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Insane List of DS Strategy RPG's
iguanaDitty
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Registered User regular
iguanaDitty's Insane list of Strategy RPG's for the DS (mostly RPG's anyway)
Amazing how many there are isn't it? And more announced all the time. If a title tickles your fancy but you can't find it locally (GBA titles, for example), try Goozex.
Anything labeled "Cheap" you might find at a Gamestop and Goozex can get it for you fairly quickly for usually $5-10.
I've tried to make it clear which ones I've played and which ones I'm just summarizing what I've read. Generally I don't finish games so you're getting my impression based on whatever playing time I've put into it.
Already Out:
(GBA)
Recommended in Some Fashion
Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones
If you've played any other Fire Emblem, you already know how to play this - they're all basically the same. There's a reason there's a ton of them though - they're good. The basic gist is, very story-driven. Usually the story is well-done with good writing and characters, but a bit generic. There will be a battle, then some talking and a chance to outfit, then a battle, etc. Sacred Stones (and later versions) allow characters to choose a profession once they hit level 10, otherwise all leveling is automatic. Usually battles fall into the "kill everyone else" variety but there's plenty to do on each map - characters you can recruit, shops to visit etc. Each character moves and attacks, then next character moves and attacks until everyone on your side is done, then the enemy goes (this is pretty standard is all SRPG's). Battles get pretty difficult as time goes on, especially because if a character dies they are permanently dead. Overall there's complexity but it's not overwhelming, which I like. Graphics are cartoony, animations are fun. I've talked a lot about this one because I like it a lot. Cheap.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFTA)
Personally this didn't do it for me but it's extremely well-liked by the rest of the known world. Battles felt very slow to me and there was too much complexity here. But if you really want to get into a system and go crazy this one will let you, with a ton of ways to upgrade your characters by getting them to switch jobs. This one is pretty hard to find but note FFTA2: Electric Boogaloo coming out in June which promises to be an Event for Gaming Media.
Yggdra Union
Very different take on SRPG here. I haven't played it that much but what I did play was pretty cool. Unlike these other games which allow one attack per character, there's only one attack for your entire side - but if you arrange yourself correctly it can be pretty devastating. During the attacks you have a real-time component of selecting a stance (defense, attack, neutral) and pressing one way or the other on the d-pad to accentuate the stance. Also your movement is handled by cards, which also have special abilities. Also you can't get too attached to your items since you have to use them to heal. The oddness extends to the story, which has its princess being pursued by evil forces but has weird-ass characters to make up for it. Overall the game is batshit insane, at least in terms of SRPG's.
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation I & II
Basically Fire Emblem except with giant robots (think Macross style), no perma-death, and easier. Apparently II has a great story & better gameplay but you have to play through I to understand it.
Rebelstar: Tactical Command
The battle system from X-COM (or Laser Squad if you prefer), and made by the same people. If you don't know those games, rest assured it's a not overly complex but highly strategic turn-based combat system. A really good tactical combat game, with a modicum of story. Highly recommended. Cheap.
Not Recommended
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis
Lots of people like this game. To me it felt really really slow and tedious. Apparently if you get into the game the story gets compelling, with lots of politics and treachery and good stuff. I never made it that far. Felt a lot like FFTA, above, but I have that in the recommended section because it's universally acclaimed.
Onimusha Tactics?
I have never heard of this game. Any comments? Reviews seem generic.
I wonder why some turn-based systems feel slow and tedious while other's don't. All I can think of initially is that it's a function of how far the characters can move on their turn (literally, ground covered) and how quickly they level/gain new abilities/items/cool stuff. That seems a bit simplistic though.
(DS)
Recommended in Some Fashion
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Not an RPG, really - there's a little story in between battles but no stats or equipment to manage. However, top notch strategy gaming. Many different types of units, fog of war. You control cities which produce $ every turn which you use to purchase/maintain units which you use to conquer/destroy cities and the enemy. Dual Strike has a cutesy teenage feel which is kinda at odds with the game, while Days of Ruin takes the "war, war never changes" gritty approach. Also Dual Strike is hard to find but has battles than span both screens, while DoR just came out and adds a few units. I haven't played it much, but I highly enjoyed what I did. Recommended for more strategy, less RPG.
