This review contains spoilers
This review will have me looking things up, and will be influenced by both English releases, as well as my failing memories, aided by outside information. Skip the next two paragraphs, u won't. Skip the third one, too. Skip a lot of them. I gush towards the end. This isn't coherent and becomes decidedly less so as I go on. No drafts. Just a descent into madness as I go without sleep. I promise it's wordy, but very surface level. The third part is full of spoilers as I just list random stuff.
{I} Chapter 1: Chapter One
{II} Detailed gameplay
{III} Things I (dis)like. Yeah.
{IV} References
{I} Chapter 1: Chapter One (This is about the general synopsis and characters and story of Chapter 1)
Final Fantasy Tactics, written by Matsuno Yasumi (given name second), which has been officially localized into English twice. Michael Baskett was the Director of Localization[1] for the PlayStation script (though not necessarily the one to translate)[2]; and Joseph Reeder and Tom Slattery are credited as translators for the PlayStation Portable script. Although I credit these people, there is an assumption that there were a team of people, and getting different people to work together to get a project going takes some tact. The final results haphazardly put together are but the dreams of others we carry on. Yes, I'm shoving a "Final Fantasy Tactics" pun into this.
I was potentially a tween when I played Final Fantasy Tactics. For better or worse, my older sisters decided to get Final Fantasy VIII specifically for me prior to that, and Tekken 2 was our Tekken at home. I have never asked them why they thought I would like it. They had waned interest in video games by then, dedicated more to school life. I had also gotten my own translucent purple GameBoy Color, which came with Pokémon Red Version from Costco. You can tell by this backstory that this isn't merely a review on the game.
By the time I had played FFT, I had gotten used to the idea of role-playing games. But Final Fantasy Tactics? It happened to be played on a topographic grid made of squares. I had played other RPGs before, but this game didn't have walking—not in the traditional sense. Overworld movement includes a 4-directional input, but followed predetermined paths that grew as the map was filled; and battle movement, also determined in a 4-directional input, was limited by a unit's innate allotted movement (move), as well as allotted height (jump). This change in gameplay was new to me, and opened up how I saw RPGs. The closest I could connect this to were board games, but board games have standardized boards with equivalent pieces for both players—The ones I grew up with did, at least. This was a different way to play games. I had understood platformers well, and had been exposed to them, as well as shooters, thanks to arcade games. But this game? This game? You wouldn't find it in arcades.
This game starts you off with a snippet of a plot to kidnap a princess, with you playing as Ramza Beoulve. (Tangent: Kid me thought that that surname was influenced by Beowulf, except there is a character named "Beowulf" in the game. Their names are distinctly different in Japanese.) Ramza is the only controllable character in the tutorial, and as a tutorial, the equipment doesn't truly affect the outcome when you eventually reach to that point of the story again. It takes luck and effort to lose the tutorial[3], so the devs intended you to learn the basics as you went on. For many, one of the best lines in 90s video games comes after the end of that battle, and they both hold their weight in different ways. After said scene, we get a flashback, showing us how Ramza came to be.
Sadly, for many, the battle immediately after is where the game's difficulty spikes too high. I've come to agree that it is not beginner-friendly. You aren't taught about how characters act through water, nor do you realize that your limited pool of (curative) items is shared among the party. If you've never played a Final Fantasy game, you may not even know what they do. The water in the middle also almost acts as a trap for your players, and the foe you face has thieves on literal rooftops. If there's one thing tactics RPGs don't easily convey, it's strategy. They don't tell you how to capitalize on an opponent who you've pulled from the pack. They don't teach you the advantages of the very ground you walk on. They don't tell you about the heights you must climb, and how positioning can turn an ally into a literal obstacle. At least, Final Fantasy Tactics doesn't convey that well. And yet...
That first non-tutorial battle captures that feeling for Ramza as well. He's not even fresh out of the academy (Akademy in the newer script) when these brigands have come to your campus of learning to kill you and everything your name stands for. Ramza, the neophyte of war, is engaged in his first battle to determine whether he has what it takes to make it. The introduction had already informed us of the 50 Year's War prior, whose victors have received praise and notoriety. This new war Ramza is about to be thrust into? It's The War of the Lions, as two of the key political figures run a black lion, as well as a white lion, on their banner. But that first non-tutorial battle mentioned earlier? That was about the common folk-turned thieves who've resorted to ne'er-do-well activities after the land had been ravished by the previous war. Not everyone views the noble class as worthy. But Ramza isn't interested in the class he was born into. He's interested in not dying! That first skirmish tests his mettle. The very first chapter (of four chapters) is spent in this flashback to Ramza's cadet years as he slowly learns his place in the world, and how his relatively privileged life has both sheltered him from some truths, and given him insight in the world.
