After the release of the revolutionary Final Fantasy VII that marked the passage from 2D to full motion video and 3D computer graphics in an RPG, it was hard to believe that old-styled video games of the same genre could obtain the same success they could enjoy in the Nineties, when 2D and pseudo-3D graphics were considered a miracle. Still less if we think about a saga like Final Fantasy that has always been idolized by its fans especially because of its use of the latest graphics innovations. However, wonderful virtual experiences like Final Fantasy Tactics have taught us that a good video game isn’t always the one with the coolest graphics, but also and above all the one which can keep you glued to the screen for hours. Some games can achieve it thanks to great plots, some other can do it thanks to their playability. What is amazing about Final Fantasy Tactics is that it was successfully created to be a perfect mix of both.
Final Fantasy Tactics was released by Squaresoft in 1997 and was received with great enthusiasm by fans of tactical RPG. Not for nothing, it has been labelled 'the most impressive strategy RPG yet' by video game magazine Game Informer, and “worthy of being called a classical” by Electronic Gaming Monthly. The reasons for this label are attributable to its challenging battle sequences, which requires more strategic planning than ordinary RPGs, and to the in-depth plot rare in tactical games of the same genre. Thus, Final Fantasy Tactics made it possible for the player to enjoy an RPG with both battles and the story as strong points. The success of a game like Final Fantasy Tactics is hard to emulate, but not an impossible enterprise. Many other valuable games like Final Fantasy Tactics have been released over the years, so we collected for you a list to help you find them.
1. Disgaea 5: Allegiance of Vengeance
- System: PS4, NS, PC
- Publisher: NIS America, Nippon Ichi Software, IntraGames
- Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
- Release Dates: Oct 6, 2015
If a great tactical RPG adventure is what you are craving for, then you wouldn’t look any further than Disgaea 5: Allegiance of Vengeance. Created by Nippon Ichi Software and released in 2015 for PS4, Disgaea 5 is set in a fantasy land populated by supernatural creatures. With the help of an army of over one million soldiers known as The Lost, the evil demon emperor Void Dark has come to power and now devastates numerous Netherworlds to make them fall under his own jurisdiction. Thus, Killia, a young and solitary demon, teams up with the Overlords of the Netherworlds under Void Dark's rule to rise up and take revenge.
Disgaea 5 is similar to Final Fantasy Tactics in many ways; first of all, they both tell about a world fallen to war and a group of heroes which attempts to take the evil down in order to restore peace. Then, they are both games based on strategy and free character development. Indeed, as in Final Fantasy Tactics, also in Disgaea 5 all of the units you have control on can learn magic and abilities from various job classes – thus, not only that specific one they belong to – so that characters can grow with lots of variety. Actually, in this respect, Disgaea 5 is probably better than Final Fantasy Tactics, due to the fact its character development system is way more complex and requires hours and hours of training to be fully completed.
2. Project X Zone
- System: 3DS
- Publisher: Bandai Namco Games, Namco Bandai Games
- Developer: Banpresto, Monolith Soft
- Release Dates: Jun 25, 2013
Another great title which deserves a try is Project X Zone, especially if you are a fan of Capcom and Namco crossover games, with Sega as a special guest. Released in 2013 by Banpresto and Monolith Soft, Project X Zone has no actual plot, but just a slight hint of a story. Main characters from the Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, Valkyria Chronicles, God Eater, and so on get enlisted – against their will – to become part of a huge army led by a young lady with pink hair. The reason why this girl wants a war is a mystery that characters will have to find out by exploring each dimension.
Judging by the plot, there is nothing in particular that could make you think Project X Zone is similar to the more complex Final Fantasy Tactics, but there actually are great similarities between the games from the point of view of the gameplay. Being a tactical RPG like Final Fantasy Tactics, Project X Zone is a team game in which the player can rely on – and thus switch to – different characters, who has their own special offensive or defensive abilities necessary to plan a good strategy that can make you win the battles. Like in Final Fantasy Tactics, in Project X Zone enemies are also divided into the same type of units. Plus, a great thing – and original element – about this game is that characters – both allies and enemies – can also perform a combined attack under certain circumstances which makes the battles look absolutely cool.
Project X Zone - Extended Trailer
3. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy (Bravely Default)
- System: 3DS
- Publisher: Square Enix, Nintendo
- Developer: Silicon Studio
- Release Dates: Oct 11, 2012
The world of Luxendarc is kept in balance by four elemental crystals, venerated by a religious order, the Crystal Orthodoxy. One day, the crystals are consumed by darkness, throwing the world into chaos. Agnès Oblige, Vestal of the Wind Crystal, escapes before meeting her death. At the same time, the village of Norende is destroyed by a calamity and Tiz Arrior, a shepherd of the village, is the only survivor. Agnès and Tiz meet while the latter is searching for survivors. They will decide to team up in order to find out what is disturbing the crystal. This is the synopsis of Bravely Default, one of the most successful tactical RPG of all time, and if you are searching for a game which can basically relate to Final Fantasy Tactics from any point of view, this is probably the best you will find on the modern tactical RPG market. In fact, not only Bravely Default was produced by that Square Enix born from the merger between Enix and Square corporations which are the creators of the Final Fantasy saga, but it was also made to be the sequel to Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light.
That alone should be enough to understand how similar Bravely Default can be to Final Fantasy Tactics. Indeed, they both take elements from the Final Fantasy saga, such as the fact that players can interact with non-playable characters, purchase items or magic at specialized shops, buy or sell weapons and equipment, or rest at an inn to restore health points and magic points. Around the world, the party can find chests containing items, weapons, or equipment, and so on. The battle system of Bravely Default also shares lots of similarities with the Final Fantasy saga, and especially with Final Fantasy Tactics. First of all, it revolves around turn-based combat and the player can decide to develop a character according to a Job system. Finally, the art and direction of the two games were conceived by the same staff.
Nintendo 3DS - Bravely Default - Adventure Trailer
4. Children of Zodiarcs
- System: PC, MAC, PS4
- Publisher: Cardboard Utopia, Square Enix
- Developer: Cardboard Utopia
- Release Dates: Jul 18, 2017
Another good game you should take into consideration is Children of Zodiarcs, especially if you like games signed Square Enix. Children of Zodiarcs is about Nahmi and her companions. Their initial mission is to infiltrate the chambers of a noble in order to steal a legendary relic. Detected by the elite city guards, Nahmi and her friends are forced to run and fight for their lives who were ordered to capture them. They find a cover in the city’s underground slums and catacombs, where laws seem to have been forgotten. Indeed, besides the guards, rival bandit gangs and a clan of psychotic subterranean cannibals are now on their trail, and they will have to try surviving without sacrificing their own humanity.
Differently from Final Fantasy Tactics, Children of Zodiarcs is a single-player tactical JRPG more story-driven than focused on free playability, which means that you cannot choose to play a character in your team according to your needs in a certain mission, but that a character will be automatically assigned to you as the story goes on and you will have to adapt to the situations, taking account of your strengths and weaknesses. However, what Children of Zodiarcs shares with Final Fantasy Tactics is a great plot, deep and intricate, and that turn-based combat system played on a grid that Final Fantasy saga’s fans of the older generation love so much.
Children of Zodiarcs | Launch Trailer | PS4
5. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
- System: DS
- Publisher: ATLUS, Ghostlight
- Developer: ATLUS
- Release Dates: Feb 28, 2012
Shin Megami Tensei saga, especially Devil Survivor 2, could be a good choice for fans of tactical RPG like Final Fantasy Tactics. The story has a modern setting as it takes place in Japan. One day, mysterious invaders called the Septentriones arrive in the islands and begin attacking the country. To fight back, the Protagonist, his friend Daichi Shijima, and the apologetic Io Nitta sign a pact with the devil to become the Thirteen Devil Messengers. The heroes will have a time limit of seven days to defeat them before Japan gets destroyed.
What the two titles have in common is certainly the classical turn-based battle system, that for Shin Megami Tensei was the key for its success. Indeed, strategy in Shin Megami Tensei is the core of the game and what the player should focus on since victory could become extremely difficult to achieve, at times. In fights, it is essential to assign each character in the team with a role so that they can assist each other while avoiding conditions that will end the mission in failure. When not involved in a fighting, there is the possibility for the player to freely explore the country, like in most of the titles belonging to Final Fantasy saga, or – in addition – develop relationships with other characters, which makes the game even more intriguing.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Break Record - Japanese Trailer
6. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
- System: PS, SAT, SNES, PSP
- Publisher: ATLUS, Artdink, Riverhillsoft, Quest, Square Enix (PSP version)
- Developer: Quest, Square Enix (PSP version)
- Release Dates: Oct 6, 1995/ Nov 11, 2010
Least but not last, here is an amazing game developed by Quest, and later adapted for PSP console by Square Enix. Yeah, it looks like Square Enix has its hands in a lot of tactical RPGs, but Tactics Ogre is quite special if compared to the other titles similar to Final Fantasy Tactics we have talked about before. In fact, the two games share even more than later developers and production, and that “more” is the director Yasumi Matsuno, author of Final Fantasy Tactics and re-developer of the Tactics Ogre 2011 version for PSP. Tactics Ogre's story follows three young characters of the Walstanian ethnic minority: Denam, his sister Catiua, and his friend Vyce. The three join a rebellion against a campaign of genocide run by Hierophant Balbatos of Galgastan, but they get caught up in a web of political intrigue, and are forced to make unimaginable sacrifices for the freedom of their kinsmen.
Originally released some years before Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre have been defined a real masterpiece, to the extent that it was ranked seventh on the 100 all-time favorite games in the Japanese magazine Famitsu. “Purer and more playable than its hi-tech descendant” as it was described by GameStop, Tactics Ogre has all classical elements typical of a tactical RPG like Final Fantasy such as the turn-based strategy style, the possibility for the player to build up a team of several characters with changeable classes, and fights battles on isometric grids. Plus, in the PSP version, it was made even more similar to Final Fantasy by the addition of the so-called “World system” by Matsuno, which allows players to revisit key plot points and make different choices to see how the story unfolds differently. The choices Denam makes affect the state of the world around him and the fates of him and his friends.
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together - Launch Trailer
Final Thoughts
Tactical RPGs have a long story behind them, and their fortune was made by games like Final Fantasy Tactics which represents one their best examples. Of course, even the best had to learn from valuable progenitors such as Tactics Ogre so that they could become a reference model for later great titles like Shin Megami Tensei or Bravely Default. Playing these titles can be a good opportunity to explore the changes tactical RPG genre has made over the years and a good way to predict the future of this still current genre, that survives with more strength than ever even in a fully 3D era.
Which side are you on? What are your favorite tactical RPGs? Don’t forget to tell us your opinion!
