I feel the same as you man, I'm a diehard Ogre Battle fan that has memorized the entire lore by heart. After playing the demo twice over, I do not regret my purchase of the special edition.
This is better than I could have dreamed. It's like they made a game for me! Love Ogre Battle 64, but had no idea others loved it as much as I do. What a great game!
Ever layer I've peeled back from this game shows me the thought and care of this 10 year project. This is definitely the evolution of a game like OG Ogre Battle and so much more. OB64 was good but clearly miles away from what it could have been had they been able to keep the same director. Still a shame that Atlus wouldn't get you a free key for this. I'd bet that you'll have the most quality content on the game in the coming months.
I just finished my demo run on PS5. I must preface that I am already a huge fan of VanillaWare, but by THE GODS have they crafted a masterpiece. Every aspect I have experienced so far has been crafted with not just wisdom, not even just care, but true artistry. The quality of life features are thorough and plentiful. Of course the artistic side is splendid but that is the minimum I expect. I must say this is one of the more fun combat systems I've got to explore this side of FFVII REMAKE.
Definitely, few, if any have heard of Ogre Battle, let alone played it. The feel is very MOTBQ, with 64 scale, but lots of FE, TO, and more in the details. Oh shoot, I should add this to the Gryphon Only Ogre series 😂
I really love how Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga reminded people about squad based turn systems, it's really exciting to think where this system can evolve if further resurgence will last. Damn, to think an indie studio making an RPG maker game would potentially cause spiritual ressurection of MotBQ.
Unicorn Overlord was in development for 10 years. Don't get me wrong. Symphony of War is great, but I doubt it had any influence on a game that's been in dev this long.
@@chade6514 That's why I think inspiration might've been taken - if your game took 10 years to make that outright means some development hell and heavy redesigns. Let's look at Baldur's Gate 3 - I know it's a different game but it's about scale of the project and necessary workload. To be blunt, BG3 was 6 years of much more labor intensive project, 10 years suggest either a redesign or investors contemplating pulling the plug on the project in which case success of SoW:NS could have an impact.
@mareczek00713 you may be correct but not necessarily. Vanillaware is a small studio, they may have decided working longer with a smaller but more experienced staff is better than expanding and going through growing pains to get the project done sooner
@@wahahabuh Nah, project was seen as a low investment venture to the point they threw UO team to work on Aegis Rim. They saw it as something small that won't bring big bucks, I wonder what made them rethink it... Big success of a similar title, perhaps?
It's also wild how they absolutely nailed the feel. No game has ever nailed the full "Ogre Battle feel" before this as far as I've seen. There have been similar ideas, but it's never been "we can go ahead and improve these systems" before.
@@CoffeePotato so true. it's weird because I'm sure you've seen that interview with the creator (director?) of Unicorn Overlord and he doesn't mention Ogre Battle by name - just says it's inspired by previous games from the genre. So I was a little worried that even though the screenshots and videos *looked* like Ogre Battle, that it wouldn't play like Ogre Battle. I'm glad it does.
As a fan of Fire Emblem, but having never played or seen Ogre Battle, how foreign would you expect UO to feel while learning the game? I keep seeing people compare it to both series, without any context how much framework it pulls from one or the other.
@@Rokumasu853The combat system is more akin to Ogre Battle (squad building + real time strategy) but it feels like a Fire Emblem with the class system, the story, the flow of it, you get a Jagen early on etc. The tutorial is very well done at introducing the mechanics one by one. You can test the demo to see if it's for you but I can tell you I love FE and this game feels like a new Fire Emblem
Woah, Potato, look at those views!! That's incredible! I'm so happy to see this! You definitely deserve more 😊 (and, hopefully, in TO. The saga is too good to be left to dust in a shelf of classics!)
It's definitely been a happy surprise! We've seen a lot of new folks come into this little niche since TOR, and it's great to see Ogre Battle's formula come back through this.