If we dive deeper, we can see Ramza's friends and family during this period, and how they shape him. Ramza's best friend, Delita, was born to commonfolk. Him and his sister lost their parents early to disease and were raised by the Beoulves. Ramza never treated them different for their class distinction, and this exposure was part of that impactful growth. His little sister, Alma, befriended Delita's little sister, Teta/Tita/Tietra. There's a significant enough age gap between Ramza and his older brothers, Dycedarg and Zalba(a)g. We later see Zalba(a)g's character unfold, but he does view Ramza as a true brother, despite being a half-sibling from a non-noblewoman. Zalba(a)g's conflict is a duty of his noble privilege and to that of his family. Ultimately, he is here to save face and uphold the status quo. On the other hand, Dycedarg, has no such emotional attachments and is here to uphold the status quo.
Chapter 1 being a flashback to warmer memories also leads to viewing the game in a somewhat warmer light. Sure, goblins, panther-sized cats, ostrich-sized birds, living fireballs, horned skeletons, etc. roam the land, but they're a bit of a nuisance. Or a huge threat if you're still getting used to tactics and the asymmetry of units. You'll have to learn the system enough, because it is still being lenient. But with that said, the third story battle introduces us to another noble-born.
Algus in the PS1 script, Argath in the PSP script, this seemingly hapless character negatively impacts the story for the greater. As an aside, my first experience with him did involve some of the worst RNG where he happened to die before I could even feasibly reach him. What a timeline that would have been to live in! To say his role in the arc of chapter 1 is gutwrenching wouldn't be seliing it properly. The worst part is that you can't even say he backstabbed you. He was always upfront in his role in the story. He was truly an ignoble-born through and through. But. His family had been disgraced two generations higher, and they were never able to live it down. Even Argus was caught within their faulty system. Algath, ever the pawn, but a well-written one to contrast another character whose noble heritage initial obscures their treatment in the world they live in. It still doesn't excuse アルガス.
The story grows from there. The class-based system is corrupt, and the religion pushes it to its extreme. Is this an RPG where you kill god? In a sense. Is this deity a giant space flea out of nowhere? No, that's a different Final Fantasy trope. But I wanted to get into that first chapter in more depth than it needed to say that I really enjoyed the story. It goes deeper in its plot, and I am in awe of the writing. Even with the first game's flaws and relatively rushed translation job, it hits important emotional beats that have stuck with me. And maybe its narrative has shaped me more than the gameplay itself. My bias in loving this old tactics RPG is for the writing, and the gameplay was a packaged deal.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
{II} Detailed gameplay
I enjoy tactics RPGs. I'm not amazing at them. I've played a decent amount. Consider it part of the console generation I grew up with, but comparisons to Final Fantasy Tactics is the shorthand I have to go with, no matter how wildly different games are. That said, this gameplay isn't without its flaws. The angle they present the isometric view is limited. You can rotate the camera, and you can even tilt the angle. It's not always the best.[4] Objectively speaking, the PS1 version has several bugs.[5]
That said, game feel is what is important. Final Fantasy Tactics uses a job system, which lets your characters become archetypal roles. Most of the early jobs correlate to the first classes in the first Final Fantasy game. Your squire, a base class, can be equated to a warrior; The knight class requires some squire knowledge, making it akin to the job leveling in that first game; Thief allows for higher movement and evasion at the cost of attack and defense, opting to steal a target's equipment or other various effects; Wizard is coded to be the series' black mage—a class that specializes in offense through the game's magic stats, including the "faith" modifier, at the cost of physical attack and physical defense; Priest is the white mage—a class specializing in curative abilities and defensive buffs, also at the cost of physical attack and physical defense; and Monk, equivalent to the FF1 monk class (sometimes localized as black belt) whose equipment is limited in lieu of beneficial all-rounder skills.
What some familiar with FFI may have noticed is my lack of inclusion of FFI's red mage. FFT allows characters to use another job as a secondary. Red mages in FFI were an amalgamation of warrior, black mage, and white mage, being decently equipped and having access to spells. There isn't a dedicated red mage job. That said, FFT allows for a character to access a second job with skills they know while using their primary job's stats and equipment. This leads to a higher degree of customization.