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Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Director(s)
Producer(s)
Artist(s)
Ryoma Itō
Hideo Minaba
Hiroshi Minagawa
Akihiko Yoshida
Hideo Minaba
Hiroshi Minagawa
Akihiko Yoshida
Writer(s)
Composer(s)
Hitoshi Sakimoto
Kaori Ohkoshi
Ayako Saso
Nobuo Uematsu
Kaori Ohkoshi
Ayako Saso
Nobuo Uematsu
Series
Platform(s)
Release
- JP: February 14, 2003
- NA: September 8, 2003
- PAL: October 24, 2003
Genre(s)
Mode(s)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (ファイナルファンタジータクティクスアドバンスFainaru Fantajī Takutikusu Adobansu?) is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the NintendoGame Boy Advance. A spin-off of the Final Fantasy series, the game shares several traits with 1997's Final Fantasy Tactics, although it is not a direct sequel. The player assembles a clan of characters, and controls their actions over grid-like battlefields. Players are mostly free to decide the classes, abilities, and statistics of their characters.
The game's story centers on four children; Marche, Mewt, Ritz, and Doned, who live in a small town named St. Ivalice. The children are transported to a realm of the same name as their town, 'Ivalice', after discovering an ancient magical book. The story then focuses on the exploits of Marche as he attempts to return to the real world while facing opposition from those around him.
Tactics Advance is one of the initial products from the cooperation of Square and Nintendo made for the Game Boy Advance console; it was developed by the team brought over from the game company Quest Corporation. Following its release, Tactics Advance-themed merchandise was introduced. The game was positively received. It has a sequel, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift for the Nintendo DS.
Tactics Advance was re-released for the Nintendo Wii UVirtual Console on January 28, 2016 for Europe, Australia and North America with Japan on March 30, 2016.
GameplayEdit
In Tactics Advance, turn-based tactical battles take place on a three-dimensional isometric field. The player takes the role of Marche, a clan leader; he must organize the clan's members and advance their status through missions that are offered in pubs.[2] The player competes against the computer's team in turn-based play, although unlike Final Fantasy Tactics characters execute their actions instantly.[3]
Missions are tasks undertaken by a clan. There are four types of missions: regular, encounter, dispatch, and area. In regular missions, Marche's entire party ventures to a particular location to do battle. Many of these missions are used to advance the story.[3][4] In encounter missions, Marche's group battles a rival mercenary clan by purchasing a mission or meeting them on the map. In dispatch missions, which do not involve battle, Marche temporarily sends away one member from his party. Area missions are usually a dispatch mission where Marche's clan can liberate certain regions to obtain bonuses and discounts at shops.
Some missions, typically dispatch missions, require a special item to be in possession in order to accept the mission. Others require a dispatch character to have a specific job class. In regards to items, this may mean another mission must be done to get an item that would allow you to perform the later mission.
The world map is initially empty except for the starting location; it is customized as the player wins location 'tokens' after certain missions. These tokens represent different terrains and settlements, such as plains, mountains, deserts, forests, and towns, that can be placed in slots on the world map. Items are rewarded to the player depending on the placement of the tokens.[2][3] Ivalice also introduces areas called jagds, lawless slums that Judges avoid. Jagd is a German word which means the hunt. Jagds are the only places in the game in which a character can die; everywhere else, they are protected from death by the Judges and are simply knocked out.
Tactics Advance also offers multiplayer capability for two players. Players may cooperate or compete using a link-cable peripheral, and also trade items and party members. Additional missions and items are also offered when players link.[2]
Job systemEdit
- See also: Final Fantasy character classes
There are 34 'jobs' in Tactics Advance that govern a character's stats, equipment, and abilities. Most items that can be equipped have various abilities assigned to them, each available for use by characters of a certain job while the item is equipped. When a battle is completed, characters will receive Ability Points (AP) distributed over their currently equipped weapons or items (such as armor). Once a target amount of AP has been accumulated for a given ability, the character will master that ability, allowing the character to use them at any time, regardless of items equipped and job chosen. Mastery of abilities in different jobs will eventually allow the character access to more jobs. For example, if a human unit wishes to change jobs to Paladin, it needs to master at least two 'action' abilities from the Soldier job.[5]
Units have a primary job which determines the stat boosts they receive when they level up and the attributes associated with that class. A unit may also have a secondary job set of abilities, where it can use any abilities of the selected job, but with the stat profile of the primary job. For example, an Assassin with a Sniper secondary job could use abilities from both jobs, but has the stat profile and appearance of an Assassin, its primary job. This may deny the use of some abilities depending on their equipped weapon. In the previous example, any abilities that require the possession of a great bow, will not be allowed for use if the character has a Katana equipped.[5]
Tactics Advance also introduces five playable races: Humans, the small rodentlike Moogles, the strong lizard-like Bangaa, the agile rabbit-like Viera, and the magically-skilled Nu Mou. Certain jobs are only available to certain races. Along with the abilities obtained with experience, each race has a guardian beast called a 'Totema' to represent whom and which can be summoned to whose aid when a member of that race has 10 Judge Points, that is after your clan has defeated that Totema as part of the main story line.[6]
LawsEdit
One arbitrary game mechanic of Tactics Advance is the Laws system. Laws are set by Judges, invincible arbiters present at each battle, with some exceptions. Laws may forbid the use of certain weapons, items, elemental spells, or status changes. Breaking a law results in punishment by Carding, the receipt of a red or yellow card. Imprisonment happens if a character infringes a law twice or knocks out another unit with a forbidden ability or weapon. However, Jagds have no Judges or laws; units knocked out in the Jagds will die and permanently leave the clan if they are not revived by the end of the battle.[7]
To offset the difficulty of having things forbidden for use, there are certain things that are recommended by the Judges, and therefore grant Judge Points if used. Judge Points (JP) are used to carry out combos with nearby allies or to summon a Totema. JP are also received upon knocking out an opponent. Later in the game, the player gains the ability to use law cards, which can add laws, and anti-law cards, which can nullify laws that are already in effect.[7]
PlotEdit
CharactersEdit
The story of Tactics Advance revolves around three primary characters: Marche Radiuju, the main character who battles the dream worlds of his friends; Ritz Malheur, a stubborn girl who speaks her mind and changes sides in her struggle for self-acceptance; and Mewt Randell, a boy whose mother died that discovers a magical entity that changes the world into the world of Ivalice. There are also secondary characters, such as Doned Radiuju, Marche's little brother who does not desire to return to the real world, since he is sick in the real world and healthy in the dream one; and Cid Randell, Mewt's father who becomes the Judgemaster of Ivalice.[6]
Within Ivalice, there are other characters that help advance the plot. Some characters befriended Marche, such as the moogles Montblanc and Nono; Ezel Berbier, a Nu Mou troublemaker and self-proclaimed genius; and Shara, a Viera archer who befriends Ritz. There are other characters who antagonize Marche, including Babus Swain, a Nu Mou Royal mage in Mewt's service; Llednar Twem, a mysterious enforcer who replaces the Judges when they become independent of the Palace; and Queen Remedi, who is the ruler of Ivalice and was in the Gran Grimoire itself in a form modeled after Mewt's deceased mother.[6]
StoryEdit
- See also: Ivalice
Ivalice is a world created by four ordinary children: Marche Radiuju, a new student and resident of St. Ivalice and its school; Mewt Randell, a shy boy still attached to the memory of his late mother; Ritz Malheur, an assertive and outspoken classmate of Marche and Mewt; and Doned Radiuju, Marche's younger, handicapped brother and a big fan of fantasy novels and video games. Mewt comes across a dusty old tome in a local used bookstore and eagerly wishes to show it to his friends. Unaware that the book is the legendary Gran Grimoire, Mewt brings the book over to Marche's house along with Ritz. The old book is written in a language none of them have ever seen before, and a single inscription reads: 'Alta oron, Sondus kameela'.[8] The next morning, Marche wakes up in the world of Ivalice. The fantasy Ivalice is supposedly a reincarnation of Mewt's memories from a Final Fantasy game.[9]
Final Fantasy Tactics Job Points
Marche is separated from the others, and immediately begins a quest to return home. Even after realizing how much better his life is in the new Ivalice, he believes that none of it is real and is even more determined to return to his home when he realizes that everyone in town has been dragged into the dream as well, many of whom are now suffering under Mewt's rule or are being slaughtered by the adventuring Clans that populate the world.[10] The other children, and Mewt's father Cid, slowly realize through Marche's efforts that the world has been shaped according to their wishes. Mewt is no longer being teased, is reunited with his deceased mother, and is now the Prince of Ivalice; Ritz no longer has her white albinic hair, instead having the silky red hair which she always wanted; Doned can now walk and is no longer sickly; Marche is suddenly athletic and popular; Cid is the highest-ranking official in the nation; and all of them now live in Final Fantasy, the video game the children all love.[11]
Eventually Marche succeeds in his quest to return Ivalice to normal. He achieves this by destroying the crystals, or world threads, of Ivalice, defeating Llednar Twem (the manifestation of Mewt's negative emotions), and killing the Li-Grim, the physical manifestation of the book's wish-based magic that had been masquerading as Mewt's mother, Queen Remedi.[12] He teaches the other children in the process that they cannot live in fantasy but must learn to live with their misfortunes in reality. The other children are wiser from the experience, as the ending reveals them all to have become happy with themselves.
