Best Warring Kingdoms RPG, Ranked

Summary

• Video games have showcased warring factions in an authentic way, offering exciting experiences for players first hand.

• Some games integrate war as a backdrop, while others make it a central gameplay feature; each offers a unique approach.

• Games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Fire Emblem and Triangle Strategy exemplify engaging storytelling and strategic gameplay in the war genre.

Game of Thrones redefined television when it premiered in the late 2000s and was carried over into the mid-2010s. It was exciting to see so many factions, nations and kingdoms fighting each other in a realistic way with any protagonist to be slaughtered. Before Game of Thronesvideo games had plenty of settings like these and they were often more exciting because players got to experience them firsthand.

Some games used combat storylines as a background while others incorporated the idea more into the game. There are plenty of new examples too, so let's go through the best and rank how well they handle everything from the stories to the gameplay.

7

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Resurrect the dead to find an endless war

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the only game in the series about a major conflict. The setting shows two nations fighting it: Keves and Agnus. It's a seemingly never-ending war and it's slowly revealed to be the case on an almost literal level. When people die on the battlefield, they are later resurrected through cloning.

Eventually, factions within these nations, led by Noah and Mio, slowly unravel the truth and try to fight back against the secret organization that controls both sides: Ouroboros. There are war scenes but there are never any major battles Xenoblade Chronicles 3 a good example but not an active one.

6

Bladestorm: The Hundred Year War

A Musou breaks out in Europe

• Released: 30 August 2007
• Developer: Omega Force
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Most fans of Musou games will be familiar Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors as Koei Tecmo and Omega Force helped produce quite a few of them. Bladestorm: The Hundred Year War is a more forgotten spinoff that dealt with the titular Hundred Years War between England and France. While there is a lot of hack-and-slash action, the gameplay is a bit more nuanced as generals can control groups of men and patrol the battlefield.

Of the many Musou games out there, this might help players feel the most like they're in the middle of a war because it's not just a one-man show via thousands of troops. Bladestorm: Nightmareto note, is a better version of this as it is both a remaster and a sequel.

5

Final Fantasy 16

Betrayal from within

Final Fantasy 16 is most Game of Thrones coded throughout the series. There are a bunch of warring nations all vying for power and the game begins with the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, The Crystalline Dominion, The Holy Empire of Sanbreque, The Dhalmekian Republic, The Kingdom of Waloed, and The Iron Kingdom all performing honorably.

Then the Grand Duchy of Rosaria is attacked, which was an inside job and thus threw the plot into full motion with Clive, the hero, seeking revenge against all who oppose him. Also, Clive loses his brother, Joshua, in the fight and the rest of the game is a big redemption arc as he uses his power from Ifrit to take revenge and free other nations from corruption.

4

The Sui Code

Building An Army From Scratch

The first two The Sui Code Games are good examples of PS1. From the beginning, The Sui Code allows players to build a rebellion within the Liberation Army. They start from scratch without many allies and their base is almost barren. Throughout the game, players can recruit over a hundred characters to take into battle or to station at the base as shopkeepers or innkeepers.

Most of the game is a classic turn-based RPG but there are sections where players will engage in large scale battles against thousands of Imperial army troops. Making the wrong move in these fights can even cause characters to succumb to permadeath, so the stakes can be high.

3

Fire emblem: Three houses

From school fights to continental wars

Each Fire emblem The game is about two or more warring kingdoms in some way. Fire emblem: Three houses is a good entry though as it gives players a variety of choices. The game begins in a military academy where the hero, Byleth, can face Claude of the Golden Deer and the Leicester Alliance, Dimitri of the Blue Lions and the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and Edelgard of the Black Eagles who serve the Adrestian Empire.

Whoever the players side with in the school will decide the rest of the game as a war will break out between all three nations after a time jump. Some battlefields even have players fighting both sides at the same time, which is unique to the series as are the branching stories.

2

Triangle strategy

A war over salt

Triangle strategy is another tactical RPG and it all starts with the neutral House Wolffort helping to broker a deal between nations to mine for salt. This pact is eventually withdrawn and war breaks out between the Kingdom of Glenbrook, the Grand Duchy of Aesfrost and the Holy State of Hyzante. Players take on the role of the new head of House Wolffort, Serenoa, who can choose who to side with and where to go during key scenes.

There are different endings and scenarios depending on how players do and there really is a real ending that highlights a big mastermind behind everything, which is better integrated than Fire emblem: Three houses. The tactical gameplay is engaging as are the characters players can recruit for their skirmishes along the way.

1

Unicorn Overlord

Bow down to Vanillaware's Freedom Fighter

Unicorn Overlord incorporates war into the game and story nicely. It begins with a kingdom falling under Queen Ilenia's rule and her son, Alain, fleeing to live another day. The game skips ten years when the Zenoir Empire has more or less taken over the world including the nations of Drakenhold, Elheim, Bastorias and Albion. Alain will find allies to help revive the greatness of his fallen kingdom and help free the rest of the world as well.

Unicorn Overlord is a combination of tactical RPG games and RTS games as players can set up troops and then they will participate in battles automatically when they transition to a conflict on the battlefield. It's one of the most ambitious Vanillaware games ever, showing the horrors of war alongside a positive message of uniting through diversity.