As a branch of strategy games, strategy wargames feature a large worldview and many characters
For Chinese players, there are three most impressive and highly rated strategy wargames: Fantasy Simulation, Fire Emblem and Dragon Knights.
Although there are many similar boutique games, such as Final Fantasy Strategy Edition and Royal Knights and so on. However, in the minds of domestic players, the above three are the most contacted and classic strategy wargames.
Fantasy Sim Series:
Fantasy Simulation Battle is a strategy wargame game first released by the Japanese Messia Company in 1991.
Up to now, there are 5 canonical games: Fantasy Simulator 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
4 sequels: Dream Simulation Battle Millennium, Dream Simulation Battle Ol, Dream Simulation Battle Rebirth and Dream Simulation Battle Mobile Game.
Among the above works, the most praised and highest evaluation is the Dream Simulation Battle 2nd Generation.
Fire Emblem Series:
The Fire Emblem series is a wargame owned by the famous Nintendo Corporation in Japan.
The series was born even earlier than the Dream Simulation, starting in 1990 with the first Dark Dragon and sword of light. The works are, in order:
FC and SFC Era: 5
Dark Dragon and Sword of Light, Fire Emblem Gaiden, Coat of Arms Mystery, Genealogy of Holy War, Dorakia 776
Handheld Era: 6 (3 other replicas)
Sword of Seals, Sword of Fire, Stone of Light of The Devil, New Dark Dragon and Sword of Light (Replica), Mystery of the New Heraldic (Replica), Awakening, If, Echo: Another Hero King (Replica), Wind and Snow Moon
Subsequent hosts: 2
The trail of cangyan, the goddess of dawn
Among these works, the highest rated is the genealogy of jihad in the SFC era.
Dragon Knights Series:
This series is much less than the number of works in the first two works, but because it is produced by Hantang in Taiwan, the mainland, and the evaluation of the works is also very high. Therefore, it still occupies a place in the hearts of many players.
There are only four titles in this series: The Dragon Knights: Seal of the Evil Gods, The Dragon Knights: The Mystery of the Golden City, the Dragon Knights: The Coat of Arms of the Wind, and the Fire Dragon Knights Online.
Among them, the highest-rated works are, of course, the second generation that we are all familiar with- the mystery of the Golden City.
A brief introduction to the three series. Let's take a look at the ratings of these three series of works in five aspects: influence, graphic expression, system gameplay, plot roles and balance.
The rating scale is 1 to 10 points: 1 point is far below expectations; 5 points is good performance; 7 points is good performance; 9 points is very good; 10 points is flawless.
Well, let's take a look at which series is the best wargame, and it is also the ceiling game in the hearts of our strategy wargame players.
1 Comparison of the influence of the three games:
Fantasy Sim: 8 points
Fire Emblem: 9 points
Knights of the Dragon: 6 points
From the perspective of influence alone, the Fire Emblem should be the most influential and longest-lasting of the three series of works.
As the second-line leader of Nintendo's housekeeping works (the first line is Mario and Zelda, Pokemon, the three illusion gods), the Fire Emblem can be said to be the originator of the Japanese wargame game, and it is precisely because of the emergence of the Flame Emblem that there is this classic game method (Japanese) with multi-character + level turn-based + wargame movement. After the appearance of the Fire Emblem, a large number of similar games, including the Royal Knights and Fantasy Simulation Battle, gradually appeared.
In the 30 years from 1990 to 2019, Fire Emblem released a total of 16 games, including replica versions, of which the highest sales volume, Fenghua Xueyue, reached nearly 3 million copies worldwide, and the earlier works such as The Mystery of Heraldry and The Genealogy of Jihad also sold 500,000 to 1 million copies in Japan.
Although it can't be compared with Mario and Zelda's tens of millions of copies, as a niche category of strategy chess games, this sales is enough to make Nintendo earn a lot of money.
The wave of Japanese wargames that began with the Fire Emblem brought a series of wargames such as the Royal Knights and Fantasy Simulation To the forefront. Since then, this unique category of strategy games has been formed.
In contrast, the fantasy simulation battle is limited by the Sega platform, from beginning to end, it is only a third-rate game in the boutique, the influence in China, but much greater than japan.
Among the several canonical works of Fantasy Sim Battle, the highest-selling Dream Simulator 2 generation is only less than 200,000 sales, which is basically the top three levels in the series compared to Fire Emblem.
Some of the other relatively poor fantasy simulation series are even only 30,000 to 50,000 sales.
But what is surprising is that although the dream simulation battle does not sell well, the emotional reputation in China is first-class, so that the dream simulation battle mobile game, a domestically developed wargame game, was immediately exploded in China, and the highest monthly flow exceeded 500 million yuan, and the total flow so far has already reached more than 3 billion yuan.
