World Conqueror X ($3.99) European Conqueror X ($3.99) Great Conqueror Rome ($6.99)

Yeah, I'm pretty hyped about this one. I LOVED Octopath Traveler. It was a really solid game, but the aesthetic was amazing. I'm glad to see they are reusing the engine, but they have made a strat game. Final Fantasy Tactics is probably my second favorite Final Fantasy title, and I've enjoyed a couple others. This game seems quite unique, will have a bit of depth and tremendous retail value considering you can alter the path of the game from crtical decisions. Yeah, at the moment I'm pretty pumped.

I am about 3/4 of the way through this game. So far I am enjoying it a lot. It has a simple promotion tree with about 22 playable characters. One interesting feature is that you have to play politics with the several factions in France - each of which has a store of sorts with different things you need - certain choices you make influence which faction favors you the most - as you gain favor the stores offer better goods. The battles are fairly challenging and you have to first pick the right troops for the terrain and for whatever forces the enemy puts on the battlefield. Some of the battles (especially the ones that have a time limit based on the number of turns) you have to co-ordinate your troops fairly caefully,

This could be good - especially since it is a Square Enix endeavor. Not much of the battle game play is shown though. There is a downloadable demo for it - which I will try in a bit.

Playasia is listing this as coming out as a switch physical release - no pre-order info on it yet though. I will certainly pre-order it when it is available:

Ok - I finished the second scenario last night. The game is making some more sense and the controls are becoming more familiar. You still have to figure new things out by trial and error which continues to be frustrating. The larger scale encounters (you tend to meet the enemy in clusters) tend to be pretty engaging (and intense) to the point of hiding the fact that it is a turn based game and you really don't need rush into the heat of the battle. The game is a large enough scale with lots of units that it is very satisfying on that level. There is no way to avoid casualties - the best you can do is try to screen (and repair) your stronger units. This could have been an outstanding game if the controls had been smoothed out for console use*. As it is if you are into the genre I can see why some folks think highly of it. *And something resembling proper documentation had been provided - the switch (as much as I like it) is miserable when it comes to included documentation.

I just finished SFII and the switch version has a quick load/quick save feature - which makes getting that S.O.B. parsimonious blacksmith to cough up the better mithril weapons quite a bit easier - still tedious but you don't have to stand by the console and hit the power switch and reload ad nauseum.

The worst so far is it that it is really unforgiving if you accidentally end a unit's turn (or put in the wrong place) too early you can't backtrack it. I am slowly figuring out how to do things. (For example you can summon a few reinforcements every 10 turns - but doesn't tell you there is a somewhat obscure menu to pull up (and even then the way to do it is not very intuitive_). If I can get used to the awkward controls I think it will be an enjoyable game (if somewhat difficult - I don't mind getting knocked on my butt if it is a fair fight). I wonder if when they play tested (if they did at all) the console versions they did it with people who were familiar with the computer version* and therefore familiar with how it worked. There was a deluxe pc version with an "extended manual" (40 pages) - I tracked down a pdf of it and it is only marginally helpful - it did explain how you can pick up supplies for the bases. Gonna be tedious (when I get some transport vehicles) but the game scenarios are very long. If the controls were as intuitive as Nectaris this would be an amazing game. *It looks like it would be very amenable to playing with a mouse.

I played this game on PS4 when it first released and hated it. There's certainly some good strategy deep down, but it's a slog, and it's often unfair for the sake of it. There are however some hardcore strategy fans that love it, and while they seem crazy to me maybe they know something I don't. Hopefully you can find some enjoyment in it.

I spent several hours completing the first mission in the campaign mode yesterday There is definitely some very good gameplay hidden in a lot of confusion. For a change of pace in this genre the AI is very good and doesn't rely on a lot of high powered units to outnumber/outpower you. A lot of the mechanics seem to have been patterned after those in Nectaris - which is a good thing since that is such a marvelous game. Now for the bad - like just about every switch game there is no paper documentation - so basics like what the controller buttons do are never explained. (There is a brief picture of the controller with brief labels fort the buttons which appears when you load up the first scenario but it vanishes pretty quickly with no way to pause it or reload it (as far as I can tell). And the labels are not very helpful - what the heck is a "context menu" (you tell me and we will both know. There is a less than helpful tutorial which annoyingly appears whilst you are playing - it often tells you to do something without showing you how to do it. Or offers really useful advice like "follow the road" - like there is nowhere else to go! There is a two stage action system which is pretty nifty that works with an attack support system (similar to what Nectaris uses) but that is limited by the fact you can't tell which units have full moved or have done only the first phase of it - so you spend a lot of time clicking on units that you can't move or you forget did only the first phase. The way to restore units is cumbersome -there are open supply caches that you put your unit on and it restores it - the biggest problem is that you can only use them once - so you are naturally hesitant to repair a unit that is only moderately damaged. There are bases that can supposedly repair units but they have to be stocked with fuel and ammo etc. No clue is given on how to this - there are some icons scattered around that look like barrels etc. but you can't put any units on them to harvest the materials. There was a seaport in this scenario which allows you to construct naval units - it listed the points needed to build them but no clue on how to get the points nor how many you may (or may not) currently have. The controls are kinda clunky and the cursor sometimes locks up or hides itself. There are also some issues specific to the switch - the screen is too small to make the distinctions between units easily discernible. When a unit is heavily damaged or destroyed it emits a plume of smoke that can obscure units - and it is sometime hard to tell if the unit is heavily damaged or destroyed. If destroyed the hulk remains for a turn (also making the hex unusable for that turn for most units). In intense combat the screen gets real cluttered and it makes it hard to see what you are dealing with in terms of an overall picture. A real frustrating experience - I am going to try to slog it out because there really is a good game hiding there (I think anyway) - hopefully it will become somewhat easier as I stumble on how to do things.