In addition to the main plot, there are two side plots: the Redwing Arc and the Judge Arc. The Redwing Arc centers around the Redwings clan, a foreign crime ring, their subordinate clan Borzoi, and their smuggled foreign monsters. The other is the Judge Arc, unlockable after beating the main three hundred missions. This serves as an alternative ending where Marche never goes on his quest and stays in Ivalice, overthrows several corrupt judges, and becomes next in line for Cid's judge sword.[13]
DevelopmentEdit
Rumors of the game's development began when Square announced its publishing agreement with Nintendo, and it was later confirmed by the producer Matsuno. The development team of Tactics Advance, Square's Product Development Division 4, was constructed from employees of Quest Corporation, and work began in February 2002.[1][14] This comes after Quest announced the handover of its software development team to Square, of which the former is famed for its Tactics Ogre series.[15] Initially thought of as a port of Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is developed with an entirely new storyline and setting, and received significant changes to make it more user-friendly for the GBA handheld console; e.g. a quick-save function.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance uses the gameplay of Final Fantasy Tactics, but introduced certain changes such as a customizable map for the world of Ivalice. While built for the Game Boy Advance, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance's graphics are vibrantly colored and extensively detailed, and though environments and characters are wholly sprite-based, facial expressions are easily identifiable and many motion frames have been given to create a smooth animation.[16][17] The game also introduced an option to switch between three display modes. Two of the modes are optimized for gameplay on Game Boy Advance and the new Game Boy Advance SP respectively, and there's also a TV mode for better color display while playing this game into a television screen by using a Game Boy Player which, must be attached to a Game Cube for this to work.[18]
In Japan, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance's story was expanded and broadcast in Japanese radio stations. The radio drama entitled Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Radio Edition was broadcast in four radio stations within Japan from early January 2003 to late March 2003.[19]
MusicEdit
Main article: Music of the Final Fantasy Tactics series
The music in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was primarily composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, with additional music contributed by Kaori Ohkoshi and Ayako Saso; Nobuo Uematsu provided the main theme.[20] The Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Original Soundtrack album was released by DigiCube on February 19, 2003. It spans 74 tracks and has a duration of 2:05:27. The first disk includes every song from the game, as it sounds through the Game Boy Advance hardware. The second disk contains fully orchestrated versions of 32 of the same 42 tracks.[21] A new agearrangement album entitled White: Melodies of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, a selection of musical tracks from the game arranged by Yo Yamazaki, Akira Sasaki, and Satoshi Henmi, was released by SME Visual Works on February 26, 2003. White spans 11 tracks and has a duration of 46:10.[22] Within the game, the classical-themed soundtrack is compressed into MIDI file format. Simple sound effects are used during battles, and there are no voices or speech within the game.[4]
ReceptionEdit
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Final Fantasy Tactics Advance sold over 440,000 copies during its year of release in Japan, with nearly 225,000 units being sold in its first week alone.[35][36] By August 6, 2004, more than 1 million units of the game were sold in North America and Europe together.[37] In the United States alone, the game sold 660,000 copies and earned $22 million by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 40th highest-selling game launched for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable in that country.[38]
The game was well received among the gaming community, widely regarded to feature an outstanding combination of music, graphics, gameplay, and storyline. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance won Best Handheld Game at the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards in 2004.[39] It was also rated as outstanding by IGN (9.0 out of 10) and given 5 out of 5 by GameSpy. In 2007, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was named 14th best Game Boy Advance game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the Game Boy Advance's long lifespan.[40] It was also rated the 67th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.[41]
Reviewers were pleased with graphics and visuals of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance; GameSpot adding that the battles are 'clear and colorful', and character jobs are easily identified, though gameplay becomes slow when too many character sprites are in one screen.[3] The gameplay is also lauded for retaining the elements of Tactics Ogre yet offers freedom to players to develop characters as they wish.[3]GameNOW said that the game 'lives up to its legacy—and then some', and called it 'easily one of the best GBA games around'.[32] Criticism was thrown to the game's menu, which was cluttered with complicated options in organizing the clan members, and did not detail out statistics for characters and equipment.[4] Some reviewers thought there are too many character jobs since some jobs overlap one another and certain abilities are redundant.[42]
LegacyEdit
In 2007, a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was released for the Nintendo DS as part of the Ivalice Alliance series, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. While the story focuses on different characters than Advance, several characters from the game appear in cameo roles, such as Montblanc and Mewt.[43] Montblanc also appears in Final Fantasy XII as the leader of Clan Centurio.
To commemorate the release of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance in Japan, several pieces of merchandise were introduced exclusive for the region: web money cards, posters, character card collections and a set of twenty pin badges.[44][45][46] Square and Nintendo also announced a limited-edition Final Fantasy Tactics Advance-themed Game Boy Advance SP package to commemorate the game and the console's launching in February 2003.[47] A Japanese-exclusive adaptation of the game's story in radio drama form was also released. It was aired in January to March 2003. The series was released by DigiCube on CD in four separate parts, with some changes to plot details.[48]
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.01.1Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified (Japanese). Square Enix Co., Ltd. (2003-11-18). Archived from the original on May 6, 2006. Retrieved on February 11, 2011.
- ↑ 2.02.12.2Harris, Craig (2003-09-05). Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Review. IGN.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑ 3.03.13.23.33.4Kasavin, Greg (2003-09-08). Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Review. GameSpot.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑ 4.04.14.2Bogdanowicz, Robert (2003-10-02). Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Review. RPGFan.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑ 5.05.1Dunham, Alexis. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Guide. IGN. Retrieved on October 9, 2009.
- ↑ 6.06.16.2Dunham, Alexis. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Guide. IGN. Retrieved on October 9, 2009.
- ↑ 7.07.1Dunham, Alexis. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Guide 6–10. IGN. Retrieved on October 9, 2009.
- ↑Marche: I can't read these letters at all! Maybe they're some kind of magic spell! / [..] / Mewt: ...Alta oron. Sondus kameela..It sure sounds like magic! Square. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Square Co. Game Boy Advance. 2003-09-08.
- ↑Marche: Well, it's just..I've seen a bangaa, but in a computer game, not reallife! / Moogle: Kupo? / Marche: It's called 'Final Fantasy.' It's not real. Not really. It's like a pretend world, with heroes and monsters.. / Moogle: So you're saying here is just like your pretend world? / Marche: Yeah, come to think of it, it's just like in the game! Square. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Square Co. Game Boy Advance. 2003-09-08.
- ↑Marche: What? You mean you'd rather stay here? / Ritz: Yeah. I like this world. Don't you, Marche? / Marche: Well, I.. / Ritz: If you want to turn everything back to normal.. Go ahead. But don't expect me to help you. Square. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Square Co. Game Boy Advance. 2003-09-08.
- ↑Marche: Mewt? Prince Mewt? 'My world'? This world must be a reflection of Mewt's desires! His mom's still alive, everyone does what he says... I'm living in Mewt's dream! So if I change the world back to the way it was.. I'm destroying his dream world! No wonder he doesn't want me here.. Square. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Square Co. Game Boy Advance. 2003-09-08.
- ↑Marche: I came to destroy that crystal.. or World-Thread or whatever you call it. And I'm not leaving until I do! Square. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Square Co. Game Boy Advance. 2003-09-08.
- ↑Marche: It's over. / Cid: Thank you, Marche. You went above and beyond the call of duty. Marche: Not at all! I was glad I was able to help. / Cid: You know.. / Marche: What? / Cid: I would give you my judge sword. Square. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Square Co. Game Boy Advance. 2003-09-08.
- ↑Harris, Craig (2002-03-27). Famitsu Confirms Final Fantasy Tactics GBA. IGN.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑Square acquires Quest's software development division. GameSpot (2002-06-19). Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑Torres, Ricardo (2002-09-20). TGS 2002: Hands-onFinal Fantasy Tactics Advance. GameSpot.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑Harris, Craig (2003-08-26). Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. IGN.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑Winkler, Chris (2003-01-19). New Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Details Announced. RPGFan.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑Winkler, Chris (2003-12-20). Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Goes Radio. RPGFan.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Tech Info. GameSpot. Retrieved on October 5, 2009.
- ↑Vardaro, Richard. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance OST. RPGFan. Retrieved on March 28, 2008.
- ↑Gann, Patrick. White: Melodies of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. RPGFan. Retrieved on March 28, 2008.
- ↑'{{Link}} is deprecated. Please use a more specific template. See the documentation for a list of suggested templates.'. Edge Magazine (130): 105. December 2003. ISSN1350-1593.
- ↑Bettenhausen, Shane; Hsu, Dan; Mielke, James (October 2003). '{{Link}} is deprecated. Please use a more specific template. See the documentation for a list of suggested templates.'. Electronic Gaming Monthly (171): 166. ISSN1058-918X.
- ↑RPGamer > Japandemonium - Second Season. Rpgamer.com. Retrieved on October 13, 2008.
- ↑'{{Link}} is deprecated. Please use a more specific template. See the documentation for a list of suggested templates.'. Game Informer: 124. September 2003.
- ↑Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Review. GameSpot (5 September 2003). Retrieved on June 7, 2015.
- ↑Harris, Craig. IGN: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Review. Gameboy.ign.com. Retrieved on October 13, 2008.
- ↑Game Rankings - External Link. Gamerankings.com. Retrieved on October 13, 2008.
- ↑G4 - X-Play - Reviews. G4tv.com. Retrieved on October 13, 2008.
- ↑RPGFan Reviews - Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. RPGFan. Retrieved on October 13, 2008.
- ↑ 32.032.1Lopez, Miguel (October 1, 2003). It don't get much more real. GameNOW. Archived from the original on May 4, 2004. Retrieved on April 12, 2010.
- ↑Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for Game Boy Advance Reviews. CBS Interactive. Retrieved on March 21, 2014.
- ↑Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for Game Boy Advance. CBS Interactive. Retrieved on March 21, 2014.
- ↑2003 Top 100 Best Selling Japanese Console Games. The-MagicBox.com. Retrieved on September 7, 2008.
- ↑Wollenschlaeger, Alex (February 20, 2003). Japandemonium - Off the Hook. RPGamer.com. Retrieved on September 7, 2008.
- ↑Annual Report 2004. Square-Enix.com (August 6, 2004). Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved on December 20, 2008.
- ↑Keiser, Joe (August 2, 2006). The Century's Top 50 Handheld Games. Next Generation. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007.
- ↑AIAS Annual Awards. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved on December 21, 2008.
- ↑Harris, Craig (2007-03-16). Top 25 Game Boy Advance Games of All Time. IGN.com. Retrieved on March 18, 2007.
- ↑'{{Link}} is deprecated. Please use a more specific template. See the documentation for a list of suggested templates.'. Nintendo Power200: pp. 58–66. February 2006
- ↑Metts, Jonathan (2003-10-13). Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Review. Nintendoworldreport.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑Habib, Jon. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift Guide. IGN. Retrieved on October 9, 2009.
- ↑Winkler, Chris (2003-10-13). Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Merchandise. RPGFan.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑RPGFan Pictures - Final Fantasy Tactics Advance - Products. RPGFan. Retrieved on October 5, 2009.
- ↑Winkler, Chris (2003-01-27). Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Pin Badges Announced. RPGFan.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑Yap, Eric (2003-01-14). Limited-edition Game Boy Advance SP, Final Fantasy Tactics. GameSpot.com. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
- ↑Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Radio Edition - Complete Version: Vol. 1. Squareenixmusic.com (2006). Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved on October 22, 2007.
External linksEdit
- Final Fantasy Tactics Advance at Metacritic
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Overview
Final Fantasy Tactics 1.3 is a difficulty and content modification for Final Fantasy Tactics. The primary goal of the project is to re-balance the original gameplay mechanics while adding difficulty. The project started with the idea that players did not need to impose artificial rules on themselves to make Final Fantasy Tactics challenging if a mod could be created to do it for them. FFT 1.3 alters job, monster, item, and battle statistics to make the entire game provide a challenge that matches the complexity and depth of its customization system. It's been in development since 2008 and is maintained by Archael. Several spin-off versions of 1.3 have been created as a result of demand by fans to experience the mod on other platforms or in other ways. 1.3 does not alter the game's storyline or its characters.
Installation
For more details on 1.3 installation and troubleshooting tips, see the full installation and troubleshooting article
Download a fresh ISO
A lot of the time people rip their own isos from their FFT disc, and it either doesn't rip, or convert correctly, causing errors and crashes. It's just a simple fix.
Make sure you have clean ISO
Re-patching over a previously patched iso (patching 1.3 over another FFT hack) can cause a plethora of problems, ranging from graphic errors, to the enemy doing max damage every hit. Now, aside from those, there's only a couple of issues you may run into, only one of which has a real solution.
How do I patch 1.3?
