What other TRPG series rivals Fire Emblem?

[Zoelius]

Shining Force series, and if you understand Japanese, Shining Force 3 is a true gem.

Langrisser, but only 2, 4 are worth playing. Der Langrisser is one of the best strategy games of all time. Avoid the new one at all cost.

And something more recent would be Stella Glow.

Since everyone already listed the Tactics game, I won't listed them.

[Ϲharlie]

I played both, and enjoyed WotL far more than the original. Probably because of the extras that were included.

I didn't particularly care for the extras, but they weren't the problem. What killed it for me was the horrible and unnecessary animation lag. The overly flowery (but admittedly better than the original) dialog didn't help much either.

[Tryhard]

http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/979/

it was nice there was at least a patch for it but unfortunate that you probably couldn't get it easily on a psp

[Soledai]

Shining Force series, and if you understand Japanese, Shining Force 3 is a true gem.

Langrisser, but only 2, 4 are worth playing. Der Langrisser is one of the best strategy games of all time. Avoid the new one at all cost.

And something more recent would be Stella Glow.

Since everyone already listed the Tactics game, I won't listed them.

I thought Shining Force 3 got translated?

I do agree with the sentiment on Langrisser 2 and 4. The only real issue I found with Langrisser 5 is that movement thing, that was awful.

[Soapbar]

People have already mentioned FFT so why don't we mention something completely and totally different

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance of course. Which I don't think is actually more advanced than FFT because I've never heard of the CT system until now because it doesn't exist in Advance IIRC, it also doesn't seem to have perma-death if I recall as well (don't quote me on that because I don't fucking remember). It did have the Judge system which was pretty bullshit in the first game but the second game made it so much better. The first game had a lot of really bullshit rules that prevented you from using entire classes and if you violated them they'd send your unit to jail instantly, removing them from the battle and making you pay a fine to get them out, while in the second game the rules were a lot less bullshit and the penatly for violating them was harsh (can't use Phoenix Downs to revive units) but not unreasonable. It actually made you approach things in different ways or deal with the risk of not being able to res your dudes.

[Zoelius]

I thought Shining Force 3 got translated?

I do agree with the sentiment on Langrisser 2 and 4. The only real issue I found with Langrisser 5 is that movement thing, that was awful.

Really? I know the first game did, but I'm not sure of the other two routes, I know these was a fansite that has all the dialogue translated on a page with pictures.

As for Langrisser 5, I actually beat it, and the game was sluggish as hell, sometimes the computer would spend nearly a min trying to move one unit. It drives me insane, what even pisses me off is that they implement that terrible moving system to the PSX version of Langrisser 4. Also, the plot is cringy stupid near the end.

[Rectrix]

I think I'll second FF:T and Tactics Ogre (especially LUCT). The versatility of the maps and the job-switching made them both a lot more fun than FE, and their writing supersedes any FE's, in my opinion. The Zodiac system of FF:T was also a great idea.

Although, I do wish FF:T and TO had more focus on interunit relationships like FE, or at least more unit customisability. It's hard to get attached to generics as anything more than faceless collections of skills, which means I can play more recklessly because I have no incentive to preserve the lives of the units.

[thepeaguy]

Really? I know the first game did, but I'm not sure of the other two routes, I know these was a fansite that has all the dialogue translated on a page with pictures.

As for Langrisser 5, I actually beat it, and the game was sluggish as hell, sometimes the computer would spend nearly a min trying to move one unit. It drives me insane, what even pisses me off is that they implement that terrible moving system to the PSX version of Langrisser 4. Also, the plot is cringy stupid near the end.

I'm playing Langrisser V myself (the Saturn version), and I can totally relate to this.

In Scenario 4, you chase after Admiral Wiler. If you obstruct the NPCs, the AI takes a long time to complete its action. The movement system in that game is, of course, flawed. I think it's to do with how OP the ranged troops are in the Saturn version of Langrisser IV - which I played more than once - so they tried to balance it out. Dunno though.

Langrisser 1 (Warsong), Der Langrisser and Langrisser IV (Saturn) are my preferable Langrisser games.

Has anyone tried the Vandal Hearts series? I never played the first one, but it's apparently the better game of the 3. Vandal Hearts 2 I think is interesting for a tactical rpg, although the gameplay is badly implemented. I also love how Godard trolled every war faction in the game's storyline.

Edited June 7, 2016 by thepeaguy

[Zoelius]

I'm playing Langrisser V myself (the Saturn version), and I can totally relate to this.

In Scenario 4, you chase after Admiral Wiler. If you obstruct the NPCs, the AI takes a long time to complete its action. The movement system in that game is, of course, flawed. I think it's to do with how OP the ranged troops are in the Saturn version of Langrisser IV - which I played more than once - so they tried to balance it out. Dunno though.

Langrisser 1 (Warsong), Der Langrisser and Langrisser IV (Saturn) are my preferable Langrisser games.