Converted into a stand-alone game (300 yuan a copy), then the corresponding sales have been more than 10 million copies. This achievement, even if the Flame Emblem follows up with new works, it is estimated that it will not catch up.
As for the Yanlong Knights, because the time is too early, no new works have been born in the past 20 years, so the overall influence is more in the old players of that year.
According to incomplete data, the sales of the first generation of the Yanlong Knights are roughly between 150,000 and 200,000 copies, while the second generation is better, estimated at 300,000 to 500,000 copies. Then there was no then.
With the defeat of the sequel and ol, the influence of the Yanlong Knights was basically fixed in 1995, when the 2nd generation was launched.
And a Yanlong Knights 2, bringing this series the pinnacle of the best wargames in Chinese history, even to this day there is no second game that can be surpassed.
From this point of view, the influence of the Yanlong Knights is more concentrated in the country.
Overall, in terms of series influence, it is natural that one of Nintendo's housekeeping works, the Flame Emblem, has the greatest influence, followed by the niche boutique fantasy simulation battle, and the third in the domestic Dragon Knights.
2 Comparison of the graphics performance of the three games:
Fantasy Sim: 9 points
Fire Emblem: 7 points
Knights of the Dragon: 7 points
Having said that the overall impact, let's take a look at the game's first impression: graphics.
In this field, the unique painting style of Tomoshi Kashihara in the dream simulation battle has become the first without exception.
If there is one word to describe the style of fantasy simulation warfare, it is gorgeous.
The visual performance of the fantasy simulation battle, especially the standing portrait, can be said to be the pinnacle of the 2D era. If you want to use three words to describe the picture of dream simulation warfare, it is sophistication, luxury and Japanese western magic.
It is precisely because of tomoshi Kihara's illustration that the fantasy simulation battle has become the most special wargame game with the most special style. The first impression of many players on the fantasy simulation battle is this extremely gorgeous illustration style and beautiful male and female protagonists.
In contrast, the picture of the Flame Emblem is still good in the later stage, but the too childlike and inconsistent style of the Q version makes the picture expression of the Flame Emblem one level worse than the dream simulation battle.
From 2D to 3D, from Q version to realism. Although the picture effect of the Flame Emblem was not bad later, the lack of style and quality was only a second-rate effect after all, which restricted it, so that the artistic performance of the Flame Emblem was always one of the shortcomings of the game.
The shortcomings of the Fire Emblem are precisely the strengths of the Yanlong Knights, although it has been a work of nearly 30 years ago, but the artistic style of the Yanlong Knights is very impressive.
If the dream simulation battle is a gorgeous Japanese Western magic wind, then the Yanlong Knights are the oriental unrestrained magic wind with a certain Korean style.
The giant fire dragon that exceeded the screen, the thunderous knight axe and the sword Saint Ju who tore through the sky like lightning combined.
The artistic effects in the Yanlong Knights, although rough, are full of great boldness and boldness.
I don't know how many people were attracted by this art style of the Dragon Knights, and thus began their adventure with Thor.
Unfortunately, the absence of the Knights of the Yanlong For nearly 30 years has made it impossible for its style to be reproduced in front of us through modern art means.
On the whole, in terms of screen expression, the Dream Simulation Battle > Flame Emblem = Fire Knights.
Combined score: Fire Emblem 17 points, Fantasy Sim 16 points, Fire Dragon Knights 13 points.
3 Comparison of the system gameplay of the three games:
Fantasy Sim: 6 points
Fire Emblem: 9 points
Knights of the Dragon: 8 points
Having said that, let's look at the core essence of the game - gameplay.
After all, no matter how good the picture is, it is also a means to attract players, and if you really want players to like and keep playing, the game's systematic gameplay is the key.
In this dimension, there is a clear difference in whether the system gameplay of the three games is fun or not.
As the originator of similar games, Fire Emblem is naturally the richest and most fun in terms of system gameplay.
From the early years of the original people can not be resurrected, to the classic cavalry lancers and archer restraints, to the unique flying soldier system and a huge and complex transfer system, and even the chaotic attribute improvement mechanism and arena challenges, thieves steal treasure chests have become the model of later game imitation.
The reason why the Fire Emblem can make people play for decades does not feel outdated. This complex but very fun underlying gameplay system is the most fascinating place.
The reason why the Yanlong Knights 2 makes everyone remember so deeply is also inseparable from the unrestrained cultivation system in the game and the richest hidden gameplay system.
In particular, the class system of the Dragon Knights can be called the ceiling of the professional gameplay in the wargame game - to this day, I am afraid that many people remember Thor's bravery, many powerful dragon knights led by Yares and the amazing tricks of the sword Saint Miti.
