Game - Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, Day 84
Total Hours Played - 15-1/2 hrs
Current Goal - Play ten hours of the game and talk about how I love it.
What Happened - With Final Fantasy XII done and XIII coming over the horizon, I figured it was time for a brief intermission in the numbered series. Rather than take an actual break though (because that might throw me off) I decided to play one of the off-titles. For this experience, I'm going to play one of my very favorite in the series...Final Fantasy Tactics. I've played quite a bit of the original PlayStation One version, but for my brief playing, I'm going to try out the PSP remake called Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. Let's start with a brief introduction though.
The setting of the game makes use of the universe known as Ivalice. As the game opens, you are introduced to the story by a historian by the name of Azlam. He's been researching the history of the land and recently learned that events aren't like they've been told. You learn that the common hero of the past isn't actually the true hero as history knows him. You are thrown into the role of the true hero of the story who was left hidden and forgotten by time.
This Final Fantasy title probably has one of the deepest and most complex stories of the entire series. Honestly, it kinda reminds me of something along the lines of what I just played (FFXII). It's a story about royalty and kingdoms and the right to rule. Blah blah blah. As you continue through the game, you learn that the rabbit hole goes quite deep and that everything is pretty messed up. I won't reveal it all, but I'll just say that the in-game religion gets involved in it all. That's enough to give you a taste for now. Time to get started!
You get to name the hero of this tale, but his default name is Ramza, Ramza Beoulves. After the little opening piece, you get to view one of the best parts of the remake. The remake from the original game has added animated cutscenes which look AMAZING. They've got a very interesting and different animation style. Following the opening cutscene, you are thrown into a church. A girl is praying there when suddenly the church is surrounded by mysterious soldiers. They're here for the girl, and you (Ramza) are a part of some hired sellswords who are protecting her. With that all said and done, you are introduced immediately into the first battle of the game.
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| Cutscene! (Example) |
There's not much to say about this first battle, and it goes through quite quickly. A couple of the AI controlled units on your side are special units with super awesome abilities. They go around and massacre most of the enemy units while you just sit back and try to stay alive. You can get involved, but you almost don't need to. Anyways, with the battle's conclusion (and victory), you are treated to another cutscene. Turns out, someone should have stayed with the damn princess. A man in fancy armor and a cape has taken her and is currently running away. Ramza spots him and seems to recognize the man as Delita. He wonders what he is doing there...Then the game makes a jump into the past.
Thus begins the start of Chapter 1 - The Meager. (For those who have only played the PS1 version, the PSP remake looks about the same in general, but they've edited most of the talking to make it sound better for the game world's style and such.) Ramza and Delita are recruits in an academy, and the nation is currently under turmoil. After some major war, the losing side was left with a lot of soldiers and mages who were stripped of their titles and jobs. Of course, this doesn't make them very happy at all, so they've formed up a sort of rebellion force called the Corpse Brigade. The guard that remains is growing thin, and the recruits are about to be sent to help aid them. You will be sent to a nearby castle to take up the rear guard for the main force.
After that is explained, you find out that some of the Corpse Brigade has made it into the city, and you're about to be sent out to deal with it. The first REAL battle! You are the commander of this group of recruits, and they're the initial units in your army. Your initial troops are a mixture of two jobs: Squires and Chemists. Squires are kinda just plain units and the starting jobs for most soldiers. Chemists are the only units who can use items directly. (Game calls them Jobs rather than Classes.) That's enough for now, but I'll be touching down on this after the battle at hand. You get to place five units, and you have the Guest unit, Delita. With your six units, you have to take down a squad of five very angry criminals. To be fair, they're less of criminals and more of people screwed over by the war. Anyways, they plan to cut through town, but we're there to stop them.
The battles in Tactics generally last anywhere from twenty to thirty minutes each. (From my experience at least.) This one wasn't any different. I split my team up and mostly just tag teamed enemies as I went to take them down. A couple of my people died, but I finished the battle fast enough that they didn't permanently die. (Quick explanation. When a member falls in battle, you have three rounds to revive him. After that, they permanently die.) With their defeat, I'm rewarded some Gil, a few items, and am whisked off to the world map.
