Misplaced Pages

#789210

130-605: Gunparade March is a 2000 tactical role-playing video game developed by Alfa System and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation . It was released only in Japan. It led to the release of a manga and anime series, and it was also re-released on the PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable . A sequel trilogy of games, titled Gunparade Orchestra were released for

260-408: A Squire or a Chemist , the base classes for warrior and magician jobs, respectively. The game features twenty jobs accessible by normal characters. The JP rewarded in battle are used to learn new abilities within each job class. Accumulating enough JP results in a job level up; new jobs are unlocked by attaining a certain level in the current job class (for instance, to become a Priest or Wizard,

390-513: A map in real-time. When two parties meet, the combat plays out with minimal user interaction. The game is notable for introducing a moral alignment system that not only affects the gameplay but where tactical and strategic decisions influence the outcome of a non-linear branching storyline, which is affected by factors such as the moral alignments of the troops used to liberate a city, whether to keep certain liberated cities guarded, making popular or unpopular decisions, concentrating power among just

520-413: A "Very Positive" rating on Steam. The open source, cross-platform X-COM -clone UFO: Alien Invasion is also under development. The Battle for Wesnoth (2005) is another Master of Monsters and Warsong clone, released under an open source license for multiple platforms. It is also continually updated. The tactical isometric cyberpunk/fantasy RPG, Shadowrun Returns (2013), was funded via

650-572: A central figure in the religion, and attempts to use it along with the Zodiac Stone to reveal the organization's plot. The two sides in the Lion War face off in a major battle that results in the deaths of Larg and Goltana. Ramza stops the battle and rescues the general, Count Cidolfus Orlandeau, though the Church eliminates the two leaders to secure its control over Ivalice. Ramza discovers that

780-745: A certain number of turns, that the player must accomplish before the next map will become available. In between battles, players can access their characters to equip them, change classes, train them, depending on the game. A number of early role-playing video games used a tactical form of combat, such as Tunnels of Doom (1982) and Ultima III: Exodus (1983), as well as The Dragon and Princess (1982) and Bokosuka Wars (1983), which introduced party-based, tiled combat to America and Japan, respectively. Further, tactical RPGs are descendants of tabletop role-playing games and wargames , such as Dungeons & Dragons and Chainmail , which were mainly tactical in their original form. Nevertheless, much of

910-460: A combat system where, following a random encounter , the game transitioned to a separate, graphical, overhead battle screen, and tactical turn-based combat ensued. That same year, Tunnels of Doom used a similar combat system, as did Ultima III: Exodus released in 1983. During the 8-bit era, Bokosuka Wars , a computer game developed by Koji Sumii for the Sharp X1 in 1983 and ported to

1040-598: A concept still used in recent games such as Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor , and Final Promise Story . It was not until the release of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade for the Game Boy Advance , many years later, that the series was introduced to Western gamers, who until then were more familiar with localized precursors like Nobunaga's Ambition , as well as later tactical RPGs partially influenced by Fire Emblem , including

1170-575: A death clock system where each character has a specified time of death, with the player's actions and choices having consequences on who lives and dies. Infinite Space (2009) by PlatinumGames , for the Nintendo DS, is a hybrid of tactical role-playing, real-time strategy and space simulator elements, and features a non-linear branching narrative with numerous choices that can have dramatic consequences, and an epic scale spanning hundreds of planets. Radiant Historia , released by Atlus for

1300-422: A different ending and there are over 75 possible scenarios. Langrisser III introduced a relationship system similar to dating sims . Depending on the player's choices and actions, the feelings of the female allies will change towards the player character , who will end up with the female ally he is closest with. Master of Monsters was a unique title by SystemSoft . Where Langrisser and Fire Emblem used

1430-431: A few units, making deals with thieves, and a general sense of justice. These factors lead to one of 13 possible endings, alongside other factors such as how many and which units are used, how battles are fought, the army's reputation, player character's alignment and charisma, and secrets discovered. The sequel, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together , was originally a 1995 SNES game that was not released outside Japan. It