Hell yeah I commented on one of the early TOR videos that you remind me of my best friend and me just talking about the original Tactics Ogre, Ogre Battle 64, suikoden and whatever other RPGs that shaped us growing up. You have a such a genuine profound joy for this and it's amazing to see. I know if I knew you in high school we'd probably have a podcast about all things Ogre related by now :p
This is something I've prayed a long time for. I was unsure ,like you said assumed it would be ogre battleish. The demo floored me. I wasn't to hyped in it before ,but I'm Def getting it now. fucking awesome.
I don't recommend changing leader during battle as I find it wasting valor point which is pretty important and somewhat difficult to come by during battle, especially those valor skills can be useful during battle. Furthermore, for those arrow or magic strike, you will need to set the leader of that unit and within range to do that assist. Those stamina can be very important as it doesn't let an unit trying win just by itself. Also need to plan when to rest as it can't attack or even defence during the period in rest and plus out of stamina also can't move. Try to take out towers asap as it can turn the tide of your chance of winning to losing as you getting damage for no reason. By the way, provoke can be a very good valor skill to use to control the flow of the battle.
I haven't played Ogre Battle 64 because I didn't have a N64. March of the Black Queen and Let Us Cling Together are great games. (And great songs, if I'm being honest.) I haven't decided on this game yet because there are still things I don't know, so I have a few questions for those of you that have played it. Class changes were one of my favorite things about Ogre Battle. Being surprised about what I could turn my guys into and the possibilities really made the game for me. Is that concept present here? Secondly, what kind of creatures can I recruit? Dragons, gryphons, Octopi, skeletons, werewolves, vampires? I'm sure there won't be any pumpkinheads, but how are the creatures? Third, the storyline. Is it pretty linear, or branching? How many endings is it going to have? Will there be multiple options?
No way to know, I'm playing the same demo as everyone else. That said, we actually can gleam quite a lot from the Library section, which I wanted to cover today, but had to push till Monday. It shows every class and attainable variants in a sort of Pokedex format. It looks like we'll have roughly similar amounts of classes, but with seemingly way more variants. Class changes based on what I've seen are likely going to be Fire Emblem esque, having a set evolution, rather than direct switches. However, like an expanded version of OB64 (which I know you said you didn't play, but bear with me), items modify the unit, and you custom decide their primary and secondary growths when they are created. So it seems like Tactics Ogre Reborn, where the focus will likely be on making more custom builds, rather than trying to stack one guy. So far as I see, anyway. We do know there's evolutions of some kinds, since we see the starting Hoplite devolve, and have sort of Cavalier/Paladin roles. It's unclear how far that goes yet, but this game clearly has meat. Your classes are also unlocked through your path, both through variants of classes as well as the classes themselves. So like my first playthrough I didn't even find some 4-5 or more classes in that first 7 hours. Still had more than I could use at once regardless. Beast wise, the Gryphons, Dragons, Angels, Cats, Faeries, I think Unicorns, and some unclear shapes are known. The helmeted guys turned out to be the Berserker variants. Every mechanic seems to have 20 more mechanics behind it, so we don't know it all yet, and that's a very Ogre problem to have 😂
Based on your comment, it feels like you really need to finally hunt down OB64 =] I got it on the Wii virtual console, but I think the Wii store is gone now. Hopefully, it comes back.
Just started playing through Knight of Lodis again, & I’m beyond excited to hear of a new trpg that carries on the spirit. I grew up with ogre battle & other games of the like. This looks like exactly what I need to scratch that itch 🙌
You sound excited! I'm really happy for you. To me, while I don't really understand/appreciate it all.. it just means that someone has made a really good game, which is rare.
Just downloaded the demo. I remember enjoying ogre battle (I was a child, I doubt I understood it😅.) When OB64 came out, I loved it, but I was alone on that since most of my friends didn't care for strategy games. Can't wait to play the demo. Thank you for the recommendation!
