After several years, Happinet Corporation‘s Brigandine franchise of strategy RPGs is back and modernized in a new entry—Brigandine Abyss from developer Adglobe. The new RPG brings a loaded roster of characters that represent factions vying for their own objectives and goals, and its combat system is also straightforward and easy to get into, especially for returning strategy RPG fans. Brigandine Abyss is a recipe for success with its multi-faction Story and Mission Modes as well—on paper.
Published by NIS America, Brigandine Abyss is a game with a lot of developer pedigree behind it, as I’ve previously stated in my early hands-off preview. The scenario, written by Sengoku Basara writer Izuru Matsuno, begins as you might expect a faction-based strategy RPG to kick off—the assassination of a king. The assailant, the not-so-subtle Chaossolus, is determined to take over all of Brigandine with a new Abyssloa Empire. Meanwhile, various factions are kicking off their own operations while combating the dragonic and dark forces of Chaossolus. In other words, there’s chaos everywhere, and it’s up to you to pick a faction and see how you’ll quell unrest, save your closest allies, and bring stability to the region.
Brigandine Abyss Carries the Staple Features of Strategy Games
After picking one of six different story campaigns, you’ll set out as that story’s protagonist and essentially be in charge of their on-land campaign, determining where to invade and how to fortify your occupied land. For example, the Gran Dragnica campaign will see you set off in the nation of the dragons as Largo, an optimistic and strong young man who wants to save the dragons and his allies from harm. With the help of Arcus and his crew from an allied nation, Largo will set out with his forces to determine the true scale of the ongoing conflict.
If you’ve mostly played traditional turn-based RPGs, then the structure of the story campaign of Brigandine Abyss may surprise you. You’ll first complete a story-based tutorial to get a feel of the combat system, and once that’s done, you’ll be taken to the vast world map with different marked territories on full display. Brigandine Abyss takes some cues from real-time strategy games like Nobunaga’s Ambition and allows you to manage territories with your troops in what’s called the “Organization Phase.”
In the Organization Phase, you can recruit monsters and soldiers through Fate Binding, buy materials and gear from Niffrom’s Market, and generally manage your territory as you see fit. The campaign plays out in seasons, which contain opportunities for battles, bonus quests, and overall preparation for story battles. The story battles will become available after meeting certain criteria or progressing through enough seasons, so there are moments in the game where you don’t get any major story developments.
In battle, Brigandine Abyss largely plays like you’d expect any other strategy RPG to. After organizing your party, you’ll begin the battle and order them to move, attack, or perform abilities on the field. Leader units like Largo can use a “Rally” function by pairing up with another unit under their command to activate some bonus effects, such as increased movement. Every unit has a Zone of Control, or ZoC, that also determines their overall effectiveness with ally units. If you encroach on an enemy unit with multiple of your units, you can activate an Encirclement effect and stun them. Height and terrain also plays a role in your unit’s overall effectiveness as well.
Besides the game’s typical elemental triangle of what’s stronger or weaker against what, the combat system in Brigandine Abyss is really easy to get a hang of. Level up your units and manage them well, and you’ll be progressing through tough battles in the campaigns without too much trouble. The complexity of Brigandine Abyss arrives in how well you manage your resources and territories, along with your squad formation for battles. Enemies can prove to be difficult or spongy when it comes to attacks, so battles can feel drawn out if your squads aren’t optimized and ready.
Lacking in Presentation
The game’s artwork and character designs from Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes character designer Junko Kawano and Fire Emblem Heroes character designer Niji Hayashi are really good, and there are light anime-style cutscenes, too. I was especially engaged by the cutscenes shown at the beginning of the campaign, and the Japanese voice-acting also brings some life and emotional to the scenes and character dialogue. The soundtrack composed by Rei Kondoh is also great and fits the worldview of Brigandine Abyss perfectly.
However, Brigandine Abyss still feels like it’s lacking in overall presentation and polish, and it certainly wore on me after playing the campaign for hours. Outside of leader units, character skills and attacks look really basic and at times, incomplete. This may be bias due to how much Fire Emblem I’ve played, but I definitely appreciate some flair when it comes to attacks, especially critical hits. What’s more, the Nintendo Switch 2 version doesn’t support 60 FPS, despite more graphically taxing games being able to do so on the system.
In addition, the moments (or battles) away from story progression can make or break your enjoyment of Brigandine Abyss. While I do like management elements in strategy games, the story of Brigandine Abyss can feel segmented and not as eventful until later on in the playthrough, and some campaigns are certainly more entertaining than others. At times, Brigandine Abyss fails to hook me into the story as much as I would have wanted it to, and some of the battles and invasions don’t feel meaningful at all.
That being said, if you are hooked by the combat system and management systems of Brigandine Abyss, there’s a boatload of content to play. Alongside the Story Mode, there’s a Mission Mode that lets you pick from 24 different factions. Mission Mode has gameplay at its focus with a cap of 99 seasons in order to get a specific objective done, such as raising enough money to meet a target amount. Gameplay is a major focus here, but there is some dialogue and moments to experience here, too.
Brigandine Abyss is a Fun RPG with Some Flaws and Limitations
I think Brigandine Abyss can be a solid and fun strategy RPG at its best, but it’s missing factors that really make it a must-play game. The story of Brigandine Abyss isn’t as engaging as I had hoped in some of the campaigns, and when I look for a great story, I’d hope it’s a strong all-around package. Once again, the overall presentation leaves something to be desired, even with great character artwork and full voice-acting. Brigandine Abyss suffers from a quantity over quality issue in some cases, but if you enjoy the game’s combat system, there’s plenty of content to play through. The gameplay loop of leveling up and growing a stronger army of troops is fun, but for some players like myself, it might not be enough sometimes.
Brigandine Abyss launches August 26 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam in the west, and a free demo is available now. Although save data doesn’t transfer to the full game, the demo includes the first two chapters of the Gran Dragnica and Scarlet Will story modes.
Disclaimer: NIS America provided a Nintendo Switch 2 copy of Brigandine Abyss for review purposes.