SECTION 10

#1732773231790

1560-513: A genre the Metal Gear series is normally known for, along with tactical role-playing inspired by the likes of Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics , infused with card gameplay found in games like Konami's own Yu-Gi-Oh! series. In addition to a turn-based tactical combat layer, the X-COM series also possesses a real-time 3D strategic layer, complete with global defensive map as well as

1690-554: A highborn cadet placed in the middle of a military conflict known as The Lion War, where two opposing noble factions are coveting the throne of the kingdom. Production began in 1995 by Yasumi Matsuno , a newcomer who had created the Ogre Battle series at Quest Corporation . Matsuno's wish was for an accessible tactical game with a storyline focusing on class-based conflict and the rewriting of history. Matsuno acted as director and writer, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi

1820-462: A hit, which spawned many sequels and imitators. It introduced unique features such as how the characters were not interchangeable pawns but each of them were unique, in terms of both class and stats, and how a character who runs out of hit points would usually remain dead forever. The latter mechanic was used to introduce a non-linear storyline to the genre, where different multiple endings are possible depending on which characters are alive or dead,

1950-449: A limited cover system , and real-time hazards, such as interception fire and landmines . The game has been described as "the missing link between Final Fantasy Tactics and Full Spectrum Warrior ". In 2004, Konami released Metal Gear Acid , which combined the stealth game elements of the Metal Gear series with turn-based tactical RPG gameplay of games like Fire Emblem , Final Fantasy Tactics , and Disgaea , along with

2080-414: A major effect on the timeline. The player can return to certain points in history and live through certain events again to make different choices and see different possible outcomes on the timeline. The player can also travel back and forth between two parallel timelines, and can obtain many possible parallel endings . Square Enix 's PSP version of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together , released around

2210-421: A real-time strategy, action RPG, and strategy RPG. Like an RPG, the player can explore the world, purchase items, and level up, and like a strategy video game , it focuses on recruiting soldiers and fighting against large armies rather than small parties. The game's "Gochyakyara" ("Multiple Characters") system let the player control one character at a time while the others are controlled by computer AI that follow

2340-496: A square-based grid, Master of Monsters used a hexagonal grid. Players could choose one of four different Lords to defend their Towers and areas on the grid by building an army of creatures to destroy the opposing armies. This game had a sequel for the PlayStation called Master of Monsters: Disciples of Gaia , which had limited success and was criticized for its slow gameplay. Both Warsong and Master of Monsters were cited as

2470-440: A successful crowd-sourced Kickstarter campaign that raised a total of $ 1.9 million for development. The game is based on the popular Shadowrun pen-and-paper setting by Jordan Weisman , and features tactical combat in a world filled with cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures. Two sequels, Shadowrun: Dragonfall (2014) and Shadowrun: Hong Kong (2015) quickly followed. An online tactical game not directly related to

2600-491: A technology tree that the player must research in order to unlock new weapons and armor. Jagged Alliance 2 features a country sector map with fortified towns and roving bands of enemies that must be defeated before entering the capital city of Meduna. Knights in the Nightmare (2009) combines elements of traditional tactical RPGs with bullet hell –style shoot 'em up gameplay. Sega's Valkyria Chronicles (2008) blurs

2730-416: A unit may act when its Charge Time (CT) reaches 100 and increased once every CT unit (a measure of time in battles) by an amount equal to the unit's speed statistic. During battle, whenever a unit performs an action successfully, it gains experience points (EXP) and job points (JP). Actions can include magical attacks, physical attacks, or using an item. Hit points (HP) of enemy units are also visible to

SECTION 20

#1732773231790

2860-509: A wave of games that combine the RPG and dating sim genres, including Thousand Arms in 1998, Riviera: The Promised Land in 2002, and Luminous Arc in 2007. Final Fantasy Tactics was arguably the most responsible for bringing tactical RPGs to North America. Developed by former employees of Quest , the developer responsible for the Ogre Battle series, it combined many elements of