Working on it, it's a little awkward because I can't record outside of my one quiet hour during the day due to needing the dock. But they're allergic to PC 😢
Been waiting almost 20 years for a game like this. I played the demo once to understand the systems in place then a second time to speed run and see how far I can go and this game has gone so far beyond my expectation it’s actually frightening (played both runs on expert). It’s spiritually ogre battle revisioned in modern day. So many improvements, QoL, and faster, intense gameplay compared to MotBQ and OB64. The depth of combat/items and the squad command functions are so amazing I think it’s the best part of the game, and I’ve only explored 12% in the demo. I wholeheartedly agree with you. With hundreds of differing options to customize your units and squads for every possible combat scenario, it vastly builds upon the old ogre battle system. The only minor gripe I have is unit fatigue abuse. Like you mentioned, you can “hop” units with 0 movement as long as they are in swap range. I think OB64 had a good penalty having fatigued squads have stat penalties (50% effectiveness I think?). Probably should have included that so fatigue means more and less squad hop abuse. Also I found it absolutely hilarious that in the demo they didn’t teach you about narrowing tactical commands and functions until the first main quest stage which was like 5 hours into the game AFTER speed running all the missions prior. It’s such a huge part of the game to need to understand. Absolutely fantastic game. Glad you are so passionate about this. This needs a lot of love and attention so more devs know there are those that still adore these type of games!
My Dad probably has put more time into the SNES Ogre Battle than anyone else alive. Like, thousands and thousands of hours. I really hope he can enjoy this game too.
There is also mechanic where you can reorganize the party formation just before battle. Thats make swap more powerful. Like when you facing strong spear formation spread the party and put the cavalry to the back row. Or when facing something like hunter, retreat the thief to backrow so its not become a priority. Well if the enemy hunter gambit have thief as priority... *i guess im done* The thing about your party losing more when fire support happen, my guess is.. the mage got into the extended tower range so they decide to join in cause they are into the range. There was several scenario when i was playing, my attacking unit is outside the fire support distance but my archer is. Then when its decide to join the fire support the enemy in his range join in too.
Absolutely, I was using a rogue as a shield for ages until a desperate shuffle led to the Lord/Spear mini Phalanx situation there. It's so fun to find those new oddly specific formations!
Adding a support unit on your side can make you take more damage. I find that this is usually because it changes who gets damaged when, which changes how the gambits/AI resolves, which can change whether or not an enemy unit dies, which then changes how much damage your units receive
As a huge vanillaware fan, it's great to see that Unicorn Overlord is shaping-up to be an evolution of this beloved genre with all these improvements! I am new to this genre, so it is great to jump into something brand new too! With full respect to the venerated classics, I hope this game will be considered on it's own merits though, and not a mere comparison-point for the older games. It would be a bit disheartening to hear how the game is good, but that the older games were better with element "A", etc. Although, fair is fair if someone prefers something over something else too.
Well yeah, of course. No worried about that here without reason, we've had years of "Tactics Ogre is about it's adaptive narrative, stop comparing it to FFT despite improving on it all over the place" for years.
Sounds good CoffeePotato. Also, I wasn't aware that people made comparisons between FFT and Tactics Ogre, guess it comes with the territory with a genre with so many highly-regarded entries.
Instant sales multiplication 🖐️ More jiggles 👈👈 I kid, it makes sense, just seems like after so many beloved gems they'd want to open the floodgates on those ports at some point.
Unclear, but there is a reputation unlock system so far, as well as individual character choices that have been unclear in their purpose. At least one got broken out and swore revenge, so many of the rest I've just opted to execute. Can't come back for revenge if they're dead.
for the first moments I was like, this is nothing like tactics ogre! and then my mind caught up and I was like oh, this is totally like Ogre battle! :O going to be giving this a try, thanks for showing me :)
I never played the original Ogre Battles. So I was in for a surprise with the demo I was super mad at first seeing that battles were auto. But it grew on me I like this gameplay of being a tactician/general can’t wait for the release even more now.
The only downside is that this game that has different races lacks the formidable units like giants, dragons and octopuses hoping for a dlc oh and dont forget about dwarfs as they favor mountains like giants do for movement so a mountainous island for standalone dlc then?.
