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Nothing new to see here

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 25
Date: October 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Everyone I know who is a fan of tactics is a true fanatic. We loved this game and want sequels in the series. This, is not a new game. It should be a "gold edition" or "10 year anniversary series" There are 2 new features between this and the original:
Some animations
Multiplayer capability
This doesn't constitute a new game and a new title. Also as other reviewers have pointed out, the game runs slowly. I think Square Enix should take this off the shelf and create the sequel that fans really want.

Great Remake with One flaw

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: June 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I played the PS1 version of this game years ago and it is what got me into the whole SRPG (Strategy Role Playing Game) genre. This game is more or less a straight port of the original game, with a multi player mode, remastered cut-scenes, a few extra characters and classes, and a new script.
First the Good:
The cut-scenes are awesome. In the original version of the game their is one cut-scene in the beginning (maybe one towards the end, I never finished the game). It is nice to see new videos. Second there were some problems with the translations in the first game, and this fixed it. It is also cool to see some extra special characters plus and addition of new classes. One of the stronger points of this game for me was the in depth class system, and the new classes are cool.

Now the Bad:
Personally, I prefer ed the old script because it read easier. The new script is much more formal, reads more like Shakespeare, which is great for plays but personally I find not the greatest for video games. And the biggest flaw with this game is the spells. I did play this on the 1000PSP model, but I don't imagine it being any different with the slim. The spells/special skill move PAINFULLY slow. Now for those of you new to the SRPG, you have a number of charters on a map (normally a grid) whom you move and attack. All of the attacks have certain area in which they can effect. This genre generally consists of very many maps that can take lots of time to complete. The problem with this game is that on top of an already slow genre, it is even slower. It almost seems as though the PSP has trouble rendering the skills/spells. This makes the game painfully slow. I couldn't even make it through the first chapter of the game. Honestly, I would find the PSone version of the game.

This remake makes me sad.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: July 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Imagine if everything you wanted to do took 4 times longer than it should take. That's what playing this game is like. All of the special animations slow down to a crawl, and you're left wondering why you paid $40 for a game that came out 8 years ago, but has LESS SPEED. The new dialogue is repulsive, the slow-down is unreal and unbearable, and the new classes are positively worthless in single-player mode (the dark knight requires mastering 2 jobs and getting job level 8 in 4 others! you'd finish the game before you got half of that done).

This is by far the worst remake of a Final Fantasy game I've ever played in my life, and that's saying a lot, because Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my all-time favorite games. So good, in fact, that I can't even bear to give this remake 1 star. If you want to play this game, find the original. Avoid this remake at all costs.

A lot of disappointment with a little excitement

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 22, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'm going to make this short and sweet because the other low reviews pretty much cover everything. This was a weak remake of a great game. Now I know everyone who loves the original FFT wants to give this 5 stars, but this was [..].

Sounds and animations that separate, a rather over-complex dialogue (I liked the one in the original. Yes, I know it was rushed and came out bad, but that added some of the charm). Everything slows down for no reason, you would've thought they would have worked stuff like this out before releasing this game.

But wait, 2 NEW JOB CLASSES ZOMG! One is useless unless you master all the other classes (and find it's equipment in VS mode) and the other is really too difficult to worry about getting in the greater scheme of things.

Nice try, I hope they get it right the next time around.

Great Game, Some Flaws

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 37 / 44
Date: October 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Final Fantasy Tactics has long been my favorite videogame EVER. Nothing, I feel, has ever matched the original PS1 version of the game. Unfortunately, that still statement still stands.

I've always wanted a portable version of Final Fantasy Tactics, and when I heard it was coming to PSP I went and bought a PSP JUST FOR THIS GAME. I figured that with the fixed translation, new movies, and new content it would be pretty much the only game I would need for awhile.

Well, after sitting down and playing for hours, here is what I have to say:

Pros:
- The new animations are beautiful! And the voice acting is very well-done. So, big plus there.
- The new content is fun, and helpful (for understanding the plot)
- Multiplayer mode looks like it might be fun - unfortunately no one I know (and no one in the entire area as far as I know) has a PSP and Final Fantasy Tactics ... so I can't play it.
- The load time is almost nonexistent.
- Rewritten and well-translated dialogue! Yay! The translation is not perfect, I've noticed several grammatical and spelling errors in the dialogue, but its a big improvement from the last translation. I'm bit annoyed that its not perfect, though. Last time I could chalk it up to the horrible translation, but this time I really did expect perfection. Oh well. The big plus is that the plot is much easier to understand now.