Things you will need:
A Final Fantasy Tactics ISO
A copy of PPF O Matic
To get the 1.3 changes you need an ISO of Final Fantasy Tactics, If you own a copy of the game, you can extract from a FFT CD using a Trial Version of Alcohol 120 or if you're on a Mac simply use the built in Mac Disk Utility. Once you have the FFT ISO, we will use PPF O Matic to apply the actual 1.3 patch to it. Where PPF O Matic asks for an ISO (or if you're on a Mac, IMG), select your FFT ISO or IMG. Where PPF O Matic asks for a Patch File, select the 1.3 patch. Hit 'Apply' and you're done.
Here is a video tutorial showing how to patch the PSX version of 1.3.
How do I play my 1.3 ISO?
You can run an ISO using a Playstation 1 Emulator such as EPSXE or by burning it into a blank CD and playing it on a modded Playstation. Note that to play on an emulator you will need a legal copy of a Playstation BIOS, which we do not provide.
I'm on a Mac. How can I play 1.3 on a Mac?
Check out PCSX Reloaded.
War of The Lions 1.3
War of The Lions 1.3 is a version of the mod that can be applied to Final Fantasy Tactics: War of The Lions for the Playstation Portable. On top of containing all of the original project's changes and content, it has unique features only available for players on the PSP. War of The Lions 1.3 is maintained by kyozo22.
FFT Content 1.3
FFT Content 1.3 is a version of 1.3 with all the content of the full mod but stripped of much of its more difficult aspects. Storyline enemies have fixed levels instead of scaling with the party's level, letting the player power level in order to overcome difficulties. Storyline enemy gear is significantly weaker and Boss-type units are less powerful. This version of 1.3 came about after a large Let's Play FFT 1.3 thread from Something Awful by Declan MacManus revealed that many people desired the changes present in 1.3 but without the difficulty. From that moment on, the Content version of the project has been updated as new releases come out.
Gameplay & Strategies
Due to the changes in gameplay mechanics and overall difficulty made in 1.3, the mod plays differently than the original game. Strategies that rely purely on offense aren't as reliable as they were before, while at the same time playing defensively is much more rewarding. Battles in 1.3 encourage and reward intelligent use of every type of ability in the game, and often go back and forth before one side is eventually worn down. Special Characters, while still diverse and useful in their own ways, are no longer free-wins for the player and must be built to overcome various obstacles just like any other ally unit.
Player and Party Building Strategies
Every time you hit a decent stretch with a certain build/strategy, retire it and figure out a new way to win. This will make you a better player much faster.
Explore the entire job tree. Don't get stuck into a 5 of the same class mentality.
Learn to use Mimes. They are now easier to unlock and are valuable early and late game.
You can expect to lose a lot of battles on your first attempt. That's fine. Treat them as scouting runs.
If you feel you leveled too much, steal some gear. The enemy will level with you and their gear will become more powerful, so keep yours up to par.
Defensive Strategies
Learn to play defensively and let the enemy come to you. Going all-offense in a suicidal rush will often give the other team an easy win.
Sometimes you're better off with a low HP, high evasion tank because it will actually draw the fire from enemies and waste their turns.
Faster and more damage is not always better. Build a slower high defense team that can withstand the first round of attacks. Let the enemy come to your turf.
Make use of resurrection abilities. Wish, Life, Fairy, Revive, Phoenix Down and others can make your party live through tons of damage.
Prioritize reviving your fallen allies when they are about to take a turn (when their CT is close to 100). This way they can act and move out of harm's way.
Offensive Strategies
Silence, Poison, and Berserk do not wear off until cured. Poison really tears away at 999 HP units endgame.
Stealing/Breaking the enemy's Helm/Armor reduces their max HP and thus lowers the benefits of healing and reviving.
Kill enemy units that are about to take turns. This makes them miss their upcoming turn and makes then slower to act if they get revived immediately.
A debilitating negative status effect can be more effective than killing a unit or simply dealing damage to it.
Mind the Unit List, accessible from pausing midbattle. When on identical speeds/CT, the higher numbered (first) unit on that list will act first.
Reflect is a very good spell. It has 1 CT making it possible to interrupt many offensive spells, and can also be used to extend the range of your spells.
Try to have forms of unevadable damage. Jump, Draw Out, Holy/Dark Holy, Elemental, Guns, etc to deal with targets that have high evasion.
Multiple castings of Quick on one unit (or a Mime and 4 bare-fisted units punching the air) can assassinate pretty much anything in the game that isn't ??? stats.
If the enemy is charging a big resurrection spell on a fallen ally, revive that ally with Phoenix Down to make them waste the spell, then kill the unit.
A Wizard with Equip Armor, an Angel Ring, and Meltdown.
Angel Rings can be very effective in assassination missions.
A Thief with Equip Spear and Jump. Not only do you benefit from their amazing speed, allowing your Jumps to land quicker, but all that +PA gear.
Storyline Battles
The first change many people notice when playing 1.3 is that Storyline battles are much more challenging. The enemy units scale their levels and their items based on how powerful the player's party gets, and they will come to the battle with abilities and support skills learned. In the original game, the vast majority of enemies did not have skills learned, and severely lacked combat options. Boss units are now actual threats and require careful thinking (and sometimes planning) to take down.
Items
Items in 1.3 have been rebalanced to be useful in combination with many different jobs. Previously under-powered item types have been given more relevant uses and overpowering items have been toned down relative to where they can be found in the game. For example: Cross Bows now has a chance to perform a Doubleshot, Books have a chance to cast highly damaging magic when they hit, Daggers increase speed, Poles increase Movement, etc etc. Browse each item category to see each item's specific stats.
Recruiting and Poaching Monsters
Poaching and recruiting monsters in 1.3 is much more useful and advantageous than in the original game. Poaching serves three main purposes:
Early access to goods buyable in shops
Access to goods never buyable in shops
Access to goods buyable in shops, but at half price
Check out the 1.3 Poaching Guide for a list of locations to recruit and hunt for monsters and more detailed information about poaching.
Jobs
Every job in 1.3 has been rebalanced with the goal of creating deeper gameplay and rewarding victories. This applies to all generic and special jobs available to the player, monsters, bosses, and allies. Elements of the job system that were useless or under-used have been improved, and things which destroyed choice because they were too effective have been balanced. Enemy-Only and Boss jobs have also been altered, and are now serious threats.
Final Fantasy 1.3.0.8 Jobs (UPDATED)
Zodiac Demons
Zodiac Demons are now very dangerous units. They test your ability to form teams that can support each other and overcome enemies much more powerful than any individual generic unit.
Arena Battles
Arena Battles are special random battles that use a free for all format with 3 teams fighting against each-other. As you progress further in the storyline, more Arena battles will open per map. By the time you reach the end of the game, all Arena fights in all maps will be unlocked. Arena maps contain two enemy teams controlled by the AI, however, these two enemy teams are not friendly with each-other, which opens up interesting situations that the player won't be able to experience in other types of fights. Arena battle strategy is unique since it gives you the option to hang back and let the other teams wear each-other down before you face them. This isn't always an option, though, as some Arena battles have the enemy teams start close to each-other, making sure the chaos starts right away. To trigger an Arena Battle, you must trigger a random battle in one of the four designated Arena maps:
Zeklaus Desert Arena Battles | Grog Hill Arena Battles | Germinas Peak Arena Battles |
Random Battles
Final Fantasy Tactics 1.3 adds over 200 new random battle encounters to the world map. Emphasis was put on monster variety, facing more teams of human generics and monster combinations, and even adding special mini-bosses. Random battles scale with the party's level and range from basic fights against teams of Squires, Knighs, Archers, Monks, and Wizards, to more difficult fights against mini bosses such as Warlocks, ??? Hydras, Steel Giants, Assassins, and more.
The Deep Dungeon
Death awaits you.
NOGIAS | TERMINATE | DELTA | VALKYRIES |
MLAPAN | TIGER | BRIDGE | VOYAGE |
HORROR |
Patch Notes
Final Fantasy Tactics 1.3 has been in development for many years. For a comprehensive list of the 1.3's patch note history, check out The 1.3 Patch Notes page
Retrieved from 'http://www.insanedifficulty.com/idwiki/index.php?title=Final_Fantasy_Tactics_1.3&oldid=2822'
Final Fantasy Tactics
Developers
Publishers
Release dates
Original: June 20, 1997:- PlayStation
- June 20, 1997
- January 28, 1998
- June 29, 2000 (SMC)
- PlayStation Portable
- May 10, 2007
- October 05, 2007
- / October 09, 2007
- PlayStation Network
- March 9, 2011
- / July 19, 2011
- June 30, 2011
- iOS
- iPhone / iPod Touch
- August 4, 2011
- iPad
- February 23, 2012
- Android
- February 14, 2013
- / June 4, 2015
Genre
Game modes
Ratings
Platforms
PlayStation, PlayStation Network, PlayStation Portable, iOS, Android
For the game that was called Final Fantasy Tactics during development, see Bahamut Lagoon
Sword in hand, a warrior clutches stone to breast. In sword etched he his fading memories. In stone, his tempered skill. By sword attested, by stone revealed. Their tale can now be told. SQUARE ENIX PRESENTS The 'Zodiac Brave Story'
Final Fantasy Tactics is a strategy role-playing game in the Final Fantasy series. It was released for the PlayStation in June 1997, and has since been re-released as the updated Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions(ファイナルファンタジータクティクス 獅子戦争, Fainaru Fantajī Takutikusu Shishi Sensō?) for the PlayStation Portable, iOS and Android platforms. It was directed by Yasumi Matsuno and produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi, with Akihiko Yoshida providing the character designs and both Masaharu Iwata and Hitoshi Sakimoto providing the score. It was the first strategy role-playing game in the series.
The game is set in Ivalice, a unified kingdom of seven territories, which is caught in the middle of the War of the Lions fought between two opposing factions vying for rule of the kingdom. The story focuses on Ramza Beoulve, a member of the respected House Beoulve, who finds himself caught amid the war and later uncovers the truth behind a sinister plot behind it.
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Final Fantasy Tactics features battles fought on a map divided into a grid in which units can move. The order of units' terms is determined by an 'Active-Time' like system, and actions can only be executed within a range of the units' position. Units each have a job class which provides them abilities, but they can also equip abilities from other jobs they have leveled up or mastered.
Final Fantasy Tactics is the first game set in the recurring setting of Ivalice, which was later the setting of main series installment Final Fantasy XII. It has also spawned spinoffs Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. Games that take place in Ivalice have later been grouped in the Ivalice Alliance series.
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GameplayEdit
Battles are fought on a map divided into a grid where units can move about, and actions can only be executed within a certain range. Obstacles, terrain types, and elevation create further strategic elements. Each unit is allotted one move and one action per turn. Order of turns is determined by an 'Active-Time' like system, a unit's Charge Time filling a bar and deciding when they get to act. Spells and some other abilities also have charge times and once cast, will go off when the ability's charge time hits 100.
An action's chance of success is best when attacking an opponent from the rear and is least likely to succeed in frontal assaults. Units, including the player's, are assigned zodiac signs, and opposing pairs are especially effective against each other. For instance a male Pisces and a female Virgo (such as Milleuda) can inflict massive damage to each other, where as a male Pisces and a male Virgo (such as Wiegraf) will deal much less.