I'm only now watching this video, cause I recently finished demo and got full version of the game, so I don't want to spoil myself with full version videos. So yeah. Game is great and I love that you seem to love it as well. I never played neither of Ogre Battle games, so this is very fresh for me. Probably that means I won't be able to watch your Unicorn videos as well as Tactics Ogre now, since I kinda want to explore games myself, but I hope you will contunie making them, so I'll revisit them later. Regarding steam port - it's honestly understandable. Vanillaware is like 40 people top. Porting game and supporting it afterwards is not a small task, and that's not mentioning need to implement keyboard and mouse control otherwise steam userbase will go nuts. And for niche of nichest type of game out there, which will get buried by tons of releases, and then sold for cheap via regional pricing? PC port really doesn't worth it more often than not.
The weird part was that Atlas allegedly offered to fund them a team to do it and they refused. Some are saying it's a Japanese culture thing, worries about ruining the art and that.
@@CoffeePotato well funding is one thing, you can't really always solve things by throwing money at it. For example if they want to have control over game they release and do it in house - but don't have expertise of working on pc platform then you either involve outsource (and that is opening another can of worms not every company wants to deal with) or gotta get a new hires, which can be more resource intensive in long run, especially if their funds already run dry by just finishing game. Not to mention time and attention required by your own staff, even if separate team will be doing it. Atlus' offer probably was based around their own experience with pc ports, probably way too optimistic, but that's guesswork. It also can be culture thing tho, people are different. We'll never know until they'll say directly.
It's a very niche type of SRPG, and this is legitimately the first time the "feel" had been nailed on this since 1999. The sort of bouncy and switchy combat was always hard to explain, but you've felt it if you like UO. The classics had some different mechanics, and OB64 had some insane plot interactivity, but I'm confident with how long the dev cycle was we'll see some of that play a part here. (The Ogre games are generally known for unusual mechanics, but also plots that play out based on your actions directly and indirectly. Getting an unexpected bad ending because of underestimating this and trying to play them like normal RPGs is almost a right of passage.)
I'm actually surprised. This would be great for Steam Deck just like it's great for Switch. But I'm sure there's reasons for it. Probably control scheme or something. Idk
I assume it's Vanillaware being afraid of their art being reused for porn or something. It's always specifically dodging PC. Folks hated making games for the Vita, but they were some of the few that released a bunch for it.
I was excited for this and started the demo worrying it was going to be too straight forward and dialogue heavy like 13 sentinels. Glad this doesn’t seem to be the case! I need freedom in my rpgs. I’m a sucker for start and pause rts. So glad they nailed the controls and performance on the switch! Needed something like this
In fairness, having a better story than Engage is a very low bar. :D A standard set up is fine so long as it's executed well, the characters are good, and it doesn't intrude more than it should. Even the earlier Fire Emblem games understood that much. I.have confidence that Unicorn Overlord will do its job well.
@@CoffeePotato well according to myths, there are two evil entities that counter the unicorn. The first one is the bicorn, described sometimes as a horse/dragon hybrid with two horns. In the middle age, bicorns were said kill and eat faithful husbands and since there were plenty the bicorn was fat😆. When I saw Valmore design, well it kinda clicked (Big belly Guy with two horns on its helmet). The other one was the chichevache (dragon/cow hybrid) which prey on faithful women, so it was skinny......
I always thought Ogre Battle (&64) as a niche game belongs more on the PC than on consoles. Another reason to want the game on PC is the game will be compatible long after I stop playing on the Switch. I rarely touch the Switch now after getting a Steam Deck.
If you play with an emulator or modded DS you bypass timer, there is like another 6+ hours of content to do as long as you don't complete the saving the girl main quest.
I dont see it on steam, where do i procure this title? If its got ogre battle fighting, freedom of order, sngle of attack and disgaea stat growth choice. I will by buying it soon day one. Something i have not done since xbox 360 CAME OUT!!!!