2990-465: Is a spin-off of the Fallout series of CRPGs by Interplay Entertainment developed by Australian company Micro Forté . Unusual for the genre is the option to choose between real-time and turn-based play, or between "Continuous Turn-Based Mode" (CTB), "Individual Turn-Based Mode" (ITB), and "Squad Turn-Based Mode" (STB) modes as the developers put it. The game even allows the player to switch modes in

3120-685: Is a 1997 tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation . It was released in Japan in June 1997 and in North America in January 1998 by Sony Computer Entertainment , it is the first game of the Tactics sub-series within the Final Fantasy franchise, and the first entry set in the fictional world later known as Ivalice . The story follows Ramza Beoulve,

3250-460: Is a tactical RPG by Polish developer Metropolis Software featuring elements of survival horror . It is also the first title in a series featuring the main character, Cole Sullivan. Later titles in the series were third-person shooters . The game's reception was mixed. Vantage Master is a series of tactical RPGs similar to Master of Monsters developed and published by Nihon Falcom for Microsoft Windows, beginning in 1997. The first game in

3380-565: Is a tactical RPG co-developed by Russian companies Novik & Co and Nival Interactive , and published by CDV . It is set in the Silent Storm universe and follows the events in the main series. After this came Night Watch (2006) and its sequel, Day Watch (2007), also by Nival Interactive, but instead based on the Russian novels and films of the same name. All three games received mediocre-to-poor review scores despite utilizing

3510-399: Is known in the game as the Lion War. Behind this backdrop is a revelation by the game's historian Alazlam J. Durai, who seeks to reveal the story of an unknown character whose role in the Lion War was major but was covered up by the kingdom's church. Most of the game's plot is portrayed from Ramza's perspective, who is the player character of the story. He is introduced to various factions of

3640-453: Is most notable for its unique take on the concept of non-linear branching storylines, which it combines with the concepts of time travel and parallel universes , expanding on the Chrono series. Radiant Historia takes it much further by giving players the freedom to travel backwards and forwards through a timeline to alter the course of history, with each of their choices and actions having

3770-481: Is often viewed as a 'reject camp' for pilots not making the grade for the elite units based in Hokkaido. The apparent helpless nature of this force is hardly a deterrent for the encroaching enemy armies, ever closing in on both the 108th and the rest of the empire. The young pilots of the 108th, who had dreamed on returning home, are plunged forcefully and unwillingly into a war. On release, Famitsu magazine scored

3900-605: Is recovering from the Fifty Year War against Ordalia. After the death of its ruler, Princess Ovelia and Prince Orinas are both candidates for the throne. The former is supported by Prince Goltana of the Black Lion, and the latter by Queen Ruvelia and her brother, Prince Larg of the White Lion. The two groups engage in battles in the Lion War. Nobles and commoners regard each other negatively and many commoners joined

4030-411: Is stabbed by Delita in return, with her fate left ambiguous in the game. Delita then cries out to Ramza, asking what Ramza gained in return for his actions, compared to Delita. Orran attempts to reveal the Church's evil plot with the "Durai Report" but his papers are confiscated and he is burned at the stake for heresy. Many centuries later a historian tries to describe the story of the Lion War. Tactics

Gunparade March - Misplaced Pages Continue

4160-662: Is the lack of exploration; for instance, Final Fantasy Tactics does away with the third-person exploration of towns and dungeons that is typical in a Final Fantasy game. Instead of exploration, there is an emphasis on battle strategy. Players are able to build and train characters to use in battle, utilizing different classes, including warriors and magic users, depending on the game. Characters normally gain experience points from battle and grow stronger, and are awarded secondary experience points which can be used to advance in specific character classes. Battles have specific winning conditions, such as defeating all enemies or surviving

