Final Fantasy Tactics

"One of the greatest masterpieces of all time!"

Final Fantasy Tactics is an excellent follow up of one of the greatest games of all time, Final Fantasy VII. It is also a good change in the style of gameplay from the futuristic look of Final Fantasy VII to a new world set in the times of dragons, magicians, and knights. Many years ago, a war erupted in the ancient land of Ivalice. This war at last ended after 50 years of death and destruction. However, even though an attempt to unite Ivalice under a peaceful rule was successful, the balance of power soon collapsed and a conflict erupted once again; this time between the two main ruling families of Ivalice. With that, Ramza Beoulve is drawn into this new conflict and must now embark on a journey to stop a new evil which has come to plague this once peaceful land. It may seem like a simple new game based on war between to rivals, however, Final Fantasy Tactics goes much deeper than that and will stun you with the outcome.

Final Fantasy Tactics brings back the old type of RPG that was first introduced in the very first Final Fantasy ever; being reintroduced to the middle-age times of knights, dungeons and dragons. Featured in Final Fantasy Tactics are 19 different character job classes which allow you access to 400+ abilities and moves for your characters. Examples of character job classes include knights, archers, monks, wizards, summoners, and much more. Each job class comes with its own line of special abilities which greatly enhances the performance of your characters. Also included are dozens of monsters that you can both fight or have fight for you and your group of warriors. Some monsters include ghouls, bombs, Ahrimans, and chocobos! However, what makes Final Fantasy Tactics an amazing game besides its story line are its battlefields. Final Fantasy Tactics introduces an awesome new topography field during its battles which affect everything in the battle, especially your characters fighting abilities. Such things as mobility and speed are also affected depending on the height and type of topography your characters are currently on forcing you to make decisions which could greatly affect the outcome of the battle. A good addition to Final Fantasy Tactics are its many job propostions which allow you to not only be a warrior, but become an adventurer and treasure hunter as well! Yet another great addition to this already superb game is the option to undertake its several sub-quests. These sub-quests lead you to discover new treasures and characters to fight on your side. One of these cool characters that you can find is Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII!

The music and sounds in Final Fantasy Tactics are simply wonderful. From the screaming of dying enemy knights to the howls of hurt monsters, everything creates an excellent feel to the battles and situations that you come across. The music during the battle gets you motivated to fight and can even make you get goose bumps at certain points. Not only are the music and sounds superb, but the graphics are even better! The summoners skills are not to be missed and the opening and closing scenes are simply awesome with amazing detail.

For those that like RPGs and haven't tried Final Fantasy Tactics, I recommend that you do so as you have missed playing one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. As you probably know, Squaresoft doesn't usually make sequels to their games, however, Final Fantasy Tactics will really make you hope and wish for one to it. I only hope that Sqaresoft creates another game just like Final Fantasy Tactics sometime in the near future! Truly an excellent game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 04/26/01