Job systemEdit
Main article: Final Fantasy Tactics jobs
Final Fantasy Tactics uses many classic job classes from previous Final Fantasy games, although the localization of the game's original PlayStation version caused some of this to be lost in the translation. The White Mage job was translated as Priest, and the Black Mage job as Wizard, for instance, but this was changed for the re-release version.
As each human character develops, they gain experience to improve their overall level. Characters also gain Job Points (JP), which level up jobs. As a character gains more experience in various jobs, they gain access to other, more advanced or specialized jobs. Some jobs, like Arithmetician and Mime, require invested time and experience in several jobs, and require mastery of others to be truly effective. Once learned, skills and job-specific commands can be used even after a character switches jobs, though a penalty may be applied. The party can also recruit creatures like chocobos and various monsters, and although they also level up, they do not gain jobs or skills.
Two new generic jobs, Onion Knight and Dark Knight, were added to War of the Lions version.
- Job names in parentheses are the original names from the PlayStation version.
- Physically-oriented jobs
- Dragoon (Lancer)
- Magically-oriented jobs
- White Mage (Priest)
- Black Mage (Wizard)
- Mystic (Oracle)
- Orator (Mediator)
- Arithmetician (Calculator)
- Special jobs
- Squire (Ramza, Delita, Algus)
- Fell Knight (Dark Knight)
- Machinist (Engineer)
- Astrologer (Astrologist)
- Sword Saint (Holy Swordsman)
- Ark Knight (Arc Knight)
- Templar (Temple Knight)
- Dragonkin (Dragoner)
- War of the Lions jobs
MultiplayerEdit
Multiplayer is a new feature added to The War of the Lions, in which two players can choose to play together using Ad Hoc Mode. The two modes of play available to the player are Melee and Rendezvous. Multiplayer is the only way players can obtain exclusive equipment like the Onion equipment. The mobile version has no multiplayer option.
Melee features two players facing off against each other and can be accessed by selecting 'Melee' at a tavern. The player can then choose to host or join a battle. If the player hosts a battle they will be prompted to choose rules for it. The rules include map selection (only locations the player has visited can be chosen), time limit, action limit, whether special controls should be on or off, trap placement, number of traps, and whether Arithmeticks should be allowed or not. After setting the rules the battle will begin and proceed like a normal battle.
If special controls are enabled, there will be certain situations that differ from regular battle. The player can knockback an opponent by pressing before landing an attack, and if the probability of hitting an opponent with the attack command is close to fifty percent, the two players will lock weapons. When this happens both players must tap as much as they can, and the player who gains the upper hand will follow with an attack. If the player lands on a trap they can disarm it by pressing a series of buttons. After the battle the player can choose treasure based on their performance and their characters will retain the JP, job levels, and items obtained during the battle.
Cooperative play can be accessed by selecting 'Rendezvous' at a tavern. The player will then select the mission, which is exclusive to cooperative play, that they want to attempt to complete with a partner. The battles in cooperative play function the same way that they do in single player mode. The players will be given an objective and will place their units on the battlefield. A Rendezvous mission can be attempted as many times as the player wants and the player's characters will retain all JP, job levels, and items obtained during their battle. If the players achieve their objective they will be rewarded with treasure based on their performance.
SynopsisEdit
SettingEdit
Ivalice is a medieval kingdom suffering the aftereffects of the Fifty Years' War. It is divided along class lines: great noble families, such as House Beoulve, rule over masses of peasants, lords ruling over provinces as their personal fiefs, while the monarchy is weaken by intrigue. The real power in Ivalice is the Church of Glabados, based around the divinity of Saint Ajora Glabados, with its military arm being the Knights Templar. Using manipulation the church is pulling the strings to create disorder in Ivalice and to defeat the secular powers.
Two independent armies, the Order of the Northern Sky led by Prince Larg—brother of Queen Louveria—and the Order of the Southern Sky led by Duke Goltanna, are rival forces. They fight for control of the monarchy, hoping to take control of King Ondoria's child successor to use as a puppet to rule Ivalice. The king has two children, his teenage adopted half-sister, Princess Ovelia, and the young Prince Orinus.
The princess, off in the Orbonne Monastery, is targeted by forces of the Southern Sky's Order. Ramza Beoulve, a sellsword under the greedy Goffard Gaffgarion, is hired to protect her, working with Ovelia's bodyguards, led by Agrias Oaks. The mercenaries and the bodyguards defeat the forces sent by the Northern Sky, but the princess is captured by Delita Heiral, Ramza's childhood friend. When Ramza spots Delita again, he reminisces of the time that led to Delita's disappearance and Ramza's casting off his family name.
CharactersEdit
Below is a list of characters who become permanent party members based on the chronology unless dismissed by the player (except Ramza Beoulve).
- Ramza Beoulve: the youngest son of the Beoulve noble family, Ramza becomes disillusioned by the corruption in Ivalice, guided by his strong sense of justice.
- Mustadio Bunansa: A young Machinist from Goug Machine City who joins the party after Ramza helps him and his father.
- Agrias Oaks: A Holy Knight and bodyguard to Princess Ovelia.
- Rapha Galthena: A Skyseer and part of the Khamja assassination squad. She is Marach's sister.
- Marach Galthena: A Netherseer and part of the Khamja assassination squad. He is Rapha's brother.
- Count Cidolfus 'Thundergod Cid' Orlandeau: A powerful and well-known swordsman. He is a friend of Ramza's father and adoptive father to Orran.
- Meliadoul Tengille: Divine Knight who saw the truth about the auracites.
Below is a list of characters who may become permanent party members, if the player completes optional battles:
- Beowulf Cadmus: A former captain of the Gryphon Knights of Lionel, he now spends his time looking for his fiancée Reis Duelar.
- Reis Duelar: Fiancée of Beowulf Cadmus, encountered in the form of a Holy Dragon.
- Construct 8: A robot from the days of Saint Ajora Glabados.
- Byblos: A large creature that resembles a Reaver.
- Cloud Strife: The spiky-haired protagonist of Final Fantasy VII finds himself lost in Ivalice.
In the War of the Lions versions, two more characters are introduced. Both are playable characters from other games in the Ivalice Alliance project.
- Balthier: A sky pirate from Final Fantasy XII.
- Luso Clemens: The protagonist of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift.
StoryEdit
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.(Skip section)
The Kingdom of Ivalice; forever guarded by the twin headed lions and by the sun that shines upon them.. A year after the defeat of the 50 Years War, the King had died from a terminal illness earlier and the prince who succeed him was only 2 years old. This meant his guardian would actually reign in his stead as King. The Queen's elder brother Larg was designated as guardian but, fearing an oppressive reign from the Queen, the parliament ousted the potential prince. Appointing instead the King's cousin, Prince Goltana, as the guardian. Prince Goltanna and Prince Larg are both respected generals who proved themselves in the 50 Year War. Prince Goltana had the support of the powerful Nobles but, disenfranchised Nobles and knights clearly supported Prince Larg. The Black Lion symbolizes Prince Goltana and the White Lion symbolizes Prince Larg. This is the beginning of what will later be known as 'The Lion War'.
Arazlam Durai, a historical scholar researching the past, comes upon his ancestor's writings, the Durai Papers, which tell the truth about the legendary hero, Delita Heiral. The papers suggest that the true hero was a noble named Ramza Beoulve, whose role has since been lost to history.
Ramza, who has cast aside his nobility and joined a mercenary group, comes to Orbonne Monastery with the rest of the group, led by Goffard Gaffgarion. The monastery, where Princess Ovelia Atkascha is residing, is attacked by several Northern Sky knights dressed as Southern Sky knights, and Gaffgarion's group, hired to defend the princess, helps fight them off.
During the attack Delita slips in and kidnaps the princess. Agrias Oaks, the princess's bodyguard, joins Ramza's group in hunting Delita down. Ramza, who has not seen Delita in years and thought him dead, is shocked, and cannot fathom his intentions. He thinks back on the times the both of them used to fight together in the Order of the Northern Sky.
Chapter 1: The MeagerEdit
A year ago Ramza and Delita were childhood friends and cadets in the Order of the Northern Sky. Ramza was the third son of the noble House Beoulve, while Delita was a commoner working in the house along with his sister, Tietra Heiral. The two studied at the Akademy in the Magick City of Gariland and were best of friends.
Due to Ivalice's defeat in the Fifty Years' War, the soldiers returning home could not be paid. This created widespread dissatisfaction with the nobility and ignited revolts across Ivalice, like the Corpse Brigade's uprising in Ramza's home duchy of Gallionne. When Corpse Brigade forces attack Gariland, the students of the Akademy are sent to fight them, and Ramza and Delita lead their group to victory. Afterward they return to House Beoulve's seat of power, Eagrose Castle.
Ramza's party comes upon a lone squire surrounded by Corpse Brigade forces. They rescue him and learn his name: Argath Thadalfus. Argath is a noble servant of the Marquis Elmdore, who has been kidnapped by the Corpse Brigade, a rebel group that seeks to usurp the aristocracy. Argath states his case to Ramza's elder true-born brother, the cold Dycedarg Beoulve, co-ruler of the house with his brother Zalbaag since the death of their father Barbaneth. Despite Argath's impudent manner, Dycedarg says he'll do what he can, though he orders Ramza to stay in the castle. While Ramza visits his younger sister, Alma Beoulve, Zalbaag drops a hint to Ramza about the whereabouts of the Marquis, suggesting that he rescue him.
Ramza's group goes to the Merchant City of Dorter where they spot the Corpse Brigade's leader, Wiegraf Folles, but Brigade forces halt their pursuit. Argath captures the enemy leader and beats him until he reveals the marquis's location. They travel to the Sand Rat Sietch, where they find Wiegraf killing his own officer, Gustav Margriff. Wiegraf says he objects to the dishonorable tactic of kidnapping, and offers to trade the marquis's life for his own, and Ramza agrees. With Elmdore safe, Ramza returns to Eagrose to find an angry Dycedarg. Elmdore was a supporter of the Order of the Southern Sky, and Dycedarg was pulling Gustav's strings to knock off a political foe.
While Ramza's party moves to attack a Corpse Brigade group led by Wiegraf's sister, Milleuda Folles, a Brigade force led by Gragoroth Levigne strikes Eagrose Castle, injuring Dycedarg and almost taking Alma hostage. When Zalbaag rescues his sister, Gragoroth grabs Alma's lowborn friend Tietra instead, thinking she is noble-born. Dycedarg promises not to attack the Brigade while they hold Tietra, but Argath, never a friend to the peasant class, expresses his disapproval, causing an argument with Delita. Ramza sides with his childhood friend and forces Argath out of his party. Ramza and Delita leave to rescue Tietra and share a moment watching the sunset over Mandalia Plains.
