Which final fantasy tactics is better

The original English release on the Playstation, to be blunt, is easier. Maybe this is a carry-over from the Gameboy era, when Japanese developers assumed Western players were less adept at numbers-forward games. Maybe they were just feeling generous. Playstation release, from lower experience-point costs to easier bosses to the main character having improved stats. But while more difficult mechanically, War of the Lions is easier to play in some ways.

They even squashed a round of bugs — though the PSP version struggles a bit when processing flashy magicks. Play War of the Lions if you want a slightly nicer experience. But do it on a console if you dislike touch controls. War of the Lions added a few cut-in videos to the game, and… they look fantastic. These sell the look of an illustration on a page.

Or it might have, had Square kept pursuing the 2D-art route. At worst, the new versions are a lateral move that sacrifice the authentic just for a minor upgrade. For all the divisive artistic choices that Squaresoft makes in their other Final Fantasy ports for PC and mobile, this easily feels like one of the least intrusive. Play The Original if you want the entire presentation to feel as authentically pixel-accurate as possible. In the end, both the original and War of the Lions are excellent editions of a deeply-cherished Final Fantasy spinoff.

Thankfully, Tactics offers just enough depth to make sure minor characters have their own story to tell. Thanks to the "historical narrative" perspective of Tactics , players know for a fact that anyone can affect the story. More than that, all characters in Tactics don't exist to fill a "stereotype. And given how convoluted the plot would get, people would often switch sides or even die for the sake of the other characters.

Another notable trait of Fire Emblem lies in its unique "triangle" systems to determine how weapons and even spell types perform in battle. Unlike other RPGs, Fire Emblem 's core tactical gameplay relies on this Weapon Triangle to determine strengths and weaknesses on weapons. In essence, swords, axes, and lances play in a rock-paper-scissors system.

Meanwhile, magical tomes also rely on their triangles to determine the strength of spells. For instance, the Anima Triangle specifies how wind, thunder, and fire also form their own elemental damage triangle.

These elements, called Anima, fall under a larger Trinity of Magic. In the latter, Anima, Light, and Dark spells interact. A lot of people Tactics fans praise the game for its simple combat system.

After all, like other tactical RPGs, combat in Tactics takes place on a grid with various heights. Moreover, characters can move and take actions based on certain counts. However, unlike other team-versus-team setups, Tactics uses a Charge Time system to determine initiative across all characters. This factor leads to the strategic highlights of Tactics. Thanks to its simple combat, players can eventually use a whole host of strategic elements. For instance, abilities and spells that take time to cast might become useless if targets end up moving away.

Moreover, other class lineups can end up causing crazy imbalances that make the game frustratingly fun and complex. In most RPGs, characters can change classes in special menus and may only use weapons or skills. Interestingly, Fire Emblem characters can unlock, change, and switch classes when they meet a certain level and other requirements.

For instance, most Fire Emblem games feature a secondary requirement an actual item, Certification Exam, or Seals before class changes. Meanwhile, leveling up also increases certain character statistics based on their growth rate. As such, certain characters become inherently strong towards certain class archetypes.

This system gives characters a unique sense of growth, and players who complete these certification exams and get the right seals can feel a sense of accomplishment. Tactics takes what FFV did and develops it further, adding newer jobs and more complicated abilities. The new system in Tactics is truly brilliant, allowing players to customize their units and give them unique strategic abilities. A monk can master barehanded attacks, then switch jobs to a healer class to become a white mage that can also kick butt.

This applies throughout the game, with player being able to combine abilities from various jobs to create new and unique tactics. The job system isn't the only brilliant aspect of this game.

Everything from character position, MP, HP, speed and weapons are critical in battle like in most Final Fantasy installments. However, the faith and brave system adds an additional layer, preventing the battle from becoming just smashing buttons and gaining XP.

A high brave stat means a unit's attack is stronger, making them more likely to counter-attack. Simple enough. But the faith stat is where the double-edged sword lies.

A high faith means the unit can cast stronger magic, both offensive or healing, but it also means the unit is more susceptible to enemy spells and ally healing. A unit with zero faith would be under the temporary "Atheist" status, rendering magic useless on them and also losing the ability to cast spells.

In comparison to that, a unit with too much faith might go as far as to leave the party to join the clergy.