What are your top 5 Strategy RPGs?

[courtesi96]

(aka Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, etc.)

[Daria]

Shining Force
Shining Force CD
Shining Force II
Vandal Hearts
Phantom Brave


(:

[jeffg]

Dragon Force
Shining Force II
Shining Force CD
Final Fantasy Tactics
Shining Force

[carlcarlson]

Disgaea

And that's the only srpg I've ever played extensively, so I'm not that qualified to be in this thread. But really, I can't imagine liking any other better (unless it's Disgaea 2) because it has everything I love about rpgs.

[EX-Soldier]

final fantasy tactics & front mission 3 are the only 2 that i've dedicated significant time into so those 2 get my stamp of approval, disgaea can barely hold my interest & I've yet to remove the shrink wrap on lapucelle tactics so i'll reserve judgement until i get around to playing it

If xcom ufo defense can be classified as a srpg (and i cant see why not) then it gets my vote for greatest srpg of all time!!

[Poofta!]

FFT, Tactics Ogre, Fire Emblem, Shining Force, Front Mission 3/4.

theres really a lot of great ones out there. btw, i dont think Fire Emblem and Shining Force really fit with the others, but if you guys count them then fine.

[dao2]

FFT, Tactics Ogre, Fire Emblem, Shining Force, Front Mission 3/4.

theres really a lot of great ones out there. btw, i dont think Fire Emblem and Shining Force really fit with the others, but if you guys count them then fine.

I like ring of red if that counts :>

[Wraith Storm]

5 - Dragon Force (Sega Saturn)
4 - Mystaria\Blazing Heroes (Sega Saturn)
3 - Brigandine (Playstation)
2 - Shining Force CD (Sega CD)

1 - Dark Wizard (Sega CD)
The absolute pinnacle of strategy RPG's! Conceived by Kenji Terada (Final Fantasy 1-3) and developed by Sega, there is honestly no other game like it. This game successfully blends elements of regular RPG’s and Strategy RPG’s into a genera all its own and hasn’t been matched since! In a way it’s like Nights into Dreams, you can try and explain it to someone, but until they play it they won’t really understand what makes the game so special. It also doesn’t hurt that its accompanied by one of the most EPIC Redbook soundtracks ever put to disc.

If you like strategy RPGs, or even regular RPGs, then you owe it to yourself as a gamer to experiance it at least once.

[Mangar]

Not sure what my top five are, but my #1 is Warsong for the Genesis if that counts.

[Dark_Sol]

Shining Force 2,1
Kartia

[crazyjackcsa]

In no Order.

Vandal Hearts
Shining Force 3
Fire Emblem
Mysteria/ Blazing Heroes
Shining Force 2

[Jimid2]

I really liked Vasteel on the TurboCD, does it count? Also, I loved Dragon Force on the Saturn and completed it twice, but after selling off my Saturn to buy a Playstation, I kind of skipped the genre for a while... I tried Final Fantasy Tactics but couldn't stick with it... It wasn't until I picked up Jean D'Arc (La Pucelle) for the PSP that I found another tactical RPG I wanted to see through to the end - I absolutely loved Jean D'Arc! I'm about to try Disgaea Afternoon of Darkness (PSP), and hope that I'll enjoy it as much...

[fahlim003]

Starting from least to greatest. I can probably only name 3 though.

Final Fantasy Tactics - while visually nice, pleasing to the ears, and very customizable is challenging. Simply since you need to prioritize while customizing makes this a challenge on the first go, otherwise it's pretty enjoyable.

Shining Force - good learning curve, decent graphics, catchy tunes, and saving. This got me on the long Shining series road and I haven't looked back since. While challenging, it's mostly with regards to point of attack, rather than what to use at what time, like in FFT. Perhaps I simply prefer a more basic strategy, but otherwise everything really holds up, even over time.

Shining Force 3 - wonderful battle sequences, for the rest see Shining Force. Pardon the slow start, this is a excellent entry in the series, and perhaps my favourite. I'd say it improves if not equals the best points in the original and SF2 and that is important. Too bad Scenario 2 and 3 aren't yet translated, although I'm yet to finish this interesting game. I'm glad I gave it another shot and got past the first hour or so of the game.

