Yggdra Union is one of those tactics JRPGs that runs just on the fringe of being obtuse, but has one of the funnest, most complex battle systems I've played with in the genre. The story is pretty standard but decently written. The art direction is extra as hell but fun to watch. The music is pretty good.

The hook here is the Union system, which allows multiple members of your army to attack at once based on their formation, making unit placement key to maximize how hard you'll smash the enemy army while taking as few of casualties as possible. It also utilizes a card system that comes with offensive/defensive stats, mobility, and special abilities to use during combat, making combat tactics super important.

I never beat this game because my PSP battery eventually swelled up to the size of a grapefruit. But it got challenging as hell due to the depth and breadth of mechanics present in the game while not being generous with healing during or after combat missions. You literally had army fatigue and suffered through long battle of attrition.

It's on Steam now for 25 bucks, which I intend to pick it back up. It's a mess of a good time.

This was probably one of the more unique and fun srpgs I've played in a while. I found the card system and using skills in conjunction with unions to be very interesting and pretty fun, shoutouts to Gravity Chaos for being op. Story was very ok in the first half but really picks up once you make it to the empire's land and get to do the funny war lord things. I do wish some things were a bit more clear (getting items, other characters, etc). I also didn't find many characters aside from Yggdra and Milanor to be very interesting or appealing, though I could've missed some extra scenes in my playthrough. Definitely play the psp version if you want to give this a try and not pull your hair out at the GBA version, I only recommend this if you want something different from an srpg and want a fun challenge.