Summary
Final Fantasy Tactics,Fire Emblem Awakening, andDisgaea: Hour of Darknessare all pretty recognizable games for tactical RPG fans. They’re often mentioned as some of the finest in the genre, but there are so many others out there. Many lesser-known games don’t get the limelight they deserve because of their release window, platform, or maybe they didn’t even launch in North America.
For all these reasons and more, these tactical RPGs remain oddities in the fandom. Are they worth reappraising now, or are they too weird for words? Let’s gather some examples across a plethora of consoles and find out.
Bahamut Lagoonis one of many lostSquaresoft games from the SNESera that was only released in Japan. Units can move within certain spaces on the map and can use skills on their turn. Once an enemy is engaged for real, the perspective will switch to a 2D turn-based battle window. The biggest hook of this game is the dragons, as players can befriend them and add them to their units to strengthen their power.
7Bleach: The 3rd Phantom
One Of Ichigo’s Better Games
MostBleachgames, and anime games in general, are fighting games. There was a decent fighting series on the DS,Bleach: The Blade of Fates, butBleach: The 3rd Phantomwas actually a typical turn-based tactical RPG. Players could control Ichigo and other characters to slay Hollows and other fiends in their pursuit of peace. It was an original story that lightly touched on some things from the source material and, overall, was not bad for a tie-in game.
6Bomberman Wars
An Explosive RPG
Bomberman Warswas released on the PS1 and Sega Saturn, but neither version was ever released outside Japan.MostBombermangamesstick to the explosive maze mechanics, but this spinoff saw the titular hero go into small-scale bouts with a fantastical party.
The gameplay still involved planting bombs, so it didn’t stray too far from the norms. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a nice distraction for the Bomberman series, and it’s easily accessible thanks to an English fan patch.
Dragon Ball Fusionsis a 3DS tie-in game to the king of all anime franchises. Unlike most games that like to go into themain story arcs of the series,Dragon Ball Fusionsis an original story wherein players can create their character.
The gimmick revolves around fusion, as players can combine new and familiar characters to create stronger ones in battle. Instead of a grid, characters have free movement within a limited space and depend on placement, making it a more freeing strategy game. Hero characters can team up for typical flashy combos that onlyDragon Ballcharacters know how to do.
Microsoft tried hard to be the JRPG king during the Xbox 360 generation, getting exclusives left and right, but not many went on to become big franchises akin toFinal Fantasy. EnterOperation Darkness,an alternate-history RPGwherein players commanded an elite troop of werewolves who fought against Nazi vampires and their zombie followers. It’s one of the harder games, on the list as it was easy for units to die and players had to revive them quickly. That said, the concept alone makes it worth a look.
Most players probably knowR-Typeas a classicarcade horizontal shmup. Sequels and spinoffs followed the same formula untilR-Type Commandcame out on the PSP. Ships were moved on hexagonal grids to engage other ships, mechs, and alien creatures in combat.
It received a Japanese sequel,R-Type Tactics 2: Operation Bitter Chocolate, which will soon be released in the West for the first time via the remake collectionR-Type Tactics 1 & 2 Cosmos. Hopefully fans won’t have to wait long for these remakes.
2Rockman Strategy
Truly A Bizarre Discovery
Rockman Strategyis without a doubt the strangestMega Mangame of all time. It was a PC-only game made for Taiwan, with Capcom having almost nothing to do with the project.
Mega Man and his companions can move across maps each held by a specific boss around the world. Upgrades can be acquired at Dr. Light’s lab, instead of doing the typical copy ability formula from defeating bosses. When enemies are engaged on the map, battles are fought in real time and action will be ticked down by a timer. The art design is something else, to put it bluntly, but noteveryMega Mangamecan look as good asMega Man Legends.
1TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga
Fire Emblem’s PS2 Cousin
Some RPG fans may have heard aboutTearRing Saga: Chronicles of War Hero Yutona,which was a PS1 spiritual successor toFire Emblemthat was only released in Japan. After helping create the franchise, Shouzou Kaga left Intelligent Systems to help create a new company, Tirnanog.
That’s the basic backstory, but this first outing got a more obscure sequel on the PS2 calledTearRing Saga: Berwick Saga. While the 2D battle screens still look likeFire Emblemgames, the equipment menu is more detailed and the maps use hexagonal movement rather than squares.
