Strategy & Tactics
Victory measured in patience — tactical RPGs and strategy games where the grid, the turn, and the plan decide everything.
45 games in this room
Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Nobunaga's Ambition
信長の野望・全国版
Released for the Famicom on March 18, 1988, Nobunaga's Ambition: Lord of Darkness (全国版) was Koei's first home console ga…
Read more →
Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Hanjuku Hero
半熟英雄
Hanjuku Hero is a 1988 real-time simulation RPG developed and published by Square for the Famicom — an uncharacteristica…
Read more →
Uncommon Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Famicom Wars
ファミコンウォーズ
Released on August 12, 1988 exclusively in Japan, Famicom Wars is the turn-based strategy game that quietly launched one…
Read more →Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Dokuganryu Masamune
独眼竜政宗
A historical strategy game in which the player becomes the Sengoku-era warlord Date Masamune, the one-eyed dragon of the…
Read more →
Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Sangokushi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
三國志
Koei's grand strategy game set in China's Three Kingdoms era, ported to the Famicom in 1988 after its original PC releas…
Read more →
Uncommon PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
Military Madness
ネクタリス
Released in February 1989, Nectaris was one of the earliest hexagonal turn-based strategy games to appear on a home cons…
Read more →Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
Herzog Zwei
ヘルツォーク・ツバイ
Herzog Zwei (1989) is one of the earliest real-time strategy games in history — and the first to run on a home console. …
Read more →PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
Populous
Populous
Populous is a 1989 real-time strategy for the pc engine, developed by Bullfrog Productions, with music by Rob Hubbard. I…
Read more →
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
Released on April 20, 1990, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light established the tactical RPG as a genre on…
Read more →Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
Ninja Burai Densetsu
忍者武雷伝説
A turn-based tactical strategy game for the Mega Drive, released in Japan in 1991. The player commands a band of ninja a…
Read more →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―
A turn-based military strategy game released by Sega for the Mega Drive in 1991, based on SystemSoft's Daisenryaku warga…
Read more →
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
The game that defined tactical RPG gaming in the West, Shining Force arrived on Mega Drive in March 1992 as the second e…
Read more →Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Fire Emblem Gaiden
ファイアーエムブレム外伝
Released in March 1992, Fire Emblem Gaiden is the second Fire Emblem game and a direct departure from the first — a Japa…
Read more →Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
Caesar no Yabou II (Ambition of Caesar II)
シーザーの野望II
A real-time strategy game developed and published by Micronet for the Mega Drive in Japan in 1992, and the sequel to Cae…
Read more →Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
Dune II
Dune II
Dune II is a 1992 real-time strategy for the mega drive, developed by Westwood Studios, with music by Frank Klepacki. It…
Read more →
Uncommon Super Famicom / SNES
Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
伝説のオウガバトル
Directed by Yasumi Matsuno — who would go on to create Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story — Ogre Battle: The March …
Read more →Super Famicom / SNES
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
タクティクスオウガ
Released in 1995, Tactics Ogre is the pinnacle of tactical RPG storytelling. Created by Yasumi Matsuno — the mind behind…
Read more →
Uncommon Super Famicom / SNES
Seiken Densetsu 3
聖剣伝説3
Seiken Densetsu 3 (1995) is one of the finest action RPGs on the Super Famicom and among the most accomplished Japan-onl…
Read more →
Uncommon Super Famicom / SNES
Tales of Phantasia
テイルズ オブ ファンタジア
Tales of Phantasia (1995) is the origin of one of JRPG's most enduring franchises — the Tales series — and arrived as th…
Read more →
Uncommon PlayStation
Suikoden
幻想水滸伝
Suikoden (1995) is one of the PlayStation's most distinctive RPGs — a fast-loading, quick-battle system with 108 recruit…
Read more →
Uncommon Super Famicom / SNES
Front Mission
フロントミッション
The first entry in Square's long-running tactical mecha franchise, Front Mission is set in 2090 on the contested island …
Read more →Nintendo 64
Command & Conquer
コマンド&コンカー
