Before open-world RPGs and cinematic shooters dominated my screen, I spent countless hours commanding tiny troops, constructing fortresses, and outthinking enemy lords in the real-time strategy (RTS) realm.

If you gamed in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, chances are your brain got rewired the same way—through the perfect mix of tactical thinking, empire-building, and LAN party adrenaline.

This is my nostalgic trek through the RTS games that raised me—and why they still matter today.

⚔️ Age of Empires: History Made Fun

When Age of Empires (1997) dropped, it wasn’t just a game—it was a history lesson wrapped in strategy.

• Age of Empires (1997): Guiding civilizations from the Stone Age to the Iron Age taught me micromanagement before I even knew what the word meant.

• Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (1999): A medieval masterpiece with castles, trebuchets, and LAN nights that defined my childhood.

• Age of Empires III (2005): Pushed the genre forward with colonial settings, home cities, and jaw-dropping visuals.

These weren’t just battles—they were blueprints for building empires, both in-game and in how I came to love strategy itself.

🏰 Stronghold & Stronghold: Crusader — Castles, Cow Poop, and Grit

Stronghold (2001) changed the game by focusing not just on war, but on castle life.

• You didn’t just train troops—you had to keep peasants fed, morale high, and the ale flowing.

• Stronghold: Crusader (2002) took the fight to the desert, introducing unforgettable AI rivals like The Rat and The Caliph.

These games made me feel like a true lord—micromanaging a medieval world, defending walls with murder holes and flaming pitch.

🌌 Star Wars Enters the Battlefield

Force Commander (2000): Clunky 3D controls, sure, but commanding AT-ATs in real-time was enough to win 10-year-old me over. It was ambitious—maybe too early for its time—but it gave us a taste of Star Wars strategy.

Galactic Battlegrounds (2001): Built on the Age of Empires II engine, this was the crossover we didn’t know we needed. Rebels, Wookiees, Gungans—it was AoE with lightsabers and laser turrets. Pure nostalgia.

Empire at War (2006): The genre matured here. Planetary campaigns, cinematic space battles, and ground skirmishes with hero units like Darth Vader and Obi-Wan. To this day, mods keep it alive—and it remains the best Star Wars RTS we’ve ever had.

🏛️ Rome: Total War — Tactics on a Grand Scale

When Rome: Total War (2004) hit, it blew my mind.

For the first time, I could zoom from a bird’s-eye empire map down into cinematic 3D battles with thousands of soldiers. Diplomacy, politics, and real-time legions colliding—it was history brought to life.

This wasn’t just an RTS. It was the moment strategy games felt truly epic.

🏗️ Empire Earth II: All of History in One Game

If Age of Empires was history class, Empire Earth II (2005) was history on steroids.

From cavemen to futuristic armies, weather systems to nuclear warfare—it had it all. It never reached AoE’s mainstream fame, but for diehard strategy nerds, it was the ultimate sandbox of human progress.

🧠 Why RTS Still Matters in 2025

RTS games didn’t just entertain me—they trained my brain.

• Critical Thinking: Always two steps ahead.

• Resource Management: Balancing food, gold, and morale.

• Adaptability: Learning to fail, regroup, and try again.

Even today, when fast shooters dominate, I still love slowing down, zooming out, and plotting the perfect siege. It’s not just nostalgia—it’s a different kind of gaming joy.

And the genre isn’t dead. With Age of Empires IV updates, indie experiments like Manor Lords, and fan revivals of Stronghold and Empire at War, RTS is quietly making a comeback.

🎮 Final Thoughts: Strategy Is Eternal

RTS games gave me more than virtual victories—they gave me a lifelong love of problem-solving, creativity, and storytelling.

From the trebuchets of Age of Empires II to the desert sieges of Crusader and the galactic scale of Empire at War, these weren’t just games. They were worlds to command.

So if you, like me, grew up moving tiny troops across pixelated battlefields—you know: RTS wasn’t just strategy. It was imagination, logic, and community all rolled into one.

And I’ll be here—still building castles, still commanding armies, and still thinking three moves ahead.

✍️ George Griffin
Writer. Web Dev. RTS Commander Since ’97
george-matthew.com