Squad Goals: The Evolution of Tactical RPGs

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Discover the origins of the tactical RPG genre in this retrospective video. From the early days of "Wizardry" and "Ultima III: Exodus" to the golden age of "Final Fantasy Tactics" and "Tactics Ogre," we'll explore the evolution of grid-based RPGs and how they've impacted the gaming industry. We'll delve into some of the most iconic titles of the 80s and 90s and uncover the hidden gems that helped shape the genre. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the world of tactical RPGs, this video is a must-watch for any fan of turn-based strategy games. Join us as we explore the rich history of tactical RPGs, and rediscover the games that defined the genre.
Some of the games shown:
Tactics Ogre
Symphony of War
Fae Tactics
Crown Trick
Disgaea
Final Fantasy Tactics
Gears Tactics
Into the Breach
Like a Dragon
Marvel's Midnight Suns
Massive Chalice
SUPERHOT
Sword of the Stars: The Pit
Ultima III: Exodus
Valkyria Chronicles
Wildermyth
Wizardry
X-COM
Xenogears
Mario + Rabbids
Divinity Original Sin II
#tacticalrpg #tacticsogrereborn #turnbased

[@cctom05]

wow secret video! I'm 67.5hrs into Midnight Suns and I think I'm still a long way to go (especially if I wanna max out my friendship with newer additions to the team). The way they handled the card system, provide permanent passive (slottable) buffs, and temporary random buffs (combat training/therapy) really keep the combat so fresh through all this time. For the most part there's no like formulaic way to approach fights aside from targeting enemies you can finish off with Quick attacks so you get the card play refunded. There's so much VO in general, then there's so many off-handed conversations between other characters that really give life to the Abbey gameplay. Then of course there's the ultra flashy superheroic combat animations. We'll see once I finally finish, but this may easily be one of my top TRPGs of all time.

[@crimsonframe47]

People are talking about no presence of Fire Emblem but for me is why there's no mention about SRW because it had clips throughout the video 😂 Joke aside it is great content, you covering decent amount of worth playing tactical rpg. Cheers 🙌

[@Imeran]

I started Fey Tactics because of you and also played it exclusively for quite some time. Excellent game! I also played TRPGs from the early days and this all resonates very much with me. Thanks for the recommendations!

[@Vahmung]

Front Mission 3 is one of games I have more hours in than an Elder Scrolls game. I still have my PS1 copy and play this pretty much once a year. I like all of the Front Mission games, but 3 has a special place for me. The mechanics are pretty straight forward when it comes to tactical RPGs. There is a limb damage system and mech customization system to min-max your team. What sells it, is the story, music, atmosphere of the world, and piloting mecha (Wanzers). Another tactical RPG I like to revisit is the Super Robot Wars OG series. I know they release those games almost yearly now, but they redid the OG series and crossed it with the story of SWRJ for the Moon Dwellers title. The graphics and music is crisp. The story is interesting. It is very cheesy and simple. I believe it hits me hard because I used to play those games on the GBA.

[@samysnes]

I suggest you play Jeanne d'Arc for the PSP! It's really good! It's harder to find a way to play it because it's never been ported or remade and emulators struggle with it but it's worth getting a PSP just for it IMO.

[@StephireGG]

Perfect timing, picked up Disciples: Liberation and Phoenix Point this month!

[@teteiyusu]

I'm always excited to see videos some Mike. I've enjoyed his stuff since way back when! Looking forward to these new videos! Hurrah!

[@DarioGarciadaRosa]

One of my very first games was "Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games", and honestly up until recently with XCOM I hadn't seen many games similar. It's great that you did this to lighten me up that this genre has a whole history and it's not just a couple of random games. I could watch your content for days, please never stop and keep it up!

[@mattriggs301]

I love watching you play tactics games on stream. I've bought so so many games over the years because of you. Fell Seal is one I keep meaning to play more of just because it's so dang good.

