#14

It’s another one of those games that were really popular when the PSX was out that I couldn’t play because I did not have the system. It’s also one of the games I later got a PSP for, since this was getting an enhanced port for that very handheld. I do not regret it at all, even though it cost me quite a bit of money when I had little of it. What an adventure it was.

FINAL FANTASY TACTICS





So as you guys may have noticed by my Tactics Ogre entry, I am a big Yasumi Matsuno fan. Though FFT was not my first entry into the world of Ivalice, it was certainly a memorable one. I really don’t need to say anything about it, since people around here are quite in love with it


Thread over - you can all go home now.

The gameplay system is kind of similar to Tactics Ogre but with a smaller roster and a job system inspired by FFV thrown in. This one little modification makes for a huge difference in gameplay. There’s tons of classes to choose from, with an intricate job tree making you really think about how you develop your characters. I had tons of fun with this version of the job system. Mastering a job is super satisfying, and getting ahold of the super rare jobs like Mime, Bard or Dancer feels incredible.
Although the colors in this game are a bit on the brownish side, the unique character artwork by Akihiko Yoshida truly makes the FFT’s characters come to life. Still, some could argue that the chibi-ish designs do not fit the mature tone of the story, but I disagree. I don’t think there’s inherently childish about the character designs, and they do give the game a unique feel. I think this is probably my favorite set of character designs by Yoshida.


This one picture makes me ship it so hard.

The story is based loosely on the War of the Roses. As with Tactics Ogre, you can clearly see Matsuno’s fixation on history and attention to detail. The feudal society of Ivalice clearly mirrors that of Medieval England, giving us a very thorough commentary on issues relevant today, such as racism and elitism. The Church is also here, and oh, is it deliciously evil at some points. But still, there are good people in it – just like in Tactics Ogre, the morality in this game is painted with very dark shades of gray, with the typical Matsuno protagonist simply wanting to reach the truth buried deep within all of this political turmoil. Needless to say, Ramza is one of my favorite protagonists of all time.


Agrias is also pretty incredible, if underused.

Hitoshi Sakimoto does an amazing job on the soundtrack, as he always does. There’s some pretty chilling tracks in this game, further emphasizing the fact that this is probably the darkest entry in the Final Fantasy franchise as of now.


I know tactical RPGs are not everybody’s cup of tea, and this game certainly isn’t for newcomers (it is pretty unforgiving; more than once, I was on the verge of rage-quitting), but the story and job system really makes this game stand out as one of those sublime art pieces that happen once in ten years or less. The impeccable localization of the PSP version makes it all even better with its Shakespearean dialog. I know a lot of people hate it. I personally love it, but then again, I’m an English major, a linguist, mostly, who also enjoys a lot of classical literature If you’re looking for a really ambitious game, look no further – FFT is one of those games.