What FFT fans may notice is that I also didn't mention all of the early game classes. For instance, chemists in the game are the class to build into other magic classes. They allow for the use of items, which includes throwing them further than other units. They have abilities that can protect against thieves, as well as an ability to pick up hidden treasure. Finally, they have access to the gun weapon. Unfortunately, guns aren't readily available in early game, but they have the longest horizontal range in a straight line and do (relatively) fixed damage. In lieu of guns for early game, physical attackers have archers for range. They can wield crossbows, as well as bows. Crossbows have a significantly limited range and don't arc, meaning they don't necessarily shoot over obstacles. That said, they can be paired with shields, and some of them cause status effects.
Going off that, the status effects in FFT have viable uses for strategies throughout various playstyles. Statuses like silence can utterly debilitate a unit, enemy and foe alike, denying access to skills. There are statuses that stop you from moving, or acting, or decreasing your "faith", or even becoming a chicken. Equipment is a form of preventative measure, and others are from affecting someone else's stats. If you happen to use a monster unit, they can naturally avoid certain statuses.
Along with statuses, the game uses a rock-paper-scissors system attached to a character's zodiac. Different zodiacs behave differently to each other. The in-game date also affects a unit's stat bonuses. Although the mechanic isn't quite hidden, it's not one a casual player such as myself will delve into, adding more RNG to the system. This RNG is what adds to the thrills of moves that connect or not. The game displays these percentages, so you can make an informed decision on whether or not you want to use a move. That said, the percentage of landing a hit is a separate calculation from a shield blocking an attack, whose calculations aren't immediately revealed to the player.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
{III} Things I (dis)like. Yeah.
Things I like:
I want to mention less dry and guide-like mentions. Just things I like. You can ride chocobos! You can also get a boost from larger units to go up and down places! The game has really cute pigs. Casually, monks go BRRR! and you can go pretty far with them. I brought Mustadio to the final fight and he was vital to my victory at the time, you don't always need Cid. Also Cid is broken, please buff. Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII is in both versions. Balthier from Final Fantasy XII is in the PSP version! You can also get Luso Clemens from Final Fantasy Tactics: A2 in the PSP version~! The PS1 version is easy to cheese with the JP Scroll Glitch. The PSP version allows for a dark knight and onion knight class! The PSP version has multiplayer, in both versus and co-op missions! Worker 8 (Construct 8) has a BEEG laser, and is also a said BEEG unit you can use as a stepladder of sorts! Innocent status means Worker 8 is immune to magic, so you can trade blows from afar! The Calculator Job doing whatever it wants is great. Killing Algus is great on PS1. Killing Argath again on the PSP was cathartic. He's the absolutely most despised villain in the franchise. Dragon Reis. Also Reis hitting a monster so hard with a purse, they join our party! I actually enjoyed using geomancers, and having fun is just as important! I haven't ONCE mentioned the music, but that soundtrack is so catchy and emotional! I love the sound of bows being pulled, but repurposing it in cutscenes for pulling people feels so visceral for me. Having ridiculously high speed and just stripping an opponent of their valuables. Pushing someone down a cliff. Pushing someone down a cliff onto someone. Pushing someone down a cliff onto someone against a wall. Pushing someone down a cliff onto a pile of others as the game tries to figure out where to place everyone as they bounce around, taking damage. Agrias. :3
Things I don't like:
Algus. Argath. Percentages not matching with the perceived feel. After doing a bunch of convoluted sidequest requirements, you get Cloud at level 1. The original game allowed a total of 16 units, limiting monster farming a bit. Also, monsters constantly breeding. Rafa/Rapha and Malek having RNG tied to their job-specific classes, because I really think they're a cool story addition. As fun as riding chocobos is, bringing a chocobo in, filling a slot. I probably wouldn't be able to handle the speed of the game. I don't hate the camera angles as much as others, but when they're bad, they're bad. Choosing monster units to poach, only for RNG to summon the horde (The horde is not worth poaching).