Cons:
- Sound: It sounds like several sound effects were cut. I got especially annoyed at the first fight, when some of the dark knight's sword skill sound effects were cut. I don't know why this is. If you've never played the game you probably won't notice/care (though you might wonder at the strange silence for parts of moves ...). If you have played the game you'll be annoyed.
- Multiplayer: If you don't have anyone to play with, there is no way to get any of that extra content. I don't know why they couldn't have made the multiplayer missions an option to do all alone - sure they'd be hard, but still ... Very annoying that an entire section of the game is locked to you if you have no one to play with. Of course, you can disregard this if you actually have a friend, with the game, who is willing to spend time doing the multiplayer content with you.
- Graphics: The PS1 version has absolutely beautiful graphics; not a single pixel on the screen was was wasted. The grahics are still good in the PSP version, but in stretching out the game to 16x9 for the screen, everything looks somewhat ... fuzzy. This was actually a big letdown for me, because the original graphics on the PS1 still look great. It just didn't make the transition smoothly. But, this is a minor issue. If you haven't seen the original, you'll think this is a pretty beautiful game.
- Dialogue: Again, some grammar and spelling mistakes. Nothing big, but I really wish they'd been fixed.
- ANIMATION SLOW DOWNS. This was big. For almost EVERY special attack in the game, especially more
elaborate ones, there is noticeable disconnect between the sound and the animation. The problem is that the video lags so far behind the sound, sometimes the sound will finish playing almost before the animation has started ... this also considerably slows down battles, as the framerate drops so much. The PSP has powerful hardware in it, I have no idea why there is this problem. Especially because emulated versions don't have this issue. I thought that I would get used to it, but it just got more and more annoying, especially as I got stronger and stronger magic. This is the primary reason I gave the game 3 stars. It is not only incredibly annoying, it also considerably slows the gameplay down. UGH.

Conclusion:
If you've never played the game, do yourself a favor and go try it out. If the lag problem isn't too annoying for you you're in for an amazing game. The plot is sophisticated, and the gameplay is deep. Few games can really compare in those two aspects. And, if you're a big fan of the game, you owe it to yourself to buy it. The new content and new movies are great, and you can't get those on an emulator. That said ... the technical issues introduced in the translation from PS to PSP really knock this game down ... especially the graphics lag. I don't know what Square was thinking releasing the game before they had the problem fixed (I really don't understand why it would even be a problem, the PSP hardware is supposedly more powerful than the PS1 hardware ...).

I really wish I could give this game 5 stars, I really do. In my opinion, the graphics issues alone knocks it down a star, and the combination of everything else knocks another star off. I gave it 4 stars for fun because only the graphics issue really affects how fun the game is to play. Its still a great game, and if the graphics issue was gone I'd say it was a must buy. As is ... :(

*edit*
Its been a few months now, and I've progressed quite a bit in the game. I have well over 100 hours of playtime (no idea how many, exactly, the playtime clock maxed out long ago) and have played through every class and seen almost every ability in the game. Some additional thoughts:

* No multiplayer is still a bummer - I want some of those items, but there is no way for me to get them ...
* In my opinion (and feel free to disagree) graphics slowdown is still an issue. I purposely avoid white magic and use items instead, for example, to avoid some of the bigger offenders and speed up battle. If you read the comments for this review you'll see people who agree and disagree with my assessment.
* I'm continually impressed by the cutscenes, voice acting, and redone script.
* I still feel that the game isn't as crisp as the original PS version.

All of this said, this is still one of my favorite games out there (as evidenced by the fact that I still play it) ... but I do stand by my rating. This game is, in my opinion, hampered by technical problems - which is sad. But ... it is a lot of fun!

A lot of excitement with a little disappointment

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

When first hearing and reading about Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions I was ecstatic. I purchased it as soon as I could for my PSP and was slightly disappointed when I realized it was exactly the same as my Playstation game, Final Fantasy Tactics. The only difference this game has is the change in names of some characters, the dialogue is all new and worded differently as if it were out of Medieval England or some such depiction of the Medieval era, and the new cut scenes are great with an incredible animation style but alas the lines are a little cheesy.

