Caves of Narshe Forums [Powered by Invision Power Board]

Printable Version of Topic
Click here to view this topic in its original format

Caves of Narshe Forums > Final Fantasy Tactics > Shot in the arm for Classic Fans?

Posted by: Spooniest 17th May 2015 09:53

This game comes off to me as SE saying "We still remember how to make a Final Fantasy game with black and white mages and moogles and junk. Don't be alarmed, classic fans!"

It came out right after FF7, for goodness' sake, so it's importance in reassuring the fanbase (after the mindbender that was FF7) can't be overstated. The fact that the story is just top notch does not hurt it one bit, even if the original translation wasn't quite what it needed to be.

What do you think? Was this more of the classic stuff you craved after FF7? Did you think it was still too weird to be a FF game? What're your thoughts?

Posted by: chevleclair 17th May 2015 12:57

The original Final Fantasy Tactics?

If your preference is standard RPG fare, then this is not the game for you. The strategy aspect might cause the battle system to be a bit slower, and the graphics seemed to be a step backward from VII.

On the other hand, it could only turn out to be amazing. Storyline and concept are...are... what superlative haven't I used before? I'll have to defer to Mary Poppins for those things.

In retrospect, VII's Picasso-like rendering, to me anyway, is the inferior game from a graphics perspective. I always prefer high-quality hand drawn characters to poorly rendered CGI.

While not as memorable for me as IV or VI, the music is more than worthy of being admired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0A0KnuEBPc

Give a listen. What do you think?

Characters...too many of them? Like Crono Cross?

Believe it or not, no. Ramza, Delita, Agrias, Alma, ...

okay, let's not list them all, or even the ones they develop and change through the game. I don't have all day. You could actually imagine yourself during gameplay as one of Ramza's soldiers commenting on how things are during the game.

Tell you the truth, that sounds like a story idea....

Posted by: Rangers51 19th May 2015 16:21

Quote (Spooniest @ 17th May 2015 05:53)

I don't think I can get behind the theory that FFT was a response to gamers concerned about the "old school-ness" of the series, but I can't quite put my finger on why precisely. I think part of it is that the development would have to be almost completely concurrent with the main thrust of the development on Final Fantasy VII, so I don't think Squaresoft could have really anticipated any backlash regarding the changed style of that game in time to react to it for Final Fantasy Tactics. Perhaps it could be seen as a response to the more steampunk feel and somewhat malleable character "classes" of Final Fantasy VI, but you then have to think that neither VI or VII had much of a fan backlash at the times they were released; both games were pretty well universally acclaimed.

I've told the story on here more than once by now, I'm sure, but for about the first two hours of picking up my preordered copy of FFT, I was actually disappointed that it wasn't more like FF7. I don't know why I expected it to be, as I'd seen the demo video and heard as much about the game as was possible the late-1997 era of the internet, but I do recall having that twinge of disappointment until I got a few battles in to chapter one. So, for me, it wasn't filling a need that I thought FF7 wasn't filling - it was filling a need that I had no idea I even had until it was there.

In short, I don't see it as anything specific to fans of "classic" Final Fantasy, whatever that might be in the context; it just happens to use some of those classic elements to create a Final Fantasy-themed spin on the tactical RPG previously represented by Tactics Ogre.