Langrisser

Scenario Document

The text on the following two pages was translated by this article's author, assisted by DeepL, with especially tricky portions redone by Takayuki Komabayashi and Joseph Redon. We present the original Japanese alongside the translation, should any fans wish to improve on it.

Procedure for creating a scenario for a particular game

1）戦闘システム作成

　　AI構築を「戦術面」から構築（別資料参照）

(1) Combat system creation

　　AI construction from the "tactical side" (see separate document)

2）部隊編成を決定

　　近接戦闘兵科（歩兵/騎兵/槍兵）、支援兵科（魔法）、特殊兵科（海兵/空挺）のバランスを考える

　　近接は相互支援で2、支援で1、特殊1の割合でCT（戦闘団）と考え、2個CTで

　　→近接ｘ4、支援ｘ2、特殊ｘ2＝8人

(2) Determine unit composition

Close Combat Troops (Infantry / Cavalry / Pikemen)

Support Troops (Magic)

Consider the balance of special forces (marine/airborne)

One Combat Team contains close combat troops which support each other at a ratio 2, support troops at 1, and special forces at 1 - think of this as your Combat Team, with there being two Combat Teams, so 4 x close combat, 2 x support and 2 x special = 8 people.

3）戦闘状況バリエーションを検討

　　マップｘ20とあらかじめ決定

　　20種類の代表的な戦闘状況を洗い出す

　　（大まかな部隊配置などの戦況図や作戦計画図もこの段階で準備）

例：攻城戦（攻/防）、渡河or上陸作戦（攻/防）、追撃、護衛、救出、市街戦、隘路、包囲、脱出、対怪獣ｗなど

(3) Consider combat situation variations

Maps x 20 are determined in advance

Identify 20 typical combat situations

(A battle situation map including rough troop deployment and an operation plan are also prepared at this stage.)

Examples: Siege battle (attack / defence), river crossing or landing operation (attack / defence), pursuit, escort, rescue, urban battle, bottleneck, siege, escape, versus monsters <laughs>, etc.

4）戦闘バリエーションを並べて戦争全体の流れを構築

　　ラングの場合、実は朝鮮戦争を流れのベースにしています。

　　・敵の奇襲→逃走→途中で遅滞（太田）→さらに逃走→死守（釜山橋頭保）→反撃（仁川上陸）→首都奪回（ソウル）

　　　→38度線突破（逆侵攻）→敵首都攻略（平壌）→追撃→中共参戦→国連軍撤退→38度線の攻防

　　・落城脱出（ソウル陥落）→同盟国に逃げ込む（太田）→辺境の残存部隊合流（釜山橋頭保）

　　　→野戦決戦→首都奪回→帝国侵攻（逆侵攻）→帝国城攻略（平壌）→モンスター来襲（中共参戦）→市民防衛（混乱）→反撃

(4) Build the flow of the entire war by arranging battle variations

In the case of Lang, it is actually based on the flow of the Korean War.

Korean War: Enemy's surprise attack → Escape → Delay in the middle (Taejon) → Escape again → Defend to the death (Battle of the Pusan Perimeter) → Counterattack (Battle of Inchon) → Recapture the capital (Seoul) → Breaking through the 38th parallel (reverse invasion) → Capture of enemy capital (Pyongyang) → Pursuit → Chinese Republic's entry into the war → Withdrawal of UN forces → Offensive along the 38th parallel

Langrisser: Escaping from the castle (fall of Seoul) → Evacuating to an ally (Taejon) → Joining the remaining troops on the frontier (Pusan Perimeter)→ Decisive field battle → Recapture of the capital → Invasion of the Empire (counter-invasion) → Capture of Imperial Castle (Pyongyang) → monsters attack (Chinese participation) → Civil defence (confusion) → Counterattack

5）キャラ確定

　　ここまで来たら、部隊指揮官＝キャラを設定していきます。

(5) Finalise Characters

Once you've come this far, it's time to set up the characters for the unit commanders.

6）サブエピソード組み込み

　　キャラの相互関係を構築し、サブエピソードをシナリオに組み込みます。　　

(6) Sub-episode incorporation

　　Build character interrelationships and incorporate sub-episodes into the scenario.

