Favorite Strategy Console Games

[Venturin]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to see what console strategy games you all enjoy.

I'm very much into the turn-based strategy RPG type games and have enjoyed them very much.

The first one I loved was Vandal Hearts for the PS1. Simple, but so very fun.

For the PS2 I haven't yet played Disgaea 1 or 2 but hope to soon as I know these are terrific.

But one game for the PS2 that I don't see much love for is called Ring of Red. In it you control huge mechs of various abilities in battles along with some troop support.

The game is not incredibly deep but to me it was a total blast to play.

Has anyone else played Ring of Red?

Also, what console strategy games managed to hook you through to the end?

[Snapple]

Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite games of all time.

I'm in the minority, but there was a lot I didn't like about Disgaea. The dialogue and characters and story are awesome. It's a really funny game. But the computer AI is dumb as a brick, the combat is a bit shallow, and success is about 10% strategy and 90% having a high enough level. There's so much level grinding, it grew exasperating.

[crazyjackcsa]

I've always felt Final Fantasy Tactics was nowhere near as good as the Shining series. I've met a lot of people that have only ever played one strat game, Final Fantasy Tactics. They never seem willing to branch out, My Favorite was Shining Force 3 on the Saturn, however I also loved Blazing Heroes, Fire Emblem, Vandel Hearts and I like FFT as well, just not near as much.

[Iron Draggon]

Master of Monsters for me... the original on Genesis and the sequel on PS1

Super Conflict on SNES is really good too... very similar to Advance Wars

[esquire]

My favorite of all time is "Military Madness" for the TurboGrafx 16. There was also a relase for it on the PS1 under "Nectaris Military Madness". I can't recall if there more maps, or what. I know the Japanese version of Military Madness, "Nectaris", had a sequel on Super CD called "Neo Nectaris" which is great as well, and playable without knowledge of Japanese, provided that you've played Military Madness before and have a general understanding of how the game plays.

My second favorite would have to be the Advance Wars series for the GBA and DS. Very similar to Military Madness.

[agbulls]

Both Pikmin games are just phenomenal. I know these are on the border of what most people would define as a normal strategy games, but I feel otherwise. We need more weird kinda-rts games for consoles. Did anyone ever play Goblin Commander? It was pretty good--made by x Warcraft guys.

[GM80]

Both Herzog Zwei and the "full mode" of Star Control on the Genesis captivated me for hours back in my youth. I don't play much console strategy these days, although I do think LotR:BfMEII on X360 was a valiant effort.

[Kamisama]

Checkout Wachenröder for the Sega Saturn. Its JP only but there is a full script on gamefaqs.
I also like the Farland Series a lot !

[NE146]

Definitely these are the top for me

Military Madness / Nectaris
Shining Force Series
Vandal Hearts
Advance Wars

I guess you could say they're all almost the same game.. and that's fine with me.. that's why I like them :D

I'm not too much into Final Fantasy Tactics.. it just seemed to muck it up too much with the job stuff.

[heybtbm]

Vandal Hearts I and II are two of the most underrated strategy RPG's in recent memory.

Tactics Ogre for the GBA is never given the love it deserves either.

[Mangar]

Final Fantasy Tactics
Warsong
Master of Monsters (Genesis Version)
Pirates (X-Box Version)
Aerobiz and Aerobiz Supersonic

Not neccesarily in that order. Strategy is my favourite genre of game, and those are the ones that i feel are the 5 best console ones ever to be released.

[diskoboy]

I have to second Herzog Zwei and both Pikmins.

Would Armada (Dreamcast) be considered a strategy or RPG?

[Trebuken]

Age of Empires for the DS.

Military Madness for TG-16.

Must haves in addition to those already mentioned.

[AMG]

Final Fantasy Tactics and Vandal Hearts are my favorites.

[davepesc]

Military Madness on TG16 consumed a year of my life. If you don't want to invest in a TurboGrafx, the game was re-released as "Nectaris" on the PS1.

Also on the PS1, Tactics Ogre was awesome.

Genesis: Warsong is a great game and Dune: Battle for Arakis is a good early RTS. Shining Force II is the cream of the crop on the Genny, however.

On the PS2, you can't go wrong with any of the Nippon Ichi games, but I liked Disgaea and La Pucelle the best. And Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is worth mentioning, but not as good as the others.

For a quick fix, the Advance Wars games are simple and fun on the GBA.

[scorch56]

There are actually a few threads on Ring Of Red floating in the past. Most people who have played it.. liked it. It's one of my favorites and was one of the first games I bought when I got my PS2 years back. My two most favorite gaming genres though are "mech" games and turn-based strats.. so that game was Nirvana for me. I liked it even more than the Front Mission games I daresay.

One of the few games I ever actually finished BTW (in about a week's worth of evenings).. I've been meaning to pick it up and play it again.. but the replay value isn't that great because of the plot-driven storyline.

I really don't play a lot of turn-based strategies on consoles (though I DO own the Shining Forces, Front Missions, Vandal Hearts and the like) simply because I'd rather play that type of game on a PC. If you like mechs though and want something like Vandal Hearts check out Vanguard Bandits for the PSX.. I've never played more than a few hours into it.. but it seems fun.

