Final Fantasy Tactics is a tactical RPG that was released way back in 1997 for the PlayStation console and received universal praise from both game critics and players alike for its extensive strategy-based combat system.
Fast-forward to the present day, Final Fantasy Tactics is revered as a shiny gem that influenced many developers to follow in its footsteps, and while the original game became a cult classic, let’s take a look at some similar titles that were inspired by it.
Absolute Tactics: Daughters Of Mercy
Absolute Tactics: Daughters Of Mercy is an upcoming turn-based tactical RPG adventure that is currently being developed by Curious Fate. While tactical turn-based combat is at the core of the game, the gameplay features a lot more content including a variety of quests, puzzles, and an interesting storyline.
The player assumes the role of the protagonist Huxley and his faithful dog companion named Max with the goal of gathering allies and defending their homeland against an invading army of monsters.
Absolute Tactics: Daughters Of Mercy features a wide variety of classes and an intricate combat system that requires you to strategize around each character and their unique abilities, different types of enemies and their unique attack patterns, unit placement, obstacles, traps, skills, items, and much, much more.
- Developer: Curious Fate
- Publisher: Akupara Games
- Release Date: Unknown
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a tactical role-playing game and the sixteenth installment of the Fire Emblem franchise. The game was released back in 2019 for Nintendo Switch and is the first console release since Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn released in 2007.
The game takes place on the continent of Fodlan which is ruled by three kingdoms. Each of the kingdoms is somehow connected to the Garreg Mach Monastery which is where your adventure starts.
The player assumes the role of Blyeth, a newly appointed professor at the Garreg Mach Monastery and a former mercenary who takes on the task of mentoring a group of students and leading them through battles.
In-game combat is pretty much what you would expect from the series. It is turn-based, features grid movement, and has a wide variety of classes and abilities. One new addition to Three Houses is the Gambits which can stun enemies, heal multiple units, and much more.
- Developer: Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release Date: 26 July 2019
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
Halo Wars: Definitive Edition
Originally released for Xbox 360 back in 2009, Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game set in a sci-fi universe of Halo during the year 2531 which takes place prior to the events of one of the main Halo installments, Halo: Combat Evolved. A direct sequel to the game was released in 2017 as well as a definitive edition of the game in 2016.
Halo Wars tasks the player with commanding an army of human soldiers on a warship called Spirit of Fire in an attempt to stop the alien alliance known as the Covenant from obtaining an ancient fleet of ships.
Contrary to the majority of titles on this list, the combat in Halo Wars is not turn-based but rather takes place in real-time, however, its heavy emphasis on strategy and tactical gameplay is what earns it a spot on this list.
- Developer: Ensemble Studios
- Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
- Release Date: 26 February 2009
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is the second installment of the popular Ogre Battle series that was released back in 1995 and is the best title in the franchise according to the fanbase. The game was so popular, that it received a remake two decades later on the PlayStation Portable. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential games that helped shape the RPG genre as we know it today.
The game is set in a fictional nation wartorn of Valeria and the player is put in control of the game’s protagonist, a soldier named Denim Powell. The player is required to fill in some basic information about their character as well as answer a series of questions that determine their character’s stats.
The gameplay takes place on a world map which players can navigate and encounter a variety of story events and battles. Prior to each battle, the player can assign items and equipment to members of their party which they can utilize along with a wide variety of abilities to come up with a strategy that will end the battle in their favor.
- Developer: Square Enix
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Release Date: 11 November 2010
- Platform: PlayStation Portable
Valkyria Chronicles
Valkyria Chronicles is a military-themed tactical role-playing game that was originally released for PlayStation 3 back in 2008 but was later ported to PC and other consoles like Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. While Valkyra Chronicles started out as a title for a single game, over the years, it turned into a franchise of the same name with multiple entries.
The game takes place in a fictional region of Europa which is being invaded by another country from the north. The player assumes control of a squad of elite units called Squad 7, whose mission is to protect their territory from the northern invaders.
While the military theme of Valkyra Chronicles is nothing like the Final Fantasy Tactics, its deep strategic turn-based combat system and wide variety of classes, and unique abilities combined with an excellent story make it more than worthy of being on this list.
- Developer: Sega, Media.Vision
- Publisher: Sega
- Release Date: 24 April 2008
- Platform: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Wintermoor Tactics Club
Wintermoor Tactics Club is a story-driven adventure game that draws inspiration and combines various elements from old-school RPG titles and visual novels. The game puts an interesting twist on the fantasy genre by being set in a high-school environment.
The plot of the game revolves around a group of students who are threatened by their principal to have their club disbanded unless they prove themselves by winning a snowball fight tournament.
It is up to the player to help these students progress through a series of snowball fights that come in the form of strategic turn-based combat.
- Developer: EVC Games
- Publisher: Versus Evil
- Release Date: 5 May 2020
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a turn-based strategy adventure game that was released for Nintendo Switch in August 2017. Just as its name implies, the game is a crossover between two franchises, Nintendo’s Mario and Ubisoft’s Raving Rabbids.
