Strategy & Tactics

Victory measured in patience — tactical RPGs and strategy games where the grid, the turn, and the plan decide everything.

49 games in this room

Yoichi Erikawa wrote it in his own time. By 1988 it reached the Famicom with a folding map of Japan in the box.

Uncommon

Family Computer (Famicom) / NES

Nobunaga's Ambition

信長の野望・全国版

Historical strategy simulation · 1988

In July 1978, Yoichi Erikawa and his wife Keiko opened a dye and industrial chemicals wholesaler in Ashikaga, Tochigi. T…

Family Computer (Famicom) / NES

Hanjuku Hero

半熟英雄

Simulation / Strategy RPG · 1988

You are a king who cannot fight. What you can do is throw an egg. Something hatches, walks off across a map where the cl…

Advance Wars (2001) borrowed maps from here. Famicom Wars — Japan-only Famicom strategy, 1988 — was called original by the We

Uncommon

Family Computer (Famicom) / NES

Famicom Wars

ファミコンウォーズ

Turn-based strategy · 1988

Released on August 12, 1988 exclusively in Japan, Famicom Wars is the turn-based strategy game that quietly launched one…

NHK's Dokuganryu drama hit 39.7% viewership — still the all-time record. Namco released this Famicom strategy game four month

Family Computer (Famicom) / NES

Dokuganryu Masamune

独眼竜政宗

Historical Strategy / Simulation · 1988

A historical strategy game in which the player becomes the Sengoku-era warlord Date Masamune, the one-eyed dragon of the…

Family Computer (Famicom) / NES

Sangokushi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)

三國志

Historical turn-based strategy · 1988

Koei's grand strategy game set in China's Three Kingdoms era, ported to the Famicom in 1988 after its original PC releas…

Wargames belonged to PCs. Hudson put a hex grid on TV — Nectaris (PC Engine, 1989), lunar turn-based strategy. Predated Fire

Uncommon

PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16

Military Madness

ネクタリス

Turn-Based Strategy · 1989

Released in February 1989, Nectaris was one of the earliest hexagonal turn-based strategy games to appear on a home cons…

Uncommon

Sega Mega Drive / Genesis

Herzog Zwei

ヘルツォーク・ツバイ

Real-Time Strategy · 1989

Herzog Zwei (1989) is one of the earliest real-time strategy games in history — and the first to run on a home console. …

Marth appeared in Smash Bros. Melee before Western players could buy his game. Fire Emblem (1990, Famicom) — Japan-only for 3

Uncommon

Family Computer (Famicom) / NES

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

ファイアーエムブレム暗黒竜と光の剣

Tactical role-playing game (SRPG) · 1990

Released on April 20, 1990, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light established the tactical RPG as a genre on…

PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16

Populous

real-time strategy · 1990

Released in 1989 for the Amiga and later ported to the PC Engine in 1990, Populous is credited as the first 'god game' —…

Sega Mega Drive / Genesis

Ninja Burai Densetsu

忍者武雷伝説

Tactical strategy RPG · 1991

A turn-based tactical strategy game for the Mega Drive, released in Japan in 1991. The player commands a band of ninja a…

Sega Mega Drive / Genesis

Advanced Daisenryaku: Deutsch Dengeki Sakusen

アドバンスド大戦略 ―ドイツ電撃作戦―

Turn-based strategy (wargame) · 1991

A turn-based military strategy game released by Sega for the Mega Drive in 1991, based on SystemSoft's Daisenryaku warga…

pc-engine-cd

Master of Monsters

マスター・オブ・モンスターズ

Turn-Based Strategy · 1991

Released in 1991 for PC Engine CD-ROM², Master of Monsters is a turn-based strategy game where players command wizards w…

Developed without knowing Fire Emblem existed. Shining Force (1992, Mega Drive) — the grid RPG that defined the tactical genr

Uncommon

Sega Mega Drive / Genesis

Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention

シャイニング・フォース神々の遺産

Tactical RPG · 1992

The game that defined tactical RPG gaming in the West, Shining Force arrived on Mega Drive in March 1992 as the second e…

Family Computer (Famicom) / NES

Fire Emblem Gaiden

ファイアーエムブレム外伝

Tactical-RPG · 1992

Released in March 1992, Fire Emblem Gaiden is the second Fire Emblem game and a direct departure from the first — a Japa…

Warrior of Rome II in the West — in Japan, Koei's Caesar no Yabou II (1992, Mega Drive) had you ruling a province to become E

Sega Mega Drive / Genesis

Caesar no Yabou II (Ambition of Caesar II)

シーザーの野望II

Strategy (Real-time tactics) · 1992

A real-time strategy game developed and published by Micronet for the Mega Drive in Japan in 1992, and the sequel to Cae…

Sega Mega Drive / Genesis

Dune II

real-time strategy · 1992

Dune II is a 1992 real-time strategy for the mega drive, developed by Westwood Studios, with music by Frank Klepacki. It…

