Turn-based game recommendations

Core

I've been thinking I haven't played a good turn-based strategy game in a while and just wondering if anyone has some good suggestions on games I might have missed. I love games like Shining Force 1 and 2 and the Genesis and Final Fantasy Tactics on the PS, but I haven't played anything like them for a while now. I've only got access to a PC and PS2, but if someone, but picking up a cheap Gamecube just for the Fire Emblem games seems more a more tempting.

DHS Odium

Well, since you have a PS2, do you have any of the Nippon-Ichi games, like La Pucella Tactics, Disgaea, etc.?

FirstComradeStalin

There's also advance wars for the gba. The Gamecube one is trash, don't get it, but Fire Emblem is great on both consoles. Basically what I'm saying is pick up a cheap GBA SP and get Fire Emblem, Advance Wars 1&2, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and, above all else, Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis.

Neo Rasa

For the PC I would absolutely get both Jagged Alliance games and X-COM: UFO Defense. It is my opinion that these three games are the pinnacle of the genre on the PC. Silent Storm and 101st Airborne are also very good. You should also track down the turn based Warhammer games (particularly FINAL LIBERATION and CHAOS GATE).


Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is VERY good. I don't know if it's worth buying the system for but there is very little wrong with the game. Hell get a Gameboy Player if you get the GC and that opens up several great GBA turn based games.


For the PS2 don't forget that there's quite a few PS1 games to choose from that aren't too expensive if you actually find them. The two Vandal Hearts games are a good example. Also despite it's horrendous dialogue and pedestrian storyline I really did enjoy Stella Deus on the PS2.

FirstComradeStalin

DHS Odium wrote:

Well, since you have a PS2, do you have any of the Nippon-Ichi games, like La Pucella Tactics, Disgaea, etc.?

That too.

Core

Yeah I picked up Disgaea 1 and 2, but never tried the other Nippon Ichi games, I wasn't sure if they were worth it. I hadn't heard too many good things about them. And yeah Vandal Hearts was a good game, I think I remember not liking the second one as much. God I'm kicking myself for selling my GBA I didn't know there was a Tactics Ogre game on it.

Einhander

The Vandal Hearts games are awesome, agreed.

Also, check around for some Front Mission games if you're into giant stompy mechs beating the shit out of other giant stompy mechs/tanks/helicopters. The third game on the PS1 is sort of hard to find, but the fourth on the PS2 is pretty common, and cheap.

Also, if you ever come across an old PS1 game called Battle Hunter, it's fun for multiplayer if you have a PS1 multitap. It's pretty ugly, repetitive, and is the poster child for budget gaming, but with three other people rushing toward the last crate because "it has to be the one with the item and oh shit I ran into a monster but I might still make it because the other guy has leg damage oh fuck there are only three cards left Gon is coming we're all fucked" it is a blast.

Backlash

Arc the Lad Collection is as close as you can get to Shining Force. Not even new Shining Forces are as close.

Or in the same genre.

Neo Rasa

If you have Disgaea 1 and 2 then the other NIS games aren't worth it, except for Makai Kingdom. La Pucelle Tactics has endearing characters but will lack a lot of the gameplay you'll have come to expect from an NIS developed game. If you ever feel like you'd enjoy Phantom Brave then just load up Microsoft Excel or Masters of Orion III instead.

Core

Backlash wrote:

Arc the Lad Collection is as close as you can get to Shining Force. Not even new Shining Forces are as close.

Or in the same genre.

God I bought one of the new Shining Force games for the PS2 a while ago without really fully checking it out, just thinking 'oh god yes! they made one for the PS2!' yeah I think I played it for about 2 hours before giving it up.

skace

There is nothing like SF1, SF2 and FFT. Those are pretty unique games and you set the bar pretty high for yourself. Er well, Fire Emblem sort of sates my Shining Force love. It's not an exact 1:1, it doesn't have any world to really move around outside of a 2d map, but it's still a lot of fun.

jclast

Front Mission 3 and 4 for the PSX and PS2 respectively.

Also, I thought FFX's turn-based battles were a lot more strategic than most other FFs. And the sphere grid meant that I could develop the characters however I wanted.

Zephyr_Fate

Saiyuki: Journey West for PSX.

Vegan

What about Fallout? I know it's for PC, but that'll run on anything these days.

Tasty Chaos

Has SMAC been mentioned?

Einhander

Vegan wrote:

What about Fallout? I know it's for PC, but that'll run on anything these days.

The Fallout games can be a bitch to run under XP for some systems. I think there is a thread floating around in the morass somewhere on the forum that has solutions for people having trouble.

Also, Fallout/Fallout 2 are awesome. I haven't played Fallout Tactics, but I've heard decent reviews.

BubbaT

PS2:

Dynasty Tactics 2
Gladius

PC:

Civ series
Close Combat series
Age of Wonders series
Galactic Civilizations series
Combat Mission series

ToadTheMushroom

Dr_Keenbean

X-motherfucking-com. Thread over.

GoodOmens

There's a million good choices for the PC. As others have said, the Civilization series, Alpha Centauri, Silent Storm and Jagged Alliance are excellent. I personally love the Age of Wonders series (especially Shadow Magic), and Heroes of Might and Magic has been popular for a long time; most people consider HOMM 3 to be the best in the series, and I like HOMM 5 alot. There are also more "hardcore" TBS games, like the Dominions series and lots of hex-based wargames that are only for true grognards.

For PS2, Gladius is fun, as is Ring of Red.

Rankenphile

Jagged Alliance 2

concrete

Dr_Keenbean wrote:

X-motherfucking-com. Thread over.

JustinChar99

It's been said, but it can't be said enough.



One of my favorite games.