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| World Map |
It seems that Barbaneth Beoulve, assuming the father of the family, is about to pass on. I'm at this family's house, and they're waiting by the old man in his bed. They're talking about the events taking place around, and how the war should be coming to a close quite soon. Ramza comes in shortly later, and he talks with his father briefly. Talks about upholding the family name and becoming a fine knight in the service of the crown. Says to trust in his friend Delita and asks that he watch over his sister, Alma. And then...he passes on. Game has just begun and sad times are already had. Anyways, time to move on!
I head for Eagrose Castle, but before I can get there, I have to take on another story battle on the Mandalia Plains. STORY BATTLE! (FYI, I won't go over every battle I fight. I'll only cover the story-fied ones with actual content.) This battle lets me place my main guy, Ramza, along with 3 other units. This is your typical start up, so as you play through the game, you'll probably end up using the same team of four every time. The battle begins on the plains, and we come to find that a group of Highwaymen are attacking somebody. We come in, and I get to choose what to say between two options. I can either care more about defeating the Corpse Brigade or saving the guy. Of course, I choose that saving the guy is our priority. The goal for this battle is to "Protect Argath". This isn't too hard really since most of the NPCs can take care of themselves, but I try to be careful because overreliance on them being smart will lead to defeat.
The battle is only the second real battle you have to fight, so it goes pretty fast. I've got my team of Ramza and three soldiers plus the Guests Delita and Argath. There are only five enemies, and they're easily taken care of. With their defeat, we learn a little more about what happened. Argath is a knight apprentice for the marquis Elmdore de Limberry. Then we find out that the marquis has been taken hostage by the Corpse Brigade, and Argath begs that we help him rescue the marquis. However, before we go after him, we have to go check in at Eagrose first. I'm back on the map, but I head back to the initial town, Gariland, first to buy stuff.
Once I head to town, I'm informed about some special stuff I can do at the tavern. Something about skirmishes I can enter to test myself without possibly losing people. There are also joint missions that I can do with other people it seems, but that's definitely out. Anyways, I hit up the store and buy some items for the trip. Stock up on potions and phoenix downs, and then I head off to Eagrose Castle. I get another scene upon my arrival there. The group is talking with Ramza's brother, Dycedarg, and they are going to be guarding the castle. He's already heard of the marquis's abduction and has sent Ramza's other brother, Zaalbag, along with a group of soldiers to go after the abductors Argath begs for a platoon of soldiers to go and avenge his fallen brothers, but Dycedarg tells him that the problem has already been seen to. They will stay and defend the castle.
With that said and done, the group is now walking outside of the castle. Argath tells us that his family used to be well known and highly regarded like the Beoulve. However, his grandfather was captured during the war and turned traitor. He sold out his friends for his own freedom, but that didn't last long. He was killed shortly after being released, and then one of his former friends escaped and spread word of what he did. And thus, their family lost much of their honor and such. As that story wraps up, the group is greeted by people they know. It's Ramza's brother Zaalbag, his sister Alma, and Delita's sister Tietra. It's mostly a brief chat, but Zaalbag lets us know that a ransom note was received for the marquis. They find this suspicious because the Corpse Brigade is mostly aimed at dealing with nobles, and he doesn't believe they'd simply kidnap the marquis for monies.
Before leaving, he adds on something about one of his spies in the Corpse being last heard of from a trade city called Dorter. He heads out, and the group talks briefly among themselves before leaving as well. Now I'm free to move between five spots! However, I've learned from past plays that you should NEVER immediately move on. Instead, I'd highly, highly, HIGHLY suggest you spend a couple hours leveling up your team. When you travel over wilderness areas, like the plains, you have a chance of getting into random encounters. These encounters are generally against wild monsters, and these monsters are always set to be around your current levels. (I think it's based on the lead, Ramza.) They're very tough battles, but if you take time and gain extra levels, you can make the next part of the game a breeze (or at least actually beatable). This game has a tendency to lock you in spots where you can't gain extra levels and points, so it's highly suggested to use a little time during open periods to gain some extra experience.
Now it's time to cover the in-game system! THE JOB SYSTEM! I already glossed over the gameplay for battles. It's tactics. There are squares on a field, and you try to outthink your opponent! (Or in my case, just blast the crap out of each individual one and then move on to the next one until they're all dead.) However, I feel that the best (and my most favorite) thing about Final Fantasy Tactics is the Job System. For those who have been following me since the beginning and/or have played Final Fantasy V, this game takes a big page from that game. However, you can't pick any job you want, you have to earn them first.
