SRPGs I'd recommend my friends
Name of the list says it all. I spent a lot of time playing this God forsaken genre so I might as well make other people try them out. Not a complete list, just good ass tactical RPGs, not trying to be obscure but trying to get people to play different games. Work in progress, open to suggestions.
43 Games
XCOM is here, so is Jagged Alliance.
Kaga gaming. Incredible storytelling and game design, you can see why people have the man in high regards. Can be a bit cryptic but it's got soul.
Classic game, classic story, classic characters. Everybody wants to make a FFT clone for a reason, but hardly anything can top the original. The PSP edition has more content, but the framerate isn't the best. I recommend modding the PS1 game to get the better translation and the additional content.
The most accessible Robot Wars game.
Recommended for its tactical gameplay and unique storytelling. There are routes and you can decide your main character what kind of unit he commands. It also straight up looks phenomenal.
Sengoku Rance has a big wall. You need to be okay with ero scenes. If you don't mind them, the world's your oyster, the game has a lot of tactical and intelligent game design (which, by the way, out of an ero game I never expected). If you don't want ero scenes, just skip the entire saga, not worth getting into it if you dislike its premise.
Out of all three Shining Force games, I'd say 1 is the fairest, but it lacks the appeal the other two have, and 2 is the most repetitive, since there are a lot of filler maps. 3 takes out the crown because it's peak Camelot design, presentation and it doesn't have the big flaws the other two games have. Please try Shining Force, it's not Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics and it doesn't need to be that.
Wonderful game, reminiscent of Ogre Battle games, rich in content and battles. You'll spend some time in menus but it's 100% worth it, considering the amount of strategizing and things to do. It may be on the easier side, but considering the scope of this guide I don't see this as an issue. This would be my #1 choice for a beginner in the genre.
Kaga gaming. The hardest Fire Emblem to date and it's not because it's unfair, but because it makes the player think outside the box.
Simply put, THE best storyline in the entire list. Gameplay wise it's a weird mix between Fire Emblem and other RTS titles, but it works surprisingly well.
A bit more obscure, but recommended nonetheless because of its presentation and gameplay. There are other tactical games on PC-98 worth checking out, but in general the platform is rich in charming little games. And erotic content.
Majin Tensei exists, but I don't recommend checking that out. Devil Survivor has a lot of endings, lots of good maps and gameplay and it's essentially a SMT but with tactical gameplay. Goated soundtrack.
The one Fire Emblem romhack I'd say it's absolutely worth checking out (outside The Last Promise). Characters are fleshed out, story is interesting and the maps are chef kiss absolutely stellar. Some stinkers here and there but no game is perfect if we were to talk like that.
A more modern look on the tactical subgenre of RPGs, Triangle Strategy offers a strong narrative focus based on choices which take you to different routes and some modicum of strategy thanks to the unique units' skills. A fair compromise between Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem, the OGs of the genre, while breaking away and making the game stand on its own without having to be compared like many others.
The deluxe edition of the Goat. If you want accessible but fair difficulty in a tactical game, this is it. Peak gameplay, peak storyline and routes, you'll either play 50 hours or 5k hours of it.
If you take out RNG out of a game, you get Into the Breach. There are consequences and you're either going to feel like a mastermind or a moron depending on a plan working out or not. Very easy to get into, it's hard to master but every death makes the game a tad easier.
I'd consider playing the sequel A2 on the DS as well. Moving from more serious topics, the Advance series doesn't shy from tactical gameplay but takes it a bit more slowly compared to PS1 FFT. Consider it like this: if FFT has a vertical growth of units and some are more broken than others, FFTA has a more methodical and horizontal approach to unit building. Instead of spending Job Points, you need to equip certain weapons in order to teach some skills, basically gatekeeping the strongest skills to the endgame. A2 has much more min maxing and classes, but it's even slower than FFTA.
Very cute design and story, its gameplay doesn't scream originality yet it's consistent and fun, the characters have a lot of charm thanks to the Visual Novel like sections.
Barely an SRPG, it's Enemy Unknown but better. War of the Chosen makes the game even better, but vanilla xcom 2 is the most easygoing and fun you can have with the engine. Never trust the RNG in these games.
The better of the two Ogre Battle games. It plays smoothly and it has an interesting chaos\law mechanic dictating what characters can join you and what ending you're going to get, entirely based on gameplay.
The tactical gameplay lies in the battle system, the game itself is a horror survival game with phenomenal voice acting, stage directing and loveable characters set in a single place, a monastery in Wales. Precursor to the Shadow Hearts saga.
