Tactics Ogre

"Hard to find, but well worth it!"

I had read the other reviews of this game here, as well as read the reviews for Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis and even played through Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis and then decided to look for this game. It was quite awhile. I had almost no luck on eBay (They always outbid at the very last picosecond), and spent more hours in used gamestores everywhere looking for this game than a devoted college student spends in his classes. Finally, after nearly 5 or 6 months (I lost track somewhere after 4 when I found Phantasy Star IV buried in my closet and got hooked again), I finally found it in a Game store for 35 dollars. It took 2 months allowance, but it was well worth the wait and the money.

The graphics of this game make it very unique. The classes are very different from ones in Final Fantasy Tactics , because here, the Wizards don't hide their faces and the Dragoons are wearing golden armor. (SWEET!) One good thing about the graphics is how easy it is to tell who's an enemy and who is on your side. They wear different uniforms, and when you persuade them, then they turn into one of your troops and their uniform changes. They may be 2D, but I really like Atlus' style of creating the units here, and sometimes, it almost makes you forget that these graphics are just a step above SNES graphics.

The Music here is very well done. The world map theme is some of the best music I have ever heard coming out of my TV. Period. The world-map theme isn't as nearly repetive as in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance or in Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis . This is quality music. The Sounds here sound almost real-The staves don't ''Doink'', the swords don't hiss, and the spears don't sound like a rock hitting the sand. Well done Atlus!

The Storyline...Well, I don't know if I can really explain it without spoilers. It starts off a bit slow at first, but as the game progresses, it gets deeper and deeper and you'll find that it's 3 AM and you haven't even brushed your teeth yet-It is that addictive.

The replay value of this game is fantastic-There are so many paths to choose from and so many variations in the beginning of the game. Which one will you choose? Will you be Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic? It is your choice!

Tactics Ogre is a definite ten, but, the difficulty, however, is what is keeping it from a 10. In the beginning, it starts off somewhat difficult, because you can have up to 10 party members (Now THAT is a LOT!) in battle, but you have to equip healing items to them and they can only use them once. And trust me-There is nothing worse than one-use only items you have to equip. Also, the fact that you have 10 party members, it is somewhat hard to keep track of all of them in some big battles. I lost track out of who had how much health in a big battle and lost half my party members because of that. And oh yeah, Only Denim can persuade. I once accidentially lost him trying to persuade a Lizard Man in the first chapter. >:( Truthfully, that is very annoying for first-timers at this game.

Overall, this game is a definite ten, but the difficulty and how easy it is to lose track of your party members is what is keeping it from reaching the ten this game truly deserves. Though it's very very hard to find and somewhat expensive if you check someplace like Amazon or eBay.
8/10

Best part: Kicking sever arse with a lich. Oh yeah... >:)

Worst part: Losing half my party members in a big battle because I lost track of them. D'oh! >:O

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/03