***EDIT July 2020***

I came back to this game ~ 1.5 years later with a renewed interest in the DQ franchise, and want to revise my previous review. I've ended up putting almost 100 hours into this now, playing with my 12 and 5 year old children (passing the controller back and forth during play sessions), and it has been a truly wonderful experience for us as a family. We're about to head to the final dungeon now!

This game had something for all of us too. I usually let my son (the 12 year old) do the dungeon crawling, while I do the town sections, shopping, and crafting (more on crafting below, it's awesome), and my daughter (5 year old) LOVES running from point a to b on the world map sections and just grinding enemies. I give her 1 character to control (she loves Jade and Sylvando the most), auto-battle the others, and she just goes to town. By the end of the game she's even gotten better at knowing how to use certain moves, do some healing, stuff like that. I am very proud :)

This game IS simple (like I said in my first review), but in a very purposeful/artful way that elevates it above a "standard" JRPG. After playing through it more completely, I now think it COULD absolutely introduce someone to the JRPG genre. It is beautiful, calming, and cathartic. Yes the story is predictable, but in a fairy tale kind of way that just brings me a lot of happiness. It is traditional, but also filled with conveniences and QOL additions. The combination of visible enemies + auto battle options also removes so much of the frustration/tedium of the traditional, turn-based RPG combat mechanics.

Although I normally prefer complex class systems, this game gives you all the standard RPG archetypes across all the characters, then makes it so easy to swap characters in and out of battle, and makes so many different party combos effective, that you have a lot of flexibility to experiment even without a custom class system. I also love how it seems like certain characters come and go from the meta as the game progresses, further encouraging you to experiment with your party composition (for example, I thought Jade was very powerful when she first joined the party, but was one of my weaker DD's later in the game).

Furthermore, although battles are relatively easy, I love that status effects are useful even on the game's bosses, because it adds so many fun tactics to the combat system. Various buffs/debuffs were critical here for surviving boss encounters, which I really enjoyed. My boss strategy from ~ mid-game on involved maintaining physical/magic defense, agility, and regen buffs for the whole party, sticking physical defense debuff on the enemy, and finally physical attack buff on the Hero as my main DD (who was going to town dual-wielding Falcon Blades for 4x attacks per turn).

The crafting is also REALLY fun, I love the traditional, dungeon crawler-esque +1/2/3 item enhancements. I felt like an addict constantly going back to the Academy to pick up more pearls. :) More broadly than that, recipe collecting is fun, gathering components is fun, and the crafting mini-game itself is very engaging. Crafting is also very well balanced insofar as the items you can craft at the point you receive the recipes is typically relevant, and sometimes even a better option than what can be bought at that time, making it rewarding for you to engage in this aspect of the gameplay. That's without even mentioning the various character outfits that are only available via crafting recipes. Tip: certain accessories especially are valuable to craft and then +3 for the increased benefits, even some that from what I've seen so far serve as end-game best in slot equips.

Now, to be fair, also want to note a few things I noticed that could be just a little better:

* FOR ANYONE READING THIS, PLEASE RECOGNIZE THAT THE STEAM VERSION DOES NOT INCLUDE DEFINTIVE EDITION CONTENT!!! These enhancements, which only exist on the Switch version as of July 2020, include: Battle speed toggle, summon horse & forge from any location (and buy missing crafting materials directly from the forge menu, although tbh I think that particular feature cheapens the intended gathering mechanic), 2d mode + "pastwords" sidequests, vanity equipment slots, and an extra super boss as well I believe. All are missing here, and unfortunately no news so far from SE on any definitive edition content patch coming to PC or PS4. I would think it's likely only a timed exclusive, especially since an upgrade would probably sell pretty well on Steam, but this just hasn't been confirmed one way or another yet... Although, I will say that if you have the horse power, PC is the only place to get 4k 60 fps, so that was nice! (EDIT) Definitive Edition was just announced for PC with a release date in December 2020, but there's some controversy over whether it will be add-on content or an entirely separate release, which would be very odd, but unconfirmed yet one way or another. TBD.
* Component searching functionality on the map could be better. I want to be able to pick a comp from the forge recipe list, and then link directly to the relevant zone map where it can be located (as long as I've found it at least once previously). This seems very intuitive, but is strangely lacking, which forced me to Google for more info on numerous occasions.
* "Dungeons" don't really feel intimidating to me in this game. They are largely lacking puzzle or other traversal elements. There is this kind of repetitive mount mechanic, but overall dungeons just don’t evoke enough mystery or exploration as I'd like to see personally. Additionally, I think dungeon maps should have included fog of war. Seeing them fully from the beginning is one of the reasons exploration felt so much less compelling imho.
* I also stand by at least one aspect of my first review, that being that the side quests are LAME. They are generic, MMO-style fetch & kill quests. They weigh you down and break up the flow of the game. I am normally a compulsive completionist, and there is an achievement + some other in-game rewards linked to side quests here, but ultimately I had to make a conscious decision to ignore the side quests for my own sanity & enjoyment of the experience.

