About to play through fft now that I'm done with crono trigger. This game is bleh so far. Got about an hour of playtime in it so far it has yet to capture me.
Fondess of traditional FF titles and their relatives, such as Chrono Trigger, does not mean FFT will appeal to you. It is not a traditional or even untraditional jrpg, and mostly only bears a resemblance to the other FF games in the available character jobs, but very little in story or game mechanics. What it is, however, is one of the most ambitious turn-based and character-focused tactics titles in history, with an extreme depth of unit customization (towards the end, you'll be mixing up to a hundred different abilities from more than twenty character jobs, just to create a very specific and powerful combatant). It also has a reasonably ambitious general combat engine (though nowhere near the iOS TBS Ravenmark in terms of the general combat mechanics, with elements such as leader and formation bonuses, the complicated troop movement mechanics that are only natural in a game that deals with army units of many individuals, and the resulting tactical options), but this is more than compensated for by Final Fantasy Tactics' job system, and a few nice touches such as a height system that can be used to a good advantage in different manners, line of sight elements that can be both used and bypassed in different manners, and water, lava and other map elements that affect gameplay. It also has one of the more ambitious and, in many instances, qualitative narratives in the history of turn-based tactics gaming (even though the dialogue can be stilted at times. I'm not quite sure if this is a result of the translation, or if the writers intended it as thus, to reflect the chivalric culture of Ivalice), perhaps in most genres (with one very traditional FF storyline element, that of the two male childhood friends that end up, well, if you are a FF fan, you will already have a good notion ). Lastly, it also has a number of auxiliary mechanics, such as randomized grinding, for those that WANT to play more and develop their units (but it is by no means necessary to progress), extra errands, monster capturing and breeding, and a few other subsidiary systems that help flesh out the world and gameplay, and offer additional incentive to play. I am not a fan of FF games at all (though I did enjoy Chrono Trigger and the FF game with Cain and Cecil back in the NES/SNES days), normally preferring hardcore western open world RPGs, but I consider FFT: WotL one of the greater achievements in gaming, and perhaps just about as fun as I've ever had on iOS (and to achieve this, the game had to out-fun or same-fun a good number of really good iOS titles ). But even if you are a raging, raving FFanboy, I say keep playing FFT until you start digging into the depth of the customization system, and become embroiled in the story. Once that far, my guess is very few other than casual gamers and extreme action-fans would not enjoy what FFT has to offer. EDIT: For those of you who do decide to stick around, this will make understanding and controlling that deep customization stuff considerably easier The game has a rather ambitious built-in help section, but there are a lot of hidden mechanics and statistics (such as 4 extra points of temporary Bravery leading to a permanent increase in Bravery. One would think the only reliable method to raise Bravery should be important to be mentioned in-game ), and the above-linked guide is probably the best around.
Sooooo. About that iPad version. Ya know, the one that was supposed to come out like a month after the iPhone one... Like a year ago... -_-
Thanks ayjona. I'll stick with it. Tons of people obviously loved it I'm trying to find what they see in it. Your post definitely helps to clarify things a bit.
This was one of the best games I've ever played. Funny how some people found it boring. I never enjoyed traditional JRPGs and probably liked FFT because of the tactical turn based combat. I wonder if there's any chance of getting Tactics Advance 2. Tactics Ogre or Fire Emblem games on iOS. I haven't played any of those but they look like FFT.
this is definitely one of the best game I've ever played! I sank countless hours unlocking the dark knight and getting all items in this game the fun factor for me is the job system.. really immersed on that..
I'm sure there's a fantastic game buried somewhere behind the craptastic interface and the endless dialogue bubbles. However, having not grown up on a gamepad interface, I just don't have the patience to find it.
if you like playing with job system, otherwise simply brawler ninja and really great npc you can get are more than enough to finish the game.
The Tactics Ogre PSP remake has an even better story than War of the Lions, though power-levelling largely breaks the game, which is annoying. I say better story - never did see the ending, as I ground too far down in the bonus dungeon, got bored, came out and ended up carving through all the story battles as if they were nothing. It frustrated me enough I put the game aside, and didn't go back to it before I sold my PSP. Anyway, #coolstorybro aside, it's more of that awesome medieval fantasy/fantastic translation, turn-based battles with tons of depth and a rewind system that actually works and doesn't feel like cheesing anything. If Squenix bring it to iOS, buy buy buy.
You can't replay battles that are part of the story but different spots on he map will randomly trigger battles when you pass through them. So basically most spots you get into a fight at can trigger a random fight later on if you walk to that spot on the map.
One of the most engrossing and important aspects of FFT is customizing your characters to build a very particular party. The job system is probably one of the, if not the, deepest customization systems in any TBS. You can literally mix and match the abilities of more than 25 different classes to build a highly specialized fighter. Using a progressed save to gain access to unlimited skirmishes would defeat both this purpose, and rob you of one of the more detailed and convoluted (and often well-written) storylines in gaming, leaving you with only the actual combat mechanics to enjoy. And while they are excellent, they are nothing compared to what all these three elements of the game offer in tandem. (Also, as posted before, as soon as you get past the intro, you can trigger an unlimited amounts of random battles just by walking across the map, effectively offering you what you look for, without robbing you of the rest.) FFT is not Ravenmark, Elven Legacy, Wasted Lands, Neuroshima Hex, Time or Heroes, Great Little Wargame, Lost Company, Battle for Wesnoth, Silent Storm, UFO: Enemy Unknown or even Fallout Tactics (though it does bear resemblance to several of these games in different ways). In many respects, it is more dynamic, varied, and offers an experience that can be extended way past 100+ hours (thanks to side-missions and random battles). It often plays like a party-based RPG. The actual combat mechanics and strategic opportunities in battles (while better than in many TBS games), still fall short of the greatest in the genre (of which Ravenmark is the best example for iOS). But the bizarrely deep unit customization and deeply extensive story more than make up for it, and easily makes FFT one of the most rewarding TBS games I've ever played.
Does anyone know how to take a saved game that I had on my iPad (about 30 hours spent on it) and put it on my 4s? I don't know if this was possible without special software and I'd love not to have to start over.
