Tactics Ogre (PlayStation, 1998)

This is the grandaddy of them all, in my opinion. The extensive amounts of hidden items, weapons, armor, and spells are a treasure hunter's dream. For those of you who like fantasy RPG, you know what I am talking about. Those that don't or are unaware, listen up:

You get to control and develop your team of characters in turn-based, and progressively more difficult stage battles all along the Valeria map, following a very intense and interesting storyline, which allows you to follow one of three main paths, and allows for side quests, including the highly addictive and very fun H*ll Gate sidequest, which allows you to enter the gates of H*ll and travel through 100 levels filled with demons, ogres, gorgons, and other creatures from the netherworld, ultimately leading to the very bottom of H*ll gate, where you fight the master of necromancy and his summoned creatures, surrounded by fire and brimstone. But that's not even the end of the game!

You should seek to find all the hidden characters, seek to create at least one Lich (master undead wizard character) and an angel knight or two. The side quests, treasure hunts, and storylines, as well as the important characters make playing the game even more exciting than beating it. Which means you want to play it again.

Negatives? Training mode can get tedious. Look for a certain online strategy guide (easy to find) for tips on how to counter/skip this part.
The music could have been better done. So? Mute the game and play your favorite music as the background theme. It's not even that bad until you have heard it for a while. And there are a few typos in the game itself, which is odd considering how great the game is. The graphics aren't exactly amazing, but this game isn't about pretty pictures any more than any good strategy game is. You want pretty? They have some nice pretty games on the computer with less than half the appeal of this game, and zero of the replay value.

Highly addictive, easy to learn, fun for beginners, challenging for masters, and this game does provide hundreds of hours of play (if you aren't about rushing straight to the end), followed by hundreds more in replay.

Do yourself a favor, try this game out. If you like Final Fantasy Games, or are familiar with any of the Tactics Ogre series, or you like battling, or you like strategy/tactics, then try this game out. It's like chess, only with wizards and goblins and archers and variable height and terrain, with magic spells and hidden weapons and an excellent storyline. In other words, it's not like chess at all, except you have pieces you can move around. LOL.

You will find this game on eBay, because it's rare and dated. But worth at least $50, in my humble opinion. You will thank me after you have battled your way to the bottom of H*ll Gate! Don't expect FFX graphics, just superior gameplay. More addictive than any game I've ever played, and it is a cult classic/ fan favorite, if not a widely known big time hit.

Be sure to explore all the stroy routes, Law, Neutral, and Chaotic. That's 3 times the gameplay, and it gives you a chance to start over and build an even better attack team the second and third times.

Final quest? Figure out how to create godlike characters using a combination of undead/holy magic, and a hidden Dragon spell... That's all the hints you will get from me. Get this game, will ya?