[@keitolainen7459]

Hey Mike! TRPGs are probably my favs too, and tactics ogre is one of the best ever. You do lose sub-stories and dialogue if side chars die, but you can easily redo chapters to see them, once you beat the game once. It has a really unique ng+ and postgame system. Don't be stingy with your chariot tarot either! And don't lose canopus! He's an mvp no matter which story branch you take.

[@akamikeb]

He was pretty much the last guy left before I realized the story characters I had lost we’re not coming back so I’ve and protecting him at all costs haha. The chariot tarot system is something I just forget to use at times, but man is it a lifesaver when you fuck up 10 moves back.

[@Shrimpaycheck]

I loved the vid mike ,I hope for more like this in the future!

[@aner_bda]

Shoutout to Xenogears! The game that got me into JRPGs.

[@mythicgriffon]

Excellent recommendations! DoS 1 and 2 have been my must plays, and you got me hooked on Fell Seal. This was a great video!

[@Phalcon777]

Love fae tactics and symphony. Such a great game. If i ever fix my pc i gotta finish them.

[@donsawyer4521]

It is absolutely amazing video. You should be proud. I love this. Still impressive after all these years.

[@ronaldp7573]

Been chasing the high of Final Fantasy Tactics since 1998.

[@Orthus100]

Symphony of War looks like Ogre Battle and I am here for it. Played so much Ogre Battle 64 as a kid.

[@UchihaG]

One very overlooked game that I enjoyed a lot is Voidsphere Tactics, it's similar to FFT but in a somewhat open world environment, it has a deep class system and I love that some abilities have both combat and exploration utility (like using a flying kick to reach a distant platform) it's really cool, other games of the genre that I've enjoyed are: - Hard West 1 & 2(XCOM but with cowboys, really cool "luck" system) - Invisible Ink (Tactics with procedural generation and stealth mechanics, it's really good) - Mordheim: city of the damned (very similar to Valkirie Chronicles gameplay-wise, but much less forgiving and more focused on the gameplay play instead of in the narrative) - Lost Dimension (think Valkirie Chronicles but with superpowers) - Troubleshooter: Abandoned children (think XCOM but with superpowers)

[@ColdMetalz]

Battletech MVP !! I've got over thousand hours in it easy, it's a great tried and true combat system with a ton of customization. The modding community goes way hard and you can make runs as easy or tortuous as you like. Highly recommended. Also big shout outs to some games Mike didn't mention like the ShadowRun series, Resonance of fate and the Lightning Final fantasy games.

[@volrathseigfried8048]

You covered some great games like Disgaea Series, ogre battle saga and FFT but I would recommend you checking out if you haven't already the Langrisser series there's about six of them you can get the one and two remake on the PS4 or switch, and a more recent game unicorn overlord is exceptional.

[@OldDadGamer]

Wish I could make the valkyrie system done.

[@justicerainz]

Great video Mike!

[@fakeflakes4]

If you haven't played Banner Saga it's worth checking out, probably my favorite game I've played in the last 10 years. Very rich story and music with a fairly simple combat system.

[@sacredones]

Im surprised this video doesnt have any mentions of Fire Emblems

[@darksaiyan2006]

Heh, XCOM being a modern take on the genre is kinda funny, considering its history.

[@RyanAggabao]

The last RPG I dropped so many hours into was the Mario And Luigi Superstar Saga on the GBA. I'm scared what I'll get into when I get Mario + Rabbids

[@MrClunkers]

Heeeyooo you finally getting around to Disgaea xD haha

[@keitolainen7459]

Hey Mike. If you liked valkyria chronicles, you might like "lost dimension". It's a 2014 ps3/vita game with similar gameplay mixed with etrian odyssey style skill trees and skill synergies, and an smt style sci-fi aesthetic. One of your party members regains lost memories and becomes a traitor each chapter (randomized), and you have to figure out who it is and execute them. The english dub is questionable, but the game was a total hidden gem. Definitely recommended for fans of valkyria chronicles' style. I think there was a windows port, too.