I just finished SF1 on the switch (from the Sega Genesis Classics) and started on SFII. The switch genesis classics has a quick save/quick load function. Which will certainly be handy when I get to the point where I have to harass* that parsimonious blacksmith until he gives me the best weapons. *In the original release I was often tempted to do this by throwing the controller at him after the umpteenth attempt to get a gisarme for Slade.

I am pretty sure you will really like it - not as simple as advance wars but not needlessly complex either.

Got this one coming from Ebay on your recommendation!

I started playing Langrisser 1 today - it is pretty faithful to the Warsong version with some enhancements - there are now "sparkly" squares on the battlefield (2 per battle field so far) that if you put a soldier on you will either get money or an item of some sort. There is also a shop now where you can buy weapons/shields or armor/accessories that enhance various stats. The shop inventory upgrades slightly after every battle. Well worth checking out if you liked the original.

Here is another off the wall game I ordered (coming from the UK - it should be in my paws sometime nest week): It is a collectors edition so it comes with a few goodies:

Since I finally got a switch I have been playing through the campaign option on Wargroove. This is a really impressive game if you haven't tried it yet. Pretty much improves on the Adcance Wars in just about every aspect. You can't just power through by summoning waves of units since there are not that many sites to do so on any one battlefield. You have to be careful which units you get (especially early on) since the best ones are epenisve and you need to decide what aspects of whatever unit you make are suitable for that battlefield. And while most of the battles are either kill the enemy commander or destroy their base there is a surprisingly wide variety of layouts that offer different challenges. While air units are important they aren't overwhelmingly dominating in the game.* Most of the battles are seriously hard and I have gotten whomped several times on most of them - something that rarely happens to me in most games of this ilk. Which I like. Also it is a nice setup that once you have beaten all of the battles you can go back to any one and try them again. *There are also naval units but I haven't got to those yet.

One other thing I would like to see (depending on the type of game) is the ability to modify the environment. The only game that I am aware of that allows you to do this is Vandal Hearts II with its block making ability. Kinda like having legos on the battlefield. Because of the really flawed battle system I have more fun building things than I do with fighting the battles.

I like seeing: Hex map grids Zones of control lots of unit variety different paths/story lines to take based decisions you make in the game or from battles won/lost A strong A.I. that gives you a challenge Mission variety. Offensive or defensive missions with a turn count. Reach a certain point on the map before the enemy does. Rescuing a captured character. Character class changes and/or promotion eg. Ogre Battle I like character death as long as I have lots of other characters to develop in reserve.

Here are some things I like to see: Hex grid maps Zones of control Large armies with lots of different types of units The ability to equip your characters with lots of different weapons, armor, shields and special items Lots of secrets to find Side quests Exploration An AI that will kick your butt and make you work for victory No perma death - per above I don't mind taking casaualties and I hate to lose characters I have invested in The ability to shut off battle animations - they get old after awhile

Hmmmm...my favorite? THAT is a tough question. Probably X-Com: UFO Defense. I've put more hours into that game than every other strategy game combined. However, it's not really an SRPG, more of a strategy/management sim, so if that doesn't count, I'd have to go with Warsong as well. Easily my favorite vintage console SRPG.

@maxlords should chime in

This is another game that looks like it might be good - the physical release is supposed to be in December.

That Vampire game looks really good. I might have to try and preorder it somewhere too. Stll no word of regular systems being available. I can buy them new locally at a $50 markup which isn't bad but I'll wait.

I just got a copy of XCOM2 on sale at best buy (via ebay) for $39.99 with free shipping.

Then I would have to get rid of my marvelous avatar - I picked Tabonga to match it.