[AnimeGamer]

6 Best Japanese RTS Games 2024

The 90s were truly an era of innovation and growth. Gaming as a medium took its modern shape in those formative years. Supporting this growth were developers who focused on making the games as optimized as possible. A feat that in the old days of megabyte RAM was not a luxury, but a necessity. One of the best genres to push optimization to the extreme was RTS. The massive armies and complex path mapping were some of the few areas requiring extreme precision and countless lines of code. In RTS specifically, the best games came from Japanese developers, who even now years after the glory days of RTS are as dedicated to the genre as before. Case and point are the following games which are the best RTS games to have come out of Japan in 2024.


Table of Contents

1. Touhou Empires
   
2. GrimGrimoire OnceMore
   
3. Star Maidens Chronicle: Definitive Edition
   
4. Lost Technology
   
5. SEIKEN-MANIFESTIA
   
6. The DioField Chronicle
   

Touhou Empires

Figure 1-1. Touhou Empires Cover Art

Calling Touhou a weird franchise would be the understatement of the year. Unlike many other long-running franchises, it has stayed consistent with its core system of games, and rarely does it ever branch out into new genres. But the rare few times it has ventured off the road of bullet hells, Touhou has created some of the best games of their respective genres. Now it seems RTS will also be joining that shortlist, as developers Neetpia have gained the go-ahead to make a proper RTS game that uses characters and even some mechanics from the mainline games. Not only is this great news for Touhou fans as they will have a whole new genre to interact with the characters they love, but it is also great news for RTS games. RTS games have on a bit of a downfall since the early 2010s but now with the implosion of the live service genre, we might finally see the legends arise yet again. Quite literally even, as Neetpia has also shown inspirations from classics such as Warcraft and Age of Empire. So without further ado, if you wish to be part of this genre renaissance, then do get the game on Steam as it is exclusive there.

For The Touhou Empires, You can visit the AEG Esports Tournaments to find out an esports tournament opportunity with a cash prize, or join the Discord to connect with multiplayer friends.

Figure 1-2. Touhou Empires Gameplay

GrimGrimoire OnceMore

Figure 2-1. GrimGrimoire OnceMore Cover Art

Real-Time-Strategy is a genre that has not always been able to be translated into console gaming, as the controls needed for it are more complex than what controllers were capable of. But it seems Vanillaware took that as a personal challenge and set out to make a game that not only provided players with the strategic depth of the PC games but also kept the ease of use provided by controllers. Their answer to this challenge was GrimGrimore, a game that in 2007 set waves throughout the RTS genre as its premise and controls were the most unique of its competition. Sadly it was soon forgotten as the target market of console gamers did not like it, but now that gamers have evolved to have finer tastes in games. Vanillaware has released the game with a fresh coat of paint for the Playstation and Nintendo platforms. Though this remaster isn’t only just about new graphics, as it also features all-new mechanics such as the strategic notebook and all-new grand spells. All of which add even more technical and mechanical depth to the game. So if you wish to embark on a game with high fantasy elements and a whole lot of strategy then this game is the one for you.

Figure 2-2. GrimGrimoire OnceMore Gameplay

Star Maidens Chronicle: Definitive Edition

Figure 3-1. Star Maidens Chronicle: Definitive Edition Cover Art

Last on the list we have a game that unlike other games in the RTS genre wears its inspiration like a badge of honor. Not only does it take inspiration from the core fundamental systems of the old classics. But it also takes inspiration from them in how to structure their game for the ease of the player. Which in turn creates more dedicated players and cements the name of the game in history, only to have the process repeat itself. This time around the game to follow this process is Star Maidens Chronicle, developed by PROJECT YNP is the most pure and unedited 90s RTS gaming experience gamers can get in the modern age. Even the games it was inspired from have in a sense abandoned their roots in favor of long-term monetization. But calling the game basic and boring would be a disservice to the baseline game mechanics in which players can lose themselves for hours. So if you wish to experience a blast from the past as they say, then do give Star Maidens Chronicles Definitive Edition a chance.

For Star Maidens Chronicle, You can visit the AEG Esports Tournaments to find out an esports tournament opportunity with a cash prize, or join the Discord to connect with multiplayer friends.

Figure 3-2. Star Maidens Chronicle: Definitive Edition Gameplay

Lost Technology

Figure 4-1. Lost Technology Cover Art

Next, we have a game developed in Japan and published by the master full indie game studio PLAYISM. Following the trend set by Japanese RTS and strategy, it is a game about war and the effects It has on the generations that come after. The game is none other than Lost Technology, which manages to merge a beautiful hand-drawn art style with RTS combat resulting in one of the best RTS on Steam right now. Starting with the story, the game tells the age-old tales of kingdoms clashing, but where it is different from other generic stories are the factions and the gameplay integration with the story. This is because each faction has a different perspective of the war and how it affects the people of the land. As for the integration of the gameplay, the developers managed to masterfully convey the feeling of each army via gameplay alone. For example, in countless overwhelming maps, the player will see his units lose morale and abandon the fight if the player is losing. In the opposite scenario if the player is winning the units will fight tooth in nail to secure victory. So why not give Lost Technology a try if you are in the mood for some classic RTS with quality-of-life features?

Figure 4-2. Lost Technology Gameplay

SEIKEN-MANIFESTIA

Figure 5-1. SEIKEN-MANIFESTIA Cover Art

SEIKEN-MANIFESTIA developed by the Japanese game studio “hikarumiwa” is a prime example of how the game design of RTS games is universal. Because the game was created to be a gacha game for Androids. But after it failed in the Android market the developers removed all the gacha mechanics from the game and repurposed it to be a single-player game. This was the best move they could do as the game is rated very positively on Steam resulting in high sales. The game at its core is quite different from its Android version, as the Steam version has a different end game, which allows the developers to balance enemies and maps to the player's specific level. As for the gameplay, it features an overworld map where the players will deploy their generals who happen to be cutely drawn girls. From there the girls will move all over the map to take land and defeat the enemy. So if you wish to see how games can adapt based on the player reception then look no further than SEIKEN-MANIFESTIA.

Figure 5-2. SEIKEN-MANIFESTIA Gameplay

The DioField Chronicle

Figure 6-1. The DioField Chronicle Cover Art

Last on the list we have a game from arguably the most famous Japanese game developer bar Nintendo, it is none other than Square Enix and their new game DioField Chronicles. But unlike their other games which are mostly RPGs or JRPGs, this game in question is an RTS title and one Square Enix seems to be quite proud of. This is due to the company's new goals to expand beyond the moniker of the best RPG maker. Of which the first step is a massive success as the game is not only a testament to the skill of the writing staff and the game designers. Both in terms of gameplay and narrative, DioField feels like it’s a mainline Final Fantasy game but with a far better combat system and more personalized objectives. DioField also features multiple new features and mechanics that give it more of a new-gen feel as compared to classic RTS games. So if you are in the mood for an RTS game with the story of Final Fantasy then DioField Chronicles is the game for you.

Figure 6-2. The DioField Chronicle Gameplay