Tactical RPG

For Christmas, I got two more entries in the Tactics Ogre/Ogre Battle series… one I have played before, and the other is going to need some work to be able to play… and understand.

It was supposed to just be a battle. It turned into a gauntlet.

A few days, Friendly Necro was going over all the mobile games on which he’s worked. I was wondering why mobile games just didn’t stick with me, and I remembered this strategy tactical one I played a long time ago and I just couldn’t remember when, or why I stopped. I hardly ever remember why I stop playing mobile games. I just stop. And then I remembered that the Apple Store keeps a history of everything I’ve downloaded… and then I found it… Brave Nine…? ...

I asked OpenAI’s GPT-3 to generate 31 different videogame ideas, one for each day of Blaugust, each dealing in some way with that particular day of the month. Here’s its idea for August 3rd: “Three Frow”. In this tactical strategy sports game, you must recruit and play the best basketball players from around the world in order to win the NBA championship. Cheering crowds will be your constant companion on your rise to the top. These aren’t your ordinary crowds, though — if you make a bad play, expect the fans to boo you mercilessly, or even throw things at you. Make a great play or a stunning assist, though, and the fans may just carry you off the court on their shoulders. ...

Anyone who has read this blog more than a day knows that I am always looking out for new strategy tactics games to play. I’ve been following the development of Those Who Rule on Twitter for awhile, and finally had a chance to play through its first chapter. “Those Who Rule” follows four (so far) recruits to their kingdom’s army as they form bonds and train with each other to take on the political forces facing them – those who think immediately of Fire Emblem: Three Houses or Dark Deity wouldn’t be far off, as the visual novel-like interludes tell the story that plays out after on the battlefield. ...

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. ...

Each of these probably should get their own posts, but I am exceedingly lazy. Commander Rhade is finally dead for good this time. Starting off with Ogre Battle – about halfway through at about 25 hours in. The plot has a lot of twists and turns. Modern RPGs could learn a lot by looking at these old classics, and I really regret not playing this game back in the day. ...

Now that I’ve gotten the game so that it works and looks decent, it’s time to ask the big question: How do I get Deneb in my battalion? Deneb Hey, that screenshot isn’t from Ogre Battle 64! It’s from Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen for the Super Nintendo, and as far as I know, it’s the only other real time strategy game in the Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre family. ...

I went through a lot of trouble to be able to play Ogre Battle 64 on the original hardware with today’s high resolution, digital monitors. Was it worth it? Intro from original hardware Most older consoles were designed around the old cathode ray tube televisions – one to three electron beams use electromagnets to shine on variously colored phosphors. The whole thing was high voltage and prone to interference from anything else going on electrically in the area. ...

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. ...