Has anyone tried the Vandal Hearts series? I never played the first one, but it's apparently the better game of the 3. Vandal Hearts 2 I think is interesting for a tactical rpg, although the gameplay is badly implemented. I also love how Godard trolled every war faction in the game's storyline.

The first Vandal Hearts game is very good. But I wouldn't recommend the 2nd. Just watch lets play of the story and that it. The story seems to have potential based on what I get from the prologue. But the gameplay is dumb as hell, it so hard to hit a unit because both you and the enemy move at the same time in a turn based strategy game. Whoever thought that was a great idea was a complete idiot.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Zoelius

[thepeaguy]

The first Vandal Hearts game is very good. But I wouldn't recommend the 2nd. Just watch lets play of the story and that it. The story seems to have potential based on what I get from the prologue. But the gameplay is dumb as hell, it so hard to hit a unit because both you and the enemy move at the same time in a turn based strategy game. Whoever thought that was a great idea was a complete idiot.

I agree with 2's gameplay, as I played it more than once. However, I did enjoy the convoluted storyline. Whoever localised the dialogue did a good job with it.

With games like Vandal Hearts 2, you have to go against the grain to bring innovation to the genre. Possibly due to budget reasons, the game failed to succeed from where the original left off. Similar to how Final Fantasy II is treated today by many fans of the series.

Edited June 8, 2016 by thepeaguy

[Darches]

Gladly!

1. Its story is poorly written and its shallow.

2. It doesn't have any objective varieties unlike FE. While that may seem the least, it puts a text there claiming to do something different when its still the same damn thing. What's the difference between defeat all enemies and protect someone?

3. The CP......it is so damn broken for wrong reasons. Wizards when casting spells need CP instead of casting them right away. This is bad because if your opponent moves before the spell is casted, your wizard has wasted time and effort.

4. The permadeath is forced here. If you try to recruit units, they are always in level 1. So you have to make good use of your units if you hate grinding.

5. Speaking of which, grinding. You are forced to do it from the very start itself since grinding isn't limited.

6. You can't quit battles, if you do, you quit the game. I like the option to do something else if I don't feel like battling this chapter.

7. You can't study the map unless you finish placing your units. This is bad because when you place your units at the wrong place, you're forced to restart placing units again. And unless you're extremely smart, you can't figure where your unit will be placed on the battlefield.

8. Certain chapters force you to play at a stretch without going back. Granted the same thing happens in Fire Emblem but the difference is that FE allows you to do stuff before repeated chapters. Here, you're forced to use multiple saves inorder to make proper progress otherwise you'll end up with Gunters and lose.

9.The process of promotion is extremely tedious here. You need your units to be leveled up in specific classes and the process is long depending on how well it goes. Even if this isn't an issue, the fact that you rely on the promotions more than the base classes is annoying.

10. You need to get job points to do basic things like using potions.....really? Sure, later on when you get white mages, it becomes less of a pain, but really?

11. Speaking of white mages....chance is needed to revive units......wow. How broken can that be. Revives are better than pheonix downs because a phenoix down gives very low hp compared to the spells.

12. When you get to the second half of the game, it becomes easier for wrong reasons. One unit is damn overpowered.

These are what I can think of right now in my head...but yeah, small things like this really break games big time.

1. It's story is excellent and deep. This is undeniable.

2. Objective varieties? What are you even saying? Most battles are to kill all enemies but there are several side/story missions with other objectives and branching objectives. Each battle itself has tactical variety anyway.

3. You DO realize you can target enemies so your magic always hits them, right? And swiftness to double cast speed? And Arithmetics to cast instantly?

4. The game hands you auto-leveled characters as you progress and it's not hard to avoid permadeath. It's not really different from FE.

5. I beat the whole game with like 3 random battles grinding isn't necessary at all, it just makes the game easier allowing for dynamic difficulty adjustment which is fine.

6. You can't quit battles in FE either. You can't just be like "Wait! Stop attacking! I need to eat this sandwich first." That's now how war works!

7. Unless you're dumb enough to make one squad of healers and one of knights, this shouldn't pose a big issue. You DO realize you can MOVE your units in battle, right?

8. Yep, this is the only real problem with the game.

9. By tedious, you mean easy as pie. You just change your class by pressing a button. No levels, no seals, no BS. You DO rely on base classes, for they have valuable skills. Like the squire's JP UP ability. All knights must first train as squires! It's common sense.

10. Potion ability is so cheap it's practically free. It's one of the chemist abilities, get over it.

11. Phoenix down provides instant revive, but leaves you weak. That's what potions are for though. Raise 2 has a higher success chance BTW. Success of magic is also based on faith and zodiac alignment.

12. You don't have to use Orlandu. It would be boring if the game had the same difficulty all throughout.

[flare9]

Generation of Chaos

Langrisser

Eiyuu Senki

Gungrir

Brigandine

Pokemon Conquest

Stella Glow