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Our next podcast recording (23.7.23) - 579: Final Fantasy Tactics / The War of the Lions (Patreon)

Published:
2023-07-19 08:38:42
Imported:
2023-07

Content

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Final Fantasy Tactics / The War of the Lions for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

Comments

SludgeWizard

Three word review since I don’t have Twitter anymore: Favorite Final Fantasy

MHninjabear

I have only played the first 10 hours multiple times, but the world is filled with charm. The many classes make me want to treat warriors like they are Pokémon. Any game with Ivalice as a setting is a huge bonus too.

The Pensky File

It's neat to see Cane and Rinse covering two remarkably different games this year - Tactics and Into the Breach - which offer contrasting gaming experiences. Into the Breach represents an immaculate model of gaming efficiency. Each mechanism in the game serves a specific purpose; there's no unnecessary gameplay elements or redundant dialogues. On the other hand, Tactics embodies the idea of extravagance. The game revels in the abundance of grinding, the profusion of abilities, the plethora of classes, endless narrative complications, and even the superabundance of vowels in characters' names. This is part of the game's charm. Truly immersing in its mechanics might require you to belong to a specific group: those who get a dopamine hit to the brain through grinding in JRPGs. If you fit that mold, you will find an infinite range of abilities to grind through, even if you only utilize a minor fraction of them. Tactics brings to mind FFVIII, where the gameplay system is more enjoyable when exploited and manipulated rather than being used in the intended manner. I've beaten Tactics multiple times, but never without exploiting a Calculator or a few secret characters. Inevitably, the band of mismatched characters I initially begin with, and for whom I mourn their deaths, evolves into a more mercenary team focused solely on accomplishing the task at hand. In my eyes, Tactics holds a place among the top three Final Fantasy games, owing to its extensive customization options, replayability, and sheer enjoyment it provides. However, it's a game that carefully balances between being exceptional and being flawed. It never strays too far in either direction from this delicate line of balance. Instead, it takes small steps back and forth, maintaining this precarious balance right up to the very end. And in that end, just spam Calculator spells.

Janelle

For my teenage self in the 1990s, Squaresoft made the best video games and it filled my days with so much joy. Playing Final Fantasy Tactics in 1997/98 was no exception. I loved the strategy, the grinding, and the job system. There was a lot of grinding in the beginning, with the early battles that felt almost unfairly difficult, and then it all disappeared after the three tough battles at Riovanes Castle. (Yes, I looked up how to beat Wiegraf after failing a half dozen times) Once T.G. Cid joined the party after Riovanes Castle, the game became too easy. I still enjoyed it, because who cannot like an overpower character like Cid? I beat the WotL version on my Android a couple of times. It seemed easier than the original, though the updated translation and cutscenes made it quite enjoyable. Even the little extra cutscene with Agrias made me giggle a bit. I went back to the original afterwards, and it did seem harder than WotL. If I had not been periodically playing the game since 1997, I am not sure playing it for the first time would be enjoyable in my early 40s. With a lot of Squaresoft games from that period, the nostalgia is so strong that I have difficulty separating my love for the games from the reality of the games. Their games have a huge part of my heart and I refuse to let them go, and will continue to enjoy them for many more years to come.

Wonggifs

Primary memory of the original game is seeing screenshots in magazines and being desperate to play it, only to be disappointed that Squaresoft didn't deign to bless us Europeans with it. When I did finally play the PSP version I was hugely charmed by the story and gameplay, yet also put off by the random difficulty spikes. Consulting online guides had me endlessly pelting characters with stones to level up, which somewhat took the shine off things. Never did finish it. Maybe one day, if it ever comes to modern platforms. How have we had remakes of Tactics Ogre and Live a Live but not one of this? Not complaining, those games are great, but it's a bit strange how forgotten FF Tactics seems to be.

Ryan McBride

For me, Final Fantasy Tactics is the series at its best and my far and away favorite. Despite buying it at launch, I bounced off it a few times and never got around to beating the War of the Lions version just a few years ago on my Vita (RIP). It has political intrigue, class warfare, love, betrayal, and of course, the requisite “get in the car, loser, we’re going to kill God” mandatory for any Final Fantasy. It’s not without its issues for sure - in fact, the last stretch of the game falls apart a bit because of the reliance on that trope, which stands out because of just how strong the character arcs and relationships are, and tensions those create. The protagonists and antagonists have clear, understandable, passionate motivations, in a rich and developed world, and I wish Square had the confidence to let that do more of the heavy lifting than fall back into the familiarity of “here comes the real bad guy.” Even with the last boss falling a bit flat, the final scenes of the game are beautiful and poignant. I choose to read into the ambiguous ending that Ramza dies in a noble sacrifice, and Delita gets the ending he deserves from all his successful machinations - it’s so much more satisfying if everything isn’t wrapped up in a neat little optimistic bow (I love Matsuno but I reject his clarification/retconning of the ending).

newdarkcloud

I consider this to be one of the greatest games ever made, with one of the greatest stories ever told in a video game. Not only does it have an impressive script, that leans heavily into themes of class warfare and political intrigue, with scathing commentary that only grows more poignant with each passing year, but it does so with a skill and brevity that is unmatched to this day. And on top of that, it is one of those foundational games whose influence can be felt in nearly every tactical RPG released in the time since. I loved the class system, and experimenting to find the most powerful, game-breaking combinations I could. At least, until I got Thunder God Cid and realized the game was content to break itself for me. XD Whenever people ask me what my favorite Final Fantasy, it's always, always going to be Tactics. Specifically, The War of The Lions version.

David Seil

Love Final Fantasy Tactics. Great, original gameplay that was a great refresher for Final Fantasy. Plus the stories and characters were great(Delita is a fascinating and timeless character). A comforting game that brings back a lot of PS1 nostalgic memories