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings
Surprisingly good re-imagining of the PC RTS into a DS turn-based strategy game. Story is there, loosely based on history. Gameplay focuses on building up your main city to be able to produce units, researching tech, and building said units to whack everyone else. But turn-based. Recommended; if you do get it name your file something longer than 3 characters to avoid a nasty bug. I've played and enjoyed this game. Cheap.
Battles of Prince of Persia
Ignore the reviews - this is nothing to do with Prince of Persia which apparently few reviewers could comprehend. This is more like a tabletop game. You have a deck of cards with which to move your units and attack, so does your enemy. Every round you draw 5 cards, play one each turn to move a set of units. Then your enemy plays one, back and forth until you both run out of cards. Then you shuffle and do it again until someone is dead. There's a deck-building component which is fun and the strategy is not complex but requires enough thought to be fun. Plays kinda like the Battlelore/Memoir '44 boardgames, if you've played those. I've played and enjoyed this game. Cheap.
Drone Tactics
Advance Wars with giant robot bugs. Plus you get to customize your mechs I mean bugs. This just came out, I haven't played it but c'mon giant robot bugs. Sounds as though there's not much story to speak of though. Here's a review that seems pretty thorough:
http://www.gamesradar.com/ds/drone-tactics/review/drone-tactics/a-20080519145720124048/g-2007122014463150068
Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest
Reviews were mixed but I read a great forum thread on PA that basically said it was Pikmin on the DS. So an RTS kinda thing where you have a bunch of critters, individually dumb but collectively a handle for both you and your enemies. Here's the PA thread:
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=52495&highlight=eco-creatures
Mage Knight: Destiny's Soldier
This game is apparently only good if you like the mage knight miniatures game. But if you do, it's supposed to be excellent. If you don't know the game it's not clear that this game can teach it to you, which would presumably be a problem. But it's Cheap so it might be worth finding out. One of those games where if you put time into it it's a lot of fun, apparently. Can you tell I don't know what to think here? Anyone?
Front Mission DS
A port of the PSX version of the SNES game. A very good port. Mech battling game, Robotech style mechs (without heat sinks). Customize the crap out of your mechs, in between battles deal with an OK story. I have played and enjoyed this game. Recommended.
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
An RTS game with Final Fantasy trappings. Follows Vaan and co from FFXII as they try to become sky pirates. I suck at RTS's but overall found everything easy to control and fairly fun to play - not too complicated but certainly some interesting bits going on. Almost too easy, actually and the combination of that and that I just don't seem to like FF games (except FFX) meant that I stopped playing. But again, most of the rest of the world liked it.
Heroes of Mana
An RTS game with * of Mana trappings. Reviews were much better than I remembered, although the crappy pathfinding and poor AI (that sometimes would or wouldn't attack leaving it in an obvious bad situation) seem to stand out. Anyone have a comment?
I haven't really looked at A* much - anyone know how resource intensive it is? Can the DS handle it at enough plys to have meaning? If not, a lot of games are going to be affected...
Panzer Tactics DS
Essentially a tabletop hex-based war game with AI in DS form. No RPG here. WWII historical battles, check. Learning curve, check. Has gotten great reviews from the hardcore wargaming crowd, crappy reviews from everyone else.
Rondo of Swords
A weird and apparently quite difficult take on SRPG's. Instead of moving, then attacking once, then waiting until next turn, here moving through characters attacks them. So you can attack multiple people in one turn with one character, but you better watch out where you leave your characters because the enemy can do the same. They throw in some funkiness like people you can't move through at all to mix things up. Just came out but the price will probably drop soon since reviews have been mixed due to the weirdness and difficulty level.
Warhammer 40k
Reviews made this sound like a good take on squad-based Warhammer 40k combat. Downside is a limited single-player campaign (only about 15 missions). Graphics are kinda eh, based on limited perusal of screenshots. Looks like fun.
Anno 1701
Mostly a SimCity RTS kinda game (build up your town!) with a few Civ elements (make limited deals with or kill neighboring folk!). If that's your kinda thing this will be right up your alley. Because of the RTS and SimCity aspects it wasn't mine.
Eh, Don't Bother IMHO
Luminous Arc
Ultra generic storyline and characters, albeit pretty visuals and great (!) voice acting. The kicker for me was having to fight almost exactly the same battle against the same boss 3 times in a row. I mean, c'mon people, a) there's supposed to be a storyline here and b) it was incredibly boring. I didn't stick around to see if it got better. I will note that most of the reviews on Metacritic are at 75%, and one I just read says it gets better after an hour or so.
Hoshigami Remix
A remake of a PSX game that was renowned for being boring and difficult. General consensus on this seems to be that it's still boring and difficult.
Steel Horizon
A WWII navy battle game that got absolutely terrible reviews. Too bad.
Coming Soon-ish:
Disgaea DS (22 Jul 08)
A port of the PS2 game, featuring an insane storyline and characters, exploding penguins, and a crazy amount of customization and complexity. And a few new things.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 (24 Jul 08)
See FFTA, above.
Civilization Revolution (Jul 08)
A stripped-down version of Civ. Sid Meier is working on this one, and I can't offhand think of a bad game he's been involved with, so my interest is definitely piqued.
Fire Emblem DS (End of 08 we hope)
See Fire Emblems above.
Archaic Sealed Heat (just announced!)
What a bizarrely horrible name.
Amazing how many there are isn't it? And more announced all the time. If a title tickles your fancy but you can't find it locally (GBA titles, for example), try Goozex.
Anything labeled "Cheap" you might find at a Gamestop and Goozex can get it for you fairly quickly for usually $5-10.
I've tried to make it clear which ones I've played and which ones I'm just summarizing what I've read. Generally I don't finish games so you're getting my impression based on whatever playing time I've put into it.
Already Out:
(GBA)
Recommended in Some Fashion
Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones
If you've played any other Fire Emblem, you already know how to play this - they're all basically the same. There's a reason there's a ton of them though - they're good. The basic gist is, very story-driven. Usually the story is well-done with good writing and characters, but a bit generic. There will be a battle, then some talking and a chance to outfit, then a battle, etc. Sacred Stones (and later versions) allow characters to choose a profession once they hit level 10, otherwise all leveling is automatic. Usually battles fall into the "kill everyone else" variety but there's plenty to do on each map - characters you can recruit, shops to visit etc. Each character moves and attacks, then next character moves and attacks until everyone on your side is done, then the enemy goes (this is pretty standard is all SRPG's). Battles get pretty difficult as time goes on, especially because if a character dies they are permanently dead. Overall there's complexity but it's not overwhelming, which I like. Graphics are cartoony, animations are fun. I've talked a lot about this one because I like it a lot. Cheap.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFTA)
Personally this didn't do it for me but it's extremely well-liked by the rest of the known world. Battles felt very slow to me and there was too much complexity here. But if you really want to get into a system and go crazy this one will let you, with a ton of ways to upgrade your characters by getting them to switch jobs. This one is pretty hard to find but note FFTA2: Electric Boogaloo coming out in June which promises to be an Event for Gaming Media.
Yggdra Union
Very different take on SRPG here. I haven't played it that much but what I did play was pretty cool. Unlike these other games which allow one attack per character, there's only one attack for your entire side - but if you arrange yourself correctly it can be pretty devastating. During the attacks you have a real-time component of selecting a stance (defense, attack, neutral) and pressing one way or the other on the d-pad to accentuate the stance. Also your movement is handled by cards, which also have special abilities. Also you can't get too attached to your items since you have to use them to heal. The oddness extends to the story, which has its princess being pursued by evil forces but has weird-ass characters to make up for it. Overall the game is batshit insane, at least in terms of SRPG's.
