It's unfortunate that the field map and battles suffer from such repetition, especially in light of the possibilities offered by the cartridge format. Dynamic real-time shifts in music would have partially compensated for the small number of compositions. Sound effects are anemic, with canned thwacks and clangs for battle sounds. The gameplay of Ogre Battle 64 unfolds slowly. A tutorial teaches the basics, and from there you start off in fairly easy campaigns.
Early battles are simplistic, and the game can seem shallow at first.
Battles are conducted via the field map, which shows the battlefield from a top-down perspective. From there, you may dispatch your units, each consisting of a leader and up to four other allies, to go forth and liberate enemy-controlled strongholds by defeating opposing units in combat. Troop movement happens in real-time. Selecting a unit will bring up a series of menus that allow the player to dictate a destination or an enemy unit to target. The sprite representing the commanded unit will then begin to move in that direction.