In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, the Rabbids have invaded the Mushroom Kingdom and accidentally fused it with their own world. It is up to the player to take control of Mario and his friends and rescue the Mushroom Kingdom.
The gameplay aspect mostly focuses on solving various puzzles and turn-based combat. While the game has been praised for the combat’s depth and a multitude of features such as unique characters and a large variety of weapons and abilities available, the puzzle aspect of the game did not do as well.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle received a DLC pack in 2018 called Donkey Kong Adventure and a sequel titled Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is currently being developed and is scheduled to release in October 2020.
- Developer: Ubisoft Milan, Ubisoft Paris
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Release Date: 29 August 2017
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
Tenderfoot Tactics
Tenderfoot Tactics is an open-world tactical RPG that takes the “goblins are the bad guys” trope and flips it on its head granting the player control over a group of goblins who serve as the main protagonists of the game.
The player quickly learns that a strange fog has been taking over the goblin’s homeland, and it is up to the player and his goblin party to save their land, uncover the mysteries of the fog put a stop to it if possible.
Tenderfoot Tactics features a turn-based combat system that comes with a variety of weapons and items that can boost your stats, a plethora of abilities that you can plan your strategy around and utilize to dispatch enemies, and an experience system that allows you to level up your party through farming and combat.
The combat system itself is extremely deep and requires you to take a lot of different things into consideration and plan your strategy around them. Different types of units, the terrain itself, and the direction that the characters are turned are all things that you can take advantage of in order to obtain victory.
- Developer: Badru, Michael Bell, Isa Hutchins
- Publisher: Ice Water Games
- Release Date: 21 October 2020
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, macOS(OS X), Linux
Tactics V: Obsidian Brigade
Tactics V: Obsidian Brigade is a retro-style tactical turn-based RPG that takes pride and inspiration from other tactical RPGs from the 1990s which of course includes Final Fantasy Tactics.
The game takes place in the fictional kingdom of Auria and the player is tasked with commanding a small party of adventurers called the Obsidian Brigade. As the group travels the lands of Auria, they will come across enemies from the rival clans and it is up to the player to come up with a perfect strategy to win numerous battles that lie ahead.
The combat itself is turn-based and requires the player to master many different mechanics including facing, targeting, various actions and reactions as well as more than fifty skills and over 140 abilities.
- Developer: From Nothing Game Studios
- Publisher: From Nothing Game Studios
- Release Date: 9 August 2019
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, macOS
Spiritlink Tactics
Spiritlink Tactics is an upcoming story drive tactical turn-based role-playing game that is currently being developed by an indie studio Flanne.
The game puts the player in charge of a band of mercenaries and tasks you with leading them through a series of battles while progressing through the game’s rich story.
From the information currently available about the game, it seems that Spiritlink Tactics features everything you would expect from a fantasy RPG including character classes and subclasses, in-depth character customization, a wide variety of items, and over a hundred abilities for players to strategize around.
- Developer: Flanne
- Publisher: Flanne
- Release Date: Unknown
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
X-Com: Enemy Unknown
Released back in October 2012, this turn-based tactical sci-fi game puts the player in charge of XCOM, an elite paramilitary organization tasked with defending the Earth from an alien invasion.
In terms of gameplay, X-Com: Enemy Unknown is very similar to Final Fantasy Tactics due to its heavy emphasis on strategic combat. Players can customize their bases, recruit soldiers to their ranks and use a wide variety of weapons and psychic abilities in an effort to thwart the aliens’ plans.
X-Com: Enemy Unknown is a remake of the strategy game X-COM: UFO Defense which was released back in 1994 and was considered to be game of the year by various video game publications at the time.
A direct sequel to X-Com: Enemy Unknown was released in 2016 titled XCOM 2 and since then, the XCOM series received numerous installments with the latest one being XCOM” Chimera Squad.
- Developer: Firaxis Games
- Publisher: 2K Games, Feral Interactive
- Release Date: 9 October 2012
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Linux, OS X, iOS, A ndroid, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360
Sword Legacy Omen
Sword Legacy Omen is a strategic tactical RPG that was released in 2018 and is a reimagining of the popular King Arthur mythos.
The player is put in the shoes of a mighty knight named Uther, who travels alongside the powerful sorcerer Merlin in search of the legendary sword Excalibur. As you explore the five realms, you will come across various monsters and enemies that you will have to defeat in combat.
During the course of your adventure, you will need to master the strategic turn-based combat system.
Customizing your party through the use of items and abilities is essential for victory as well as understanding various mechanics such as facing, skill combos, and the destructible environment around you.
- Developer: Firecast Studio, Fableware Narrative Design
- Publisher: Team 17 Digital Ltd
- Release Date: 13 August 2018
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
Wargroove
Wargroove is a turn-based strategy game from 2019 and a spiritual successor to the popular video game series Advance Wars.
The game takes place on the island continent of Aurania with the player controlling one of fifteen possible commanders from the four warring factions. Each of the commanders is unique and can use unique abilities called Grooves.
