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Final Fantasy Tactics had a 'high' standard to
meet sales-wise. There was no question that it's a better game
than Final Fantasy VII (however little that's saying), but would it
be as successful being released a mere five months after?
Unfortunately, no. But over time, Tactics gained a cult following
and notoriety for it's in-depth class/job system. It was also at
one time the most rare game on the system alongside Raiden Project.
But is all that fame deserved? Definitely, although Tactics isn't
perfect.
First, the plot. For those who haven't played it, I won't spoil
much, but it is easily one of the most ambitious stories ever
conceived for a game, trailing Xenogears and the entire Shenmue
saga. At the end of the Fifty Year War, Ramza and Delita Hyral are
up-and-coming Hokuten Knights training at Igros Castle. After
Delita loses his sister to another royal, Ramza and his crew decide
to, instead, fight for peace and strip their royal lineage.
 The worst thing about Tactics' story is that there's not enough of
it. Because it's only a 30-40 hour game, they had to cram this
massive, branching plot with countless names, places, events into
that span. Obviously, this means cutting out certain lengthy
explanations, and simply presenting names without giving much or any
background. Thankfully, there's a 'history' feature which archives
all of this information. Even still, the plot is horribly
convoluted for the first ten or so hours. It's a shame this game
wasn't done on two discs.
On a good note, the gameplay is intact and the tutorial for it is
comprehensive. Not only that, you can access a 'help' feature
outside of the tutorial by pressing Select. This definitely isn't a
'jump in and have fun' game; you need to learn it before you can
enjoy it, although it is worth the patience.
Gameplay is like almost any other strategy-based RPG - take turns
moving your units around the grid with the enemy. Although in FFT,
along with experience, you also gain Job points that are used for
new skills, magic, or abilities, the latter of which have to be set.
Different classes have different types of skills related to that
type of job. For instance, a Ninja can throw Shurikens while a
Black Mage casts magic from the base elements. A lot of it is
borrowed straight from the normal Final Fantasy series, such as
aforementioned Throw ability, magic names (Regen, Fire 2, Meteor),
and the Gil currency among other things.
As you gain experience, jobs (classes) level up, and further classes
are unveiled. For instance, you might need a minimum level in
certain Jobs to gain newer ones. The player can choose to stay with
a certain job and unlock more skills in it, or progress to a newer,
fancier one with more desirable skills. The options are endless in
Tactics, and how well you do in the game depends heavily on how the
party is set up.
 Within cities are bars, soldier offices, and weapon/armor/item
shops. Certain bars have missions that pay good money for their
completion, the catch being that you have to let go of some party
members for awhile (nope, can't don't do it yourself). Rare items
or armor can also be found this way, but it's only worth it if you
can spare a few experienced and strong characters. There are also
optional battles at former stages if you need to level up.
One thing people have brought up concerning Tactics is the
difficulty. It's not really a hard game per se, but the fact that
you lose a character after three rounds of not reviving them means a
lot of us will be resetting the system and fighting the same battle
multiple times. The game has an escalating difficulty level until
the encounter with Velius. After that, it shoots down to the
'almost no skill required' zone. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of
"surprise" challenges, where the game is easy until it hits me with
a tough battle out of nowhere. Hopefully this will be fixed for the
sequel.
While the running time is a scant 30-40 hours for most, the
strategy, customization and unique classes make you want more. With
the GBA sequel around the corner, that wish might finally be coming
true for some of us. If Vandal Hearts can get a sequel, so should
Tactics - it's only fair. I don't count MaxFive's Hoshigami:
Ruining Blue Earth as a spiritual sequel, either.
Controls: Simple, functional, quick to learn. How could they not
be? Its comparatively hard to mess up the controls in a strategy
RPG (something Eternal Eyes proved wrong). Assuredly, however, you
won't have problems moving the units around.
 Graphics: Amazing... for third generation PSX. Of course, it
doesn't stack up to Hoshigami or Ogre Battle 64 (forget the blurring
problem with the latter, it looked fantastic). Tactics, though,
holds it's own against anything else, with well-detailed characters
and impressive spell animations. The thing is, the maps were
unfortunately down-sized to allow the high level of detail, but is
this a bad thing? Hard to say, but regardless, the game looks
amazing compared to anything else out of late '97/early '98.
Sound: I'm reminded of the Velius battle... such mesmerizing music,
it almost makes me care about getting the soundtrack. The style is
perfectly intact with the emotion of every battle; aforementioned
encounter with Velius has that dark, pulsating rhythm, while regular
battles have more of an adventuristic feel. It's a far cry from
FFVII's unbearable soundtrack.
While it may be dragged down somewhat by the brief running time,
Tactics has the wonderful gameplay that makes it worth that replay
or two. Several classes, magick, and secret characters that you
didn't even know existed might be unveiled in a replay. Cloud
Strife is in here, if you need an example, and the "Mime" Job class
has several requirements most may not get the first time. At the
current price, Tactics is a must-buy.
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