Every unit begins the game with two classes: Squire and Chemist. Squires are just super basic units with no real benefits or downfalls. Chemists are the only units that can learn to use items and throw them around. (I already mentioned these earlier but repeating for good measure.) Of course, these are simply the first two Jobs in the game. The total number of Jobs in FFT is 22. (They added two more jobs with the remake.) Beyond the initial jobs, you have to meet specific level requirements to earn the other jobs. I could go on quite a bit, but I'll just sum it up. Squire takes you down a path that builds towards more of a strength-based jobs like Knight, Archer, Monk, Ninja, and so on. The Chemist is more of the magic-based path with the White Mage, Black Mage, Time Mage, Summoner, and more. There are even some super special classes that requires multiple levels of different jobs. This brings us to the next detail.
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| The Job Wheel! |
Units have their own levels, but they also have levels in Jobs. Your character's level rises independent from their Job level though. Jobs are considered "Mastered" when you have maxed them out to level 8 and purchased all of the abilities with them. Your character's HP and MP are partially based on the equipment you use. This evens out to mages having lighter armor but more MP while knights and such have heavy armor that comes with more HP but less MP. There's a whole lot more I can talk about, but I don't want to ramble on anymore about it. If I were to shorten this all up, I'd just say "Go get the game right now!" (I'd highly suggest the original PS1 version over the PSP version. PSP has lots of improvements but also has random slowdowns.) Time to continue!
For the next couple hours, I did a bunch of random battles to gain some levels and change around my army's job setup. When you are first given control, you start off with a small army made of your main character, Ramza, as well as six random beginning units with four Squires and two Chemists. My first goal is to get everybody to learn the ability JP Boost from the Squire job. It's probably the most useful Support ability in the game. All it does is simply boost the Job Points you get, but it's a large enough boost that you can Master jobs four or five times faster. On top of that, I plan to abuse easy Job Points by constantly using items and buffing abilities when I get them. Getting lots of Job Points and abilities can really help out with the rest of the game. With that in place, I start working to change around my group's setup. I figure at least two Knights, two Archers, a White Mage, and a Black Mage.
I spent about five hours doing this, and then I figured it was time to move right along. Also figured I should make the post slightly more exciting than "I fought random battles for like 9 hours." It'll probably still turn out close to that, but it won't be entirely that! With my training done, it was time to move onward to the Siedge Wield. (...What? It used to be just the woods.) My current team ended up being Ramza as a Squire, a Knight, two Squires, two Chemists, and an Archer. I'm more focused on getting things Mastered than fancy job choices it seems. My team was about Level 7 across the board though, so it shouldn't be too hard for this next part. It's just a group of monsters I have to fight, but it's a decent selection here: two Bombs, three goblins, and a wild cat. It was funny because my two Guest members (Delita and Argath) were only Level 3, but the enemies were all up on my level of around 6 and 7. Delita went down almost immediately, but Argath survived with Potions. I wiped out the monsters like they were never there!
From here, I did a bit more training and actually switched my jobs around. I ended up with Ramza as a Knight, two Knights, an Archer, two Black Mages, and a White Mage. With everybody being around Level 8, this battle is going to be silly amounts of easy. Onward...to Dorter! For the story battles, you have to choose Ramza, so for this battle, I had two Knights, a White Mage, and a Black Mage. Before the battle gets going though, I am shown a small scene of two men speaking. One of them is specially designed, so he's obviously the more important one. He's questioning the other man about the location of someone called Wiegraf and where they put the Marquis. After being put at sword point, the other man reveals the location to be the desert at a place known as The Sand Rat's Sietch. The group begins to approach so the nameless VIP runs off. Delita seems to recognize the man who ran away as someone he saw after the war, but we don't have time to figure out who right now. TO ARMS!
For this battle, I'm fighting six enemy units composed of two Knights, two Black Mages, and three Archers. Of course, they're only level 4, so I shouldn't have much trouble with them. Just as the battle starts, Delita says he remembered the man as being named Wiegraf. Apparently he was the commander of some group called the Dead Men during the war. They were composed of peasants and such. As it turns out, this makes him the commander of the Corpse Brigade. Oh well! Let's battle on. As I already said, this was pretty much a pushover battle. However, they didn't go down without some fight, and that is proof enough that this game is not to be taken lightly. If I had just come straight here, I would have been completely screwed.
