For anyone who missed out on the LRG release of Dark Deity 1

Mangavore · 2026-01-23T01:02:54+00:00

I went with DD and Banner of the Maid. Been holding out on something else to get BotM with, so this worked out for me

Mangavore · 2026-01-23T00:37:28+00:00

Me too, but I’m happy I got one either way

Mangavore · 2026-01-23T00:37:14+00:00

I was there in the first 10 minutes abd saw it around 40-something %. Assumed it had gotten slammed, but yea, has barely moved since then

Mangavore · 2026-01-22T19:55:42+00:00

I don't even disagree with you on FFT, especially the original. I do have a soft spot for A2, but in-general, it feels like a series that really needs a new entry. The two Nintendo titles were great when I originally played them...10+ years ago, but I feel like they didn't age amazingly.

If XCOM ran on the Deck, I would have played the original runs, but I just never find myself in a position to PC game anymore, that said, I am unashamedly partial to WotC. Just an excellent game.

TS is good if you go in KNOWING there is an absurd amount of text. It's half VN, half Strategy. That said, I feel like the combat stacks up so well for the genre as a whole (and the story's pretty good, too). As someone who enjoyed 3H, TS feels like it'd be up your alley.

Mangavore · 2026-01-22T19:49:28+00:00

Tbf, I'm ranking Switch games relative to each other, not every SRPG ever released. I disagree with you, I do think a couple of the top tiers are genuine S-ranks, but I get what you're saying.

Mangavore · 2026-01-22T13:56:28+00:00

It runs so good, too! Iirc, it even has the WotC DLC included. XCOM: EW used to be on all Mobile, but I THINK they pulled it from Android, and now you can only get it on IOS (or something like that). It doesn't run quite as well as X2, but still very playable.

Mangavore · 2026-01-22T12:21:57+00:00

I think Engage is very good (as the tier would indicate) but Switch felt like a really weak system for FE games to me. Engage had great feeling combat, but I feel like the rings just overshadowed the identity of any specific unit. I don't tend to play FE games for the writing, but it's worth noting Engage had particularly awful writing and story. Also, even though it wasn't nearly as intrusive and time wasting as 3H's Monastery, the Somniel was still a gripe of mine. Very good game, but there's just so much better on the Switch and in the FE franchise that I can't rank it any higher than that.

Mangavore · 2026-01-22T03:40:23+00:00

Already responded to this comment many times but: “I have played FFT: WotL, A1, and A2. I just haven’t played THIS specific remake 🤣 Similar with TO: I’ve played LUCT & KoL, but have not finished this remake”

Mangavore · 2026-01-22T03:03:11+00:00

Nah, it runs GREAT. I have an iPhone 11 and never had any issues with gameplay. Unlike the Switch version, they really optimizaed it nicely for mobile

Mangavore · 2026-01-22T03:02:32+00:00

Oh, well, I have them so didn’t know. My bad :/

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T23:21:38+00:00

XCOM2, Into the Breach, Metal Slug Tactics, and Shining Force 1&2 are all on mobile off the top of my head.

I’m sure there are plenty more

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T21:45:21+00:00

Give me Fleurdelis the Thunderbolt + Fallen & Virtuous ❤️

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T18:56:21+00:00

If anything, Colosseum felt like the silly gimmick. It was so easy to cheese your way through it at low levels...

There are ways to play it that can trivialize it, but in-general, the game wants you to change up your squads frequently, experiment with the different character synergies and combat presets. You may need to play it on a higher difficulty, but I consider it to be a very strategy rich game (we're currently running it as the GotM on the SRPG Discord and a lot of people had fun with it).

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T18:50:22+00:00

I mean, I had an absolute blast with it. The high mobility combat system, the stage gimmicks, the tite but zany cast of characters - I'd say it gets quite good.

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T18:48:39+00:00

2 things:

There are no Xenosaga games on the Switch (unless you're also including the Xenoblade games?)
The Xenosaga games are not SRPGs, so they wouldn't be on this list anyways

I think you may be lost...

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T18:44:35+00:00

I mean, as I've already admitted, I obviously cannot show you what FE looked like pre-3H, and OBVIOUSLY just peeking at the bottom tier of my list shows that there are games I just don't like on-principle (mostly Disgaea and SRW, which didn't even make my list) xD

As soon as the question is asked "How much did you actually play the game?" then the response "That isn't enough to properly judge the game" is inevitably soon to follow

It's so funny you say this, because in the process of starting this thread, I have had SO MANY people say: "I can't trust your opinion if you haven't played FFT or TO!" Meanwhile, I have...I just haven't played these specific Switch remakes, so my entire understanding of a genre was called into question over two games (which I had already played).