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
{IV} References:
[1]https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2154602/ (Michael Baskett)
[2]https://j-entranslations.com/translation-chat-16-stephen-meyerink-chats-about-final-fantasy-tactics-the-war-of-the-lions/ (Stephen Meyerink, hosted by Jennifer O'Donnell)
[3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOewqwA1Wto (Evandro Anselmo)
[4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUKLkxQaQVE (Ulillillia)
[5]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urTo_43pK8U (Ulillillia)
{I} Chapter 1: Chapter One
{II} Detailed gameplay
{III} Things I (dis)like. Yeah.
{IV} References
{I} Chapter 1: Chapter One (This is about the general synopsis and characters and story of Chapter 1)
Final Fantasy Tactics, written by Matsuno Yasumi (given name second), which has been officially localized into English twice. Michael Baskett was the Director of Localization[1] for the PlayStation script (though not necessarily the one to translate)[2]; and Joseph Reeder and Tom Slattery are credited as translators for the PlayStation Portable script. Although I credit these people, there is an assumption that there were a team of people, and getting different people to work together to get a project going takes some tact. The final results haphazardly put together are but the dreams of others we carry on. Yes, I'm shoving a "Final Fantasy Tactics" pun into this.
I was potentially a tween when I played Final Fantasy Tactics. For better or worse, my older sisters decided to get Final Fantasy VIII specifically for me prior to that, and Tekken 2 was our Tekken at home. I have never asked them why they thought I would like it. They had waned interest in video games by then, dedicated more to school life. I had also gotten my own translucent purple GameBoy Color, which came with Pokémon Red Version from Costco. You can tell by this backstory that this isn't merely a review on the game.
By the time I had played FFT, I had gotten used to the idea of role-playing games. But Final Fantasy Tactics? It happened to be played on a topographic grid made of squares. I had played other RPGs before, but this game didn't have walking—not in the traditional sense. Overworld movement includes a 4-directional input, but followed predetermined paths that grew as the map was filled; and battle movement, also determined in a 4-directional input, was limited by a unit's innate allotted movement (move), as well as allotted height (jump). This change in gameplay was new to me, and opened up how I saw RPGs. The closest I could connect this to were board games, but board games have standardized boards with equivalent pieces for both players—The ones I grew up with did, at least. This was a different way to play games. I had understood platformers well, and had been exposed to them, as well as shooters, thanks to arcade games. But this game? This game? You wouldn't find it in arcades.
This game starts you off with a snippet of a plot to kidnap a princess, with you playing as Ramza Beoulve. (Tangent: Kid me thought that that surname was influenced by Beowulf, except there is a character named "Beowulf" in the game. Their names are distinctly different in Japanese.) Ramza is the only controllable character in the tutorial, and as a tutorial, the equipment doesn't truly affect the outcome when you eventually reach to that point of the story again. It takes luck and effort to lose the tutorial[3], so the devs intended you to learn the basics as you went on. For many, one of the best lines in 90s video games comes after the end of that battle, and they both hold their weight in different ways. After said scene, we get a flashback, showing us how Ramza came to be.
Sadly, for many, the battle immediately after is where the game's difficulty spikes too high. I've come to agree that it is not beginner-friendly. You aren't taught about how characters act through water, nor do you realize that your limited pool of (curative) items is shared among the party. If you've never played a Final Fantasy game, you may not even know what they do. The water in the middle also almost acts as a trap for your players, and the foe you face has thieves on literal rooftops. If there's one thing tactics RPGs don't easily convey, it's strategy. They don't tell you how to capitalize on an opponent who you've pulled from the pack. They don't teach you the advantages of the very ground you walk on. They don't tell you about the heights you must climb, and how positioning can turn an ally into a literal obstacle. At least, Final Fantasy Tactics doesn't convey that well. And yet...
That first non-tutorial battle captures that feeling for Ramza as well. He's not even fresh out of the academy (Akademy in the newer script) when these brigands have come to your campus of learning to kill you and everything your name stands for. Ramza, the neophyte of war, is engaged in his first battle to determine whether he has what it takes to make it. The introduction had already informed us of the 50 Year's War prior, whose victors have received praise and notoriety. This new war Ramza is about to be thrust into? It's The War of the Lions, as two of the key political figures run a black lion, as well as a white lion, on their banner. But that first non-tutorial battle mentioned earlier? That was about the common folk-turned thieves who've resorted to ne'er-do-well activities after the land had been ravished by the previous war. Not everyone views the noble class as worthy. But Ramza isn't interested in the class he was born into. He's interested in not dying! That first skirmish tests his mettle. The very first chapter (of four chapters) is spent in this flashback to Ramza's cadet years as he slowly learns his place in the world, and how his relatively privileged life has both sheltered him from some truths, and given him insight in the world.