So in conclusion, this game was such a great family experience for us, I don't think I really gave it a fair shake at the 10 ~ 15 hour mark when I played it for the first time by myself back in late 2018. There are a few negatives to note, but they are minor and by no means detract from the experience overall in a significant manner. If you want a really polished, really sleek, really fun, dare I say kind of beautiful, modern JRPG, whether you are a long time genre enthusiast OR EVEN A FIRST TIMER, then I humbly recommend you check out Dragon Quest XI. As someone who has been playing JRPGs on and off since FF3 US on the SNES in the mid-90's, this game is about as good as it gets! Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

This is a pretty good real-time tactical wargame set during the American Civil War. You can play individual historical battles or indulge in the game's campaign layer, allowing you to customize your army as you play through an 1861 - 1865 scenario. It is easiest to think of Ultimate General as the ACW Total War game that always should have happened, but never did. The dev behind this studio actually WAS a popular TW modder, which makes the comparison even stronger.

TLDR: Check out John Tiller series (turn-based) or Scourge of War (real-time) if you crave the most realistic wargames currently on the market, however Ultimate General does offer a fun, fast-paced, slightly more straightforward "beer & pretzels" (casual) experience, and even boasts a best-in-class campaign component if that's your thing.

Now, below I'm going to write about this game in much more detail, especially regarding some of the features I find most enjoyable in this genre and how it compares to other popular titles. I think you'll see that UG falls somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of balancing authenticity and accessibility:

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* AI commanders: This is probably my biggest wargaming pet peeve. With large Corps or Army level engagements, it becomes overwhelming to micro-manage all my forces. This ruins the fun for me in games like Civil War Generals 2 and the Hexwar titles. There's a lot to like with these games, but almost every scenario is tedious and overlong. Unfortunately, UG:CW is also in this vein, as it doesn't have any option to assign certain formations over to an AI general.

* Indirect orders: Despite the above, you do have the ability to issue "extended" orders to a unit, for example a long flanking maneuver where you trace the route of their march with your mouse. They will obey your orders instantly though, while you command with a "God's eye" view of the battlefield. One title very worth comparing here is Scourge of War (Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Antietam), which allows a "headquarters in the saddle" option where you send couriers to deliver your orders, simulating the slowness of communications in the 1860's.

* Leader units: Leaders with command bonuses can really enhance tactical gameplay, not to mention add a ton of interesting context for further historical research. UG only gives you control of Corps commanders or higher (Lee, Jackson, etc.), which unfortunately ties it with Total War as the most obfuscated command structure of any comparable game. :(

* OOB: Maybe it's just the history nerd in me, but I like to browse the orders of battle, especially during combat. Unfortunately, UG only allows this before and after battle. Additionally, the "opposing forces" are presented in a confusing structure, at least for me, that represents Corps and Divisions for organizational purposes, even when it isn't historically accurate (1st Manassas, for example). There is another series of wargames called John Tiller Software's (JTS) Civil War Battles. They are turn-based and they aren't on Steam, but you can check out his website directly. The OOBs there are clean, historically accurate, and really easy to navigate.

* Detailed mechanics (morale, ammo, supply): Having these kind of mechanics are not necessarily good or bad, but just depend on your preferences. UG has all 3 features, although routed (fleeing) units have a strange tendency to recover too quickly and rejoin the fight unexpectedly. Of the games I've mentioned, JTS has the most in-depth options (and optional rulesets to tweak), whereas Hexwar has none of it at all. So again, UG is a middle-of-the-road option.

* Battles/campaigns: The more the better, of course, and hopefully with historically accurate detail. UG is actually pretty good here, compared to typical wargames which focus on major releases of single battles (more like UG: Gettysburg). This title includes many famous engagments like 1st Manassas, Shiloh, Antietam, Chickamauga, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. Still, it doesn't get any better than JTS in this regard, with 13 releases covering almost the entire war, including some key items missing from this title such as Jackson’s Valley campaign, Wilderness & Spotsylvania Courthouse (Overland campaign), and the Petersburg campaign. Not to mention John Tiller's scenario designers include painstakingly accurate historical detail in terms of the terrain, objectives, leaders, forces, etc.

* Campaign layer: UG excels in this area. It adds a strategy/campaign layer in which you gain money and skills as you fight your way through the ACW. You will be able to recruit your own officers, organize your brigades, and outfit your soldiers with the latest equipment. UG actually does it better than any other game I've listed so far (for most of the others this functionality is not available at all, although CWG2 does have shorter but comparable campaigns if that kind of gameplay interests you).

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Hope this feedback helps. For my personal enjoyment, I really can't recommend the John Tiller series highly enough. The historical authenticity, flexible AI, numerous optional rulesets, detailed mechanics, and unparalleled number of engagements all combine to make JTS a near perfect option if you're looking for a tactical-level wargame covering the American Civil War.

Ultimate General is a good option too, though, especially for newer players. It's also much more affordable at $30 for the whole thing vs. $40 for *each* John Tiller game! If you're patient, you can even pick up UG on sale for ~ $10 a couple times a year.

Cheers and happy gaming!