FF Tactics games in development.

K

kupocake

Stand User
Final Fantasy's spin-off series, Final Fantasy Tactics is to return soon on Portable consoles according to the Japanese Shonen Jump, everyone's favourite source for the latest gaming news accompanied by a scary pirate man. (reported by ign and others)

First up will be Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War, a PSP remake (read: port) of the decade-old Playstation original that featured Ramza 'Got Milk' Beovulve, Cidolofas 'Gameshark code' Orlandu and Agrias 'fancy that, a female character that doesn't suck but also doesn't talk enough' Oaks fighting a church corrupted by devils. As seems to be the norm with Squenix, the port shall include new character classes (including FF3's 'Onion Knight') and a bunch of new FMVs (because FF Tactics' were pretty horrid)

People may remember Final Fantasy Tactics as the version of the popular game series that contains a revolutionary new concept known as 'gameplay', hidden under the usual Windows Start Menu inspired interface of the typical Japanese RPG. Unless you're European, in which case you'll remember it as 'that game I modded my PS1 for' or 'Tactics who?'. Release dates for anywhere in the world are currently unknown, though the chances of a European release this time round are much, much higher. Chances are they'll translate the game into English this time, as opposed to its close venacular cousin, Engrish.

Second up, and somewhat of an unknown substance will be Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire We can deduced from the 'A' and '2' in the title and the mention of 'Grimoire' that this will be some form of sequel to the fun but repeatative Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Anything else is speculation at this moment, but it seems likely that the shortening to 'A' of 'Advance' means that the intended platform shall NOT be the ageing Gameboy Advance. Most people's money is on it being a DS game.
 
This is a problem i'm an ff addict i go to an AA group about it and everything :cry:

This may mean i need to buy a psp and ds but the psp looks boring what do i do! :shock:
 
I find it odd that Final Fantasy Tactics never came to the UK, I mean back then UK gamers seemed to think all RPGs were and only Final Fantasy and I'm sure with the name Tactics would have done OK in the UK
 
X_nick_X said:
This may mean i need to buy a psp and ds but the psp looks boring what do i do! :shock:
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If you were truely an FF addict, you wouldn't need to get the PSP because you will have already played Tactics! And then, you must already be chomping at the bit for the DS considering that FF12: Revenant Wings and Final Fantasy III are both coming. Get a DS (and Yoshi's Island DS damnit!) then dust off / buy a cheap second hand PS1 with a modchip preinstalled, or a swap disc like PS-X-Change2 and buy the original Tactics off of ebay. Whilst it's nowhere near as cheap as it used to be (the above once cost me less than £30, it'll likely cost you 50-60), it's far cheaper than getting a PSP that you'll never use.
GrantM said:
I find it odd that Final Fantasy Tactics never came to the UK, I mean back then UK gamers seemed to think all RPGs were and only Final Fantasy and I'm sure with the name Tactics would have done OK in the UK
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Final Fantasy 7 was the first 'true' Final Fantasy available in Europe, so 'back then' (Mid 1997 - late 1999), the brand wasn't actually all that well established - and as you observe, the RPG market in Europe wasn't exactly saturated. Squaresoft Europe were also a fledgling company, and they weren't about to release a game that actually did very poorly in the US (it was only after Sony changed their rules on the Greatest Hits range that FF Tactics was allowed to be released under that budget label, and it was only then that the title was a success.)
 
X_nick_X said:
I considered buying it of ebay but rough time with it damn paypal :cry:
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Well, reconsider! :p If it's not clear in my first post, I consider it to be among the best the series has to offer, if not THE best :)
 
I played tatics advanced i really like'd it(no idea whats with the the judge).

Or though if you ever heard of vg cats they did a comic on it very funny :D
 
X_nick_X said:
I played tatics advanced i really like'd it(no idea whats with the the judge).
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Tactics Advance is pretty solid, but I didn't like the way the story progressed, the story wasn't all that interesting and the Judge system was immensely annoying. It probably has more of a final fantasy feel to it though,whereas Tactics can sometimes feel a bit like Square were putting out a gritty, medieval RPG and they decided to relabel characters, magic and items to be more FF like. I've never really made my mind up over the inclusion of Cloud Strife in the game for instance. It seems like the ultimate "come buy me, i'm an FF game" cash-in, yet they hid him away and it's bloody hard to find him...
 
