Though conceptually similar to Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, significant gameplay tweaks were implemented to change the game's overall flow.

Any character can be dubbed leader, minus most non-human entities, soldiers and basic classes like the Fighter or Amazon.

Although suggestions for how the battalions units may be mobilized are given, it is not required to follow Hugo's advice so long as the main objective is completed.

The classes determine the type of attacks the character can use in battle, what equipment it can carry, as well as effects on the unit's statistics.

The story follows Magnus Gallant, a recent graduate of the Ischka Military Academy, and fledgling captain in Palatinus' Southern region, Alba.

As civil war erupts in the country, Magnus eventually decides to join the revolution with its leader, Frederick Raskin, first liberating the southern region with the Zenobians' aid, then Nirdam and uniting with them, then returning the Eastern Region of Capitrium to the Orthodox church, and finally marching on the capital of Latium.

However, along the way, Magnus' battalion, the Blue Knights, finds its enemies escalating, from the puppet kingdom of Palatinus, to the might of the Holy Lodis Empire, to the Dark Hordes of the Netherworld.

The last one is Lawful, after Frederick dies an untimely death, the war against the tribes Of the East of Gallea and Zeteginia, who wanted to invade Palatinus right after Lodis weakened it, attack; Magnus is named: "Magnus Gallant, The Paladian King"; his rule becomes forever to be remembered and his son Aeneas Gallant takes the Throne, following his father's footsteps.

[10] The music was co-composed by Hayato Matsuo, Masaharu Iwata and Hitoshi Sakimoto, all returning from previous entries in the series.

[12][13] Sakimoto commented later that he found transferring his music into the N64 sound environment hard due to his lack of knowledge with the hardware.

[19] In North America, the game was localized and published by Atlus USA, who had previously handled Ogre Battle ports for the PlayStation.

[20][21] When translating it, the team decided to keep some of the more mature elements such as swearing, wanting to both stay true to the Japanese original and aim the title at an older audience than typical for the platform.

Compared to the Japanese original, the Western version added the ability to save to a Controller Pak.

[22] The Western version shipped in limited quantities, a fact attributed to lack of manufactured chips in the game's cartridge which made it playable.

[37] Vicious Sid of GamePro said, "Beneath Ogre Battle 64's intimidating interface and plodding pace lies a wealth of strategy: If you choose to enlist, be sure to pack plenty of patience.