Command & Conquer is a 1995 real-time strategy for the nintendo 64, developed by Westwood Studios, with music by Frank K…
Read more →
Uncommon Sega Saturn
Sakura Wars
サクラ大戦
Sakura Wars is a 1996 Sega Saturn exclusive that blended tactical RPG combat with visual novel-style relationship mechan…
Read more →Sega Saturn
Dragon Force
ドラゴンフォース
Dragon Force (1996) is a Sega Saturn strategy RPG in which eight rulers of the continent of Legendra vie for dominance —…
Read more →
Uncommon Super Famicom / SNES
Bahamut Lagoon
バハムートラグーン
Bahamut Lagoon (1996) is one of Square's most overlooked gems — a tactical RPG set in a world of floating islands where …
Read more →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
Released in May 1996, Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is the most ambitious entry in the series that Intelligent …
Read more →PlayStation
Arc the Lad II
アークザラッド2
Released in November 1996, Arc the Lad II is the direct continuation of the original Arc the Lad — and one of the first …
Read more →PlayStation
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
コマンド&コンカ―:レッドアラート3
Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a 1996 real-time strategy for the playstation, developed by Westwood Studios, with music…
Read more →PlayStation
WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness
WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness
WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness is a 1996 real-time strategy for the playstation, developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It…
Read more →Sega Saturn
Shining Force III
シャイニングフォースIII
Released in 1997, Shining Force III was Camelot Software Planning's final Shining game — and their most ambitious. Conce…
Read more →
PlayStation
Final Fantasy Tactics
ファイナルファンタジータクティクス
Final Fantasy Tactics is the 1997 PlayStation tactical RPG directed by Yasumi Matsuno, set in the politically complex ki…
Read more →Game Boy Color
Pokémon Trading Card Game
ポケモンカードGB
Pokémon Trading Card Game (1998) for Game Boy Color is a digital adaptation of the Pokémon TCG developed by Hudson Soft …
Read more →
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
Released in April 1998, Dragon Force II: Kamisarishi Daichi ni is the sequel to one of the Saturn's defining strategy RP…
Read more →
Nintendo 64
Pokémon Stadium
ポケモンスタジアム2
Released in 1999, Pokémon Stadium brought all 151 original Pokémon to Nintendo 64 in fully animated 3D battles for the f…
Read more →
Uncommon Nintendo 64
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber
オウガバトル64 Person of Lordly Caliber
The direct follow-up to Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen on Super Famicom, Ogre Battle 64 continues the Ogre Ba…
Read more →Dreamcast
Vermilion Desert
バーミリオン・デザート
Vermilion Desert is a Japan-only strategy title released for the Sega Dreamcast late in 1999. It was developed and publi…
Read more →PlayStation 2
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
エイジ オブ エンパイアII
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a 1999 real-time strategy for the playstation 2, developed by Hidden Path Enterta…
Read more →
Nintendo 64
Pokémon Stadium 2
ポケモンスタジアム金銀
Released in Japan in December 2000, Pokémon Stadium Gold & Silver — known internationally as Pokémon Stadium 2 — brought…
Read more →
Rare Game Boy Color
Warlocked
Warlocked
Warlocked (2000) is the only real-time strategy game ever made for the Game Boy Color — a North America-only release dev…
Read more →
▶ Nintendo GameCube
Pikmin
ピクミン
Pikmin (2001) is a real-time strategy game created by Shigeru Miyamoto, released as a GameCube launch title in Japan. Ca…
Read more →Dreamcast
Gundam Battle Online
ガンダムバトルオンライン
Set in the world of Mobile Suit Gundam, this Dreamcast title casts the player as a commander on either the Earth Federat…
Read more →
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
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (2003) is one of the GameCube's most distinctive RPGs — a card-based comb…
Read more →
Uncommon ▶ Nintendo GameCube
Pikmin 2
ピクミン2
Released in 2004, Pikmin 2 expanded the original Pikmin formula in nearly every dimension — removing the time limit, add…
Read more →Nintendo GameCube
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
ファイアーエムブレム 蒼炎の軌跡
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is the 2005 GameCube tactical RPG developed by Intelligent Systems — the first entry in th…
Read more →Super Famicom / SNES
Civilization V
シヴィライゼーション
Civilization V is a 2010 turn-based strategy video game for the super famicom, developed by Firaxis Games, directed by S…
Read more →