I guess, then, that now would be a bad time to mention that Ys seven and Ys I+II Chronicles has only been released in Japan, and Nihon Falcom has made no implication that they're going to release them in the United States.
They're great though, with rockin' soundtracks, as should be expected from any Nihon Falcom game.
More stuff to check out:
Fire Emblem: It's a lot more popular now than it used to be, but Fire Emblem is the grandpappy of the Strategy RPG. Its strongest features are its in-depth character development fueled by personal conversations that grow deeper the more you use characters in battle together, and its "permanent death" system, in which if a character dies, they're dead for good. No cloning shops or Star Atomizers for you! While at first, the fact that dead characters stay dead may seem like a flaw, I consider it a boon to the strategy RPG genre as a whole, in that it forces you to make tough decisions such as "do I start this battle over because this person died, or do I press forward without them?" It truly lets you care about the characters, and with the excellent writing and powerful emotional development of most characters throughout the series, that caring is more than just the pathetic "oh, my army isn't quite as powerful" type you'd normally get from such games.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Speaking of strategy games, this series has long been overlooked because of the sheer intellectual investment that needs to be placed into it, but once you're over that initial hump of "just
what am I supposed to be doing?" you'll find a strategy game steeped in depth and history, as it's based on the Three Kingdoms era of ancient China. My personal favourite in the series is Romance of the Three Kingdoms 3: Dragon of Destiny. Although nearly every option is abbreviated thanks to space, once the function of each option is learned, it quickly becomes a fun and addictive way to waste away a night or two taking over China.
Valis series: This is a side-scrolling action game series released on Genesis, TurboGrafx, and a few other (mostly Japanese) systems. It stars a schoolgirl who obtains a legendary sword and who must then go save the world. As you can probably imagine from a game series starring a Japanese schoolgirl who kicks bum, it's filled with a lot of "fanservice" moments. Either way, it's pretty fun and the games are just long enough so that they're enjoyable without dragging on too long and making their flaws (like the occasionally iffy controls) too noticeable or unbearable.
Once again, I'm trying hard to stick to games that aren't SUPER well known (and I was pretty hesitant to put Fire Emblem up there) so if I don't mention a game or series you love, don't hate me!
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