Poll: looking for RPGs with good tactical combat

[veloper]

I like strategy games, inluding those with RP elements like HOMM and WC3.
I'm also drawn to RPGs and I've played many, but I usually get a bit disappointed with the simplistic battles in RPGs.

The potential for great gameplay in the RPG genre is huge, but there's only a handful of games in recent memory that come anywhere close.

Games with only 1 controlable PC are often too straightforward, as are most realtime rpgs. Some otherwise nice RPGs, but with disappointing combat include: Fallout 1&2, Bloodlines, the Witcher, Planescape, Gothic2, kotor, M&M7, ultima7.


My tactical RPG list sofar is very short:

1 ToEE had a good combat system (3E) and plenty of options (but not good enough to make up for the flaws in that game).
2 KotC is an indie game that also does 3E and with challenging encounters, but there's only 3 D&D classes and 4 slots.

lowering the standards a little, there's also some decent tactical encounters to be found in

3 some old infinity engine games, like BG2
4 Dragon Age


I'm looking for more. Maybe some solid indie RPGs with more than 1 PC, that I haven't heared of yet.

 

[Stuntcrab]

Can you please tell me what ToEE and KotC stand for? also I think fallout 3 might have some tactical combat, you need the right weapons just play on hard for an actual fight

 

[flaming_ninja]

Not a fan of jay arrr pee gees then I suppose?

 

[veloper]

Can you please tell me what ToEE and KotC stand for? also I think fallout 3 might have some tactical combat, you need the right weapons just play on hard for an actual fight

Temple of elemental evil
Knights of the Chalice

 

[veloper]

Not a fan of jay arrr pee gees then I suppose?

I'm willing to give them a go, if someone can recommend one with tactical positioning and depth, that cannot simply be grinded into becoming too easy.

 

[Newfie]

One of the best Tactical RPGs I have played is Jagged Alliance 2. Requires much thinking, placing of troops, equipment, hiring, money management and all kinds of other stuff. If you get it, make sure to get the v1.13 patch, it makes the game 100x better.

 

[flaming_ninja]

There is something to be said for Mass Effect in terms of tactical combat don't listen to me though because I got bored with the game after swimming in dialogue, or should I say drowning it it. If you don't like that then there is Mount and Blade made by Taleworlds and indie game company, however the combat elements are perhaps maybe too tactical as the game itself is nothing short of a medieval warfare simulator with RPG elements and if you're really into your fantasy then forget it because there is no magic and all of the kingdoms are based real-life kingdoms from medieval history.

 

[veloper]

One of the best Tactical RPGs I have played is Jagged Alliance 2. Requires much thinking, placing of troops, equipment, hiring, money management and all kinds of other stuff. If you get it, make sure to get the v1.13 patch, it makes the game 100x better.

I always considered JA2 among the strategy games, along with UFO (xcom).

 

[scw55]

The Final Fantasy Tactics series are not bad for that Strategy meets RPG feel.
I really enjoyed the one of the Gameboy Advance.
The PSP version I didn't get far in because I disliked the idea that if a unit of yours 'fell' in battle it stayed dead. It annoyed me because you'd spend alot of money on equipment which would then be lost.

Age of Wonders: Shadowmagic is a Turn Based Strategy game but has heavy RPG elements to it. It's very enjoyable to explore the map in the game and there's things to discover. Think of the Age of Empires III 'Treasure System' but done more impressively and you get excited over it and it's actually often hard. In a game, once you build a statue to honoure one of the 6 (I think) gods, occationally the gods will spam you with quests. They can be kill some neutrals. Take a city. Break an alliance. Be a douche bag to your allies. Be a douche bag to your enemies. There's alot.

So yeah. Final Fantasy Tactics if you own a PSP/GBA. Or get Age of Wonders: Shadowmagic.

The last one shamefully is a lesser known game but is no less awsome.

