“Final Fantasy Tactics” is an old classic PlayStation 1 game, which was in the tactical JRPG genre. It told the story of Ramza, his quest to recover his sister and his big involvement in a grand scheme. Here is my review of one of the best games in its era.
Revolutionary 2D graphics integrated into 3D models
The classic PS1 video game was attractive due to one of its perks, which was its unusual 2D graphics that also looked like 3D. It was clear that it had 2D sprites for its characters, monsters, and bosses, but at the same time players could rotate them around in certain camera angles.
This allowed players to see the whole models’ bodies.
The sprites are well drawn too, even though the human characters lacked noses. The missing part turned into its cute charm and a lot of fans liked the unique design. While it looked cute, it stayed true to the story’s adult theme about politics, murder, treachery, and more.
A mix of fantasy, chivalry, betrayal, and religion evoked in its music
“Final Fantasy Tactics” had some of the best PS1 music in its time and the music colored the story. The music was compatible to each scene, battle, and dialogue and made it more intense and dramatic. Some were lighthearted, but most of the time it was intense, thrilling, and haunting.
The PS1 version did not have any voiceovers, but it did have sound effects that resembled it during battles.
They were good enough, but it sounded more childish especially for the female humans, which were super high-pitched. The newer version, “Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions” had voice dubs in cutscenes, which were great as well.
A story of friendship, betrayal, false religion, political plots, and the ugly side of war
The video game touched on several sensitive topics that relate to the real world like politics, religion, and war. It has a very deep story that made most of the teenagers who played this game scratch their heads. Other gamers were deep in thought over this controversial, yet very interesting story.
Gamers who want a straightforward game with a straightforward story will not like this at all due to its complexity. On the other hand, gamers who love plot twists, shocking truths, and the like will definitely love the story of Ramza, Delita, and the great war of the lions.
Very complex tactical game with many factors
This tactical JRPG is quite the complex game to play and it will take a lot of time before they understand the secrets behind it. There are many factors that make a character stronger and it needs several items and equipment to make it happen. Players will have to think hard about how to deal with a battle before they take the enemy on because they will lose if they make one mistake.
Like chess, players can move their characters around the battlefield and attack enemies one at a time. Depending on their speed, they can move ahead of the rest and walk in a limited range. They can also attack enemies from far away with range attacks, magic, or summons.
The job system is quite complex as well. Advanced jobs can be unlocked after players have made progress on certain job levels. They can take on that job and unlock new skills after gain job points in battle.
Players can also visit kingdoms or towns to purchase equipment, items, and weapons. In later chapters, they can purchase monsters as companions, take on side missions, and more. They can also gain information in bars to unlock dungeons, missions, and more.
Secret dungeons and unlockable characters for high replay value
Unlockable secret characters and dungeons were one of the best parts of gaming in the early days. They could gain these secrets if they followed certain conditions, which was fun at that time. This also took a lot of time to finish, which makes it have a very high replay value.
“Final Fantasy Tactics” was a great contender even if its major competitors were also part of the franchise. For this great video game classic, I scored it a high 9 out of 10 points.
Check out the "Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions" Trailer here:
