Shining Force
This along with its sequel Shining Force II is an absolutely unique mix of tactical RPG and traditional JRPG town and overworld exploration.
In pure Strategy RPGs, what you get is usually a sequence of battles separated by cutscenes. Personally, that causes me to burn out pretty fast because of the repetition. These games however have such a perfect mix of battle/exploration/story that my interest is constantly renewed. Combat can be challenging but the mechanics are light enough that it still feels relaxing to play.
– Real player with 18.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Strategy RPG Fantasy Games.
Classic SRPG that’s pretty much fun and sticking to all the old school pattern with class upgrade, hidden objects on battle field, rpg style town explore and hidden characters to collect which adds to the replayability.
I was here because i wanted to start playing another Shining series but vaguely remember the game is supposed to be SRPG and not ARPG, so I came for a quick check but ended up finishing the whole game and probably will go for other series they have on SMD Steam before i move on to play the newer ones. Glad i did too! It’s fun, and the old and simple old school beats all the complex settings and story lore of the later series i guess… too complex makes them a burden to learn… I guess the simplicity is what makes the Classics so wonderful.
– Real player with 9.6 hrs in game
Shining Force II
SF2 tells a bit more lore of the World of Runes compared to SF1 and we get a clearer picture in part of the world in our explore and its history of the 3 demon lords here.
Although it’s a SRPG, this game folds out more like a normal JRPG, with everything we can expect in a JRPG story completed in the game, from boat, to ship, to air ship… from hidden characters… hidden items… to final strongest weapon crafting… all the classic goodies of a JRPG is here. The tactic part falls on a random encounter basis, but instead of small fight, it’s a full map fight, so they lowered the encounter rate to super rare… which makes finding a random fight outside the main story battle in the game a wee bit harder than a normal JRPG.
– Real player with 6.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Strategy RPG Fantasy Games.
This along with its predecessor Shining Force I is an absolutely unique mix of tactical RPG and traditional JRPG town and overworld exploration.
In pure Strategy RPGs, what you get is usually a sequence of battles separated by cutscenes. Personally, that causes me to burn out pretty fast because of the repetition. The Shining Force games however have such a perfect mix of battle/exploration/story that my interest is constantly renewed. Combat can be challenging but the mechanics are light enough that it still feels relaxing to play.
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
Langrisser I & II
Langriser I & II are remakes of the early titles in the series and were among my favorite when I was younger. I played Langrisser I (which was named Warsong in America) on the Sega when I was a kid and many years later I got to play a fan translated version Langrisser II (it was the Sega/Mega Drive version, not to be confused with Der Langrisser). I have played these games multiple times and I enjoyed their gameplay immensely and when I heard that the remake was coming, I automatically wished-listed the game and bought it and the DLC when it came out. Its one of the few games that I will fanboy for (alongside the Drakengard, Ys, and NieR series of games) and overall, I am happy to say that I was not disappointed with the game as it was everything I expected it would be plus some good changes/improvements to the game which made it better, in my opinion.
– Real player with 114.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Strategy RPG Remake Games.
Langrisser 1 Remake
Turn based strategy game where your commander units are like normal characters in games like this but each one can spend gold to hire units of soldiers before battles start, with the options available to them and the quantity available depending on their class and promotions. Hired units will be much weaker if they leave the command range of their leader and if they are adjacent to their commander they will heal some of their health at the start of each turn. Hired soldier kills will give their commander experience and if your commander or an enemy commander is killed all of their hired soldiers are lost with them. It’s one of the better games on the Genesis and the sequel’s Super Nintendo upgrade Der Langrisser is one of the best games on the SNES.
– Real player with 69.5 hrs in game
Heaven vs Hell
Unbalanced units. Progress is easy. Currently too glitchy (immortal units and disappearing one prevent beating levels).
– Real player with 8.9 hrs in game
Heaven vs Hell - Good turn-based strategy. The game has a plot for the Angels and separately for the Demons.
Each of the typical units has its own strengths and weaknesses, so you need to place them correctly on the battlefield.
At the beginning of the game, you play as Angels, after defeating 3 bosses, Demons will open up to you.
The game is well-made and will definitely come in handy for fans of this genre.
– Real player with 5.9 hrs in game
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
This game was just.. an indescribably amazing experience. I 100%’d NieR: Automata shortly after it launched, and gushed all about it, however I think this game eclipses NieR as my favourite game that I’ve played this year. Or maybe that’s because I now have a 5 month emotional cushion since I finished NieR. :)
Nonetheless, there are games that I enjoy playing, and then there are a very small subset of immersive games that transcend being a game, and become minor life events in my strange life. Games that discuss with me about the meaning of life, about love, and about what is really important. Games that make me wonder if I am a good person, and what I can do to better myself. Games that chew up my emotions and spit them out again. This was definitely one of them.
– Real player with 83.8 hrs in game
I feel almost obligated to leave a review solely based on my 60 hours in this game, 70 in SC (the sequel that concludes the story set up in this game), 50 in Trails in the Sky the Third, 70 in Trails from Zero, and 70 again from Trails of Cold Steel 1. And I’m only 5 games done out of 9 currently in the series, with a tenth on the way. But that’s still half of the series, so I think I can say with some confidence – not with complete confidence, and I’m sure that there are those that know far more about the series than me, but still – that I know what I’m talking about. This is gonna be a long one.
– Real player with 66.4 hrs in game
Valkyria Chronicles™
Review For Valkyria Chronicles PC
Review by : Joell Joelly
Pros
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Great story.
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Lovely anime art style.
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Great voice acting. (English and Japanese)
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Unique blend of real time and strategic gameplay.
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Challenging.
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Tons of management/upgrade options.
Cons
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Matches can take a long time. (not necessarily a con)
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Frustrating menu system.
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Enemy turns are not skippable, or able to be sped up.
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Some ‘strategic’ choices have to be made without the necessary information.
– Real player with 191.8 hrs in game
Summary
It maintains by having a lasting appeal with a diverse set of memorable and unique characters, a satisfyingly emotional and well thought out story with simple, yet strategic gameplay that offers freedom through various tactics. Despite all of this, there are certainly questionable flaws, yet they’re completely smothered with the games overarching enjoyment and charm which ultimately pushes the game in a familiar but fresh direction.
Story
Valkyria Chronicles takes place in a fantasy setting similar to Earth which introduces the story with two waging superpowers, the autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance and the loosely-united democracies of the Atlantic federation. This engagement is known as the EW2 or the Second Europan War. Both powers are reliant on a resource called Ragnite which fuels and controls both factions economies. Overtime, the Ragnite lessened and became more scarce causing the Empire to declare war against the Federation, sparking the EW2.
– Real player with 107.2 hrs in game
EARTHLOCK
First things first let me preface this review by saying I have beaten the game in addition to completing Earthlock FOM (2016) to 100% This review is meant more for people who have never played Earthlock (as they have to buy it). Also I marked this product as received for free becuase anybody who bought Earthlock originally in 2016 got this greatly revised and improved version for free. With all that out of the way, let’s begin…
EARTHLOCK
is an indie RPG that is inspired and designed after console RPGs from the SNES/PS1 era. It is an RPG that is meant be somewhat antiquated yet still give a fair shot in desiging a game to avoid the pet peeves and gripes in design that those who want to enjoy 90s and 80s console RPGs but find frustration in trying to finish those games.
– Real player with 48.1 hrs in game
Full review with images here: https://dapperandroid.com/2021/05/30/earthlock/
Story centred around an ancient, powerful, but long-vanished civilisation? Prominent mechanised and militaristic city-state with airships – one of which crashes in the first 5 minutes? Pastoral-coded rogue with a heart of gold and a strong familial bond?
Sheeeeit son… looks like we gots ourselves one of those Japanese RPGS.
Beer and pretzel-flavoured pocky fun
Earthlock actually hails from the land of lutefisk and sursild, Norway. It wears its inspiration proudly on its sleeve though, with a peculiar blend of indie-gem shine (and roughness) and the polish of worn tropes creating something that’s strangely satisfying, occasionally surprising, and often very familiar.
– Real player with 43.8 hrs in game
Prime World: Defenders
I am slightly conflicted in recommending this. On one hand, purely from a “tower defense” perspective, the gameplay is pretty solid. Everything works as it should and it is well-designed (nice interface, towers all serve specific purposes, enemy health, waves and routes are clearly indicated, etc). And most importantly, the actual gameplay itself is fun. What brings this down are the nonstandard elements the developers tried to introduce into the standard tower defense formula - specifically, the “card system” (and everything that comes along with it). There’s nothing wrong with the basic idea - tower types are represented by cards that can be collected and leveled up, and you have to pick and choose a subset of cards from your deck before going into a level. Where the problem comes in is obtaining the cards you need you be successful and “leveling up” those cards. First of all, the leveling system is overly confusing and needlessly complicated. Secondly, in order to beat the later levels, you will need specific cards leveled up to adequate levels of strength. The problem with this is that most of the cards you get as rewards are random, so you could go a good long while without (or possibly even never) finding a Lightning Tower card, for example (which I would consider absolutely essential for beating the game). And even if you are lucky enough to get some good towers, the process of leveling them up takes serious time. You basically just need to keep grinding out optional levels to get extra cards that can be used to fuse/evolve other cards. And make no mistake, you are going to be doing some serious grinding. So, depending on your tolerance for grinding levels and ranking up things, that’s how I would recommend you make your decision to buy this or not. Personally, I am the OCD-type who feels the need to level things up and complete stuff, so I forced myself through and eventually got enough cards of high enough strength to power through the main game, as well as the extra hard difficultly that unlocks afterwards. While I did enjoy the game overall, it did take a lot of time and effort to get the most out of it. To me, tower defense shouldn’t be about making towers strong enough to win by brute force. It should be about overcoming the challenges using a set of predefined towers and nothing else except whatever strategy you come up with. The first half of this game can be played along those lines, but once you get to the later levels, you will absolutely hit a wall if you don’t have certain cards leveled up to a certain strength. That’s poor design in my eyes. But even with all that said, I honestly still had fun with this game, as it’s well made and I have a semi-high tolerance for grindy things. If you think you can deal with the grinding issue and like TD games, definitely go for it. Otherwise, you may want to hold off or wait for a huge discount.
– Real player with 71.0 hrs in game
The metacritic rating for this game is certainly correct. As someone that likes TDs, likes the art style, atmosphere, and music, I have trouble giving it more than a 6/10 simply due to all the gameplay ruining engine glitches. It probably doesn’t even deserve that. Without the engine glitches, it might be a 7/10 or 8/10 TD.
There’s a good assortment and variety of towers in PWD - nothing that leaps out as being incredibly unique, but they’ve got splash poison, single target poison, splash fire, single target fire, AA poison, etc.; what is unfortunate about the tower system is it comes down to luck whether you actually find all the tower cards or not. Even after playing through the entire game, then grinding another hundred levels and buying as many cards as possible in the store… I still did not unlock every tower. Bummer. Aside from that, some towers are slightly unbalanced. If you find some electric tower cards early and max upgrade them, building nothing but those towers and invis detectors is sufficient for beating all but ~3 levels.
– Real player with 58.7 hrs in game