Final Fantasy Tactics

"As Bold As Can Be"

Final Fantasy Tactics is a break from the norm as far as Final Fantasy goes. Being that it is a SRPG instead of a normal RPG, it's kind of like a side-game. It's not supposed to really be a part of the series, but then again... None of the games hook together so I guess it doesn't matter.

Final Fantasy Tactics gets pretty much frowns or smiles. There usually isn't a lot of midway discussion for this game and I can perfectly understand why. The game tends to lend itself to people who are adapt to leveling up and screws the rest out on a peg.

But, I find myself in a paradox with the game. You see, I'm not one for grinding, but strangely... I find myself in love with the game. I'd grind forever for this game and I'd do it non-stop if it meant being able to conquer the next level. And so, I rate the game highly.

Gameplay:

In order to understand what type of gameplay this is, you'd have to know what a Stratagy RPG is. You basically move your units across a grid(map/level) and attack enemy units in a NON real-time fashion. You take turns, based on the speed stat, and attack across a battlefield.

It takes a special kind of player to be able to coop with the trials and tribulations infused with a SRPG. Sometimes things take time, and they seem slow and uneventful... But anyone who can absorb a story will love it. Imagine yourself within the army and go, and I'm sure you'll love it.

But anyway, the gameplay houses a certain series of things. You can only have a max of 5 people on a map at a given time. Before each battle you'll be presented with a screen asking you to deploy your units. It's a mini-grid that has no terrain on it and you basically place your units where you think they'll do best.

Sometimes you'll be forced to make use of "Guest" units that will be under the Computer's control. These take up a unit slot and usually end up making is so you can only select 4 characters instead of 5. As far as totals go, you can have up to 16 people in your travel group (again, only a max of 5 at a time can participate in battles).

Now, the game's literally filled with countless weapons and armor and items that you can find to equip. There are a bunch of job classes totalling 19, I believe. And each class uses their own type of weapons/abilities to make them special.

In order to aqquire a new job class, you must first get a certain job class or maybe even 2 of them to certain level(s). For example: To get a Bard, you'll need to level both a Mediator and a Summoner to level 4 on that certain character. Of course, if you want that Bard on another character, you'll have to get them to level up each of those two jobs to level 4 as well.

I believe job levels are based on Job Points. You gain these during battles by doing various tasks (attacking, healing, etc.). A slight problem with this, much like Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy II(NES) is that you can gain JP(Job Points) by attacking your own teammates and even using simple low level skills to raise various stats as much as you want. This leaves the game easily exploitable. Unlike Final Fantasy II(NES), however, it's not very time consuming and for some reason it actually seems fun. Therefore, I only counted 1 point off for it.

Of course, you also gain regular levels as well. These levels raise your basic stats and whatnot. You gain experience points in the same way you gain Job Points. Just attack, heal, or cast spells. You can also abuse this much in the way you can abuse Job Points, but it takes more time because your experience gained is determined more so on the level difference between you and your enemy, rather than some generic stat that never changes.

The stats go a lot deeper in their own rights, but it's far too technical to explain in a standard review. Just know that it's fairly complex and it creates a fun factor unseen in most video games that lack refreshing and thoughtful gameplay.

The map in this game is pretty standard. Your character icon is placed somewhere and you select "Move" and pick your destination. Blue circles are towns, red circles are story events/battles, and green circles are random battle locations. Sometimes you'll get into a random battle if you run over one of the green circles. Usually these are pretty easy, but unlike story battles, these battles have monsters with levels and stats that match your current party. Story event battles have a pre-set level average, I believe.

The menus are pretty abundant and they stack on each other a lot. Sometimes you'll find yourself buried under 5 menus just to get something done, but you'll quickly learn what you need to know to get where you need to get to.

Inside battles, you'll get various options. You move then attack, or make your "action", and then you wait. Much like FFX, you can view when units will be able to move (both enemy and ally) and you can plan your attacks accordingly. Some people gripe that wizards and priests and summoners must "charge" their spells before they'll actually attack. A problem with this is that sometimes you'll target an area but the enemy units will all move out of the way before your attack gets off. While this sounds aggravating, it only takes a couple hours of practice before you realize how to properly utilize your mages.

