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Also missing the Ambition in the title
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StarTopic Strategy Games |ST| Romance of the Unicorn Tactica
- Thread starter MissingNo.
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OP
OP
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So I thought I'd share a bit about my personal history with strategy games. The first one I ever played must have been Age of Empires back in the late 90s on a PC my dad had retired. I never owned Age of Mythology, but our local library had it, and I checked it out a bunch of times. I don't remember too much about it, though, so I'm excited for the remake โ hope it will come to Xbox eventually. I played AoE2 and 3 as well, but am yet to give 4 a spin. Even with it available on console now (me not owning or wanting to own a PC anymore was a big hurdle), I just haven't found the time to do so yet. Too many games, indeed. So yeah, it's safe to say AoE is special to me.
As for more recent games, I really enjoyed Into the Breach. There has been talk about it already in this thread, and I want to echo those praises. The tiny maps and very small scale tactics make it feel like a blend of puzzle and strategy. Also, as anyone who has been around the Triangle Strategy ST will know, I absolutely adore this game and will sing the highest praises for it. The tactical gameplay is among the best I have ever played, and the story actually managed to grip me, which is a rare thing in video games in general. Couple that with an amazing soundtrack and outstanding presentation, and you have yourself an all-time favourite. Can recommend it to everyone who loves strategy games of the turn-based, tactical variety. It was my personal Game of the Year.
As for more recent games, I really enjoyed Into the Breach. There has been talk about it already in this thread, and I want to echo those praises. The tiny maps and very small scale tactics make it feel like a blend of puzzle and strategy. Also, as anyone who has been around the Triangle Strategy ST will know, I absolutely adore this game and will sing the highest praises for it. The tactical gameplay is among the best I have ever played, and the story actually managed to grip me, which is a rare thing in video games in general. Couple that with an amazing soundtrack and outstanding presentation, and you have yourself an all-time favourite. Can recommend it to everyone who loves strategy games of the turn-based, tactical variety. It was my personal Game of the Year.
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I have an older brother who has played games on PC basically forever, and I played a lot of his RTS games growing up. StarCraft, Red Alert, Age of Empires, Warcraft III. StarCraft II was the last one I really played and uhโฆyeah. It played pretty well from what I remember but that story was something.
I kind of want to check out Age of Empires IV on Xbox, I heard theyโve done a really good job bringing that over and I havenโt played an RTS in forever. I want to get some semblance of chops back before Unicorn Overlord next year, which I am super excited about!
Oh, and very important to my strategy past, present and future: I am a certified KANE ENJOYER
I kind of want to check out Age of Empires IV on Xbox, I heard theyโve done a really good job bringing that over and I havenโt played an RTS in forever. I want to get some semblance of chops back before Unicorn Overlord next year, which I am super excited about!
Oh, and very important to my strategy past, present and future: I am a certified KANE ENJOYER
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OP
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Oh wow, look what I found in the multimedia section of a local convenience/drug store, and for a measly 23,99โฌ to boot!
Could not be more excited with this pickup. Yet another one for the ever-growing backlog! Does anyone here know if the physical version of FM2 will be available outside what I assume to be their own store (Forever Limited)?
Could not be more excited with this pickup. Yet another one for the ever-growing backlog! Does anyone here know if the physical version of FM2 will be available outside what I assume to be their own store (Forever Limited)?
PixelKnight
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I didnโt even know a physical version of FM2 was available!Oh wow, look what I found in the multimedia section of a local convenience/drug store, and for a measly 23,99โฌ to boot!
Could not be more excited with this pickup. Yet another one for the ever-growing backlog! Does anyone here know if the physical version of FM2 will be available outside what I assume to be their own store (Forever Limited)?
OP
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God i hate store exclusive physical editions so so much.
It's already bad enough for some of the games this thread is about, due to the genre(s) being more niche, which ends up in low number prints and no reprints more often than not.
But store exclusive shit sucks even more.
I know Amazon sucks, and i know you "shouldn't preorder games" ... but damn am i glad i was able to get that Unicorn Overlord preorder.
I will cling to physical until i am forced to switch to digital. And even then i'll do it while yelling at clouds.
