Tactics Ogre

[Marky Tee]

while in Game today( i bought ring of fates and dragon quest 9 btw :D) i had a right good look at this game, Tactics Ogre
it looks not bad but does seem to be pretty much final fantasy tactics
i probably will buy it anyway as FFT is probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite in the series and in my top 5 games of ever

any thoughts on it?

[Bolivar]

It looks like FFT b/c it's the last game the tactics team made before they joined Square. This remake brings the game fully up to date on both gameplay and writing, as well as everything the psp has to offer in terms of audio/visual.

Only beat it once but I think it's probably a better game than Final Fantasy Tactics. The plot itself is just as good, but made more dramatic by the couple decisions you actually get to make in the game. It adds a dynamic to Matsuno's games that you don't see in his later ones. Also unlike Tactics, I think the need for strategy, as opposed to spamming overpowered attacks, stays up until the end of the game. If FFT is your 2nd or 3rd fave in the series, then this is a must buy.

[APolaris]

Haven't played the PS games, but Ogre Battle 64 is the next best N64 game I've played after Zelda: OoT... and I've played Goldeneye, Star Fox, Majora's Mask, and many of the N64's other best games.

[Kyros]

I havent played the one for psp, but I did play tactics ogre for ps1. I LOVED IT :D Its a ton harder than most tactics games (including FFT) since once your characters die, theyre gone. You dont get a few turns to try to finish enemies before the corpses are gone, theyre just dead. You can get a revive late in the game, which is nice, and it definitely makes one appreciate that ability more than in most rpgs. I also like how most/all of the classes have a 'specialty' weapon where their attack animation changes to something cooler (valkyries with spears ftw), and theres a lot of neat ways to earn unique classes (like lich). I should have probably asked this first to confirm, but is the psp tactics ogre title a remake/revamp of the ps1 tactics ogre like FFT -> FFT war of the lions?

[Del Murder]

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is a great game for PSP. It's like FF Tactics' grandpa. More sophisticated but not quite as polished. The story is great and the replay value with the World system is immense. I highly recommend it.

[Marky Tee]

Tactics Ogre it is then :)

right after ring of fates, echoes of time, dragon quest 9, the assassins creed series, shadow of the colossus and maybe white knight chronicles origins

hey it beats having a social life :p

[Bolivar]

I havent played the one for psp, but I did play tactics ogre for ps1. I LOVED IT :D Its a ton harder than most tactics games (including FFT) since once your characters die, theyre gone. You dont get a few turns to try to finish enemies before the corpses are gone, theyre just dead. You can get a revive late in the game, which is nice, and it definitely makes one appreciate that ability more than in most rpgs. I also like how most/all of the classes have a 'specialty' weapon where their attack animation changes to something cooler (valkyries with spears ftw), and theres a lot of neat ways to earn unique classes (like lich). I should have probably asked this first to confirm, but is the psp tactics ogre title a remake/revamp of the ps1 tactics ogre like FFT -> FFT war of the lions?

One difference is, there is a countdown between the character is felled and their corpse actually leaves the battlefield. Also, your characters may die (leave the battlefield) a total of three times before they are permanently "dead." It makes the game much more forgiving, and I only lost one character in the game. Some of the areas towards the end are very high up with no railings, so if your character is forced back from an enemy attack, they can fall off and immediately die... :(

Also, this isn't really a remake of the PSOne game, it's a remake of the SNES original. The PS version was just a port. I also respectfully disagree with Del that it's less polished than FFT. I'm not sure if he meant the aesthetics, which are smooth as anything, or the gameplay, which, as I stated above, is less breakable than FFT. Everything is far more balanced, yet much deeper.

[Marky Tee]

so these characters that can die permanently-are they all story characters or are there generics like in FFT?

[Kyros]

All of them can die, which makes it more challenging. I also liked the equipping spell system since that isnt that common anymore.

[Del Murder]

so these characters that can die permanently-are they all story characters or are there generics like in FFT?
There are a combination of generics and story characters, but there is a LOT more story characters in this game, more than you will ever need to form a team. And also if characters die you usually get 3 or so turns to revive them before they are gone for good, like in FFT. I think in the original versions that wasn't the case but it is true in the PSP version.

[Necronopticous]

This game is absolutely incredible.

[APolaris]

In OB64, which isn't too hard, when your characters die, you can only revive them in two ways: an Altar of Resurrection item (somewhat rare, and they are buyable but at a pretty high price) or at a Witch's Lair (which leaves them at low HP, costs based on the character's level, and requires you bring them to that town). If you don't revive someone before you defeat the enemy leader, that person will usually (not always, as cutscenes can interrupt it) become a Zombie, who you can then put into your army. Zombies get revived if they're killed unless the final blow was from a holy attack, but their attacks are pitifully weak and they get at most 2 of them no matter which row they're in, and if they're hit with fire they become skeletons, which are slightly stronger but still weaker than any classed human. If skeletons are hit by... I think it was a fire/air combo spell... they become ghosts, which don't attack, but put enemies to sleep (which kinda sucks, as you can get the same effect more effectively other ways). In short... in OB64 you don't want your characters to die either.

