Final Fantasy Tactics

"Final Fantasy Tactics, a new taste in the final fantasy series"

Introduction
Final Fantasy Tactics is the first game in the final fantasy series to be of a more strategy game. This game is for the playstation and is very good for a final fantasy game. This game is very different from the other final fantasies. This game is built on gameplay mostly and also has a good storyline. I will talk about the specific information on controls, storyline, gameplay, graphics/sound, time/replayability, and then conclude with a final recommendation along with an overall rating for the game. There are other categories as well that I did not mention in the above, because it basically has to do with the gameplay in Final Fantasy Tactics. Anyways, let's move on to the controls in Final Fantasy Tactics.

Controls: 8/10
Final Fantasy Tactics was like the rest of the final fantasy games. They had pretty much the same controls to play with. I am not sure that you could adjust the controls to fit your style, but the standard controls were pretty much good. They were easy to figure out and use. There is not much left to say, so I will give the controls in Final Fantasy Tactics a 9/10 rating. This rating is for it being simple to learn, and also easy to use.

Storyline: 9/10
The storyline in Final Fantasy Tactics is somewhat interesting. There were many plots, and even war going on. The white lion and the black lion fight in war. It is worth seeing who would win and lose. The story is fantastic during the second and third chapter in the game. In the end, it gets a little confusing, but it still is great. It takes about two times of playing the whole game to understand the plots and what happens, and it does seem like a great story to me, and I am sure everyone else would agree. So, the storyline in Final Fantasy Tactics deserves a 9/10 rating. This is for a spectacular storyline that is very interesting.Let's move on to the gameplay in this game. Basically, the story starts out with you, and a few other soldiers at the Orbonne Monastery. The princess is there praying, for the safety of the children of Ivalice. Then, knights are attacking the Orbonne Monastery, in search of the princess. You fight them, finish the battle. Suddenly, Delita (This is not a spoiler. This is the beginning.) captures the princess, and runs off. After that, Ramza tells them about Delita and his relationship with him. That is the beginning of the story. Later, the plots begin, and war comes about. The beginning of the story is fascinating, so I give it a 9/10 rating.

Gameplay: 9/10
Final Fantasy Tactics is extremely different than any other final fantasy game. In this game, you use characters to have a specific job, such as a squire, chemist, etc. and you will gain experience and job points. experience levels you up, of course, and job points level up your job and are used to learn new skills for that job. It sounds complicated, but it is very simple to understand in the game. You can have up to 16 units in your party, but can only use five or less units in battle. Also, another feature in this game is that the monsters in battle level up as you do, making it more challenging, where ever you go. There are shops, bars, and soldier offices in Final Fantasy Tactics. The shops are used for buying weapons, armor, and accessories. Bars are for listening to rumors, sending a few of your units to do propositions, which earns money and special treasures. The soldier office can be used for recruiting soldiers and also to change the names of your monsters. One last thing that you should know is the battle system. Unlike most final fantasy games, this game you move on squared panels to reach your enemy. The battles in Final Fantasy Tactics are much longer than the other final fantasy games. The battle systems in Final Fantasy Tactics are much more complicated. Since there is so much to know about the battle system, there is a tutorial option, which helps you learn about everything in battle. There are severals things that covers the battle system, and if you are new to this game, you should go to tutorial and learn the concepts of the battle systems. The formation screen is a big part of the game, as it is where you go to change your unit's job, learn skills, and equip items. The only thing that I thought was a slightly bad part of the gameplay was that after every battle you face, all of your units will recover all their damage, meaning they are completely recovered. I thought that was pretty shallow in Final Fantasy Tactics. So, deciding the rating of the gameplay in Final Fantasy Tactics was a bit tough to choose, but I went with a 9/10 rating. This gameplay deserves that rating for it being a new taste in the final fantasy series, and also being a tougher challenge for everyone.

Characters: 7/10
There were not many main characters in Final Fantasy Tactics. There are only two main characters, who are Ramza and Delita. There are other characters, which I will consider secondary characters, who are the bosses in the game, and important allies. Although, even with secondary characters, they should not be as important. The main characters are more important, but since there are very few main characters, the secondary characters become more important. Also, most of the secondary characters have unique jobs, which you cannot obtain. Other than that, just with these characters, they can get to a 7/10 rating by themselves for Final Fantasy Tactics.

Jobs: 9/10
I am giving the jobs its own category since it is a big effect in Final Fantasy Tactics. Every character or unit has a specific job. Everyone but monsters can change their jobs. Since monsters can change their job, they give birth to make another monster. Sometimes you will get an upgraded version of a monster, and sometimes you will get the same monster. As a character goes into battle, you will gain job points (JP). The job points you gain are used to learn new skills for that specific job. When all the skills for that job are learned, you become a master at it. Also, as you gain job points from battles, you will soon receive a job level up. Job level ups are basically for gain more job points and also getting new jobs. Every job has different skills, and there are several jobs to choose from. I believe there are 18 jobs available to get. With a variety of jobs to choose, and a variety of skills to learn, the Jobs for Final Fantasy Tactics receive a rating of a 9/10. This is for a variety of jobs and skills to obtain. This makes Final Fantasy Tactics even more better.

Difficulty: 8/10
Final Fantasy Tactics is not very hard to beat the game. Although, sometimes it can be hard since the monsters are equal to your level, making it much more challenging. This is a taste in Final Fantasy Tactics that I found great. Some bosses are harder than others, but it would still be challenging at the beginner and intermediate skill leveled player. Most of the human characters do not stay around your level, they usually stick to the same level if it is an important battle that must be done. The important battles are always the same difficulty, but the enemies might have different skills at hand. With that being said, the Difficulty in Final Fantasy Tactics is an 8/10 rating. It is not difficult to beat, but it can still be challenging most of the time.

Graphics/Sound: 9/10
The graphics on Final Fantasy Tactics were not as great as the other final fantasy games. The characters were pretty small, but you could easily tell them apart from other characters. The one thing that bothered me about the graphics was the picture of the character. The characters didn't have a nose, which kind of looked weird. Also, just about everything was 2d. I think 2d is great graphics compared to 3d. So I like the graphics a little, since they were mostly 2d. The sound was alright, they had people scream and yell just as they are dying. The music on Final Fantasy Tactics is amazing. I liked most the songs on tactics a lot. The had a wide variety of music to listen too as you are in a battle or just in part of the story sequence cinema. The music matched with the battles perfectly too. The music again, just amazingly spectacular. Therefore, the Graphics/Sound for Final Fantasy Tactics deserves a nice rating of 9/10. This is for their nice 2d graphics and perfected music.

Time/Replayability: 9/10
Final Fantasy Tactics is a little shorter than most of the other final fantasy games. It would take about a week or two to beat the whole game. It might take a little longer, depending on your skill level, but you can defeat the game within a month or so. Even after beating the game, you would probably feel like starting a new file, for various reasons. One might be that your bored, another might be that you missed something, or it could just be that you want to just challenge yourself again. Overall, the time/replayability in Final Fantasy Tactics deserves a rating of 9/10. This is for replaying the game is a good idea, and it still would be fun to do.

Game Overall: 9/10
This game is definitely for buying. If you feel you must rent it, go ahead. I am sure you will buy this game once you have played it during your rental. This game is worthy of buying because it has awesome storyline, great gameplay, spectacular graphics and sound, and same fun every day you play this game again. So, there you go, if you don't believe, go ahead and rent it. This game rocks all the way. You will change your mind by getting really addicted to it. Overall, this game has reached a final rating of a 9/10. Final Fantasy Tactics is a great game, so buy it now before it is too late.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/04