Final Fantasy Tactics

"The Final word in great RPG gaming!"

It's been a while since I've written a review, mainly because I'd turned to things other than console games, and those I had tried hadn't really sparked my interest. Well, being an old-school Final Fantasy fan, it's surprising to me that this game slipped my notice when it first came out. I'd played FF7 and FF8, and while they'd been pretty good (FF7 was my favorite of the two), they failed to capture some of the charm of FF2 and FF3 on the SNES, my original favorites. I got this game for Christmas, and was skeptical when I saw it used the old ''super deformed'' characters, and from the blurb on the back, seemed to have very little story to it. Well, my skepticism vanished like a bowl of chips at a Super Bowl party after playing this game for an hour or two. This game was a classic waiting patiently to be discovered, and I'm glad I did. Why? Well, read on, if you want to know...

Story 10/10

Any fool can put together a game with an okay fighting system, but without story, the game will have very little substance, and therefore, very little reason to fight/play the game. Square has always come through in the story department, and this game is no exception. The game begins, seeming to be about one thing, and slowly reveals itself as having a much deeper, more involved plot. Tactics, much like it's predecessors, manages to evoke emotion and spins an involving tale that will keep you pushing forward just to find out how it ends. Yes, like the other FF games, it can be confusing at times, but fortunately, Tactics allows you to go back and view the cut scenes in the game, as well as providing helpful (and frequently updated as the story progresses) profiles of the various characters you've met. I'd tell you what the game is about, but the initial plot description would probably bore you, and I don't want to give away the good stuff, so take my word for it. Let's just say there's definitely more to than game than initially meets the eye. Superb!

Gameplay 9/10

For those of you who are seasoned FF veterans, this game will have a familiar feel to it, and yet, it incorporates many new elements that you will either find to be a refreshing change, or annoying deviation from the classic FF style (I personally found them refreshing and challenging). I'm a firm believer that when you have a good thing going, you should stick with it, but to be honest, if I'd played one more FF game that that utilized the old ''your team is on this side of the screen, and the enemies are over here, so now everyone take turns'' battle setup, I'd probably have quickly lost interest. In this game, the concept is the same, but there's much more freedom given the player in battle.

Wandering the map is different in this game than in it's predecessors. Instead of being given freedom to wander every nook and cranny of a large, natural looking world map, you are given different ''points'' to travel to and from on your quest. Some of these are towns or castles, which allow you to visit a bar, shop for weapons and items, or go to the soldier office to recruit new party members. Others are ''random battle'' locations, where you may or may not be molested by enemies while passing through, and still others are simply locations that trigger cut scenes to progress the story, with no battle at all. The system saves time, in that you'll never be like, ''Where was that town I found earlier again??''. At the same time, though, exploration of the map and visiting towns feels sort of empty without the joys of guiding your character around when you're not fighting, and talking to townsfolk who aren't bartenders. This part of the game wasn't my favorite of the changes, but it didn't detract from it very much either.

Let's talk about the battle system. Rather than have a single screen where movement is limited to jumping out of formation briefly to attack a foe, characters are placed on a variety of ''battlefields'' with varying different types of topography. Battle is still turn-based, but the difference is that now, both enemies and good guys must take different things into account such as distance from the enemy, range of attack, terrain obstacles, and even weather into account when planning their attack strategy. This can be frustrating at times, for example, when a wounded enemy runs to the far side of the battlefield, and you have to spend multiple turns chasing it down to finish the battle. It also benefits you, though, as you often have time to plan your strategy for a few turns before one or more of the enemies is within attacking distance of you. Often, you'll find yourself just short of the distance required to perform the attack you wish to use, leaving you open to abuse and unable to attack, which is quite irritating. Also, with the realism involved in being able to move your character around like an actual person instead of just a character model that jumps out of formation to attack, you'll often find yourself thinking, ''Okay, my guy can wander around the map as he pleases and go pretty much wherever he wants to, so why does he just stand there when a Chocobo comes up and gets ready to peck him?'' I know that's how turn-based RPG's operate, so I'm not complaining, but it does seem a bit weird at times. Once you get used to it, and learn how to utilize terrain to your advantage, it's quite enjoyable and refreshing.

