Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions Review

Written by Cole Burton Wednesday, 03 August 2011 05:00

Four years ago, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions was released for the PSP.  Ten years prior to that, Final Fantasy Tactics was released for the PSone.  You could call The War of The Lions a great remake with many improvements.  Now available on the PlayStation store for PSP, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is more easily accessible than ever before. Plus, if you download it from the PlayStation Store, you will be able to play it on your Vita next year as well!

Should this be your first time playing Final Fantasy Tactics, do not give up.  It is quite hard for new comers to jump right in and be professionals.  However, if you have played the PSone version in the past, you should be able to handle yourself well.  That is, gameplay wise.  When it comes to dialogue, we all get a little lost sometimes with this story’s Shakespearean approach.

In the PSP remake, there are animated cutscenes. This is one of the game-changing additions to The War of the Lions.  These cutscenes help to tell a huge story that I can barely begin to describe.  It is easily one of the biggest PSP games to date. 

One major problem I have with The War of the Lions is the camera.  It will change your view constantly, with each angle being worse than the last.  The only other complaint I have with War of the Lions is the difficulty of the battles, especially when you are just starting up.  You will feel invincible going into combat with a party of 5, but if you are new to the game, you will likely get torn apart.  Enemies heal each other when one of their own is at death's door, and they will team up to strike down your weakest link.  The AI is very smart and very adaptive.

To start the story for you, you take control of Ramza Beoulve.  Early on, Princess Ovelia is kidnapped and it is your mission to set out after her.  This mission then leads you into the conflict of Duke Larg and Goltanna.  Anyways, that’s enough to start you off.  That is, if you have yet to experience the story of The War of the Lions.

At the end of the day, $9.99 is a steal for this game, which can provide you with such a deep experience.  It can easily last you 60-80 hours if you are willing to invest such time in it.  And, being able to take it with you anywhere you wish?  Wonderful!  Thanks PSP, can’t wait for your future model to do the same with PS2 games.  Maybe we will be playing more Final Fantasy then!