Retro Love: Final Fantasy Tactics - War of the Lions

For the Beoulves!

As you may have noticed, I've been on a bit of a retro kick lately. There's just so much awesome stuff to talk about from the past generations - an excellent example of said "awesome stuff" is the legendary Final Fantasy Tactics. Nearing its 15th year of kicking ass and taking names, the original FFT still stands, in my opinion, as the greatest example of the console turn-based strategy game ever developed.

As I no longer have access to the original PS1 version (my PS1's been broken for well over 5 years already, and FFT has some serious emulation issues when played over ePSXe) I'm going to be using the excellent PSP remake, War of the Lions, to refresh my memory for this installment of Retro Love.

Moving on, I decided to write this article because I've gotten back into playing Tactics again after a long hiatus - this is my fifth (!) time playing through the game, making it second only to Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (PC) as the game I've replayed the most. What is it about this game that inspires such devotion and love?

The graphics of the game have aged surprisingly well - especially when compared to other games released in the same time frame. The 2D sprites for the characters are very expressive and convey a lot of emotion, while the battlefields are simple in terms of polygonal architecture but are textured very nicely - they feel very "natural". Compare the same to more recent SRPG releases like Vandal Hearts II (PS1) or even the first Disgaea (PS2) and you'll better appreciate the effort present in every frame. (Note: The PSP remake looks considerably better than the PSOne version available online due to the smaller screen size and what seems to be a subtle smoothing effect, which cuts down on jaggies.)

A truly masterful OST.

The sound, on the other hand is absolutely AMAZING. This is one of my favorite game OST's of all time (second only to Square's own Chrono Trigger) - the stirring music really captures the mood of each moment, from stirring war beats, to gentler symphonies that convey a sense of wonder and adventure, and even melancholic, darker compositions that accompany key
moments in the game's twisted, circuitous plot.

Speaking of the original plot, that might be the game's only true weakness. It's well written and interesting, but the translation of the script for the original PS1 version was beyond abysmal. In fact, it gets progressively worse throughout the game, to the point where exactly what happened in the ending was pretty unclear to me. Happily, this glaring chink in FFT's armor was fixed on the PSP version, which has one of the finest Square scripts ever written.)

Ahhhh. Job System goodness.
(Note: Some classes in this screenshot limited to the PSP version.)

But all of those positive attributes don't hold a candle to the game's absolutely immaculate gameplay. I can think of few examples, in any game genre, where I feel that a game that was released more than a decade ago can be demonstrably better than a game released today. Yes, Disgaea and its Nippon Ichi Software brethren (Makai Kingdom, La Pucelle, Phantom Brave etc.) may have their complicated gameplay systems and damage counts in the bazillions, but the simple elegance of Final Fantasy Tactics' amazing Job System (still better than FFV's) provides a compelling reason to keep playing. The abilities you can learn are varied and have many different tactical applications, and provide an addictive carrot/incentive to fight "just one more battle". I also like that the game puts up a good fight - I'm a FFT veteran, as I previously mentioned, and I've seen everything the game has to offer, but the random enemy/party positioning and enemy levels that scale to your party's level help to keep you on your toes. (Just the other day, I got wiped out on Lenalia Plateau! Grrrr.)

In closing, if you've somehow never played FFT before, and have an passing interest in (or an open mind about) playing turn-based strategy RPG's in the Vandal Hearts vein, you owe it to yourself to play this immediately. Hey, if you have a PSP, the file's pretty small - less than half a gig if I remember right - so you've got no excuses. PS: Do not play this game, pictured below, as it's a much, much crappier title.

I give you... the most disappointing game ever.

Sigh. It's never a good sign when the sequel you've waited for for so long puts you to sleep in 25 minutes. Never a good sign, I'm telling you.

"I got a good feeling!"