Each character could take up whichever jobs you had unlocked and part of the game's challenge came from mixing and matching Jobs and job abilities to create the best party. Many of the Jobs were based on Final Fantasy mainstays, like the Black Mage, the Summoner, or the Lancer. The game expanded on the Class System found in Tactics Ogre, offering up a total of 20 jobs for players to master. And for someone who was used to the "the good guys completely win" endings of many games, Tactics' ending was a complete punch in the gut. The sad end of Ramza's brothers Dycedarg and Zalbag, and the latter's final wish highlighted how even family can be led astray. Draclau's (Delacroix in the PSP remake) revelation of his true form genuinely surprised me and kicked off the game's more Final Fantasy-esque plot. (I think the gender-neutral original design by the amazing Akihiko Yoshida really helped in this case.) Delita's acceptance of how the nobility worked and his decision to join that mire made me question how class works in our world. I was there every step of the way with Ramza, who's an established character in the world, but remains mostly a blank slate, allowing you to project yourself onto him. It was the game that introduced me to a larger world of gameplay and narrative. There were other titles that played in similar ponds – sorry, I've never played any of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games – but Tactics was the first for me. Final Fantasy Tactics ended up there eventually, but not before dealing heavily with the back-stabbing of the noble class, the plight of the poor, a religious conspiracy, and the sundering of Ramza and Delita's friendship. Most tended to boil down to the same basic plot: a hero and his ragtag band of misfits have to save the world from something terrible, possibly supernatural in origin. I was learning about the entire tactical RPG genre as I was playing.Įven the games that I had played with a more narrative bent weren't in the same area as Tactics. I'd never touched strategy games and certainly not Tactics games Tactics Ogre hit American shores around the same time and while I had seen a friend play Shining Force, I'd never picked up the controller myself. Prior to Tactics, I had never played a game like this at all. It's that stuff that people are eating up in Game of Thrones on HBO now. In-between the overall conflict Ramza and Delita have to deal with each other, soldiers and mercenaries, questions of class and morality, betrayal, and even a bit of religion. Two sides are vying for the crown: Prince Goltana of the Black Lion and Prince Larg of the White Lion. He and his best friend, the commoner Delita Heiral, get wrapped up in the ongoing War of the Lions currently tearing the world apart. Young Ramza Beoulve is of noble birth in the world of Ivalice. If you're unaware of the plot of Final Fantasy Tactics, here's a quick recap. That's the beginning of my long-held affection for Final Fantasy Tactics. Worst case scenario, I returned the the game, best case I got a couple of hours enjoyment out of it. I was young, I had tons of free time, and it said "Final Fantasy" on the cover. Way back in 1998, I got my hands on a disc for Final Fantasy Tactics.
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