Seperate ranks:
Shining Force 2 is alright, and perhaps more akin to SF3 than SF, but I wasn't crazy about SF2 since it was more of a challenge than the original. Eventually I came around to this one too, but until I'm done with SF and SF3 or decide to come back, it's simply 'ok' in my books for now.

Dragon Force is also another game with a lengthy start time. Any time you boot up this game it takes a long time and there are many things to do. If you've got the time, great, if not, most strategy games out there are more interesting.

I would say the Intelligent Systems 'Wars' games are very similar to many older strategy rpgs, although I can't say I have any appeal for Fire Emblem as I do with Advance Wars 2 or even Famicom Wars.

EDIT
Yeah, Front Mission 3 on PS1 was cool too, but it's been years since I last was at that.

Also, I was very disapointed with Shining Force CD as it is perhaps the hardest SF game to begin and it's mearly a port from GameGear, right? It definitely shows in the battle scenes, as they look awful compared to SF and SF2. If there is a pro, it's that it has cd quality music.

[swlovinist]

I had to give a shout out to Dark Wizard for the Sega Cd. Totally underated.

[G-Boobie]

Disgaea
Final Fantasy Tactics
Tactics Ogre
Disgaea 2
Shining Force

[sirhansirhan]

I play a fair amount of Strategy RPGs, but the only three I feel compelled to mention are Disgaea, Disgaea 2 and Dragon Force, with the original Disgaea being far and away the best.

[Fuyukaze]

1.Ogre Battle:March of the black queen
2.Final Fantasy Tactics
3.Shining Force
4.Romance of the Three Kingdoms
5.Fire Emblem

[7th lutz]

1. Arc the Lad 2
2. Final Fantasy Tactics
3. Shining Force 2
4. Front Mission 3
5. Shining Force

[Natty Bumppo]

#1 - Dark Wizard

next four in no particular order:

Brigandine (The grand edition is even better - but very hard to find)
Vandal Hearts
Shining Force II
Master of Monsters (genesis version - the playstation one sucks) - one of the only (if not the only) multiplayer srpgs in English - Brigandine Grand Editon is also multiplayer but only in Japanese).

Warsong belongs on there somewhere - I can't decide which game to kick off for room though.

Honorable mention to Vandal Hearts II - it would have replaced Vandal Hearts I except for that god awful battle system.

Another honorable mention to the Nectaris games - not really an rpg series though.

To the earlier post on shining force cd - the first two books are indeed ports from gamegear games - but the third book and the museum battle are unique to the cd. The museum battle alone is worth having the shining force cd for and the battles in book 3 are fairly challenging (and amusing too).

[Sudo]

The Shining Force games and Front Mission 3 were the only ones I could ever really get into. I much prefer turn-based and action RPGs.

[AB Positive]

Dark Wizard love. I knew there was a reason I came here :D

from what I've played:

5 - FF Tactics Advance
4 - La Pucelle Tactics
3 - FF Tactics (psx)
2 - Dark Wizard


...


1 - Disgaea. This was one of two reasons I owned a PS2 (other than the Katamari games). Great plot, characters, battle system - I fell in love with NIS with this one.

[Kamisama]

I like SRPGs a lot, but I haven't played that many, including some famous ones.

Well 5 i liked:
- Wachenröder
- Vandal Hearts
- Sakura Wars Series
- Farland Story
- Battle Robot Retsuden

[Wraith Storm]

I like SRPGs a lot, but I haven't played that many, including some famous ones.

Well 5 i liked:
- Wachenröder
- Vandal Hearts
- Sakura Wars Series
- Farland Story
- Battle Robot Retsuden


Wachenröder!!!
As your avatar suggests. LOL Wachenröder is a fantastic game. I remember when I first bought it back in 2002 I played it for hours on end... even though I couldn't read a word of it it was still easy to figure out what to do. I loved the intro where they created everything with actual models and then filmed it and overlayed CG! I have never seen anything like it!