Now, let's talk about my favorite part of the game...the customization aspect. In the other FF games, you meet and recruit a variety of different characters as the game goes on, some of whom are useful, others you could just as soon do without. Things start to get annoying when you start collecting a horde of different people, and you're forced to try to give them all equal use so they don't just sit there at low levels and wind up getting killed if it turns out you need them. FF Tactics manages to avoid this for the most part, by allowing you to select how many and what type of characters you have in your party, with the exception of the occasional ''guest'' unit who will fight alongside you automatically. Otherwise, the freedom is yours to decide who will help you along your way. Most new recruits begin as squires or chemists, the basic ''jobs'' in the game, and there are a certain set of skills they can learn by fighting battles, and gaining ''JP'', or ''job points''. As they ''level up'' in their chosen profession, they are offered new, often more powerful jobs that they can master. The various jobs range from knights to wizards to ninja's to summoners, and so on (there are about 20 standard jobs, so I won't list them all here). Changing jobs is relatively simple. For example, a squire who has leveled up sufficiently may train to become a knight, and a leveled up knight may become a monk, with powerful set of skills. The way the character looks changes when they change jobs, which adds to the fun. Possibly the best part of the system is that even if you pick a specific job for a character, you can give them a secondary skill set from another job they've learned, as well as support abilities, counter attacks, and movement options. If used wisely, it's possible to create some devastating characters, making the game much easier to conquer than it might otherwise be. Overall, the system is very involved and fun to master.

Speaking of conquering the game, let's talk about challenge level. To be honest, I was getting creamed at the beginning of the game. It doesn't ease you in very gracefully, as most of the early battles pit you and your untrained squires against fairly tough enemies of more advanced jobs. There's a learning curve involved in initially mastering the battle system, but if you get to the point where your characters can win a battle without having an ally ''KOed'' (which sucks in this game, because you lose your character for good if they're knocked out too long), you're on the road to victory. Things get easier when you've earned enough job points to learn some new jobs yourself, and eventually, you'll find that your characters have an option to learn job types that the enemies aren't using yet (though they'll be a step or two ahead of you for a while). The enemies ''level up'' according to the strength of the best character in your party, so it's important to make sure all your characters are at about the same level, or you run the risk of getting creamed by very powerful foes. Sadly, like the other FF games, Tactics also has it's share of battles where there's a ''trick'' to beating them, rather than relying on the skill and might of your party. It's hard to describe, but you'll know them when you see them, and nothing is more annoying than having to fight the same battle ten times over, only to learn that there was some stupid ''trick'' to defeating your foes. Fortunately, these are few and far between enough that they won't ruin enjoyment of the game, unless you get stuck at one and never figure out how to progress. Basically, once you get the hang of the ability to wander around the map while you fight, if you were good at previous FF games, you should have no problem with the challenge level of this one. The biggest risk you run is having too much fun fighting the random battles and powering up your characters, and becoming too powerful to be challenged by the pivotal battles in the game. 'Nuff said...this game is engrossing, and fun to play and master.


Graphics 9/10

This one is really hard to judge. If you're looking for flashy graphics that were the trademark of most Playstation titles developed around this time, you might be disappointed. It's no FF7, in terms of looks. However, the terrain and characters, while small and cartoony, are beautifully rendered and colored, and there are some great emotions and actions played out by the small characters in the cut scenes. If you were just coming straight from a prolonged visit to FFIII, these should be pretty impressive. I personally liked them, and for what they are, I rate them highly. Who needs 3D and polygonal characters when you've got clean, colorful artwork like this?

Sound 8/10

As with other FF titles, the score in FF Tactics comes close to stealing the show for me on many occasions. The music is perfectly suited to the action taking place most of the time, and helps drive the emotion of the plot line, as well as giving the major battles a sense of dramatic importance. Most of the tunes won't distract you, and after you've heard the battle themes for a while, you probably won't even notice them anymore (okay...so they did get a TEENY bit annoying after a while, but what doesn't after 70 hours?). The music gurus at Square really know their stuff...I would probably listen to these tunes on CD if I had access to them. Good stuff.

Well, pardon me for gushing so much, but this game is worth gushing about. It's strange that for a game this good, I never heard a single word or bit of hype about it, but that's good in a way, because it allowed me to form my own opinions. Despite it's minor flaws, this game is a fun ride from start to finish, and will leave you wanting more. I found it to be a bit short, myself, but that's probably just because I was spoiled by the lengthy and even more involved story of FFIII. This game is a must for not only FF fans, but fans of well thought out, fairly challenging RPG's as well. If you haven't played it yet, you better get to it...otherwise, you'll be kicking yourself, and that's not as easy as it sounds! A triumph in great gaming!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/27/04