Cheap Final Fantasy Tactics (Video Games) (PlayStation) Price

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Customer Reviews of Final Fantasy Tactics

Finally recieving its due as a classic.
I purchased this game when it first game out, and even to this day I will still pick it up to play it through over and over. I remember when it was first released it was not recieved too well, and the split decision seemed to be that it either sucked horribly or that it was a masterpiece. I of course agree with the latter, its just nice to see that over the years the consensus gives the game its due recognition. <
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>That being said, Im not sure if there are people still reading these reviews to decide whether or not to pick up the game. It seems to be just fans like myself raving. However if there are such people out there who have not yet been graced by this fine game and are thinking of picking it up, here is fair warning. Ignore that this is called a final fantasy game, it is not like any of the others of the same series, and not much else other than the names of a few classes and characters bears any relationship to other final fantasy games anyway. You should however note that this game is called a TACTICS game. Ive heard people complain about the poor graphics as well as the slow, tedious, sometimes difficult gameplay. I heard yet another reviewer compare this to a game of chess. This statement is not far off. <
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>If you truly enjoy putting alot of thought and effort into every move, every decision in where to go next, in other words if you like your games a little smarter and a little more difficult, then a game like this might suit your taste. However if you find that your judgement of a game hinges on how loud, how fast, and how flashy a game is, this may not be the type of game for you. I found myself often purposely not leveling up in this game, and picking skills and abilities that were more difficult to use, and that required more planning. Just to make the game more strategic and difficult. (BTW: to the hardcore fans of this game, for this reason, since I first played this game years ago, I have used TG Cid once and only once, the first battle I could use him in. Never again will I use him for fear of killing the fun of the game.) Thats the kind of gamer I am, and I get the feeling that most of the people who really love this game are the same way at least to a certain extent. <
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>So if you like strategy, if you like taking great care in the planning of your every move, if you are as tedious and OCD as I quite possibly am. Then pick this up (like you haven't already). If you havent played this yet, chances are its because you are attracted to flashier games and titles, so be wary. But if you want to try for a challenge, this one is a gem.

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One of the few great Final Fantasy games, and it's not even a numbered one.
How many games can you honestly say that you still play 5 years later? Actually, how many rpgs can you say that you honestly play 5 years later? Not many, I'm sure. Unless it's a game with never ending charm like Mother 2/EarthBound, or one that offers multiple quests like Knights of the Old Republic, rpgs have never really been about replay. Unless a New Game + feature is included, you're not going to get much out of replaying an rpg. But then there are the select few that are an addiction, and constantly offer you more with each play through. I give that award to the strategy/tactics genre of rpgs. Disgaea, Phantom Brave, Ogre Tactics and a few others all make for nonstop fun. The game that got me into this genre? Final Fantasy Tactics. I can not stress how outstanding FFT is. Despite a poorly translated script, the game oozes with replay and genius. And nevermind that there's not much to the "tactic" aspect (not many games do if you think about it), the hours of fun you'll be having with it will pass by like nothing. There are few games that have captivated me as much as FFT has. I'm glad that I gave it a chance, as I don't know how my taste would be in games now if I hadn't picked it up 5 years ago. <
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>Final Fantasy Tactics is a long story revolving around the people of Ivalice, and most importantly, Ramza. He was adopted into the Belouve family, a group of respected nobles and knights. His brothers aren't as humble as he is, but are still trying to uphold all that is good in their land. His friend, Delita, is a commoner whose goal, ultimately, is to make a name for himself and make things right- no matter what the cost. These two will take their own paths several times, but always remain friends in one way or another. Things take a turn for the worst when they pick up an uppity noble, Algus, and learn of a huge plot. Honestly, the story is EXTREMELY long and sometimes confusing, and trying to summarize it would only confuse you even more. More or less, it's good guys vs bad guys vs each other in FFT. Given the poor translation we got, it's still a great story, dealing with religion and class rather than melodramatic love like the majority of the other FFs deal with. When someone dies here, it -is- a big deal, and you'll get upset over how you just lost someone. The best example being one that happens with an innocent girl. My god, that scene was played out so perfectly, my jaw dropped when the music stopped and she was taken out. Eventually, the story goes a bit cliche when you're sent to collect various holy stones from different locations, essential to saving the world. Fortunately, this is a strategy game, and you won't have to care too much about that part. <
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>But let's move into the important part of this game- how it plays. If the first fight confuses you like it did me, keep playing until the second one before you pass judgment. The first fight is 90% automatic, with the player only controlling Ramza. Fights take place on a section of a battlefield, and a grid is incorporated. Characters can move x number of spaces on the field, and attack whichever enemy they can. Physical attacks have their own range, magic has its own, and other skills have their own as well. Can't slash a black mage with your sword? Have your priest blast his muppet-ass with Holy, which can be used from a great distance. You'll have to pay attention to your surroundings as well, making use of the terrain such as stumps for hiding and cliffs to keep enemies from getting closer since they require more movement to get around. At first, your party consists of Ramza, some squires and a few chemists (the only characters that can use items). But after enough job points are earned, and levels have gone up, you can start training in other classes like monk, archer, time mage, mime and lancer. After mastering some skills, you can slap a secondary move set on your character. Meaning, you could give a lancer some White Magic, or a time mage the unique armor and weapon breaking abilities of a knight. It's necessary to do this on your first play through, since relying on one job class' abilities isn't going to get you very far. Just try and beat the game as a chemist on your first try. Later on, you'll also be able to tame monsters as well, allowing you to bring Chocobos, Behemoths, dragons, boars and other animals into your party. Yep, things can get pretty diverse. FFT also has a unique Zodiac system that can help change the way a battle's going. A character that has a better compatibility with another will almost always involve their Zodiac signs. This makes casting spells on them or stealing successfully happen. There's one enemy in the game that is a complete pain to steal from unless you have a character with the Zodiac sign he's most compatible with. One more thing I'll mention is how balanced the classes are, to an extent. Summoners don't have the best spells in the game, and those that do usually have to wait a long time to cast the spell (Meteor, Holy, etc.). Ninja, while faster than Samurai, don't have that absolutely awesome reaction ability that allows you to dodge physical attacks based on your Brave number. Calculators and Mimes however, are the biggest exception. Calculators, on their own, are worthless. They're the slowest class, and take forever to get all of their skills unlocked. But once they're done, they are absolute monsters. They do damage to EVERYTHING based off of numbers. Say, you chose the spell Holy and attack with a multiple of 3. Any character, friend or foe, will be hit with that spell if their level is a multiple of 3. Give the Math skill as a secondary ability to a faster character, and you've got a menace. Add a Mime or two in as well, and all hell will break loose. It's possible to beat the game with just a Calculator, and has been done many times. It just takes a while to get them truly useful. <
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>The graphics, even for their time, weren't the best. But then again, what strategy game really has outstanding graphics? The 2D sprites look great and, while they have limited animations, get the job done. The 3D backgrounds and locations however, range from shoddy to beautiful. Waterfall locations look amazing, while places like swamps will just make you laugh when you rotate the camera. Summoned monsters are mere still-images like those from FFVI, and some are flat out silly. Bahamut looks ridiculous, Mogri is too quick to even be considered a summon, and some of the others look like no effort was put into their designs. The other spells all look good though. Orlandu's Holy Sword attacks will make your eyes pop out when you see Lightning Stab or Holy Explosion for the first time. The music is all great though, and I made sure to pick up the soundtrack as soon as I could. There are some outstanding pieces found here, and it's proof that you don't need Uematsu to make a good FF soundtrack. The sound effects though, can be downright pitiful. When a character used a gun for the first time, I thought it was a rock-shooting stick or something. It makes this whimpy "pop" that confuses you more than gets you excited to see a gun being used in a normally older style of world (weapon-wise). <
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>Should you get this game now that there are many "better", more modern strategy games out like Disgaea, Phantom Brave and others? Sure. FFT has provided me with hundreds of hours of fun, and will continue to do so in the future. The only way I could ever see parting with my copy is if they ever decide to rerelease it with a better translation. That's it. There's nothing else wrong with this game. Well, maybe the lack of really making your own characters. You -can- make your own guys, but unless you have a GameShark, you're limited. With a GS, you can customize damn near anything. From hair color to armor color to job classes that otherwise aren't obtainable. Oh heck, get a GameShark just to add even more replay to this masterpiece.

