Developer: Square Enix
ESRB Rating: Teen
Genre: Tactical Simulation
Platform: Playstation
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: 12/31/1997
What is Final Fantasy Tactics?
Final Fantasy Tactics is a diversion from the standard RPG that you would normally expect from Squaresoft and Enix. This game is considered a “strategy RPG” with heavy emphasis on the strategy part. As the son of a hero, you must uncover a sinister plot to awaken an ancient evil while discovering the real truth behind an old legend called the Zodiac Brave Story. Combat takes place on a grid where you move your units in turn based combat, similar to X-COM UFO Defense. The game tells a rich and complex story in which you kill every character in the game in grand Shakespearian style.
What does this game do well?
This game is a great addition to the Final Fantasy universe. The background is very similar to Final Fantasy VI; in ancient times mankind had developed all sorts of grand technology and machinery, even airships that dominated the sky. However, through some major catastrophe, all of the technology was destroyed and buried, and the world was set back thousands of years to a time of knights and wizards. Although the game takes place in a far off world, you will see familiar elements of Final Fantasy lore, such as materia from Final Fantasy VII, chocobos, and my personal favorite, black mage!
One of the things that keeps this game challenging is that the monsters you encounter are always the same level as the highest level character on your team, so you will never get into a fight where you have an overwhelming advantage.
The one thing that everyone seems to love about this game is the music. Although it was not composed by Nobuo Uematsu (the man that does the music in all the other Final Fantasy games) it is still excellent.
What makes this game so great is the tradition of making finishing the game rather easy, but mastering the game incredibly hard. Although the game can be beaten in 12-15 hours, if you want to get all the hidden characters (including Cloud from Final Fantasy VII) and all the hidden items, then you could easily play for more than the 99 hours the game keeps track of.
What new and innovative ideas are implemented in this game?
I was quite impressed with the linear experience system that is used in Final Fantasy Tactics. Your units gain a level every 100 experience points no matter what level you are. So even when you are level 98 it still only takes 100 experience points, rather than the millions of experience points with exponential systems. What makes this system work so well is that you gain experience for every action you take rather than at the end of a battle. So whether you are attacking an enemy or healing an ally, you gain the same amount of experience. As far as I know, this was a completely new type of experience system, and it works very well in this game. (If I am wrong, please let me know what game was the first to do this)
If I had to name one aspect of this game that is better than the rest it would be the job system. In addition to gaining experience points for every action your units take, they also gain job points for every action they take. Job points may be used to gain new abilities in the current unit’s class. Some of the abilities are tied to that unit’s class and some can be used regardless of what class the unit is. Between combat, you can change the unit’s class to gain a different set of abilities and gain job points in the new class. This system creates a personal attachment between the player and his units, as he molds them into whatever he sees fit. It also allows for nearly limitless replayability, as there are tons of different skill combinations to try out and it takes a long time to try them all.
What could this game have done better?
As good as this game is, there are still some things that could have been done better. I think one thing that kept this game from being considered one of the best Final Fantasy titles by most people is that it is so hard to learn how to play. The tutorial for this game is not very good, and there are a ton of brand new things to learn since this is a significant departure from normal Final Fantasy games. The sheer difficulty in learning how to play is a deterrent to many casual and even some hardcore gamers. If you are willing to take the time to learn how to play, then you will be in for a big treat. However it will take a significant amount of time just to figure out the basics of the game.
Because the game was so hard to learn, I started over many times which made me realize how annoying it is that you cannot skip through the non-interactive scenes relating to the story. Reading the story is very important to understanding what is going on in the game, but having to watch a 60 second cut scene over and over can get extremely tedious. It would have been nice to be able to skip them.
Another minor problem was with the translations from Japanese to English. There are many errors in translation and problems with the grammar, etc. It is not so bad that you cannot understand what is going on, but it is definitely something that could have been fixed.
The only other problem I had with the game is the propositions. In the later chapters of the game, you can go to a bar and complete little side quests called propositions. When you complete them, you receive money and sometimes an item or discover a new location. However, all the items are unusable and you cannot go to any of the locations. So basically the proposition rewards are useless other than for interesting reading material. Propositions were a good idea, but they were completely useless, so I don’t know why there were included in the game.
Should I buy this game?
Without a doubt, you should buy this game. In fact, if you don’t own a Playstation, you should consider buying one just so you can play this game. In 1998 another game called Tactics Ogre was released that is very similar to this game, but in my opinion Final Fantasy Tactics is better. Although it is difficult to learn how to play this game, if you have the time to figure it out this is one of the best games I have ever played, and I would put it in the top 3 best Final Fantasy titles ever made. (Behind Final Fantasy VI and VII)
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