Fae Tactics

For the longest time, I have been searching for a game that scratched a very specific itch; that itch being Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced. Advanced specifically, mind you. There are many games that provide the feel of the original FFT, but this is the first game that sent me back to those very fond memories of playing the first game on my Game Boy Advance.
It's a charming, colourful game with a lovely and wide variety of characters as you go along your journey. The story moves along nicely, with some nice story plot points that had me theorising and even caught me off guard a couple times. You learn about the world, and the main character as you explore it, her troubles and her inability to not want to help people.
The combat is a square tile, turn based RPG. Your characters speed decides the turn order, and their various stats allow them to do various different things on the battle field. Every non-summon character has their very distinctive role, and none of the were ever really benched. The game does a good job and making sure you use all of them, and help you realise where their strengths can be. Most characters on the battlefield, have an element. Fire beat grass, grass beats wind, etc. I like how at any time during battle set up, you can see the type charts, as it could get a little overwhelming sometime.
The game is very good at making sure you pay attention to the arena and the enemies in it. Some stages might have pits with enemies that can push you. Some might be very vertical with enemies at the top, teaching you about height advantages. Some stages even have canon placements, where you can either go around or try and power through it. The bosses in particular make sure you always think about your set up before starting the battle, and how you approach them.
I played the game on normal, and found it a nice challenge at times. My younger brother played it on hard, and he said it could be quite a slog and the bosses turn into damage sponges. I ran into that issue a couple times, particular with side content bosses. I'd say that's my only real gripe with the game, Magic Barriers can take quite long to reduce. One particular fight near the end of the game, I had the enemy pinned by four units, all comboing crit damage with each other and it still took like, 5 turns as they could barely damage me.
Over all, a very strong recommend if you like this sort of combat system. My gaming tip for you all, the Teamwork scroll is very useful. And Apex lets you avoid critical damage a number of times, which can be vital in some fights. Have fun!

I went from "This Fae Tactics is so long, it never ends" to "Oh no, it’s over... what is this emptiness I feel?"
So yeah, I mentioned it’s long, but it’s also an amazing tactics game. Most of its systems, like combat, camp mechanics, and story progression, are at least peculiar.
The story uses a semi-open system, letting you tackle missions from different cities independently. Combat is both simple and complex. Characters only have one attack, a wait skill, and a support ability. You’re limited to three main characters, with the rest being monster summons you collect like cards. Upgrade crafting? Check. Memory mini-games? Check. A phenomenal story? Absolutely checked.
Super satisfied with it, so I recommend it a lot!
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Not only is Fae Tactics one of my favorite games on Steam, it's cemented itself as one of my favorites ever. As a lover of tactical strategy titles like Disgaea, Fire Emblem, or Final Fantasy Tactics - Fae Tactics stands tall. Its streamlined combat system allows you to develop nuanced strategies to overcome the battlefield. Feels like a hidden PSX gem with vibrant fluid sprites and layered sound design which immerses you deep within the game's imaginative world. Really can't recommend this one enough.

I love SRPGs and I consider myself to be pretty good at them. This game is probably one of the most difficult in the genre that I've ever played, and it's made worse by the frequent inclusion of puzzle tactic solutions to various maps.
I recommend this game, though hesitantly. It isn't for everyone, though I suspect that the people that do vibe with it will absolutely love it.

One of my favorite games of all time. In the genre, this game is second only to Final Fantasy Tactics for me. It has gorgeous pixel art, a great story and an excellent variety of characters. Combat in tactical games is often slow with an overwhelming amount of options available to the player each turn and constant menu interactions. That's not the case here. This combat system is designed to be executed in just a few menuless clicks. It's an ingenious system that I wish more games would take inspiration from. At first glance, that might sound like it leaves little room for strategy, but that's not the case. Party choices, weapons that change your playstyle (both actively and passively), items, fae summons, ultimates, and EX attacks all provide a surprising level of depth. All of the above contains unlockable content, some of which is hidden and must be accessed via various methods. Finding these hidden gems is always satisfying and expands upon the customization and strategy present in the game. Cannot recommend this game enough!
(P.S. their previous game, Valdis Story, is an incredible metroidvania. Another one of my all time favorites.)

My favourite of the isometric tactics games by far. The art and aesthetic is great, the story and characters are excellent and well designed, the world is interesting and compelling, and the combat is the right balance of fun and challenging.
The creature collection aspect really adds an extra layer of fun and tactical possibilities and keeps you coming back for more.
Big fan, big thumbs up.

I think this is one of my favourite games of all time.
Mechanics are simple enough that newcomers to the genre will find it easy to pick up, but complex enough to allow many different strategies to be viable.
Veterans will find similarities to genre staples such as Final Fantasy Tactics, so if you loved that game - I am positive you will love this one too as I did. Keep reading for a more detailed description of the mechanics.
In combat you have access to 3 commander units and up to 3 summoned fae units. Commander units are unique characters with their own bits of story and special skills, while summoned fae are manifestations of the main character's mana.
During a unit's turn, it can move, attack an enemy, assist an ally, or wait, which activates its wait skill. Commander units also have reaction skills, which are essentially counter-attacks.
With the exception of some physical-type units, all units have one of the elemental types assigned. Elements determine a unit's assist and wait skills, as well as their strengths and weakness against other elements.
The game also has a (very simple) day of the week system, where every battle or story event advances time by one day.
Each day has an element assigned to it, and units of the corresponding element receive stat boosts during that day.
The battlefields are quite unique and interesting. You can take out enemies by knocking them into water (unless they're aquatic units) or pits. Some maps have (visible, not hidden!) traps on them.
There is also a terrain elevation mechanic - all non-flying units use a jump stat to determine whether they're allowed to move to a tile higher than the one they're currently on. Units with arc attacks also get bonus damage if they're above their target.
You obtain new fae (summoned units) as drops from defeated enemies. Once obtained that unit stays unlocked forever, even if defeated in battle. The game has an impressive roster of different creatures that serve different purposes, allowing you to tailor your strategy to enemies you are facing, and synergy with your commander units.
The game doesn't require you to grind levels, as enemy level scales with your characters. The only real benefit of a higher level is more skill points available for your commander.
Behind the childish facade, the story is quite epic and touches some serious topics.
All the characters have their own unique personalities, although some of them don't get as much development as they deserve. While small, the game world is rather charming and features diverse characters facing different problems (although there is a central arc to the story, which isn't apparent at first).
My only nitpick is that the best ending requires playing out the story arcs of 2 characters in the right order, while deploying them in battle together to trigger their unique story events. Without meta knowledge of the game, most players will definitely miss this on their first playthrough. I had a hunch that these 2 characters are like this, and I still missed one of their events, because I did the missions in the wrong order.
Finally the game offers us New Game+ to replay the story while keeping all of our levels, unlocked fae, scrolls, gems, and crafting materials. You still have to recruit your commanders through the story, but they retain their levels and unlocked weapons. What doesn't carry over is your equipment (bike level, summon capacity, etc.), as the game locks some equipment upgrades behind the story, but all your materials do carry over, so leveling them up again isn't that big of a deal.