Best Tactical / Strategy RPGs?

My only experience with the genre is Valkyria Chronicles, Devil Survivor and Path of Radiance.

What are the stand outs for you?

Disgaea! It has tons of characters, tons of moves, tons of weapons, tons of maps (actually infinite with the randomly generated Item World) and tons of levels to grind. I recommend either the PSP version of the first game or either version of Disgaea 4 (Vita version has all the DLC but not much new content). Whatever you do don't play 3, it's a soulless husk of a game that is not representative of the rest of the series.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is also pretty great.

FF Tactics is an obvious (if antiquated) choice. Tactics A2 was just alright IMHO.

• Terror From the Deep
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown
• Banner Saga

Also, there's no RPGiness in it, but Frozen Synapse is absolutely incredible.

S2: Silent Storm gold edition. It's kinda janky and BEFE, but very good. Also Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and Jagged Alliance 2 and the expansions. Stone cold classic.

Original Xcom and the New XCOM are both great. But one of the best games is Jagged Alliance 2. It has the combat of XCOM but with some RPG elements along guerrilla territory control, it is one of the best. It is 5$ right now on STEAM. Do not get any of the other newer games they all suck. Might not fit but Heroes of Might and Magic 3 it is more of a grand 4Xish strategy game but has great tactical combat. I would also say Divinity: Original Sin has really good deep tactical turn based combat.

Oh, I can help you here. Other than "Pretty much every Fire Emblem", which is a given, I think X-COM (and XCOM) are worth your time, as are Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, and maybe Disgaea (I'm not the biggest fan, but if you're into number crunching and grinding it might be your thing).

Final Fantasy Fucking Tactics. Other then that I adore Tactics Ogre (PSP) and Fire Emblem Scared Stones and Awakeningespecially.

Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre. Valkyrie Profile 2 is sort of a tactical RPG and is a pretty damn good game as well. There's a ton of these games that are all pretty competent so what makes them different from one another is the story (VP2 excluded since it has unique gameplay) and FFT's is about as good as it gets.

I'll always be very fond of the Shining Force series. The mechanics are pretty simple as far as SRPGs go, but that's also kind of what I like about it. The gameplay is straightforward but solid and enjoyable. It does do some thing I wish more SRPGs would do though, like actually being able to walk around and explore towns like a real JRPG. Shining Force was my introduction to the genre and I was always a little disappointed it was a rare exception in that regard.

Just steer clear of the PS2 games. They are "Shining Force" in name only.

@zeik: The Disgaea games have some of that though there's only one "town" in each game. Walking around and talking to people is how you do all your stuff and in the newest game in the series all the characters you've recruited/created are hanging around and have dialogue too. Unfortunately once you hit the post game (which is the meat of it) there's no new dialogue in the base.

Yeah, I do kinda appreciate that about Disgaea compared to some SRPGs, but it's still not really the same. It's more of a Diablo style hub than real world exploration.

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume (DS) had more traditional "tactical RPG" gameplay. It was pretty cool, though it may be difficult to find these days.

• Any Fire Emblem
• Most of the Nintendo Wars series
• Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together
• Final Fantasy Tactics
• Banner Saga
• XCOM : Enemy Unknown/Within
• Vandal Hearts (the first one)

I'm not much of a fan of the Nippon Ichi SRPGs (Disgaea, La Pucelle, Phantom Brave) as they are too grindy for me, but they definitely have their passionate fans. If you are into that, that's a pretty deep well to plumb.

@slag: I also liked Vandal Hearts 2, definitely one of the more interesting games out there in terms of player choice.

I really dislike FE Awakening and FF Tactics. I would say play Jeanne d'Arc before playing either of those. It's so good.

@mosespippy: I thought Jeanne d'Arc was pretty decent, but it got a little too anime. I don't really have a problem with anime, but I think I would have liked it better if it had stayed more grounded in reality than it did.

Also, it's been awhile since I played it, but it seem to recall it being a little too easy to become OP in the latter half of the game. (Which to be fair is a problem Awakening suffers from as well.)

I came in here and saw every game I was going to recommend was already mentioned, even Silent Storm and Disgaea. I heart this community so damned much sometimes it hurts.

I always wanted to play VH 2, never managed to find a copy.

It's such a shame that VH third game/reboot was so mediocre. That series deserved better.

Thanks for all the recs. Since I've been playing some Fire Emblem recently, I wanted to see what other kinds of games within the genre come highly recommended. A lot of this stuff I've seen mentioned quite a bit (FFT, Tactics Ogre, etc) and a few that are new. I should probably give XCOM a try.

To expand a bit further on this series, Shining Force 1, 2, and 3 are the only games in the series that has an overworld and towns to walk around in. In the Game Gear games and Shining Force CD there is a camp screen inbetween battles ala most Fire Emblems and other games in the genre. Shining Force CD is a remake of the first two Game Gear games with better graphics and sound and a couple added scenarios. There is a fan translation of the third Game Gear game which wasn't released over here, I expect only crazy people like me will go that far with this series though. Shining Force 3 is a bit of a hassle since only the first part of three came out in the west so you have to deal with fan translations and not so great Saturn emulators. It's a great game though, I'd put it as the second best behind Shining Force 2. Finally, Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon is a remake of the first game on the GBA. I like the remake overall but it is far easier than the original.

