Summary
Some games exist to let the player just kick back and relax, but when it comes to the world of the tactical RPG, that’s not the case at all. The very best tactical RPGs encourage constant deep thinking, resulting in either heart-breaking defeat or immensely satisfying victory.
Whether it be elegant game systems with a lot of depth, complex systems that require hundreds of hours to master, or straightforward maniacal difficulty, these tactical RPGs all require the player to lock in and think deeply before making the next move.
Releasing with little fanfare in 2014,The Banner Sagawas the little game that could build up a small but passionate fanbase that grew ever larger as two more sequels were released in quick succession, built on the same striking art style and addictive tactical RPG gameplay, becomingone of the best tactical RPGs made about historical events.
Not only does the grid-based battle system require players to think carefully about how they put their beloved characters in danger, but the framing device of a long pilgrimage means the player needs to make difficult choices along the way that can affect upcoming battles. Every decision requires a lot of thought, particularly for a band of characters that are so easy to love.
Though the tactical RPG genre technically emerged in the West with wargaming, the genre has transcended borders and found a brilliant home in Japan who have created some of the very best tactical RPGs ever made, including the indomitableFire Emblemseries.
Based on its infamous idea that characters can permanently die,Fire Emblemgames are renowned for their powerful stories, memorable characters, and brutal difficulty.Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the latest entry into the franchise, is one of the best the series has ever done (not to mention its steamiest romances), and its combat certainly requires the deep thinking that the very best tactical RPGs do.
The originalXCOMgame has a reasonable claim to being one of the very first digital tactical RPGs ever made, and with its reboot in the 2010s and the release ofXCOM 2, that pedigree hasn’t gone anywhere. These games are known for punishing rolls, difficult encounters, and permanently murdered teammates while fighting aliens.
All that results in a stressful experience where the wrong move could cascade into disastrous results, throwing away hours of progress and customizingthe perfect squad of the best classes. With their back to the wall, a player needs to think their way out of dire straits, resulting in some of the most fun tactical RPG action ever made.
Tactical RPG fans have long bemoaned that the world never got a proper modern sequel toFinal Fantasy Tacticsas they should have, and it doesn’t seem like they ever will. However, Square Enix clearly heard some of the fans and threw them a bone in the form ofTriangle Strategy, a spiritual successor toFinal Fantasy Tacticsthat was released in 2022.
Just like its spiritual predecessor,Triangle Strategydemands a deep understanding of its complex and difficult game systems, making it a little tricky to get into for new players but an absolute delight for veteran fans of the genre who value deep-thinking gameplay over all else.
Anyone who has played the board game version ofGloomhavenwill know the divine kind of stress the game provokes where teams need to plan out their moves far in advance in a series of fiendishly difficult dungeon crawls.
The real deep thinking comes not just from team composition but because of the central gameplay of the mechanic of being able to take the top action of one card and the bottom of another. That means making tough choices, removing inefficiencies wherever possible, and inevitably falling into bad situations where no good option remains available. Deep thinking becomes the only way to survive.
After the smash success ofFTL, many wondered how beloved indie studio Subset Games would follow up the simple but fiendish game design of their ship combat simulator. The answer came in 2018 with one of the most diabolically simple but mind-bending games ever made inInto the Breach(which is alsoone of the best TRPGs on the Switch).
Taking the form of a mix of chess,XCOM, and apocalyptic sci-fi fiction,Into the Breachis a grid-based game where the player sees what the enemy is about to do before they do it, and they need to figure out a way to use limited resources to minimize the damage and fight back. What starts off simple becomes incredibly complicated, resulting in staring at the same board for over an hour while trying to figure out the right solution.
Sometimes, a tactical RPG fan doesn’t care too much about the story or anything else. All they want is raw, visceral, tactical RPG action that can keep them satiated for years to come. For that kind of fan, there’s no better franchise thanDisgaea.
Disgaea 5is possibly the best in the franchise, delivering on its complex tactical RPG gameplay with near-infinite levels of dungeoneering and character customization to be done, all in the pursuit of better loot, stats, and harder challenges to conquer. It’s the platonic ideal of a deep-thinking tactician who loves solving the puzzle of tactical gameplay.
As if anything else could top this list. Commonly listed not just as one of the best tactical RPGs of all time but one of the very best RPGs of all time,Final Fantasy Tacticshas become a beloved mainstay of the RPG world, both for its story but also for its elegant and brutal tactical game designthat inspired many moreFinal Fantasygames to come.
Taking place on an isometric grid-based battlefield, the complexity comes from CT (Charge Time), meaning that actions aren’t instant but occur based on the speed of the individual unit. Mix that with terrain, height advantages, and directional considerations, and a simple idea becomes instantly complex, where a player needs to think far in advance in order to succeed.
