Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen

Ogre Battle has two main modes of play, the world map and the tactical map. On the world map, the player can manage their characters, changing their class, re-ordering them into different units, and erasing them. The player can also save and load the game, as well as manage items. In addition, the world map is where the player chooses the next stage, which can either be an already completed stage or a new stage.

When the player has selected a stage, action shifts to the tactical map. Here, the player can deploy units and move them around. Each unit has a cost associated with it, which must be paid to deploy the unit and every day at noon thereafter. There is a limit on the number of units that can be deployed at one time. Characters with high alignment fight better during the day, while those with low alignment fight better at night. There are also towns and temples that can be liberated by units. Upon liberation, a random tarot card is drawn, which can affect either the liberating unit's statistics, the statistics of all units on the battlefield or the reputation parameter. In addition, liberated towns provide income every noon, which can be used to buy items (some towns have shops that can be used when a unit is stationed there) or pay for unit costs. In addition, there are often hidden towns, temples, or items that can be found by moving a unit close to the appropriate location.

Each stage has a number of enemy units that attempt to re-capture the player's towns and temples. If a player's unit gets too close to an enemy unit, a battle ensues. During a battle, the view shifts to a close-up view of the two combatant units. Characters alternate taking actions with the battle ending after one round of combat (many units can attack multiple times per round). The unit that caused the most damage is the victor and forces the other unit to retreat.

During a battle, a player does not directly control their unit, but selects a tactic for the unit to follow (Best, Strong, Weak, Leader), which the characters follow when choosing whom to attack. The player can also use stored tarot cards, which can cause damage or have a special effect. The Lovers card will cause all affected enemies to fight for the player; the Moon card will change the formation of the enemy unit, causing them to attack differently; the Fool card will remove all enemies but the leader from battle. The player also has the option of retreating from any encounter.

The game uses a moral alignment system that not only affects the gameplay but also where tactical and strategic decisions affect the outcome of a non-linear branching storyline, which is affected by several factors, such as the moral alignments of the troops used to liberate a city, whether to keep certain liberated cities guarded, making popular or unpopular decisions, concentrating power among just a few units, making deals with thieves, and a general sense of justice. These factors lead to one of 13 possible endings, alongside other factors, such as how many and which units are used, how battles are fought, the army's reputation, player character's alignment and charisma, and secrets discovered.[1][3]

In Ogre Battle, alignment indicates how good or evil a character is. The scale runs from 0 to 100; the higher the number, the more 'good' the character is. When characters with high alignment liberate towns, it will raise the player's reputation (although a high charisma is also recommended). Characters with high alignment will be weak against dark attacks but strong against white attacks. They will fight better in the day and worse at night. Alignment can be raised by defeating enemies whose level is higher than the player's, defeating ghosts and other dark creatures, and drawing tarot cards that raise the alignment statistic. When the player's alignment is high, it is (somewhat counter-intuitively) recommended not to exceed the level of his or her foes. Alignment will drop when the player defeats high alignment characters, such as clerics and angels, or characters of a lower level. Thus, it is important for players who want to keep a high alignment to keep the fights "fair".

Low alignment characters are considered more "evil". Consequently, they fight better at night and are weak against light attacks. Liberating towns with these types of characters will lower the player's reputation (especially if they possess a low charisma statistic). A player whose alignment is relatively high will not necessarily be penalized for employing units of low-alignment soldiers; rather, a mix of high- and low-alignment fighters results in the most potent fighting force. Provided the player keeps low- and high-alignment characters in their own separate units, and only liberates towns with high-alignment units, he or she can still see the best ending. Conversely, one who wishes to drop his alignment can continually capture towns with a few high-level, low-alignment units. For example, one can employ a few decidedly low-alignment units to slaughter enemy units, reserving high-alignment units for liberation purposes only.

One of the most important aspects of Ogre Battle is the class system. Each character has a class that determines the characteristics of that character. There are several different classes available in Ogre Battle, but any given character is limited to a subset of class changes depending on their race. For instance, human characters can either be male (fighter) or female (amazon). There are also dragons, wyrms, pumpkins, angels, giants, hellhounds, octopuses, hawk men, demons, griffins, mermaids, golems and undead class trees. Within a tree, there are usually level, alignment, and often charisma requirements. In addition, some classes also require the use of a special item. Finally, the two human class trees are unique in that they have the most branches in their tree and characters can be demoted to move along a different path.

Apart from statistic increases at level-up, a character's class also determines how the character moves and fights. Each character has a terrain type where they move fastest and fight the best (some classes also get additional attacks), with flying characters able to move quickly over all terrain. In addition, each class has a set of attacks characters can perform, ranging from physical attacks targeting one opponent to magical attacks targeting a whole unit.

Enix only distributed 25,000 copies of the Super NES version in North America.[7] Consequently, it became a collector's item, with unboxed cartridges selling for over $150 each in 1997.[8] In Japan the game was published by developer Quest.

The Japan-only Sega Saturn version, released in 1996, features voice acting during encounters with bosses and potential recruits. The combatants have also been given a slight graphical overhaul. In addition, this version replaces the gray and yellow units on the map screen with more colorful and detailed sprites. It also includes a third viewpoint on the tactical map, allowing a more direct overhead view.[9]

The PlayStation version, which received an English release in 1997, features enhanced battle graphics not seen in the Sega Saturn edition, including new spell effects and shifting camera angles.[7] This version also features larger text boxes. It lacks the voice acting and graphical detail for the units that was included in the Saturn game. It adds the ability to save at any point (the Super NES version only allows saving at the end of each chapter).[8]

It was released along with Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together in 1997 with the name of Ogre Battle: Limited Edition.

In 1998, an updated edition of the Super NES version was released by Quest as a download for the Nintendo Power Cartridge in Japan. In 2018 an English fan translation was released for this edition.

The Super NES version was re-released in North America on the Wii's Virtual Console on March 2, 2009 for 800 Nintendo points ($8).[10] It was also released as an import in the PAL regions on July 3, 2009. A version of the game was also released for iMode mobile phones in Japan on September 1, 2010 with additional maps available for download.[11] On November 20, 2013 the game was released for Wii U's Japanese Virtual Console and on August 23, 2017 for New Nintendo 3DS's Japanese Virtual Console.