Also, the first two are on Steam.

If you're interested in getting into the genre, you really should look into a PSP or, better yet, a Vita. Some of the best in class are available on those systems. Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre and all the Disgaea, to name the bigger titles.

Vandal Hearts on the PSX (1, fuck 2).

The large variety in both combat environments and mission objectives is great. Character customization is extremely limited though if you're heavily into that, as you just pick 1 of 2 class advancements per character (other than the progagonist, who has his own special classline). Some classes are easily much better than others, but anything is viable. The story isn't cringe-worthy and it has an overarching interesting political plot and the main cast actually won't make you want to kill yourself for a change.

As a bonus: 0 grinding.

• Vandal Hearts
• Ogre Battle Tactics
• Final Fantasy Tactics
• XCOM (2012)
• Jagged Alliance 2
• Fire Emblem (Any)

There are also RPGs that have turn based combat on something like a grid, but I'd label them more RPGs with Tactical Combat than anything else:

• Shadowrun Returns
• Divinity: Original Sin
• Temple of Elemental Evil (helps to be a D&D fan, as the story is balls)

But, yeah, almost everyone is going to recommend Final Fantasy Tactics. It's a good start. Vandal Hearts and Ogre Battle Tactics are also quite good. I... didn't really love Jeanne D'Arc, but some people do, so maybe get around to that if you burn through everything else. (Jeanne D'Arc has a set number of turns to win per battle that really turned me off.)

@viking_funeral: I enjoyed Jeanne d'Arc despite usually hating any kind of timer or whatever, but I also remember the transformations seeming super overpowered (and incredibly time-saving thanks to the kill-and-get-to-go-again thing), so that's probably why it didn't bother me as much.

On another note, I also remember having a good time with Front Mission 3 a long time ago, but havent played any of the other games. Anyone have any input on which of those are worthwhile? Disabling different mech parts was neat.

@zeik: Been years since I played it but I remember the final boss encounter being very difficult. Then after that there are some very challenging coliseum fights.

Most of why I dislike FE:A is the combat. It feels antiquated compared to Jeanne d'Arc. Your positioning doesn't matter as much since there are no side attacks or back stabs. There is no reason to maneuver around your opponents. Archers can only shoot 2 or 3 spaces away. Swords, axes and spears can only attack one space. In Jeanne d'Arc an ax is swung in a radius, a spear can pierce to attack two spaces at once, an archer can shoot seven spaces, but their movement and defense are much lower. Because of the bigger importance of positioning the levels are also more interesting and better designed.

I don't think being too anime is gonna be a problem for this guy with a Kingdom Hearts avatar who has played Valkyria Chronicles.

@aegon: You want to get yourself some Resonance of Fate my friend. Everything about that game is very interesting. The combat requires some sense of trigonometry, the worldmap doubles as a type of Risk game, and weapon customization feels like pipedreams. You can put 20 barrels on your gun if you match the pieces correctly!

Oh man that game is soo good.

Just look at it!

@humanity: Oh yeah! You convinced me to buy that game a while ago. Still haven't played it. It didn't come to mind in this category. I'm guessing that's because it's got more traditional JRPG aspects to it as well.

If you haven't played the Banner Saga go play the banner saga. It has a really fantastic combat system.

anyone remember that game Dave Snyder played once in a video where it was a turn based game, and you had to line guys up and then they would shoot on their own. It was set inside a building or an office, very simple graphics.

Frozen Synapse?

YES!!! Thank you sooo much!

@topsteer: Shining Force 3 is hard game to get into nowadays. The graphics and voice acting are soooo bad. I really really like Shining Force, but even I have hard time getting past that. Especially when 1, 2, and CD still hold up very well. That game needs a remake desperately.

@mosespippy: I'm actually a pretty big Kingdom Hearts fan and I've played and enjoyed Valkyria Chronicles, including playing the fan translation of VC3. Like I said, it's not that I hate anime, I just don't think it worked for Jeanne d’Arc. The parts of that game that interested me the most was when it leaned closer to the actual legend of Joan of Arc and the human conflicts surrounding it. Once it started leaning heavily into demons and monsters and shit it lost me. Maybe that's just me though.

@aegon: It's kind of a hybrid. Time to crack that seal, time isn't getting any kinder to those last gen games.

Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall is an X-com style strategy game with a larger story/character driven element than X-Com has, complete with dialogue options. It has a hub approach to non-combat missions but most mission maps have a non-combat element to them. Expeditions: Conquistador is another underappreciated entry into the genre. It has an overworld, a story, and moral decisions, but the character-driven portion is very light.

If you like mecha anime, the Super robot wars series is pretty dope. Be prepared to read Japanese, or at least have a script handy. I would also suggest Divinity: Original Sin, which is really fun, as you can use the environment to your advantage, and other crazy stuff.

I second Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall, especially if you like cyberpunk.

Also, hey, why not start with the obvious. Final Fantasy Tactics has been released for everything, and it's pretty cool. I also like the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance stuff, particularly A2. It's not bad.

