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Best Strategy RPGs Of All Time Rated
Thanks to eToychest for its round-up of the favorite console strategy RPGs of all time. The piece argues: "a strategy RPG is (generally) a console game in which battles take place over a grid", and highlights include Vandal Hearts ("This is where everyone interested in the genre should start"), the Tactics Ogre series ("the replay value here is unmatched, due to multiple endings in each game"), and Disgaea/La Pucelle Tactics both on the top spot ("If you don't know why these two titles are sharing number 1, go play them.")
No better way to make commutes fun :)
How can you have such a chart with no shining force? Espically considering the recent re-release of the first one on the GBA. One really nice feature of this game is it keeps getting harder each time you finish it, seemingly without limit. I can't do runthrough 8 :(
:)
Also, I'm suprised to see Final Fantasy Tactics Advance in there. They note it's a poor game. I would say it's main flaws are it is almost impossible to die, and it feels cheap (almost no sprite isn't used multiple times with different colour schemes, including the main character).
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness and La Pucelle: Tactics (I don't really know why these got merged, other than they recently came out and were made by the same people) are both great. I would say they are the first RPGs (strategy or otherwise) I've seen in a long time that I've really enjoyed, and also the only games in a long time I've laughed out loud at
Combination - fun iPhone puzzling
Seems as if they only played games released in America, that could explain why they didn't put FE4 in #1.
Oh well, I'll bring out my super-proof that it's teh bestest gaem evar11!~
Yarr
Hehe, I hate the guy that gave it 9, how can you give a game such a bad score just because you can't understand japanese is beyond me. There are even translations available.
I've never seen spells which actually warp the battlefield. There's nothing like casting "Explode!" and seeing the floor expand in real time to accomodate this massive globe of fire that fills up the screen. I could write a whole article on the crazy effects and combo's you could perform with each of your characters. It may not be the best one, but it's certainly the most underrated strategic RPG game I know. I'm dying to see the Director's cut of 'Until the End of Time'... </geek>
click-clack, front and back. I'm not moving this car otherwise.
They made some good selections (yay Vandal Hearts), I'll have to check out the PS2 ones. But what about some strategy games on the PC? There must be tons but the only one I can think of at the moment is Fallout Tactics. Any suggestions?
Aside from that, the main reason Fallout is the only PC RPG that I really liked is because the battles were well-done strategy instead of mindless mouse clicking. Most PC RPGs nowadays, if they're not yet another Diablo clone, try and incorporate some real time/multiplayer aspect and usually fail. Even Arcanum managed to ruin itself. LAME.
What are some good traditional RPGs with strategic combat? If they even exist that is.
They all share the same general gameplay values, just done differently!
I highly recomend Tactics Ogre: Knights of Lodies, aswell as Final Fantasy Tactics for GBA.
Because FFT is really one of the best games I've played. Ever. I liked shining forces serie, but not as much as FFT. Have anyone tried the Teleport (Time mage job) ability with an archer (Go to hot archer spot instantly) or monk( archer killer :))? that rocks. I heard about disgea a lot, but I don't think I'll buy a PS2 anytime soon.
Back to FFT. The translation is quite mediocre, but if you ignore that fact, the storyline is very interesting (If you can remember all the major characters names, there are a lot...)!.
perception is reality
The only thing that bugs me about the current success of SRPGs, a genre I've always enjoyed, is that I fear that a great series has gone by the wayside --- OGRE BATTLE. Ogre Battle 64 was, to me, the perfect SRPG. True, you had less direct control over your combat, but exploration was a hoot and having a HUGE army to manage is right up my alley. Ogre Battle 64 is the only reason my N64 hasn't been sold or junked at this point.
Does anyone have any info about Ogre Battle? Are there any more OB games planned, or is Atlus going with Tactics Ogre and Disgaea type games in the near future?
Ahhh. Front Mission 3! How do I love thee.... ....not enough to spend another 50hrs finishing the emma senario. What a HUGE game.
And Vandal Hearts! Dear sweet Vandal hearts! You were the greatest! But why was the Vandalier class so crappy looking. And what was up with that sequel!! No wait! It's not you fault!