Looking for Delita's sister, they come upon Milleuda again. Though they do not see her as an enemy, she refuses to back down and they are forced to kill her. They find Wiegraf's group holding Tietra in a windmill in the Fovoham Windflats. Wiegraf wants to free her, but is forced to go out to fight Ramza with his chocobo, Boco, so his allies can escape. He is beaten and flees, abandoning his revolution to its inevitable defeat. Gragoroth, fearing for his life, steals away Tietra and makes for Ziekden Fortress, with Ramza's group following.
Despite Dycedarg's promise not to attack, Zalbaag leads an assault on the fort and orders his new soldier, Argath, to shoot at Gragoroth, who is holding Tietra at knifepoint. Argath does so without hesitation and mortally wounds them both. Seeing this, Delita attacks Argath with Ramza's aid. They kill their old ally and betray the Order of the Northern Sky, but Gragoroth has filled the fort with gunpowder and sets it alight. Ramza thinks Delita is killed in the explosion and abandons the Order and his family to become a sellsword.
Chapter 2: The Manipulative and the SubservientEdit
After telling his story, Ramza's party, along with Agrias and Gaffgarion, pursue Delita across Ivalice. They find him and the princess at the Zeirchele Falls, surrounded by hostile Northern Sky forces. A Northern Sky knight tells Gaffgarion to attack Ramza and he complies, revealing himself a traitor working for Dycedarg. Delita fights on Ramza's side, and tells him afterward that he was trying to rescue Ovelia from the Northern Sky by leading her to the Southern Sky stronghold at Fort Besselat. He leaves, letting Ramza's party take Ovelia to safety at Lionel Castle, held by the supposedly neutral Church of Glabados.
On the way, the party meets a machinist named Mustadio Bunansa, who is running from assassins sent by the Baert Trading Company, a crime syndicate specializing in human trafficking and opium smuggling. Mustadio joins Ramza's party, thinking he will find help at Lionel.
They meet Alphonse Delacroix, second-in-command of the church, who offers refuge to Ovelia and her knight, Agrias, and reveals vast knowledge about Mustadio's plight. He knows that Mustadio carries the Taurus auracite, an artefact of great power related to the legendary Zodiac Braves, twelve knights said to have led by Saint Ajora to defeat an ancient demon. The cardinal promises to aid Mustadio against the trading company.
Ramza and Mustadio make for the Clockwork City of Goug where Mustadio's father, Besrudio, is held hostage by the company. Mustadio leaves Ramza briefly to rescue his father, but is captured himself. Ludovich Baert, head of the trading company, threatens Ramza and demands he give up the Taurus stone, but Mustadio is prepared and tells Ramza to give him a fake. The company believes it but attacks anyway, and Ramza's party defeats them and saves Mustadio and his father.
Baert returns to his master, none other than the cardinal, who, not willing to suffer failure, destroys his conspirator using an unknown magick. Gaffgarion returns to his employer, Dycedarg, to report that he failed to kill Ovelia. Dycedarg sends Gaffgarion to fight Ramza, apparently working with the cardinal and unbothered by the idea of ordering his brother's execution.
The cardinal blocks Ramza's route, forcing them to travel by ship to the Port City of Warjilis to rescue Ovelia. They run into Delita, who tells Ramza to stay out of the affairs, saying he is going against the current of history, though what he means is unknown to Ramza.
They find Agrias fighting the cardinal's soldiers in the Balias Swale. She says she has escaped from the cardinal who plans to execute the princess. Ramza's party rushes to save her, but Agrias has been misled and they find only Gaffgarion and his troops. Ramza kills him at the gates of Lionel Castle, then goes to confront the cardinal himself.
Delita, working with the cardinal and an unknown man, takes Ovelia to the Order of the Southern Sky. The man reveals Ovelia is not really the princess, but a lowborn impostor placed to create strife among the aristocracy, as the real princess had died as a baby.
While weeping at his sister's gravestone over his failure to protect her or bring down the nobles, Wiegraf is confronted by Loffrey Wodring of the church's Knights Templar. Loffrey promises Wiegraf that, if he were to join the organization, he would help destroy the tyrannical nobles. Wiegraf takes the offer.
Ramza enters the cardinal's demesne and challenges Delacroix who uses the power of the Scorpio auracite to transform into a Lucavi demon called Cúchulainn, the Impure. Ramza's party defeats it and it explodes with dark energy, leaving the auracite behind. Ramza realizes that the auracites are not holy relics of the Zodiac Braves, but something far more sinister.
With the Southern Sky claiming Ovelia as the rightful queen and the Northern Sky holding up Prince Orinus as king, Ivalice is divided by the civil war that becomes known as the War of the Lions. Marquis Elmdore, now fighting for the Southern Sky, dies in battle, and Queen Louveria is captured by her enemies and imprisoned in Fort Besselat. Delita rises in the ranks of the Southern Sky by exposing a plot and killing a lord who betrayed Duke Goltanna. Lords bleed their people dry even as the kingdom is beset by famine and drought.
Chapter 3: The ValiantEdit
Ramza and his party go to speak with his brothers, who are occupying the Royal City of Lesalia along with their Northern Sky army. On their journey they meet Orran Durai, adopted son of the Order of the Southern Sky's fiercest commander, Count Cidolfus Orlandeau, known as the 'Thunder God' for his strength in battle. Orran is threatened by a group of bandits, and is thankful when Ramza's party saves him, but continues on his own afterwards. Ramza reaches Lesalia and tries to convince Zalbaag that someone is orchestrating the war, but Zalbaag refuses to listen.
As Ramza prepares to leave the city, inquisitors from the church confront him, led by Zalmour Lucianada. Ramza has been branded a heretic for his role in the death of Cardinal Delacroix. He refuses to cooperate and they attempt to take him by force, but Ramza, his party and his younger sister Alma defeat the confessor. Ramza intends to go to the Orbonne Monastery to find the auracite there before the church can. Though Ramza fears for her safety, Alma demands to go with him.
When Ramza's party reaches Orbonne, the Knights Templar are already there, led by Wiegraf Folles and Isilud Tengille. Elder Simon, the monk who runs the monastery and a tutor to Alma, is injured, but offers what help he can. Isilud retreats by capturing Alma as leverage. Wiegraf is mortally wounded, but the Aries auracite in his hand, given to him by the Knights Templar, speaks to him, promising to save him from death. Wiegraf takes the offer, transforms into the Lucavi demon Belias, the Gigas, and teleports away. Before Ramza leaves, a barely-living Elder Simon gives him a book he has spent his life translating: the Scriptures of Germonique.
Germonique is the disciple who supposedly betrayed Saint Ajora. Ajora is held by the Glabados Church to be a child of the gods, but Germonique's account is nothing like the story Ramza knows. The scriptures claim that Ajora was not a holy man, but a revolutionary working to undermine the Holy Ydoran Empire, and Germonique was a spy for the empire who sold Ajora out. Ajora had no connection to the Zodiac Braves, but did search for the auracites for an unknown reason. With this artefact in hand, potentially disastrous for the church, Ramza goes to rescue his sister.
The Order of the Southern Sky places Delita in charge of Princess Ovelia's protection and he begins to soften up to her. Delita promises to protect her and states his ambition to destroy the corrupt powers that rule Ivalice and rebuild it with a new order—all for Ovelia's benefit, he claims. Delita saves Ovelia from an assassination attempt by Northern Sky agents, bringing her closer to him.
Ramza finds Rapha Galthena being chased by her brother, Marach, and a group of Barrington's men. Rapha is a deserter from Khamja, a group of assassins under the command of the powerful Grand Duke Gerrith Barrington, who has captured Isilud along with the auracite and Isilud's captive, Alma. Rapha fled from her master after he raped her, but never told her brother. Seeing that Rapha is in danger, Ramza helps her and she joins his party. Marach survives the battle and, speaking through a toad, tells Ramza that if he fights the Grand Duke, his sister will be killed.
At Barrington's stronghold of Riovanes Castle, Folmarv Tengille, leader of the Knights Templar, Isilud's father and the mysterious man who told the princess she is an impostor, meets with the Grand Duke in negotiations. Wiegraf is with him. Barrington attempts to use his leverage against Folmarv to create an alliance with the Templars, whom he considers the strongest power in Ivalice. Folmarv is not interested in compromise and orders Wiegraf away to settle his score with Ramza. Folmarv transforms into a Lucavi, kills everyone in the room, and fatally wounds his own son for his weakness. Alma escapes from her cell and runs into Isilud just before his death. After their conversation, Folmarv returns, human again. He senses that Alma is to be the new host for his 'master' and, hoping to complete his plot, carries her away.
Outside, Rapha and Marach leave to finish their personal feud. Within the castle, Wiegraf attacks Ramza alone. Though Ramza tries to reason with him, the former leader of the Corpse Brigade announces he no longer cares for the peasant revolution or his sister's death, and only wishes to bring destruction to humanity. Ramza defeats Wiegraf's human form in a one-on-one duel, and Wiegraf turns into Belias just as Ramza's party arrives. Together they destroy it.
On the roof of Riovanes Castle, Rapha confronts the Grand Duke. Barrington admits to raping Rapha, making Marach realize he has been fighting on the wrong side. Barrington kills Marach and Ramza's party arrives, along with the Marquis Elmdore and two assassins, Celia and Lettie. Ramza remembers that the marquis had died in battle and realizes that Elmdore too must be a host for a Lucavi. Despite the debt he owes Ramza for saving his life years ago, Elmdore and his servants attack, but retreat when one of them is near defeat. Rapha stands over her brother's corpse with an auracite in hand and hears a voice from the stone. Ramza fears that it will take control of Rapha like it did Wiegraf, but instead of an evil power it returns Marach to life with a holy light, and the Galthena siblings join Ramza's party.
The slaughter becomes known in taverns across Ivalice as The Horror of Riovanes.
Chapter 4: In the Name of LoveEdit
As the war continues, both sides suffer from the strain, knowing that, if the war does not end soon, neither side will retain enough power to rule Ivalice. The Orders amass their forces near Fort Besselat, hoping to end the war. The Order of the Southern Sky is especially weakened, as many lords only continue to serve Duke Goltanna due to the example of the Thunder God. Though Orran suggests to his father that he should leave the Order, Count Orlandeau is too bound by his code of honor to betray his oath to Goltanna.
Ramza seeks the aid of his father's closest ally, the very same Orlandeau, at Zeltennia Castle. During the journey, Ramza's party is threatened by Folmarv's daughter, the Templar Meliadoul Tengille. Because she knows nothing of the Lucavi, she thinks Ramza's band killed her brother at Riovanes. Ramza forces her to retreat but cannot convince her of his innocence.
At Zeltennia, Ramza does not find the Thunder God, only Delita, who gives up the church's plot. He is to kill Duke Goltanna and Count Orlandeau while another takes out the heads of the Northern Sky. With both sides incapacitated, the church would take control of Ivalice, using the auracites and the legend of the Zodiac Braves to sway the populace to follow their orders. Zalmour appears outside, hunting for the heretic that escaped him at Lesalia, and though Delita is working for the church, he briefly betrays it by helping Ramza kill the confessor. Afterwards, Delita leaves Ramza, now manipulating him too in service of his grand ambition.