Of course... If you don't want to do all this, you can just set up an automated battle plan. The game gives you the option of setting characters to do automatic commands based on certain settings such as "aggressive", etc.

Sidequests are plentiful. Each town has a bar in which you can go on little automated "jobs." These "jobs" will earn your whole group a decent amount of money as well as getting the certain units you sent on the job job points. Another neat feature is the ability to kill animals and beasts for their fur and later open an extra item shop for special items. I believe the shop makes these items based on which beasts/animals you've killed and how many you've killed. Of course, there are other sidequests, including one involving a very famous Final Fantasy character. But you'll have to experience those yourself.

The difficulty of this game varies greatly. Some battles are pathetically easy, and some of them are extremely hard. This doesn't even happen in order, the game just mixes it up. One thing you can be sure of, you'll need to do a lot of planning to work out an effective strategy for each individual stage.

Cosmetics:

The graphics in this game are pretty good for a psx stratagy game. It's a lot more colorful and detailed than something like Tactics Ogre, for example. Spell graphics are decent, but nothing to get all gawk-eyed over. However, the summon spells are something to admire. Basically, a still, drawn image appears on the screen and big blasts of power flash across the screen... In varying degrees of course, depending on the spell's element.

The character artwork is pretty good, at least... Better than most Final Fantasy games. I wish they'd stick with this style instead of their style that's usually used.

The camera inside of the battles is rotatable on the X axis. You can also zoom in and out to get a bigger view of the area. Sometimes things can get a little blocked by buildings and such, but it shouldn't be too big of a problem. Speaking of the maps, each map is done pretty well. They all change and are all colorful and pretty.

The music in the game varies from great to just above average. The problem in this game is that the music is reused quite often. Like a lot of stratagy RPGs, you'll hear the same 3 battle songs over and over again. Of course, the same could be said for any RPG I suppose... I dunno, I guess the longer battles really show its staleness. Never-the-less, the music is still pretty good.

Storyline:

As Ramza, you'll find yourself as part of a Cadet unit under the Beoulve family. Ramza himself is a Beoulve. You'll be with your friend, Deltia as you try to rid some city streets of bandits. Afterwords, you make way to Igros Castle where you speak with your brother and he tells you to guard the castle.

Of course, you won't stand for that boring job. You set out to attack a thief hideout. Later on down the road, you get betrayed by someone and things start to go down hill. You're split off from your family and you must discover the truth behind the war that is currently going on.

The story, labeled the "Zodiac Brave Story" is based off Zodiac stones. These stones represent the 12 Zodiac Braves who saved the world some long time ago. They find their way into the hands of a bunch of guys who decide to take over the world and the true story starts.

It's filled with a lot of betrayal. Actually, it may be too much for some people. From what I understand, it's very easy for people to become confused about what's going on in the game. I didn't really find a problem with it however, and things always seemed smooth for me... Go figure.

Character development is decent. Granted, you won't know much about every single one of your allies, but they serve their parts and purposes in the game. I see no importance in knowing what Cid's home life was when he was 5, for example. He serves his purpose well in the game, and it worked out fine. We know how he knows the hero, how he came to be part of the war, and everything else... That's all you need to know.

Overall/Explanation/Recommendation:

I'm a sucker for a good story, and I think this game delivers it proper. While some people might not be able to swallow the details, I found it relatively easy and consumable.

My recommendation would vary with the person. If you are one to find yourself easily distracted, I wouldn't play this game. I mean, if you're into Stratagy RPGs then I guess you should play it anyway... Just don't complain about the story making no sense to you. ;)

If you're into good story lines, then you should definitely pick this game up. And if you like both good story lines and stratagy RPGs, heck... You're a match made in heaven!

Anyway, like was said, the only problem with this game is the fact that the Job Class system is easy to abuse. If you can deal with that, then you shouldn't have any worries about this title. It's one of the best titles in the Final Fantasy line, and rightfully so.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/06