The strategy/RPG has always been a niche genre, which is ironic since it's a hybrid of two popular genres in Japan. Great series like Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Shining Force have no doubt put it on gamers' radar, but the genre is like a diamond in the rough with only a few releases every year. Therefore, I decided to compile a list of old and new games that are easily available that stand as the best the genre has to offer. After all, don't we all love to really contemplate each turn to maximize its full potential?
Note:For list variety, only one entry from each series was eligible. The list is not in any specific order.
Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS)
Fire Emblem helped popularize the strategy/RPG genre, so it's only fitting that it's still innovating it to this day. The latest entry, Fire Emblem Awakening, is one of the franchise's most solid games to date. It keeps the classic grid-based gameplay and rock, paper, scissors model for weapons, where swords are advantageous against axes, lances best swords, and axes defeat lances. Let's not forget about the permadeath, should you enable it (you should). Awakening's best feature is how it puts relationship-building front and center with support conversations. If you get a pair's level high enough by engaging them in conversations and pairing them on the battlefield, it opens the option to marry them, and later their child will join your fight.
For more information, read our review.
Disgaea 4 (PlayStation 3, Vita)
Do you like a little offbeat humor to go with your hard-thought turns? Then the Disgaea series is for you. The fourth entry is the franchise's best offering and delves into the world of politics and corruption on top of all the zany jokes you've come to expect. It still has plenty to keep you busy as you make your way to level 9,999, but it also adds enhancements like enemy geo-blocks (that move) to shake things up. The Vita version lacks the online functionality of its PS3 sibling, but it includes all the DLC and a few different features, such as a new scenario and magic tier. Disgaea 4 is one of the most over-the-top entries yet, and it has an insane amount of content to match.
For more information, read our review or check out our RPG Spotlight on the franchise.
The Banner Saga (PC, iOS)
This viking-themed tactical game comes from a team of developers formerly of BioWare, and they knock it out of the park with their debut game, The Banner Saga. The game pays homage to other classic strategy/RPG games and boasts a beautiful art style and music by Journey's Austin Wintory to complement the tense gameplay. Throw in a mature storyline, where players not only build relationships to form attachments, but also shape the story through their choices. The journey is grim, but worth a trip for how it challenges choice and consequence, while keeping you on the seat of your pants with its thrilling gameplay.
For more information, read our review of the first episode .
Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)
Valkyria Chronicles is such a solid RPG that it made Game Informer's top RPGs of last generation list. It combines a quasi-shooter with strategy and RPG elements and adds a gorgeous art style to boot. The tale tells an alternate history of World War II and ditches the typical isometric grid to use two different points of view, and the third-person view makes you feel like you're right in the middle of battle. The decisions in combat also mount, as different infantry types are strong and weak against others, the terrain can provide advantages or disadvantages, and soldiers have unique personality traits to factor. If you like strategy/RPGs and haven't played Valkyria Chronicles, you must make this one a priority. Despite its 2008 release, you can thankfully still find it at various retailers.
For more information, read our review.
Jeanne d'Arc (PSP, Vita)
Who doesn't want to want to play a strategy/RPG based loosely on the iconic Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War? This little gem reimagines history with magic and demons, putting a new spin on the tale. The combat comes from Level-5, who is best known for their action/RPG roots, but the team proved that a strategy game wasn't out of their wheelhouse. You control Jeanne and her party through a semi-accurate map of France, and every character and enemy has a weakness and strength to one of three different affinities. Better yet? Jeanne d'Arc is one of the PSP games that you can download from the PlayStation Store and play on your Vita.
[Up next: Matsuno keeps the storytelling strong, SMT blends traditional and strategy gameplay, and the Dark Souls of strategy/RPGs enters the arena...]