knights have no trouble navigating watery battlefields. Yes, Mermen.

That said, Langrisser Mobile does a lot of things right. It’s not perfect, but it’s a damn good example of what mobile SRPGs can be.

Starting with the gameplay, Langrisser Mobile takes a less reductive approach to its core mechanics. Maps are large, with different types of terrain not only affecting your movement, but adding defensive bonuses to reward careful unit placement. There’s a large variety of heroes to unlock and use, and even though characters may share classes, they still feel distinct thanks to unique passive skills and varied customisable skill-sets.

Choosing the right matchups is essential to not dying horribly.

Much like Fire Emblem, there’s a weapon triangle too, but it’s got its own twists. Each unit on the field consists of a Hero and a troop of soldiers – each with their own health bar. Soldiers will always attack first, but they’re expendable – a unit only falls when the Hero is beaten.

As your Heroes change classes and your soldiers improve, you’ll unlock new types of soldiers to equip to your Heroes. These soldiers may wield different weapon types, allowing you to cover a unit’s weaknesses and adapt your kit to each map. See a lot of flying units? Equip your Heroes with archers for bonus damage.

Time Rift mode lets you really feel like a Langrisser expert.

You’ll spend much of the game upgrading your characters, weapons and so on, but this never really gets dull. Langrisser Mobile is built around progression. Almost every game mode offers something to help your team grow stronger, which leads to a satisfying loop. Daily bonuses grant a bounty of extra drops the first few times you play a stage, encouraging you to check in and play without asking you to farm endlessly.

Aside from that, the game features an original story, as well as the Time Rift, where you can play condensed retellings of the original Langrisser games. This is a very cool feature, particularly for a series that a lot of people probably won’t be familiar with. Many cutscenes feature fully voiced dialogue, with an option to use English voices if you choose. Generally it’s well written and acted, without many glaring typos to speak of. While much of the story isn’t terribly original, it’s certainly not boring, and cutscenes rarely last more than a minute or two.

Now I can play two SRPGs where I’ll never get defense wins!

Langrisser also features multiplayer in the form of PVP and co-op modes. Certain quests can be tackled with other players, while The Arena features both indirect and live PVP – although it can take a while to unlock the latter feature. It also seems like you can challenge players to friendly matches through the friends list, which is a neat touch.

Thankfully these “Time Limited Summon” banners seem to just be rate-ups.

Of course, this is a free to play game with a gacha system – so how well does that work? Well, it’s … alright. The game does offer a fair amount of free currency, so I can’t complain about that. I’ve been pulling pretty consistently since the game’s launch.

However, the rates don’t seem that great. I’ve been lucky enough to pull a few SSR units, but I’ve also gone through several multi-pulls with only a single SR (which is guaranteed). Still, it’s not all bad – while SSR units naturally have the strongest skills at their disposal, a lot of SR and R units are quite viable, and collecting shards from dupes helps to improve your character’s base stats. The starting trio are also pretty decent units in their own right, too, and should serve you well until you bulk up your roster.

I’m not a fan of equipment summons being tied to the same currency as characters, though. I’m not sure when you’d really prefer to pull for axes and spears as opposed to more playable characters. Luckily, the game does offer a decent amount of free equipment through events and currencies from Arena and the like.

This series has some seriously great character designs. Shoulder pads never looked cooler!

Ultimately, I could keep talking about Langrisser Mobile for a while. It’s a game with a lot to unravel, which is often a pleasant surprise. The game is still relatively new, and there’s a lot there to sink your teeth into already. It’s being actively updated with new content, too.

To make a long story short, I think this is a game that’s well worth checking out, especially if you like Fire Emblem Heroes or similar SRPG titles.

While it doesn’t do anything particularly unique in the mobile gacha game sphere, what it does is done very well. It’s a very solid game that’s both attractively presented (I love the 80’s anime aesthetic) and very content rich. If Langrisser Mobile sounds like something you might enjoy, then I’d say it really is worth checking out.