If you love Final Fantasy Tactics this is a great way to make it portable. Just note, there are differences in names, what classes are called, and how they speak. Took a little getting used to but the game is still a lot of fun.

Nostalgic, But They Were Right

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 31, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is essentially the same game I remember from 1997, with cleaned-up dialogue -- something I'd always wished for -- and the addition of some very nice animated cut scenes, and of course, new secret characters, extra party slots, etc. The story is finally comprehensible and easy on the eyes. I strongly disagree with people who claim that the dialogue is "Shakespearean"; I assume they mean it's too formal and archaic to follow easily, but if they think that, I guarantee you they've neither read nor seen any Shakespeare.

Unfortunately, They were right. A port or re-make of a game should attempt to meet or exceed the quality of the original game in every area, but the graphical slowdowns and sound effect changes in The War of the Lions are very real and very noticeable, at least to a longtime fan of the game. They are a step backwards from the quality found in the original. In the very first battle, for example, when a certain Dark Knight uses one of his special abilities, you can see the game's speed go from smooth to stuttering, and the sound effect for the ability -- which used to be an intricate magical noise, followed by a SHINK! as the effect finished -- has been replaced by an odd blooping noise.

I don't know why Square decided not to fix the slowdown or why they replaced some of the excellent sound effects with lower-quality ones, but I feel it's a huge detriment to a game that otherwise would have been a perfect 10 in my book.

I docked two stars from my rating of this game for three reasons, because they hampered my enjoyment of it: The slowdowns (they had time to fix this during localization, but neglected to do so), the sound effects (same), and the fact that Square neglected to fix it before American release, didn't bother to inform anyone of the flaw, and apparently don't ever plan on fixing it.

I would have given it only 1 or 2 stars had the dialogue not been cleaned up and extra content added. Fun factor is still four, because it's still essentially the same Final Fantasy Tactics I love.

One of the Finest Fantasies Out There

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 39 / 40
Date: October 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

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

Good, but could have been better

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: October 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Final Fantasy Tactics for the original PlayStation was one of my favorite games of all time, so I was looking forward to playing this game.

Only being two hours into the game, I have not reached any of the new content, and I have not tried the multiplayer yet, so I cannot comment on those aspects of the game.

The reanimated cut scenes are gorgeous. However, not all cutscenes were animated, and only being in chapter one, I've only seen one, which is when Ovelia is abducted by Delita. The other scenes so far have been with the in-game sprites. The voice acting is a nice touch to the animated scenes. The new translations give the speech in the game a similar feel to FFXII, which works considering the setting. Gameplay works exactly as it did in the original, which is part of the reason I love the game. If you are not into grinding levels, this game won't be for you. On tip though, the glitch in the original that allows for quick mastering of certain job classes is gone. Looks like he have to be honest men and women from now on. No big deal though.

The two big issues I have with the game are technical in nature. The game expierences slow down any time there is a special effect of sorts curing battles. This occurs during spell animations, mainly, but I've experienced it even using things like "Throw Stone" and items, and even during monster attacks. The sound effects during the battles and the cut scenes that use sprites leave a lot to be desired as well. The sound of wind blowing is particularly horrific.

One more thing to note is just that you may have to get used to new names of abilities. It's nothing big, but every one in a while I check to make sure that it's the same ability it used to be. No big deal.

The game still looks great. Some may find it a little dated, but I think because it's on the PSP, it's not that big of a deal. The music is still excellent, although it doesn't sound re-mixed or re-arranged to me, which would have been a nice touch

Overall, it's a good game that improves on the original, but I would have been willing to wait longer to have some of the technical issues ironed out.

5 star game, except the technical glitches.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is very well known, there isn't a need to go into all the great aspects of this game. Really happy that it's released 1 week ahead of schedule. But if this early release caused this technical glitch, rather waited.

There is a very noticeable slowdown anytime there is animation in the battles. Such as perfoming magic, using a skill, or even using an item. This is really bothersome, being that a PSP is as powerful as a PS2, this should not have happened.

Other than this, the game is perfect, but seriously, this slowdown is not bearable. Now have to buy the new PSP2000 that supposedly have more memory to reduces load time and slowdown to play this. Maybe it's intentional?

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