4290-424: The Final Fantasy series with Tactics Ogre -style gameplay. It also expanded on the isometric grid combat of Tactics Ogre by allowing players to freely rotate the camera around the battlefield rather than keeping the camera in a fixed position. The storyline of Final Fantasy Tactics was also more linear than its predecessor, in order to provide a deeper epic narrative. Thanks to Hiroyuki Ito , lead designer on

4420-488: The Nintendo DS in 2010, combined the gameplay of traditional RPG titles with a highly tactical grid combat system, with several unique features such as a queue allowing party members to switch turns and perform combo attacks when near each other on the queue, and the manipulation of enemy positions by knocking a target onto another grid space and attack multiple targets when enemies fall onto the same grid space. The game

4550-493: The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) by ASCII in 1985, was responsible for laying the foundations for the tactical RPG genre, or "simulation RPG" genre as it is known in Japan, with its blend of role-playing and strategy game elements. The game revolves around a king who must recruit soldiers and lead his army against overwhelming enemy forces, while each unit gains experience and levels up along

4680-467: The Ogre Battle series. Sakimoto, who was brought on board the project by Matsuno, was advised by both Matsuno and established Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu not to worry about keeping to the style of the main Final Fantasy series. Iwata described the game as a "giant project" to work on, and he received a lot of help from other staff members at Square. Several tracks were inspired by

4810-436: The PlayStation 2 in 2006. Gunparade March is a tactical role-playing game where mecha are controlled in combat. Combat is depicted as a map with symbols depicting characters; an "Action Code" can be inputted based on the player's choices. After the player ends their turn, the actual action can be viewed in more detailed cutscenes. Outside of combat, players partake in the characters' social lives. In 1945, World War II

4940-440: The PlayStation 3 utilizes the seventh-generation console processing power by using a distinctive anime/watercolor art style, as well as incorporating third-person tactical shooter elements. After selecting a character in the overhead map view, the player manually controls him/her from a third-person view. This mechanic allows for, among others: free movement to a certain range, manual aiming with extra damage for headshots,

5070-757: The Shining and Ogre series and Final Fantasy Tactics , and Nippon Ichi games like Disgaea . During the 16-bit generation, among the first imitators was Langrisser by NCS/Masaya, first released for the Mega Drive / Genesis in 1991. It was translated for North American release and retitled Warsong . The Langrisser series differed from Fire Emblem in that it used a general-soldier structure instead of controlling main characters. Langrisser , too, spawned many sequels, none of which were brought to North America. Langrisser set itself apart from other tactical RPGs in its time with larger-scale battles, where

5200-681: The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Bahamut Lagoon , began Square's (now Square Enix ) famous line of tactical RPGs. Four games from the Ogre Battle series have been released in North America . The first was Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen was released for the SNES in 1993 and was more of a real-time strategy RPG in which the player forms character parties that are moved around

5330-531: The greatest video games ever made . The world of Ivalice saw the setting for multiple other titles, including other Tactics games and the 2006 mainline entry Final Fantasy XII . An enhanced port of the game, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions , was released in 2007 as part of the Ivalice Alliance project. Final Fantasy Tactics is a tactical role-playing game in which players follow

Gunparade March - Misplaced Pages Continue

5460-427: The player character 's relationship with other characters and in turn the characters' performance in battle, the direction of the storyline, and the ending. Later games in the series added several variations, including an action gauge that can be raised up or down depending on the situation, and a gauge that the player can manipulate using the analog stick depending on the situation. The success of Sakura Wars led to

5590-475: The Corpse Brigade to fight against the nobles' soldiers. Ramza, part of the noble Beoulve family of knights, and Delita, his childhood friend who was an ordinary commoner, witness the murder of Delita's sister during an uprising. This causes Delita and Ramza to abandon their ties to the nobility. Ramza joins a mercenary group, led by Gafgarion, who protects Princess Ovelia from being hunted by both sides of

