Mercenaries Saga: Will of the White Lions (Switch)

 Part one of a three part saga, the first game definitely is a little rough but a solid strategy RPG.  Although not as deep as something like Final Fantasy Tactics and definitely not groundbreaking for the genre, it wasn't a terrible game.

If you have played Final Fantasy Tactics or a game similar, this will be very familiar.  You command your team around an isometric map.  Moving to strategic points to rout the enemy and win.  Each unit has unique abilities and certain strengths.  They run the typical roles, like warrior or mage.  You can learn skills and use them forever, so your healer can become a figurative tank or the warrior can also use long range wind attacks.  

This said, the combat is pretty bare bones.  There are not really flashy attacks, very few attacks that target multiple enemies, or things like summons.  Most battles are decently quick but they get longer as you get closer to the end of the game.  Leveling isn't usually difficult but you can grind if you run into any trouble as there is always a free battle to do.  Some of the units you get through the story, I didn't find a good use for.  The guy that starts with an axe quickly fell behind for me because he couldn't take a fireball.  The thief seemed worthless and didn't really meet any needs I had.  Honestly, the best units I had were the mage, the nun, and her sister who becomes a monk.  Even the main character, Leon, isn't all that useful because magic just destroys anybody who doesn't have high magic defense.  Magic is very powerful.

The game is pixel art based and none of the character designs or enemies really stand out.  The music is tolerable but forgettable.  The story is a complete snooze fest.  They tried to make something epic by allowing the character influence the path you take with certain choices but at one point the game basically asked, "Hey, there is this thing you should go get for this really sketchy dude that we showed you being sketchy in a scene the characters you are controlling wouldn't have seen.  You want to do it and get him the thingy?"  and if you answer "No", it just plays out like your party is insane and doesn't care about doing stuff.  I played it like a true mercenary and the story shows it, the path of least resistance is boring.  I don't think the other path would have been better though.

For a mobile game port to the Switch, this wasn't great.  The frame rate on some of the larger maps is absolutely terrible and there isn't even anything really moving.  The story is forgettable, the music is boring, and the characters are mediocre.  The only saving grace is the two sequels are included in the collection.  If you really like Final Fantasy Tactics and want a short game (I beat it in under 15 hours) to mess with, it is worth it.