As for the fantasy simulation battle, although a unique character + mercenary battle mechanism has been created, to be honest, from the perspective of the game system alone, the fantasy simulation battle is a relatively poor of the three games.
Although the mercenary system is very innovative, the overly bloated operation and the unbalanced balance of the classes in the later stage make the fantasy simulation battle inferior to the other two games in terms of actual operation gameplay.
From the 3rd generation onwards, after 3, 4, 5 generations of works for the improvement of the combat system also shows that this set of gameplay even the developer Messia himself feels that there are still many shortcomings, but in the process of change, the developer has made more mistakes. Let the gameplay system become the short board of the Fantasy Simulation Battle series.
If the other two works, everyone is still concerned about the team's professional collocation, considering the position and strategic relationship after the battle. Then in this regard, there are almost no points that can make players remember.
To sum up, the Fire Emblem continues to dominate, the Fire Dragon Knights' gameplay system is also good, and the fantasy simulation battle can only be said to be barely OK.
Combined score: Fire Emblem 26 points, Fantasy Sim 22 points, Dragon Knights 21 points.
4 Comparison of the plot characters of the three games:
Fantasy Sim: 9 points
Fire Emblem: 8 points
Knights of the Dragon: 9 points
Finally, the most attractive thing about these three games.
In a strategy wargame, the maximum point is in the plot character setting. After all, there must be a grand world view, and many character group portraits to support the entire game system.
In this regard, the three games can be said to have their own wins.
The worldview as a whole is the grandest, thousands of years old and with a national heritage, and the political background even exposes the darkness of human nature is the Emblem of Fire. In particular, the jihad genealogy is not an exaggeration to say that it is an epic work.
The problem, however, is that the worldview is too grand and there are too many characters, which also leads to not many characters that the player can remember later in the Fire Emblem. Instead, it limits the upper limit of the game.
At this point, the Dream Simulation And the Fire Dragon Knights have done a very good job.
The Green Dragon Knights Leon, the Last of Light, Elvin, the Eternal Grand Mage Jessica, the most unreliable prince Thor, the sleeping Yuni for a thousand years, and the most loyal and powerful robot Gaia.
The most successful aspect of fantasy simulation warfare and the Dragon Knights is that in addition to the world view and group portrait, it also gives the most critical love story and character personality to the key characters.
Therefore, in these two works, the protagonist of Dream Simulation Battle 2 and the protagonist of Dragon Knights 2 are firmly remembered by players for decades without fading.
So on the whole, although the plot of the Fire Emblem is indeed very strong, the character shaping is still slightly inferior to the Dream Simulation Battle and the Fire Dragon Knights.
Combined score: Fire Emblem 34 points, Fantasy Sim 31 points, Fire Dragon Knights 30 points.
5 Balance comparison of the three games:
Fantasy Sim: 7 points
Fire Emblem: 9 points
Knights of the Dragon: 8 points
Finally, let's take a look at the balance of the three games. This determines the inconspicuousness of the lower limit of the game.
Here, the Dream Simulator is once again bowing to the wind.
After all, everyone plays fantasy simulation battles in order to see the multi-line plot ending and enjoy the sense of mowing brought by more powerful classes.
So no one cares whether the balance of the fantasy simulation is good or not, and they don't have to care about this.
The Fire Emblem and the Fire Dragon Knights are in the same vein, both of which are known for their accurate positioning on the battlefield and rich character development strategies.
So we can see a lot, about the Fire Emblem series of Raiders Coat of Arms; and the Dragon Knights' transfer experience and so on.
However, there are very few articles on the analysis of combat balance related to fantasy simulation warfare. This also illustrates this from the side.
Final combined score: Fire Emblem 43 points, Fantasy Sim 38 points, Dragon Knights 38 points.
6 Final evaluation and conclusion:
From the above several angles of analysis, we can see that the final evaluation of the three strategy wargame series is as follows:
1st place: Fire Emblem series, the final score of 43 points.
The best strategy wargame originator is also a series of works, the most influential, and the most works. The gameplay system is very rigorous, the plot world is grand, but the threshold for getting started is slightly higher, and the character building is average.
Second place: Fantasy Sim Series, the final score is 38 points.
The artistic performance is very prominent, and the plot and character setting are also ceiling level. But the system gameplay is lagging behind, and the game has always been in the niche category.
Tied for second place: the Dragon Knights series, with a final score of 38 points.
Highly stylized art performance and gameplay content, a rare oriental plot experience masterpiece. Unfortunately, the number of works is too small and the influence is insufficient.
So, do you agree with the above final evaluation results and conclusions?
If you prefer a series, feel free to leave a comment below and see in your heart that series is the pinnacle of the real strategy game.