With certain items, female characters can become Angel Knights instead of Zombies. Angel Knights are pretty awesome - they don't attack very well and their stat gains are pretty horrid, but they evolve into Seraphs with the right stats & alignment. Seraphs still physically attack like crap, but in the back row they get two full-screen (admittedly still low-to-mid-damaging) holy attacks per battle.

Of course, for the exploitative type, one could also just abuse the Organize Screen's bug that lets you get infinite copies of any item a unit can carry.

[Bolivar]

so these characters that can die permanently-are they all story characters or are there generics like in FFT?

The real tricky part is story characters can die before you even recruit them. Multiple times throughout the game you'll encounter a character in distress who you've met before or has a particular significance later on. You usually start on the opposite side of the map as your enemies, but that NPC will begin way behind enemy lines. In these scenarios, it's usually a race for your fastest characters to save them before they're felled by their own horrible AI tactics.

[Marky Tee]

the way i played FFT, i never let ANYONE die
at all
even generics
i would just re-start the battle over
LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND! :p

[Bolivar]

the way i played FFT, i never let ANYONE die
at all
even generics
i would just re-start the battle over
LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND! :p

Me, too, even if I was already investing 30+ minutes in the battle, and had to do it multiple times :(

fun times!

[Roogle]

I highly recommend this game to any fan of the tactical role-playing game genre. This version of the game has some minor issues, but it is an example of a port done right. I played this game for several weeks and finished the main story before embarking on some of the long sidequests. There is plenty to do in this game to keep the average gamer occupied for a very long time.

[Del Murder]

I think I logged something like 60 hours before I finally beat it. This game pulls you in. Some of the sidequests are epically long as Roogle points out. And once you beat the game, that's only the beginning, as there are several branches the story can take with their own set of quests, which you can revisit once you complete the game for the first time.

When I say 'not as polished' as FFT I mean that FFT feels like an 'evolved' version of this game just like FFV is an evolved version of FFIII, which is no coincidence since that is what they literally are. I found the differentials between the jobs much more distinct in FFT and I had more fun playing the different roles in that game. In TO I mostly just kept people in the same job as there was very little incentive to ever switch. Also I am aware that FFT can be broken in many different ways by the end of the game but with TO's ridiculous Archer class you can break it from the very beginning of the game.

[Bolivar]

Agree, this game has an insane amount of content. I played a few of the side quests and some of them had plots that were just as ecstacy-inducingly epic as the main story. With a branching plot, and the ability to easily go back and make a different decision for a new file, I actually wonder how much play time there is to play every story sequence of the main game.



When I say 'not as polished' as FFT I mean that FFT feels like an 'evolved' version of this game just like FFV is an evolved version of FFIII, which is no coincidence since that is what they literally are. I found the differentials between the jobs much more distinct in FFT and I had more fun playing the different roles in that game. In TO I mostly just kept people in the same job as there was very little incentive to ever switch. Also I am aware that FFT can be broken in many different ways by the end of the game but with TO's ridiculous Archer class you can break it from the very beginning of the game.

I feel ya, Del. I definitely agree FFT was the progression that built on top of what Tactics Ogre did. And the Archers ARE broken as hell. But I think the rest of the pieces of the system work together better than they do in FFTactics.

[erikramza]

Lol. They made it so easy compared to the psx version... you can revive characters before the very end of the game now!? Omg. So cool! And the enemies CAN'T revive at all!? What? No way!

I liked tactics ogre before the remake, honestly... The challange of the original was half the fun of it! Oh that, and they FOR SOME REASON, got rid of the two player training mode. smurfing mistake. That training mode was FUN. I actually quit out on the remake because I couldn't train... Ill probably get back into as there are other multiplayer options this time around....

Both in the original, and the remake (more so in the original), monsters are actually worth their weight, unlike in FFT. Get them, use them. They're FUN. Of course annoying to get in the remake, where you could just buy a good number (or all?) of them in the original.

I think my point is that the games have vast differences, and in my opinion the original holds my favor over the remake. Both great games. Original is worth checking out if you plan on just playing the new one... Give it a thought. All I ask.

Lich! Get one. Awesome mage class in the original. Sure its just as good. Also, PoD makes the 'Deep Dungeon' a joke in comparison.

[Bolivar]

Damn, I didn't know there were so many chanages to the difficulty (actually it's not surprising since I haven't checked on this at all) but it sounds like the changes were for the better in my case. I like a challenge, but some of these older games are really unforgiving.

[Kyros]

Lich! Get one. Awesome mage class in the original. Sure its just as good. Also, PoD makes the 'Deep Dungeon' a joke in comparison.

Yeah liches were awesome and deep dungeon in FFT really wasnt much of a challenge except for MAYBE the last boss.

This thread makes me think back to the original Ogre Battle where my friend and I played together (even though 1 player, we both had input as to our decisions during combat), and in one file where we had 4 of the rings to get a princess within the first 2-3 battles (pretty much best, or one of the top 3 best, classes in the game)!!!!! We only used 2 I think since after that we felt like too guilty to use more since the game would become too easy lol

[Necronopticous]

Fight it out!