[@morbid1.]

I played a lot "Front Mission 3"...

[@treegames19]

Mike you might enjoy some of the fire emblem games. Path of Radiance for Gamecube would be my recommendation for a first game in the series.

[@Jotofar]

how is this not a BFF report

[@TreseBrothersGames]

👏 Awesome overview! There's so much cool stuff happening in this genre. We're working on one you may be interested in, a tactical heist RPG with XCOM-like squad combat, creative stealth & hacking, and a unique heist strategy layer. It's called Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. Coming to Steam this year; hope you'll take a look and wishlist!

[@LK.Cynric]

Was gonna say wheres advance tactics? But its not really an rpg. The only i see missing is the fire emblem series, but i never played it. My favorite is FFT, that fey one you mentioned looks interesting , gonna look into it. Really enjoyed this style of video.

[@Xanek]

Surprised you didn't mention Fire Emblem, is that a series that interest you at all? Wargroove would be another recommendation. Glad to see Divinity Original Sin being mentioned in the vid, it is a LONG game but it is a great game.

[@akamikeb]

I think its mostly because it was on systems I didnt really use often. I wanted to check out three houses but just never got around to it, and Engage looks pretty different from the usual mainline games. Where would you suggest I start?

[@RoseNitemare]

@@akamikeb If you're able I would honestly emulate the gba games, they were best back then. Good story and gameplay for both the ones that released in the US (first one was just called Fire Emblem, second one is Sacred Stones). I've also heard good things about the game cube and wii games (Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn) and you'll probably have to emulate them if you want to play them because the games are stupid expensive. Awakening was.... easy lol but we all respect it because it's the game that saved the series. Fates technically has 3 games to it and the story for all of them was trash. Birthright was the easy/simpler one, but I preferred the gameplay of Conquest because it had more map mechanics that you had to strategize around. Revelations was in the middle. And 3 Houses was really good for story, though not alot of map mechanics iirc. Would definitely recommend at least the gba ones for sure though. :)

[@Klaytoncalix]

How about a best/worst Tactics for their game play value, price, replayability, etc? Or how about surprising tactics games that dont really look or were advertised as a tactics game?

[@hellbin]

you just HAD to insert that... lol

[@akamikeb]

Chess fan? 😏

[@stuckboy]

The chainsaw censor made me lol

[@akamikeb]

Gotta play nice for the censors man 🕵🏽‍♀️

[@georgeligonis6191]

No love for Battle Brothers?

[@darksaiyan2006]

BB is awesome!

[@tluchuba]

You should check Xenonauts

[@diminiusthecleaver]

so when are you going to play one on stream where chat gets to decide the outcome of dialogue options huh :P

[@akamikeb]

me: hey chat do I kill off this person? chat: yes *Later* chat: aww man this is the part where X would've had a cutscene but strimmer killed them!

[@Malibooyahhh]

Surprised there’s no fe

[@UlfMTG]

have you played Stoneshard? you should check it out if you want an rpg that's still turn-based and tactical, but that has a bigger focus on worldbuilding, immersion, and a bit of survival. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of turn-based combat but for some reason I love Stoneshard's. Indie, early access (small dev team from ukraine so... you can guess why it's taking a while to come out) but there's loads of builds you can try and it feels like one of those worlds that you can just get lost in. The gorgeous pixel-art helps too, of course.

[@akamikeb]

I have it but haven't played it yet. Just rewatched the trailer (with my fresh TRPG eyes) and it *looks* fantastic. I'll give it a go for sure, thanks!

[@UlfMTG]

@@akamikeb hell yeah! if you stream it i'll be there for sure

[@willnelson9543]

xcom is from the early 90s

[@INFClockBlock]

15 YEARS OF INSANE VIDEOS where tf is a wow pvp video tho fr wtf