The Final Fantasy series has seen its fair share of main titles and spinoffs, with the whole series spanning 35 years’ worth of games. As such, it has some generation-defining games, while others fizzled into obscurity due to bad performance.
Have you ever heard of or remember Final Fantasy: All The Bravest and Final Fantasy XIII? Exactly.
However, the series has some spinoffs that are fondly remembered, even to this day. One of them is Final Fantasy Tactics.
Final Fantasy Tactics History, Gameplay
Final Fantasy Tactics is a strategy RPG developed and published by Squaresoft, Square Enix’s predecessor, for the original PlayStation console in 1997, per the Final Fantasy Fandom.
The game puts players into the shoes of Ramza Beoulve, a member of the House Beoulve, one of the noble houses of the Kingdom of Ivalice, where the game takes place.
During the events of the game, Ramza gets caught in a war for the fate of the kingdom and uncover the truth behind it.
Final Fantasy Tactics’ combat takes place on a map divided into a grid, which could either hinder or benefit the player in different circumstances.
Being a strategy RPG game, its combat mechanics requires players to set up their characters appropriately and smartly to get the most optimal result.
Combat is turn-based, with each character only able to move, attack, or cast spells in a limited amount of time, with the amount being determined by an “Active-Time” like system based on the character’s speed stat.
As such, the higher a character’s speed value is, the most frequently they can move, attack, or cast spells. Some of these spells and abilities have charge times that will only trigger when their ability’s charge time reaches 100.
As an RPG game, Final Fantasy Tactics allows players to choose what job Ramza will take for the rest of the game, per IGN. While players would start with a low-class job, their experience points will build up over time, allowing them to unlock better jobs with each level up. From there, they can be a powerful samurai, an assassin, and even a bard.
Some characters players will meet along the way are stuck with the job they come along with, much like the companions players meet in the Dragon Age series.
Final Fantasy Tactics Reception And Modern Take
Square Enix modernized Final Fantasy Tactics for the new generation, adding a few jobs and updating the game’s graphics while doing so.
Final Fantasy Tactics was a critical success because of its strategy-intensive gameplay that provided a refreshing twist on the traditional RPG mechanics at the time, per Metacritic. Players gave the game a Metacritic user score of 91 for the depth of its story and mechanics, as well as its uniqueness and challenging fights.
The game was so well-liked that Square Enix decided to bring the game into the modern scene with Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, which it released on May 10, 2007, for the Playstation Network and Playstation Portable. Square Enix also released this version for mobile devices in 2011.
In this iteration, Square Enix added a multiplayer mode where two players can team up through Ad Hoc Mode. In this mode, players can play cooperatively or against each other. Participating in any of these gives players the chance to open treasure chests and acquire new gear for their characters.
Regardless, Final Fantasy Tactics’ gameplay and story provided Square Enix with the means to create spinoffs on it – a spinoff of the main Final Fantasy games.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift are spinoffs of the original Tactics, with both games also taking place in Ivalice.
Unfortunately, Final Fantasy Tactics doesn’t have a proper sequel yet, per PC Gamer. However, with Square Enix developing and releasing The DioField Chronicle soon, a game with similar mechanics, there may be some hope yet.