Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions - Initial Impressions - from 2old2RPG

Alright, I admit it, I bought a PSP just to play this and Jeanne d'Arc.

That being said, I do like turn-based RPGs and wanted to see what all the hubub was about.

The Story

FFT:WoL takes place in Ivalice, centuries after Final Fantasy XII, but long before Vagrant Story and is part of a new "Ivalice Alliance" brand of games, including Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift and I have no idea where that one falls into the continuity. The game is a port/remake of the 1998 Playstation title. Confused? You will be!

After a flashforward, you find that you play the protagonist, Ramza (who can be renamed), the bastard son of a nobleman, and his friend Delita, a commoner, verging on becoming a knight himself.

A war of attrition between two neighboring states has finally ground to a halt and the footsoldiers have returned home, to find there's nothing left of their ravaged homelands.
The disgruntled have started a rebellion at home against the crown and the nobles, in which you become involved.

The Job Classes

You have a squad of up to 24 characters and monsters. Ramza is always in your party and you also often have "guest" characters who are not under your direct control in combat, but can be manipulated on the world map.

You start with a squad of about seven characters with the option of two initial job classes - Squire and Chemist. Acquiring levels in these job classes unlocks the next job class - i.e. Knight and Archer for the Squire class and Black and White Mages for the Chemist.

Each job class has Abilities that can be purchased with job points earned during battle (alongside experience points which advance the basic level of the character). Abilities are broken up into four categories when purchased: Primary, Reaction, Support and Movement.

Primary abilities are things like a cure spell for the White Mage, casting a Stone for the Squire. Reaction abilities encompass actions like Parry (Knight), Auto Potion (Chemist, when taking damage), Counter Tackle (Squire). Support abilities include equipping different types of armor when not acting in that character class, Throw Item (Chemist), JP (Job Point) Boost (Squire). Movement abilities like Lifefont (Monk) affect or occur during the movement phase.

When selecting a skill set for a character, you automatically get the purchased primary abilities for that job. You select a secondary skill set of primary skills that can be used in battle. The other skills can be chosen before entering battle, making the combinations almost endless as to what kind of specialist Ninja Monk, for example, you want to field.

Signs

In addition to some monster classes having strengths and weaknesses, all characters have Zodiac signs with strengths and weaknesses against other signs. I haven't advanced far enough in the game to exploit this, but I am sure if you can prepare a killer character with the right zodiac sign against a difficult boss, zap in with a Teleport with a back-side attack... Well, let's just say it's worth doing some homework on.

I currently have my wife on high alert that her Microsoft Publisher skills will soon be at work to make a Zodiac "wheel" that I can use to see where my favorable attacks should lie.

Other statistics which are new to me - Bravery and Faith - are introduced. Faith affects how powerful your magic spells cast by and against your character are. Apparently with a faith of 0, magic doesn't work on the character because they don't believe in it! Bravery affects damage (more is better), and the Treasure Hunter ability (low is better).

Grinding

If you don't like battles for the sake of battles, to raise your character levels up, STAY AWAY. This will drive you insane. You have to get a good amount of job points in each class to have a shot at keeping your 4-5 character squad alive during story missions and generate gil (money) to outfit said characters so they don't end up pummeled to death every major battle.

Being knocked out (KO'ed) isn't the end of your character, unless their 3 turn timer winds down prior to completing the battle. If they evaporate into a little experience crystal or treasure chest, Lauda just took a one way trip, unless your memory stick has her last incarnation.

The Visuals

The sprites and textures of the basic gameplay have been sharpened up for the PSP. The opening music is excellent. Battle and in-game music is meh, so I usually turn the volume off. The animated cut scenes are cel-shaded beauty. You can go back to these scenes at any time to watch them or show them to a friend in the Chronicle option on the menu screen when viewing the overworld map.

Tutorials

This game has a steep learning curve. Yes, that's me. Up here. Talking down to you. I'm only a little bit into the game and have had to learn this much.

There is an in-game tutorial which is helpful in navigating the game menus, especially using the "select" button when viewing the status of an enemy to find out what tricks they have up their sleeves, gear to pilfer (as a thief), weakness they have, and range of attacks.

I don't like that you can't move your character and then note whether your spell would reach an enemy or friend. You move, then are locked into that move for good or ill. Then you can Act and choose the action - defend, cast, attack, and so forth.

I also didn't initially like that all spells are "cross" shaped affairs with area effects, be it cure or fire. This is growing on me as I am learning to position my forces a little more efficiently, but when your battle plans are going kablooey, its a bad time to remember that Blizzard is going to crush your little Chocobo into powder as well as the Goblin he's facing off against.

You can read about this elsewhere. I haven't explored it, but I will sooner or later.

The Verdict

Is it a masterpiece? Maybe. Right now, I'll give it a nine out of ten.

I'm 15 hours in, though only about five story battles completed. I know I have a LOT left to cover and probably haven't told anyone here anything they didn't know.

Am I grinding? Yes. Am I enjoying the grind? I just "mastered" (got all the JP) for the Squire class for two characters which filled me with unfettered joy. I woke my wife up to show her the little star floating over the Squire on job selection screen. So, I guess the answer is yes.

The story is engaging, the customization and nuances running beneath the surface are as deep as any turn-based RPG you could point to. There are minor graphical and sound issues. You'll find some complaints of slow-downs on message boards, compared to the original, when loading battle animations for special attacks off the UMD, for instance, but as someone who hasn't played the original, I would never have noticed.

The true turning point for me was when the game price dropped to US$20 (new) from $39.99. I'm in and I may never get out.