This game pretty much just requires that you put in a lot of training and random encounters before you fully play the story through. However, unlike some games, training and random encounters can be fun. That, and I really like to build my army as I like. The full customization of your units allows you to create whatever teamup you'd like. It's a good thing. Anyways, I quickly shot through most of the enemy units while my two Guests focused on one unit. One fell, but Guests can't truly die like my characters, so who cares. The other one managed to take down ONE enemy unit. I was able to fully annihilate the other six units even though I mostly toyed with them to get extra experience and job points. With their defeat, I was rewarded a nice pile of Gil and a couple items. Then, it was time for a scene.
Ramza, Delita, and Argath are in some random building and dealing with one of the enemy units. They're trying to get information out of the guy. They want him to reveal where the Marquis is being kept. Argath is the one trying to get the info, and he beats the guy around a little. Ramza tells him to stop, but the guy has something to say. He talks about how the nobles are all the same. The men gave their lives for the Kingdom, and when the war ended, they turned them out into the streets. He asks what makes the nobles so different? Birth and blood? What difference does that make? Argath points out that they kidnapped the Marquis, but the guy says that the Marquis's kidnapping wasn't Wiegraf's plan. The man claims Wiegraf wouldn't hold a man for ransom.
Ramza asks who would kidnap him then. The man finally mentions the name Gustav. Delita identifies Gustav as a lieutenant commander in the Dead Men. Argath sees this as the Corpse Brigade still at fault, but the man claims they're trying to end aristocracy rather than become it like Gustav plans. They just want to be treated equal with honor and such. Argath hits him again and asks what he could possibly know about honor. Ramza puts his foot down and tells Argath to stop it. Then Argath asks where Gustav is, and I hear the same place as where the Marquis is supposed to be, the Sand Rat's Sietch. Delita steps in again to explain what this is. Apparently sand rats are unique to a desert north of Dorter known as Zeklaus Desert. Ramza asks if there are anymore towns in that direction, and Delita says not anymore. Argath is confused, but Ramza explains that a sietch is a Sand Rat's burrow, so they seem to figure the man is referring to a hideout in the desert. So...time to move on!
After some more training! Yeaaah, I'm bad like that. Unlike previous games, the training and battles seem like more fun since results tend to actually show. I also want to get my team more organized and set up as I'd like. At this point, I'm already rounding 9 hours of gameplay though, and I'd like to cover a bit more story before I finish up. So it's time for the Sand Rat's Sietch! TO THE ZEKLAUS DESERT! As we arrive, there are a group of Corpse Brigade guys in a broken down house that's probably their hideout. They are talking about the Order (Order of the Northern Sky. That's what our group is supposed to be based from.) and how they are coming to mess them up. One asks what they should do, and it seems they're considering running. It also seems like they aren't in favor of Wiegraf leading them anymore, but Gustav's name comes up as at least promising them quite a bit of money. It stops at that point though because they spot us just outside. BATTLE TIME!
This battle is made up of three Knights, two Archers, and two Monks. Basically, you're almost always outnumbered in this game. Thus, another reason you need to fully prepare beforehand with more than enough training. Even with their vast numbers though, they didn't stand a chance. Before it was all said and done, I actually killed one of the Guest members (Argath) so that he wouldn't kill the last guy. I could have killed all of the enemies in like 3 turns with my Black Mage alone. The damage one of them can do is ridiculous! I blasted away the main group in no time, and then I just fiddled about with the last one to farm up extra job points. I didn't spend too much longer though because I should try to get a bit further. With the last one taken down, we were going to infiltrate this little base and look for the Marquis.
Next scene up, and it's the Wiegraf guy from before, and he seems to be facing off with Gustav. Gustav is in disagreement with Wiegraf's revolution it seems. He says that dreams don't exactly produce food or shelter. Wiegraf says he doesn't see beyond to what is really going on. Wiegraf sees that the crown is faltering and needs to be lead back onto the path. Gustav charges at Wiegraf with his sword, but Wiegraf simply dodges and impales him with his own sword. As that finishes, the trio walks in and sees Wiegraf. He tells them that the Marquis is unharmed, and that we may take him back to Eagrose. Ramza asks why he would simply give the Marquis back, and Wiegraf says that the abduction was poorly done and that it didn't serve the ends he wants. He simply asks that we let him walk free in exchange. Argath disagrees with this, but Delita and Ramza give in for the Marquis's sake. Wiegraf runs off as the group goes around to the Marquis. Argath wants to chase after him, but Delita stops him. He tells Argath that the Corpse Brigade is finished and there's no point fighting more. Time to head back to Eagrose!