Also, I really like Massive Chalice, and I'll probably like it even more once they make the next update with the hybrid classes.

@zalrus9: I wish the Super Robot Wars games were released over here. They managed to work out the licensing issues for Tatsunoko vs Capcom so it's theoretically possible that they could do so for SRW as well.

Expeditions: Conquistador is a Great game. It is unique with its setting, and its story. Its camp mechanic is wonderful for making every night in the game interesting along with making the less combat oriented party members useful. Any fans of the King's Bounty games should give this a look, while the tactical combat is ok the rest of the game makes up for it.

Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is pretty great!

I don't know if the King's Bounty comparison is all that apt... both the tactical gameplay and the tone (and quality) of the writing are totally different.

There have been a lot of good suggestions so far. I would like to add Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time.

I don't consider Heroes to be a Tactical game though the combat is, it's more over arching turn based/board game style strategy to me. That being said Heroes V, III, and II are better than just about every Tactics/Strategy game out there.

The two GBA Fire Emblem games are my standout, with Fire Emblem (aka FE7) being about as close to the ideal as any game in that genre could be. It's a shame that newer fire emblems will never again be capable of that quality level, just from lacking the GBA's amazing battle sprites and animations (on top of everything else that's happened to the series since then; real shame about the total mess that they put out on the gamecube). FE7 also happens to have the most well-realized final battle level in any game I've played, turn-based strategy or not.

Disgaea is unique in a really cool way, but honestly, the postgame elements that make it stand out from the competition are also super-grindy to the point that it's difficult to recommend, since it's difficult not to get bored before seeing the majority of it. The main campaigns are still fun at least, if kinda easy. Makai Kingdom and Phantom Brave are both awesome games from the same studio, and utilize a similar combat system, but with more open radial movement rather than a grid, plus some fairly out-there team/character-building mechanics.

FFT is obviously a standout. Like most of the mechanically interesting FF games, it's less about being challenging or having deep tactical choices and more about making a system that is fun to exploit and break wide open. The Jobs system is always awesome for that sort of thing, and it's arguably the best final fantasy product out there, though I don't know that I'd call it a great tactical game after the first half or so. It stops being about the more puzzle-like optimal choices that make good strategy games tick, and more about how much more overpowered you've become than whoever it is your team is punching at.

The original two Shining Force games still hold up, but they're a very old example of the genre at this point, and mechanically somewhat stiff compared to more modern takes on the concept..... In basically the same sort of way that original turn-based RPGs feel stiff compared to more modern jrpg battle systems. Still great, though; really fun and well-designed.

The original Xcom is still playable, but has always been extremely buggy in a way that usually served to make it a lot more difficult (for better or worse), on top of having an ancient and clunky UI. Go for the Open X-com project (a free re-write of the game from the ground up with tons of UI improvements and bug fixes, though I believe you'll need a legit copy of the original from Steam or elsewhere to run it) if you want to experience the game at its best, or Xenonauts if you want to play a very faithful re-skin.

Good Modern Mentions: New XCOM, Massive Chalice, Banner Saga, New Shadowrun/dragonfall, FE:Awakening, Devil Survivor series. The TBS/SRPG/TRPG/whatever-you-want-to-call-it genre really lives on the strength of its major standout classics, since it's always been somewhat niche and is often not well-executed, but fortunately it's seen a huge revival in the last year or two from both western and japanese devs.

Older games that I've heard good things about but never gotten a chance to play: Tactics Ogre series, Vandal Hearts

I think Fallout Tactics is amazing. Sadly, general consensus seems to be that it was bad. But I love it.

I need to get back to Shadowrun now when that director's cut is out. Shadowrun Returns had lots of cool stuff in it, but plenty of things that didn't quite work out or behave as I'd like, but by the sounds of it, Dragonfall/Director's Cut fixes pretty much all of that.

Divinity: original sin is an amazing game worth checking out.

Another game worth checking out is Invisible Inc. formerly know as Incognita by Klei. It is a turn based tactical stealth rougelike game. It is currently in Early Access but the game that is there feels complete enough to recommend.

@fisk0: Fallout Tactics was okay, as someone who doesn't have a fervent love for the Fallout series. Sort of reminded me of Syndicate. It is extremely trial and error/ridiculous caution though which is hard to recommend.

Jagged Alliance 2

Nothing ever surpassed this one. It has everything the turn-based squad-RPG player wants: character generation, great story, great NPCs, open enough world for a good replay-value.

Only the graphics are a bit outdated.

I haven't gotten far but you may like the new shadow run games, Xcom is a tactical game but i don't think it's an rpg at all more of a tactics game with light strategy elements. Darkest dungeon is more of a traditional turn based RPG but it's pretty damn good, and again i haven't gotten into it yet but Banner saga seems pretty legit as well.

edit: oh, another year old thread lol. There really should be an easier way to tell the age of a thread, I barely notice the post dates. Still if your looking after all this time, check those out lol.

Disgaea 5 is the best one yet for newbies, you can break the game sooner (meaning before even finishing the main story) and breeze through while learning how all the systems connect