[Blanka789]

1. FF Tactics
2. Saiyuki: Journey West
3. Shining Force Series
4. Arc The Lad 2
5. Warcraft 2

Surprised Warcraft and Saiyuki went unmentioned this long...

[jjgames]

I love this genre, but apparently I have a lot of catching up to do. I should start with the Shining Force games since I have a Genesis. Of the ones I have played, my favorite is Tactics Ogre.

[Kamisama]

Wachenröder!!!
As your avatar suggests. LOL Wachenröder is a fantastic game. I remember when I first bought it back in 2002 I played it for hours on end... even though I couldn't read a word of it it was still easy to figure out what to do. I loved the intro where they created everything with actual models and then filmed it and overlayed CG! I have never seen anything like it!

Haha yes. I love that game and the style. There is an english Script on Gamefaqs that allows you to understand the story. Maybe you want to re-read it to see what you missed.
Unfortunately my Saturn "forgot" the Save (damn battery) after I played like through half of the game. Maybe I should start it once again.. hmm.

[Gabriel]

I hope that my ravings have introduced some of you people to Dark Wizard. I'm extremely happy to see it highly regarded by so many people.

I wrote my top 5 list ages ago. I don't know where that thing got to. Here's my current list. I wonder if anything has changed?

5. Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1)
4. Shining Force: Legacy of Great Intention (Genesis)
3. Shining Force CD (Sega CD)
2. Front Mission 3 (PS1)
1. Dark Wizard (Sega CD)

I think FFT has dropped on my list. That's because it was great for it's day, but I just don't think it ages well. I tried to play it both on the PS1 and PSP recently and just couldn't get into it. Its hanging it at #5 right now in deference to the greatness I remember ascribing to it.

Shining Force gets two entries on the list because it's just that damn awesome. I don't like the later installments of the series because I feel they focus too much on tedious mucking about rather than getting down to the business of kicking ass. And Shining Force CD has a laser-like precision on that note.

Front Mission 3 and Dark Wizard are my easy choices for best games of the genre ever for their great degree of customization.

Final Fantasy Tactics may soon be removed from my list entirely and replaced by Jeanne d'Arc (PSP).

And now, my bottom 5 list!

Worst Tactical RPGs I've played (in no particular order):

Disgaea (PS2)

I know this one gets a lot of love, but I can't see why. It just stupid and even most MMORPGs aren't as pointlessly grindy as this one is.

Disgaea is really on my list as a placeholder for almost all Nippon Ichi TRPGs, which seem to all have the common thread of "Our characters are EVIL, therefore they are edgy and kewl, and we don't need interesting gameplay, just a few stupid color gimmicks."


Kartia (PS1)

Thankfully, I don't remember much about this one. I just remember it being extremely boring. It had the most lifeless combat of any game of the genre (barring Battle Hunters, below).


Operation Darkness (360)

It isn't very fair to pass judgement on this one before it's even out, but unless the retail version of the game differs substantially from the demo, this is just a piece of trash. Poor camera, huge and empty maps, difficult targeting, awkward interface, etc. It was just a poor experience at every turn. The only thing it had going for it was the supernatural WW2 vibe, and that just isn't enough to save it.


Tactics Ogre (PS1)

This is another one which I imagine someone will cry "heretic" over. I back this one largely by just pointing out the "training" feature.

See, Tactics Ogre doesn't give you enough XP in battles to level up effectively. The designers seemed to understand this, so they put in the training mode. In this mode, you divide your army up into two factions and then bash on each other for the next hour. No, the AI doesn't control one side of your army and leave you to control the other. You must control both sides. Yes, you effectively perform the TRPG equivalent of masturbating for an hour in order to level up your party.

And you'll do that A LOT.


Battle Hunters (PS1)

I don't know if this one even qualifies. The packaging calls it a RPG, and it's superficially similar to a TRPG. It takes the trappings of a TRPG and wraps it around something only slightly removed from Chutes & Ladders crossed with Candy Land.

Battle Hunters is random. You can have a superior experience to Battle Hunters by taking a chessboard and rolling a die to move pieces around. Hell, play the training mode on Tactics Ogre before playing Battle Hunters.