Symphony of War

Jusssst about 51 hours, though I went back in later and finished some side quests. Is this worth picking up for your Nintendo 64? Almost every review, maybe EVERY review, of recent tactical battler Symphony of War, mentioned that it was carrying a torch first lit many, many years ago by the Ogre Battle series, and seen seldom since. Tactics battlers aren’t rare at all, but those where you build an army comprised of many separate squads which you can direct but battle on their own, are rare. ...

Steam says I spent a little over 36 hours in Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga. The game had a lot to recommend it, and I enjoyed my time with it. A touching moment between two bonded A tactical strategy lives or dies on its tactical combat. A great story or memorable characters are definitely important, but if the battles aren’t fun, there’s really no point to playing. Symphony of War executes the battles extremely well. It gives tools and character upgrades at a pace good enough to not overwhelm, but also to allow you to shape your squads for their roles. My main character’s squad, and that of the paladin Diana’s, both were meant to tank. They would use the Nephilim power that taunts nearby enemy units and buffs their defense to take out enemy groups. ...

I wrote that this game was competently developed, but the plot was entirely vanilla. Then I played through more of the game. There are some spoilers below the fold. I’m about thirty hours into the game and I believe I am heading toward the endgame. The game has managed to surprise me a couple of times so far. The broad outlines are normal enough – five avatars of ancient heroes and gods, one of whom is evil, come together to recreate an ancient conflict. A plot so normal, even the Power Rangers used it. ...

It’s a tactical RPG where you control an army on the battlefield made of several squads. It’s a callout to one of the most unusual tactics battlers of all time – Ogre Battle. In Symphony of War, as with Ogre Battle, you form squads of units and take them across a map, seizing towns and castles until finally meeting with the boss of the level. Each encounter takes you to a separate screen where the fight progresses. ...