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation I & II
Basically Fire Emblem except with giant robots (think Macross style), no perma-death, and easier. Apparently II has a great story & better gameplay but you have to play through I to understand it.
Rebelstar: Tactical Command
The battle system from X-COM (or Laser Squad if you prefer), and made by the same people. If you don't know those games, rest assured it's a not overly complex but highly strategic turn-based combat system. A really good tactical combat game, with a modicum of story. Highly recommended. Cheap.
Not Recommended
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis
Lots of people like this game. To me it felt really really slow and tedious. Apparently if you get into the game the story gets compelling, with lots of politics and treachery and good stuff. I never made it that far. Felt a lot like FFTA, above, but I have that in the recommended section because it's universally acclaimed.
Onimusha Tactics?
I have never heard of this game. Any comments? Reviews seem generic.
I wonder why some turn-based systems feel slow and tedious while other's don't. All I can think of initially is that it's a function of how far the characters can move on their turn (literally, ground covered) and how quickly they level/gain new abilities/items/cool stuff. That seems a bit simplistic though.
(DS)
Recommended in Some Fashion
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Not an RPG, really - there's a little story in between battles but no stats or equipment to manage. However, top notch strategy gaming. Many different types of units, fog of war. You control cities which produce $ every turn which you use to purchase/maintain units which you use to conquer/destroy cities and the enemy. Dual Strike has a cutesy teenage feel which is kinda at odds with the game, while Days of Ruin takes the "war, war never changes" gritty approach. Also Dual Strike is hard to find but has battles than span both screens, while DoR just came out and adds a few units. I haven't played it much, but I highly enjoyed what I did. Recommended for more strategy, less RPG.
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings
Surprisingly good re-imagining of the PC RTS into a DS turn-based strategy game. Story is there, loosely based on history. Gameplay focuses on building up your main city to be able to produce units, researching tech, and building said units to whack everyone else. But turn-based. Recommended; if you do get it name your file something longer than 3 characters to avoid a nasty bug. I've played and enjoyed this game. Cheap.
Battles of Prince of Persia
Ignore the reviews - this is nothing to do with Prince of Persia which apparently few reviewers could comprehend. This is more like a tabletop game. You have a deck of cards with which to move your units and attack, so does your enemy. Every round you draw 5 cards, play one each turn to move a set of units. Then your enemy plays one, back and forth until you both run out of cards. Then you shuffle and do it again until someone is dead. There's a deck-building component which is fun and the strategy is not complex but requires enough thought to be fun. Plays kinda like the Battlelore/Memoir '44 boardgames, if you've played those. I've played and enjoyed this game. Cheap.
Drone Tactics
Advance Wars with giant robot bugs. Plus you get to customize your mechs I mean bugs. This just came out, I haven't played it but c'mon giant robot bugs. Sounds as though there's not much story to speak of though. Here's a review that seems pretty thorough:
http://www.gamesradar.com/ds/drone-tactics/review/drone-tactics/a-20080519145720124048/g-2007122014463150068
Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest
Reviews were mixed but I read a great forum thread on PA that basically said it was Pikmin on the DS. So an RTS kinda thing where you have a bunch of critters, individually dumb but collectively a handle for both you and your enemies. Here's the PA thread:
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=52495&highlight=eco-creatures
Mage Knight: Destiny's Soldier
This game is apparently only good if you like the mage knight miniatures game. But if you do, it's supposed to be excellent. If you don't know the game it's not clear that this game can teach it to you, which would presumably be a problem. But it's Cheap so it might be worth finding out. One of those games where if you put time into it it's a lot of fun, apparently. Can you tell I don't know what to think here? Anyone?
Front Mission DS
A port of the PSX version of the SNES game. A very good port. Mech battling game, Robotech style mechs (without heat sinks). Customize the crap out of your mechs, in between battles deal with an OK story. I have played and enjoyed this game. Recommended.