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| BATTLE TIME! |
I got into a few battles before heading completely back, but I hurried on after that. Really wanting to wrap this on up and give some thoughts on it. A fun side effect of all these random battles is that my amount of Gil just begins to SKYROCKET! After so long, money starts to never been an issue ever. It helps if you don't have a massive army to have to equip, but even then, I can generally get by so easily without having to farm up money. I love it so much. Anyways, back to Eagrose Castle! We arrive there, and then it's straight up to a scene.
Dycedarg is yelling at the group for abandoning the castle and running off into the desert. Ramza is silent at first, and Delita tries to take the blame. Ramza steps forward though and tells Delita not to lie on his behalf. Dycedarg tells Ramza that he shouldn't have ignored the laws and went off like he did. As a knight, it is their solemn duty to adhere to the rules, and being a Beoulve, it is their burden to be an example to them all. He asks if he intends to live up to the name or drag it through the dirt. At this point, a man comes in and tells Dycedarg that he's made his point. The more important part here isn't the how but the what. He seems to be impressed with our rescue of the Marquis, and I have no idea who he is. The characters all bowed to him upon his entrance though...He goes on to add that young men are generally in haste to do great things, and that we aren't unlike themselves when they were younger. (With the remake, they improved the dialogue with a more old-style pattern of talking. Using nicer/fancier words and making it sound more...regal I guess? It's not bad, but it seems overly fluttery at times if you ask me.)
The man is finally introduced as Duke Larg, and he tells Dycedarg that Ramza's ability is lost on castle walls. Dycedarg takes this in mind and permits us to take part in the final stage of it all. The plan is to make a large number of coordinated strikes on several of the Corpse Brigade dens. We get to lead one of these assaults. Ramza thanks his brother, and the trio leave. Of course, as they leave, the two continue to speak about what sounds like dirty business. Something about things going awry, but our rescuing the Marquis puts them in a good position. It is made mention that the King is nearing death, and they need to make their move soon. So...yeah! Sneaky Royalty business is at work. Well, time to move right along with the story.
I've actually already passed the ten hour point at this part, but I've considered moving on and beating the first Chapter of the game. It's not that much longer, and I think it'd be worth it to give a good glimpse of the story...Although my review of the story is fairly shorthand. In truth, I think I just want to play more of the game. I hit up "Outfitter" (store) and upgrade all of my equipment before moving on. With all the extra battles, I have more than enough to cover the bill and even some money left over. After that, I head out for a few more battles. After a couple battles, I figure it's time to move right along and straight to the Brigands' Den. The objective here is to wipe out this group of Corpse Brigade, but I have a feeling there will be more to it.
The first thing I see upon entering is a female Knight named Milleuda. She's talking with the a group there and telling them that their contact is lost. She fears that they are lost as well. One of them asks how she could say such a thing. They haven't even fought yet! A second one chimes in to say that they nobles must answer to what they've caused. Milleuda says it shouldn't have been like this, but her brother was too soft and indecisive. They don't get to talk any longer though because we have approached the field of battle. Argath says he will repay us for our help with the Marquis by aiding us now. The goal for this battle is to simply defeat the Milleuda person, but she isn't alone of course.
Apart from her (a Knight), I have to fight two White Mages and three Thieves. We're around four levels higher than them, but they put up quite a fight. One of the White Mages had black magic, and she was making fairly good use of it. For my team, Ramza lead as a Knight and was followed by a White Mage, a Black Mage, and a Monk. Monks in this game are basically just super awesome and insanely cheap to use! (I mean actual cost-wise.) They're powerful but require no weapons, and they have some incredible special abilities that don't use MP. I'd say they might possibly be one of the most useful units in the game, and they're pretty invaluable early on since they are easy to get and cheap to use. Anyways, back to the battle at hand.
