I have never played this game

[Ayen]

Alas, Final Fantasy Tactics enter the bin of Final Fantasy games I have never played. I've seen it around but never picked it up and put it into my system. So I ask you all today, what all have I missed? Have I been deprived of sheer epicness or is it good that I never got around to playing it? o.o Is anyone else like me never having played? Do people tend to go :eek: when you break the bad news to them?

Discuss.

[Pumpkin]

It is a great game and tied for my second favorite of the series. I would reccomend it. I love the job system. I get 11 characters and assign them each two jobs, except for 3 of the get one job each- Bard/Dancer/Calculator. I change up which jobs I combine usually, but I always keep Black Mage Archer. Because if I was a Final Fantasy character, that is what I would want to be. Mink Geomancer is a good combo too, I think.

[Edge7]

I think it depends on what you're looking for in a Final Fantasy game. Tactics has a much more political story than other games in the series, so if you prefer romance in your games, this might not be for you. Other than that, I've been playing it here and there, and it's an excellent SRPG. My one gripe is that I'm still not entirely sure how JP (Job Points, which are how you give your characters new abilities and level up their job classes) are distributed.

[Jinx]

I've never played it. I don't really like strategy games.

[VeloZer0]

FFT is my favorite game of all time, so you could say I highly recommend it. That said I can easily see how it wouldn't be someone's cup of tea, but I think if you are a fan of the Final Fantasy series you absolutely need to give it a try.

I could talk all day about how awesome it is, but it would be better if you just played it.

I'm still not entirely sure how JP (Job Points, which are how you give your characters new abilities and level up their job classes) are distributed.

JP are doled out according to this equation:


JP = [(8 + (JobLevel * 2) + [Lv / 4]) * M]


where JobLevel is caster's level at their current job
(can range from 1 - 8)
Lv is the level of the person performing the action
M is 3/2 if the caster has 'Gained JP-UP'
1 otherwise


JP SHARING
When unit X gains JP, everyone else in the party will earn
[gained JP / 4] towards the job which unit X currently has.
Note: if unit X has 'Gained JP-UP', the extra JP given by that
ability are ignored in the JP sharing equation.

[Gamblet]

Best... Final... Fantasy... story.. ever! You are missing out. The game has so big customization that your head will explode. Well, not literally. :P

[Elskidor]

This, just like FFVI, is a a game you must play as a Final Fantasy fan! This is a very different type of game though, and it may not hold your interest if you just can not get into the style, but I would definitely give it a go and make that decision for yourself. The story, music and characters are all wonderful, so it's really just a matter if you like the class system and the tactical battle system.

[Slothy]

It is one of the best games you will ever play, hands down.

[Ayen]

I think it depends on what you're looking for in a Final Fantasy game. Tactics has a much more political story than other games in the series, so if you prefer romance in your games, this might not be for you. Other than that, I've been playing it here and there, and it's an excellent SRPG. My one gripe is that I'm still not entirely sure how JP (Job Points, which are how you give your characters new abilities and level up their job classes) are distributed.

Politics?

Politics.

Gimmie!

[Aquarian]

Are we talking of FFT "the war of the lions"? As my friend gave it to me, as a present last Christmas and I still have never got round to playing it as I was mostly concentrating on monster hunter in terms of PSP games...

You people are making this game sound fantastic, I may check it out later. Is this game anything to do with FFXII? As it sure is similar.

[Gamblet]

FFT and FFT: WotL are the same games. WotL has some special features.
XII and FFT take place in the same universe - Ivalice, that's basically the only connection.

[Mahad]

Personally, one of my favorite FF games, probably second favorite if not first. It's just something that you don't usually get in an FF game, the story has a very different tone (yes, lots of politics) from the standard FF track. If you have a psp, definitely give it a go. This is all about FFT:tWotL.

The other two FFT games, FFTA and FFTA2, are also strategy games and play more or less the same, but they are tied to FFXII in setting. I'm a big fan of all the FFT games so I can't give a bad review, so if you don't mind strategy games I think you'll enjoy these two as well, but if you had to play only one, definitely WotL

[maybee]

I gave it a go two years ago after hearing good reports about it and really hardout enjoying the ever-loving-toast out of Tactics A2

Only to be disappointed about how slow and draggy it was, and ended up selling it for $ 15

Overrated imo.

[KentaRawr!]

Interesting to note is that the director, Yasumi Matsuno, studied International Politics in college! It really shows in the stories for the games he's worked on, like Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling together, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy XII. I tend to think of his games as being something of a series on their own, regardless of whether or not they have "Final Fantasy" in the title. :p

[Ghosteses]

i really want to play this game and i hear the same thing as you =D

just a warning though if you hunt down the original PS1 disc of the game it will NOT PLAY on a PS2 and you need a original playstation to play it :x

though if you buy the original from PSN you are good to go ^^ i just cannot decide if i want to look for the PS1 version or get the PSP version

people seem to complain about updates/remakes and i always pay close attention to complaining o.o ironic considering i always try my best to avoid complaining about anything xD

i guess i think that most of it is justifed but i always end up playing games for myself anyway :x

[Ayen]

Why wouldn't it play on the PS2?