Yeah, it's a console only release it looks like, according to the official UL page. Switch, Xbox X, and PS5. I would assume Series S and PS4 as well, but I don't see that listed. Don't know if that helps you at all, or I'd you're exclusively PC.
Im sitting here on the release day of FF VII remake part 2, a game ive been hyped for for months. But after playing this demo, Unicorn Overlord is the only game i want to play. Cant wait to get it.
Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite games of all time and I do like some of the newer Fire Emblem games, like Awakening, Fates, and Three Houses. I wonder how much I would like this game. I’ve never played Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre. So I wonder if the mechanics might be too complex to understand for newcomers
one more comment from me. WOW seeing your comment section ,I had no fucking clue so many people loved that game like I did. I had always assumed it was an under appreciated masterpiece.
What I discovered about stamina is that when you drop to 0 your combat stays the same. It isn't the same as losing a trade or waiting. The only downside of falling to 0 is that you can't move. I recommend that you do not rest immediately until you know you are safe
Because the BQ grids allow for some super snappy team setups. Personally I always found it mentally cozier than the bigger ones, it's hard to find a consistent role for the extra rows without issues. Symphony, for example, seemingly threw in the Ambush mechanics to make use of a 3x3.
It's weird how you eventually see how they're linked. Definitely give at least 64 a go at some point. It's an oddball of a game, but does a ton of what TOR does story wise. The mechanics are bizarre, but cool.
Easier difficulties aren't as strict. They were seemingly going for the Ogre Battle focus on trying to rush down a win, it leads to a lot of interesting decisions.
11:56 I feel like I dodged a single other soul who played OB for 20 years and now I want to know what memes we're talking about here. I'm assuming it is just how units can get stuck on bridges if they lose.
Oh, no, I mean how Hugo almost religiously reports on the truly staggering amount of Bridges in Palatinus. He even compliments you on preventing some of them from being destroyed, iirc. We call him Bridge Master Hugo around here.
Sometimes, though I love how he's used here to teach cover and stamina mechanics early. He could be even more powerful and still will get run over without backup. Clearly conveying that message of "You have a max level character at the start, and you're still struggling? Time to learn you some mechanics, kiddo." Like if a player goes north at the start, it's a difficult fight, but actually possible with your starter team, and technically because of him, but not because of stats. It's a map with a ton of magic support. An overwhelming amount, only a squad led by Josef can survive that barrage at that point, because he has a passive that defends against magic support. Using that, you can just barely use him to clear the support towers, buying time for the rest of the rookies to rush and capture a bridge, which they then have to hold on their own while his squad rests. It's pretty intense, and feels immensely satisfying to pull off. Reminded me of a more complex version of the minimum level Nybbeth fight in Tactics Ogre. As far as starting off with a vet character in the Ogre games, you get Gilbert and Warren in MOTBQ, you get Canopus in Tactics Ogre, I forget the name of the guy in Prince of Zenobia, and unless I'm forgetting something, that isn't done in OB64 or Knight of Lodis (In KoL's case you deliberately have his team in the intro and get separated)
I understand the game has some sort of PvP; I suspect that's the reason they make you choose from a list of names for your units instead of letting you put in whatever you want. They want other players to fight people with names like Tristan or Lucretia, and not ScroteMeister69.
I think i know why you can't manually name characters. The game has an online PvP system where the names of your characters may be visible to other players. So they would have to either implement a filter/censor system, or restrict to premade names.
@@monkeystrive7501 Well depends how you play it I guess but I remember it said in the demo description is 5 hours but it could be longer or shorter depending on what you do. They allow us to do few quest mainly.
It's up to 20 like FE so far, with lowbies learning quick, but slowing down to prevent dead braining. That Reborn cap was absolutely brilliant for keeping balance. In this case the counters are the unit classes, but there's ways around them. Like how Scouts counter melee, but a couple backline spears might be able to overwhelm this through multi attacks. Archers are meant to counter Scouts, but might also be the ranged support you need. Cavalry is for speed and flanks, but might be the heavy healer you need. It's all chaotic and wonderful about it so far.