It's already bad enough for some of the games this thread is about, due to the genre(s) being more niche, which ends up in low number prints and no reprints more often than not.
But store exclusive shit sucks even more.
I know Amazon sucks, and i know you "shouldn't preorder games" ... but damn am i glad i was able to get that Unicorn Overlord preorder.
I will cling to physical until i am forced to switch to digital. And even then i'll do it while yelling at clouds.
PixelKnight
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Oohโฆ
PixelKnight
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Yeah Iโm mostly just really lazy and dislike the extra five minutes effort to order from a publisher store that Iโm extremely unlikely to use again
OP
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I only managed to get the Unicorn Overlord CE through MediaMarkt, and I haven't dealt with pre-ordering stuff through them in ages, so I have no idea what to expect.
But yeah, I agree. I dislike store-exclusives, which is exactly why I hope FM2R won't be available there exclusively. But if it is, I might cave...
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It's also that i don't want to give out my data for something i, as you said, use once and then never again.
And it's most often not possible to order as a "guest", so it's another freaking account i have to keep in mind in case some password leak fuckery happens.
Media Markt is pretty good, from my experience.
The only downside is, they charge you upfront unless you choose CC as payment when doing the preorder. Don't ask me why...
If you wanna skip the shipping fees, if there are some, you can also choose in-store pick-up.
OP
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Okay, that's encouraging to hear, at least. It came without shipping fees, which is nice. But yeah, I chose PayPal for my payment option and got charged straight away. I guess it's to discourage pre-order cancellations, which is a shitty practice. But I don't plan on canceling anyway.
Just hope it actually gets here on release day.
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Excellent ST @MissingNo.!
It's great to see how much the genre grew, especially on the Switch, that we can now have an ST dedicated to it. Currently I'm getting back into Triangle Strategy for the last two endings and using the units I barely deployed the last time. After that I'm looking forward to Persona 5 Tactica which I think looks great. Finally the main strategy game I'm looking forward to in the future is Unicorn Overlord; it's still unreal that Atlus chose to reveal the latest Vanillaware game in a Direct and it's an Ogre Battle inspired title to boot.
It's great to see how much the genre grew, especially on the Switch, that we can now have an ST dedicated to it. Currently I'm getting back into Triangle Strategy for the last two endings and using the units I barely deployed the last time. After that I'm looking forward to Persona 5 Tactica which I think looks great. Finally the main strategy game I'm looking forward to in the future is Unicorn Overlord; it's still unreal that Atlus chose to reveal the latest Vanillaware game in a Direct and it's an Ogre Battle inspired title to boot.
As others have mentioned there are no difficulty settings in Tactics Ogre: Reborn and it can get difficult at times, but it's nothing that can't be overcome. As long as you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your units and be willing to change your classes, abilities, and items according to the terrain and enemies you're facing even the toughest battles can be manageable.
Sumio Mondo
Lynchian
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Fine print says it may take up to 6 months, so you may be waiting a while lol.
I hope it shows up on Amazon at some point. I also hope that Front Mission 3 Remake gets a good physical release across everywhere and sells like crazy....sigh
OP
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Yeah, I noticed it says 2-6 months, but it's still better than no physical release. And shipping to my country is "only" 8โฌ, so... Yay? I'll think on it a bit, but I'll probably end up going for it anyway, because that's the kind of sucker I am.
Sumio Mondo
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Aye why not, by the time it arrives, hopefully they'll have patched/fine-tuned the game to completion by then!
blackjack-15
Detective Game Enjoyer
Good luck! BR is definitely the most cohesive of the 3 Fates stories, and playing it first is the general recommendation (tho CQ-BR-RV gives you a break in the middle from more gimmicky maps)! There's a few interesting recruitments near the ending chapters, so don't be afraid to pull up a guide if needs be!
switchum
Providing Fami with bad takes a-plenty since 2022!
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Thank you for the tips! I took on BR first since I know itโs the easiest. Iโll be doing CQ next to increase the challenge. Unfortunately, I have no idea how Iโll play RV since the eShop is closed down and I donโt want to dish out hundreds of dollars for a Special Edition. Iโm not into emulating so thatโs gonna be a tricky one, which is upsetting
OP
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Just noticed I meant to reply to this but forgot. Xbox is a pretty great place for RTS especially.I have an older brother who has played games on PC basically forever, and I played a lot of his RTS games growing up. StarCraft, Red Alert, Age of Empires, Warcraft III. StarCraft II was the last one I really played and uhโฆyeah. It played pretty well from what I remember but that story was something.