※重要1：ここでゲームを印象ずける為のライバル（つまりシャア少佐）を入れます。

実は私の前作「重装機兵レイノス」に出したランスの再登場な訳ですが…

前作で没った「最後は仲間になる」をラングでは組み込みました。

レイノスではあくまでも自分の信じるモノに殉じさせたので）

※ IMPORTANT 1：

Here is where you can add a major rival, someone like Char Aznable in Gundam, so the game makes a strong impression. Actually, in Lang's case, it was a re-appearance of Lance Culzas from my previous work, Assault Suits Leynos. In Lang, we incorporated the "we will be friends in the end" arc that was lost previously. Because in Leynos, I had Lance be a martyr for what he believed in.

※重要2：ここで敵組織も設定します。

肝は帝国と別に存在する魔族（邪神）です。

あくまでも主人公と相いれない存在ではなりますが絶対悪にはぜず

必ず理由をつけます。話に重みがつきます。

※ IMPORTANT 2：

This is also where you set-up the enemy organisation. The heart of the matter is the demon tribe (evil gods) that exists separately from the Empire. Although they may be at odds with the protagonist, they are never absolutely evil and always have a reason for being so. It adds weight to the story.

なお、ラングでは魔族＝邪神＝混沌という設定です。

そもそも混沌にとっての「正義？」「価値？」ってなんでしょう？

混沌って？

Note that in Lang the setting is that demons = evil gods = chaos.

So first of all, what are the concepts of "justice" and "value" when thinking of them in the context of chaos?

What is chaos?

混沌＝そこにあっても何も形のない状態ともいえます。

私にとって混沌とはビックバン以前の世界を意味します。

Chaos = a state of being or existence but without any form.

To me, chaos means the universe before the Big Bang.

まあ、もともと鈴木が、昔は天文部であり、カール・セーガン博士の「コスモス（宇宙）」という番組に大きく影響を受けたことと、

ラブクラフトのクトゥルー神話体系が好きというのが理由ではありますが…

I was originally a member of an astronomy club long ago and was greatly influenced by Dr. Carl Sagan's "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage" series on TV, and also my love of Lovecraft's Cthulu Mythos system...

と、いうことで

邪神＝カオス＝宇宙原初の意思

つまり現在の形（光）が存在するのは、本来の宇宙の姿ではない、本来の姿はカオスにこそある

　↓

自然の摂理として有を無に戻そうという自然的な力の発現

　↓

カオスの発生

And so...

Evil gods = chaos = primordial will of the universe

In other words, the present form (light) is not the original form of the universe, the original form is chaos.

　↓

Manifestation of a natural force that seeks to return something to nothing, as the natural order of things.

　↓

Outbreak of chaos.

カオスにとって世界は歪みから生まれたもの（ビックバンそのもの）

よって世界は崩壊し、もとのカオス状態に戻らなければならない

（カオス自身は最後は消滅しるのが目的）

For Chaos, the world was born out of distortion (the Big Bang itself).

Therefore, the world must collapse and return to its original state of chaos.

(Chaos itself is intended to disappear in the end.)

自然の摂理という、ある意味、最強の正義、最強の敵として考えました。

In a way, I regarded the natural order of things as being the strongest justice and the strongest enemy.

人間側には自然に対し力を合わせて抗うサバイバルなテーマも出来ますが・・・

ここで、さらに私はひねくれていますので、単純な人間万歳にはしたくはないのです。

On the human side, you can also create a survival theme where you must join forces to resist nature...

Here, on top of that and because I'm kind of twisted, I didn't want it to end with just a praising fanfare or "humanity did it!"

(Translation note: 人間万歳 = The way of the thinking that humans are the strongest and the best. In French you could maybe translate as "louanges" - I can't find an English word other than "praise", although I feel there's a nuance here that is the same for both the French and Japanese; imagine that the praise goes along with light from heavens and trumpets. So it's exaggerated and something Suzuki doesn't want.)

そこで聖剣ラングリッサー＝力の象徴と、なぜ封印されて守られていたのかの理由を付けます。

Therefore, the holy sword Langrisser = a symbol of power, and the reason why it was sealed and protected.

