Game Review of Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen (SNES)

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen is a strategy game for the SNES reminiscent of the contemporary Final Fantasy: Tactics for the PSX and the modern GBA Tactics Ogre games. The game was released by Enix in 1993, but I didn't manage to get a copy of it until two years later, on account of it being so rare in the USA.While not the first of its type, Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen was one of my first experiences with this genre of game, and I loved every second of it.

The storyline unfolds throughout the game and is absolutely wonderful. Without giving it away, it is very similar to that of Final Fantasy tactics in the way it plays out. You have to play it to enjoy it fully. The gameplay is also very similar, involving tiled, turn-based playing that consists of attacking, countering, defending, and the like.

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen plays a bit like chess in that you move the characters which act as your pieces. The difference with this game, however, is that it's more real-time than FF:Tactics. It's basically a click-to-walk game, comparable to the likes of modern-day RuneScape.

In Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, the graphics are rather pretty. Everything is relatively smooth, and the 3D isometric view is quite nice and suits the genre very well. The game utilizes the SNES "mode 7" feature very well, and enjoys quite a niche it has created.

My favorite aspect of this game, if I have to analyze it piece-by-piece, is the audio. The music suits war perfectly, and really serves to set the environment and the pace of the game. If anything, pay attention to the audio in this Super Nintendo classic.

Replay value is absolutely exquisite. Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen involves a "reputation" system that reflects your overall playing ability, instead of a simple leveling up of characters and a progression through the storyline, and that kept me coming back in and of itself. Alignment is also another feature that adds to replay value, as it creates countless dynamics that can keep you coming back for ultimately different "endings" to the game.

Cumulatively, I'd give Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen a 5/5. This game is simply wonderful. The combination of the graphics, the type of game (which has become a genre in and of itself), the micromanagement required, the interface, the music (oh, the music!), and the replay value keep me coming back for more!