The thieves had some strong attacks, but they didn't come with much health to back that up. I blasted two of them with pretty much my Black Mage alone. As usual, I was kinda mean in beating the crap out of them. I wiped out all of the units except Milleuda, and then I just messed around for a bit before finishing her off. With her defeat, the battle is over and proceeded by a scene. Milleuda isn't too happy with us and wishes we'd just finish her off. Ramza asks why she thinks they're so bad. Argath yells at us to kill her now! She fought as a Corpse and we should make her one now. He goes off to say she's a traitor and an enemy. The world has no place for such wretches and claim her life as forfeit. (Again, all the fancy talk.) He believes if we let her live now, she'll simply come back to kill us later. He's not necessarily WRONG about that thought, but he's being overly harsh.
Finally, Delita chimes in and says that he just doesn't feel she is the enemy. He tells Argath that she's no more chattel than either of them. Of course, not killing her ends up pissing her off. She says something about a Pox on Beoulves and on his pity to her. She walks away at this, and Ramza wonders if they've done the right thing here. The scene wraps up, and then I'm shown what is currently going on at Eagrose. Apparently, the shit has gone down. There's a lot I could say here, but I'll try to wrap it up quickly. The Corpse Brigade struck out at the castle directly, and they kidnapped Tietra (Delita's sister). They managed to kill a few of the guards before running off with her though. Dycedarg was badly hurt during this as well. So...I'll assume that's my next destination.
And so I head directly there most directly. Once there, I learn that Dycedarg will be fine, but he's glad to hear our part of the mission went well. He tells Ramza to rest because Zalbag will be leading an army to head off the remains of the Corpse Brigade. Ramza asks about Tietra, and Dycedarg says they're doing what they can to ensure her safety. He says it comes first here. The scene then moves to outside where Ramza is talking with Delita. Delita is determined to find his sister, but Ramza asks him to see reason. We don't even know WHERE to find her. Delita finally sees reason, but then Argath comes out to say his piece. He doesn't see a reason why Dycedarg would waste time to save a "common maid". Delita isn't too happy to hear that of course, and he ends up punching Argath. Argath tells Ramza that he's wasting his time with the "common man" and that he can't be like those of nobel-ness as they are. Ramza says he believes in Delita though, but Delita ends up leaving in anger. Ramza tells Argath to leave now and never return. Argath does go, but he says that Dycedarg told him the location of the enemies' base. It's Ziekden Fortress, and we don't stand a chance unless we take it from the rear.
I figure to do a bit of training before heading on, but I'm quickly thrown into a scene as I leave Eagrose. It's a lovely animated cutscene! It's Ramza and Delita talking. Not important at all really, but they talk briefly. End scene. A few more battles, and then it's onward to the final part of this chapter. That's right! I've ended up extending this post to last until the end of the first chapter. I could have honestly been finished with the chapter by the time ten hours were up, but I just like battling and enhancing my team. I end up changing my team a little bit before I move on. Before it's all said and done, my team lineup now includes a Summoner and a Thief. I'm almost constantly changing the team setup. I was hoping to Master stuff before changing most of them, but Master status takes more time than I should put in for a "quick play then review" post. This post is probably going to end up being like double what I originally planned. Oh well!
When it's finally time to go, I head North and up into Lenalian Plateau. The first of three last story battles for Chapter 1. We enter the plateau, and here comes Milleuda with a group of more soldiers. It seems they are trying to run, but we have blocked their path out. One of her fellow soldiers suggests that they lower their weapons and surrender. Milleuda tells her that she'd rather die with honor in battle than in a prison. As for the objective, I just have to slay Milleuda again. She comes with three Knights (including herself), two Black Mages, and a Time Mage. When Delita's turn comes up, he begs with Milleuda to release his sister. Milleuda and co don't realize that Delita and Tietra aren't nobles, and they both got caught up in all this. She goes off into a thing about nobles constantly taking from the lowborn and not giving them anything for it. She's...not a happy person, and the battle continues.
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| Scene in Mid-Battle (iPhone version I believe) |
During the battle, Ramza had asked Milleuda why they were doing this. He didn't seem to understand how they had been wronged, and Milleuda told him. It might not have necessarily been him, but the nobles in general are where her hatred stems from. They've mistreated the lowly people, and she won't stand for it. With the battle's end, she falls for the last time. Delita stands off to the side and wonders what he has become. (She saw and thought he was a noble or whatever.) This game has quite a bit of depth for the overall story, but I think I'm more in it for the gameplay honestly. I just love the fully customization. Enough of that though, I'll talk more about this when I quickly review it near the end. Time for the next battle at Fovoham Windflats!
