Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is down to only $3.59 for Cyber Week, a price that’s a fair bit lower than the usual $11.99 that Square Enix wants for the vaunted Sony PSP port, and the deal will last until November 27. Buy the game at this price during the sale, and it’s yours forever. It proves its value over the PSP version with tailored touch controls made just for Android, along with better load times, the option to skip certain cutscenes, and enhanced camera controls that let you rotate the action freely, and zoom in and out.
Background: This is the game that brought us to the region of Ivalice, the grand fictional world where this game’s sequels, Final Fantasy XII, MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, and even PS1 classic Vagrant Story took place. The game’s storyline follows Ramza, a squire who gets caught up in a political plot that spans the globe. You, the player, will follow Ramza and the people he fights alongside through a colorful world, brought to life with some seriously great graphics for the time, and semi-animated cutscenes that were introduced in the PSP version of the game. The game has received a total overhaul for the mobile platform, and there’s not a virtual D-pad in sight. Every menu can be navigated, every in-game option and piece of scenery all explored with just the touch screen. This mobile makeover includes a number of enhancements, including letting you change the view in ways you couldn’t before. At any point in any battle, you can zoom out to get a complete picture of the action, zoom in on a single character to come to grips with what the best tactic for them is in the moment, and rotate the map freely. The 2D character sprites will rotate in a limited capacity as they always have, however; this remake does not include conversion of the sprites to 3D models.
Impact: This is one of the greatest turn-based strategy RPGs of all time, and it’s a no-brainer if you haven’t played it yet, or even if you’ve played the original. The PSP version tacked on a better translation and tons of content on top of mechanical and visual enhancements, and all of those differences carry over into this mobile game redux. This is one of the lowest prices this game’s ever been at, so if you’re a fan of turn-based strategy games in the slightest and you have $3.59 sitting around, there’s really no reason not to snap up this classic. It not only established the world of Ivalice, but set the mold for many future strategy games by putting in a lot of complex mechanics, such as a full-on job system and customizable character growth, that would go on to be expanded and expounded upon in the likes of the beloved Disgaea series and PSP hits Jeanne D’Arc and Generations of Chaos. If you’ve played the PSP version, this is a great way to experience the adventure anew. Though there’s no new content, everything has been reformatted to fit a mobile device, and you’ll find the faster load times move things along much quicker.