Ramza's group runs into a Templar named Barich Fendsor, who has sabotaged the Battle of Fort Besselat by devastating both sides with Mossfungus poison. Ramza defeats Barich and rushes to the battle, where his party opens the sluice gates, flooding the battlefield. When the Mossfungus is released, neither army is seriously affected, but the flood prevents an end to the War of the Lions.
The real warfare takes place behind the lines. Duke Goltanna arrests Count Orlandeau as a traitor, following a false tip given by Delita, and names Delita the new commander of the Southern Sky. Delita uses the duke's trust as an opportunity to murder him, and then kills a fake Thunder God to silence the church while the real Count Orlandeau joins Ramza's party. On the other side, Dycedarg uses the confusion created by the Mossfungus poison as a chance to murder Duke Larg. Zalbaag watches the betrayal without taking action, but what he sees disturbs him. Before Larg dies, he mentions that Dycedarg murdered his father, a shock to Zalbaag's ears. Zalbaag no longer trusts his brother.
Following a lead that Alma is in Limberry Castle, Ramza's party moves to confront Marquis Elmdore at the seat of his power. Ramza fights through Celia and Lettie and reveals their true forms: Ultima Demons. Argath, now a powerful undead creature brought back by the marquis, attacks Ramza, and is killed again. They find the marquis in Limberry's undercroft, where he reveals that Alma was never there and the entire journey was a trap, and transforms into the Lucavi Zalera, the Death Seraph. Meliadoul, who happened to be there at the time, sees Elmdore's demonic form and joins Ramza's side to destroy it. She can no longer deny Ramza's story that her father is a Lucavi, and decides to accompany him to end the Lucavi plot.
Dycedarg, now the commander of the Northern Sky, is confronted by the Templar Loffrey Wodring, who makes insinuations about Dycedarg's guilt in the death of his father, mentioning that those killed by Mossfungus have toadstools growing on their graves. Dycedarg denies everything. As Loffrey leaves, he hands Dycedarg the Capricorn auracite as a show of goodwill from the church. Zalbaag overhears the conversation and checks the grave of the late Barbaneth. Finding the toadstools, he returns to Eagrose, sword in hand.
Ramza hears from Meliadoul that Dycedarg has been given an auracite. He rushes across Ivalice to Eagrose and finds his older brothers fighting each other. Dycedarg claims he was doing what was best for House Beoulve. Dycedarg is killed, triggering the auracite in his hand. He turns into Adrammelech, the Wroth, and destroys Zalbaag. Ramza and his party defeat the Lucavi, ending the reign of House Beoulve.
At Mullonde, the seat of the church's power, the Templars under Folmarv revolt. They capture the High Confessor Marcel Funebris and order him to reveal the location of the Necrohol of Mullonde, a dimension of evil required to revive the master of the Lucavi. Funebris reveals it is in Orbonne, but the Scriptures of Germonique are required to open the door to the rift. Though the Templars promise to save the high confessor's life, they fatally wound him.
Folmarv and his servants confront Ramza and tell him to give up the scriptures in exchange for Alma. Though he agrees, the Templars do not release her, and instead attack him and are forced to retreat. Folmarv revives Zalbaag as an undead creature and sends him to kill Ramza. Zalbaag begs Ramza to kill him, and Ramza has no other choice. As the party leaves, they find the high confessor, near death from his injuries, who tells them where the Templars are going.
Ramza's party ventures into the Necrohol, defeats each of the Knights Templar and reaches the Airship Graveyard. Folmarv, the last of the Templars, tries to summon his master using Alma, but cannot. Too few have died; more sacrifices are needed, the true reason they sought to orchestrate the war in Ivalice. He turns into Hashmal, Bringer of Order, and attacks Ramza and his party to spill their blood, but is defeated. Realizing the only way to revive his master is to make himself the sacrifice, Hashmal digs his claws into his chest and brings Saint Ajora back to life, Alma as his human host.
Saint Ajora is divided by Alma within her and Alma is freed. Ajora transforms into Ultima, the High Seraph, the leader of the Lucavi, whose previous human host was Saint Ajora. Though the demon has immense power, Ramza's party defeats it before it can bring devastation to Ivalice. As Ultima dies, she unleashes a massive blast of energy that destroys the area, leaving the fate of Ramza's party unknown.
Orran Durai attends the Beoulve house funeral. Since Ramza is a heretic, and his body was never found, he cannot be given a proper burial. After the service, Orran spots Ramza and Alma riding chocobos away to freedom. Orran writes a history of these events and Ramza's role in defeating the Lucavi, but the church senses the danger of his work and brands him a heretic and burns him at the stake. This work becomes the Durai Papers that Orran's descendant, Arazlam, uncovers generations later.
Delita, now king of Ivalice, comes to his queen, Ovelia, with flowers. She runs at him with a knife and wounds him, out of hatred for being used, but he takes the weapon and kills her. Delita thinks of Ramza, wondering which of them truly succeeded in the end.
Although the game's ending may have seemed ambiguous, Director Yasumi Matsuno has confirmed that Ramza is alive and went on to have another adventure in a different country.[1]
Spoilers end here.
MusicEdit
Main article: Final Fantasy Tactics: Original Soundtrack
The soundtrack is composed by the duo Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata. The soundtrack spans two discs and 71 tracks, with Sakimoto composing 47 tracks and Iwata the other 24. Since then, their names have been eponymous to the music composed for games related to the Ivalice series.
The Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions version retains the music used in the PlayStation version. It also retains the hidden Sound Test feature that was found in the PlayStation Japanese version. When the player starts a 'New Game' with the name 'PolkaPolka', it takes the player to the Sound Test menu where the player can listen to the soundtracks for the game, listing its oddly named tracks as well as the composer's nicknames.
Fan patchesEdit
Due to the poor translation of the original PlayStation version, some fans have created a patch which uses the official English script from Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions version with some bugs and glitches fixed by hackers. Ability incantations and graphic novels were re-translated and added by fans because they were omitted in any version of English releases from the Japanese release.[1]
The War of the Lions version has been criticized for slowdowns during battles and decreased audio quality, most notably when casting spells or using special abilities that require different lighting effects. Patches removing the slowdown have been created for various Sony PlayStation Portable releases by a fan of the game.[2]
DevelopmentEdit
This article or section is a stub in Final Fantasy Tactics. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.
The War of the Lions versionEdit
This article or section is a stub in Final Fantasy Tactics. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.
The new intro and menu screenEdit
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ReleasesEdit
OriginalEdit
This article or section is a stub in Final Fantasy Tactics. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.
A collector's edition of Final Fantasy Tactics was rereleased as part of the Square Millennium Collection. The game's contents remain unchanged from the original Japanese release, but the collection features unique disc art, and also came with a Zodiac Clock and a Character & Job Playing Cards set.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the LionsEdit
See also: Final Fantasy Tactics version differences
PlayStation Portable versionEdit
An updated port of Final Fantasy Tactics was released on May 10, 2007 in Japan for the Sony PlayStation Portable as part of the Ivalice Alliance project. The display ratio was altered from 4:3 to 16:9 and new characters and jobs were implemented, as well as a new pre-rendered cutscenes, multiplayer features, and various other changes. The English version was released on October 5, 2007 with a new localization.
iOS/Android versionEdit
The game was released for iOS in 2011, with the iPhone version released on August 4, 2011. An iPad version was scheduled for later in the year, but was delayed for unknown reasons and was finally released on February 23, 2012.
While retaining most of the new features of the PSP version, the game uses touch screen inputs and allows full camera control, though the user interface was only minimally altered. It also does not include multiplayer features; the items introduced in the PSP version and found in the multiplayer mode are instead unlocked upon completing the game, appearing in the Poachers' Den after the credits roll and the game auto-saves.
On February 14, 2013, Square Enix released the port for Android in Japan exclusively through the Square Enix Market app store, updated for high-resolution displays with new HD unit and portrait sprites and improved graphics rendering speeds. An update bringing these new features to the iOS version was subsequently released on June 4, 2013. On June 4, 2015, the Android version was released internationally on the Google Play app store.
Production creditsEdit
StaffEdit
Executive Producers | Tetsuo Mizuno Tomoyuki Takechi |
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Producer | Hironobu Sakaguchi |
Co-Producer | Michio Okamiya |
Director & Writer | Yasumi Matsuno |
Game Designer | Hiroyuki Ito |
Art Director & Event Director | Hiroshi Minagawa |
Character Designer | Akihiko Yoshida |
Main Programmer | Taku Murata |
Composers | Masaharu Iwata Hitoshi Sakimoto |
Main Battle Planner | Hiroyuki Ito |
Additional Battle Planner | Takayuki Suguro |
Event Planner | Jun Akiyama |
Movie Director | Toshiyuki Momose |
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the LionsEdit
Producer | Takamasa Shiba |
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Co-Producer | Shingo Kosuge |
Character Designer | Akihiko Yoshida |
Director | Toshihisa Yokoshima |
New CG Movies Creators | anima.inc |
Voice castEdit
Ramza Beoulve | Phil LaMarr |
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Delita Heiral | Robin Atkin Downes |
Ovelia Atkascha | Kari Wahlgren |
Agrias Oaks | Hedy Burress |
Balthier | Gideon Emery |
Luso Clemens | Justin Cowden |
Packaging artworkEdit
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AllusionsEdit
Final Fantasy Tactics makes numerous allusions to main series Final Fantasy games, especially in its sidequests.
TriviaEdit
- Final Fantasy Tactics appeared, along with Final Fantasy VII, in Smithsonian Art of Video Games exhibit held between March 18 and September 30, 2012. The video games in the exhibition were decided by public vote.
- Game director Yasumi Matsuno is an admitted Queen fan, and has stated he was influenced by Queen songs in the titles of other games (most notably Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen and Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together). Similarly, Chapter 4, Somebody to Love, is the name of a Queen song, though the name of the chapter was changed, although only in the English release, in Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.
See alsoEdit
External linksEdit
- Final Fantasy Tactics at Wikipedia
- Final Fantasy Tactics Sprites (PS1 version, supplemented by new characters and jobs from the PSP version)
ReferencesEdit
- ↑https://twitter.com/#!/YasumiMatsuno/status/169572953686683648
Final Fantasy Tactics
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With so many Final Fantasy characters, do you often wonder who the strongest is? Or who the weakest is? It’s a fair question without any direct answers from the source material. The developers rarely mention things like this, so it’s often difficult to gauge the differences in power levels among characters. Despite this, our list will attempt to rank twenty main Final Fantasy protagonists, in ascending order of strength. The weakest is number twenty, while the strongest is number 1.
Other than the main series, we’ve also included a few prominent spin-off titles. You’d be surprised to see how some of the spin-off characters stack up against the main series heroes. Of course, it should be noted that this list is by no means definitive. There has been no official statement regarding the relative strengths of each character (with the exception of one specific example, which you’ll see later). This is simply the speculation of a fan and mostly for fun. The decisions ultimately came down to the specific world a character is from.
