What exactly does “turn-based tactical combat” even mean? If you haven’t been around the gaming scene for a while (or even if you have), this phrase might’ve puzzled you when reading about Star Wars Zero Company. It’s referring to turn-based tactical games, a relatively niche genre that hasn’t exactly been super popular. But thanks to the announcement of Star Wars Zero Company, the broader Star Wars community will be paying greater attention to this hardcore gaming genre.
What Is the “Turn-Based Tactics” Gaming Genre
This sub-genre goes by many names: tactical RPGs, turn-based strategy, and more. This is understandable considering how much this genre has been iterated upon. But regardless of what it’s called, it’s a genre where “you’ll know it when you see it.”
Comparable to board games like Chess or even tabletop RPGs, turn-based tactic games typically involve players taking control of a small squad of characters (around three to six people) and ordering them around a battlefield, intending to capture an objective, or eliminate an enemy team. On the players’ turn, they can command their characters to shoot, take cover, maneuver around a map, or use special abilities to gain an advantage. The enemy team has a chance to respond on their turn. While many games stray from this traditional mold, they typically involve a few of these key elements.
Other popular franchises like Marvel and even Mario + Rabbids have given this a go. But for my money, there are five good tactical strategy games Star Wars fans might want to check out to get a sense of what Star Wars Zero Company might be like.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Perhaps the best place to start would be to look back at the developer’s past works. Bit Reactor is a brand-new studio, so Star Wars Zero Company will be their first-ever video game. But the studio’s founders, and many of its developers, previously worked at another revered studio called Firaxis. One of their previous games was the tactical-based superhero title called Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns has many of the hallmarks of a traditional tactics-based RPG: a small squad, taking turns, and an isometric camera angle. The twist is that it’s done with Marvel’s more gothic and mystical characters like Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange, Blade, and Nico Minoru. For die-hard enthusiasts of Marvel or comic book heroes, give Marvel’s Midnight Suns a shot as it’s also got a cinematic story and the opportunity to hang out with some classic characters.
Triangle Strategy
For something more retro-like and a little more akin to Final Fantasy Tactics — the game that started the entire genre — check out Triangle Strategy. Published by Square Enix (the makers of the Final Fantasy series), Triangle Strategy sports beautiful pixelated graphics that have been enhanced to pop and move around to look like a fully 3D game. It evokes the look and feel of an older game from the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) or PlayStation 1 days, but with an updated and enhanced design.
Triangle Strategy also has a medieval fantasy setting filled with fun characters, and a political/warring factions story to get into. It also has a branching narrative for players to make different choices, which affects the game.
X-COM 2
X-COM 2 is arguably the most popular game in the genre, and for good reason. Also developed by Firaxis, X-COM 2 is the most feature-rich package of all the games listed, hosting great combat, a fleshed-out and engaging story, awesome cinematography, and a fun gameplay loop that will make players keep coming back.
In a future where aliens have taken over the world, the player leads an underground military organization seeking to take back control of Earth from their alien overlords. Players will command their squads on the battlefields, helping them to sabotage and take out alien facilities experimenting on humans.
At the same time, players will also have to develop their bases across the planet, manage their resources, and develop new technology that will give their soldiers a fighting chance. It’s a tough-as-nails and complex game that can be challenging to get into, but once in it, players will be absolutely rewarded with a game containing hundreds of hours of replayability.
Unicorn Overlord
The biggest defining factor of Unicorn Overlord is its stunning visuals. With insanely detailed characters, backgrounds, and animations combining an anime aesthetic, medieval designs, and developer Vanillaware’s traditional flare, Unicorn Overlord is a feast for the eyes.
Unicorn Overlord seems fairly simple at first but has a lot of depth within. The game starts with the main character Alain wanting to take back his kingdom from an evil foreign power, recruiting more and more warriors, thieves, archers and knights along the way. Combat is done automatically, which means players most of the time just sit back and watch. But once the player gets past that, there is a level of depth, customization, preparation, and exploration to be had outside of combat, as well as an immersive and fantastical story that is more than meets the eye.
The Banner Saga
Inspired by Nordic folklore, The Banner Saga is a moving tale of a caravan trying to survive and defend themselves from monsters and giants in hostile, snowy territory. Inspired by 90s-like animation, from artists such as Don Bluth, The Banner Saga is a three-part epic with classical tactical strategy gameplay and a mythical tale.
Funny enough, the game also has a connection to Star Wars, with developers Arnie Jorgensen, Alex Thomas, and John Watson having previously worked on Star Wars: The Old Republic before developing The Banner Saga. The game also sports an amazing soundtrack composed by Austin Wintory, who also won a Grammy beforehand for his work on the award-winning game Journey.
There’s still a whole lot we don’t know about regarding Star Wars Zero Company. So stay tuned to Star Wars News Net as we cover all the latest news coming out of Star Wars Celebration in Japan.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
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