There is something wonderfully satisfying about a good tactical RPG. You can have all the explosions, dramatic music and spectacular set pieces you like, but there is a particular thrill in surveying a battlefield, studying the pieces in front of you and realising you have spotted a solution nobody else could see. Superstar Strategy understands that feeling beautifully. It is a deliberately old-school tactical adventure that wears its 16-bit influences proudly, but beneath the retro presentation lies a surprisingly flexible combat system that gives you plenty of freedom to make your own plans, recover from mistakes and occasionally pull off the sort of victory that makes you sit back and think, “How on earth did I manage that?”
Inspired heavily by classic SEGA Genesis strategy games such as Shining Force, Superstar Strategy follows young fighter Eckhart and veteran warrior Tallon as they build a mercenary company and become caught up in events that could change the fate of an entire continent. It is a familiar setup, but there is something comforting about stepping into an RPG where the focus is firmly on gathering a group of distinctive heroes and throwing them into increasingly dangerous battles. The Nintendo Switch release is particularly well suited to the experience, giving this kind of bite-sized tactical thinking a lovely home on a handheld screen. It may have a rather straightforward name, but there is considerably more personality and tactical depth beneath the surface.
Building Your Mercenary Company
The journey begins with Eckhart and Tallon, but the real fun comes from watching the mercenary company grow. New companions join the group as the campaign progresses, each bringing their own abilities and battlefield role to the table. This is not simply collecting stronger versions of the same character, because the game’s units are deliberately designed to complement one another.
That variety becomes important almost immediately. A Champion can bully opponents around the battlefield by pushing and pulling them, while a Cavalier can use speed to strike an enemy before quickly moving out of danger. A Mage can prepare devastating traps, and there is also the wonderfully bizarre Vampire, who can steal an enemy’s life essence and transfer it to an ally. It is this kind of character design that gives Superstar Strategy its charm, because the units feel like individuals rather than interchangeable chess pieces.
As the campaign develops, building the right team becomes increasingly important. You may have a favourite character, but that does not necessarily mean they are the right choice for every mission. Learning to understand what each member of the company can contribute is a huge part of the game’s appeal, particularly when you start discovering combinations that make two characters far more effective together than they would ever be on their own.
Teamwork Makes The Difference
The game’s emphasis on complementary abilities is one of its strongest features. A well-planned combination of skills can completely change a battle, and the best moments often come from setting up a sequence of actions rather than simply attacking whatever enemy happens to be closest. One character might push an opponent into the perfect position for another to exploit, while a support ability can keep a vulnerable fighter alive long enough to deliver the decisive blow.
This creates a satisfying sense of experimentation. You begin a mission with an idea of what you want to do, only for the battlefield to throw something unexpected your way. Perhaps an enemy moves into a position you were not expecting, or one of your characters takes more damage than anticipated. Instead of simply restarting, you can often find another way through the situation by looking at your available abilities from a different angle.
That freedom is what separates Superstar Strategy from more rigid tactical experiences. The game gives you rules and systems, but it then encourages you to bend them to your advantage. When a carefully constructed combination works exactly as planned, there is a wonderful little rush of satisfaction because you know the game did not simply hand you the victory.
The Battlefield Is Your Weapon
Terrain plays a major role in combat, and learning to use the environment effectively is as important as understanding your units. Defensive positions can provide valuable protection, while bridges, walls and other environmental features can completely change how a battle unfolds. Suddenly, the battlefield itself becomes another tool in your arsenal.
Closing a drawbridge at the right moment can leave an enemy stranded or prevent reinforcements from reaching the action. Launching a character over a wall can allow you to attack from an unexpected direction, while holding a defensible position can buy you enough time to deal with a more dangerous opponent. These ideas are simple on their own, but together they create a battlefield that feels considerably more interactive than a collection of squares.
Positioning is especially important because mistakes can be punished harshly. Sending the wrong unit too far forward can leave it surrounded, while failing to protect a vulnerable character can quickly turn a winning situation into a desperate struggle. Superstar Strategy rewards patience, observation and planning, but it also gives you enough freedom to improvise when things inevitably go wrong.
One Unit At A Time
The turn structure is another interesting aspect of the game. Rather than having both sides move their entire armies and then simply watching the opposing force respond, each faction moves one unit at a time. This creates a constantly shifting battlefield where every decision can alter what happens next.
It means you need to pay attention to the developing situation rather than simply following a predetermined sequence of moves. An enemy that looked harmless a moment ago can suddenly become a serious threat if another unit moves into position. Likewise, one of your characters might unexpectedly create an opening for another member of the team.