I kind of want to check out Age of Empires IV on Xbox, I heard theyโve done a really good job bringing that over and I havenโt played an RTS in forever. I want to get some semblance of chops back before Unicorn Overlord next year, which I am super excited about!
Oh, and very important to my strategy past, present and future: I am a certified KANE ENJOYER
In case I ever find the time, I want to play Tiberium Wars, Kane's Wrath, and Red Alert 3 and Commander's Challenge, since they are all backwards-compatible on Xbox and I have never played them. I also meant to play both Halo Wars and HW2 for ages.
And while I haven't played AoE4 on Xbox yet, I have dabbled in the Xbox port of AoE2DE a bit, and the way they translated controls to gamepad is pretty clever and works well. It takes some getting used to, but if AoE4 is similar, it should be fine. Still hoping they port AoE1 and 3 as well to have the complete collection available.
I also still have Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun in my backlog, which I have heard great things about and picked up on sale for less than the price of a cup of coffee a while ago.
PixelKnight
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RTS is something Iโd like to get back into one day. I really enjoyed them waaaay back in the 90s with Dune 2 and C&C Red Alert, but drifted away from them after that as I lost touch with the friend whose PC we used to play them on. More recently, the various Total War games are something Iโd love to have on a portable and would probably be the main reason Iโd get a Steam Deck or something like that. I think I prefer the campaign map plus army deployment over generating units through a tech tree in-map.
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I don't think they've said anything specifically yet, but I imagine it will probably get announced in a few months. The wider-release of the FM1 remake by Microids wasn't confirmed until a few months after the internally published version:
Forever Limited Unveils Three Physical Editions For Front Mission 1st: Remake
Let's get physical, physical
www.nintendolife.com
FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake physical limited edition launches this spring in Europe, summer in North America
Microids will release a physical limited edition of FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake for Switch this spring in Europe and summer in North America, the distributor announced.
www.gematsu.com
EDIT: Given how the timeline on these news items sync up nicely with the "2-6 month" waiting period on the pre-orders for both FM1 and FM2, my guess is Forever goes to print based on pre-order numbers from the general public and whatever the wider-release publisher they're working with wants. And if you look at the Microids published version it's nearly a 1:1 replica of the FL "Unlimited" edition, just with lithographs and a lenticular swapped in for the number certificate.
So I definitely expect we'll have confirmation of a wider release some time in January again.
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Was just reminded of a weird RTS called Impossible Creatures. From what I remember it was pretty fun; you mix and match animal DNA to make different units! That's pretty unique. But mainly I remember it for having what has got to be one of the most batshit wild video game covers of all time:
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You mean Impossible Creatures? As a huge fan of all things fauna, I LOVE THAT GAME. My lobster-ants wreaked havoc on enemy infrastructure as my archer-whales decimates all challengers.
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Whoops sorry I fixed the error! YES, Impossible Creatures! Such a creative idea. And looking up that boxart reminded me that there's quite a pedigree there too. Relic!
OP
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Yo, that sounds weird in the best possible way.Was just reminded of a weird RTS called Impossible Creatures. From what I remember it was pretty fun; you mix and match animal DNA to make different units! That's pretty unique. But mainly I remember it for having what has got to be one of the most batshit wild video game covers of all time:
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There is evidently a fairly compatible Steam version!
I can heartily recommend the Steam version. Itโs not perfect but itโs pretty close!
Yeah itโs an RTS where you get to essentially create your own units by mixing and matching creatures. On regular difficulty you could make any combo work, so if you want to use ants with sperm whale heads then go ahead. Just make sure to laugh maniacally.
OP
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That's wild, I had no idea this exisโI was cleaning and found my (now battery dead) copy of Warlocked. I remember being impressed to have a RTS in gameboy color back in the day. The game is really simple but still being able to manage units and teams in that little screen is a technical feat
Well, that explains it.
