Langrisser GENESIS

Langrisser is Nippon Computer Systems’ tactical strategy RPG, published by Masaya for the Genesis in Japan in April 1991 — the first entry in a long-running series often compared to Fire Emblem for its blend of grid-based tactical battles with RPG army-building. You command squads of units representing different troop types across a fantasy war, recruiting new forces and managing a growing army rather than controlling individual characters one at a time.

Unlike many tactics games that move characters individually, Langrisser’s units command entire troop formations that grow or shrink based on battle losses, giving fights a larger-scale feel than typical single-unit tactical RPGs. Its commercial and critical success in Japan established Masaya as a serious tactics-genre publisher, and the series continued through numerous sequels and remakes over the following decades.