I have a tendency to think of Wachenroder as an RPG more than a strategy. Awesome game though.. I own it and have enjoyed it immensely. Which just reminded me! CR*P.. I sold my Japanese Saturn months ago.. now I CAN'T play it! :(

[Half Japanese]

I loathe traditional RPGs, but for some reason I can stomach the occasional turn-based strategy game with RPG elements (same as I love me a good hack 'n' slash/action RPG).

You mentioned Vandal Hearts right off the bat, but I'll third that one. That was my first real exposure to the genre and one of the best $10 I've ever spent gaming-wise.

I'll second the Pikmin series too, which I think should count. I haven't played the first since Pikmin 2 was already out by the time I was interested (and everything I've read gives Pikmin 2 the nod in every way), but what an incredible concept. It sounds so simple on the surface, but much harder in practice. The only downside is that you have to play single-player for a while to unlock the 2-player mode.

I also put about 20 hours into FFTA, but I put it down and haven't gone back in 2+ years. Someday...

[incubus421]

Also on the PS1, Tactics Ogre was awesome.

.

Agreed.

But how about Tactics Ogre's close relative the Ogre Battle series. March of the Black Queen for SNES was fantastic. And Ogre Battle 64 in my opinion is/was the most gorgeous and best game to ever hit the N64. Still remains to be in my top 5 best games list.

I also agree with all the FFT supporters...there is a reason why so many support this game and I'm right there with all of you. Any who have played through don't need to hear the reasoning behind why people love it.

I must also say that the original Front Mission was excellent and I had fun with the third installment for PS1 as well.

[Daria]

My Favorite Tactical RPGs:

Shining Force
Vandal Hearts
Warsong
Phantom Brave
Just Breed

And then come the sequals
Shining Force II
Shining Force CD

I can't stand Tactics Ogre or it's clones, including Final Fantasy Tactics, although I did like FFTA.

I find that I prefer Tactical Games that are more forgiving and more character driven. For example the units in Ogre or just about any of the NIS games are expendable. They can die permanently and are often replaced by better characters as you progress through the battles.

In Shining Force you can ressurect your units and they level up with you as you play, you can always switch them out of course, but they can be brought right back in whenever you need them. I like that as I usually grow more attached to the characters that join earlier in the game.

Warson is the exception to this trend, it's a difficult game for the most part unlike either Vandal Hearts or Shining Force, and heroes slain are lost forever. However unlike Ogre the heroes are not generic class types. They are named characters with personalities, faces, and back stories. I like that too.

I also like Tactical RPGs that allow for town roaming. This feels much more like a normal RPG to me then the flat town "menus" ala Vandal Hearts.

[Kamisama]

Hmm I hear Vandal Hearts often maybe I should check that out as I have not really played it yet :)

[Venturin]

Wow I'm surprised at all the love for Vandal Hearts out there!

I suppose that game was a lot of peoples introduction to strategy-RPG's.

That game hooked me so bad that I couldn't stop playing, every battle was a total joy.

With Ring of Red I was having so much fun that I never wanted it to end.
When I got to the final battle I couldn't believe it. Even though the game text said that "this is the final battle" I wasn't convinced. I was sure there would be just one more afterward.

I bought a friend Fire Emblem for the Cube and he tells me he is having a ball.
Did anyone enjoy Battalion wars for the Cube?

[Poofta!]

turn based strategy i prefer to be portable. but one console strategy game i aboslutely loved was front mission 4 for ps2.

[maxlords]

Looks like all my favorites have been nailed. Tops on the list for me though are Warsong and Military Madness, followed closely by Shining Force I and II.

Other favorites:
Tactics Ogre and Ogre Battle
Zone of the Enders: Fist of Mars
Final Fantasy Tactics
Vandal Hearts 2
Saiyuki: Journey West
Fire Emblem series
Vasteel
Front Mission 1 & 3
Arc the Lad Collection (I consider them strategy/RPGs)
Advance Wars series

The one series I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet is the Archon series (Archon I-III)...continued with The Unholy War and Wrath Unleashed. They're not standard traditional strategy but they're DAMNED good games....some of my favorites EVER.

[Venturin]

There's soooo many of these games I have yet to play. It seems like the Front Mission games would be right up my alley. I will have to give one of those a try.

Ogre Tactics for the GBA was so good I played through to the end, but I just cannot get into FF Tactics on GBA, even though I beat the PS1 version.

Just seems too unfocused for some reason to me.

[Daniel Thomas]

I loved Herzog Zwei enough to write a pair of extensive online strategy guides for the game. It was frustrating for me to learn the game without any available help on the internet. It's a pretty tough game to figure out without any instructions. Thankfully, I've been able to rectify that.

After Herzog, I guess, would be the Advance Wars games. AW2 is the best of the three - why the DS version didn't include online play remains a mystery to me. I hope they make another version to solve that problem.

[Zadoc]

Shining Force (Genesis)
Shining Force II (Genesis)
Shining Force III (Saturn)

These are the SRPGs that rule all other SRPGs.

Eat your heart out, FF Tactics!