What's the best strategy game you've played?

[Erik_Twice]

Really? Are you serious about this?

There is no way that the mindless bash-the-leader, assuming people make the small effort to remember scores, Smallworld is on the same level as Troyes.

Steam is a pretty good answer though. That's a wonderful game.

It's a manner of speech. Troyes is not a "top tier" game as it lives in the shadows of a dozen more regarded titles. Some may even argue that it's a run-of-the-mill Euro that is well-made but ultimately unespecial. And yet, it's better than the vast majority of strategy video games.

Steam is one of my favourite games. I think I'm he person with most logged plays of it on BGG, actually.

I love Front Mission's stage designs and atmosphere, but we've all got our own tastes. Front Mission saw four more sequels and many gaiden games, maybe you'd like one of those. Although the military industrial complex theme never changes.

I think I might, actually. So if you have a recommendation, I'll check it out

Most WRPG fans think Fallout's gameplay is garbage? I don't think so. The biggest RPG forum on the internet voted Fallout the second best WRPG of all time recently:

http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=9453

Not gameplay per se, but they are very harsh on the combat on the RPG Codex. Of course, it's RPGCodex, so it's to be expected

[BoneSnapDeez]

Some other non-English crap I remembered I liked:

Great mixture of strategy and sim / VN elements. Part V was eventually localized, though I enjoy the earlier games the best. You can probably muscle your way through part 1 without knowing Japanese, it's pretty straightforward.


Pretty lighthearted and comparatively "easy" series of SRPGs. Beautiful character designs. There are several console games/ports (SF, Saturn, PSX, PC-FX) but the majority of entries can be found on computers (PC-98, PC). Also really popular in China and Korea.

[samsonlonghair]

You guys have already mentioned most of the best and most popular strategy games, so I'm going to throw in a game that's less popular, but still really good.

Lords of the Realm II is a medieval Strategy game by Sierra. I think this is the most realistic strategy game based in medieval times. No dragons, ogres, or magic here. Lords of the Realm II focuses on resource management and the logistics of medieval warfare. Instead of a technology tree, there's just a simple progression of years until new technology like crossbows are invented.

Give it a try sometime. You may find Lords of the Realm II strangely engrossing.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Advance Squad Leader

I'm impressed that you know about ASL. ASL is the final boss of strategy gaming.

But if you really want to get into the weeds of the GBA strategy genere, lets talk Napoleon and Mech Platoon.

Never played Napoleon, but I've always thought Mech Platoon looked interesting. The GBA has plenty of lesser known strategy games. Rebelstar: Tactical Command comes to mind, which all you X-COM lovers would do well to check out. Then you've got your stuff like Defender of the Crown, Fortress, and Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 1 & 2. Too bad I can't read Japanese 'cause Black Matrix Zero looks great.

If you want Super Robot Wars fix but can't read Japanese, the Zone of the Enders game for GBA is about as close as you can get. It's like literally the exact same thing, at least on a surface level. I've never played SRW, so I can't speak to its comparison to the deeper mechanics.

[fastbilly1]

Give it a try sometime. You may find Lords of the Realm II strangely engrossing.

And if you put the disc into a CD player you will get a rap song made out of the unit callouts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3zllsf ... LZy8ubldgA

[Exhuminator]

If you want Super Robot Wars fix but can't read Japanese, the Zone of the Enders game for GBA is about as close as you can get. It's like literally the exact same thing, at least on a surface level. I've never played SRW, so I can't speak to its comparison to the deeper mechanics.

Two of the SRW GBA games got complete English translations if you're interested:

http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1577/
http://www.romhacking.net/translations/2091/

Also, Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 1 & 2 both got official English releases for GBA.

[MrPopo]

It seems to be the concensus amongst WRPG fans, actually, though there are the ocassional bitter discussions about it.

Most WRPG fans think Fallout's gameplay is garbage? I don't think so. The biggest RPG forum on the internet voted Fallout the second best WRPG of all time recently:

http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=9453

Everything up until the combat is awesome. The combat is a chore. It's just all the non-combat stuff is so amazing that it overshadows the downer combat. Plus, if you know what you're doing you can be a death machine and fast forward through combat by sniping eyes and shit.

[samsonlonghair]

Give it a try sometime. You may find Lords of the Realm II strangely engrossing.

And if you put the disc into a CD player you will get a rap song made out of the unit callouts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3zllsf ... LZy8ubldgA

Never knew that. Eleven-year-old Samson would have gotten a kick out of that in 1996.

[Exhuminator]

I think I might, actually. So if you have a recommendation, I'll check it out

This FM is the best to start with:

It's very well balanced and doesn't get insanely bogged down in micromanagement. Also that one is the most colorful of the entire series.

I don't recommend FM1 as anyone's first FM, because the wanzer fleet micromanagement really gets to be a chore unfortunately. FM2 still does not have a complete English translation, so it's off the table by default. FM4 is way too complex to recommend as someone's very first FM. FM5 is clearly meant to be played by someone who's already played FM1-4, and in no way possible should FM5 be someone's first FM. Mainly because FM5's plot references FM1-4 so often. Also FM5 is likely the hardest FM, and the challenge would surely turn off most newcomers.

[Jmustang1968]

I actually have played Onimusha Tactics Exhuminator. I didn't beat it. I found it to be meh and moved on.

That is pretty much my opinion for all Onimusha spin offs.

TO is generally more difficult. I think the SNES/PS1 version more so than the PSP version, though that one isn't easy. FFT has a few difficulty spikes on a couple of battles, but it is easier overall, and gets easier as the game goes along.

One of the significant differences I recall between FFT and TO: The Knight of Lodis is that TO had more limited move/attack options than FFT. If I recall, you couldn't change facing as easily in TO as you could in FFT, meaning you could more easily end up with your unit's back exposed.

I am talking LUCT not Knight of Lodis. You can do that on LUCT, I cannot recall for KoL.