Rukario said:
I need details on Tactics as Wikipedia sucks for information on games which weren't too big.
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Tactics is both revered and disliked for its complex plot. It doesn't help matters that the initial FMV and subsequent battle take place, after the first 'prologue' chapter, and then it frames the whole thing under the pretext that the story is being related by a scholar 400 years in the future trying to discover the truth about King Delita Hyral and a heretic who died unmourned called Ramza Beovulve! Damnit though, i'll try my best :p

Final Fantasy Tactic, like Tactics Advance, FFXII and Vagrant Story takes place in the world of Ivalice, though unlike TA and XII, there isn't very much evidence to suggest that it's the same Ivalice (I believe 12 even has characters from TA). Ivalice is a place very much like Medieval Europe, and the heavily political story has very similar concerns to the politics of medieval Britain: particularly the divine right of kings and the relation of church and state. Though there's obviously more occult stuff and fantasy going on, I suppose it's like some of the Romances written in Medieval europe about the chivalric tradition, freed by the 20th century's ability to question authority :p

The Lion War depicted in Final Fantasy Tactics start initially over who will suceed the king of Omdoria, as that king's cousin, Goltana has Omdoria's adopted daughter Ovelia crowned and the widowed Queen's brother, Larg starts a war in an attempt to have the King's infant son brought to the throne. The first chapter of the game has main character, aristocrat Ramza Beovulve, allied to Prince Larg, graduate from military academy and is thrust into the draggng war, specifically charged with mopping up rebellions lead by the lower-classes. Everything changes though when his good friend Delita Hyral disappears after the suspicious death of his sister only to return on seemingly on the opposite side of the war, things get out of hand.

It slowly emerges that the war is not a simple war over the throne, but the work of a sinister power and conspiracy in Ivalice's holy church of Glabados. The church is basically having everyone stab each other in the back, whilst they go around collecting mysterious Zodiac stones that seem to be pocessed by the soul of some diabolic demon (which you inevitably have to fight). Meanwhile, everyone else if offing each other, faking murders, killing their own relatives and good knights are turning very sinister... AND Delita is amongst them all attempting to play everyone who is playing each other against each other whilst Ramza does all the dirty work of making sure that the whole world isn't royally screwed.

You have a party of up to 15 characters composed of any soldiers or monsters you convert or recruit, or any main characters who significant one-off characters who join your party. Each character can be assigned a variety of jobs along the lines of classic FF classes (Black Mage, White Mage, Soldier, Squire, Lancer, Time Mage etc.). As a character attacks or counterattacks in battle, they earn ability points and learn new abilities. Special characters have a special default character class that usually features the most devestating attacks on your team (Cid basically has the abilities of three different characters, hence why many criticise him as a walking gameshark code. Because using him makes many battles very short!). You can only take between 1 and 8 characters into a battle. Battles are turned based, and any characters not resurrected after 3 turns die and vanish forever. The battlefield is like a chess-board, but with various levels of elevation and natural hazards. All attacks are ranged and many hit multiple squares on the board (so you can damage multiple opponents, though some attacks randomise and you may simply miss). Basically, you use range and elevation to your advantage to maximise damage and minimise the chance of your enemy damaging you (so a mage may cast a ranged spell on a knight who can't attack said mage unless he's standing right next to him).

In summary, the game is complex but rewarding, the plot convuluted but always exciting to follow.

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A small word of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which can be summed up in far less words. Gameplay is very similar but for the introduction of "Judges" into battle (they appear in battles and define laws against the use of certain types of magic, characters, commands and items which can be extremely annoying!) and races into character classes (certain races have certain unique classes and tend towards either magic or physical combat). The story is also a lot more simplified: Marche, an exchange student with a disabled brother befriends Mewt (a bullied boy with an alcoholic dad and a dead mother) and Ritz (a girl who hates her natural hair colour and dies her hair. Can you say 'SHA-LOW'). They buy a mysterious book whose illustrations remind them of their favourite game, Final Fantasy ("take that fourth wall!"). Overnight, their town, St. Ivalice, is magically transformed into the land of Ivalice. Marche wishes to return to the real world but must fight against Mewt (now the prince of Ivalice, his Mother resurrected and his father a clean shaven Judge) and the indifference of Ritz (because her hair is considered beautiful in this world. Sha-low.) and his brother Doned (who has regained the use of his legs). And that's pretty much it, with very few twists along the way.
 
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