There is something wonderfully old-school about this approach, but it also gives the battles a modern sense of flexibility. You are constantly making small decisions and reassessing the situation. The best battles become a conversation between you and the enemy, with every move effectively asking what you are going to do next.
Seizing Victory From Defeat
One of my favourite ideas in Superstar Strategy is that missions can have multiple victory conditions. You do not always have to completely destroy the opposing force to claim victory, which means a battle that initially looks hopeless can sometimes be salvaged through clever thinking.
This changes how you approach difficult situations. Instead of staring at the enemy army and assuming you are finished because your forces are outnumbered, you can look for another route to victory. Perhaps capturing a particular objective is enough, or maybe reaching a specific location can end the battle in your favour.
It creates wonderful moments of desperation. There is a particular kind of excitement that comes from watching your carefully constructed plan collapse, then spotting a tiny opening that could still save everything. Superstar Strategy understands that tactical games are often at their most entertaining when you are one bad move away from disaster.
A Campaign Worth Following
Beyond the individual battles, there is a full campaign story that follows Eckhart, Tallon and the growing mercenary company across the continent. It provides a reason to keep pushing forward while gradually introducing new companions and increasingly difficult challenges.
The story itself does not always break new ground, but it fits the game’s classic RPG sensibilities well. There is a sense of adventure running through the campaign, and the steady growth of the mercenary company gives your progress a satisfying purpose. You are not simply completing disconnected tactical puzzles. You are building a group of characters and watching them become increasingly capable.
That progression is supported by the game’s star-based skill system, which gives you another reason to think about how your characters develop. Choosing where to invest those improvements can help shape individual units around your preferred approach, making progression feel more personal. It is another example of the game giving players enough control to make their particular mercenary company feel like their own.
Retro Charm
Visually, Superstar Strategy is unapologetically retro. Its 16-bit-inspired presentation immediately evokes the golden age of console RPGs, and there is a warmth to the pixel art that modern attempts at retro styling sometimes struggle to capture. Characters are clear and readable, environments have enough personality to distinguish them from one another, and the battlefield remains easy to understand even when things become busy.
That clarity is important in a tactical game. You need to be able to look at the screen and understand where your characters are, where the enemies are, and what the terrain is doing. The clean interface works particularly well here, keeping the information you need accessible without turning the screen into a wall of numbers.
It is not the sort of game that is going to impress anyone looking for cutting-edge visuals, but that is completely beside the point. Superstar Strategy has deliberately chosen its aesthetic, and it fits the experience perfectly. There is something almost nostalgic about settling into a battle and watching little pixel warriors manoeuvre across the battlefield while you contemplate your next move.
When The Strategy Gets Tough
The difficulty can occasionally be unforgiving. There are noticeable spikes where poor positioning or an ill-considered decision can make a battle considerably harder than expected. For experienced tactical RPG players, that challenge can be part of the fun, but newcomers may find themselves learning some lessons the hard way.
The game does reward you for paying attention, though. Once you understand the importance of positioning, terrain and unit combinations, those difficult encounters become much more manageable. The challenge feels less like the game simply throwing impossible odds at you and more like it demanding that you engage with the systems it has spent so much time building.
There is also a certain simplicity to the overall presentation and storytelling that may not appeal to everyone. Superstar Strategy is not trying to deliver a sprawling cinematic RPG experience, and some players may find the narrative fairly conventional. For me, though, that simplicity fits the game’s purpose, allowing the tactical battles to remain the main attraction rather than being buried beneath unnecessary complexity.
Final Verdict
Superstar Strategy is a charming tactical RPG that captures much of the spirit of classic 16-bit strategy adventures while giving players enough freedom to make every battlefield feel like their own little puzzle. The variety of units is excellent, the emphasis on teamwork encourages experimentation, and the terrain adds another layer of strategy that can completely change the outcome of a fight. Add multiple victory conditions and a flexible turn structure, and there is a surprising amount of tactical depth beneath that modest retro presentation.
It is not without its rough edges. The story is familiar territory, the difficulty can occasionally jump rather sharply, and the straightforward presentation will not necessarily appeal to players looking for a modern cinematic RPG. Yet none of those things detract from the core experience, because when Superstar Strategy has you staring at the battlefield, weighing up your options and searching for a way to turn a losing position into a victory, it becomes extremely difficult to put down.
What I particularly like is that it rewards cleverness rather than simply bigger numbers. The strongest moments are not necessarily when your favourite character destroys an enemy in one hit. They are when a Champion pushes an enemy into a trap, a Cavalier exploits an opening, a Vampire saves a dying companion, and the entire plan somehow comes together perfectly. Those moments are where Superstar Strategy earns its name, because for a few glorious seconds, you really do feel like the mastermind behind the whole thing.
