Best Strategy Game - Round Three

[This Old Neon]

Round Three of the “Best Strategy Game” side-event includes 2 polls of 7-8 games each.

• You can vote for UP TO THREE (3) games per poll, or skip a poll entirely.
• The top 3 games in each poll will advance to the category finals.
• You can’t change your votes once they’ve been submitted, so click carefully. Voting closes on Saturday at midnight ADT.

VOTE HERE

Poll 1 of 2
Advance Wars (2001, GBA)
Final Fantasy Tactics (1997, PS1)
Into the Breach (2018, NS/PC)
Jagged Alliance 2 (1999, PC)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)
SimCity 2000 (1993, PC)
Valkyria Chronicles (2008, PS3)

Poll 2 of 2
Fire Emblem (2003, GBA)
FTL: Faster Than Light (2012, PC)
Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (1999, PC)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII (2003, PS2)
StarCraft (1998, PC)
SteamWorld Heist (2015, Multiplatform)
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995, PC)
XCOM: Enemy [Unknown/Within] (2012, Multiplatform)

[Kong Wen]

Poll 1 of 2
Advance Wars (2001, GBA)
Final Fantasy Tactics (1997, PS1)
Into the Breach (2018, NS/PC)
Jagged Alliance 2 (1999, PC)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)
SimCity 2000 (1993, PC)
Valkyria Chronicles (2008, PS3)

Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my all-time favourite games. It's flawed, but it's also creative and rich enough to more than counterbalance those flaws. Shining Force is an utterly charming tactical RPG.

Poll 2 of 2
Fire Emblem (2003, GBA)
FTL: Faster Than Light (2012, PC)
Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (1999, PC)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII (2003, PS2)
StarCraft (1998, PC)
SteamWorld Heist (2015, Multiplatform)
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995, PC)
XCOM: Enemy [Unknown/Within] (2012, Multiplatform)

Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII isn't the best game in the series, but it would be a crime for that series not to be represented this far into this category. Warcraft II gets a vote for being a great now-retro RTS with a deep map-/scenario-builder and without being overcomplicated. XCOM: Enemy Unknown gets kudos for being an excellent revival/reimagination of tactical turn-based combat in a modern setting with modern technology.

[The Shoemaker]

I feel grossly incompetent here, but I'll likely be voting for Valkyria Chronicles and Steamworld Heist. Two games that actually play similarly.

[SkyPikachu]

How many games left to come just noticed only one fire emblem game. Thought that series was considered really good or is the original (Western title) the best? I did really like the original.

[Sharecrow]

Shining Force and Warcraft 2 for me. I know I abstained previously due to ignorance of the genre but I couldn’t resist this time.

[Kong Wen]

How many games left to come just noticed only one fire emblem game. Thought that series was considered really good or is the original the best? I did really like the original.

There were six Fire Emblem games in this, which is a lot for one series.

For what it's worth, Fire Emblem isn't the original, it's like the 6th or 7th game. The previous entries don't get a ton of play in this kind of competition because they were only released in Japan or as remakes over here (Shadow Dragon, Shadows of Valentia). They're pretty good, but they're not really super popular. Their popularity is more buoyed by the fact that they're Nintendo games and some characters started showing up in Smash Bros. games. In a category as broad as "Strategy" there are a lot more series out there that appeal more to hardcore strategy people.

[SkyPikachu]

How many games left to come just noticed only one fire emblem game. Thought that series was considered really good or is the original the best? I did really like the original.

There were six Fire Emblem games in this, which is a lot for one series.

For what it's worth, Fire Emblem isn't the original, it's like the 6th or 7th game. The previous entries don't get a ton of play in this kind of competition because they were only released in Japan or as remakes over here (Shadow Dragon, Shadows of Valentia). They're pretty good, but they're not really super popular. Their popularity is more buoyed by the fact that they're Nintendo games and some characters started showing up in Smash Bros. games. In a category as broad as "Strategy" there are a lot more series out there that appeal more to hardcore strategy people.

Were they handheld games or console or bit of both?

[Kong Wen]

How many games left to come just noticed only one fire emblem game. Thought that series was considered really good or is the original the best? I did really like the original.

There were six Fire Emblem games in this, which is a lot for one series.

For what it's worth, Fire Emblem isn't the original, it's like the 6th or 7th game. The previous entries don't get a ton of play in this kind of competition because they were only released in Japan or as remakes over here (Shadow Dragon, Shadows of Valentia). They're pretty good, but they're not really super popular. Their popularity is more buoyed by the fact that they're Nintendo games and some characters started showing up in Smash Bros. games. In a category as broad as "Strategy" there are a lot more series out there that appeal more to hardcore strategy people.

Were they handheld games or console or bit of both?

Famicom - Japan only
Famicom - Japan only
Super Famicom - Japan only
Super Famicom - Japan only
Super Famicom - Japan only
GBA - Japan only
GBA
GBA
GameCube
Wii
DS (remake)
DS (remake) - Japan only
3DS
3DS
3DS (remake)
Switch

About half and half.

[SkyPikachu]

There were six Fire Emblem games in this, which is a lot for one series.

For what it's worth, Fire Emblem isn't the original, it's like the 6th or 7th game. The previous entries don't get a ton of play in this kind of competition because they were only released in Japan or as remakes over here (Shadow Dragon, Shadows of Valentia). They're pretty good, but they're not really super popular. Their popularity is more buoyed by the fact that they're Nintendo games and some characters started showing up in Smash Bros. games. In a category as broad as "Strategy" there are a lot more series out there that appeal more to hardcore strategy people.

Were they handheld games or console or bit of both?

Famicom - Japan only
Famicom - Japan only
Super Famicom - Japan only
Super Famicom - Japan only
Super Famicom - Japan only
GBA - Japan only
GBA
GBA
GameCube
Wii
DS (remake)
DS (remake) - Japan only
3DS
3DS
3DS (remake)
Switch

About half and half.

I meant before the Western fire emblem on gba (though you still answer that) had a feeling the GBC and GB wouldn't have handled the series. That being said GBC handled pokemon silver with its massive overworld. Not sure how the coding translates and what the GBC limitations were. Maybe the AI movement is move complex than pokemon.

[The Shoemaker]

I imagine the Fire Emblem vote got pretty split, along with there only being a few people here who played the 3DS entries, and only a few of those people playing the GameCube ones. GBA I could easily see being played by the most here.

But yeah, it's one subset of the strategy genre. So many types of strategy games to pick.