5720-560: The Job system of the Final Fantasy series. Several battles also feature characters controlled via the game's A.I., which may be recruited later in the game according to the story proper. The characters were designed by Akihiko Yoshida , who was also in charge of the illustration and character designs for Tactics Ogre , and then went on to do the same for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance , Final Fantasy XII , and Vagrant Story . Ivalice

5850-682: The Knights Templar are possessed by the Lucavi, who are seeking to resurrect their leader Ultima, and they needed bloodshed and a suitable body to complete the resurrection. Alma, Ramza's sister, is to serve as the host for Ultima's incarnation. Ultima is resurrected and Ramza and his allies succeed in destroying her and escape Ivalice. In the epilogue, Delita marries Ovelia and becomes the King of Ivalice. He fails to find true satisfaction as even Ovelia distrusts him, leading her to stab Delita. Ovelia

5980-531: The Lion War. Delita joins Goltana's forces. They are reunited when Gafgarion attempts to take Ovelia to Prince Larg. Agrias suggests visiting Cardinal Delacroix of the Glabados Church to protect Ovelia. Along the way, Ramza meets Mustadio, a machinist in possession of a holy relic called the Zodiac Stone. Hunted by a trading company for the power it contains, Mustadio also seeks Delacroix's intervention. Ramza discovers that High Confessor Marcel Funebris and

6110-433: The Lion War; the most prominent are those of Prince Goltana and Prince Larg, who both want to become the guardian of Ivalice's monarch and are engaged in a war with each other. The story progresses to include characters from the Glabados Church, which has been controlling Ivalice silently and engineering the war in question. As the game progresses, players are able to recruit generic player characters and customize them using

6240-481: The Lions was released on May 10, 2007, in Japan, and later across all regions. It is the second game announced as part of the Ivalice Alliance . The game features an updated version of Final Fantasy Tactics , along with new features including in-game cutscenes, new characters, and multiplayer capability. The updated mechanics contain a 16:9 widescreen support, new items, new jobs, and cel-shaded full motion videos . The English version contains full voice acting during

6370-541: The Nintendo Famicom in 1990, Fire Emblem would become an archetype for the whole genre, establishing gameplay elements that are still used in tactical RPGs today, though many of these elements were influenced by earlier RPGs and strategy games . Combining the basic concepts from games like Dragon Quest and simple turn-based strategy elements that the development team gained experience with in their 1988 release Famicom Wars , Intelligent Systems created

6500-460: The PlayStation 2. In 2001, Sakura Wars 3 for the Dreamcast introduced a new combat system that incorporates action elements, and abandons the use of grids in favour of allowing each character to move around freely across the battlefield but with a limited number of moves each turn illustrated using a bar at the bottom of the screen. This type of combat system would later be the basis for

6630-572: The PlayStation Portable has a strategic command-based battle system where enemies learn from previous skirmishes. The characters can also die permanently during gameplay which in turn affects the game's storyline. Many Western PC games have utilized this genre for years, as well. Western games tend to have stronger military themes, without many of the fantasy elements often found in their console (and mainly Japanese) counterparts, as well as greater freedom of movement when interacting with

SECTION 50

#1732773231790

6760-562: The Third Reich (2005) - both by Irrational Games - are two examples of comic book superhero tactical RPGs that are played in real-time instead of turns. Both games received favorable reviews from critics. Paradise Cracked (2003), COPS 2170: The Power of Law (2005), Metalheart: Replicants Rampage (2004) and Shadow Vault (2004) are poorly received tactical RPGs by MiST Land South , Akella and Mayhem Studios of Russia and Slovakia, respectively. Paradise Cracked

6890-531: The ability to affect the relationship points between different units/characters. This in turn affected both the gameplay and storyline, with the different possible relationships in the first generation of the game's plot leading to different units/characters appearing during the second generation, ultimately leading to different possible outcomes to the storyline. The 32-bit era saw many influential tactical RPGs, such as Konami 's 1996 Vandal Hearts series , which feature branching storylines that can be altered by