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The standard, and for good reason
Read the reviews for other PSX tactics games. Heck, read the reviews for brand new tactics/strategy RPGs coming out. What does everyone compare tactics games to? <
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>FFT. <
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>Final Fantasy Tactics is the standard. Good games came before it, good games have come since it, but FFT is the absolute pinnacle of tactical roleplaying. To express this, I am going to focus only on ONE aspect of FFT (because describing all the excelling aspects of this game would take a very long time) <
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>Innovative class system - there are multiple job classes, and any of the characters in your party can be any of the job classes available in the game. Each of these job classes has active skills and inactive skills, and a character can equip another job class's active skills as a secondary job class. In other words, any of your characters can specialize in a job, and still have active proficiency in another job. <
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>squire, chemist, knight, thief, archer, geomancer, lancer, samurai, ninja, white mage, black mage, time mage, summoner... those are some that come to mind. But there are more possibilities. <
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>As you battle you accrue both experience points which go towards the level of your character (raising your base stats) and job points (JP) which allow you to purchase new abilities within your character class. In other words, you learn abilities how you want to, along a self-designed learning tree. The amount that you can customize is staggering. <
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>How about a comparison <
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>The average RPG - ah, I leveled up my mage! He has learned the spell "fireball!" <
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>FFT - ah, my mage has enough JP for me to buy the fire spell I've been waiting for! Or I could learn a different spell if I want to... or I could change him to a Time Mage. Okay, I'll learn the "fire" spell and then change him to a Time Mage and learn "Haste," then set "Black Magic" as his secondary skill and cast both Time Magic and Black Magic! <
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>The difference? The average RPG moves unique characters along a set "track," in which they accrue more spells and abilities that are just more powerful versions of spells and abilities they had at the beginning of the game. In FFT you design your own track. Want to save up for the most powerful spell towards the beginning of the game? Sure, but it'll cost a lot of job points and a lot of mana. Want to learn "ice" instead of "fire?" Turn your knight into an archer and your chemist into a priest? Why not? It's Final Fantasy Tactics! <
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>This isn't just roleplaying where you play the role. This is roleplaying where you design the role. Endless customization, limitless tactical and stylistic appraoches and choices, hundreds of combinations of different types of characters on the field at once, and the way the team works together depends on YOUR forethought, preparation, and personal taste. My main character's a ninja. What's yours gonna be? <
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>All this and you haven't even equipped your characters with weapons, armour, and accessories yet. Let alone gone into battle. Well, happy hunting.