These special abilities are extremely important due to being able to alter the surrounding landscape which will force your enemies to come up with new strategies on the spot.
- Developer: Chucklefish
- Publisher: Chucklefish
- Release Date: 1 February 2019
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Circle Empires Tactics
Developed by the same team who made Circle Empires, this tactical strategy game was released in 2022.
Circle Empires Tactics allows the player to choose one of three factions, each with its own unique abilities, and lets him control their armies in a series of battles.
While Circle Empires Tactics has a lot of what you would expect from a game like this, the most unique aspect of its strategic combat is the simultaneous resolution.
This means that the player needs to win the battle by accurately predicting their enemies’ moves which puts an exciting spin on the genre.
- Developer: Amaze Entertainment
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Release Date: 7 April 2022
- Platform: PlayStation Portable
Horizon’s Gate
Horizon’s Gate is an indie open-world tactical role-playing game set in the mysterious world of Eral. However, contrary to most fantasy RPGs, the world of Eral doesn’t feature elves, orcs, goblins, and alike, instead, it features a bunch of new races, eight of which are playable.
Players are free to explore the world of Eral at their own pace both on land and sea, however, there is a rich story that they can follow should they choose to do so. The world of Eral is ruled by three factions and players can choose to become a pirate, an explorer, or a trader.
Horizon’s Gate’s main hook aside from exploration is its strategic combat. Various equipment and weapons, over 150 abilities, and 36 different classes are all things that players can utilize in combat which can occur both on land and sea.
Another interesting aspect of this game is the fact that players can utilize their abilities outside of combat in order to progress through different areas. Good examples of this would be freezing the river in order to create a bridge for your characters, or planting seeds that grow into windes which you can use to scale mountains.
- Developer: Rad Codex
- Publisher: Rad Codex
- Release Date: 9 March 2020
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
Fort Triumph
Fort Triumph is an indie strategy game that is usually described as a crossover between XCOM and Heroes of Might and Magic with a standard fantasy setting.
The game allows the player to choose between four factions and four different classes, each with its own sets of advantages and disadvantages. The game features many of the standard RPG traits such as character skills and traits as well as base-building elements and strategic-turn-based combat.
One interesting thing about the combat in this game is the plethora of ways in which players can interact with the environment and use their surroundings to their advantage. In this game, every rock, tree, wall, or any other object is a potential weapon.
- Developer: CookieByte Entertainment
- Publisher: CookieByte Entertainment
- Release Date: 26 April 2018
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Fae Tactics
Fae Tactics is a pixel art tactical RPG set in its own fictional universe in which the natural world and the magic world co-existed separated by Elemental Gates. However, the seal was broken, and the two worlds merged, destroying most of the humans and Fae creatures in the process.
Face Tactics is unique in the way that the player doesn’t control a party of different characters and there are no classes like in other fantasy RPGs. Instead, the player controls a magic user called Peony and is able to summon a wide variety of Fae creatures, each with its own special abilities.
An elemental system also plates a big role in the game’s combat as well as the environment itself.
- Developer: Endlessfluff Games
- Publisher: Humble Games
- Release Date: 31 July 2020
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Wildermyth
Wildermyth is a tactical RPG primarily focused on character development and tactical battles. The title was originally released in June 2021 for PC, however, a Nintendo Switch version of the game is planned to release at some point in the future.
In Wildermyth, the player controls a group of procedurally generated heroes mad witnesses their development from simple peasants to heroes worthy of praise.
The combat in Wildermyth is similar to XCOM and focuses on the strategic use of mechanics such as facing, teamwork, and use of the environment as well as a plethora of unique abilities.
- Developer: Worldwalker Games
- Publisher: Worldwalker Games
- Release Date: 15 June 2021
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Guardians Of Gridvale
Guardians of Gridvale is an upcoming tactical turn-based roguelike game that is currently being developed by Luis Regueira.
The game features a classic 2D perspective, pixel art graphics, and fast-paced turn-based combat, all clearly inspired by old-school console RPG titles.
While each of the heroes you control has its own unique abilities and the main combat mechanic that you will need to master in order to win is the manipulations of the environment.
Players can use various abilities to push enemies into rivers, freeze water to create bridges, destroy rocks to create new paths, or set fields of grass on fire to immolate their enemies.
- Developer: Luis Regueira
- Publisher: Sinister Siamese Studios
- Release Date: Unknown
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
Warriors Of The Nile 2
Warriors of the Nile 2 is a fast-paced roguelite strategy game and a direct sequel to Warriors of the Nile released in 2020. The game aims to improve on its predecessor and expand on its combat mechanics.
The game is set in Egypt and the player controls a group of soldiers who were blessed by gods in an effort to fight off the invading Roman armies.
Each character in the game will have its own personal system which will affect the gameplay as well as a unique attack called a Miracle.
Besides the Miracles, players will be able to utilize various skills and stone tablets as well as chain their attacks in order to defeat their enemies.
- Developer: Stove Studio
- Publisher: Gamera Games
- Release Date: 24 August 2022
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
