Symphony Of War | Trash or Treasure 

The Forgotten City is on sale today! af.gog.com/en/game/the_forgotten_city?as=1659526585 And Elex 2.. You know. Just in case... af.gog.com/en/game/elex_ii?as=1659526585 CORRECTIONS: Others have reported that gamepad does in fact work, so this is probably just a me issue, so feel free to disregard that.

Thanks for the vid! I have to say... there's really so little RPGMaker left in it. We spent 6 years and over 100k lines of code making a script suite / tactics engine from scratch - you won't find RPGMaker able to do any of this stuff, and you won't find any RPGMaker game that looks or plays anything like this one. Rare exceptions being some of the cutscene tiles are publicly available tilesets that yes, other games have used

I’ve got to agree with Strat, Dianna is a Goddamn UNIT

Tilde key (under the escape key) fast forwards gameplay. Really useful to get through long enemy phases where Diana kills the entire map in one turn.

cutscene art is jarring? bro thats the core of every jrpg pre 2000s, i was built on games that have 2d sprites basting me with dialogue boxes while shuffling around the screen to pretend they are doing something more complex then raising their arms a bit! this is my lifeblood XD thx for bring this to my attention! this looks pretty good. just the kinda game for me

I'll be honest, before I played this I was completely unaware that I miss Ogre Battle gameplay this much. Game is pretty much everything one could ask from a small studio done in an excellent way for dirt cheap, I really hope the studio will grow because if they can achieve so much on RPG maker and coke I would really like to see what they would be capable of with Intelligent Systems (Fire Emblem studio) budget.

This is HUGELY inspired by the classic Ogre Battle games. Dang that's nostalgic. Edit: Two years later and I can confirm, this game is fricken badass. Get it ASAP.

Finally, something to distract me from the 100 degree heat outside.

A few comments from having just finished this game myself: 1. I absolutely loved it. The lack of Ogre Battle in the world is criminal, and Symphony of War scratches that itch beautifully. 2. You can change the speed of combat animations in the menu, but if you want more, holding the tilde key (the backwards apostrophe and squiggle key left of 1 on most keyboards) gives you warp speed in combat, on the tactical map, where ever. 3. The controller comment is just wrong. Not sure what was going on for you, but I played it through with a 3rd-party Xbox Series S controller, and I know someone who used a different controller without issue as well. 4. The conversation character art is... okay, the way the art is used is classic Fire Emblem and I love it. The art style itself just feels a bit off to me, and I'm not sure why. Like there's a little bit of uncanny valley going on, or the art is a little too smooth and shiny for the rest of the game. I dunno. But it's a minor gripe. 5. Regarding market units, grays are conscripts and always start as a base class (but tech tree upgrades can give them a free upgrade to Tier 2 and make the Tier 2 Apprentice available as conscripts), and you can buy as many of them as you want. The rest are mercenaries and typically come as more advanced classes, seem to have special abilities more often, and can occasionally include special units (having a dialogue blurb instead of the class description). However, they all have -2 Loyalty (costs 2 extra squad capacity) to start, though that can improve with use, and each is only available once. I don't think the game clearly explained the difference between conscripts and mercenaries very well, but it's pretty clear after a couple missions. Conscripts can absolutely be stronger than mercenaries, they just take some time to advance in class (or hit the arena and use some CP books).

Everyone I've seen praise the game has done so with an accompanying picture of that juicy donk. This leads me to believe the game is trash. Hyped to find out.

So weird. Both my children were born by a single push from their mother....maybe she's more magical than I thought. Of course she did practice months of kegels before she gave birth, she is quite tenacious.

Loved it, obsessed over it, having started with permadeath immediately. It gives actual - imperative - value to the resurrection temples, having to take a hard-hitting team out of play to go run to the temple because you have to resurrect the rogue character you've been trying to grow into an assassin. However (SPOILER) there came a level where the end of the fight was capped by an invasion of artillery squads that could one-hit an entire squad (the whole squad) from further away than one of my archer squads with fortress wall range buffs even if my squad was inside of cover (reduced ranged damage in a forest). It just so happened that the front lines where the artillery spawned was where my main character was at and my entire squad got wiped with the loss of the MC instantly ending the level. The bonus objectives were geared around how long you can survive this onslaught - it was designed to be unwinnable. Despite that this cost me my highest-level units along with my dragon. You can't replace that with money - only buy low-level peons and (if you're lucky and find one) a baby dragon. Haven't found the will to keep playing after that, having to restart my main squad from scratch with peasants and no big beefy dragon (along with my squad full of heavy cavalry that took a few levels to build up). My head canon says the MC died there and that's that :D

"Where a monsterman from beyond is comin to getcha!" This is the plot to so so so many things.

Glad to see Paulie Walnuts was able to get a new role after the Sopranos

I don't actually play these types of games, but the ogre battle combat feels obviously nostalgic and great, and I really like that the enemies aren't just falling over after the first hit. The HP actually seems to matter.

