History Main / WarHasNeverBeenSoMuchFun

** The original UsefulNotes/{{NES}} game (''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Shadow Dragon And the Blade of Light]]'' and its sequel (''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Mystery of the Emblem]]'') have colorful '80s anime artstyle, and rather simple plotlines for games of their length. Their remakes attempted to make the artstyle more realistic ([[RealIsBrown read: brown]]), but this change was not well received.
** The three UsefulNotes/{{GBA}} games (''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Binding Blade]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Blazing Blade]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Sacred Stones]]'') are notably brighter in presentation due to the hardware limitation. This is also the point where {{Critical Hit}}s became a spectacle of WeaponTwirling and acrobatics, obscuring the fact that your hero probably just gutted this hapless soldier.

* ''Videogame/BlueArchive'', where most armed conflicts are non-lethal, and combat is almost always represented with SuperDeformed characters, and all combatants on your side are cute schoolgirls.

* The comedy of fanimation ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY1XpTzLn0A How Applejack Won The War]]'' is its jaunty tune as it describes war crimes and [=PTSD=]. Since it's based off of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', this is to be expected.

* Played straight by ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend''. HeavyMetal, HeavyMithril themed armies fighting to the death as a CommandAndConquerEconomy infinitely respawns troops with ThePowerOfRock. Where can I sign up? It helps that the characters and fighters in the game are clearly having fun (well, everyone not in Drowning Doom anyway).

* Not a strategy RPG (also platformers), but pretty much any ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' game or fan game with war themed levels and areas comes under this. It's especially noticeable in ''VideoGame/MushroomKingdomFusion'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioFusionRevival'', where the stages mix Mario with ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'', ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' and ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' and the characters/places are also done with cartoony looking sprites and tilesets, with often bouncy and upbeat music playing in the background. Cue the somewhat strange scene of Mario and co killing cartoonified versions of enemies from sometimes M rated games with vegetables and jumps.

* The ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'' series started out this way, becoming less so as time went on. ''Days of Ruin'' [[DarkerAndEdgier removed this completely]]. Then "Re-Boot camp" brought it back with a vengeance.

* The ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'' series started out this way, becoming less so as time went on. ''Days of Ruin'' [[DarkerAndEdgier removed this completely]].

* In contrast to the 2 games preceding it, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has more stylized, chibified graphics for units on the map, and even the models used in battle aren't fully proportionate (though you wouldn't notice it unless you payed attention to everyone's feet). The tone of the game is just as serious as any other game in the series, but it wouldn't look out of place if the game stopped taking itself seriously, which several DLC maps can attest to. Lissa may be wearing a party hat, the music might be festive and made up of grunts from Chrom's Japanese voice and Lon'Qu may be trying to deal with being MistakenForGay, but you're still trying to fight off the an army of zombie solders.
** The GBA ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games are notably lighter colored due to the hardware limitation. Though the stories from the three games are indeed significantly lighter, simpler, and more straightforward especially compared to the previous jaded Jugdral saga (''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Genealogy of the Holy War]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia 776]]'') for the Super Famicom.