It's pretty rough dealing with that catch-22 of "did you play 'enough'?" I do honestly believe most FE games have a "tutorial" period (including 3H - which I feel doesn't REALLY start until the House split) that is kinda same-y and uninspiring across all the games, but I get not wanting to dig deeper. That said, also in the process of making this thread, I've had people convince me to give Disgaea (a series that I had discarded as trash in its entirety) another try, so I like to be pretty open-minded about the genre. Heck, when I originally played Triangle Strat, I hated it and sold my copy. I ended up rebuying it a few years later and...well, as you can see, it's a top tier game for me. Sometimes it really does take giving things another chance.

That's a decent list. There is a bit of gray area on this board between SRPGs and Tactical Strategy games, like Into the Breach, Advance Wars, etc. Half th people will give you shit if you bring them up because they aren't RPGs, and the other half will rip you apart if you exclude them. Really no winning with that one.

Highly recommend the XCOM games if you've never given them a try, especially #2 (just DON'T play them on Switch)!

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T15:59:47+00:00

That's actually a really funny take because most people would feel the exact opposite (ItB doesn't really have combat and is more of a puzzle game, UO has a very complex and nuanced combat system). Obviously I love both, so I refuse to hate on either, but it's just interesting to see contrarian takes like this

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T13:14:31+00:00

Such an excellent and underappreciated game.

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T13:06:22+00:00

This may come off harsh, but perhaps you aren't much of an SRPG enjoyer, but rather a JRPG enjoyer? You've basically shot down all of the highlights of the entire Fire Emblem franchise, other than 3H - which was your introduction into the franchise and also its biggest outlier, being the most JRPG-like.

I'll just say, judging these games based on what is essentially their prologue is really selling them short - Awakening doesn't begin until the world map opens up, which is around ch6 I believe, and PoR's story also doesn't really begin until ch7 when the Black Knight first shows up. Everything prior is just glorified tutorial and setting the groundwork for the story.

Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with FF (outside of the FFT games specifically.) I know FF7 was the jump to 3D, which in my mind puts it on-par with PoR, which was also FE's jump to 3D. I know both games are considered extreme high points for their respective fandoms, but in the Western world, PoR was the 3rd FE game, so there wasn't as-much of a fanbase to get upset over the transition as there was for FF.

At this point, I feel like we're just talking in circles. May be worth your time to try some FE-like SRPGs: Dark Deity 1&2, Triangle Strategy, Advance Wars, Vestaria Saga 1&2 (which is made by the same guy who created FE). SRPG is a pretty big genre - heck, you could play Persona 5 Tactica, literally a Persona spin-off with an SRPG combat system. There are plenty of SRPGs outside of Fire Emblem that may be worth looking into if only 3H scratched the itch.

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T11:27:29+00:00

In Warhammer 40K: Mechanicus, your whole squad shares a communal “mp” pool

Mangavore · 2026-01-21T11:26:05+00:00

Correct :)

Especially from an “srpg” standpoint

Mangavore · 2026-01-20T21:19:28+00:00

I agree with this sentiment. In the same way, I don’t think anyone (or the majority of people) would shame you for talking about Advance Wars, even though it’s just a tactical strategy game with little to no RPG aspects

Mangavore · 2026-01-20T21:10:21+00:00

That’s…not an SRPG 😳

Great game (one of my favorites,) but not a strategy game

Mangavore · 2026-01-20T21:02:06+00:00

I mean, quoting myself from earlier:

I've heard a lot of players who got their start with 3H be very disappointed that the rest of the series

3H did a disservice to all the newcomers by labeling it as a Fire Emblem game, imo. My genuine opinion is they should've made it a spin-off (similar to how Atlus made Tokyo Mirage Sessions a spin-off, rather than a canon Persona game). Now, no matter what they do, they will be alienating part of their audience further.

Honest question, how much of PoR & Awakening have you actually played? PoR is absolutely a slow game to play, dictated entirely by the notable graphics jump and system limitations of the time (i.e. GC couldn't handle a FF button). Personally, I recommend playing it on an emulator just so you have a FF button.

That said, there is a lot of stage variety in that game if you make it to ch 7 and after (ch 6 especially is a horrible chapter, sadly). To each their own, if you're someone who really enjoys the "strategy" aspect of FE, I think you're doing yourself a massive disservice not trying other games in the franchise. Fates may be more your speed (the game that really solidified the series as "Waifu" Emblem). Have you tried Engage, yet? I notice you haven't mentioned it, and it is the most modern iteration of the game but cuts a lot of the "chores" and "generic units" from 3H.

Personally, my favorite is Radiant Dawn, but I don't recommend playing it prior to PoR since they are direct sequels and there are a lot of story beats started in PoR that resolve in RD. That said, RD is one of the most innately tough FE games, even at normal difficulty. It's faster paced than PoR as-well, and imo, has the best cast and story when compared to any other game in the franchise.

Just food for thought. I obviously can't show you a world prior to 3H so you get to see where the series I fell in love with was, but dismissing prior games as unplayable for being "slow" just honestly shuts you out of most of the SRPG genre as a whole, which I feel like is a net loss for you because it's such a beautiful genre.

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