~Final Fantasy Tactics~

I think that, in the long run, Final Fantasy Tactics will be known as the 
FF game that could have been. FFT's definatey NOT FF5/6/7. It's closer, 
IMHO, to Ogre Battle. But here's my brake down.

Story:
It's a FF game, so there is a good story, for sure. Wars lasted 50 years 
in the land of Ivalice. Noble families lead the land back to 
profitablity. A kidnap attempt on Princess Oliva started a conflict 
between two families, the Gallione(ruled by Prince Larg of White Lion 
Crest) and Zeltennia(ruled by Prince Goltana of the Black Lion Crest). 
The war that started between them, called the Lion Wars, was thankfuly 
curbed by a hero, Delita. Another hero, the real one, Ramza Beoulve. You 
wont find Ramza in the history books... but now the REAL story can be 
told! (Okay now I'm quoting Square. Shoot me, it's a good line!)

Gameplay:
FFT plays NOTHING like FF7. Here's how it works. The first person's 
Charge time to fill selects. You get a list of things to do, MOVE,ACT 
WAIT,STATUS,AUTO-BATTLE. Move moves your character around. Act lets you 
attack or defend somehow. Your turn ends when you MOVE and ACT, or vice 
versa. Wait will let you skip. Status will tell you about your characters 
and the enemy. And Auto-Battle will let your charictor play ahead w/o you 
planning, using several diffrent methods of attack, like attack a single 
enemy till it dies, protect your people, automatically heal people, and 
run away from enemies. Your characters have jobs. The basic job is 
Squire. Chemists can handle items. Knights use braking attacks to destroy 
armor, weapons, and other things. There are 20(roughly counted from the 
manual... don't hold me to that) Jobs. Your job will allow you to use one 
power. So, if your a Chemist, you can use ITEM defaulty. You also can use 
other skills, so that Chemist can also use black magic, if so desired. 
This adds a sence of realism, and makes the play nice. You can access new 
jobs by leveling up old ones... a level 2 Chemist can be a Priest or 
Wizard, a Level 2 Priest can be a Mediator. Another nice feature is 
Mediator job... w/ a lot of luck, you can call monsters like Chocobos to 
your side! And those monsters lay eggs, give you more players! But, it's 
tough... I had to pin a chocobo in the corner, let it heal and hurt it 
and attempt it 10 or 12 times. I think it's a 23% chance, so mine said. 
But it's still a cool feature, mid way through chapter 2 you get one from 
a battle.

Graphics:
BANG! Well, this is where I don't think Square went wrong, at all. FFT's 
graphics are BEAUTIFUL. It is 2-D, as in not the 3-D of FF7, but 
EXTREMELY good looking 2-D... I liken the graphics almost to Suikoden 
kind of. The battle fields are large, and high. Your main characters all 
have indivdual sprites, while your hired help will look the same(like the 
diffrence between the towns people and importian characters in FF6). All 
sprites are fully moveable, so the action of throwing a stone into a pond 
looks diffrent then the ones for swinging a sword. I think the opening 
scene in FFT BEATS any video in FF7. My one problem? Ramza, IMHO, looks 
like a GIRL!! Does he have pigtails?? Maybe Ramza is supose to be a 
slight to Ranma from Ranma 1/2... does anyone know if we can SUMMON 
P-Chan? :-)

Sound:
BANG X 2! The other place Square did awesome. FFT continues the tradition 
of FF games having music to die for... personally, I think you need a 
listen to truly grasp. In fact, long before the game was avalable, the 
music was selling out! The Window effect, IMHO, are slightly annoying 
after long periods of time. But they can be zoned out.

Lastiblity:
Mmmm... this one's tough, not totally playing the game through. It's 
pretty repetitive, but it's fun  to replay... I don't know how long this 
can last, one or two good playthroughs I think.

Final Word on FFT:
FFT is a great game, and if your a Final Fantasy fan, you'll like it, if 
not just a little shocked by it... I don't see a FFT2. Personally I'd like 
to see more work on Saga Frontier and the FF4+5+6 for Win 95 Translations 
and see them get here faster. If you're a FF okatu, the "Zodiac Brave" 
story is for you!

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                 "JC FrEaK" Bobby Hansen   MegaD@bestweb.net
 /------------\   http://www.bestweb.net/~megad
/\/B/\A/\N/\G\/\
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ "Endure hardship like a good soldier for Christ Jesus."
 \/\/\/\/\/\/\/   -II Tim. 2:3
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   \/\/\/\/\/    "There ain't no gett'n off this train we on!"
    \D\/D/P/     -Barret Wallace, Final Fantasy 7
     \/\/\/
      \/\/       "Please Tell Me The Answer... is Fate Unchangeable? Even
       \/         at his most powerlessness... man's existance is not with
                  out meaning...." -Opening line, "Suikoden"
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