I guess the lesson here is that no game is perfect. You've just got to look for the ones that are least flawed.
May the Maths Be with you!
I'll grant that SO2 is one of the better RPGs out there, but the list refers only to Strategy RPGs.
Since you claim haven't played any of them, I will now eviscerate you. GO PLAY FF TACTICS NOW. ^_^
"Why Subscribe?" Good question...
And here she is!
http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fi
I had no idea that it was out! There goes hours of sleep for this badboy! God I hope I can flee the battles like I did before and level up like a crazy man like I did in 1 and 2.
Wheel of Time: Book by Book and Sumview (summary review) Bigdady92 style: http://bigdady92.blogspot.com/
By all things holy, it's a fine game. In fact, even though it's never been on a console, it's so damn good it should still be on the list, just out of reverence.
Master of Magic was good, yes. Very good. So good I wish I could find my copy. But where in the world did you get the sense it was an RPG? It's no more an RPG than Master of Orion was.
Disgaea. That guy is abviously wrong. FFTA should be in the top place.
In fact, I think it's among the worst things Square has ever put out. It runs like a dog, even on PS2, the graphics are SNES level, it cheats, and the "develop your character any way you want" thing just flat out isn't true. If you don't stick to the right character upgrade paths, you're screwed. Oh, and there's lots of boring levelling.
I've tried to love this game, but I just can't. Disgaea, on the other hand, is actually fun.
Jon Acheson
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
It had several RPG elements. Hero units would level up over time, could quest for items and experience, and be equipped with items bought and discovered. Sure it was limited in the RPG sense, but so is Fire Emblem and it was on the list.
Best RPG of all time is still Phantasy Star 2 for Sega Genesis. Though I don't know if that classifies itself as strategy RPG.
There's so much left off the list it's silly. Shining force was already mentioned for one. Advance Wars is probably the most highly rated tactics game of the modern consoles.
It seems like this "the-best-tactics-games-of-all-time.... since-I-started-playing-five-years-ago.... playable-on-PS2-and-GBA"
Yawn. I can make a best of list, too. Whatever this site is it lost whatever credibility I gave it up front with their poor scope of history and questionable judgement in games. Also, he is wrong in his introductory paragraph. These are all TACTICS games, not strategy games. It's call Final Fantasy TACTICS, not Final Fantasy STRATEGY.
Don't forget XCOM ;)
"There are people who do not love their fellow human being, and I _hate_ people like that!" - Tom Lehrer
Ask and ye shall recieve Man I love that game
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With their #1. Disgaea is just an amazing game. It's better than the sum of its parts. It's just a whole lot of fun, with a lot of nice touches. (The end-of-chapter Etna parodies are frankly hilarious.)
I'm not a fan of FF Tactics. The battle engine just doesn't..SING..ya know?
However, there are two big omissions.
#1. Shining Force whatever. Great SRPG. You get enough characters, and they each have their use, to really customize their force. They don't all blend together.
#2. Dark Wizard for the Sega CD. This was a huge SRPG. Hex-grid based, you'd summon and hire warriors and monsters, and so would the enemy. You had to march your army, 30 or so creatures, across the field, and take out the enemy commander (who is tough as nails).
Great music as well.
Tactis are used in battles. They are specific to the time period, level of technology and terrain in which a battle is being fought. It is the art of using soldiers to win a battle. Strategy is large-scale; it deals in whole armies, divisions, countries, and the like (from a military perspective). It is using battles to win a war.
Ever wonder why strategic classics like Sun Tzu's Art of War are still read today? Good strategic principles, being abstract and relatively timeless, can be applied to almost any area of one's life or any pursuit. On the other hand a book, no matter how detailed or well-written, about tactics would probably not be read 100 years later except by historians.
Almost every "real-time strategy" game I've seen should instead be called "real-time tactics". The only strategic element in games like Warcraft and C&C is the resource economy and decisions about what to build next. All the combat is at the tactical level. An example of actual real-time strategy is Europa Universalis (technically it is real-time, although you can change the speed and pause).
I've never played any of these RPGs, but unless your character is a general and you're leading whole armies, divisions, or the like, the combat at least is tactical, not strategic. Strategic elements common in RPGs are deciding how to develop and equip your character(s).
