The original Final Fantasy Tactics on the PS1 was a big hit and a welcomed departure from the series: It was a complete change in game play with a masterfully told story. Now nine years later comes a remastered port to the portable console with a few additions. Are these additions worth a look, or is War of the Lions simply a quick cash in? And for those who never had the chance to play the original, is it worth picking up for the first time? Let's take a deeper look and find out.
Gameplay:
Despite the title of "Final Fantasy" this isn't your typical turn based battle system. The battle system is more reminiscent of Tactics Ogre or older Front Mission games. The battled field is broken up into many small squares that can only be occupied by one character at a time. It's also a turn-based system so one character or enemy goes at a time; they are each allowed one movement and one action per turn unless otherwise hindered or amplified by a magic spell or ability. There is no time limit so the battles end when either sides forces are completely vanquished.
This system allows for massive strategy and customization due the varied landscapes in battle and the extremely deep job system. The job system is 21 classes deep allowing to start your character as either a Chemist, the base for magic using classes, or a Squire, the base for melee heavy classes. As you level your characters you can either choose to stick with one class and maximize it to have say the best Knight in all of Ivalice, or mix and match abilities and have a Wizard wearing Heavy Armor.
The battles and customization of your characters are basically all the gameplay there is. There is no walking around towns per say, you simply follow roads on the map from town to town. But you will have so much fun playing around with the various abilities trying to make your ultimate force of butt kickers! There are literally ENDLESS number of combos for classes and abilities. You'll want to try to get other classes just to see if they have abilities you'll want to use. It's extremely gratifying to see the group you make go to work in battle and destroy enemies exactly the way you planed!
This system also allows for high amounts of replay as you can try other class combos and abilities to see if they fit your strategy better. In this particular version of Final Fantasy Tactics there are two new classes they added: The Onion Knight and the Dark Knight. To put it bluntly the Onion Knight is useless: Its only unique ability is it can use every weapon in the game. The Dark Knight is by far the best class, but also the most difficult to get. The Dark Knight has the ability the drain life from a distance, on top of performing devastating AOE attacks from a distance. It is a challenge to get one but having a Dark Knight is well worth the time.
There are also 2 new special characters from other Final Fantasy titles that are playable in the game. The first being Luso form Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced 2 who acts as a Beast Master. The 2nd being the cocky sky pirate Balthier from Final Fantasy 12 who acts as a dual class: A Thief/ Chemist.
Sound:
There is quite a lot that has changed in the sound department of this port. As always the music is heartwarming and magical. There are plenty of tunes that make you feel relaxed and at ease. They are expertly scored and fit well with the theme and time of the story. There are also plenty of intense battle themes as well. You will definitely walk away from this game remembering a handful of songs and wanting to purchase the soundtrack.
One cool addition to this game was voice acting. In the original port of the game all the cut scenes were simply in text form. It worked well and didn't take anything away from the game. In War of the Lions all the story cut scenes are animated with great voice acting. They speak in old English so it can be hard to decipher what they're trying to say at times, but all in all it fits the mood and setting of the game and adds a new dimension to the game that the original installment didn't have. It helps the player better relate to the characters in a way that is hard to when you're reading text from sprites. With motion animation and voices it makes the characters more organic and really brings them to life.
Graphics.
By today's standards these graphics are completely outdated and even unplayable to some. The sprites are detailed enough though to keep players engaged in the battles. Whats nice is that the graphics for the various weapons will change as you upgrade your gear, however the armor will stay the same.
The graphics that really stand out in this port are from the beautifully hand-drawn animated cut scenes. As mentioned before, they add new life to the game that keep the player more engaged and have a stronger bond with the characters. These cut scenes also have a filter on them that gives the impression they are being show on an old piece of parchment as well as the lines you might often scene in the early days of cinematography.
When it comes down to it, the graphics aren't stunning, but have a charm that can't be matched. After awhile players won't even notice them because how involved they will be with the game.
Story:
This is the aspect that takes center stage for this game. It it widely regarded as one of the best RPG stories ever told, and with good reason.
As the main protagonist you play as Ramza Beoulve, the son in a well respected upper-class family. The story starts off with Ramza as a Knight in training in the middle of a War. The War, nick named "The Lion War" because of the two opposing leaders, began over who would become the true heir to the crown. As Ramza sees his brothers greedy ways he decides to strike out on his own as a vigilante of sorts doing what he thinks is right for the good of the country.
Without giving too much away, various other factors become intertwined within the war to make for a complicated but masterfully told story. You know when the likes of the Church, Zodiac monsters, and the rise of a simple peasant to Knighthood are involved its destined for greatness. The story of The War of the Lions is one Fantasy you won't soon be forgetting.
Final Thoughts: Play It
Whether you are wanting to play this for the first time or are a fan of the original, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is well worth it. The battle and job systems respectively are deep and fun. There is a ton of variety and plenty of room for different approaches to each battle. Whatever style you like to play there will be some job combo that you will find appealing and fun to battle with.
The translation has been much improved from the original as well. This is the definitive version of the story you want to experience. With the animated cut scenes, corrected character and city names it makes for an easier to understand and enjoyable story.
This makes for the perfect portable game. You can pick it up, play a battle, and put it away for another day. Don't let the fact that it's a portable game fool you though. The game can take well over 30-40 hours or more if you do all the side missions. If you're a fan of strategy or RPG games you will love War of the Lions. If you haven't picked it up yet you need to go to your local Game Stop now! You won't regret it, nor will you be putting this game down anytime soon.
