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What are the best strategy games for the Nintendo DS/2DS/3DS?

5

Options
Considered

5

User
Recs.

Dec 9, 2019

Last
Updated

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5 Games Considered

Best strategy games for the Nintendo DS/2DS/3DS	Price	Platforms	Genre
-- Fire Emblem Awakening	$39.99	-	-
-- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker	$34.00	Nintendo 3DS	Tactical Role-Playing, Visual Novel
-- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor	$22.95	Nintendo DS	Tactical Role-Playing, Visual Novel
-- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2	$88.99	Nintendo DS	Tactical Role-Playing, Visual Novel
-- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked	$21.99	Nintendo 3DS	Tactical Role-Playing, Visual Novel

Fire Emblem Awakening

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Relationship Mechanic adds depth

Units next to each other on the battlefield will support and assist their allies. This builds relationships between the characters that improve their ability to support each other and also unlock dialogues between the characters outside of battle. This adds a lot of depth to the characters and their personalities and gives you more reason to care about the characters and your units. See More

Top Con

Unable to repeat missions

You are unable to repeat main story missions once you have completed them. This can be frustrating if you want another go at things. See More

Oliver Law's Experience

A great introduction to the Fire Emblem series and a fantastic strategy RPG. There is a ton of customisation and content available in the game and I strongly recommend it to any 3DS owner. See More

Top Pro

Very customizable

Not only is ones troops customizable through their looks, armor and weapon choices but there are many aspects of the game itself that can be changed such as the voice work or skipping cut scenes. See More

Top Pro

Interesting use of relationships

Users can pair certain male female characters in battle to improve their relationship. Once it reaches a certain point the characters can breed offspring who then can be used as more troops in the team. This makes for an ingenious way to build up ones roster as well as adds a relationship aspect to the story and gameplay. See More

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker

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Tense and strategic turn-based battles in an isometric view

Just like the first game, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 is full of challenging battles that really make you think. You have your standard human party members who make up units of teams along the square grids of the battlefield, with each human character taking along two demons to act as their party members. Moving across the grids in an isometric view, you engage tough enemy demons in turn-based battles where you work to exploit their elemental weaknesses or land critical hits, both of which reward you with an extra turn. And there's always the danger that you may get surrounded and overwhelmed by the enemies, most of whom hit pretty hard and can easily give you a tough time if you're not careful. See More

Top Con

The art style doesn't quite look right

The anime art style for the characters has a few weird hang-ups. The sharp, colorful aesthetic would have been nicer if most characters didn't look cross-eyed most of the time. Some of the female characters, like Io, one of the core cast members, have such strange, gravity-defying breasts that don't look natural at all. And because the story plays out like a visual novel, you have to see the character's 2D art up close each time they speak, you can't really ignore how the art looks. See More

Specs

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing, Visual Novel

Top Pro

You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. Quite early into the game, you get access to a demon auction system where you buy new demons to join your party. You can then fuse them together to create stronger allies with better abilities, mixing and matching demons as you need to take on any challenge that the game throws at you. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

Top Con

The main screen is the smaller, bottom one instead of the top one

For some reason, the main screen where all of the gameplay happens is the bottom one, which is smaller than the top screen on the Nintendo 3DS. You only use the top screen to look at the map or the enemy demons' stats and weaknesses. It's an odd design decision that can take some getting used to. See More

Top Pro

Suspenseful story about saving your friends' lives during an apocalypse in Tokyo

This time around, Devil Survivor 2 focuses more on the bonds you share with your party members, keeping the stakes high throughout your journey. You start off by getting a mysterious message on your phone, showing you exactly how someone will die in the future unless you manage to save them. The toughest part is that it's possible for you to fail and lose party members entirely, making you lose out on one less person to use in battle. All of this happens during a sudden appearance of demons in Tokyo, where you obtain the power to summon and control them as you will. Using your demons in fights to help save your friends is at the core of the game's story. See More

Top Pro

Record Breaker version features a few additions over the original release

The Record Breaker re-release of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 has a few new features over the original game. They added in voice acting, some new demons to collect, the option to change the difficulty setting, and a lengthy new section of the story that you can access whenever you want without needing to start a new game. With these additions, this is easily the best and definitive edition of Devil Survivor 2. See More

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

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Tense and strategic turn-based battles in an isometric view

