Tactics Ogre

"You defintely need this game, it's one of the best"

INTRO
Tactics Ogre is a strategy RPG for those of you who liked Final Fantasy Tactics but thought it was a little too easy. (Both are my favorite games.) Actually, Tactics Ogre came out earlier for the playstation and FFT copied everything of TO, from the battle engine to major points in the plot, even the formation screen and the little ''war funds'' box that shows how much money you have. (That is a good thing)They even hired many of the same people who worked on TO! More games should be like this.

STORY- A+ (other reviews tell more about it)
GAMEPLAY-A+ (the best part, along with story)
GRAPHICS-B (the graphics are somewhat simple and primitive because it was originally a SNES title, but are effective anyways. Most sprites look great, especially the dragons. There is nothing ugly or anything that will make you cringe, just that there is nothing flashy and no FMV in the game. The portraits are very well done, too. )
MUSIC- B (SNES songs. Some are memorable and I loved, such as Avilla Henya, A Cygnet, and Box of Sentiment. One in particular is annoying: the theme that plays through the whole Hells Gate. There are 45 songs. I know because I bought the soundtrack.)
REPLAY- A+ (unlike almost every other RPG, the gameplay is great. Also, there are three paths with very different story, battles, and special characters. A path is about the same length as FFT)
STRATEGY
A lot more strategy is required to these battles than in FFT. Everything, such as the weather, the terrain, the element (wind, water, fire, earth), and the height of each character makes a big difference in the power and success rates of every magic and physical attack, much more than in FFT. Rather than having just four or five units in your party, you can have ten, on large maps of much variety. Every unit and piece of equipment has a weight which determines the AT list. Often you will be fighting against stronger enemies on higher ground or on a fortress. This forces you to use strategy. But don't feel overwhelmed by all this; it will not be difficult to get used to. The battles in TO are the most fun of any game I've played yet. It is the ONLY game I've ever played that had both a strong story and FUN random battles.

Some people say that all the leveling up required makes TO slow, but I disagree. The leveling- up system is based on the attacker's level compared to the unit attacked, so levels tend to even out. The first time I played through (chaos path) I did some training, but the second time through (law path)I didn't have to go into training even once during all four chapters.
CHARACTERS
I love the characters in this game! You can really get attached to them. My favorites were Canopus, Deneb, Forcas, and Aloser. The portraits were more realistic and less anime, and really added to the game. Some of the female character portraits looked good, like Selye, Shelley, Deneb, and the sirens, but the male character portraits were the best. For example: Forcas, Lans, Jenounes, Canopus, chapter 4 Denim, and maybe Leonard and Mildain.

CONCLUSION
This is such a good game that you should get even if you have to search hours for it, unless you absolutely cannot stand SNES graphics and sound.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/07/00, Updated 03/06/01