Best Koei Tecmo Games

Tecmo was established in 1967, while Koei started in 1978. They first merged in 2009 as Tecmo Koei, but have now been established as Koei Tecmo. Even though their name might not always appear in each entry on this list, some of their partner companies like Omega Force or Team Ninja will be counted as well. We have some other notes for this article as well.

It's worth noting, however, that even though the publishing rights to some of these games may belong to other companies elsewhere in the world, a game will be considered if it was at least published by Koei Tecmo in North America. Time to see what this research uncovered.

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Updated on January 19, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat: Koei Tecmo has been the publisher and developer behind some of the best JRPGs ever. The company has a strong focus on creating RPG games, which has resulted in the birth of many beloved franchises.

From the Dynasty Warriors series to Atelier, Koei Tecmo has brought some amazing adventures through the years. But it hasn't always been RPGs. The company has also dipped a toe on other genres too, a good example of which is the Dead Or Alive series!

18 Hyrule Warriors

Merging Dynasty Warriors' Combat With Zelda's Universe

Created for the Wii U, Hyrule Warriors was co-developed by Omega Force and Team Ninja and published by Nintendo outside of Japan. It is an offshoot of the Dynasty Warriors franchise, taking that style of hack-and-slash gameplay and mixing it in with The Legend of Zelda.

It works incredibly well. Sure, like all of these games, Hyrule Warriors can get repetitive, but the true fun lies in co-op and extreme fan service. As combat is the main focus of Hyrule Warriors, there is no puzzle-solving gameplay similar to mainline titles of The Legend of Zelda, but the game still comes with different modes than campaign, including an Adventure mode that challenges players inside campaign locations to beat a variety of objectives.

17 Dead or Alive 6

A Good Evolution In Combat With A Weird Take On Costume Progression

With this release and several recent proceedings, it’s become more about the jiggle physics on characters and less about combat, at least when it comes to the public discourse surrounding Dead or Alive. It is good for what it is and has a dedicated following, but it’s no Street Fighter.

While this game had some gameplay improvements here and there, it ditched the previous way of unlocking new costumes for the characters and made it random. In Dead or Alive 6, players need to unlock costumes by collecting Pattern Points, but those points are randomly assigned to available costumes, which means if someone isn't lucky, it could take them so much time to eventually unlock a certain costume they want. And yet, the player then needs to grind for Player Points to purchase the unlocked costume!

16 Toukiden 2

A New Take On Monster Hunting With Small Innovations

Filled with giant prehistoric-looking monsters, Toukiden 2 is quite similar to the Monster Hunter series, but with a different combat approach. This game came out a year before Monster Hunter: World, but never reached the popularity of Capcom's ground-breaking experience.

Toukiden 2's combat focuses on a unique progression system, where the player is required to win battles against monsters to grow and unlock specific upgrades called Boosts, which are different from one class to the other.

The action phase in Toukiden 2, however, is less tactical compared to Monster Hunter: World, and fighting different demons may not require the player to search for creative ways of engagement.

15 Attack on Titan

A Great Fan-Service With Mediocre Combat System

As the first game in the series, Attack on Titan is based on the first season of the anime, where all the main characters are playable. As far as the story goes, this is an authentic experience that appeals to those who love the anime series, but the combat system might not satisfy gamers.

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The exhilaration and thrill of sweeping through cities and valleys like a more deadly Spider-Man who happens to be trapped in Shadow of the Colossus is a unique experience in Attack on Titan, but there are some technical hiccups in the PC version that could hamper down the overall joy.

14 Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity

Expanded Largely In Every Aspect But Plagued With Technical Issues

After the surprising success of the first Hyrule Warriors title, Nintendo decided to release another game in this spin-off series that focused on the world and art style from Breath of the Wild. The end result is a great title that does a brilliant job of fleshing out the amazing lore of the latest chapter in The Legend of Zelda series.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is pretty rough around the edges, running at a pretty shoddy frame rate on the Nintendo Switch at times. However, there's no denying the fact that the game is quite fun when it runs smoothly, with the novelty of controlling multiple characters and exploring the lore of the world being a major plus point.

13 Attack On Titan 2

Fixing The Original Game's Problems With A Longer Story

The first Attack on Titan game was pretty decent in its own right, although there was no denying that it was a bit rough around the edges. Thankfully, a lot of the problems from the first game were corrected in the sequel.

Players who have yet to try these Attack on Titan games should just opt for the second one instead, since it starts from the story's beginning but with an entirely fresh viewpoint. It's a great way to re-experience the story of this amazing series, which has taken some really wild turns with the latest season.

12 Metroid: Other M

A Significant Visual Leap With Innovations In Gameplay

Because of the lukewarm reception, this pretty much killed the franchise all the way up until Metroid Prime: Federation Force, which was also nothing to write home about. The core gameplay is mostly solid. However, the motion controls and the awful story are what really hold this game back.

Introducing melee combat to the series was an adorable innovation in Metroid: Other M. This wasn't the only innovation though, as the gameplay featured some other changes in health restoration and a few other aspects compared to the previous games. Other M was also a significant graphical improvement in the series.

11 Pokemon Conquest

Translating The Power Of Pokemons Into A Turn-Based Combat System

Pokemon Conquest is a combination of the real-time strategy simulation franchise, Nobunaga’s Ambition, and well, Pokemon of course. It is a tactical RPG and one that has been dying for a sequel for over a decade now. It may seem weird to battle Pokemon in feudal Japan, but this game is pure gold.

Conquest opts for turn-based combat where the player needs to use different Pokemons and their flexible abilities to win the battles. The combat system requires more skill compared to previous Pokemon titles, as it is crucial for players to have a strategy before making a move.

10 Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence

Recreating Massive Historical Battles For Strategy Lovers

As we just said in Pokémon Conquest, this is a real-time strategy simulation game. Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence is similar to something like Civilization, but one based on Japanese history.

Nobunaga’s Ambition is not for the faint of heart, which is to say it is difficult to learn. There are a lot of mechanics. While that may bar entry for a lot of gamers, simulation enthusiasts should be enthralled.

Combining the grand strategy elements with full control over battles, just like the Total War franchise, makes Sphere of Influence an expansive experience that sometimes suffers from this lack of focus on a certain genre.

9 Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout

An Introducing To The Best-Ever Atelier Protagonist

Atelier Ryza was developed by Gust and published by Koei Tecmo. This, and its predecessors, are prime examples of B-tier RPGs. They are beloved by a niche audience and don’t strive for anything more than what the fans enjoy.

They aren’t about saving the world but more about becoming amazing alchemists to best serve the town they are based in. With this latest entry, there has never been a better time to hop in and bask in the anime-inspired beauty.