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What is the best SRPG of all time?
- Thread starter BumRush
- Start date
GhaleonQ
Member
Fire Emblem: Genealogy Of The Holy War/Fire Emblem: Seisen No Keifu is the best tactical role-playing game. Absolute Hero Remodeling Project/Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger Versus Darkdeath Evilman is a great genre mixture.
That said, you'd be better off reading about some and picking rather than taking suggestions once you know what it is you like about them. There are really interesting obscure games and developers.
That said, you'd be better off reading about some and picking rather than taking suggestions once you know what it is you like about them. There are really interesting obscure games and developers.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
vocab said:
Out of curiosity, have you played Shining Force 3.
BrokenEchelon
Banned
I think Final Fantasy Tactics is still my favorite, but the Tactics Ogre series should be praised as well as Valkyria Chronicles.
It depends on what you like.
Do you like tightly designed encounters and scenarios that are optimally tackled in certain ways? Or do you like the freedom to prepare beforehand and brute force your way through them?
Do you like serious and intricately detailed political plots with individually motivated characters? Or would you rather something light and humorous?
Do you like strong party dynamics and unique character classes that are useful beyond their stats, each fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle? Or do you like mixing and matching, utilizing a character's past experiences to create strong, individual, storied party members?
Do you like sprawling battlefields that place emphasis on strategic formation and approach? Or do you like smaller, multi-tiered ones with terrain that bears significant advantages and disadvantages?
Do you like individual party members taking turns at their own intrinsic speeds? Or would you prefer each army taking its stand one side at a time?
Do you obsess over perfect balance, garnering pleasure from components that are equally represented? Or do you want to completely and positively abuse everything to rule over all?
Do you crave strategy brought about by endless depth and meaningful mechanics? Or is strongly designed simplicity your favorite way of experiencing nuanced complexity?
I honestly think the majority of popular SRPGs are far more fun to play than generic, big budget JRPGs. I do have to caution against less popular SRPGs--those games often focus on gimmicks to set them apart and lack strong fundamental mechanics that more popular SRPGs tend to have. You're bound to find something that speaks to you, though.
My personal answers would be Final Fantasy Tactics (in any form--PSX, WotL, 1.3, other mods) and Tactics Ogre (PSP).
edit: Really? Disgaea 4 already? What's it magically fix that the others failed to?
Do you like tightly designed encounters and scenarios that are optimally tackled in certain ways? Or do you like the freedom to prepare beforehand and brute force your way through them?
Do you like serious and intricately detailed political plots with individually motivated characters? Or would you rather something light and humorous?
Do you like strong party dynamics and unique character classes that are useful beyond their stats, each fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle? Or do you like mixing and matching, utilizing a character's past experiences to create strong, individual, storied party members?
Do you like sprawling battlefields that place emphasis on strategic formation and approach? Or do you like smaller, multi-tiered ones with terrain that bears significant advantages and disadvantages?
Do you like individual party members taking turns at their own intrinsic speeds? Or would you prefer each army taking its stand one side at a time?
Do you obsess over perfect balance, garnering pleasure from components that are equally represented? Or do you want to completely and positively abuse everything to rule over all?
Do you crave strategy brought about by endless depth and meaningful mechanics? Or is strongly designed simplicity your favorite way of experiencing nuanced complexity?
I honestly think the majority of popular SRPGs are far more fun to play than generic, big budget JRPGs. I do have to caution against less popular SRPGs--those games often focus on gimmicks to set them apart and lack strong fundamental mechanics that more popular SRPGs tend to have. You're bound to find something that speaks to you, though.
My personal answers would be Final Fantasy Tactics (in any form--PSX, WotL, 1.3, other mods) and Tactics Ogre (PSP).
edit: Really? Disgaea 4 already? What's it magically fix that the others failed to?
badcrumble
Member
It's either Tactics Ogre or Valkyria Chronicles.
Disgaea doesn't count because it's all about puzzles (the story levels) or grinding - it's never about actual *strategy*.
Disgaea doesn't count because it's all about puzzles (the story levels) or grinding - it's never about actual *strategy*.
Chairman Yang
if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
Pretty much every SRPG breaks so easily.Riposte said:
From what I've played -- and that's a few Fire Emblems, two Tactics Ogres, FFT on PSX, GBA and PSP, Jeanne D'Arc, Wild Arms XF, Vandal Hearts and whatever else I'm forgetting -- Disgaea 1 on PSP. Hands down, no contest, nothing comes even close.BumRush said:
Though if you feel nostalgic about FFT, Tactics Ogre LUCT is a strong bet.