Barely a SRPG, it's different from other tactical games because it's set in not-WW2 Europe with said weapons and tanks and you command a squadron of units through maps. Good game, a bit messed up how getting A tiers on every map means you need to rush to the objective in the least amount of turns, nothing else matters. Scouts are going to be your friends.
Nice gameplay design, it can get repetitive over different playthroughs but it's solid enough for it to be recommended
Weird PS1 game, it's got a lot of charm and most battles feel more like puzzles than actual battles. I love the presentation, the design and its linear storyline means it's a deeply personal tale but there's no real exploration.
Disgaea in general is a good series, but having only played through the first one, I can only recommend this one. I like it a lot, if you like grinding and having big numbers pop up on the screen this game is for you. Either way, you can spend 50 or 5k hours on it.
Great presentation and moral choices, it's a different game compared to the others and a bit punishing, but having your health count as your damage output is the coolest design I ever saw in tactical rpgs.
Just putting the first game because it's a saga, but it's an intricate story with wonderful characters, good rpg elements and tactical gameplay. Simply a good ass game. I'd say it's the Trails in the Sky of SRPGs.
Front Mission is a great 90s tactical rpg. It can get a bit repetitive but being able to use mechs adds a layer of tactical prowess.
Yggdra Union is an intense tactical game. It's hard and it punishes you a lot, but once it clicks it's very rewarding.
Symphony of War accomplishes a lot of things despite lacking in polish: it's a great itch-scratch for when you really want to play Ogre Battle and Fire Emblem but can't at the same time. It's got its charm, but it's a bit janky and you'll spend a lot of time perusing through menus.
Kaga gaming. Wait, you forgot to bring door keys to the final battle? Ah, you fell for the oldest trick in the book.
Kingdom Battle and its sequel Sparks of Hope scream originality and design thinking. On the gameplay side, the game is a much simpler XCOM clone, but the sheer amount of homages to Mario games and the reappearance of the Rabbids after so many years point to a good choice of tactical gameplay for newbies and not. Sparks of Hope is a hundred times better than the first one, but I'm putting the first one to represent the series itself.
Peak PSP gaming. Jeanne D'arc is fun, not the most hardcore neither the easiest SRPG I've played. I definitely recommend checking it out for the characters and the presentation.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Nothing else, a bit complex but it's a good starting point for TK and Dynasty Warriors fans.
Fell Seal has a lot of customization options for you minmaxers out there. The story is fine, not my cup of tea, but gameplay alone, at times slow, really makes up for it. Also, I get it, people really like steam-punky designs, but if you browse through the custom portraits you'll see a lot of backers and honestly there's a lot of people wearing glasses (I wear glasses too I either feel represented or mocked).
Colorful palette and incredibly good looking sprites, the core formula of a SRPG is there and it's one of the most polished and well-rounded modern examples of the genre.
Remake to the first Fire Emblem, I feel like Shadow Dragon is the game where the maps feel fast, not too big and there's enough units to have each and every time a different experience. Difficulty is fair and it gets punishing only if you don't pay attention. My favorite Fire Emblem.
Interesting premise and great assets (heh), it feels a bit low budget but it's an interesting game, worth checking out.
1 & 2 are worth getting into it, even if you aren't a fan of TK. I'm a fan of Three Kingdoms so it's a must for me, especially because I'm clinically obliged to play tactical games.
1 through 3, Mercenaries Saga is an interesting concept for a tactical game. I wasn't impressed by the story, but for its value I'd say it's a competent SRPG not many people have heard of.
Cool little game, a bit hit and miss mechanically, graphically not the best, but it's got a nice and dark story despite the low odds.
Fever dream of a game, did NOT deserve the hate it got at launch. Clearly not for everybody, but if playing a squad of psycho mantis kids in WW2 against werewolves and the occult makes you think it may be interesting, you have to check it out.
Small indie game, can be completed under 4 hours. It's got an interesting combat system but it's also got some blemishes which means I can't recommend this game to everyone.
23 Comments
Berwick Saga
@Bojangles4th would you rather recommend someone Thracia776, Berwick Saga or Vestaria Saga for some Kaga recognition in this list?
Berwick just because it's the most unheard of, but why not put all 3 on? They're similar but Berwick had my friend who's a major FE fan constantly going "wait what?" in regards to how unit/equipment stats work together.
Fair enough, adding all three + Vandal Hearts and Growlanser. Pretty strong list so far 👍
I'd add one of the Shining Force games to this list, either the very original or III on Saturn. They're vastly underrepresented in developer homages/influence (everyone's seemingly making just FFT/FE-likes these days...) and introduced a lot of Western players to the genre before Nintendo brought over their franchise. Same goes for Front Mission (though I'd choose the DS port of FM1, rather than FM3). I think The Banner Saga's well-known at this point for its level of polish and presentation, also.
