But while the upcoming title is visually similar to something from 2018, it actually has far more similarities with titles released way back in the past. Coincidentally, some of these titles, Square Enix ended up either developing or publishing themselves. With that said, we’ve decided to round up some of the best games likes Project Triangle Strategy that you can play today. You know, just to help stem your excitement until its 2022 release.
Final Fantasy Tactics
Was this ever really any surprise? First up on our list is the first Final Fantasy Tactics game. The spin-off title was released way back in 1997 for the original PlayStation. It took the same colorful characters and the over-the-top plot that the popular JRPG franchise, Final Fantasy, had been known for, but added a tactical twist to it. The game had everything that gamers could ever want in a genre that most had never thought existed back then. Final Fantasy Tactics had a well-executed turn-based battle system to a clever quest system, as well as a wide assortment of classes for players to unlock and a variety of monsters to battle against. Naturally, Final Fantasy Tactics was a huge hit. Since then, it has become one of the best titles in the genre. It’s also considered as the golden standard that many tactical role-playing games are often inevitably compared to. The original Final Fantasy Tactics is available on iOS and Android devices under the title, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is pretty much what started the entire genre. Even though the game remains criminally underrated outside of fans of the genre, it is an exceptional title that holds up even today. Released way back in 1995 for the Super Famicon in Japan, as well as the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1996 and 1997, respectively, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together serves as the second game in the Ogre Battle series. Its use of isometric graphics and turn-based tactical role-playing gameplay elements are now considered pretty much a genre staple. Plot-wise, the game puts you in the shoes of Denam Pavel. He finds himself the leader of the oppressed nation of Valeria and its “Liberation Army”. He is also on the quest to avenge the massacre of his hometown and is helped by his sister and friend. Unfortunately, you can’t exactly get the game on any modern console or smartphone. However, if it’s any consolation, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was later remade by the same development team for the PlayStation Portable in February 2011.
XCOM 2
Originally released in 2016 for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and the PC, XCOM 2 served as a direct sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown. This meant that the story of the game picked up directly from where the first title left off. Don’t worry though, even if you started the second game, you won’t be missing out on a lot. Basically, in XCOM 2, all the hard work put in by anyone who ever played XCOM: Enemy Unknown has been nullified. Why? Because the aliens ended up winning anyway. This leaves players now in-charge of a reverse-engineered UFO as they desperately try to save the planet Earth. Or, whatever’s left of it anyway. The game is an improvement over the original in any way. It goes as far as to give players total control over the business side. Not to mention, the turn-based tactical combat, although faster and more exciting, is also more accessible to make the game easier to understand and play through for series newcomers and genre veterans alike. With numerous variables affected the outcome of every battle you find yourself in, XCOM 2 is an excellent turn-based tactics video game that is only made better (and more confusing) than the numerous DLCs and expansions released in the years after.
Disgaea 2
The Disgaea franchise is filled with titles that are complicated and full of inside jokes that only fans of the franchise would understand. But, if you can look past all that, the series is also filled with some of the best strategy titles ever released. Our pick for the best in the series? Disgaea 2. From being able to “Lift” a couple of characters and throw them across the map to “Geo Panels” that pretty much make the difference between losing and winning, as well as an addicting “Item World” where you can literally “enter” items to increase its stats by going through randomly generated floors until you complete it all or die. Mind you, that’s not all. You can even unlock new character classes and bribe officials to get what you want. You can even be part of the council of officials yourself. There are just so many things in the game for you to do that we haven’t even begun to scrape the bottom of the proverbial barrel yet. If we were to describe Disgaea 2, we’d say that it’s mechanically sound yet absurd at the same time. It throws all the notions most would have when it came to tactical role-playing games. It’s not out to live up to genre standards. It happily eschews it. The result? A wonderfully convoluted “hardcore game” that will either turn you off or turn you into a fanatic. Disgaea 2 is available on the PC via Steam with all of the content from previous versions on the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2.
Fae Tactics
Fae Tactics isn’t the spiritual successor to the Final Fantasy Series. That fictional title belongs to Project Triangle Strategy. However, we wouldn’t blame you if you thought that Fae Tactics was made by the same people. Everything about Fae Tactics just screams Final Fantasy Tactics. Of course, this doesn’t mean that it’s a copycat title. It has its own subtle nuances and rules even though everything both feels very familiar to older fans. In particular, the graphics and art style. Gameplay-wise, the game doesn’t bore you with complexity. Instead, it actually feels welcoming. However, later on, you’ll find the battles starting to become more complex. Bosses become more understandably difficult, requiring you to formulate a strategy so you can take them down successfully with minimal casualties. Speaking of strategy, you can build your tactics around multiple kinds of characters, summons, spells, and load-outs. This gives you plenty of options to choose from on how you want to approach a particular situation. All in all, it’s an excellent game with an engaging story and endgame content, as well as some replayability. Fae Tactics is available on the PC via Steam, as well as the Nintendo Switch.
