Current Events > Tactical RPGs are such an underrated genre

(+) Yeah! (+)

There should be more of them.

Are there ones with an actual game world you walk around in and explore? I played Triangle Strategy and it was just cutscene fight cutscene fight.

Like da 1st dragon age?

Massive Chalice is one of my favorite games and I replay it atleast once every couple of months.

BlackOmnimon posted...

There should be more of them.

I agree.

They are unfortunately far, far too niche. Maybe Unicorn Overlord can convince some others to give the genre a fair shot.

Rosstin316 posted...

Are there ones with an actual game world you walk around in and explore? I played Triangle Strategy and it was just cutscene fight cutscene fight.

Usually the exploration is something akin to, "point to area on map, go to area on map". The recently released Unicorn Overlord however, allows old school open world exploration.

Rosstin316 posted...

Are there ones with an actual game world you walk around in and explore? I played Triangle Strategy and it was just cutscene fight cutscene fight.

The Shining Force games, from the Genesis and Saturn Era. It was great finding hidden treasure, although some of the hidden Mithril spots in Shining Force 2 were completely random tiles, it felt like.

Rosstin316 posted...

Are there ones with an actual game world you walk around in and explore? I played Triangle Strategy and it was just cutscene fight cutscene fight.

Unicorn Overlord.

Is Langrisser I & II good? It's on sale on Steam

I miss Record of Agarest War. I liked the combo system and Soul Breed system (match the hero with someone and start the next part of the game as their kid).

DragulaRULEZ posted...

I miss Record of Agarest War. I liked the combo system and Soul Breed system (match the hero with someone and start the next part of the game as their kid).

I remember that game. I absolutely hated it.

Are you sure it wasn't Record of Agarest War 2, because I hated that.

Advance Wars gang

WarTales has some potential. It's on Gamepass.

XCOM, FFT, and derivatives thereof I like a lot

for the life of me I can't get into cRPGs. It's some kinda weird disconnect

No one ever talks about Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, that was one of the first Tactical RPGs I played that put a little more into the graphics. I always go for gameplay first, but it was cool to have some 3D characters to move around.

My favorite games seried is super Robot Wars, which is a Tactical Rpg. Shame that it died down, back until the 2010s they released like 2 games every year. But these days they focused on the mobile game, SRW DD.

DragulaRULEZ posted...

Are you sure it wasn't Record of Agarest War 2, because I hated that.

Never played 2, because the original left such a bad taste in my mouth.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


To me, BG3 is a CRPG, not a tactical one. Yes, it has elements of TRPG in it--and the lines between the two genres blurs a lot--but I generally keep them separate.

DragulaRULEZ posted...

No one ever talks about Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, that was one of the first Tactical RPGs I played that put a little more into the graphics. I always go for gameplay first, but it was cool to have some 3D characters to move around.

That was my first (and only) Arc the Lad game. I remember absolutely loving it, especially the split but connected storylines. Music was top notch, too.

Xenogears15 posted...

To me, BG3 is a CRPG, not a tactical one. Yes, it has elements of TRPG in it--and the lines between the two genres blurs a lot--but I generally keep them separate.

What about Xcom?

I don't like them when they're actually hard like Fire Emblem. I don't have the attention span to spend 5 minutes every turn making sure I'm not making any huge mistakes.

luigi33 posted...

What about Xcom?

XCom is...a bit harder to classify. It has RPG elements, but is rather light on them when in comparison to actual TRPGs. I feel comfortable just calling it an isometric tactical shooter. Tactical strategy game?

There are a shit ton of them

Rosstin316 posted...

Are there ones with an actual game world you walk around in and explore? I played Triangle Strategy and it was just cutscene fight cutscene fight.

You can walk around and explore in triangle strategy... Literally I think every chapter there's exploration and items to find n people to talk to n shit

But there's also fire emblem three houses and unicorn overlord, to name some newer ones

I loved Front Mission 4, but havent played many others.

I
Xenogears15 posted...

XCom is...a bit harder to classify. It has RPG elements, but is rather light on them when in comparison to actual TRPGs. I feel comfortable just calling it an isometric tactical shooter. Tactical strategy game?

I like xcom, but I just feel way too pressured to save scum. Specifically xcom2

Phoenix Point was good if you got past all the bugs when it was released.

Xcom is far more punishing and tactically complex than most TRPGs but the focus is far less on numbers and how OP individual units are. You have to utilize a group of mostly vulnerable units to win.

Fundamentally there's so many similarities between a typical TRPG and CRPGs (class based, individual units mattering) but bg3 just takes the concept and makes it far more open and complex mechanically and level design wise.

You can get through Baldur's Gate 3 without really worrying about positioning other than tank and fighters out from, and spell casters and support behind. Not really a TRPG in my book, even if it has aspects of it.

Hopefully everyone here giving love to the genre is playing or about to play Unicorn Overlord

JuanCarlos1 posted...

I loved Front Mission 4, but havent played many others.

FM1 got a faithful remake recently. Basically just updated graphics to 3D with some QoL improvements without changing the basics.
FM2 and FM3 remaster also in the works.

I think they're fun, but failure is far too much of a loss.

One battle can take like an hour. I really don't have time for losing with stakes like that.

bsp77 posted...

You can get through Baldur's Gate 3 without really worrying about positioning other than tank and fighters out from, and spell casters and support behind. Not really a TRPG in my book, even if it has aspects of it.

Definitely not true. Squishies get ran through fast. Position is very important especially in harder difficulties. Also you can take advantage of the environment in significantly more creative ways than in your typical TRPG which makes it matter even more.

luigi33 posted...

Definitely not true. Squishies get ran through fast. Position is very important especially in harder difficulties. Also you can take advantage of the environment in significantly more creative ways than in your typical TRPG which makes it matter even more.

I feel like I have to spend a LOT more time on precisely where to place my units in true TRPGs. I kinda thought about in BG3, but not nearly as much. And yes, I beat it. It was on Balanced though, as I play almost all games on the standard or middle difficulty.

ITT: TRPGs can only be Japanese

sabin017 posted...

ITT: TRPGs can only be Japanese

Of course not. Many classic style CRPGs always had a tactical aspect, but usually were not considered full blown TRPGs. Proof? Baldur's Gate 3 won tons of RPG awards, while games like Fire Emblem and Triangle Strategy typically get awards and nominations in the Strategy category.

bsp77 posted...

I feel like I have to spend a LOT more time on precisely where to place my units in true TRPGs. I kinda thought about in BG3, but not nearly as much. And yes, I beat it. It was on Balanced though, as I play almost all games on the standard or middle difficulty.

Lets just say at high difficulties, a Barbarian getting to your squishy who has low AC and he has multiple attacks per turn will most likely kill the squishy before he uses his 2nd attack turn.

sabin017 posted...

ITT: TRPGs can only be Japanese

No, but it certainly doesn't help that the vast majority of TRPGs have come out of Japan. Hell, they're mostly because of one singluar Japanese dude that made the biggest entries into the genre as a whole.

TRPGs that I liked but got too difficult:

Mordheim: City of the Damned
Last Remnant
Natural Doctrine