While the Utawarerumono series is best known for its strategic leanings, Utawarerumono Zan took the series into a more action-oriented angle when it released in 2018. After six years, Shiravune has brought it back to PC in America. While it has a few flaws in its formula, it's a nevertheless competent entry in the series, albeit perhaps not one I'd recommend immediately to a newcomer.

For starters, the title is a bit misleading; you might expect a game titled Utawarerumono Zan to be a spin-off of the original game. It is, in fact, not. Utawarerumono Zan instead adapts the story from the original game's sequel, Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception. Those expecting to see the original cast of characters like Karula or Eruru should be forewarned, as Zan brings us a different cast instead. Our protagonist is Haku, a mysterious man found by the animal-eared Kuon during a snowstorm. Haku is quickly enmeshed in a nation-wide plot, involving plenty of political intrigue and musou-style battles. Haku and his entourage are bright, charming characters; Haku himself stands out as a brilliant strategic genius who is also utterly lazy. Many of the interactions between him and his allies are memorable, but Zan truncates the story heavily from Mask of Deception, leaving us with plenty of fun moments glossed over in favor of the barest of set-ups needed for the plot (or the battle stages). Zan's structure suffers, as a result; some "chapters" have a battle to take part in, others are just long bits of visual novel-style exposition. And while the story and writing itself are compelling, its summarized approach makes me wonder if I wasn't better served by just playing Mask of Deception first.

The good news is that the battles themselves are fun. There's plenty of strategy to be had, being that each stage tasks you with setting up a squadron of up to four characters. Each character's stats and abilities differ, from Kuon's healing to Nosuri's quick combos to Rulutieh's defensive capabilities. As one does, it helps to build well-balanced squads of characters who cover each other's weaknesses (a wall to distract enemy units from weaker support units, for example). Each character has a variety of combos available to them in combat, all a mix of weak and heavy attacks. However, where most games would allow you to see each character's movelist, Zan doesn't seem to present any way of accessing the info; during our experience playing the game, we had to experiment to figure out each character's combos. Complicating matters is that each character also has plenty of moves that require holding a button. And it's fun to swap between characters at a moment's notice, especially if you can meld them into combos with Raids.

Combat is thus brisk—perhaps a bit too much so, given how quickly certain maps can be cleared. Maps have a variety of missions, from gathering items to defeating a certain number of enemies to reaching certain points on the map. But these stages nevertheless err on the short side, rather than the complicated tactical missions you might find in other musou-style games. Story missions also seem to lack side-missions; during our time playing Zan, we couldn't quite find anything that made missions change. Thankfully, there are also Free Missions that players can unlock over the course of the game; these also tend to have secret sub-missions that unlock music for the jukebox and other goodies, along with offering money and materials for upgrading characters.

The upgrade system is also rather unique; players invest in-game money to effectively roll a gacha system that grants them a variety of scrolls that boost stats, which can then be equipped to their party members. You don't roll for duplicates; rather, you roll to improve the scrolls you've already earned. While this cuts down on the confusion for upgrading characters, it does take away some of the ability to strategize.

Zan's best strength is its visuals. The graphics might not be cutting-edge, but they nevertheless breathe life into AQUAPLUS' iconic art style for the Utawarerumono series. The Ainu-esque outfits for the cast and fantasy-Japan trappings are eye-catching and memorable, and even the most serviceable of levels at least feel like a good spot for a picnic. The music similarly gives you plenty to listen to, especially with all of the unlockable tracks available.

Utawarerumono: Zan might not be the ideal way to experience the story of Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception. It is, however, a competent button-masher, and a worthwhile adaptation of Utawarerumono's world and setting. Longtime fans will definitely appreciate the different perspective on the game's story and characters. Newcomers might need to refer to a wiki (or maybe even play Mask of Deception), but are similarly likely to enjoy themselves.