Brigandine Abyss is the newest entry in a series I’ve known about since the PS1 era, but I never actually sat down and played it.
So yes, this is my first Brigandine game.
Back in the PS1 era, little Dallah would walk around his local game shop, checking out all the games on the shelves. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t judge games by their covers back then.
With Brigandine, I was always drawn to the cool ’90s cover-art aesthetic. But for some reason, I never picked it up. I’m a little disappointed in myself for not playing it, but here I am, late to the game and ready to talk about it.
On that note, let’s get into Brigandine Abyss.
Story
Brigandine Abyss is the third or fourth game in the series, depending on whether you count the upgraded version of the first game, which was a Japanese-only release. But if you’re interested, an English mod exists. For me, Abyss is the first game I’ve played in this series, so I went in with zero expectations.
Story-wise, Brigandine Abyss takes a fresh approach without relying on you having played any of the previous games. As someone new to the series, I’m very happy I didn’t have to get up to speed before jumping in.
The main setup revolves around the continent of Meltitea, a land shaped by old wars, political tension, and the lingering threat of the Abyssloa Empire.
Wait a minute. Brigandine Abyss and Abyssloa Empire?
That was a big brain move right there.
Hundreds of years before the events of the game, the Abyssloa Empire was stopped by the power of the arcane Brigandine, a legendary armor created by the sorceress Lunadea. Of course, because evil empires in fantasy games can’t stop, or won’t stop, Abyssloa eventually begins to rise again.
And that’s where the larger conflict begins.
What I like about the story in Brigandine Abyss is that it doesn’t only frame things around one chosen hero. Instead, the game focuses on six campaigns that let you play from different perspectives. Each side has its own motives for fighting others, making the world bigger than just evil versus good.
But don’t worry, you still want to take on the empire at the end. You just have to fight your way through the other factions to do so, and that fits into the gray area of good versus evil since the factions are reacting to an all-out war.
Speaking of factions, you know I had to go with the most Japanese faction for obvious weeb reasons. But after beating the game with two out of the six factions, I was left more or less happy with the story. It’s not the deepest plot, but it keeps you interested as you make your way through the campaign. You definitely face some twists and betrayals along the way, but they don’t feel as intense as something you would see in a game like Final Fantasy Tactics.
And you know what, that’s fine for what this game is trying to do. The story gives you enough context to care about the factions, the war, and the decisions you’re making, while still letting the gameplay be the real meat and potatoes of the experience.
For me, Brigandine Abyss works best when the story supports the strategy, and that’s exactly what it does here.
Presentation
Keep in mind, this isn’t a big-budget game, but I think it has a strong anime fantasy look that works for this type of experience. The character portraits and designs are the highlight for me. Every major character has a distinct look, and before you spend much time with them, you usually get a sense of their personality from the design alone.
After doing some research on the previous game, The Legend of Runersia, I have to admit, the art is not as strong as it has been in previous entries. I still like the art in Abyss, but I can see longtime fans wishing they stuck closer to that older style.
The cutscene animation shows the game’s budget. The character animation can feel stiff, like old Flash animations from the Newgrounds days. But part of me enjoyed that because it gave me this nostalgic feeling.
In battle, I think the game looks solid. The maps are well made, the units are easy to follow, and I appreciate the camera zoom-ins during attacks. It reminds me of Fire Emblem because it adds visual impact without slowing everything down.
Though I wish important characters had more distinct models on the battlefield. Sometimes, certain units blend together, especially when there’s a lot happening on screen.
The UI deserves a mention because, for a game with this many systems, it does a solid job keeping things readable. You can check movement ranges, attack options, unit details, and battlefield information without feeling lost. There is still a learning curve, but I picked it up quickly and had fun.
From an audio perspective, I never got bored of the music, so no complaints. It fits the fantasy strategy vibe, and I think most people will enjoy it!
As for the voice acting, if you enjoy watching your anime subbed, you’ll be happy here. But if you prefer English dubs, then you’re out of luck. The voice work is solid, but it is a Japanese-only audio experience.
Overall, Brigandine Abyss may not be the flashiest strategy RPG out there, but if you can look past that, there is fun to be had there.
Gameplay
As I said earlier, the gameplay is the game’s true meat and potatoes.
Everything I’ve brought up so far supports what makes this game so addicting: the gameplay loop. I cannot stress enough how hooked I got. I would find myself at my computer playing, then when I wanted to relax on the couch, I’d throw it on my Steam Deck and keep working on my strategy and team structures.
If you like micromanaging armies and figuring out how to conquer an entire continent while earning some pretty awesome characters along the way, this game might be for you.
The game is divided into seasons, and each season you’ll manage your army, prepare your bases, choose your attack locations, and then watch what happens. Which can be good or bad…depending on how you prepared. Each story campaign has a 30-season limit, and the game pushes you toward getting stronger so you can survive the required Event Battles tied to that faction’s story.
It gives the game more structure and makes each campaign feel more focused. You’re still conquering territory and fighting other factions, but you’re also building toward specific story moments instead of just painting the whole map your color and calling it a day.
The Organization Phase is where I spent a ton of my time. This is where you manage squads, recruit monsters, buy equipment, and send units out on quests. Base development is a great addition because you can invest resources in different locations to gain bonuses, extra resources, or buffs for certain monster types.
Quests are also handled better here because you can hire mercenaries to handle them. That means you don’t always have to send your favorite leaders away and leave your bases exposed, which is huge when you’re trying to defend multiple fronts.
Once you get into battles, the core of Brigandine stays the same. You move units across a hex grid and try to take down enemy leaders. Defeating a leader removes their entire squad, so you better rush over to take them out quickly.
The new Rally mechanic is also a great addition. You can temporarily remove a monster from the battlefield to give the squad leader a stat boost or special effect. That sounds risky, but don’t worry, it can be incredibly useful when the map gets crowded, and certain units can’t reach the enemy anyway.
Once you’re in battle, you have a lot to consider, from how you position your units to how you use the terrain and control different areas of the map. This game absolutely rewards patience and planning. Sometimes it’s smarter to let the enemy come to you instead of charging in and immediately regretting everything.
And that’s where Brigandine Abyss really clicked for me. The battles are a lot of fun, but I found myself even more addicted to all the prep work leading up to them. Building teams, planning attacks, and setting myself up for the next season became the real hook. It’s definitely the kind of system that makes me want to come back and start a new run with a different faction.
Closing
So overall, Brigandine Abyss ended up more addictive than I expected.
As someone who has known about this series since the PS1 era but never actually took the time to play it, I walked away from this game kind of annoyed at myself for waiting this long. Abyss has its flaws, but one thing is for sure: this game captures the appeal of the strategy JRPG genre.
The story provides a decent background for the world and factions; the presentation is not the best, but if you can look past that, the gameplay cycle is where this game truly shines. Managing your army, building your base, summoning monsters, plotting invasions, and then finally seeing everything you’ve prepared in action is highly entertaining.
And the best part is, I still have more factions to go through. So even after finishing two campaigns, I can already see myself coming back to try another route, experiment with new team setups, and probably make a completely different set of terrible decisions.
Which is growth, technically. So yeah, I’m a big boy now.
If you’re looking for a flashy, big-budget strategy JRPG with massive cinematic moments, this probably isn’t it. But if you enjoy strategy games that reward planning, team building, and long-term decision-making, Brigandine Abyss is absolutely worth checking out.
For me, this was a fine first experience with the series, and now I’m very interested in going back and checking out the older games too.