For All I Know; For All I Care About Final Fantasy Tactics
https://basementmtl.blogspot.com/2014/05/for-all-i-know-for-all-i-care-about.html
Last week I finally got around to finishing The Sopranos, an ostensibly flawless television series and pop culture monolith whose towering accomplishment, I believe, continues to eclipse much of what is being created and consumed today within the medium. When I was younger, I felt similarly about the Final Fantasy series, having since moved away from this longstanding interpretation with the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy and with Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII more specifically.
That said, I have no qualms in openly stating that Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT), my favourite title in the Final Fantasy series, is one of a small number of video games whose existence should command an equal degree of respect as The Sopranos in terms of the title’s contributions to its medium. Directed by the Yasumi Matsuno (Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII, Crimson Shroud), a visionary whose own achievements should not be understated, FFT remains to this day my quintessential video game; an archetypical blueprint for what I look for in video games, and in my experiences with other forms of entertainment, including books and television series.
Fortunate Son
FFT took place within a well-realised world. The game’s setting is a medieval-inspired kingdom known as Ivalice, and the story follows a highborn named Ramza Beoulve as he becomes embroiled within a conflict known as the The Lion War, where two opposing factions are fighting over the throne of the kingdom. The player’s personal narrative in this world is often bittersweet, as each victory in combat is almost always counterbalanced by some sort of grim revelation, often about human institutions such as politics and morality.
Through FFT I became aware of the quiet brilliance in allowing a player to interact freely within a clearly defined world using a predetermined avatar. Ramza’s voice was never mine, but his actions in battle and his struggles through the game’s world were contingent on me playing the game, and were therefore a shared accomplishment that I proudly committed to seeing through.
Amour Fou
Contrary to Lightning Returns, FFT’s mechanics and story are systemically interlinked and entirely interdependent. In order to progress through the game, the player must aid Ramza in amassing an army of generic characters in order to accomplish his ends. These generic characters begin as squires or chemists, but must be trained in order to be developed into other more specific jobs. In this way, the game’s story, which emphasizes Ramza’s early life and future conflict, is mirrored by the idiosyncratic growth of the player’s army, in addition to Ramza’s own job (which can be changed as well).
Stated differently, FFT presented the genre’s underlying mechanics—micro-managing troop growth, occasionally grinding to ensure that the player’s army was sufficiently strong enough to continue through the game’s story, passively consuming the aforementioned story, etc.—as necessary obstacles that felt needed in order for the player to empathically understand Ramza’s personal milestones.
The Happy Wanderer
In short, FFT is a monolithic form within the video game, and one I proudly idolize even today. My memories with this game are almost entirely positive: I feel a longing to escape myself as I am now in order to relive the artistic brilliance of Ivalice for the first time again. I am also of the mind that FFT is nearly peerless within the strategy RPG subgenre, and strongly urge anyone who’s never played this game to do so, immediately.
That said, I have no qualms in openly stating that Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT), my favourite title in the Final Fantasy series, is one of a small number of video games whose existence should command an equal degree of respect as The Sopranos in terms of the title’s contributions to its medium. Directed by the Yasumi Matsuno (Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII, Crimson Shroud), a visionary whose own achievements should not be understated, FFT remains to this day my quintessential video game; an archetypical blueprint for what I look for in video games, and in my experiences with other forms of entertainment, including books and television series.
Fortunate Son
FFT took place within a well-realised world. The game’s setting is a medieval-inspired kingdom known as Ivalice, and the story follows a highborn named Ramza Beoulve as he becomes embroiled within a conflict known as the The Lion War, where two opposing factions are fighting over the throne of the kingdom. The player’s personal narrative in this world is often bittersweet, as each victory in combat is almost always counterbalanced by some sort of grim revelation, often about human institutions such as politics and morality.
Through FFT I became aware of the quiet brilliance in allowing a player to interact freely within a clearly defined world using a predetermined avatar. Ramza’s voice was never mine, but his actions in battle and his struggles through the game’s world were contingent on me playing the game, and were therefore a shared accomplishment that I proudly committed to seeing through.
Amour Fou
Contrary to Lightning Returns, FFT’s mechanics and story are systemically interlinked and entirely interdependent. In order to progress through the game, the player must aid Ramza in amassing an army of generic characters in order to accomplish his ends. These generic characters begin as squires or chemists, but must be trained in order to be developed into other more specific jobs. In this way, the game’s story, which emphasizes Ramza’s early life and future conflict, is mirrored by the idiosyncratic growth of the player’s army, in addition to Ramza’s own job (which can be changed as well).
Stated differently, FFT presented the genre’s underlying mechanics—micro-managing troop growth, occasionally grinding to ensure that the player’s army was sufficiently strong enough to continue through the game’s story, passively consuming the aforementioned story, etc.—as necessary obstacles that felt needed in order for the player to empathically understand Ramza’s personal milestones.
The Happy Wanderer
In short, FFT is a monolithic form within the video game, and one I proudly idolize even today. My memories with this game are almost entirely positive: I feel a longing to escape myself as I am now in order to relive the artistic brilliance of Ivalice for the first time again. I am also of the mind that FFT is nearly peerless within the strategy RPG subgenre, and strongly urge anyone who’s never played this game to do so, immediately.
