I need an SRPG to become hopelessly addicted to. Recommendations, please.

The Game Room
1

I love Strategy RPG’s - “Tactics” games, where there’s no exploration or talking to townspeople but instead nothing but battle after battle, chess-style. I need a new one to become hopelessly addicted to. Here are some criteria that I’d really like:

  • Energetic and fast-paced. I’ve become bummed with Final Fantasy Tactics A2 right now because it’s just TOO clunky - slow animations, sluggish menus, lethargic battles in general. I want something that pops!

  • No totally insane item customization/alchemy/fusion/etc. necessary for success in the game. I always find such systems incredibly tiresome, overly complicated, un-fun, and generally random in nature. I understand that that stuff is in there for the hardcore fiends, but it should be optional and not necessary for completing the game. In other words, I shouldn’t suddenly stall out in the game because I haven’t been fusing gemstones with swords and then leveling them only only to fuse them with each other , etc. for the past 20 hours.

  • A decent story. I know that’s a lot to ask of an SRPG, but I’d like to at least feel like I have a reason for continuing to play!

Favorite SRPG’s of all time: La Pucelle Tactics , the original Ogre Battle , original Final Fantasy Tactics, the first Disgaea.

Systems owned: PS2, Xbox360, PSP, Nintendo DS

Go!

2

Well, you can always seek out the original Archon.

3

I loved that game!

Btw, I meant Tactics Ogre, not the true Ogre Battle.

4

Try Battle for Wesnoth. I haven’t gotten very far in it and the beginner campaign (South Guard) wasn’t that hot, but the game itself rocks.

5

It’s hard to find, but the GBA (You can play it on the DS) game Tactics Ogre: The Knight Of Lodis is pretty darn good. More or less a no brainer if you liked the original Tactics Ogre (Which I applaud you for. It is one of my all time favorites).

I do not have a PSP, so I have not had a chance to play it, but I have heard nothing but good things about Jeanne D’Arc. Supposedly it plays more or less like the original Final Fantasy Tactics.

For a big change of pace, Silent Storm is a great game. It’s PC, though old enough that you don’t need much of a rig. Basically, a WWII tactical RPG where you control a squad of soldiers in a highly destructible environment. Oodles of fun, in my opinion.

Gladius is another good one that most people have not heard about. It’s available for PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube. The focus is on smaller battles. More games should be set in ancient Rome (okay, technically it’s not “Rome”, but it might as well be).

Some people seem to like Luminous Arc for the DS. I didn’t, but maybe you will.

I also could never get into the Fire Emblem games, but they’re supposedly very good, but very very tough. None of that random battle leveling or bringing back dead party members. Minimal customization, too, which sounds like it may appeal to you.

If you liked Disgaea, then you ought to look into the other Nippon Ichi games: Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom, and Disgaea 2. Phantom Brave is the only one of those I’ve played. I found it fun, but not great.

The wikipedia page also has a fairly extensive list of games which is worth looking at: Tactical role-playing game - Wikipedia

6

It’s not an RPG, but Advance Wars: Dual Strike and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin are both really great turn-based strategy games, and Days of Ruin has a decent, if somewhat silly, story that’s at least much more interesting than Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (or A2). The combat in both Advance Wars moves pretty fast (and you can skip animations anyway).

7

I’d second the Fire Emblem series, two of which you can find on the GBA. Little customization, battles are fairly fast-paced, and no fluff between battles. The titles are Fire Emblem and Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. (First one is better.)

8

Seconding the recommendations for the other Nippon Ichi titles. Be prepared, however, to lose a good amount of your social life and your soul. (I ended up dropping over 100 hours EACH in Disgaea, Disgaea 2, Phantom Brave, and Makai Kingdom. The only reason La Pucelle wasn’t the same time-suck was that there was no New Game Plus option and I got bored of grinding faster.)

9

It’s old, but Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is a classic.

When the new Colonization comes out (Sep?), it’ll be great!

10

I personally loved the potential strategic depth that Supreme Commander offers, but the enemy AI isn’t very good, so you really need someone to play with if you want to fully enjoy the experience.

11

The Total War series (culminating, in my personal opinion, in Medieval 2: Total War) has a chess-board big picture game with all the strategy you could slob on, as well as a brawling battlefield command when your armies clash. (The lack of which has forever alienated me from Civilization, sadly)

I recommend getting invested in your characters - a fully fleshed out game can last between 10 and 50 hours, depending on your skill, difficulty level and the nation you’re leading.

Not an RPG, but so very, very fulfilling.

12

The OP seemed to indicate he’s looking for less micro and more fighting. But there’s lots and lots of micro on the campaign map of M2TW. You need to enjoy micromanagement in order to enjoy the full game. (Not at all to enjoy the battle part–however the OP is asking for turn-based stuff.)

Freaking merchants man. I hate those mofo’s.

-Kris

13

It sure is a classic: for the PC. I think the OP is looking for console only.

14

Way of the Ninja, man. Way of the Ninja.

(Actually, the best thing is to just build a fleet of merchants at once and hunt other merchants before settling down. The yield is higher - capture value ranges between hundreds to several thousand forints - it’s not viewed as aggression towards other states and it entices the Merchant Guild to settle down in your cities. Merchant Guild trained merchants usually start off with 3-4 stars, which is excellent.)

Of course, it does require a level of micromanagement - but you can get away with most of it fairly easily through the automanagement feature. Things like building queues and adjusting tax levels to maximize profits, so you can spend time on the important things in life, such as smashing heathen face. (As the Good Lord says.)

ETA: Ack, the real problem appears to be the fact that he doesn’t have a gaming grade PC :smack:

On that note, I’ll throw in the towel. I’ve been looking for good console RPGs myself. (PS3 and 360, if anyone has any bones to toss my way. Looking for a good storyline - probably going to check out Too Human when my buddy comes over for the weekend. Hell, they’ve had 10 years to write it, it better be good!)

15

Some recommendations (post got lost when the Hamsters Refurbished their Homes):

Xbox360 - Puzzle Quest (Bejewelled + RPG), Castle Crashers (Golden Axe + RPG), Dynasty Warriors 6 (Mindless hack and slash + RPG), Culdcept (Monopoly + RPG)

PSP - Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced, Dungeons and Dragons (TBS)

DS - Fire Emblem

PS2 - Arc the Lad, Dynasty Tactics 1 & 2 (Be proud if you manage to beat it!)

And for some good solo RPGs, I will recommend:

Quest for Glory II, VGA Rebuild - http://www.agdinteractive.com/
Mass Effect (PC, Xbox360)
Lost Odyssey (PC, Xbox360)

16

I don’t play a lot of tactical games, but I did play Fallout Tactics, because it was Fallout. It wasn’t much of a Fallout story (way off cannon, and hardly any actual roleplaying), but the tactical end was interesting. I have no idea what people who play tacsims like, but I like planting mines and luring enemies onto them by sniping and hiding. It may be possible to beat the game with more action-oriented tactics, but I’ll never know because I’d do it the same way again.