The Langrisser Gallery

Five numbered games, one American alias, and one artist’s line on nearly every box.

This is the box shelf: the main Langrisser covers that can be verified, from the 1991 Mega Drive original to the 2019 remake. The Japanese boxes carry the art of Satoshi Urushihara, the series’ character designer, whose lacquered, parade-bright style is the face of the franchise.

One box breaks the pattern. When the first game crossed the Pacific it was renamed Warsong, and its American cover is a Western fantasy painting in which nothing of the game’s actual art survives. Both looks are documented here, side by side where the record allows.

THE TWO FACES

Original art against remake art

Langrisser II, 1994 and 2019

Same series · two art eras · the remake lets you switch between them

Langrisser II Japanese Mega Drive cover, art by Satoshi Urushihara, 1994 — **Mega Drive · 1994**Urushihara’s original cover: the hero Erwin in parade armor, flanked by the game’s heroines.

Langrisser I & II 2019 remake key art in the new style by Ryo Nagi — **Remake · 2019**The remake’s key art, drawn in the new house style by Ryo Nagi for the PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC editions.

The 2019 remake of the first two games redrew every character, then added a Classic Mode that switches the portraits back to Urushihara’s originals. The argument between these two covers is the subject of its own page in this archive.

THE MAIN SERIES

The numbered boxes

Warsong North American Genesis cover, Treco, 1991

Warsong · Genesis · 1991

The American face of Langrisser I: a lone knight on a white horse, painted in the Western style, under Treco’s logo. Japan released the same game on April 26, 1991.

Langrisser II Japanese Mega Drive cover, 1994

Langrisser II · Mega Drive · 1994

Released August 26, 1994. Urushihara’s cover for the sequel whose Super Famicom remake, Der Langrisser, would let players change sides.

Langrisser III Japanese Saturn cover, 1996

Langrisser III · Saturn · 1996

The first 32-bit Langrisser and a prequel, telling how the sword was made. A limited edition added an art book and a holographic cover.

Langrisser IV Japanese Saturn cover, 1997

Langrisser IV · Saturn · 1997

Released August 1, 1997. The series moves to the western continent of Yeless, with a hero whose class growth is set by a questionnaire.

Langrisser V The End of Legend Japanese Saturn cover, 1998

Langrisser V · Saturn · 1998

The End of Legend: the original team’s last Langrisser, published by Masaya. It has never been released outside Japan.

Langrisser I & II · PS4 / Switch / PC · 2019

Chara-Ani’s full remake, published in the West by NIS America in March 2020. New art, full voice, and new routes for the first game.

DOCUMENTED, NOT PICTURED

Boxes the record describes but no verified image could be placed

Langrisser · Mega Drive · 1991

The Japanese original’s box: Urushihara art under the original spelling, Lungrisser, used until the third game. Described here until a verified scan can be placed.

Der Langrisser · Super Famicom · 1995

The branching remake of Langrisser II, released June 30, 1995. Famitsu’s reviewers scored it 31 of 40. Its PC-FX port, Der Langrisser FX, added animated cutscenes in 1996.

Dramatic Edition · Saturn · 1998

The Saturn remake set of the first two games, and the Langrisser Tribute box of December 1998, which gathered all five Saturn games with a hardcover manual and a Langrisser telephone card.

READING THE COVERS

What the boxes tell you

The Masaya mark

The winged Masaya logo sits on every classic Japanese box: the series began as a house brand of Nippon Computer Systems before the rights passed to Extreme in 2014.

The odd box out

Warsong is the only classic cover with no Urushihara art and no Japanese design language at all, because it is the only one an American publisher, Treco, packaged for itself.

The Saturn spine