I'm definitely going to wait in that case. I did not remember the Microids release was announced later for FM1 as well.
daiquiri
Octorok
Impulse bought Engage due to a hot deal
Some of Mika Pikazo's character designs aren't my fave (aside from the colour palette, which is great), but I'm optimistic about the gameplay
I haven't played any Fire Emblem since the GBA games, but I do play turn based stuff e.g. Advance Wars
Any tips before I start? Any recommended difficulty?
Some of Mika Pikazo's character designs aren't my fave (aside from the colour palette, which is great), but I'm optimistic about the gameplay
I haven't played any Fire Emblem since the GBA games, but I do play turn based stuff e.g. Advance Wars
Any tips before I start? Any recommended difficulty?
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If you've not played a FE game that long, i'd say Normal/Casual Mode combination. Casual Mode removes the permadeath that older FE games have had.
But if you're up for this, Normal/Classic Mode then.
daiquiri
Octorok
Normal/Classic sounds appealing, otherwise how am I going to
Linkstrikesback
Bounty Hunter
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When it comes to choosing a fire emblem difficulty, the problem is that in all the modern games, you can turn it down at any point, but you can't turn it up.
I'd strongly suggest starting on Hard even if you've been out of it for ages, and then if it's too much, you can turn it down, but doing vice versa required replaying a load of stuff to get back to where you were. A lot of people find normal too easy if you're particularly looking to have to be involved much in the strategy.
I'd strongly suggest starting on Hard even if you've been out of it for ages, and then if it's too much, you can turn it down, but doing vice versa required replaying a load of stuff to get back to where you were. A lot of people find normal too easy if you're particularly looking to have to be involved much in the strategy.
daiquiri
Octorok
Good info, thanks
OP
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Forgot to give an update on my Engage playthrough. I've done Chapters 21 and 22 over the weekend, and yeah... It's safe to say I'm purely playing this for the gameplay.
To weigh in on the FE difficulty talk, personally I can't really be bothered to go classic/hard anymore. Battles take long enough as is, and I'd hate to have to restart an hour long map because I messed up and lost a unit halfway through. If encounters were shorter overall, I'd probably still go for it.
The older I get and the less free time I have, the more I gravitate towards easier difficulties. So normal/casual it is for me.
To weigh in on the FE difficulty talk, personally I can't really be bothered to go classic/hard anymore. Battles take long enough as is, and I'd hate to have to restart an hour long map because I messed up and lost a unit halfway through. If encounters were shorter overall, I'd probably still go for it.
The older I get and the less free time I have, the more I gravitate towards easier difficulties. So normal/casual it is for me.
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Given that 2 of the fam have Covid since the weekend, and another one "got it" yesterday, i still rocking no symptoms and testing negative would mean i'm lucky this week.
Then i did my pulls on the new FEH Mythic Hero banner and was reminded that no, i am not lucky.
Okay, to be fair, i should say i was half lucky.
Got five 5* heroes. But all of them were 4* Special, and two of them were heroes that i have at +10 already. And none have good fodder.
Not a single focus hero.
Okay, let's say quarter lucky.
Wonder how they will do the Holy War remake in this regard. The maps in the original SNES game are HUGE.
Then i did my pulls on the new FEH Mythic Hero banner and was reminded that no, i am not lucky.
Okay, to be fair, i should say i was half lucky.
Got five 5* heroes. But all of them were 4* Special, and two of them were heroes that i have at +10 already. And none have good fodder.
Not a single focus hero.
Okay, let's say quarter lucky.
Wonder how they will do the Holy War remake in this regard. The maps in the original SNES game are HUGE.
OP
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Maybe they'll find clever ways to split them up. I never played the original, so I don't know if this would be feasible. But how huge are we talking here? Maps in Three Houses and Engage can already take anywhere from 45-60 minutes, and I consider that plenty huge already.
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Chapter Maps - Serenes Forest
Credits: NomadicTrooperGirl Chapter Map Prologue: Birth of the Holy Knight Chapter 1: Girl of the Spirit Forest Chapter 2: Disturbance in Agustria Chapter 3: Lion King Eltshan Chapter 4: Dance
serenesforest.net
Take a look here.
Huge.