For more obscure picks, Dynasty Tactics (2) and Dragon Force are off the beaten path but quite newbie-friendly. The farther into the weeds I'd go is something like Tuned Heart (PC-98) or Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII (battle system will feel familiar to FE/Shining Force players). And if XCOM 2 can make the list, so can Jagged Alliance 2, which has plenty of mods/guides to make its difficulty ramp easier today.
For more obscure picks, Dynasty Tactics (2) and Dragon Force are off the beaten path but quite newbie-friendly. The farther into the weeds I'd go is something like Tuned Heart (PC-98) or Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII (battle system will feel familiar to FE/Shining Force players). And if XCOM 2 can make the list, so can Jagged Alliance 2, which has plenty of mods/guides to make its difficulty ramp easier today.
@PasokonDeacon Thank you for the great suggestions, I almost forgot Banner Saga and Front Mission 😭 I'm also very glad to meet other Three Kingdoms connoisseurs 🥂 let's toast over the pig my uncle slaughtered for us (I slaughtered him too)
any specific reason for the original devil survivor being there instead of the overclocked version?
great list btw
great list btw
@MothLibrarian Hey, thanks for checking the list! The real reason is that I played through the original DS and the spot on the list was meant to represent all the Devil Survivor games (well there's two). What's the catch? Why did I put all Kaga games but not all Devil Survivor and Majin Tensei games? Am I biased? Probably yes, but I also wanted to have a more compact list with fewer entries just to get your feet wet into the genre, and all Kaga games tend to be very different and are basically part of different stories, while after playing Devil Survivor 1 you ought to play the second entry, right?
That's a very fair reason, can't argue against it! I think that's a really good choice, it prevents the list from feeling bloated.
I'd like to through out Vandal Hearts 2 as a recommendation. The storyline is really good and it's got an great equipment customization system, but the combat is incredibly fucking weird. Someone made a hack for it to make the combat "normal" for lack of a better term if you can't get in to the original version.
as someone who's overwhelmed by the thought of playing tactical RPG's but would like to try and get into some anyway (fire emblem, front mission, and FFT are on my mind especially), what would you say are the best ones for a beginner to start with?
@CrossOfFate I thought about putting Vandal Hearts 2, but in order to make it "playable" you'd have to go through some hoops I wouldn't really recommend, so I instead put the first game, which is still a wonderful SRPG on its own so it's a win-win
@TheMaxine hey there! This list is aimed at people not really into the genre, so I'd say pick the console you own and the game you want to play. If you own a Switch the Mario Rabbids titles are very newbie friendly, but the titles you mentioned are user friendly as well and offer a rewarding difficulty without feeling cheap. I'd say try out FFT advance and see if you like it.
@TheMaxine hey there! This list is aimed at people not really into the genre, so I'd say pick the console you own and the game you want to play. If you own a Switch the Mario Rabbids titles are very newbie friendly, but the titles you mentioned are user friendly as well and offer a rewarding difficulty without feeling cheap. I'd say try out FFT advance and see if you like it.
Also! Unicorn Overlord is very good! The demo is out and free, I highly recommend checking it out
just making sure: you know Mask of Deception isn't the first Utawa game right?
@Apocynadeae Indeed you are 100% right, I thought I put Prelude instead I forgot to check 💀 thanks for pointing it out, corrected with the OG
Wow, gg, this blown out pretty well. Surprised to not see 13 Sentinels.
Would you say reborn pc port is a good way to play TO? I heard very mixed things about both the port and the remake quality as well
@KingGarb all versions are essentially the same, I find the Switch version more comfortable but if you have a Deck I'd say go for it, there's also the hypothetical modding.
@KingGarb, sorry for the double ping but I think this might interest you: for the differences between each port, I'll link a helpful guide by AustinSV on Youtube. In terms of strategy and mechanics, all three games are similar yet fundamentally different, so there's no wrong way to play it. Each has its flaws and strenghts, but I personally recommend Reborn even simply for the great VA work and QoL improvements.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DmOktoA3eQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DmOktoA3eQ
Ooh I’ll give it a looksee. I do have a deck thats acting as a 2024 psp so this game seems like something thatll work well on it. Dw about the double ping btw
Ok i watched it and am definitely going to try out reborn when i can. Thank you! I watched that guys vids on the FFs and CT as well before, very interesting stuff
Hey you're welcome, thanks for checking the list!
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