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What's your favorite turn-based tactical RPG (i.e. FF Tactics, Fire Emblem, etc.)?

A

Archaic101

Member
I've been playing these for years, first dabbling in the Shining Force games, then going all in with games like Jagged Alliance and Vandal Hearts. Most of these games are so well made that it's a little hard to pick an all-out favorite, but I enjoy when they try something different, like the cards in Marvel's Midnight Suns or the perspective shift in Valkyria Chronicles.

I suppose that my favorite would probably be the first X-com; the atmosphere was incredible, the meta game had just the right amount of meat on its bones, and the variety in tactical approaches made possible by mechanics like jet packs, psi powers, and environmental destruction is still hard for modern games to beat.

What's your favorite game in this genre, and why?
 
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Sentenza

Sentenza

Member
Jagged Alliance 2. Easily.
It has the most well-structured and multi-layered campaign, plus a phenomenal combat system at its core.

UFO would be a close second, then come the Firaxis "reboots" (especially the second plus War of the Chosen, my game of the decade) and on their tail some more stuff like Battle Brothers, Jagged Alliance 3, etc.
 
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Danjin44

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
For me..
151a3fe397cb6279d17a4cc5307e975a24195d96c77b5d0c47dc63703263df2c


The crazy amount way you can build your squad is amazing I could spend unhealthy hours perfecting my army.

Not mention the just fucking gorgeous to look at.
 
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poodaddy

poodaddy

Member
Sentenza said:
Jagged Alliance 2. Easily.
It has the most well-structured and multi-layered campaign, plus a phenomenal combat system at its core.

UFO would be a close second, then come the Firaxis "reboots" (especially the second plus War of the Chosen, my game of the decade) and on their tail some more stuff like Battle Brothers, Jagged Alliance 3, etc.
Click to expand...
I really need to play Jagged Alliance, been meaning to get into these games for years. Whats the essential play order? Is playing the first a must? Does story matter a great deal, like will I be lost if I don't play the first?
 
A

Archaic101

Member
poodaddy said:
I really need to play Jagged Alliance, been meaning to get into these games for years. Whats the essential play order? Is playing the first a must? Does story matter a great deal, like will I be lost if I don't play the first?
Click to expand...
No, you really don't need to worry about playing them in order; each plot is new, and though characters carry over, their arcs doesn't matter much.

JA1 was good for the time, but it's by far the most dated. JA2 has held up much better. That said, you wouldn't be missing anything by just jumping to JA3.
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
I think I'd have to go with Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (the Gamecube one). Fantastic gameplay, great level of challenge, and I loved the visuals and music.

For a more obscure pick, I guess I'd go with Stella Glow - it's a 3DS game and the last game that ImageEpoch made, but it was phenomenal from start to finish, and had a surprisingly engaging plot. Mitsuda's musical contributions were also great.
 
Sentenza

Sentenza

Member
poodaddy said:
I really need to play Jagged Alliance, been meaning to get into these games for years. Whats the essential play order? Is playing the first a must? Does story matter a great deal, like will I be lost if I don't play the first?
Click to expand...
On the contrary. The FIRST can be comfortably ignored. it barely even resembles what the sequel became.
The second is the pinnacle of the genre, but we are talking about a 1997 game, so it feels dated on the cosmetic/technical side, while remaining excellent in its gamaplay and structure.
The more recent Jagged Alliance 3 was the first attempt in 25 years to give the series a sequel that didn't suck atrociously and it's basically a "redo" of the second. While it's canonically a follow-up story wise, it can be played as a stand-alone thing without really requiring to know a lot about the past.

EDIT- To add some context here's reasonably brief retrospective about JA2. I can't really voice for its quality since I just searched for it and i have yet to see it, but it should cover the basics of what it is and what does very well:

 
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DKPOWPOW

DKPOWPOW

Member
Danny Dudekisser said:
I think I'd have to go with Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (the Gamecube one). Fantastic gameplay, great level of challenge, and I loved the visuals and music.

For a more obscure pick, I guess I'd go with Stella Glow - it's a 3DS game and the last game that ImageEpoch made, but it was phenomenal from start to finish, and had a surprisingly engaging plot. Mitsuda's musical contributions were also great.
Click to expand...
Yes, I really enjoyed Path of Radiance. Never got to play Radiant Dawn. Game became impossible to find way too quick and then became crazy expensive. Be nice if they got a Combo Remake/Remaster.
 
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poodaddy

poodaddy

Member
Sentenza said:
On the contrary. The FIRST can be comfortably ignored. it barely even resembles what the sequel became.
The second is the pinnacle of the genre, but we are talking about a 1997 game, so it feels dated on the cosmetic/technical side, while remaining excellent in its gamaplay and structure.
The more recent Jagged Alliance 3 was the first attempt in 25 years to give the series a sequel that didn't suck atrociously and it's basically a "redo" of the second. While it's canonically a follow-up story wise, it can be played as a stand-alone thing without really requiring to know a lot about the past.

