Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko's Choice

I finished this game 5 years after buying it. What a great sequel to the blades of shogun. These type of games take me to my childhood when I used to play commandos and desperados. Man such a shame that the studio closed down and will not continue this gem, TO anyone who is on the fence or have not played isometric real time strategy games, you don't know what you are missing go play this and the original blades of shogun. Enjoy the great gameplay and mazing storytelling.

I've never played any of the beloved classics of the real-time tactics genre (or stealth-strategy as Mimimi so elegantly rebranded it), so my only experience of it has been through Mimimi's catalogue, but man... these kinds of games scratch an itch in my brain like nothing else. There is NOTHING more satisfying than looking at a huge map of enemies and overlapping viewcones and breaking it down into micro-problems, utilizing and synergizing your particular team's toolkit to get the job done without ever being caught. This is, above all, a puzzle game with a LOT of freedom to choose how you reach the objectives. I'm a huge sucker for the badge/medal system too. Assuming you thoroughly enjoy the gameplay loop of Shadow Tactics, these act as incentives to replay missions and achieve all kinds of challenges, some of which can be particularly brutal. One might demand that you touch no bushes, never enter water (in levels where entering the water gives you a reasonable edge), or even outright not select a particular character in your team. The story's quite nice, and you really grow fond of the cast of characters here. Their abilities really feel like their own. Takuma, for example, is the only character incapable of directly eliminating enemies, but he is a strong support with his trusty sniper rifle and adorable tanuki companion Kuma, whom he can send out as a very reliable distraction. I can't get enough of the setting (Japan's early Edo period, 1600s) and the hand-crafted maps that are on display. It's quite a gorgeous game and it has a very charming art style! I'm not going to be intentionally dense and not pretend why most people give this game a pass. It's not an easy game, but it's not BRUTALLY difficult either. All you really need is patience, the ability to plan, and most of all, EMBRACE the quicksave system. You shouldn't feel ashamed for "savescumming" as it is necessary for the inherent trial-and-error gameplay. The developers WANT you to experiment, mess up, see what works and what doesn't. At the end of the day, though, it's a niche genre that doesn't appeal to everyone, but the lack of popularity for these kinds of incredible games and the subsequent shutting down of Mimimi games is genuinely heartbreaking because I am beyond impressed at what they've crafted here. Aiko's Choice in particular is basically just more Shadow Tactics content but with three new missions (two of which are badgeless mini-missions that serve as interludes and a final prologue). It's a prequel but I wouldn't recommend playing it first unless you're already familiar with the genre because these levels are about as difficult as some of the first game's later ones. I personally enjoy chasing achievements so the fact that there's a separate "smaller" version of the same game complete with its own series of achievements gives me a lot to work toward and gives me a reason to continue playing. If you enjoyed Blades of the Shogun, this is a no-brainer.

In a category of their own [b]Among the best[/b] <- Very good Good Fun Average Didn't like