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I haven't heard this about Tactics, but some PS1 games weren't compatible with with the PS2 or were very glitchy on it. The slim model has a lot more games that doesn't work with it, but I do know one game that doesn't work well on any PS2 (or PS3 for that matter) is Final Fantasy V from the Final fantasy Anthology. So I suppose it's possible Tactics doesn't work well either.

[Ayen]

Well that sucks. I pretty much put away the old PlayStation because my PS2 has played every PS1 game with the controllers and memory cards just fine since purchase.

[CimminyCricket]

tactics works well enough from my experience with the ps2 slim. you should definitely jump in and play tactics. if nothing else (and you have a psp) get war of the lions. wow portable such improvements wol

[KentaRawr!]

There's a mod that applies the superior translation from WoL to the original out there! I'd recommend looking into it. I applied it easily enough! :)

[VeloZer0]

I have only every played the PS1 version on the PS2, and not only have I never had any problems this is the first I have ever heard of this. Both of my FFT disks work fine in my PS2 and by old school fat PS3. (Yes, I have two...)

[Bolivar]

Not much else to say but I'll agree it's one of the best games I've ever played. Every one should be warned that the game is hard and there are sections where you can get permanently stuck because your party is not strong enough to win the battle and you cannot go back.

The story takes place thousands of years after FFXII on the other side of the continent, in a kingdom that is apparently the last place to still call itself Ivalice, although this does not factor into the plot. As with the other Ivalice games, the story is loosely tied to the Ogre Battle saga through various plot points.

[Ghosteses]

Hm odd. i saw the came on the ps2 compatibility list saying it would not play xD but if it does then yeah it will be easyer for you to play it =D

[Edge7]

Note: if unit X has 'Gained JP-UP', the extra JP given by that
ability are ignored in the JP sharing equation.

Well, that clarifies that.

Also, the way I've always viewed the Ivalice games was that Final Fantasy XII takes place in Ivalice's Golden Age, and that Final Fantasy Tactics took place in its Dark Age and Vagrant Story is either around the same time as FFT, or it takes place shortly before Ivalice's Age of Enlightenment (which is more my own theorizing rather than it being based on any actual concrete evidence. It just struck me as taking place in an era equivalent to the Renaissance).

[Gamblet]

Also, the way I've always viewed the Ivalice games was that Final Fantasy XII takes place in Ivalice's Golden Age, and that Final Fantasy Tactics took place in its Dark Age and Vagrant Story is either around the same time as FFT, or it takes place shortly before Ivalice's Age of Enlightenment (which is more my own theorizing rather than it being based on any actual concrete evidence. It just struck me as taking place in an era equivalent to the Renaissance).

Vagrant Story takes place a few centuries after FFT, I think.

[Greatermaximus]

I'm in it for the battle system. My main qualm is the limited use of characters and ablities without modifying towards the end. I don't see why you need Jump 3 when there's Ignore Height. Naturally there's abilities that make others obsolete. You have to trim the fat to find the best ones. For practical sake I ended up with these. :Spoiler for those who haven't played all the way through:

Ramza

Guts
Math Skill
Blade Grasp
Magic DefUP
Teleport

Excalibur
Aegis Shield
Thief Hat
Rubber Costume
108 Gems

Something well-rounded.

Generics are 3 Females

Battle Skill
Math Skill
Blade Grasp
Maintenance
Teleport

Excalibur
Aegis Shield
Ribbon
Crystal Armor
Chantage

The three generics together in battle are virtually invincible.

[Madonna]

I like all the love I am seeing for Tactics. It surely is a must-play for an incredible story and fun and different battle system. Tactics Advance is a fairly different beast with a lot of gameplay changes, but I loved the first one and ehhh-liked the second. If you have a Gameboy Advance, TA is worth picking up. Again, a whole different take on how battles work in comparison to Tactics, but there is a lot of good experimentation happening.

Greatermaximus hits upon something of a problem in the original Tactics; you can spend a lot of time expanding a character's job abilities only to find that it can be a waste of time in comparison to other job routes. Getting all the abilities for a job sounds great, but you might find out how little you use most of them. The skills and equipment Greatermaximus mentions is his streamlining the squad into avatars of murder. You need not do that to enjoy the game, but it can be satisfying to end a battle in virtually no time and no wounds.

[Niale]

Its not the traditional RPG style you see in the main series, its more like a strategy game. It depends if you like those type of games, but to be an off series, i will say it works pretty well :)
Have fun.

[Raistlin]

FFT is my favorite game of the series, and one of my favorite RPGs. It's a great SRPG, with the best story in the series -- a more serious, mature, and political-oriented story rather than the "evil bad guy tries to destroy the world" trope that litters the genre. The original PS1 version has some translation issues and glitches, but if you can live with that it is well worth the experience.