EDIT- To add some context here's reasonably brief retrospective about JA2. I can't really voice for its quality since I just searched for it and i have yet to see it, but it should cover the basics of what it is and what does very well:

Click to expand...

Thanks man, I'll check this out, probably tomorrow when I get some time.

I added this thread to my watched list. I've always loved this genre and don't play near enough of it, time for me to start trying way more of these suggestions here.
 
KàIRóS

KàIRóS

Member
This is my top 10, 1 per franchise.

1. Final Fantasy Tactics (It's simply the best SRPG in every regard let's not kid ourselves, whoever says otherwise simply hasn't played it or got frustrated by how hard it gets at the end)

2. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Fantastic story and gameplay, perhaps a little bit too easy for my liking but then again I like hard games, especially in this genre)

3. Tactics Ogre (Basically the prototype game that later became Final Fantasy Tactics, it recently got remastered)

4. Valkyria Chronicles 4 (I normally would have chosen VC1 but 4 simply has many QoL improvements and better designed missions and maps, VC1 has the better story though)

5. Triangle Strategy (A game that tried to pick the torch left by FFT, great overall, characters love to yap a little bit too much during story segments though)

6. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (Such a good story, I always recommend this along with FFT and FE:TH when people are looking for a good story in an SRPG, gameplay kinda basic)

7. Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time (The best growlanser IMO and underrated AF like every other game in this franchise, good story, good gameplay and even better fanservice)

8. Front Mission 3 (the best Mecha SRPG out there, others have tried to replicate it's formula but fail miserably, where's my remake Square?)

9. Eternal Poison (Underrated AF SRPG, came out in 2008 for PS2 so it was meant to happen, but those of us who have played it know how good it is and that artstyle is *chef's kiss*)

10. Natural Doctrine (I will always applaud the devs for being so commited in making such a hardcore SRPG, their game got review bombed for this, but I've played it multiple times and I know how good and ambitious it actually is and will always defend it as the biggest hidden gem in the genre)

Honorable Mention: Disgaea 5 (it just feels weird to leave out the disgaea franchise out of this, so there you go)
 
Shifty1897

Shifty1897

Member
Tactics Ogre Reborn is my favorite. The level cap keeps the game challenging without scaling enemies to your level, the music and graphics are superb and the orchestrated score feels epic and expensive. The story, with its branching paths and amazing writing, is deep and mature.

Other favorites include Fire Emblem Echoes (with Three Houses being a close second for the franchise), Valkyria Chronicles, and Final Fantasy Tactics.
 
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Alandring

Alandring

Member
I would probably say Divinity Original Sin 2 (I haven't played Baldur's Gate 3 yet), but I guess it doesn't count for whatever reason...

If so, maybe Fire Emblem Awakening, because it's the Fire Emblem game with my favorite story. I also really enjoyed Capes, released last year.
 
Branded

Branded

Member
Danjin44 said:
For me..
151a3fe397cb6279d17a4cc5307e975a24195d96c77b5d0c47dc63703263df2c


The crazy amount way you build your squad is amazing I could spend unhealthy hours perfecting my army.

Not mention the just fucking gorgeous to look at.
Click to expand...

Should I grab that on Switch or will it look far less impressive on a TV then? I don't have either of the other consoles.
 
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L

Labadal

Member
Western: Jagged Alliance 2 (the first game is still worth checking out), closely followed by the X-Com games.

Japanese: Final Fantasy Tactics, closely followed by Tactics Ogre.
 
Sooner

Sooner

Member
Disgaea has my favorite gameplay, but the stories are stupid, outside of the first entry.

I wouldn't mind even zero story, but all the dialog talking about complete nonsense is annoying.

Final Fantasy Tactics is fantastic, but it really needs a remaster to speed up the gameplay. It's painful and unnecessarily slow to do anything.
 
thicc_girls_are_teh_best

thicc_girls_are_teh_best

Member
Well I only got into the genre somewhat recently, but I can say as both a starting point and just because they are damn good games, the Shining Force III series is amazing. Great characters, great story, robust enough battle system that's easy to learn with not too many obtuse game mechanics, fair balance, and JRPG-style town exploration in-between battles. Also: very good music.

There are other big names like FF Tactics and more obscure ones like the Vandal Hearts games I need to eventually play, but to me Shining Force III is the gold standard and will probably remain the gold standard insofar as being beginner-friendly, having enough substance for hardcore players (Friendship system, some item management, difficulty settings etc.), strong writing with story & characters, presentation, music, good mix of interesting field maps (especially when you need to divest some members to explore the tombs), balanced AI difficulty and so on.
 
TintoConCasera

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Used to play Silent Storm back in the day. It's like a WW2 XCOM with tons of weapons, 6 or 8 classes and best of all, 3D environments that are fully destructible. Nothing like clearing the second floor of a house by standing below it's floor and unloading an MG-42 into it.

I'd recommend it to anyone who liked games like XCOM or Jagged Alliance.
 
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