Always a good day when Strat uploads

fantastic review with a charming script and an apt description of the game as per my experience so far. great work here :)

One of the biggest reasons I don't do some half-ass version of your own content is the constant fear that one of my kids will ruin some intense moment by insisting that I slay or multiple requests to do the Gritty. Great stuff as always, Strat.

Not used to Strat-Edgy talking a game that I've already/ am currently playing. Feels weird. Loved the video.

This was a fantastic and enjoyable watch! I appreciate the time and effort you placed into creating this excellent video, and your humor. Well done! 😊

great video! I'll definitely pick this up once I'm done with my other unplayed games

Very nice review and I agree with everything in it. Me and my friend played this game side by side from start to end and it was a blast playing through the game and chatting about all the stuff that happens in the story, the ending, the army and squad compositions and other fun stuff we both got up to. Tyvm Dancing dragon for making a really fun game! :)

You know, I was gonna check this one out, but if it doesn't feature the vocal talents of the great Dicken Maiballs Jr., I think I have to pass.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I saw a giant strong lady and found out I can lez out with her and immediately bought it. Don't regret.

Nicevid my man! Gonna try this game - when it's out on gog.

The global map movement during battle has Shining Force vibes.

Good video bro, gonna check this out on Steam.

I love thee and I am so glad to be able to get to know you better in person

I played this game and had a really good time. Im surprised and happy that this game is getting attention and support.

added to my wishlist, thanks

Really glad to see this game getting some press because I've been very pleasantly surprised by it so far - scratches an itch I didn't even know I had. I agree that it's a good bit too easy though. My next playthrough will definitely have permadeath enabled. I had no issues with gamepad personally so I was surprised to hear that you did. I just plugged it in and I was off, no muss no fuss. I'm using a PS4 controller, and I have no idea how that could make a difference but it's the only thing I can think of that's even somewhat out of the ordinary. Hope you're able to get it working for future playthroughs, because personally I think the UX is WAY better with a controller.

Loved the Paulie Walnut homage

Oh, this'll be good

Showed the historic Brandon Falls landmark, gets a thumbs up from me.

Diana is a badass. Good video I bought the game two days ago and I enjoy it so far. I actually had my first difficulty run it at chapter 11? When you defend the temple guy defects and all the green horses get slaughtered as they run over. I lost a fair bit of troops before realizing it be suicide to try to make it the apparent timed chest at the bottom of the map.

ogre battle 64 was my fav game for a long time thanks for the heads up!

Wow, this game reminds me a lot to Ogre Battle. Thanks for bringing this one.

Omg this makes me so happy

About controller compatibility (07:40) RPGmaker games can run just fine with controller as far as I know, Princess & Conquest is fully controller compatible and that has full kingdom control and war mechanics. And that's a one man dev team whose been working on the same project for years.

The controller issue is interesting, I played through the whole game on a gamepad idk what the issue is but it seems to be on an individual basis not the game itself.

Its fun. Some of the bonds come out of left field but it is what it is.

I am here trying to find info on.. yea I forgot what I was searching for? but I came across your video not expecting to find a review of the game. I was intrigued and highly entertained by your video, funny moments and brought back great experiences from past games like this one.

Looks like Ogre Battle with a side of the early Fire Emblems. Good stuff. Much nostalgia.

Nice reference to Goldman... spot on...

Nice little watch ty

Pretty much echo your thoughts on this one. Got it on release as a big TRPG fan and while it has its share of flaws (I mostly just didn't like the art style for cutscene sprites / portraits) it was super fun to play and offered a surprising amount of customization and flexibility in your squads.

I love that ranking scale. I will now be using the Diet-Mexican Coke scale for all things now.

Oh Paulie, he's endured so much betrayal. How much more can he take?

It was on my wishlist but this review convinced me it should be in the next cart :) And yes, the RPGmaker screenshots were a bit of a turn-off. As I play a lot of indie RPGs and T-RPGs those tiles and assets become tiring after a while :/

I love seeing standout RPG Maker games shine.

Reminds me of the army battles in the Suikoden games, awesome.

Dude, you know about shining force, i love you.

Great review. I agree, this game is great. It reminds me of a game i loved from my childhood that nobody's heard of called warsong.

7:45 Knew where that was going instantly 🤣

good video, thanks

Yeah, one of the first things I noticed was that the portrait images clash with the pixel graphics. They look like something from a mobile game while the rest seems more like a classic 16-32 bit SRPG.

Ooh William Goldman reference! Diana, she IS the brute squad.

I love you too mate! Also nice review. Just started this game today and as an avid fan of the GBA Fire Emblem games I really enjoy it. Finally a bit more of a feeling of actually leading an army instead of 10 superhumans.