Disgaea has a great story and fun characters but it is a terrible SRPG. It's still worth playing but there is no strategy involved. I beat the game without grinding with absolutely minimal thought. It might have gotten better in the new games.
Path of Radiance is my favorite RPG, I just wish they had left the JP hard mode in.
Path of Radiance is my favorite RPG, I just wish they had left the JP hard mode in.
Riposte
Member
Chairman Yang said:
That is somewhat true, but there is enough room where I've noticed I like several Fire Emblem games way more. I want to like FFT more than I do, because I loved it as a kid, but that has also made me really suspicious of fans of it.
Speaking of which, has anyone played a fan mod called "Hacktics?" Heard it was good, not easy to break.
Gaylord Sweetwood
Member
Sir_Crocodile said:
I have S3.1 for my Saturn, but haven't played it again since beating it shortly after it came out. I remember it being a good game, but doubt I could ever go back and play it knowing that we will never get the other 2 parts.
Sega needs to right their wrongs and get this trilogy out on PSN/Live/VC.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
vocab said:
Basically, it/they are SRPG's on rails(in that you mostly go from fight to new town to fight to new town without ever being able to go back). There is no grinding needed, only decent strategy. If things get too much you can warp back to the last town and try again with the exp you gained during the battle. All characters have personality and the story is fun.
If you feel like trying them, Scenario 1 was released in the west, S2 & S3 have fan translations ongoing here.
Gaylord Sweetwood said:
See above
storafötter
Member
For me it has to be
- Heroes of Might and Magic 2 and 3.
- Fire Emblem series
- Advance Wars
As much as I love Disgaea I disagree with it being mentioned. The leveling system is terrible, i prefer gradually getting experience points per hit than after a kill. I guess I get the point of this system as it makes it easier to level up by thousands than if every hit counts. The games are fun, but I dont find them that deep mechanic wise. A lot of the appeal for me comes from the wacky style, humor and over the top animations. Much of the strategy in Disgaea is brute force.
- Heroes of Might and Magic 2 and 3.
- Fire Emblem series
- Advance Wars
As much as I love Disgaea I disagree with it being mentioned. The leveling system is terrible, i prefer gradually getting experience points per hit than after a kill. I guess I get the point of this system as it makes it easier to level up by thousands than if every hit counts. The games are fun, but I dont find them that deep mechanic wise. A lot of the appeal for me comes from the wacky style, humor and over the top animations. Much of the strategy in Disgaea is brute force.
Valkyria Chronicles isn't strategic either. Your best bet, particularly in the larger maps, is to focus your action points on your favourite scout, and rushing them straight to the enemy flag. Bringing along a balanced mix of classes is such a chore. Scouts can move more than twice as far as the slow gunners and engineers per turn.badcrumble said:
Justin Timberlake
Member
I've played just about every major title in this genre, so I feel like this is one of the only genres I can give a true opinion of, along with Adventure games.
My answer is....
Oh hells yeah. FE7 (Fire Emblem Rekka no Ken, known only as Fire Emblem in the US) is the perfect SRPG. It does everything right.
A masterpiece that everyone should play.
My answer is....
Oh hells yeah. FE7 (Fire Emblem Rekka no Ken, known only as Fire Emblem in the US) is the perfect SRPG. It does everything right.
A masterpiece that everyone should play.
Shining Force 2 is in the Ultimate Genesis Collection.Sir_Crocodile said:
dr3upmushroom
Banned
I always find it weird that people call Disgaea a strategy game. I like the game fine, but it's true, you never really need to use strategy at all. The one exception maybe being strategic use of the crystals in Item World, but once you learn how to set things up to clear them all (which isn't hard), that's pretty much something you do without thinking too.badcrumble said:
I bought Tactics Ogre PSP at an Amazon sale a few weeks ago. I'm waiting until I finish Devil Survivor to start it but I'm excited, I've heard nothing but very positive opinions of it. I'm hoping it'll be a sort of "This is what FFT should have been" kind of thing for me, because I like that game but the extremely frustrating, luck-based escort missions keep me from really enjoying it.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
Rolf NB said:
I'm talking about Shining Force 3 Scenario 2.
There were three full SF games released on the Saturn called Shining Force 3 Scenario's 1, 2 and 3. Things you did in earlier games changed later games if you carried over your save file.
Basileus777
Member
Absol said:
GrandHarrier
Member
I absolutely LOVE the story for Disgaea 1 more than almost any SRPG I've played. Something magical about it that none of the other Disgaea games have managed to touch, though most of them are at least pretty good. I realize stuff like Tactics Ogre and FFT have more "srs" storylines, but... Disgaea 1 is just so good.
