Unicorn Overlord is a really close spiritual successor to Ogre Battle designed by Yasumi Matsuno. Matsuno designed Ogre Battle before going on to develop Tactics Ogre and then moving to Square and doing Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy XII. There's deep old pedigree to this specific style of gameplay, the real time with pause unit stack moving and auto skirmish resolution is exactly how Often Battle played out.
Thank you! I really wish they had been joined by a guest who was a bigger fan of the genre, if only so they could've corrected Griffin when he so casually and callously dismissed Ogre Battle 64 as an FFT clone. :) A) Unicorn Overlord very much is a riff on the Ogre Battle formula; B) he's most likely thinking of Tactics Ogre, not Ogre Battle; and C) if anything FFT is a Tactics Ogre clone!
Griffin is way off base on the Ogre Battle series—
Tactics Ogre is the game that came before Final Fantasy Tactics, and they’re the same style: grid based tactical combat with individual characters as units.
Ogre Battle 64 (N64) and Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (SNES) are both EXACTLY what we’re talking about here: RTS overworld maps with auto-battle clashes to resolve conflicts.
The wild thing is that both of these genres were honed under Yasumi Matsuno’s directorial influence. Not to pin an “auteur” role on him, but these were the flagship game genres in the strategy game space on consoles for a long stretch there. And incidentally, the two worlds created— Zenobia and Ivalice— are both rich and subtle.
Not to wax poetic on the discussion board of a vidja game podcast, but Chris' pinewood derby analogy has stuck in my mind. There are so many "derby experiences" in life, times where you can prepare something all you want, planning out every step and detail, but in order for it to succeed you need to let go.
I LOVE this as a video game mechanic also and wish there were more pinewood-derby-likes. I would’ve enjoyed armored core 6 infinitely more if I could’ve just done the tinkering and then watched it go.
Here to amplify the correction about ogre battle 64 and the like. It might seem like needless pedantry to point out that ogre battle was originally real time before the spin-off Tactics Ogre, but I think it's really important that people know other games like this exist. This real time tactics JRPG system is depressingly underused, and the history of Matsuno's work has been overshadowed by his grid-based entries. I would just love for more people to learn about and amplify this drastically underutilized system that unicorn overlord is based on.
I generally like FFT and FE style games much better. I had to really change how I think about this game, but it is definitely starting to click for me. This is a tinkering game and if your not a tinkering person, you might not have the greatest time, but while the story is a bit lite, I personally don't find it distracting. It's a straightforward story that you find in many other battle/ fire emblem games. Overall very thrilled and the director of FFT recommends this game, especially if you are looking for more FFT style game. I really enjoy unicorn overlord!
Rougelite Deckbuilder is what I call anything like Slay the Spire, Balatro, Monster Train, Inscryption where you are building a “deck” to progrss in a game with Rougelite elements.
One of the little treats of being a fan of this show is getting to hear what our esteemed hosts think of games that range outside of their comfort zones. What they bring to and take away from those experiences can sometimes be even more interesting than their thoughts about games that fall well within their respective wheelhouses. Though they had a lukewarm experience with this very specialized genre project, I love that they were so hermeneutically generous with it. That's one of the real pleasures of the program!
It sounded like Unicorn Overlord was an auto battler with an overworld. A lot of the crew seemed to really enjoy AutoPets a year or two ago so I was surprised they didn't draw a parallel here and enjoy it more. I'm not into any of these kinds of games myself.
I completely agree that the plot for Unicorn Overlord is very lackluster and the writing is not a personal favorite. If you're not all that invested in the story, it is a really good pick up and play game because of how the battles are step up. I don't feel like this game requires very long play sessions at a time. The map is so fun to uncover, as a "map completionist". And the gameplay is fantastic! It totally has its hooks in me. As an average strategy game enthusiast, who has always like these types of games, but never felt like diving into the deeper strategies was all that doable, Unicorn Overlord has made strategies and TACTICS feel approachable. Like Griffin said, the most enjoyment I've felt has been with tinkering my squads and messing around with equipment to see how efficient and effective I can make my units. I do wish the game made me want to care more about the characters other than them simply being like powerful chess pieces. (Maybe this could've been achieved with permadeath?) I don't know! I'm no game designer. I do know I am loving my time playing this game.
Wow, egg on my face, I was looking over my nephew Jethany's shoulder and these video games aren't just beeps and boops, they've really come a lo...(read more)
I have to thank Justin for deciding not to play Unicorn Overlord because the game he DID play sounds soooo up my alley! I’ll definitely give it a go!
Unicorn Overlord LOOKS beautiful, but I’m with Plante in that what it is offering isn’t the reason I personally play video games.
And Shogun is very very good. It’s the only thing that’s broken me out of my cycle of rewatching the entirety of The Righteous Gemstones over and over haha.
I've heard so much about Slay the Spire and know I would love it but just haven't gotten around to it yet. What are some games that The Besties know they would love but just haven't made time to play?
For those that are looking for something more akin to Final Fantasy Tactics, I highly recommend Tenderfoot Tactics, which came out on PC a few years ago but just got a release on Xbox and Switch recently!
It has more tactical hands-on battles and individual character progression that has you unlocking more potential classes/roles for each character.
Unicorn Overlord is a really close spiritual successor to Ogre Battle designed by Yasumi Matsuno. Matsuno designed Ogre Battle before going on to develop Tactics Ogre and then moving to Square and doing Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy XII. There's deep old pedigree to this specific style of gameplay, the real time with pause unit stack moving and auto skirmish resolution is exactly how Often Battle played out.