I know some of you may think I'm nitpicking, but it is a pretty big distinction if you think about it. They are two different skills/sciences/arts and it is easy to be good at one while bad at the other.
So please get it right, people. Thanks for your attention. We now return to your regularly scheduled Slashdot silliness.
Final Fantasy Tactics, one of the most overrated games of the Playstation era, is #2.
Dynasty Tactics is good, and I'm a big Koei fanboy, but I don't think even I would rate it #3.
Ogre Battle is better than Tactics Ogre, seeing as how Tactics Ogre is just an earlier version of FFT.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance shouldn't be on the list.
No Shining Force, Langrisser, or Dark Wizard.
No PC games (Jagged Alliance 2 should at least be in the top three, and there are several great RPG/RTS fusions out there right now).
Well, at least he mentioned Front Mission 3, which is like FFT but good.
Rob
One of my alltime fav RPG/Tactics games has to be Bahamut Lagoon. Shame it was never released stateside for the SNES, but luckilly you can find ROMS and translation patches floating around the net. It was a hella fun game. Great storyline, tons of characters (32 IIRC), and you even got to play a little pokemon-lite with your dragons by feeding them your junk items to level them up. I loved all the different personalities too. Some are kinda annoying (like Yoyo!), but others are hillarious - like Frenze and Reeve (LA-LA-LANCERS! :P). They worked really well in the story though... love, betrayal, loyalty, etc. All the clasic themes, done really well IMO. But overall the game was nice and simple. Mix and match your characters/classes (light armours RULE!!) into stacks, pair each stack with a dragon, and ride off into the battle. Really awesome experience. Hooked me right away too, even worse than (dare I say it?) Shining Force did. :)
Definitly worth checking out if you're any kind of RPGt fan.
The fact that Fire Emblem 7 is the only FE on the list just doesn't make sense. Where's FE3, 4, and Thracia 776? How about the original Fire Emblem, which pretty much INVENTED the SRPG genre? And may I ask, where in the world is Ogre Battle 64? Sounds like this guy hasn't owned a Nintendo system except for the GBA.
NO!
Do not cut your teeth on FFT. Do it with Tactics Ogre (even better, start with Ogre battle), or the Shining Force series, or the Fire Emblem series.
And for heaven's sake, don't cut your teeth on Disgaea either. Play it after FFT, which should be played after one or more of the others mentioned, followed up perhaps by Mystaria or Hoshigami or something.
You don't go from Yoshi's Island to Super Mario Bros 2, right?
This alleged "All Time Top 10" is utterly, completely irrelevant. They miss out on several key players in the strategy RPG genre.
First, as many people have pointed out, they completely overlooked Shining Force in all its incarnations. In considering the worth of a title, you need to consider the way it was when it was released as well as how it stacks up now. Shining Force was revolutionary when it was released.
Second, they completely ignore several incredible strategy-based RPGs for the computer. Two that come immediately to mind are Fallout and Baldur's Gate. Fallout had a unique idea, a great character system, gorgeous graphics (at the time), and awesome weapons. Baldur's Gate (especially in 2) was insanely well-balanced, had that awesome turn-based/real-time strategy engine blending, had an unrivalled spell set in terms of selection, casting mechanics, and effects, an engrossing plot, and more.
Put BG2 up against anything the consoles have to offer. Anything. To feel like you've completed the game at all, there's at least 100 hours of gameplay. Every battle is unlike the last, and until halfway through the game, you'll need to come up with a radically different strategy than the last. The AI isn't even that good, but the differences in the characters are so great that you need to find that perfect balance.
Hell, even the original Fallout compares very favourably to today's console RPGs.
After all the hype surrounding the first two Advance Wars games, I picked up the second one on the GBA. After three or four hours of playing I realized that I couldn't stand it. That style of game just wasn't for me.
Is there a chance I'll like these other ones? La Pucille (sp?) looks interesting, but I don't want to get into another Advance Wars situation. I love RPGs though, and want to give it a chance.
Any suggestions?
If you could be anything you want, I'll bet you'd be disappointed.