While a lot of people were initially drawn to the original PlayStation due to how it was able to displayfully 3D worlds and charactersprimarily for adventure games, there were also plenty of strategy games that the console helped usher into a new generation too. These weren’t just random titles that came and went either, many of these strategy games were the first in their series, while others were considered must-have games for Sony’s first gaming console.
Due to the time the console came out, and the ever-changing formula of what a strategy game should even be and how it should play, many of these titles are a little less complicated and more straightforward than those that we are used to seeing today. With that being said though, these classic strategy games will still provide a satisfying challenge that is well worth re-visiting, both for the experience,and the nostalgia factor.
6Theme Hospital
You’d think that a game based around building andrunning a hospitalwould be quite serious in its tone, butTheme Hospitalsomehow manages to successfully combine a humorous cast of witty characters with a hectic gameplay loop to make for an incredibly fun experience. Once players begin to develop their hospital building, making it as attractive as possible to potential patients, they will soon get people walking through the door with a whole range of comical diseases including Bloaty Head, Alien DNA, and King Complex which is a disease that causes a person to believe they’re Elvis Presley.
The core gameplay is actually quite challenging as players need to ensure they have enough staff to run each room, and that their equipment is always up to scratch by calling a handyman when he’s available. The game will definitely feela little too fast-pacedfor some, but for anyone who likes strategizing on the fly in hectic scenarios, this is definitely a must-try game.
5Vandal Hearts 2
Anyone looking for a fantasy strategy game to get stuck into will have a blast playing throughVandal Hearts II, a game that brilliantly balances its very deep and complex story with strategy dual-turn combat. This type of combat system has been making somewhat of a return in recent years with the likes ofTriangle Strategy, but one of the games that really brought it to the forefront, and proved that it wasn’t as slow and stale as some would claim it to be, wasVandal Hearts 2.
When players aren’t exploring thelarge overworldand acquiring valuable resources and armor, they will be commanding each of their units on a small battlefield, with the dual-turn mechanic allowing one character from each force to move in a single turn. The smaller arenas mean that large scale warfare isn’t going to be a part of the game, but this is more of a good thing since strategizing where to direct allies to keep them alive is already difficult enough due to the many challenging enemy encounters.
4Command & Conquer
The beginning of what many consider to be the greatest strategy series of all time,Command & Conquermade a massive impact on the industry when it dropped in 1995. Alongside thelive-action cutsceneswhich are either hilarious or slightly unnerving depending on who you ask, the core gameplay is simple, fun, and downright addictive as players guide their troops throughout a gigantic map while improving their base to produce more units.
The game isextremely replayable, being split into two campaigns with completely different armies. Players can either go through the story as the GDI which takes place in Eastern Europe, or the NOD whose operations are primarily based in Africa. A lot of longtime fans actually prefer the classic game because of how much faster and straightforward it is, so it really depends on how much someone likes all the extra bells and whistles that will determine whether they will click with this first entry in the series.
3Front Mission 3
Front Mission 3is a tactical role-playing game that sadly didn’t receive the attention it deserved upon release, but it has been looked on a lot more favorably as years have gone by for its unique gameplay loop and fairly in-depth story. Because the game follows a typical tactical-RPG formula, players won’t be guiding large armies into battle, but instead, will be tasked with commanding a handful of units who aresuited up in mech armor.
For anyone who has ever played theFire Emblemgames,Front Mission 3plays very similar to that series, and its battles are also just intense considering how brutally difficult the enemies are in many of the game’s missions. Each character has a separate health bar for their body, arms, legs, and for the pilot themselves, so keeping all of them in check is crucially important to making it out alive.The story is extremely longwhich can be a little overwhelming for some players who just want to get into the action as soon as possible, but once the plot really starts to pick up a few hours in, the game becomes very hard to put down.
2Brigandine
Brigandineis as classic as it gets when it comes to its gameplay as the player navigates a world map, picking and choosing areas to loot and attack, but it also mixes this with acolorful cast of colorful and quirky charactersthat make the game very memorable. Upon booting up the game, players will need to choose between six different nations, all of which have their own number of castles and units to command.
Once they have loaded into the world map, the aim then becomes to take over the continent by attacking enemy castles while also defending their own at the same time. After selecting a castle to invade, the screen will change to show each of the player’s units huddled together on a battlefield, all with their own unique stats and weapons, that must be directed toward victory. There are plenty of additional features to play around with outside of combat too, including class changes and upgrades which the player can utilize to create an army that’s just to their liking.
1Final Fantasy Tactics
Despite being released over 2 decades ago,Final Fantasy Tacticsis still praised by many as being one of the greatest, and certainly most influential strategy games ever made. The compelling narrative, lovable characters, and incredibly deep gameplay mechanics makeFinal Fantasy Tacticsa game that never becomes predictable or stale, especially since the job class system also allows players to customize their entire party in their own unique ways to make them as fun as possible to control.
There are also plenty of abilities that will require quite abit of grinding to obtain, and while these are technically optional, it still grants the player a tremendous amount of freedom in regard to how they want to play the game. This isn’t even mentioning the story which is very personal and emotional at times, covering many different wartime themes of loss, kingship, and deceit. There are plenty of reasons why a game as old asFinal Fantasy Tacticsis still so highly regarded to this day, but for anyone who doesn’t know too much about the story or gameplay, it really is worth trying it out first-hand to experience all this wonderful game has to offer.
