FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: The War of the Lions

Final Fantasy Tactics, the first and only strategy/RPG to bear the Final Fantasy name, was not created for the legions of fans brought together by FFVI and FFVII. If that surprises you, chances are you didn’t play the game in 1998. At the time it seemed strange for Square to go in another direction right after the success of Final Fantasy VII. But their venture was a major gain for strategy/RPG players. Square had developed a groundbreaking title that delivered an unprecedented level of depth, challenge, and replay value. It wasn’t like the other console RPGs, where leveling up could heal all wounds. In this game, you had to fight with every ounce of power, which was rarely enough.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is a grand re-creation of that game for PSP. It’s like the special edition of a standard DVD, cramming more features (most notably new job classes and new animated sequences that replace the old CG clips) into one disc.

I’m willing to bet that most fans pre-ordered their copies month ago and cannot wait for the game’s October 9th release. But if you’ve yet to be convinced that this is the strategy/RPG to get, read on. This is not a game that can be overlooked a second time.

Archer for Hire

Most of the recent Final Fantasy games have offered an equipment-based growth system that allowed players to make every party member exactly the same. Doing so wouldn’t be smart, but it was possible. That gives players a great deal of freedom, but some preferred a more character-driven growth system. They wanted party members to be defined as individual pieces of one giant puzzle, not a mere clone.

Final Fantasy Tactics earned much acclaim for taking the latter path with its job class system. The job determines your attack style and the special abilities you’ll have access to. Chemists, for example, are the primary users of items. You can’t pass a few potions to each party member and expect to use them. It won’t work. This might not go over well for first-time players. Even those who have prior experience with strategy/RPGs are likely to die. But this is one of several things the game expects you to overcome.

“Alright, I’ve got a Chemist in my party. Now I need an attacker.” There are several options there, starting with the game’s introductory roster, which contains Squire, Knight, Archer, White Mage and Black Mage. Most of these are self-explanatory. Job classes may be changed, and it is possible to create a party that primarily consists of Black Mages (or any other class). But the penalty for changing a job class is that you don’t get to keep your current level – that stays with the current class. The penalty for having one class rule the battlefield is a lack of variety. This is not a game where that can be ignored.

Other classes include Monk, Time Mage, Summoner, Orator, Mystic, Thief, Geomancer, Dragoon, Arithmetician, Samurai, Bard, Ninja, Dancer, and Mime. Many of these classes are acquired by leveling up the introductory classes, but not all of them are necessary to win. Besides, it’s impossible to have each type of character represented in every battle.

Class selection.

Mission: Brutality

Much like the original FFT and most other strategy/RPGs, The War of the Lions is a mission-based game. Unlike the competition, however, these battles are light-years beyond cakewalk. The first skirmish could be labeled “easy.” It is merely the intro, after all. But the game quickly advances to a level that’s likely well past your own inherent skills. Whereas most RPGs train us to go through a process (level up every time a boss is too tough to defeat), Final Fantasy Tactics takes the genre seriously, urging – and in many cases forcing – the player to strategize.

Part of your strategy comes from what happens before the battle begins. The game uses a generic, point-and-click-based map screen where you can select to visit locations for story development or to participate in new battles. Three of the primary locations to visit are the tavern, Outfitter, and Warriors’ Guild. The former is where you’ll read up on rumors and battle with or against another player. Anyone can read the rumors to learn more about the game’s story. However, the multiplayer battles and co-op play are ad hoc only and require two FFT game discs, which were not available for this review.

Need new items and/or equipment? Visit the Outfitter, and drop by the Warriors’ Guild whenever you need new party members. There you can hire base-level units, male or female, to use in battle. This feature is cool, but don’t waste your guild purchasing too many members. Remember that there are limits to the number of units that can be used in combat.

As with all strategy/RPGs, battles occur on several different grid-based environments. Attacks are turn-based and are conducted on a per-character basis. You can only move one character at a time, and characters’ turns cannot be switched. However, if you choose to use the Wait command (which leaves the character in his or her current position), you’ll notice that their turns appear more frequent. This is an interesting way to tackle some of the game’s toughest problems. Chemists and White Mages aren’t the best at attacking, but their healing abilities are invaluable. Therefore you may want to have them “wait” around a bit when they have no major use, which will cause their turns to come more often. If the next enemy injures an ally, your healers will be there to step in.

The combat is excruciatingly difficult. But it is also very entertaining. The depth is overwhelming at first, and may once again feel overwhelming if this is your first time playing the game since 1998. Within that bombarding sensation is a strategy/RPG that will hold your attention for years to come. It’s not just another great game, or another one that’s worth playing. It demands ownership and begs to be revisited. Finally, you may now do so anywhere on PSP.

Gameplay: 9.0
Ruthless battles never felt so good. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is more than a port – it’s an expansion of the PSone’s best strategy/RPG.

Graphics: 7.9
The War of the Lions’ new animated sequences are breathtaking. The game itself, however, is not quite as visually impressive. Spells, character models and environments shine on PSP, but the occasional slowdown and awkward camera angles are less than satisfactory. I know this is only a port. Still, it would’ve been nice if we could adjust the camera to view the game from any angle – not just the few settings provided.

Sound: 9.0
Strategy/RPGs have the tendency to annoy players with music that’s good but repetitive. Final Fantasy Tactics’ score isn’t so massive that you won’t hear a song twice. But it is nothing short of a masterpiece.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Final Fantasy Tactics is filled with enemies that are brutal and unforgiving. For most players, it’ll be a constant struggle to keep their head above water.

Concept: 8.1
The story is excellent and features some of Square Enix’s best dialogue. Without any innovative gameplay mechanics, however, this PSP port relies on new battles, graphics, attack types and animated sequences to bring the game above its PSone original.

Multiplayer: N/A
We don’t know yet how the versus and co-op features will turn out, but they sound very promising.

Overall: 9.0
Whether you have the PSone original or have just begun to appreciate the value of a great strategy/RPG, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is not a must-play release – it is a must-own.