» In the
intro to the game, a lad drops a rolled map on a
wooden table and unfurls it. Clouds that cover
mountains and "Zodiac Brave Story" text appears
followed by the FFT logo in bold white letters
against a black background. The camera pans across
mountains and then takes in a figure kneeled in
front of a stream. He gets up and shakes off some
water before getting on his Chocobo. He beckons
other riders and they all charge off and skitter
across the forest. From overhead, the camera picks
up their trajectory as they motor along
four-in-flanking-configuration. They stop and an
eagle is seen overhead and later ride through a
wrecked city.
» The title screen options are:
New Game / Begin a new adventure
in the world of Ivalice
Continue / Resume a game from
memory stick save data
Tutorial / Learn how to play the
game with lessons and exercises
» The first battle takes place outside of a
church where the rain patters onto the ground and
causes visible splashes. Five enemies are unevenly
arrayed against your team of six. Just before the
battle starts, the fighters stand in place and then
starting moving their legs. You only control Ramza
and the COM controls everyone else on your team in
this particular fight. In later levels, you'll
generally get to control the majority of fighters in
your crew with the exception of Delita and Algus who
are autonomous.
» The D-pad is used to move Ramza and the analog
nub rotates the screen around. The battles are menu
based in that movement, attacks, and defense are
selected from a selection of options. To zoom in an
out of the action, press the L-Trigger. The
R-Trigger shifts the plane of the level slightly
higher or lower (two positions).
» When an enemy croaks, he'll make a whiny death
cry that sounds like an utterance from a famous
glove-wearing rodent.
» When a character levels up, he'll jump up and
down on the stage. When fighters are critically
wounded, they'll take a knee and seemingly wait for
the final blow.
» New cinemas break up the missions but there's
no voice acting - just sound effects and dialogue to
relay the thoughts and feelings of the characters.
» A total of 15 save slots are available per
memory stick duo. To save your progress to memory
stick duo (assuming you can't read Japanese), follow
these instructions:
1) On the map screen, press the START button
2) Highlight the fifth option and press O
3) Highlight the first option and press O
4) Select a save slot to store your progress to
5) Done
» There is no English option in the game and the
story, dialogue, menus, and option text are in
Japanese.
» Before each mission, you choose the warriors to
use in the battle. After each mission, the amount of
GIL plundered and war trophies are tallied. After
each mission, your War Funds grows as is tracked on
the lower-right corner of the map screen. The team
travels from mission to mission by selecting
destinations on a worldmap.
» Final Fantasy Tactics on the PSP isn't as crisp
or snappy as the dynamic action in the recent Final
Fantasy XII Revenant Wings but considering that this
is a PS1 remake, it holds up well nearly 10 years
after its original release. The game is enjoyable
with bite-sized missions which are strung together
by short interaction sequences which gradually
reveal the story and backdrop of the adventure.
» Two new job classes have been added to the game
as follows:
1) Onion Knight - a meek profession at the outset
of the game but his potential is nigh unlimited as
he levels up and gains experience.
2) Dark Knight - yep, finally available without
using a cheat code.
» The game features a wireless multi-player mode
but you won't find the option in the title screen.
To access it, clear the first few missions and then
visit the town that opens up. After buying armor,
weapons, and elixirs from the vendors, visit the bar
and you can opt to link wirelessly with another
player for Cooperative Challenge game or a Versus
Battle Mode.