Love the Coke rating system. Gave me a tangible understanding of the quality.

a friend defined this game as "fire emblem for people who don't play fire emblem so those we play fire emblem can introduce them to fire emblem"

Oh hey, this game is already on my wishlist

Well the video will hopefully deliver on what is being promised by the thumbnail.

I'm actually a pretty big fan of the combat sprites. They definitely have a lot of love and attention in them. Less of a fan of the character artwork, they are distinct at the most superficial level, and the design has no personality. I also notice some inconsistency in their design and quality. Other than that, I'm very excited to buy this game on sale.

You got me at "dating sim dialogue ". Sold.

Seriously, this should totally get an android and iOS port!

hilarious review , if i were to play a fire emblem game it might be this one

Diana looks like she’s been created with both hands but only one above the desk level😂😂

Wow, you're so awesome about this.

Reminds me a bit of Kings Field Crossworld with the squats and artifacts, but Kings Field is a lot harder and can't actually be played with just the mouse 👀

"Okay guys what's the strategy?" "We put all our units on the left side of the map and then we put Diana on the right by herself." "But the enemy is all on the right?" "Exactly."

now that the dlc is out i wonder how he feels now. the art has changed a little. new troops has changed up tatics a bit enemy units now act more like yours and how new game plus has changed replay alot. i do mean alot.

I thought it was going to be some Castlevania mod, but I've been hoping for something like Ogre Battle for years!

My favorite game has always been Sid Meiers Civilization since I discovered it.. But when I finally played Fire Emblem on GBA I was in love.. I never even knew the SRPG genre existed.. Probably the only negative with this type of game are time constraints and possible future addiction issues..It looks good and from the footage seems perfect for a platform like Switch..

aww man great hook lmao.

Ah yes. Paulie walnuts. Classic RPG character.

how is this not on switch yet... would be the perfect game for on the go...

Your presentation alone made me went ahead and paid my 12 bucks to dancing dragon.

I recently picked this up on sale, and i love this game. I was on the fence about it until I heard that there was a QOL feature that absolutely sold me: i cna skip through all dialogue and cut-scenes. THANK YOU DEV. I do not care about story in a strategy game. I dont care about anime waifus, i dont care about dating sims. I want to kill things in clever ways and develop my favorite units into mechanincally unique power-houses. I really wish the eastern style srpg's would take note of this; i grew up playing Shining Force and FFT but its so rare that get to enjoy games inspired by them because the story development is just so tedious.

Ammazza che chiapponze!

YO THAT'S CYANGMOU'S ART!

dat diana bit 😂

Well damn. Console peasant here, and I find it ironic that a PC only game is inspired by games that got big because they were they console answer to PC strategy games. Bright and colorful without being too deep, as to have a broader appeal while not taxing the system.

This game was crazy addictive. Just...just one more battle...!

Rest in piece Tony Sirico.

this color scheme is a blight on the world for *me personally*. I am colorblind. the blue and purple everyone uses are indistinguishable for me. when I put them right next to each other, I can _usually_ tell they are different colors, but heven help me if I need to tell which is which. but even worse, the greens and oranges are almost as bad! I can at least tell those two when they are next to each other, but if they are by themselves? not a chance in hell. they both just look vaguely yellowish.

Diana baby came out flying like 90 going north.

Algo comment Love your style

it seems like a combination of fire emblem(VESTARIA!) and good old ogre battle from snes, really nice feeling

Huh. My wife also took one push for our son, can confirm similar badassery, though.

I have been hoping for a game like this. But would like kingdom management with it

Edit: started playing it, and my controller works(wired) so maybe they've fixed it since this review, or there was something wrong with your drivers Besides a few of the convo screens this game looks absolutely beautiful to me. I minimized the video, and bought it 3mins in.

WAIT, HOLD UP A FREAKING MOMENT!!! YOU CAN BOND WITH DIANA?!?!? FOR REAL?!?!? OMG, YOU GOT ME NOW! When does that become available, chapter-wise? If you remember that is... I'm at like chapter 10 still and only have that guy's sister... forgot her name... but am really into Diana actually... for whatever reason... 🤣

Ya ever gonna bring back the Scientist-and-idiot-guy-in-hell duo from the KOTOR reviews? I feel like they've worked very well for showcasing the gamers' approach to different games. Anyway, great review.

wow new fire emblem lookin good

quite the enjoyable review without all the bullshit.

i want to see games like Symphony Of War style with open world map like Mount & Blade game this will be Awesome

This game was excellent, everyone should give it a bash.

Holy shit you’re funny. Great video

As someone who never played any of the Fire Emblem games, I can't help but to compare this one to the Disciples games. Presentation and style are very different, but gameplay-wise there is a bunch of similarities with unit upgrades and combat. I really recommend anyone who likes this type of gameplay to try Disciples 2 (can't speak for the first and 3rd game, but Disciples 2 is awesome) .... If you can make it work well on a modern system...

I, too, am a fan of the snu-snu.