MercuryMind and UFO Interactive released something weird in 2007. It wasn't a masterpiece. Honestly, Warriors of the Lost Empire—known as Lost Regnum: Warrior of the Emperor in Japan—is one of those games that people usually find in a bargain bin and then realize they’ve accidentally spent forty hours playing. It’s a dungeon crawler. It’s janky. But it has a specific soul that modern, over-polished mobile games completely lack.
If you’re looking for a deep narrative, you're in the wrong place. The plot basically boils down to a cursed city, an emperor who went off the deep end, and a Roman-inspired aesthetic that feels like a fever dream. You pick a character, you go into a hole in the ground, and you hit things until they drop loot. It sounds simple because it is. Yet, the game manages to tap into that lizard-brain satisfaction of incremental progress.
The Four Classes and Why Your Choice Actually Matters
Most games give you the illusion of choice. In Warriors of the Lost Empire, the class you pick fundamentally changes how you engage with the clunky-but-charming combat system. You have the Highlander, the Amazon, the Gladiator, and the Dark Knight.
The Highlander is your bread-and-butter tank. He’s got a massive sword and high defense, making him the "safe" pick for people who just want to see the credits roll. Then you have the Amazon. She’s fast. If you like kitting enemies and using spears to keep a distance, she's the one, though her low health pool means one wrong move in a crowded corridor results in a quick trip back to the hub world.
Gladiators are the crowd control experts. They use twin blades and focus on high-hit counts. It feels great when it works, but against some of the later bosses, the short range becomes a nightmare. Finally, the Dark Knight is the glass cannon. He uses magic and long-range scythe attacks. He’s arguably the most "meta" pick if you know what you’re doing, but he’s miserable for beginners.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Combat
Critics back in 2007 trashed the controls. They called them "stiff." They weren't exactly wrong, but they missed the point. Warriors of the Lost Empire isn't God of War. It’s more like a proto-Soulslike or a simplified Monster Hunter. You can't just animation-cancel your way out of a bad decision. When you swing that sword, you are committed to the arc.
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There’s this mechanic called the "Just Attack." If you time your button presses perfectly with the rhythm of the weapon swing, you deal more damage and stagger enemies. It’s not explained well in the manual. You sort of have to feel it out. Most players who hated the game were probably just mashing the square button and wondering why their character felt like they were moving through molasses.
The Gear Grind is Surprisingly Deep
The loot system is where the game hides its complexity. It’s not just about finding a sword with a higher number. It’s about the "Fortify" system. You find ores. You take those ores to the blacksmith in the central hub.
You can upgrade weapons up to +10 and beyond, but there’s a catch. Every upgrade has a failure rate. It’s heartbreaking. You spend three hours farming for a specific material only to have the blacksmith shrug and tell you the upgrade failed. It's a very "old school" Japanese RPG philosophy—punishing, but rewarding when you finally get that glowing blue blade.
The Roman-Gothic Aesthetic
The setting is the city of Hadrianus. It’s dark. It’s gray. It’s repetitive. But the atmosphere is strangely oppressive in a way that works for the PSP’s small screen. The music is this weird blend of orchestral swells and techno-synth that shouldn't work together, yet somehow creates a sense of dread as you descend into the lower levels of the ruins.
The enemies aren't your typical fantasy tropes either. You’ll fight mechanical golems, twisted Roman soldiers, and giant insects. There's a boss called the "Colossus" that genuinely feels massive, even on a screen the size of a candy bar. It captures that 2000s era of gaming where developers were trying to push hardware to its absolute limit, even if it meant the frame rate dipped into the teens during heavy action.
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Why You Should Care About the Multiplayer
Hardly anyone played the co-op mode. It required an Ad-Hoc connection, meaning you had to be in the same room as someone else who also owned a PSP and a copy of Warriors of the Lost Empire.
But if you actually did it? The game changed. It became a tactical exercise. Having an Amazon player thin out the crowd while a Highlander soaked up damage turned the boss fights from frustrating slogs into legitimate raids. It’s a tragedy that this game never got a modern port with online infrastructure. It would have found a second life on the Nintendo Switch or Steam.
The Technical Reality
Let’s be real for a second. If you play this on an original PSP-1000, the ghosting on the screen makes the fast-paced sections look like a blurry mess. The loading screens are also legendary. You’ll have enough time to go make a sandwich between some levels.
If you’re looking to play it today, emulation is the way to go. Upscaling the resolution to 4x or 5x reveals textures that actually look decent. The character models for the bosses are surprisingly detailed for a game that fits on a UMD disc. Plus, using a modern controller with an actual analog stick (instead of that weird sliding nub on the PSP) makes the combat feel much more responsive.
Breaking Down the Difficulty Spikes
The game is mostly easy until you hit the third major zone. Then, the developers decided to turn the "pain" dial to eleven.
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- Enemies start using status effects like poison and paralysis.
- Traps in the floor become more frequent.
- The "Death" mechanic: If you die, you lose a significant portion of the gold and items you found in that run.
It forces you to play conservatively. You start carrying more potions. You start paying attention to enemy attack telegraphs. This shift in gameplay is where most people quit, but it's also where the game finally reveals its true depth. It's not a mindless slasher; it's a game of resource management and patience.
Actionable Insights for New Players
If you’re picking up Warriors of the Lost Empire for the first time in 2026, don't go in blind. You’ll get frustrated and delete it within an hour.
- Stick with the Gladiator first. The speed makes the clunky movement more tolerable while you're learning the "Just Attack" timings.
- Don't ignore the shop. Sell everything you don't need. Gold is the only way to reliably upgrade your gear, and upgraded gear is more important than your actual character level.
- Farm the first boss. He’s easy to read and drops decent early-game materials. Spend an hour just bullying him to get your stats up.
- Watch the stamina bar. It’s small, but if it empties, you’re stuck in a "tired" animation that is basically a death sentence during a boss fight.
Warriors of the Lost Empire is a relic. It’s a snapshot of a time when AA gaming was weird, experimental, and unapologetically difficult. It’s not perfect, but for fans of the genre, it’s a lost empire worth exploring.
To get the most out of your playthrough, focus on weapon fortification immediately after clearing the second dungeon. Prioritize "Vitality" and "Strength" stats regardless of your class, as the late-game enemies hit hard enough to one-shot glass-cannon builds. If you find yourself stuck on a boss, backtrack to the previous floor and farm for "Gems"—these can be slotted into your equipment for elemental resistances that make certain encounters trivial. Finally, always carry at least three "Return" items to ensure you don't lose your loot if a run goes sideways.