不用意に力をもった者は、その力に溺れる

Those who take power carelessly will drown in it.

まあ、永遠のお約束テーマです。

敵（帝国）がその力を狙うのは妥当な訳ですが・・・

In other words, it follows the theme of the genre.

It is reasonable to assume that the enemy (the empire) would target that power, but...

その力を主人公が手にいれて普通に使えるのはおかしくないか？

Isn't it strange that the hero can obtain that power and use it normally?

ここを描きたくなる訳ですｗ

That's the reason I wanted to explore this scenario. <laughs>

最初、主人公は王国と聖剣奪回を果たしますが、実はそこから少しづつ不穏当なセリフを入れています。

At first, the main character will recapture the kingdom and the Holy Sword, but in fact from there on, little by little, his dialogue becomes more disturbing and unjustified.

「やつをぶちころせ！」

怒りに我を忘れた主人公が口走るのですが…

いやぁ、主人公のセリフじゃないですねｗ

"Kill him!"

The hero, losing himself in anger, blurts out...

Wait a minute, that's not the hero's line! <laughs>

それに最後はなんだかんだで力で全てをねじ伏せた訳です。

力で手に入れた物は、力で維持していくという、お約束の「血を吐きながら走り続ける悲しいマラソン」の始まりです。

And in the end, somehow or other, he manages to overwhelm everything through force. It is a promise that what you get by force, you keep by force. This is the beginning, as we say, of a "sad marathon that you keep running as you cough up blood".

(Translator's note: The "vomiting blood" quote「血を吐きながら走り続けるマラソン」comes from Ultra Seven, a Japanese sci-fi series - specifically episode 26, Super Weapon R-1, about 4 minutes in.)

で、1作目のエンディングは、なんやかや良い話でオブラートしてますが、

主人公が大陸制圧を決意という、なんとも不穏当な終わり方をしている訳です。

So, the ending of the first game sort of has the veneer of a story about good, but the main character decides to conquer the continent, which is actually a very disturbing conclusion.

（重装機兵レイノスでも、最終的には悪いのは主人公の所属する地球側で、敵の方が同情に値するとかやった訳ですが単純な正義が嫌いという高二病を引きずってますね）

(Even in Leynos, the main character belongs to the Earth side, which is ultimately the bad side, and the enemy deserves more sympathy than him - however, this might just be my "High school syndrome" of disliking simple righteousness.)

(Translator's Note: High School Syndrome is a subset of Middle School Syndrome (aka Chunibyo). An aversion to Middle School Syndrome and its elements.)

後は、ちょこちょこと主従の熱い信頼だとか、軽い恋愛だとか、

敵側の確執や、敵側の論理を組みこめば・・・

After that, if you incorporate a little bit of ardent trust between master and servant, a little light romance, some conflict on the enemy side, a bit of logic by the enemy...

それなりの世界観とストーリーの出来上がりという訳です。

It will mean that the story and world lore are completed.

最終的にまとめますと

1）歴史知識（特に戦史、それも戦況を理解する戦闘戦史レベルのもの）

2）雑学（天文知識/ホラー神話）

3）自分なりの哲学（高二病を引きずりつつも王道回帰な大二病）

のガラガラポンです。

Finally, to summarise:

(1) Historical knowledge (particularly military history, especially at the level of combat military history, which provides an understanding of the war situation)

(2) Trivia (astronomical knowledge / horror myths)

(3) My own philosophy - going back to the basics of "dainibyou" (young adult-focused, lit. university student), even if it means dragging "kounibyou" (high schooler teen spirit) behind*

And that's my rundown of it all.

(*Translator's Note: He's making a clever and unique self-deprecating joke about being a 2nd year middle-schooler with chuni delusions up to a 2nd year high-schooler with chuni delusions, unsuccessfully trying to grow out of it, only to come back and fully embrace it as a 2nd year university-schooler with chuni delusions. Suzuki is talking about how he ultimately embraced his inner creativity, despite its childishness, and channelled it into making video games. I love that quote. In English it would be like saying:

iam14andthisisdeep

iam17andthisisstilldeep

iam20andyouknowwhatfuckitthisisprettydeep)