 

[CmdrGoob]

Try some roguelikes. Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup [http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/] or Doom: The Roguelike [http://doom.chaosforge.org/features/16/features] both have challenging tactical gameplay, and have the advantage of being free. And unlike some of the more archaic roguelikes, they have good interfaces and are easy to get into.

Also, XCOM.

 

[Pearwood]

Valkyria Chronicles, awesome game.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Wizardry 8 and Crawl/DoomRL as recommended above.

Wizardry 8 came after Jagged Alliance 2. You can tell that they were still in a tactical frame of mind when they made it and it is more of a traditional RPG than JA2.

Temple of Elemental Evil does have a good tactical game engine but it is let down a bit by the encounters which are a bit too vanilla.

I keep meaning to try more Spiderweb Software games as well.

 

[veloper]

Wizardry 8 and Crawl/DoomRL as recommended above.

What I would really have loved is games like these, but with party of 4.

Wizardry 8 came after Jagged Alliance 2. You can tell that they were still in a tactical frame of mind when they made it and it is more of a traditional RPG than JA2.

It looks similar to M&M7, but with more characters.

Temple of Elemental Evil does have a good tactical game engine but it is let down a bit by the encounters which are a bit too vanilla.

Agreed. I could forgive ToEE for the stupid VOs, but not the world and encounter design.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Wizardry 8 and Crawl/DoomRL as recommended above.

What I would really have loved is games like these, but with party of 4.

Wizardry 8 came after Jagged Alliance 2. You can tell that they were still in a tactical frame of mind when they made it and it is more of a traditional RPG than JA2.

It looks similar to M&M7, but with more characters.

Temple of Elemental Evil does have a good tactical game engine but it is let down a bit by the encounters which are a bit too vanilla.

Agreed. I could forgive ToEE for the stupid VOs, but not the world and encounter design.

I don't think that there is anything stopping you from playing Wizardry 8 with four characters. That could even make the game more of a challenge. The party does move as one group but it also has things like covering your flanks, line of sight and area of effect. Mostly it is about the RPG system using the right skills and items.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Oh, and I don't know if you have tried the Frayed Knights pilot/initial demo?

http://rampantgames.com/frayedknights/

I haven't heard anything about it for a while but it I assume that it is still active.

 

[ItsAPaul]

Don't know if I can help you if Baldur's Gate 2 is "lowering your standards" since it's the best rpg out there. Why not just play turn-based rpgs like FFT, FFTA, Disgaea, and my under-the-radar favorite, Stella Deus?

EDIT - Also if you don't like the gamecube Fire Emblem then I can't help you.

 

[rees263]

I'm not entirely sure what you're looking for but I'll have a go:

If you are looking for the PC (I think you are) then take a look at Disciples 2 - it is an interesting mix of turn based strategy with some quite interesting combat mechanics. It's pretty old but you can get it from steam:

[http://store.steampowered.com/sub/95/]Disciples 2[/url]

Disciples 3 has also just been released on steam but I don't know what it's like.

If you are not limited to PC then I woud check out the Fire Emblem series - it has versions on pretty much every Nintendo console - GBA, DS, Gamecube, Wii plus the older ones were on the NES and SNES. The gameplay is mostly big strategic turn based battles. I love it.

 

[Wayneguard]

Not a fan of jay arrr pee gees then I suppose?

I'm willing to give them a go, if someone can recommend one with tactical positioning and depth, that cannot simply be grinded into becoming too easy.

Lost Odyssey has a gameplay mechanic that prevents you from grinding too far. If you want to level, you have to advance the game. It pretty much demolishes the jrpg grinding tradition.

 

[cubikill]

Dawn of War 2. Its a strategy game, but with loot drops, skill points. and persistent units.

 

[veloper]

Dawn of War 2. Its a strategy game, but with loot drops, skill points. and persistent units.

Already have that game. I actually prefer the skirmish modes to the campaign.

If it's a strategy game, chances are I own it.
I'm looking specificly for RPGs.

.
I've already played some Stonesoup and I'm currently doing Avernum 6 to see if it gets any better further in.