I head over and into the scene. Wiegraf is talking with his men and asks why they kidnapped the girl (Tietra). One of them responds and says that they had to take a hostage to escape. Wiegraf asks why they didn't release her once they got away then and if they're going crazy like Gustav. The man confirms they aren't crazy, but the girl is a Beoulve (or so they think). He say their numbers are dwindled, and they are surrounded on all sides by the Order. Nothing else could possibly buy their freedom like her hostage status could. Wiegraf sees that they mean to run then, but where would they go? He feels that if they run now, the nobles will win once again like they always have. He wants their children to have a better future than they have had in the past and shouldn't suffer because of them. He goes into a bit of metaphors after that, but the biggest thing is...the sacrificing. Then the Order shows up, and Wiegraf heads outside to hold us off. He tells them to leave the girl here and make for their fort at Ziekden. The men plan to go through with the plan, but they're probably not leaving Tietra behind.
Come outside, and our group is facing Wiegraf. He's mad at us because...we killed Milleuda. Turns out, she is his sister. (I think it mentioned this several times before.) He plans to take revenge on those who killed her, and the battle begins. The goal here is just to take down Wiegraf. He comes with a Knight, two Monks, and a Chocobo. He's a specialty class called White Knight. The game lovingly has some specialty classes that only specific named NPCs have. It's kinda a bummer, but there are some cool special classes out there. Anyways, the battle moves right along and I manage to put the boot to Wiegraf. However, he feels that now is not the time or place for him to fall, so he ends up retreating. Before he does though, he gives Ramza something to think about...as well as most of the plot behind the story.
During the battle, Wiegraf tells Ramza that there is a plot afoot behind all of this. That plot is being put on by two people labelled as the Black and White Lions. They're two potential figures to take over the crown when the King leaves the picture. It seems that Ramza's brothers may be involved in all of this, and he even claims that his brother Dycedarg was directly involved in the Marquis's kidnapping earlier on. Ramza doesn't believe it, but Wiegraf tells him to judge them for himself. Wiegraf believes that those in royalty need to be replaced and some such. There's a lot that was said here, but I did my best to wrap it up. Ramza and Delita enter the windmill here, but of course, Tietra isn't here. Ramza tells Delita we need to hurry to Ziekden Fortress to save her. Delita asks him why this is all happening to him. /end scene
Time to head to the fortress and finish up this post! Let's go. I show up, and the worst has come to pass. One of the Corpse Brigade is holding Tietra hostage. Argath and Zalbaag are there as well. The man warns them that he'll kill her if they don't stop. Despite Tietra's position as hostage, Zalbaag tells Argath nothing has changed and has him fire. Argath fires an arrow off, and Tietra...is dead. He fires at the soldier as well, but the soldiers manages to crawl into the fort. Delita is distraught to see this, and Ramza can't believe what his brothers have done. Battle begin! Three Knights, Argath the Archer, and two Black Mages. When Ramza's turn comes, he asks Argath why he did it. Argath answers that it was simply his brother's orders.
He asks Ramza if he would have had them offer up their honor in exchange for the life of a common wench. Ramza says that it's Delita's sister! Argath points out that Ramza needs to realize that they are different from the common people. The common people don't belong here and adds that if they weren't, Tietra wouldn't be dead now. There is a lot of back and forth between the group. Delita is pretty angry overall too, and he plans to fight Ramza once Argath is gone. Why? Basically, Delita seems to blame Ramza for all of this although it's not directly his fault. Argath claims that Ramza is a Beoulve like his family, and that being who they are, they've always been the shield for the highborn. He, Ramza, uses people and blah blah blah. There be a lot of stuff thrown around, and it's all morality and such at stake. It's an interesting story, but it's hard to want to type it all. You're better off experiencing it for yourself.
Despite my enhanced levels and more powerful people, I get fairly shafted in this battle. I lose a person at one point and have to reset...AGAIN. I don't have any people with Items although I really should. A small complaint here would be that the Raise spell literally has a percentage to hit, so it's possible for it to miss when you revive people. I cast it three times on a character, and it kept freakin' missing. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have had to reset. On my second try, I finally managed to beat him. It was a fairly tough battle overall. The mages had fairly strong magic, and the Knights weren't any pushover. Argath wasn't too bad really, but I wanted to eliminate the rest of them before going for him. For my team, I used my Monk, a Knight, Ramza as a Knight, and a Black Mage. (First time I used a White Mage, but that proved pointless so I swapped out for more power.) With Argath's defeat, I'm treated to another lovely cutscene! (Seriously, these cutscenes are just...so amazingly animated. It's an off-style of animation and looks fantastic.)
