Best Strategy RPGs Of All Time Rated 77
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.")
Advance Wars (Score:3, Insightful)
No shining force? (Score:5, Insightful)
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
Good selection (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:PC strategy? (Score:2, Insightful)
Should you decide to try it: Be sure to save often!
There are still a few nasty bugs in there, even after the 2.0 patch - like a character being permanently silenced (a sure mage killer).
Re:No shining force? (Score:5, Insightful)
First, the characters in FFT have no character. The class system makes everyone's abilities so fluid that the characters are merely putty to be molded into the perfect fighting machines. I prefer the Shining Force system of being given a selection of soldiers, each with their unique blend of abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and finding a combination of these unique talents that works for your strategy.
Second, group formation and positioning is far less meaningful in FFT. With a group size of only five, you can't make much in the way of formations. With SF's twelve characters per group, you have a much wider diversity of tactical formations - even multi-group tactics, such as sending a small force behind the enemy front line to take out their healers, are possible. Also, because of the range and spread of spells in FFT, you cannot effectively create a formation that has any integrity against melee attacks without being absurdly vulnerable to magical attacks. In SF, making a formation that is slightly looser or tighter (for instance, shoulder-to-shoulder vs. "checkerboard") can subtly change how well your formation does against melee or magic based attacks.
Certainly FFT has something going for it in the more complicated use of terrain, the complex plot, the complex game mechanics, and the beautiful spell graphics. However I always felt like it didn't quite have enough tactical substance as it could have. Over the years I have revisited Shining Force far more often than FFT - mostly because of the memorable characters and the interesting shapes of the battles that unfold.
Get tactics and strategy straight, please (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Utterly Irrelevant (Score:2, Insightful)
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.