Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions Review

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(More customer reviews)Final Fantasy Tactics was without a doubt one of the greatest Playstation games out there.Starting off as a cult classic it became a big success when it was released later as a Greatest Hits package.Ten years later and Final Fantasy Tactics is still one of the best Final Fantasy games ever made.

Of all the Final Fantasy games, Tactics has arguably the best story out there.It's full of emotion, political intrigue, fantastic characters and it's very deep.If this is your first trump through Final Fantasy Tactics, prepare to be dazzled.It's still one of the most absorbing in the series.To the point where you'll be sad to leave when the whole thing is over.The game is also backed up by a fantastic new translation that out does the original and makes the world of Ivalice come alive.The translation alone may actually warrant Final Fantasy Tactics The War of the Lions worth a buy even for those who played through the original game.

It's the gameplay that makes Final Fantasy Tactics a treat, though.Thanks to the job system, customization is nearly endless.Before each battle you can assign jobs to your characters.Each job has specific traits about them and can greatly affect how you perform in battle.Mages have devastating magic abilities while Knights are strong physical attackers.They also bring their own unique abilities to the table.Because there are so many job classes to choose from, there's a lot of experimentation you can do.As you master abilities you'll also be able to mix and match.You could have a Squire casting white magic, for example provided you've learned some of the white magic abilities.

As battles progress you gain experience.You pretty much gain experience after each and every turn, which is nice.Not only do you gain experience but you also gain job points to help you master the abilities in your job class.It's pretty simple stuff and you'll be surprised at just how fast you can learn abilities here.

Final Fantasy Tactics provides its own challenges, though.Not all your enemies are taken down easily, and if you don't take advantage of the opportunities to improve your characters abilities you'll be overwhelmed before you know it.When they say Final Fantasy Tactics, they're not kidding.Sometimes little simple mishaps in your strategy can cost you a battle.Not only that, but even doing things such as casting spells you must be careful with because if any of your characters are in range, they'll be struck by that spell.You also have to be quick about reviving characters otherwise you lose them forever.If your first plunge into Final Fantasy Tactics was with the GBA version released in 2003 you'll be in for a rude awakening.

There is also a multiplayer thrown in there.You can work with a friend or battle friends.First there are melee battles where you can battle up against friends and then there's the Rendezvous Battles where you'll team up with a friend.These let you get some rare and hard to find items that are otherwise unable to be obtained.

While Final Fantasy Tactics is a great game, it certainly doesn't do as much in the technical department as it does in the gameplay.The game itself doesn't really look any different from the game released ten years ago.There's little, if any, enhancement to the graphics at all.For the pleasure of story, however, there are some pretty cool cutscenes thrown in that are incredible looking.These cutscenes are truly artistic and in depth.While those cutscenes are beautiful, it's a shame Square-Enix did little to update the games other visuals.Despite the cool cutscenes, though, there are some slow down issues in battle.

Music wise, though, Final Fantasy Tactics easily has some of the best music in the series.It's still memorable to hear and can still give many video game soundtracks a run for their money.While the voice acting isn't as good as other video games, they add a lot of depth to the cutscenes.

Surprisingly, there are quite a few differences outside of the translation to Final Fantasy Tactics The War of the Lions.New characters such as Balthier appear.There are new missions exclusive to the PSP version as well as the multiplayer aspect of the game.While there aren't a huge assortment of new items and abilities, you'll find War of the Lions takes a much longer time to master than the original.

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is a great re-release of a great classic.While it's still a good game a bit more could've been done to update it.The technical issues will probably annoy some fans, but for the most part you're getting a good game.Even if you have the original, this one is worth a look.

Pros:

+A fantastic storyline
+Beautiful soundtrack
+New job classes
+Good cutscenes
+Addictive gameplay
+Tons of customization
+The New Translation is far better than the original, making even the experience of the story completely different for those who went through before.This alone makes the game worth a purchase for those who already went through it and enjoyed it once before

Cons:

-Will be difficult for newcomers
-Some technical issues with the graphics and sound
-Not much of a graphical update at all, it looks just like the original Playstation version

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Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions PSP

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