Some Final Fantasy games simply have stronger power levels than others. More supernatural beings, more powerful magic, etc. This gives some characters a distinct advantage when making such comparisons. Also, it may be tempting to consider Final Fantasy Dissidia, since it has all of the characters fighting each other. However, all the characters are balanced to make the game fair. So, it’s not a reliable source of information for the purpose of this list. We will stick to the games the characters are from. As an extra disclaimer, this list does not consider any summons. It’s all about the merits of the particular character.
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20 Warrior Of Light (Final Fantasy)
The first ever Final Fantasy hero and also the first one this list. Warrior of Light is the standard RPG hero, so isn’t as impressive as some of the later protagonists. He can change into several classes like Knight, Mage, or Thief. Each class has powerful weapons and abilities, but nothing crazy.
The Warrior of Light is strong in his own world, but wouldn’t stand a chance against powerhouses like Cloud or Lightning. He may not be the strongest, but he sure has one of the biggest hearts.
19 Firion (Final Fantasy II)
A continuation of the previous game, Firion is similar to the Warrior of Light. He doesn’t specialize in anything and can take on a number of jobs.
That being said, he also isn’t very impressive in strength.
There isn’t much to separate him from the Warrior of Light. He’s a jack-of-all-trades and extremely versatile. However, he can only use one class at a time, so he can’t make use of his multiple talents. At least this time he has a proper name and storyline, a big step up from the Warrior of Light.
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18 Luneth (Final Fantasy III)
Don’t worry, the rest of the list won’t be the games in order of release, I can assure you. Luneth falls into the same old category of an adaptable main character. Final Fantasy III has more jobs than before, giving Luneth greater options.
At this point, you may be getting sick of the standard, bland hero, with no set role or job. Well, we’re not over yet. Regardless, Luneth’s adaptability is great, but not enough to match other Final Fantasy heroes. Once again, our hero has his own name and story, continuing the trend of personalized stories.
17 Bartz Klauser (Final Fantasy V)
Finally, a character with some level of specialization. Bartz has greater strength stats than magic, so you want to make him a physical class like warrior or monk. His higher relative stats means that he can actually make the most of these jobs, making him a greater threat than Luneth or Firion.
Still, Final Fantasy games were yet to feature overpowered heroes. Which is why Bartz is still one of the weakest heroes, despite having a specific role to master. He won’t be able to hold his own against some of the other characters coming up in the list.
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16 Ace (Final Fantasy Type-0)
This game doesn’t have a clear main character, but Ace is the most prominent one. He’s on the cover and most of the marketing material. So, he was the best choice. Ace is a mid-range mage. He attacks using magic-infused playing cards that can cut through foes.
On top of that, Ace is an expert at magical attacks.
He’s strong but falls in the lower end of the spectrum. Ace would be able to beat guys like Firion or Bartz, but that’s about it. He's very fast, but can’t hit as hard as some of the upcoming characters. Still, he’s a formidable warrior that shouldn’t be underestimated.
15 Rain (Final Fantasy Brave Exvius)
Rain is from a mobile game, making it harder to compare his power with that of everyone else. That being said, he’s not overly impressive and one of the weaker main characters in the franchise. However, he is strong enough to defeat the previous characters on the list.
Rain is primarily a swordsman who can wield magic. He doesn't have access to multiple classes like some of the others but is a solid knight in his own right. It's possible that Rain is far stronger than I'm giving him credit for. However, there isn't much information to make a decision like that so it would be better to place him lower on the list. Still, however strong he is, he can't match up to some of the warriors in Final Fantasy.
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14 Cecil Harvey (Final Fantasy IV)
Cecil was a departure from the main character having an adaptable characteristic. He starts off as a Dark Knight and later becomes a Paladin. Cecil is a powerful warrior and has great physical capabilities. He may not be able to change jobs at will, but specializing in one field can be an advantage.
He is still lower on the list since earlier Final Fantasy characters tend to be on the weaker side when compared to the newer titles. Out of the early characters, Cecil would be the strongest. His Paladin class gives Cecil some defensive capabilities which are fairly unique for a main character. A worthy warrior who can put up a good fight against some of the best.
13 Vaan (Final Fantasy XII)
Vaan is another one of those balanced fighters you can adapt to any role. He has some of the highest attacking stats in the game and is best suited for physical roles. However, he’s no slouch with magical abilities. However, his skills will be restricted by the job he selects to master.
In Final Fantasy Tactics A2, he is a full-fledged sky pirate, with really high speed and evasion. Vaan would be an expert fighter and can be a threat to the other protagonists. The more grounded-nature of Final Fantasy XII means that he has supernatural enhancements to gain an edge in battle.
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12 Ramza Beoulve (Final Fantasy Tactics)
It was a close call between Vaan and Ramza. They’re both from the same universe, so it was easier to compare them. Ramza is also able to access a variety of jobs and is adept at physical and magical skills.
So, why is Ramza higher on the list?
Ramza has an edge in the magic department. His magical prowess is greater than Vaan’s, and he can learn one of the best spells in Final Fantasy, Ultima. This is the equivalent of Scathe from Final Fantasy XII. Ultimately, it comes down to which uber spell is better, that’s how close Ramza and Vaan are. Ramza also has more versatility due to his ability to use abilities from different jobs at the same time.
11 Squall Leonheart (Final Fantasy VIII)
Squall’s main asset is his mastery of the gunblade. It’s a unique weapon that can surprise his opponents. Being the main character, Squall has well-rounded stats and his magical abilities are quite good. He’s fairly skilful and would have a slight edge in battle over Ramza or Vaan, despite their versatility.
Still, Squall isn’t powerful enough to reach the top tier of Final Fantasy characters. We still haven’t reached the “overpowered” section of the list. Squall is still a grounded character who depends more on skill and technique than over-the-top magical powers. But don’t worry, we’ll get to that level very soon.
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10 Tidus (Final Fantasy X)
In Final Fantasy X, we start seeing an increase in the power levels of characters. Tidus is the result in this shift. He's a skilled swordsman and also able to use both White and Black magic. He's fast, agile, and hits hard. Tidus proves himself to be a powerful warrior and is the ideal midpoint on this list.
From here on out, you're going to see the best Final Fantasy has to offer. As strong as Tidus is, his powers are still a bit limited. He doesn't have pure strength or magic and is balanced in his abilities. This can be a disadvantage, especially against some of the later characters we're about to see in the rest of the list.
9 Yuna (Final Fantasy X-2)
Take Tidus and add to that the versatility of Yuna's dress spheres. You get an ideal mix Of versatility and pure power. Yuna is a powerful magic user and her dress spheres help to make up for the lack of physical strength in Final Fantasy X.
Her dress spheres give Yuna access to a variety of useful spells and abilities. She can adapt to whatever situation is required of her. That’s what gives Yuna a slight edge over Tidus and puts her in the number nine spot. Although Tidus may not appreciate this particular entry.
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8 Reynn/Lann (World Of Final Fantasy)
These twins come together since they are two parts of a whole. Their strength comes from the ability to tame and capture the monsters of the Final Fantasy universe. This isn’t summoning, so they are eligible for the list. Reynn and Lann are able to tame some of the strongest beasts of the Final Fantasy, like Behemoths.
The twins themselves aren’t overly powerful.
They rely mostly on the power of the monsters they summon into battle. Which is why it wouldn’t be fair to put them up higher on the scale. They are also limited to summoning two monsters each at any time.
7 Zidane Tribal (Final Fantasy IX)
Zidane is a great physical attacker, but what sets him apart is the Trance mechanic from Final Fantasy IX. Whenever he experiences a surge in emotion, he’s able to activate this power-up. Zidane’s Trance form increases his base attacking stats, but that’s not all.
He is able to use a new set of “Dyne” abilities. These are some of the best attacks in the entire game and only Zidane can use them. Also, the more skills he learns in his base form, the stronger his Trance form becomes. It’s an endless cycle of leveling-up that makes Zidane one of the strongest Final Fantasy heroes.
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6 Vincent Valentine (Dirge of Cerberus)
Vincent is quite the powerhouse. His base powers aren’t that great, he only wields a gun and wasn’t the best magic user from Final Fantasy VII. However, he has the ability to transform into a beast form. Of which, his strongest is Chaos. This was present in Final Fantasy VII but plays a major role in Dirge of Cerberus, where Vincent is the main character.
Chaos is the reason why Vincent is high on the list. He gets a massive power boost and new skills while in this form. By the end of the game, he also learns to properly control the form, making him stronger than before.
5 Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII)
Cloud has become very popular among the fanbase because of how strong he is. Cloud’s appearance and giant Buster Sword suggests he’s a pure attacker. However, he has excellent magical capabilities as well. He is one of the best mixed-attackers you’ll find in a Final Fantasy game.
His Limit Breaks are extremely powerful as well. Attacks like Cross-Slash or Omni-Slash were good enough for Sephiroth, much less the other character's on this list. And yet, there are four characters who are stronger than Cloud. They’ll have to bring something truly unique to the table for that to happen.
4 Zack Fair (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII)
Zack and Cloud are quite similar in strength, having both been injected with Jenova Cells. What gives Zack a slight advantage is his limit break, Digital Mind Wave. This allows him to learn the abilities of others and use them for himself.
This ability has a lot of potential and should give Zack an edge in combat.
On top of that, he has more experience as a SOLDIER than Cloud. There are some points of contention though since Cloud gets much stronger by Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Whichever way you go, both Zack and Cloud are two of the most powerful Final Fantasy characters.
3 Terra Branford (Final Fantasy VI)
Terra also has a Trance, but it’s different from the one in Final Fantasy IX. She turns into a pure esper, a powerful being full of magical energy. In this form, Terra is easily one of the strongest Final Fantasy heroes ever made. Her magic would be at the top level and could easily disintegrate the others.
Just to be clear, Final Fantasy VI does not have an official “main character.” Many of the characters play important roles in the story. However, Terra is often at the front of the cover and other promotional material. She seemed the best choice for the purpose of this list.
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2 Noctis Lucis Caelum (Final Fantasy XV)
At first, the characters of Final Fantasy XV don’t seem too overpowered. Noctis can warp around yes, but his magic abilities are extremely limited. They mostly fight using weapons with very little signs of augmentation or supernatural abilities.
Then comes in Noctis’ armiger abilities and the Thirteen Royal Arms. Using this ultimate power, Noctis gains the ability of flight while also being able to shoot laser beams at will. He also wields thirteen ancient weapons at the same time. He owns Leviathan by himself, which is an enormous feat. He would be the most powerful character on the list, if not for one caveat.
1 Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)
The most boring and easy entry on the list. Lightning is the strongest character in Final Fantasy as confirmed by Square Enix. That’s right, the developers of Final Fantasy revealed that Lightning is the strongest protagonist in the entire series.
During Lightning Returns, she gains new powers and strengths. She attains a new level of power that was unattainable by every other character on this list. There’s a small possibility that Noctis is stronger since the information pre-dates Final Fantasy XV. But until something is said on the matter, Lightning will remain the most powerful Final Fantasy character.
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