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Let's liven up this slow news day with a list-type feature that'll give you some ideas for stuff to play over the weekend. Here's a collection of what I think are probably the nine best turn-based strategy games (defined broadly) that you can play on you DS. So, really, the best DS and GBA titles in the strategy genre without significant real-time elements. Also, it has to be out already, since& why recommend games you won't be able to buy for a month?

To keep this list interesting, I decided that popular multi-game franchises should be represented with one title, generally whatever came first. You may consider most other games in that series recommended by association. If I had done otherwise, this list would be half Advance Wars and half Fire Emblem, and recommending things that are already popular isn't too much fun. Instead, I hope you read this and learn about at least one portable game you hadn't otherwise considered playing.

Feel free to speak up in the comments to defend a favorite I left out, or disparage a game that you think doesn't really belong here. "Best" is, after all, highly subjective.

Front Mission

The DS Front Mission is a remake of the original 1995 title produced by Squaresoft for the SNES (well, Super Famicom, but same difference). The market for "thinky" genres like strategy and RPGs on consoles back then was pretty bad, and Squaresoft didn't bother trying to localize it. Despite that, Front Mission spawned a fan favorite series of sci-fi mecha-themed strategy RPGs that sprawled across several systems before finally appearing in the US with Front Mission 3 on the PlayStation. This is actually the fourth iteration of the original Front Mission title, following a Wonderswan remake in 2002 and a PlayStation remake in 2003, though it's the first time this particular game has appeared in the US in any form.

Taken on its own merits as an introduction to the Front Mission series, it works quite well. The storyline is dense, political, and unusually mature as Square's titles go. The setting is the sort of near-future alternate Earth that mecha anime loves, and in general Front Mission is a love letter to that particular genre. The heart of the gameplay is acquiring and customizing mechs called Wanzers, a highly unfortunate portmanteau of "walking" and "panzer". Clear missions, see what plot you unlock, fine-tune your mechs, see if the next mission hoses you. You can opt to target different parts of a unit's body, a feature other mecha strategy titles frequently lack, and what weapons you put on your mecha is actually quite meaningful.

Yggdra Union

There are lots of "turn-based strategy" games that are really just electronic CCG simulations, and I assure you that almost all of them are completely horrible. The one I would really recommend trying out is Yggdra Union, which offers enough story and tactical depth to make an exercise in card-acquiring and deck-building fun. You can only attack once per round, but where Yggdra Union gets interesting is in the Union system, the ability to organize ever-increasing numbers of units into a single group that acts together. Managing other assorted stats and gauges lets you use card skills from your deck, and increase damage to truly ridiculous levels once youve got a strong deck. The story features multiple endings, a favorite feature of mine, and offers an interesting examination of the concept of justice.

Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon

Roughly, Resurrection of the Dark Dragon is a 2003 Game Boy Advance remake of the Sega Genesis game Shining Force, originally released in 1992 and currently available on the Virtual Console. The story is pretty simple, about an evil dragon threatening the world and guy who needs to schlep off and kill it, but there's plenty of political drama and great characters along the way to keep you interested. Shining Force was an early RPG and so the combat system is very basic tactical stuff. You get 33 characters, including a crazy card-using guy who's broken as hell, and can pretty much tailor you game to your personal tastes by leveling up the guys you like. Your first play is always pretty easy, but you can choose to make things harder on replays.

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

DS extensions of big multiplatform releases are, 99% of the time, completely horrible. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is in the rocktacular 1% that is defiantly awesome. Much like the other Civilization Revolution SKUs, the DS version is about bringing Sid Meier's classic Civilization PC title to new consoles in a way that helps the gameplay make sense. For the DS SKU, this means simplifying and automating certain classic Civilization functions, and then letting players choose to play with the stylus, the buttons, or a mix of both (my preference). From there, well, it's a portable Civilization game! You get to pick one of fourteen starting civilizations and race to become the best in the world using a variety of different methods. Sure, you can opt to become a military badass, but you can also opt to advance your technology, become an economic powerhouse, or a mecca for arts and culture. Best of all, this gameplay style supports multiplayer over Wi-Fi Connection, letting you opt to endlessly battle it out for national supremacy with your friends.

Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2

I'm a huge fan of the Super Robot Taisen games in all their incarnations, and the GBA happens to play host to the only two games from the expansive series that are available in English. Now, for most of the big strategy franchises I'm about to discuss, I recommend the first game in the series as the jumping-on point... but in the case of the Original Generation games, you should really start with the second one. Yeah, you won't know what's going on, but having played the first game doesn't make things less confusing. Just ignore the goofy mish-mash of the plot and enjoy some of the best graphics the GBA ever managed and some well-designed tactical gameplay. Where Front Mission takes on the grim n' gritty side of the mecha genre, Original Generation 2 is more a take on the candy-colored, over-the-top superheroic style of mecha story. Customizing your mecha only matters to a certain degree, but customizing your pilots and upgrading your weapons is far more important. Enjoy some silly robots, good jokes, and on the whole, a game that never takes itself too seriously.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

It took me years to warm up to the FFT Advance games, since I went into them under the unfortunate delusion they'd have something to do with the original Final Fantasy Tactics, or at least with Ivalice. This attitude is almost sure to lead to disillusionment, so I suggest playing the Advance games while ignoring the goofy, kinda terrible storylines and worldsetting as much as possible. The gameplay is what's golden here. You have tons of classes to work with, plenty of skills to mix and match onto units, and Laws can add good spice to the game once you get used to them. You can also play around with the possibilities of multiple races and their specific jobs, too. The high-quality sprite graphics are a joy by themselves, and overall there's some fun monster-stomping to be had here.

Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis

Now, if you want to play a game where the story is worth caring about and the challenge factor is significant (but not overwhelming), you want to play Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis. It's a bit simplified from other Tactics Ogre games, instead playing out quite a bit more like the original Final Fantasy Tactics. This method of play forces you to focus on a maximum of roughly eight units at a time for your story missions. You can use humans, monsters, undead, whatever you can acquire, and you've got multiple endings to unlock. The story is really noteworthy, a rich brew of national politics and betrayal with just enough of the supernatural involved to make the proceedings really feel like high fantasy. The graphics aren't super-impressive, but the depth of gameplay there is a testament to the potential of the Game Boy Advance.

Fire Emblem

The first Fire Emblem game to make its way to the US was technically the seventh in the series and has a terribly complicated relationship to the continuity of the other games, but whatever. If this is the first game in the series that you play, then you'll probably be hooked and go seeking out the others. It helps that this game has some tutorial modes to help a new player out, something present in later games but not quite so comprehensive. This is the rare game that does just about everything right. The difficulty is in a sweet spot between too easy and too much (no, I don't think perma-death is too much), you've got a ridiculous number of classes to play around with, and a really interesting level-up system. There's plenty of extra content to unlock and the support system is great for rewarding you for finding a style that works for you and pursuing it. Fire Emblem can spoil you for other, lesser strategy titles, so you may not want to play this one first.

Advance Wars

There are some notable similarities between Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. They both have "rock-paper-scissors" elements built into their strategy, which certain units always having an advantage over other types of units. The main difference between the two is tone. Fire Emblem takes itself terribly seriously (but does usually have a pretty good plot), while Advance Wars is always an incredibly goofy game. Even the recent "dark, gritty" Advance Wars for the DS is, in fact, remarkably silly. While you'll read all the dialogue in Fire Emblem, you'll skip a lot in Advance Wars, but that's okay. In terms of pure gameplay value, Advance Wars is amazingly rich. The multiplayer aspects are hard to enjoy these days, but start with the single-player campaign of the first game and go through them in order. You won't regret it. The importance of terrain and the radically different abilities of units in Advance Wars make the gameplay unusually nuanced. Choice of CO for your army is radically important, with some CO powers breaking the game wide open.

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