Also, anyone who suggests the series isn't an SRPG is being silly. You can grind in almost any SRPG. That Disgaea has a harder focus on it doesn't mean anything. You still have to figure out how to beat each level with your resources and move on just the same as anything else you might suggest.
Also, anyone who suggests the series isn't an SRPG is being silly. You can grind in almost any SRPG. That Disgaea has a harder focus on it doesn't mean anything. You still have to figure out how to beat each level with your resources and move on just the same as anything else you might suggest.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
GhaleonQ said:
Yeah.
The premium disk actually made me love camelot, as if the SF & GS games weren't enough.
I finally managed to get the Japanese versions of S1,2 & 3 in 2003(they were dirt cheap but I wasn't an INTERNET WARRIOR then so I had to hunt shops for them).
Now this is like 5 years after they'd come out, but I sent the proof of purchase tokens to Camelot, and they sent me the premium disk WAY after the promotion had to be over. Cool company.
Zuhzuhzombie!!
Member
Anything in the Ogre series or FFT, which is practically the same.
British Monsoon
Member
Sir_Crocodile said:
Oh wow, that's amazing. Especially considering the price the Premium Disc goes for on the internet nowadays. I liked the special battles from other SF games and it's awesome having all the SF3 artwork in one place, but I never really explored the option that let you create a Scenario 3 save and alter the pivotal choices so you could see the other endings without replaying the whole thing. Really cool feature, just wish I knew Japanese.
dr3upmushroom said:
There's plenty of strategy in Disgaea. Sure, you can grind through anything, but there are plenty of ways to apply strategy. Many levels do require a lot of strategy if you haven't grinded, especially in Disgaea 4. 2-2 definitely has many strategies that can be applied to it. There are also grinding strategies, as well as team makeup. Just because you're given the ability to power through the game by grinding, I don't think you should discount the strategy aspect of it at all.
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
Final Fantasy Tactics is the best. Vandal Hearts was my first SRPG so it has a special place.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Provided you count it, Heroes of Might and Magic 3. If not, probably Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics depending on what level of depth you're looking for--but it's worth noting that I personally tend to gravitate towards games with strong story elements and political themes, so it's not a surprise that I'd put these two before some games that some might argue are more sound, mechanically.
GhostRidah
Member
How I wish they made some of these for pc
StoppedInTracks
Member
1. UFO: Enemy Unknown (X-COM in the US)
2. Final Fantasy: Tactics
3. Heroes of Might and Magic III
2. Final Fantasy: Tactics
3. Heroes of Might and Magic III
Sir_Crocodile
Member
Bootaaay said:
There's still a lot of polishing to do, but it's perfectly playable:
http://sf3trans.shiningforcecentral.com/
Crash Station
Member
Valkyria is pretty damn good, but it's not really like other SRPGs.
Shining Force was wonderful. I am sad Sega shit on it.
Final Fantasy Tactics was great.
Fire Emblem.
Jeanne D'Arc was amazing.
Disgaea. This is sort of hit and miss with me... When I played the first one, I got so overwhelmed by the item world that I stopped playing the story and just focused on getting Specialist from the item word to power up weapons... and I started doing this for 8 characters. Then I realized that I just needed to beat the story, so I said fuck it, started passing "More expensive stuff" bills and just bought what was in the shops. That way, I could actually finish the damn story.
Final Fantasy Tactics was great.
Fire Emblem.
Jeanne D'Arc was amazing.
Disgaea. This is sort of hit and miss with me... When I played the first one, I got so overwhelmed by the item world that I stopped playing the story and just focused on getting Specialist from the item word to power up weapons... and I started doing this for 8 characters. Then I realized that I just needed to beat the story, so I said fuck it, started passing "More expensive stuff" bills and just bought what was in the shops. That way, I could actually finish the damn story.
Justin Timberlake
Member
Great, great game. The 2nd best in the series imo, after:
^Super Robot Taisen 4
mjemirzian
Banned
Pretty extensive list of my recommended tactics games here:
http://www.tbstactics.com/2010/11/recommended-turn-based-tactics-games.html
Only play FFT, Disgaea, or TO if you like grinding and hate strategic difficulty on a level any higher than checkers or some other extremely simple game.
http://www.tbstactics.com/2010/11/recommended-turn-based-tactics-games.html
Only play FFT, Disgaea, or TO if you like grinding and hate strategic difficulty on a level any higher than checkers or some other extremely simple game.