Subtitle named after a Queen song, score by a pre-famous Sakimoto. Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (Super Famicom, 1993

Uncommon

Super Famicom / SNES

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen

伝説のオウガバトル

Real-Time Tactical RPG · 1993

Directed by Yasumi Matsuno — who would go on to create Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story — Ogre Battle: The March …

Super Famicom / SNES

Sid Meier's Civilization

シヴィライゼーション世界七大文明

turn-based strategy video game · 1994

Sid Meier's Civilization is a Super Famicom game released in 1994, developed by MicroProse, published by Asmik. It is a …

Matsuno wrote the entire scenario alone. Tactics Ogre (1995, Super Famicom) — Japan-only tactical RPG where every faction bel

Uncommon

Super Famicom / SNES

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

タクティクスオウガ

Tactical RPG · 1995

Released in 1995, Tactics Ogre is the pinnacle of tactical RPG storytelling. Created by Yasumi Matsuno — the mind behind…

Seiken Densetsu 3 (1995) for Super Famicom — Square's Japan-only Mana sequel with 6 heroes, branching story paths, and Hiroki

Uncommon

Super Famicom / SNES

Seiken Densetsu 3

聖剣伝説3

Action RPG · 1995

Seiken Densetsu 3 (1995) is one of the finest action RPGs on the Super Famicom and among the most accomplished Japan-onl…

Vocal singing on a 16-bit cartridge — no Super Famicom game had done it before. Tales of Phantasia (1995) launched the Tales

Uncommon

Super Famicom / SNES

Tales of Phantasia

テイルズオブファンタジア

Action RPG · 1995

Tales of Phantasia (1995) is the origin of one of JRPG's most enduring franchises — the Tales series — and arrived as th…

Uncommon

PlayStation

Suikoden

幻想水滸伝

RPG · 1995

Suikoden (1995) is one of the PlayStation's most distinctive RPGs — a fast-loading, quick-battle system with 108 recruit…

Square's director was told not to make a mech game. He built a prototype in secret. Front Mission (1995, SFC) — tactics RPG s

Uncommon

Super Famicom / SNES

Front Mission

フロントミッション

Tactical RPG · 1995

The first entry in Square's long-running tactical mecha franchise, Front Mission is set in 2090 on the contested island …

Choosing silence in Sakura Wars weakened your team in battle. Sega's 1996 Saturn tactical RPG made timed dialogue a combat me

Uncommon

Sega Saturn

Sakura Wars

サクラ大戦

Tactical RPG / Visual novel · 1996

Sakura Wars is a 1996 Sega Saturn exclusive that blended tactical RPG combat with visual novel-style relationship mechan…

The lead developer vanished in 1995 and J-Force went bankrupt mid-project. Sega finished Dragon Force (Saturn, 1996) — EGM Sa

Uncommon

Sega Saturn

Dragon Force

ドラゴンフォース

Strategy RPG · 1996

Dragon Force (1996) is a Sega Saturn strategy RPG in which eight rulers of the continent of Legendra vie for dominance —…

Square's Kazushige Nojima directed this before Final Fantasy VII. Bahamut Lagoon (1996, Super Famicom) stayed Japan-only for

Uncommon

Super Famicom / SNES

Bahamut Lagoon

バハムートラグーン

Tactical RPG · 1996

Bahamut Lagoon (1996) is one of Square's most overlooked gems — a tactical RPG set in a world of floating islands where …

Super Famicom / SNES

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

ファイアーエムブレム聖戦の系譜

Strategy RPG · 1996

Released in May 1996, Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is the most ambitious entry in the series that Intelligent …

Save data from Arc the Lad I carries into the sequel — one of the first RPGs to use transfer as a narrative device. Arc the L

PlayStation

Arc the Lad II

アークザラッド2

Strategy RPG · 1996

Released in November 1996, Arc the Lad II is the direct continuation of the original Arc the Lad — and one of the first …

Uncommon

Sega Saturn

Shining Force III

シャイニングフォースIII

Tactical RPG · 1997

Released in 1997, Shining Force III was Camelot Software Planning's final Shining game — and their most ambitious. Conce…

Same month as Final Fantasy VII — June 1997. Matsuno's political RPG where Ramza wins the war but history records him as a he

PlayStation

Final Fantasy Tactics

ファイナルファンタジータクティクス

Tactical RPG / Strategy · 1997

Final Fantasy Tactics is the 1997 PlayStation tactical RPG directed by Yasumi Matsuno, set in the politically complex ki…

PlayStation

Command & Conquer: Red Alert

コマンド＆コンカー：レッドアラート

real-time strategy ·

Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a 1997 real-time strategy for the PlayStation, developed by Westwood Studios, with music…

PlayStation

WarCraft II: The Dark Saga

ウォークラフトII ザ・ダークサーガ

real-time strategy ·

WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness is a 1996 real-time strategy for the playstation, developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It…

