Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga

I've played through the campaign several times, trying different protagonists, tactics, squad composition, etc. to see if they made much of a difference. Yes and no. It's not a great or particularly polished game, but it's enjoyable for what it is; a fantasy army planning and grid-based combat tactics game. Similar to Shining Force but with customizable squads instead of individuals. I'd recommend it, but not for everyone. Good: • Many combinations of army units that are more or less effective against other types of units • Overall story isn't horrible • Strategy needed around positioning, how to move and support armies across the battlefield, etc • Steady progression as you find/earn/unlock unit types, specific heros, and unlock a passive skilltreet that efffects bonus' and special abilities • Not quite Deep, but not shallow Inventory/Relic system to mix/match buffs and bonuses • Satisfying battle animations • Decent replayability if you make a point to try different squad types and combos, which you can't easily do in a single playthrough Not so great: • 100% linear battle/scenario order only interupted by optional 'arenas' you can run for additional XP and items • The art style is very offputting in some cases, and the writing is cheesy at best. • The 'Talk' function to develop relations between combat scenarios is largely pointless and has no variability • Supremely grindy towards the end if you want to ever 'evolve' units or fully fill certain squads combos • Final battle is laughably easy, even on harder difficulties due to how certain ranged units work • Unit planning is constantly plagued by not enough 'Leadership' skill to add more unit types to a squad. Never feels satisfying, and even at the last fight there's a feeling that you could have done more. • UI can be a royal pain when you have a ton of items, units, and squads to managed in late-game • Many Quality-Of-Life issues with inventory management, graphicly disinguishable special leaders,

This game brings back memories of Sega Genesis and SNES, (titles such as Tactics Ogre and Gemfire come to mind). But what does that mean for anyone but the old timers? Graphically we’re talking about RPG maker quality, nothing to really wow you, but passable for a game like this. The concept itself is actually very nice, having the player nurture and deploy multiple squads against the AI on a series of maps. But make no mistake, tactics are superficial at best. For example, a player can execute flanking and rear attacks, but they offer no additional benefit, the odds are still calculated as a frontal assault. Maybe this was intentional as the AI is not anything to brag about. It will look for your weakest unit and target that, regardless if it exposes itself to catastrophic counter-strikes. In all honesty, elevation and terrain are the only factors that will increase/decrease your chance of success. The UI is…horrible, the story un-imaginative; and the lack of an editor readily apparent. Between, the typos, missing text, etc. sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly what the game is trying to say. Obviously the most fun aspect of the game is leveling up your characters, creating squads, and optimizing them. But even here, that horrendous UI will quickly make what should be an enjoyable task, an utter chore. A game with some interesting ideas that were executed poorly, one where an additional two months of development, (as well as a half decent writer), would have made a world of difference, “Symphony of war” is a title with little replay value and many lost opportunities. If you must try it, at least wait for a discount. That said, I want to see more from Dancing Dragon Games, as there is certainly talent on that team.

When I was young, I was lucky enough to be able to play the original Ogre Battle on SNES. It's combination of strategy, gorgeous pixel art, and esotericly unexplained mechanics instantly made me fall in love with it. Decades later we have Symphony of War. While it seems a lot of people are familiar with the Fire Emblem style tactical map (definitely not a bad thing), it's the actual battles that take inspiration from Ogre Battle in that individual units are formed into squads which automatically perform their actions. It's a simple yet satisfying system that sees you caring for your units both on an individual and larger scale level, as squads with different unit compositions will synergize is different ways. I could say more, but it's a pain to type this on my phone, so I will leave this review as a definite positive in my book (and hope there aren't too many spelling errors).

40 hours of campaign? It took me 52 hours, and there is more army combination I want to try dam! Where should I get the time, to finish this game again on Warlord difficulty? I loved it, it took me away for an entire week, 2 hours before bed, and 1 hour at lunch. I had it installed on my laptop at work and I played this game in every possible moment. I want another one! I think my character died by Snu Snu with Diana. 10/10 === Update === Over 100 hours now, the game has been completed on warlord difficulty. I see, they sell it on gog.com too. I'm happy to repurchase it... Why does no one tell me where DLC came out? August 28, 2023 It's October now! I have a new reason to replay this game again! What a great Birthday gift!