SRPGs - Where to Start?

[alienjesus]

NIS alone is not too bad, you get things like Disgaea and Soul Nomad. But the others definitely go for the pandering route. You play those games for the cute anime girls and hope there's halfway decent gameplay to carry things along.

I feel the same about Gust. The Atelier series isn't particularly pandery at all. I can see where you're coming from with Ar Tonelico though.

[MrPopo]

NIS alone is not too bad, you get things like Disgaea and Soul Nomad. But the others definitely go for the pandering route. You play those games for the cute anime girls and hope there's halfway decent gameplay to carry things along.

I feel the same about Gust. The Atelier series isn't particularly pandery at all. I can see where you're coming from with Ar Tonelico though.

Soul Nomad has a special place in my heart since it's the closest I've seen to a new Ogre Battle game in its unit combat system, though it's turn based grid movement rather than real time continuous movement.

[BoneSnapDeez]

PC games

"Strategy RPG" is a very Japanese genre and you're not going to find a ton on the PC (aside from Shining Force games on Steam and whatnot).

If you're looking for Western titles The Temple of Elemental Evil is a lot of fun and Jagged Alliance looks decent.

[noiseredux]

there's the Heroes Of Might & Magic series on PC...

[Jmustang1968]

PC games

"Strategy RPG" is a very Japanese genre and you're not going to find a ton on the PC (aside from Shining Force games on Steam and whatnot).

If you're looking for Western titles The Temple of Elemental Evil is a lot of fun and Jagged Alliance looks decent.

???
I dont really agree here... most of the Gold Box games were turn based SRPGs, as well as Jagged Alliance and XCOM.

[marlowe221]

Go with Banner Saga, XCOM, Shadowrun, Divinity

Noted. The newer Shadowrun Returns looks really cool!

there's the Heroes Of Might & Magic series on PC...

Yep, already a big fan of those games (well up to 5 anyway).


Fire Emblem question - are there fan translations available for some of the Japanese-only titles?

[alienjesus]

Go with Banner Saga, XCOM, Shadowrun, Divinity

Noted. The newer Shadowrun Returns looks really cool!

there's the Heroes Of Might & Magic series on PC...

Yep, already a big fan of those games (well up to 5 anyway).


Fire Emblem question - are there fan translations available for some of the Japanese-only titles?

Yes, all of them. They are mostly complete (besides the odd cutscenes or menu option). You can find them all on the Serenes Forest fan site.

Fire Emblem 5 (Thracia 776 for Super Famicom) has a pretty terrible translation though. It's being retranslated now.

[BoneSnapDeez]

PC games

"Strategy RPG" is a very Japanese genre and you're not going to find a ton on the PC (aside from Shining Force games on Steam and whatnot).

If you're looking for Western titles The Temple of Elemental Evil is a lot of fun and Jagged Alliance looks decent.

???
I dont really agree here... most of the Gild Box games were turn based SRPGs, as well as Jagged Alliance and XCOM.

I mentioned Jagged Alliance.

My phrasing was a bit awkward. What I was saying is that the Japanese market is flooded with console games (rarely are they on PC) that are clearly strategy RPGs, while in the West many of these PC titles tread a line closely to other genres (pure strategy games, WRPG, etc).

(hey didn't we once have a poster here that argued that "strategy" and "tactical" games were different? )

In any case, Shining Force is still my #1 pick. Great game and the mechanics are so easy to pick up.

[Ack]

(hey didn't we once have a poster here that argued that "strategy" and "tactical" games were different? )

Yeah, Menegrothx. He hasn't been on in six months.

[Jmustang1968]

"Strategy RPG" is a very Japanese genre and you're not going to find a ton on the PC (aside from Shining Force games on Steam and whatnot).

If you're looking for Western titles The Temple of Elemental Evil is a lot of fun and Jagged Alliance looks decent.

???
I dont really agree here... most of the Gold Box games were turn based SRPGs, as well as Jagged Alliance and XCOM.

I mentioned Jagged Alliance.

My phrasing was a bit awkward. What I was saying is that the Japanese market is flooded with console games that are clearly strategy RPGs, while in the West many of these PC titles tread a line closely to other genres (pure strategy games, WRPG, etc).

(hey didn't we once have a poster here that argued that "strategy" and "tactical" games were different? )

In any case, Shining Force is still my #1 pick. Great game and the mechanics are so easy to pick up.

Gotcha. Seemed more of an even split or atleast the roots were. Western games seemed to shift away from it in late 90s early 2000s though...

Oh and another great entry point would be Gladius on your PS2. It was also on xbox and GC