I heard that people discovered grind battles and I think so of the promo videos on Atlus' YT channel mention it, too. I think it's those videos where Josef explains the mechanics?
Strategy games are my absolute least favorite genre, HOWEVER, and you might wanna consider this train of thought for your next choice of game even if the genre doesn't resonate, *in Vanillaware we trust*, so I'll give it a go, I know I'll find a game I'll finish and enjoy
It is, and I love the idea of basically having to "Seal Team 6 this castle" in 3 minutes and such. It's the first time I've seen that timing mechanic and legitimately enjoyed it's implementation.
@@CoffeePotato I like adjustable difficulties levels so you can try it on a harder/easier one and then if you don't like it, just switch it to something you will enjoy.
I's a shame this isn't on PC... I've sworn off buying games on Switch (waiting for Switch 2), so if it's not on PC I have to miss it 😭 Really would love a game like Ogre Battle 64 though! I miss the strategy involved in setting up formations, classes, and recruiting different characters, then watching them auto battle.
It feels like an Ogre Battle 64 meets MOTBQ successor in all ways. It's like a distilled refinement of all of their best ideas into one golden child of a demo so far.
I am pissed about the 7 hour time limit. I already preordered the game let me just play chapter 1 without rushing. People saying this is a generous demo have probably played a lot of shit demos I guess. I don't play many demos but all the ones I have played did not have a time limit.
This is exactly my kinda demo. You get access to most things, but also have a reason to start a few times to get different perspectives. Using menus and cutscene skips, I'm pretty sure someone will 100% this before March 8th. The timer doesn't go in menus.
@@CoffeePotato I was able to finish the demo under the timelimit I just don't like that the timelimit is there. If you like the time limit for some reason nothing would be stopping you from timing yourself and starting a new game after 7 hours playtime. I like to watch the cutscenes and explore but when I did that I did not even get halfway through so had to start over and skip everything. It just ruins the experience.
Incredible how lucky you got those recent years. We usually live with the fact we are not getting many of those games because SRPGs are like "There are DOZENS of us" kind of public and install base. Now I'm wondering if it is possible to get another one with a plot like Tactics Ogre?
man I dunno if its "Not as bad" as triangle strategy sounds like the story is amazing. And then you go on to talk about Vandal hearts story as well. Two games with amazing story IMO
True, but VH is a tad "hoorah tropey". Triangle... just doesn't trust it's audience or remember it's own plot points. How Lionel getting a plate business makes the ending, but not 90% or the rest of the cast that are actually interesting was a bummer. To me, Triangle had interesting ideas executed drunkenly, if that makes sense. Had a two hour or so video breaking this down a year ago. I was trying to say the story is a little tropey, but it's pretty casual about it. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and knows when to pull a punch. It's well executed tropey for a reason, if that makes sense. Good in the way it should be. (On the flip side, Tactics Ogre takes itself seriously, but backs it up with meticulous detail in the subtleties between characters, and alternate interactions based on circumstance. It's one of those examples of peak writing in my eyes, because it makes to keep the verbage minimal, but conveys a ton of information through context. No drama for drama's sake, just people being people. )
Played the demo and enjoyed it. The story seems a bit cliche but its way to early in the game to judge. I dont like that there is a timer in battles, hopefully it can be turned off.
I always hated how they ditched ogre battles overall mefhanics, I mean, tactics was aight ,but I've always wanted something closer to the original, less tactical ,more strategic.
In Ogre's case, I also loved this formula, but just to clarify, it wasn't necessarily one ruleset or another. Each game in that series tried something new, but they always tried to go for that feeling of weird strategy that incorporated map complications and timing. I'm pretty sure we didn't see this particular version, which feels like a middle ground between BQ and 64, come back just due to how out of hand it gets in terms of complications that look simple. In some ways it's like the strategy equivalent of something like Super hot, and for most studios, it's just too complicated to explain, let alone pull off. These guys...were just crazy enough for the job 😆