4rch3nemy

Pick up a DS-lite (cheaper than a cube and better, IMO).

GBA:
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
FFT:Advance
Tactics Ogre: Knights of Lodis

DS:
Advance Wars: DS


..and you have 4 great games to slog through.

Advance Wars DS ownz.

Toast

Massive Assault is worth it if you can find it IMO, as is Fallout Tactics if you're into your squad-based action (and you've already finished Silent Storm, as the latter is better).

lostwords

Since a lot of the good ones for the PS1 and PS2 have been mentioned, I want to point out two lesser-known PS1 titles that were a ton of fun and can probably be bought on the cheap:

Brigandine - oooh, hex based. Also, strangely addictive with different starting characters.

Kartia - like a low budget Final Fantasy Tactics, though still with a charm of its own.

Bartholamue

JustinChar99 wrote:

Tactics Ogre

It could be a bitch to find though.

JeffH

lostwords wrote:

Since a lot of the good ones for the PS1 and PS2 have been mentioned, I want to point out two lesser-known PS1 titles that were a ton of fun and can probably be bought on the cheap:

Brigandine - oooh, hex based. Also, strangely addictive with different starting characters.

Kartia - like a low budget Final Fantasy Tactics, though still with a charm of its own.

Brigandine is the hardest game I've ever been actively looking to get to find. Been looking off and on for maybe 6+ years, as I'm not going to pay 75+ bucks for it on ebay,

Boilerbird

4rch3nemy wrote:

Pick up a DS-lite (cheaper than a cube and better, IMO).

GBA:
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
FFT:Advance
Tactics Ogre: Knights of Lodis

DS:
Advance Wars: DS


..and you have 4 great games to slog through.

Advance Wars DS ownz.

I'm a little pissed that Panzer Tactics DS has apparently slipped into the ether. I had *such* high hopes for that one after the initial screenshots. Oh well, they're probably working on AW:DS 2 somewhere.

Incidentally, Age of Empires DS is turn-based and decent.

Squirminator2k

THIS IS ALL YOU NEED.

lostwords

JeffH wrote:

lostwords wrote:

Since a lot of the good ones for the PS1 and PS2 have been mentioned, I want to point out two lesser-known PS1 titles that were a ton of fun and can probably be bought on the cheap:

Brigandine - oooh, hex based. Also, strangely addictive with different starting characters.

Kartia - like a low budget Final Fantasy Tactics, though still with a charm of its own.

Brigandine is the hardest game I've ever been actively looking to get to find. Been looking off and on for maybe 6+ years, as I'm not going to pay 75+ bucks for it on ebay,

Really? I never knew it was a popular item in the used games area. Thank goodness I got my copy on the cheap way back when. You always hear about Valkyrie Profile and Final Fantasy Tactics without the players choice seal and all.

Umm, to the OP, to avoid derailing: you can always check out the Masters of ______ series for the PC. Masters of Orion and Masters of Magic were huge time wasters for me.

EggyToast

Boilerbird wrote:

I'm a little pissed that Panzer Tactics DS has apparently slipped into the ether. I had *such* high hopes for that one after the initial screenshots.

Ether as far as what? I still see some places touting a release date of early march.

Boilerbird

EggyToast wrote:

Boilerbird wrote:

I'm a little pissed that Panzer Tactics DS has apparently slipped into the ether. I had *such* high hopes for that one after the initial screenshots.

Ether as far as what? I still see some places touting a release date of early march.

No screenshots or "official" news since last August or so, after all that post-E3 hype. I'll believe a March release date when I see it in stores.

Xagarath

For the PC, Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic is essnetially a perfectly polished and endlessly time-eating fantasy strategy.

Lord Jezo

Battle for Wesnoth

It's free and it's pretty awesome. Tons of user added content, a couple official campaigns, and hot elf chicks. Sorta.

Caveman Paws

You should all be ashamed for not bringing up the Fallout games for PC.

Toast

Caveman Paws wrote:

You should all be ashamed for not bringing up the Fallout games for PC.

You should be ashamed for not reading the thread. All three titles worthy of the name are mentioned on page one.

DoctorArch

Toast wrote:

Caveman Paws wrote:

You should all be ashamed for not bringing up the Fallout games for PC.

You should be ashamed for not reading the thread. All three titles worthy of the name are mentioned on page one.

We should all be ashamed for mentioning Knights of Lodis for the GBA.

Men have had better luck finding the holy grail, let alone an authentic copy of that game.

JeffH

Archgarth wrote:

Toast wrote:

Caveman Paws wrote:

You should all be ashamed for not bringing up the Fallout games for PC.

You should be ashamed for not reading the thread. All three titles worthy of the name are mentioned on page one.

We should all be ashamed for mentioning Knights of Lodis for the GBA.

Men have had better luck finding the holy grail, let alone an authentic copy of that game.

You can get a cartidge-only for very cheap, maybe 25 bucks

complete is a little different, but i doubt it'd be too much more

Daisuke Spoon

Archgarth wrote:

Toast wrote:

Caveman Paws wrote:

You should all be ashamed for not bringing up the Fallout games for PC.

You should be ashamed for not reading the thread. All three titles worthy of the name are mentioned on page one.

We should all be ashamed for mentioning Knights of Lodis for the GBA.

Men have had better luck finding the holy grail, let alone an authentic copy of that game.

I remember stopping by a circuit city about 3 years ago and picking up Tactics Ogre for the GBA for $20. Too bad I left it my friends house one day, never to be seen again.

on Topic: I got Valkyrie Profile for my PSP and and its pretty fun if that counts.

Captain K

Also consider Riviera and Yggdra Union, two GBA games published by Atlus and developed by Sting. They're not for everyone, but they have personality bursting from the seams.