Game Boy Color

Pokémon Trading Card Game

ポケモンカードGB

Card game / Strategy · 1998

Pokémon Trading Card Game (1998) for Game Boy Color is a digital adaptation of the Pokémon TCG developed by Hudson Soft …

Kohei Tanaka — One Piece, Dragon Ball Z — composed the score. Dragon Force II (Saturn, 1998) is Japan-only and considered dee

Uncommon

Sega Saturn

Dragon Force II: Kamisarishi Daichi ni

ドラゴンフォースⅡ 神去りし大地に

Strategy RPG · 1998

Released in April 1998, Dragon Force II: Kamisarishi Daichi ni is the sequel to one of the Saturn's defining strategy RP…

Nintendo 64

Pokémon Stadium

ポケモンスタジアム2

Strategy · 1999

Released in 1999, Pokémon Stadium brought all 151 original Pokémon to Nintendo 64 in fully animated 3D battles for the f…

Matsuno had already left for Square before this shipped. Ogre Battle 64 (1999, N64) — one of few serious tactical RPGs on the

Uncommon

Nintendo 64

Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber

オウガバトル64 Person of Lordly Caliber

Real-Time Tactical RPG · 1999

The direct follow-up to Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen on Super Famicom, Ogre Battle 64 continues the Ogre Ba…

Dreamcast

Vermilion Desert

バーミリオン・デザート

Strategy / Simulation RPG · 1999

Vermilion Desert is a Japan-only strategy title released for the Sega Dreamcast late in 1999. It was developed and publi…

Nintendo 64

Command & Conquer

コマンド＆コンカー

real-time strategy ·

Command & Conquer for Nintendo 64 (1999) is a condensed port of Westwood Studios' landmark 1995 PC real-time strategy ga…

Nintendo 64

Pokémon Stadium 2

ポケモンスタジアム金銀

Strategy / Battle · 2000

Released in Japan in December 2000, Pokémon Stadium Gold & Silver — known internationally as Pokémon Stadium 2 — brought…

Rare

Game Boy Color

Warlocked

Real-Time Strategy ·

Warlocked (2000) is the only real-time strategy game ever made for the Game Boy Color — a North America-only release dev…

Miyamoto watched garden ants and built a game around them. Pikmin (2001, GameCube) — miss the deadline and Olimar actually di

▶

Nintendo GameCube

Pikmin

ピクミン

Real-time strategy · 2001

Pikmin (2001) is a real-time strategy game created by Shigeru Miyamoto, released as a GameCube launch title in Japan. Ca…

Dreamcast

Gundam Battle Online

ガンダムバトルオンライン

Strategy / Action · 2001

Set in the world of Mobile Suit Gundam, this Dreamcast title casts the player as a commander on either the Earth Federat…

PlayStation 2

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

エイジオブエンパイアII

real-time strategy · 2001

On 11 May 1999, Microsoft and Konami announced a trade. Konami took the option to publish selected Microsoft games on th…

Cards age in real time — a lit torch burns down mid-battle. Baten Kaitos (2003, GameCube) was Monolith Soft's JRPG with a liv

Uncommon ▶

Nintendo GameCube

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean

バテン・カイトス終わらない翼と失われた海

RPG / Card Battle · 2003

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (2003) is one of the GameCube's most distinctive RPGs — a card-based comb…

Every treasure is a real object — bottle caps, toy cars, rubber ducks — reframed as priceless alien relics. Pikmin 2 (2004, G

Uncommon ▶

Nintendo GameCube

Pikmin 2

ピクミン2

Strategy · 2004

Released in 2004, Pikmin 2 expanded the original Pikmin formula in nearly every dimension — removing the time limit, add…

Original GameCube copies now sell for hundreds. Path of Radiance (2005) — too few made, too many wanted it. Ike, first in 3D.

Rare ▶

Nintendo GameCube

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

ファイアーエムブレム蒼炎の軌跡

Tactical RPG / Strategy · 2005

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is the 2005 GameCube tactical RPG developed by Intelligent Systems — the first entry in th…

Sega Saturn

Worms

ワームズ

Artillery / Turn-based Strategy ·

Worms is a turn-based artillery game where cartoon invertebrates battle with absurd weaponry — exploding sheep, concrete…

Gaiflame (PC Engine, 1990) — Turn-based strategy game by Masaya/NCS, released January 26, 1990 on HuCard. Features strategic

PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16

Guyframe

ガイフレーム

Strategy · 1990

Gaiflame (1990) for the PC Engine — a strategy game developed by Masaya, a subsidiary of Nippon Computer Systems (NCS). …

Susanooh Densetsu (PC Engine, 1989) — A turn-based strategy RPG based on Go Nagai's Susano-o manga and the Shinto myth of the

PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16

Susanoh Densetsu

凄ノ王伝説

Turn-based Strategy RPG · 1989

Susanoh Densetsu is a action rpg game for the PC Engine, released in Japan in 1989.…

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