If we dive deeper, we can see Ramza's friends and family during this period, and how they shape him. Ramza's best friend, Delita, was born to commonfolk. Him and his sister lost their parents early to disease and were raised by the Beoulves. Ramza never treated them different for their class distinction, and this exposure was part of that impactful growth. His little sister, Alma, befriended Delita's little sister, Teta/Tita/Tietra. There's a significant enough age gap between Ramza and his older brothers, Dycedarg and Zalba(a)g. We later see Zalba(a)g's character unfold, but he does view Ramza as a true brother, despite being a half-sibling from a non-noblewoman. Zalba(a)g's conflict is a duty of his noble privilege and to that of his family. Ultimately, he is here to save face and uphold the status quo. On the other hand, Dycedarg, has no such emotional attachments and is here to uphold the status quo.
Chapter 1 being a flashback to warmer memories also leads to viewing the game in a somewhat warmer light. Sure, goblins, panther-sized cats, ostrich-sized birds, living fireballs, horned skeletons, etc. roam the land, but they're a bit of a nuisance. Or a huge threat if you're still getting used to tactics and the asymmetry of units. You'll have to learn the system enough, because it is still being lenient. But with that said, the third story battle introduces us to another noble-born.
Algus in the PS1 script, Argath in the PSP script, this seemingly hapless character negatively impacts the story for the greater. As an aside, my first experience with him did involve some of the worst RNG where he happened to die before I could even feasibly reach him. What a timeline that would have been to live in! To say his role in the arc of chapter 1 is gutwrenching wouldn't be seliing it properly. The worst part is that you can't even say he backstabbed you. He was always upfront in his role in the story. He was truly an ignoble-born through and through. But. His family had been disgraced two generations higher, and they were never able to live it down. Even Argus was caught within their faulty system. Algath, ever the pawn, but a well-written one to contrast another character whose noble heritage initial obscures their treatment in the world they live in. It still doesn't excuse アルガス.
The story grows from there. The class-based system is corrupt, and the religion pushes it to its extreme. Is this an RPG where you kill god? In a sense. Is this deity a giant space flea out of nowhere? No, that's a different Final Fantasy trope. But I wanted to get into that first chapter in more depth than it needed to say that I really enjoyed the story. It goes deeper in its plot, and I am in awe of the writing. Even with the first game's flaws and relatively rushed translation job, it hits important emotional beats that have stuck with me. And maybe its narrative has shaped me more than the gameplay itself. My bias in loving this old tactics RPG is for the writing, and the gameplay was a packaged deal.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
{II} Detailed gameplay
I enjoy tactics RPGs. I'm not amazing at them. I've played a decent amount. Consider it part of the console generation I grew up with, but comparisons to Final Fantasy Tactics is the shorthand I have to go with, no matter how wildly different games are. That said, this gameplay isn't without its flaws. The angle they present the isometric view is limited. You can rotate the camera, and you can even tilt the angle. It's not always the best.[4] Objectively speaking, the PS1 version has several bugs.[5]
That said, game feel is what is important. Final Fantasy Tactics uses a job system, which lets your characters become archetypal roles. Most of the early jobs correlate to the first classes in the first Final Fantasy game. Your squire, a base class, can be equated to a warrior; The knight class requires some squire knowledge, making it akin to the job leveling in that first game; Thief allows for higher movement and evasion at the cost of attack and defense, opting to steal a target's equipment or other various effects; Wizard is coded to be the series' black mage—a class that specializes in offense through the game's magic stats, including the "faith" modifier, at the cost of physical attack and physical defense; Priest is the white mage—a class specializing in curative abilities and defensive buffs, also at the cost of physical attack and physical defense; and Monk, equivalent to the FF1 monk class (sometimes localized as black belt) whose equipment is limited in lieu of beneficial all-rounder skills.
What some familiar with FFI may have noticed is my lack of inclusion of FFI's red mage. FFT allows characters to use another job as a secondary. Red mages in FFI were an amalgamation of warrior, black mage, and white mage, being decently equipped and having access to spells. There isn't a dedicated red mage job. That said, FFT allows for a character to access a second job with skills they know while using their primary job's stats and equipment. This leads to a higher degree of customization.