Though i should note that iirc the game has 10 or 11 chapters total. So in this regard it's shorter than current time FE games.
OP
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Some chapters look like they take place across an entire continent, what the hell?Chapter Maps - Serenes Forest
Credits: NomadicTrooperGirl Chapter Map Prologue: Birth of the Holy Knight Chapter 1: Girl of the Spirit Forest Chapter 2: Disturbance in Agustria Chapter 3: Lion King Eltshan Chapter 4: Danceserenesforest.net
Take a look here.
Huge.
Yeah, just noticed it's only eleven chapters as well, which might lend credence to my "splitting maps up" theory, as long as the story beats make sense to be split across more chapters as well.
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Well, now you know the reason why Holy War is very cav and flier heavy! ;D
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Continued my gameplay of super robot wars 30 which are my relax srpg to play since stuff is blowing up constantly, and it's really an anniversary game getting robot after robot after robot. I was playing the mission against Zagato and of course a new unit appears ( also loved how everybody is worried because Cephiro is dying but Ernie is like " did you see the design of his robot???")
Tailzo
Paratroopa
I finished Triangle Strategy. I want another srpg, and I'll get Persona 5 Tactica day one. I know it will not scratch the same itch, but srpgs like that are rare. I have Ogre Battle let us cling together on psp, but I wishlisted the remaster on pc because it is the closest I know of.
Chalphy
Boo
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Splitting up the maps would require serious reworking of the game. There are a lot occasions where the game has the player focused in one area of the map, and then something happens elsewhere requiring them to adapt on the fly.
TheWolvesDen
Tektite
I dig strategy rpgs. My fave being Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I beat Triangle Strategy this year and LOVED it. Benedict is probably one my fave gaming characters. I also finally beat FE7, I couldnt' as a kid. I loved it. I have beaten FE7, FE Shadows of Valentia, FE Fates Birthright, Fire Emblem Awakening. I made it far in Sacred Stones but never beat it, hopign it hits NSO so I can properly do that. FE Birthright is my fave FE. I enjoyed Into the Breach but still can't finish a full run!
I am eyeing Unicorn Overlord. I am hoping to see Ogre Battle 64 get a port too.
I am eyeing Unicorn Overlord. I am hoping to see Ogre Battle 64 get a port too.
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Iโve been really craving another tactics RPG that hits me in the way Three Houses did. Iโm hoping P5T does it to some degree, and definitely Unicorn Overlord even if that looks quite different.
โฆor I could finally actually play the Edelgard routeโฆ
โฆor I could finally actually play the Edelgard routeโฆ
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Decided to look at the log mission for SRW30 since I've been playing it for a long time and now I'm in mission 80 and still getting new units(not counting DLC), they really decided to go all the way when creating a long game (when previous games had like 52 missions in total)
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Man, I loved Warlocked back in the day and still have my copy. It was one of those "summer games" a cousin and I would buy to play over break. Hopefully we'll see it on NSO sooner or later.I was cleaning and found my (now battery dead) copy of Warlocked. I remember being impressed to have a RTS in gameboy color back in the day. The game is really simple but still being able to manage units and teams in that little screen is a technical feat
OP
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Finally managed to finish FE Engage. When I say "finish", I mean the story. There's 11 Paralogues, 5 Divine Paralogues, and all 6 Xenologues I haven't done. But I'm done with the game for now. I might return to clean up in the lead-up to the next FE.
Engage has me torn. As far as gameplay goes, I mostly liked what I saw. The last few chapters dragged on forever, though, with endless reinforcements that only served to drag it out longer, and I just wanted to be done with it, which is never a good sign. Mostly just rushed for the objective and prayed I'd have enough units left to finish it off.
Don't get me started on whatever that story is supposed to be, because I feel it doesn't even work all that well as an anniversary throwaway Avengers-style affair.
Engage has me torn. As far as gameplay goes, I mostly liked what I saw. The last few chapters dragged on forever, though, with endless reinforcements that only served to drag it out longer, and I just wanted to be done with it, which is never a good sign. Mostly just rushed for the objective and prayed I'd have enough units left to finish it off.
Don't get me started on whatever that story is supposed to be, because I feel it doesn't even work all that well as an anniversary throwaway Avengers-style affair.
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