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is full of challenging battles that really make you think. You have your standard human party members who make up units of teams along the square grids of the battlefield, with each human character taking along two demons to act as their party members. Moving across the grids in an isometric view, you engage tough enemy demons in turn-based battles where you work to exploit their elemental weaknesses or land critical hits, both of which reward you with an extra turn. And there's always the danger that you may get surrounded and overwhelmed by the enemies, most of whom hit pretty hard and can easily give you a tough time if you're not careful. See More

Top Con

The art style doesn't quite look right

The anime art style for the characters has a few weird hang-ups. The sharp, colorful aesthetic would have been nicer if most characters didn't look cross-eyed most of the time. Some of the female characters, like Yuzu, one of the core cast members, have such strange, gravity-defying breasts that don't look natural at all. And because the story plays out like a visual novel, you have to see the character's 2D art up close each time they speak, you can't really ignore how the art looks. See More

Specs

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing, Visual Novel

Top Pro

You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. Quite early into the game, you get access to a demon auction system where you buy new demons to join your party. You can then fuse them together to create stronger allies with better abilities, mixing and matching demons as you need to take on any challenge that the game throws at you. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

Top Con

Only playing the game once doesn't give you the full experience

If you only play through a single one of your companions' routes to the end, you won't see all that the game has to offer. It's not exactly a complete experience to just witness a single ending and then call it a day. Playing through the game multiple times to see everyone's routes is the way to see everything, but some players may not want to go through the effort of doing this. See More

Top Pro

Interesting story about an outbreak of demons in modern Tokyo

Right off the bat, the story begins with some mysterious events within Tokyo, with demons appearing out of nowhere and murdering the populace. You and your group of high school-aged friends get help from the main character's cousin, who gives the group cryptic details on how to survive with the help of handheld COMP devices that look like Nintendo DSs. These comps allow you and your friends to summon and control your own demons to protect yourself from the invasion, with Tokyo locked down to quarantine everyone and isolate the demon threat. Watching the characters grow from powerless and fearful of the invasion into skilled demon-users fighting to survive is a great experience. See More

Top Con

The main screen is the smaller, bottom one instead of the top one

For some reason, the main screen where all of the gameplay happens is the bottom one, which is smaller than the top screen on the Nintendo DS. You only use the top screen to look at the map or the enemy demons' stats and weaknesses. It's an odd design decision that can take some getting used to. See More

Top Pro

Your choices lead to multiple different endings that shape the fates of those around you

Among your group of friends, you can choose one of them to focus on for a single playthrough to see how things turn out as the story progresses. This intersects with a radical religious group coming to power by spreading their own gospel about how the people can be saved, exploring the Law alignment in one of the best ways across the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. On the other end of the spectrum, there's a war going on between the higher echelon of demons, which you have the power to get yourself involved in if you so choose, instead focusing on the Chaos alignment in an intriguing way. Depending on which of your party members' routes you follow, they may take certain actions involving the religious group or the war among the demons, in-turn influencing what happens to Tokyo once the story is over. See More

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Tense and strategic turn-based battles in an isometric view

Just like the first game, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 is full of challenging battles that really make you think. You have your standard human party members who make up units of teams along the square grids of the battlefield, with each human character taking along two demons to act as their party members. Moving across the grids in an isometric view, you engage tough enemy demons in turn-based battles where you work to exploit their elemental weaknesses or land critical hits, both of which reward you with an extra turn. And there's always the danger that you may get surrounded and overwhelmed by the enemies, most of whom hit pretty hard and can easily give you a tough time if you're not careful. See More

Top Con

The art style doesn't quite look right

The anime art style for the characters has a few weird hang-ups. The sharp, colorful aesthetic would have been nicer if most characters didn't look cross-eyed most of the time. Some of the female characters, like Io, one of the core cast members, have such strange, gravity-defying breasts that don't look natural at all. And because the story plays out like a visual novel, you have to see the character's 2D art up close each time they speak, you can't really ignore how the art looks. See More

Specs

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing, Visual Novel

Top Pro

You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. Quite early into the game, you get access to a demon auction system where you buy new demons to join your party. You can then fuse them together to create stronger allies with better abilities, mixing and matching demons as you need to take on any challenge that the game throws at you. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

Top Con

The main screen is the smaller, bottom one instead of the top one

For some reason, the main screen where all of the gameplay happens is the bottom one, which is smaller than the top screen on the Nintendo DS. You only use the top screen to look at the map or the enemy demons' stats and weaknesses. It's an odd design decision that can take some getting used to. See More