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
An RTS game with Final Fantasy trappings. Follows Vaan and co from FFXII as they try to become sky pirates. I suck at RTS's but overall found everything easy to control and fairly fun to play - not too complicated but certainly some interesting bits going on. Almost too easy, actually and the combination of that and that I just don't seem to like FF games (except FFX) meant that I stopped playing. But again, most of the rest of the world liked it.
Heroes of Mana
An RTS game with * of Mana trappings. Reviews were much better than I remembered, although the crappy pathfinding and poor AI (that sometimes would or wouldn't attack leaving it in an obvious bad situation) seem to stand out. Anyone have a comment?
I haven't really looked at A* much - anyone know how resource intensive it is? Can the DS handle it at enough plys to have meaning? If not, a lot of games are going to be affected...
Panzer Tactics DS
Essentially a tabletop hex-based war game with AI in DS form. No RPG here. WWII historical battles, check. Learning curve, check. Has gotten great reviews from the hardcore wargaming crowd, crappy reviews from everyone else.
Rondo of Swords
A weird and apparently quite difficult take on SRPG's. Instead of moving, then attacking once, then waiting until next turn, here moving through characters attacks them. So you can attack multiple people in one turn with one character, but you better watch out where you leave your characters because the enemy can do the same. They throw in some funkiness like people you can't move through at all to mix things up. Just came out but the price will probably drop soon since reviews have been mixed due to the weirdness and difficulty level.
Warhammer 40k
Reviews made this sound like a good take on squad-based Warhammer 40k combat. Downside is a limited single-player campaign (only about 15 missions). Graphics are kinda eh, based on limited perusal of screenshots. Looks like fun.
Anno 1701
Mostly a SimCity RTS kinda game (build up your town!) with a few Civ elements (make limited deals with or kill neighboring folk!). If that's your kinda thing this will be right up your alley. Because of the RTS and SimCity aspects it wasn't mine.
Eh, Don't Bother IMHO
Luminous Arc
Ultra generic storyline and characters, albeit pretty visuals and great (!) voice acting. The kicker for me was having to fight almost exactly the same battle against the same boss 3 times in a row. I mean, c'mon people, a) there's supposed to be a storyline here and b) it was incredibly boring. I didn't stick around to see if it got better. I will note that most of the reviews on Metacritic are at 75%, and one I just read says it gets better after an hour or so.
Hoshigami Remix
A remake of a PSX game that was renowned for being boring and difficult. General consensus on this seems to be that it's still boring and difficult.
Steel Horizon
A WWII navy battle game that got absolutely terrible reviews. Too bad.
Coming Soon-ish:
Disgaea DS (22 Jul 08)
A port of the PS2 game, featuring an insane storyline and characters, exploding penguins, and a crazy amount of customization and complexity. And a few new things.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 (24 Jul 08)
See FFTA, above.
Civilization Revolution (Jul 08)
A stripped-down version of Civ. Sid Meier is working on this one, and I can't offhand think of a bad game he's been involved with, so my interest is definitely piqued.
Fire Emblem DS (End of 08 we hope)
See Fire Emblems above.
Archaic Sealed Heat (just announced!)
What a bizarrely horrible name.
iguanaDitty on
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I also just noticed you are missing Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis on your GBA section. You'd best correct this.
Also Onimusha Tactics.
Front Mission wise I recommend this great article:
http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/frontmission/frontmission.htm
Basically, the original was on SNES, ported to PSX with some graphical updates. The DS version is a port of the PSX version, with some extra missions added on.
So import it.
Xbox : gunst4r
Goddamnit, I still havent finished all my PSP SRPGs yet.
I need to go hold up a Gamestop apparently.
Front Mission DS I found pretty dated, especially the UI, but overall still worth playing. One thing that really bugged me was how random the mech upgrades seemed to come. Sometimes you'd go long periods without the shop updating, and sometimes there would be new parts after every mission for 3-4 missions in a row. It sounds like a fairly minor point but customization has always been the big selling point for me so this made it seem a little pointless.