What FFT fans may notice is that I also didn't mention all of the early game classes. For instance, chemists in the game are the class to build into other magic classes. They allow for the use of items, which includes throwing them further than other units. They have abilities that can protect against thieves, as well as an ability to pick up hidden treasure. Finally, they have access to the gun weapon. Unfortunately, guns aren't readily available in early game, but they have the longest horizontal range in a straight line and do (relatively) fixed damage. In lieu of guns for early game, physical attackers have archers for range. They can wield crossbows, as well as bows. Crossbows have a significantly limited range and don't arc, meaning they don't necessarily shoot over obstacles. That said, they can be paired with shields, and some of them cause status effects.
Going off that, the status effects in FFT have viable uses for strategies throughout various playstyles. Statuses like silence can utterly debilitate a unit, enemy and foe alike, denying access to skills. There are statuses that stop you from moving, or acting, or decreasing your "faith", or even becoming a chicken. Equipment is a form of preventative measure, and others are from affecting someone else's stats. If you happen to use a monster unit, they can naturally avoid certain statuses.
Along with statuses, the game uses a rock-paper-scissors system attached to a character's zodiac. Different zodiacs behave differently to each other. The in-game date also affects a unit's stat bonuses. Although the mechanic isn't quite hidden, it's not one a casual player such as myself will delve into, adding more RNG to the system. This RNG is what adds to the thrills of moves that connect or not. The game displays these percentages, so you can make an informed decision on whether or not you want to use a move. That said, the percentage of landing a hit is a separate calculation from a shield blocking an attack, whose calculations aren't immediately revealed to the player.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
{III} Things I (dis)like. Yeah.
Things I like:
I want to mention less dry and guide-like mentions. Just things I like. You can ride chocobos! You can also get a boost from larger units to go up and down places! The game has really cute pigs. Casually, monks go BRRR! and you can go pretty far with them. I brought Mustadio to the final fight and he was vital to my victory at the time, you don't always need Cid. Also Cid is broken, please buff. Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII is in both versions. Balthier from Final Fantasy XII is in the PSP version! You can also get Luso Clemens from Final Fantasy Tactics: A2 in the PSP version~! The PS1 version is easy to cheese with the JP Scroll Glitch. The PSP version allows for a dark knight and onion knight class! The PSP version has multiplayer, in both versus and co-op missions! Worker 8 (Construct 8) has a BEEG laser, and is also a said BEEG unit you can use as a stepladder of sorts! Innocent status means Worker 8 is immune to magic, so you can trade blows from afar! The Calculator Job doing whatever it wants is great. Killing Algus is great on PS1. Killing Argath again on the PSP was cathartic. He's the absolutely most despised villain in the franchise. Dragon Reis. Also Reis hitting a monster so hard with a purse, they join our party! I actually enjoyed using geomancers, and having fun is just as important! I haven't ONCE mentioned the music, but that soundtrack is so catchy and emotional! I love the sound of bows being pulled, but repurposing it in cutscenes for pulling people feels so visceral for me. Having ridiculously high speed and just stripping an opponent of their valuables. Pushing someone down a cliff. Pushing someone down a cliff onto someone. Pushing someone down a cliff onto someone against a wall. Pushing someone down a cliff onto a pile of others as the game tries to figure out where to place everyone as they bounce around, taking damage. Agrias. :3
Things I don't like:
Algus. Argath. Percentages not matching with the perceived feel. After doing a bunch of convoluted sidequest requirements, you get Cloud at level 1. The original game allowed a total of 16 units, limiting monster farming a bit. Also, monsters constantly breeding. Rafa/Rapha and Malek having RNG tied to their job-specific classes, because I really think they're a cool story addition. As fun as riding chocobos is, bringing a chocobo in, filling a slot. I probably wouldn't be able to handle the speed of the game. I don't hate the camera angles as much as others, but when they're bad, they're bad. Choosing monster units to poach, only for RNG to summon the horde (The horde is not worth poaching).
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
{IV} References:
[1]https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2154602/ (Michael Baskett)
[2]https://j-entranslations.com/translation-chat-16-stephen-meyerink-chats-about-final-fantasy-tactics-the-war-of-the-lions/ (Stephen Meyerink, hosted by Jennifer O'Donnell)
[3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOewqwA1Wto (Evandro Anselmo)
[4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUKLkxQaQVE (Ulillillia)
[5]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urTo_43pK8U (Ulillillia)