Hi, I'm Palipilino!
Sega Genesis
1/2/2026
If you ever find yourself deep in the video game history discussion mines, you'll learn pretty quickly that you probably want to avoid use of the phrase "____ was the first game to..." Because no matter where you think a game element debuted—especially if it's a more popular title—it probably has roots in some obscure game that you and 99.9% of other people have never even heard of. When most people say a game was the first to do something, it's usually more accurate that it instead was the first game to popularize it.
Now, doing something earlier doesn't always mean it was the inspiration for future leaders of the genre, but we have an example of that with Herzog Zwei. While Dune II was famous for establishing many conventions of the real-time strategy genre that we are familiar with today and indeed was responsible for the RTS moniker, it took inspiration from the Genesis exclusive Herzog Zwei in what many consider to be one of the very first examples of real-time strategy in gaming. (And depending on your opinion, that "one of" in the previous sentence may be doing a bit of heavy lifting.)
If you love Age of Empires II or Warcraft or the like, don't expect to hop right into Herzog Zwei and look like Maru. This is very much an arcade-styled RTS, which means that you are not so much the overseer of your units as you are an active combatant. You control a single air fighter, which is responsible for both transporting units and fighting back against enemies, and while you probably won't be able to fly right up to your enemy's base and destroy it, it does make things feel a bit more visceral when you're engaging in a firefight over an outpost with your opponent, especially when backed by a truly excellent soundtrack.
| Played For | 3h 3m |
|---|---|
| Completion Type | Randomly Completed Stages, A B & C |
| Favorite Map | The Snowy One! |
| Fun Fact | First game of 2026! |
In that way it almost represents a good introduction into the concepts of an RTS for those interested in exploring it, even though it's very different from what you'd expect from a modern title. Games like Herzog Zwei are always impressive just for their innovation if nothing else, and doubly so here. Technosoft has created a pretty impressive title with almost nothing to go off of.
Matches are usually pretty short, and as a result are generally able to keep up the feeling of adrenaline more consistently than many that even came after it. It's fast, it's frantic, and you basically never feel relaxed—there's always something to do in order to get a leg up on your enemy, and every second wasted is an opportunity missed. It's possibly one of the Genesis's most fundamentally thrilling and fast-paced titles—which says a lot for the console that was known for speedy games.
Herzog Zwei is a relatively simple game, especially by RTS standards, but you might not feel like that if you are entering it for the first time. This is very much a game where you need to read the manual, and while that was a pretty standard practice back in 1989, it's disappointing that the game just refuses to communicate information to the player.
Units and commands are usually some mix of acronyms, numbers, and confusing symbols. It has a learning curve that would probably make most players whose alternative options aren't limited bounce right off it. It's best experienced with its splitscreen multiplayer—but good luck convincing someone else to learn how to play long enough to put up any kind of challenge. And its gameplay options are a bit limited, as there are 8 maps to fight over (with 4 difficulties each) that, beyond their aesthetic differences, are functionally very similar.
All this can be forgiven when you consider the context of its release and how strange it must have felt at the time. A lot of games would make claims of being "like something you've never seen before." Not many delivered on that promise as much as Herzog Zwei did. It's one of those games that is viewed with a high degree of reverence for fans of its genre and basically unknown outside of that context. It is certainly one of the most impactful games of all time, if for what it inspired rather than how well it performed itself.
But if you're a fan of real-time strategy games, it's never been a better time to try out the game that is at least partially responsible for the genre's existence. A modern release of Herzog Zwei includes online multiplayer, improved information clarity, and, yes, an interactive tutorial. Though you may upset some purists, it's probably the most optimal way to get your feet wet. It's well worth it. Herzog Zwei is many things—a progenitor for a massively popular genre, an inspiration for dozens of classic games, a true piece of video game history—but, hey, even stripped of that context? It's a pretty good game.