Delita went up to get Tietra on the fortress, but then the place starts to blow. The guy they shot from before went inside the fortress. He warned them it was full of powder, and it seems he made sure that he was going out with a bang. The place began to blow, and Ramza believes Delita to be dead...But as we know from the very beginning, he very much isn't. After that, I'm allowed to save my game and enter back into the current time.
Ramza is with the group of Sellswords, but the Princess's royal guard (or whatever) is going to give chase to rescue her. The sellswords aren't interested since they weren't paid for that, but Ramza asks that he can go with them. He has to know if that was truly Delita...and thus begins Chapter 2: The Manipulative and The Subservient. Unfortunately, at the same time, I have to put an end to this post. I ended up extending it by like five hours, and I still have to throw up a quick Pros & Cons list before it's truly done. Don't get me wrong! I really enjoy the game, and I'd actually prefer to keep on playing on. I honestly probably will, but I won't be typing up about it. SO! QUICK REVIEW TIME!
I already described how the game plays and such before, so this will mostly just be Opinionfest 2013. Final Fantasy Tactics - The War of the Lions is a very fun tactical RPG done in the Final Fantasy style. It was the first in the Ivalice Alliance series of games. (Released before they even created that label though.) It offers a vast and rich world of Final Fantasy-ness. There's more than enough to do, and you can easily waste a hundred hours in the game without trying. I could go on and on here, but I'll organize it into Pros & Cons for ease.
PROS
- Fun and easy to learn tactical RPG.
- Lots of customization as far as characters and jobs go.
- Deep and complex story with interesting characters.
- Challenging gameplay without being overly complex like certain other tactical RPGs. (Namely Disgaea is what I'm talking about here)
- The remake has some very interesting-looking cutscenes.
CONS
- Being a tactical RPG, it's really not for everybody.
- The game can be very difficult and borderline impossible if you don't prepare. Sometimes it is difficult regardless of preparations.
- Not a TRUE con, but the remake tends to have slowdowns that the original didn't have...But why?
- The story can be off-putting for those used to the more traditional Final Fantasy storyline that occurs in most of the titles.
- Special Guest jobs should be made available to everybody. Even if I have to unlock them...COME ON!
- Sometimes the in-game number dynamics (Not really the right term) seem to do weird things like some attacks doing half the damage they said. It's probably supposed to, but I still find it weird.
If I were to summon it all up, it's a great game, but it isn't for everybody. I'd still highly recommend it, and I'd say go for the PSone version over the PSP remake. I had an enjoyable break from the numbered series, but it's time for me to go back! Starting in May, I will begin the end of my long journey. Final Fantasy XIII, I am coming for you!
Ending Point - Beginning of Chapter 2 at Orbonne Monastery.
Current Party -
- Ramza - Level 14 / Knight (Level 7) with Mettle (Ramza's Squire command)
- Reynard - Level 14 / Thief (Level 3) with Fundaments (Squire)
- Cyriac - Level 14 / Summoner (Level 4) with Time Magicks
- Baderon - Level 14 / Monk (Level 5) with Arts of War (Knight)
- Arlette - Level 14 / White Mage (Level 7) with Fundaments
- Fridgia - Level 15 / Black Mage (Level 6) with Items
- Glenda - Level 14 / Knight (Level 6) with Fundaments
- Ladd - Level 8 / Squire (Level 1) with Black Magick
- Alicia - Level 8 / Knight (Level 3) with Items
- Lavian - Level 8 / Knight (Level 3) with Items
Guest Members -
- Gaffgarion - Level 10 / Fell Knight Level 1 with Black Magicks
- Agrias - Level 10 / Holy Knight Level 1 with Black Magicks
Next Goals - Start Final Fantasy XIII. Try to not waste more time on the awesomeness of Tactics.
SIDE NOTE! I'd like to mention briefly that I borrowed any and all images of this post from Final Fantasy Wiki, and in turn, those were borrowed to display freely or whathaveyou from Final Fantasy Tactics OR the remake Final Fantasy Tactics - The War of the Lions. Either way, they aren't mine in any way beyond simply displaying them to show stuffs off.
~May the Crystals Guide Me~
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