Top Pro

Suspenseful story about saving your friends' lives during an apocalypse in Tokyo

This time around, Devil Survivor 2 focuses more on the bonds you share with your party members, keeping the stakes high throughout your journey. You start off by getting a mysterious message on your phone, showing you exactly how someone will die in the future unless you manage to save them. The toughest part is that it's possible for you to fail and lose party members entirely, making you lose out on one less person to use in battle. All of this happens during a sudden appearance of demons in Tokyo, where you obtain the power to summon and control them as you will. Using your demons in fights to help save your friends is at the core of the game's story. See More

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Tense and strategic turn-based battles in an isometric view

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is full of challenging battles that really make you think. You have your standard human party members who make up units of teams along the square grids of the battlefield, with each human character taking along two demons to act as their party members. Moving across the grids in an isometric view, you engage tough enemy demons in turn-based battles where you work to exploit their elemental weaknesses or land critical hits, both of which reward you with an extra turn. And there's always the danger that you may get surrounded and overwhelmed by the enemies, most of whom hit pretty hard and can easily give you a tough time if you're not careful. See More

Top Con

The art style doesn't quite look right

The anime art style for the characters has a few weird hang-ups. The sharp, colorful aesthetic would have been nicer if most characters didn't look cross-eyed most of the time. Some of the female characters, like Yuzu, one of the core cast members, have such strange, gravity-defying breasts that don't look natural at all. And because the story plays out like a visual novel, you have to see the character's 2D art up close each time they speak, you can't really ignore how the art looks. See More

Specs

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing, Visual Novel

Top Pro

You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. Quite early into the game, you get access to a demon auction system where you buy new demons to join your party. You can then fuse them together to create stronger allies with better abilities, mixing and matching demons as you need to take on any challenge that the game throws at you. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

Top Con

Only playing the game once doesn't give you the full experience

If you only play through a single one of your companions' routes to the end, you won't see all that the game has to offer. It's not exactly a complete experience to just witness a single ending and then call it a day. Playing through the game multiple times to see everyone's routes is the way to see everything, but some players may not want to go through the effort of doing this. See More

Top Pro

Interesting story about an outbreak of demons in modern Tokyo

Right off the bat, the story begins with some mysterious events within Tokyo, with demons appearing out of nowhere and murdering the populace. You and your group of high school-aged friends get help from the main character's cousin, who gives the group cryptic details on how to survive with the help of handheld COMP devices that look like Nintendo DSs. These comps allow you and your friends to summon and control your own demons to protect yourself from the invasion, with Tokyo locked down to quarantine everyone and isolate the demon threat. Watching the characters grow from powerless and fearful of the invasion into skilled demon-users fighting to survive is a great experience. See More

Top Con

Some of the voice acting is grating

This Overclocked re-release could have done without some of the voice acting. Too many characters' lines sound staged, like they're clearly reading from a script. It's not particularly evocative or interesting to listen to, taking away from the whole experience. Some players might not mind the voice acting that much, though, but the problems are still too noticeable. See More

Top Pro

Your choices lead to multiple different endings that shape the fates of those around you

Among your group of friends, you can choose one of them to focus on for a single playthrough to see how things turn out as the story progresses. This intersects with a radical religious group coming to power by spreading their own gospel about how the people can be saved, exploring the Law alignment in one of the best ways across the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. On the other end of the spectrum, there's a war going on between the higher echelon of demons, which you have the power to get yourself involved in if you so choose, instead focusing on the Chaos alignment in an intriguing way. Depending on which of your party members' routes you follow, they may take certain actions involving the religious group or the war among the demons, in-turn influencing what happens to Tokyo once the story is over. See More

Top Con

The main screen is the smaller, bottom one instead of the top one

For some reason, the main screen where all of the gameplay happens is the bottom one, which is smaller than the top screen on the Nintendo 3DS. You only use the top screen to look at the map or the enemy demons' stats and weaknesses. It's an odd design decision that can take some getting used to. See More

Top Pro

Overclocked version features a few additions over the original release

The Overclocked re-release of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor has a few new features over the original game. They added in voice acting, some new demons to collect, the option to change the difficulty setting, and an eighth day with all new events to extend the original seven days that the story takes place across. With these additions, this is easily the best and definitive edition of Devil Survivor. See More

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