Fire Emblem Fans Should Give This Steam Hit A Try

There has been a raft intriguing strategy RPGs this yearbut one of my favorites so far is war symphony. It’s been rising up the Steam charts in recent months, and for good reason. From afar it looks like another fire emblem Up close, it’s doing enough interesting things to stand on its own, and I really recommend you give it a go.

War Symphony: The Nephilim Saga it quietly came out on Steam in June and has been accumulating positive reviews since then. Developed by an indie team called Dancing Dragon Games with a history of RPG Maker projects, it’s a trope-filled military drama about civil war and demonic threats. But you can ignore all that. Beneath the predictable plot and airbrushed character portraits is a deep strategy game that’s hard to put down. Personally, I think he’s even better in the strategy department. that Triangle Strategy.

Not make mistakes: war symphony it’s old school. While the most recent entries in the fire emblem series have delved into Visual novel elements and relationship mechanics., focuses almost exclusively on revamping the practicalities of classic grid-based battles. What works so well is that war symphony nails the basics while also adding plenty of new wrinkles for fans to dig into (especially those who also dug last years dark deity).

The biggest is that each individual unit represents an entire squad made up of multiple types of fighters. Perhaps there are some knights at the front flanked by pikemen while mages and archers rain down death from behind. When two units move next to each other and throw each other, a mini-turn based skirmish ensues. The mages in the back cast fireballs and healing spells while the knights in the front deal melee damage. Combat takes place over two rounds, with the attackers taking the first turn and the defending side taking second. Some fighters can only attack on the first or second turn, while others will occasionally get lucky on a bonus turn. The action is easy to follow, and yet it also opens up a lot of room for customization.

Adding more subtle layers of complexity are unique fighter bonuses and an extensive research tree. Mounted fighters attack first without retaliation. Infantry provide defensive bonuses to nearby units. And archers can naturally attack from a distance without facing counterattacks. These and other statistics can be increased and magnified by researching new technologies. Instead of leveling up specific units, you are increasing the overall capabilities of your army.

Thus war symphony Sometimes it forces you to think like a 4X strategist while playing as a traditional JRPG enthusiast. Instead of customizing a single group and fighting in a dungeon, you’re building a small army of them and taking on an entire battlefield. Completing missions faster and capturing enemy units and buildings along the way earns you extra money and points that you can then spend equipping your various crews. Just a few novel tweaks and the decades-old tactical JRPG formula feels fresh and modern again in 2022.

Recently, some other games have also taken hybrid approaches to tactical RPGs. the iron oath Y songs of conquest both come to mind. The first is a roguelike with battles taking place on a hexagonal grid. The latter also sports a hexagonal battlefield in the service of map exploration and city building closer to a 4X game. They’re really promising games in their own right (and still in Early Access), but none are so focused on exploring the depths of taking small advantage so that one group of animated sprites can wipe the floor with another.

war symphony It’s far from a perfect package, but it offers one of the meatiest and most innovative takes on the tactical RPG formula I’ve come across. dwarves.