Thank you! I really wish they had been joined by a guest who was a bigger fan of the genre, if only so they could've corrected Griffin when he so casually and callously dismissed Ogre Battle 64 as an FFT clone. :) A) Unicorn Overlord very much is a riff on the Ogre Battle formula; B) he's most likely thinking of Tactics Ogre, not Ogre Battle; and C) if anything FFT is a Tactics Ogre clone!
Subscribed to like this comment :)
Griffin is way off base on the Ogre Battle series—
Tactics Ogre is the game that came before Final Fantasy Tactics, and they’re the same style: grid based tactical combat with individual characters as units.
Ogre Battle 64 (N64) and Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (SNES) are both EXACTLY what we’re talking about here: RTS overworld maps with auto-battle clashes to resolve conflicts.
The wild thing is that both of these genres were honed under Yasumi Matsuno’s directorial influence. Not to pin an “auteur” role on him, but these were the flagship game genres in the strategy game space on consoles for a long stretch there. And incidentally, the two worlds created— Zenobia and Ivalice— are both rich and subtle.
Not to wax poetic on the discussion board of a vidja game podcast, but Chris' pinewood derby analogy has stuck in my mind. There are so many "derby experiences" in life, times where you can prepare something all you want, planning out every step and detail, but in order for it to succeed you need to let go.
I also thought it was an excellent analogy.
I LOVE this as a video game mechanic also and wish there were more pinewood-derby-likes. I would’ve enjoyed armored core 6 infinitely more if I could’ve just done the tinkering and then watched it go.
Here to amplify the correction about ogre battle 64 and the like. It might seem like needless pedantry to point out that ogre battle was originally real time before the spin-off Tactics Ogre, but I think it's really important that people know other games like this exist. This real time tactics JRPG system is depressingly underused, and the history of Matsuno's work has been overshadowed by his grid-based entries. I would just love for more people to learn about and amplify this drastically underutilized system that unicorn overlord is based on.
I generally like FFT and FE style games much better. I had to really change how I think about this game, but it is definitely starting to click for me. This is a tinkering game and if your not a tinkering person, you might not have the greatest time, but while the story is a bit lite, I personally don't find it distracting. It's a straightforward story that you find in many other battle/ fire emblem games. Overall very thrilled and the director of FFT recommends this game, especially if you are looking for more FFT style game. I really enjoy unicorn overlord!
Thanks for the Y-Button shout! My conversation with Plante was one of my favorites.
Rougelite Deckbuilder is what I call anything like Slay the Spire, Balatro, Monster Train, Inscryption where you are building a “deck” to progrss in a game with Rougelite elements.
One of the little treats of being a fan of this show is getting to hear what our esteemed hosts think of games that range outside of their comfort zones. What they bring to and take away from those experiences can sometimes be even more interesting than their thoughts about games that fall well within their respective wheelhouses. Though they had a lukewarm experience with this very specialized genre project, I love that they were so hermeneutically generous with it. That's one of the real pleasures of the program!
It sounded like Unicorn Overlord was an auto battler with an overworld. A lot of the crew seemed to really enjoy AutoPets a year or two ago so I was surprised they didn't draw a parallel here and enjoy it more. I'm not into any of these kinds of games myself.
Muscle Frushtick huffs so much egg steam.
I completely agree that the plot for Unicorn Overlord is very lackluster and the writing is not a personal favorite. If you're not all that invested in the story, it is a really good pick up and play game because of how the battles are step up. I don't feel like this game requires very long play sessions at a time. The map is so fun to uncover, as a "map completionist". And the gameplay is fantastic! It totally has its hooks in me. As an average strategy game enthusiast, who has always like these types of games, but never felt like diving into the deeper strategies was all that doable, Unicorn Overlord has made strategies and TACTICS feel approachable. Like Griffin said, the most enjoyment I've felt has been with tinkering my squads and messing around with equipment to see how efficient and effective I can make my units. I do wish the game made me want to care more about the characters other than them simply being like powerful chess pieces. (Maybe this could've been achieved with permadeath?) I don't know! I'm no game designer. I do know I am loving my time playing this game.
I believe in NG+ there is a permadeath feature
Wow, egg on my face, I was looking over my nephew Jethany's shoulder and these video games aren't just beeps and boops, they've really come a lo...(read more)
I have to thank Justin for deciding not to play Unicorn Overlord because the game he DID play sounds soooo up my alley! I’ll definitely give it a go!
Unicorn Overlord LOOKS beautiful, but I’m with Plante in that what it is offering isn’t the reason I personally play video games.
And Shogun is very very good. It’s the only thing that’s broken me out of my cycle of rewatching the entirety of The Righteous Gemstones over and over haha.
I've heard so much about Slay the Spire and know I would love it but just haven't gotten around to it yet. What are some games that The Besties know they would love but just haven't made time to play?
It’s on sale on Steam right now. Just get it, it rules
I only picked up slay the spire because its on android. It's absolutely perfect for phones, definitely worth it
For those that are looking for something more akin to Final Fantasy Tactics, I highly recommend Tenderfoot Tactics, which came out on PC a few years ago but just got a release on Xbox and Switch recently!
It has more tactical hands-on battles and individual character progression that has you unlocking more potential classes/roles for each character.
Correction: Ogre Battle 64 is not like Final Fantasy Tactics. Tactics Ogre is like FF Tactics. Unicorn Overlord is similar to Ogre Battle.