7020-500: The battle sequences as challenging, requiring more strategic planning than ordinary RPGs and utilising many gameplay mechanics in later battle sequences. The visuals were also lauded, particularly the spell effects, 3D battlegrounds, and camera that can be rotated and zoomed. Other reviewers disagreed and considered these elements a problem because it necessitated that the battles consist of fewer characters. John Ricciardi, in his review for Electronic Gaming Monthly , argued that

7150-599: The character units, a concept which would be adapted and popularized by later console-based series like Fire Emblem . Unlike many other early titles in the genre, Master of Monsters made its way to the west via a port to the Sega Genesis in 1991, albeit only in North America. However, the genre did not become prolific until Nintendo published the game that set the template for tactical wargame RPGs, Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi . Developed by Intelligent Systems and released exclusively in Japan for

7280-492: The church used the legend of the holy Zodiac Braves to gather the Zodiac Stones and instigated the Lion War. To prevent Ramza's interference, Delacroix uses the stone to transform into a Lucavi demon and Ramza defeats him. Ramza is regarded as a heretic by the church and he is chased by the Knights Templar, the soldiers of the church who are hunting the Zodiac Stones. He acquires proof of the Church's lies about Saint Ajora,

7410-504: The cinematic cut scenes, whereas the Japanese version does not. Final Fantasy Tactics sold nearly 825,000 copies in Japan in the first half of 1997, and ended the year at almost 1.24 million copies sold. By 2007 the game had sold approximately 1.35 million copies in Japan. As of August 2011, the game had sold over 2.4 million copies worldwide. Final Fantasy Tactics received critical acclaim upon its release. Some reviews lauded

7540-549: The combat system in Valkyria Chronicles , developed by much of the same team in 2008. The Sakura Wars series would not be released in the West until the fifth game, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (2005). The Front Mission series also continued on to the PlayStation 2, with Front Mission 4 and 5 , the latter of which never saw a Western release, but a fan translation. The Game Boy Advance would also see

7670-560: The combination of moves between characters, and the capture of NPCs and having them play on your side. Sega 's Sakura Wars , released for the Sega Saturn in 1996, combined tactical RPG combat with dating sim and visual novel elements, introducing a real-time branching choice system where, during an event or conversation, the player must choose an action or dialogue choice within a time limit, or not to respond at all within that time. The player's choice, or lack thereof, affects

7800-532: The company calls "Smart Pause Mode" in an attempt to heighten realism; Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge began its life as Jagged Alliance 3D before Strategy First withdrew the rights to the series name; Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is a 3D, real-time remake of Jagged Alliance 2 . Lastly, Jagged Alliance: Flashback was released in 2014 following a successful Kickstarter . The developer Full Control gained notoriety, however, for feuding with its backers, and

7930-489: The company stopped making games shortly thereafter. Additional titles inspired by X-COM include UFO: Aftermath (2003), UFO: Aftershock (2005), UFO: Afterlight (2007) and UFO: Extraterrestrials (2007) by Czech developers ALTAR Interactive and Chaos Concept; as well as Xenonauts (2014) by Goldhawk Interactive. ALTAR's UFO series features real-time play; Chaos Concept's UFO: Extraterrestrials received only mixed reviews; and Xenonauts currently has

SECTION 60

#1732773231790

8060-454: The development of tactical RPGs has diverged on each side of the Pacific, and the term "tactical RPG" is sometimes reserved only for those titles that were created in Japan. One of the earliest Japanese RPGs , Koei 's The Dragon and Princess , was released on NEC 's PC-8001 home computer platform in 1982. This game can also be considered a precursor to the tactical RPG genre. It used

8190-615: The end of Tactics . Matsuno said that the inspiration to depict this plot came from the number of players that misunderstood the ending of Tactics . Final Fantasy Tactics is featured in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game , with Ramza, Delita, Agrias, and other characters appearing in Opus I (Roman Numeral). Tactics has made additional appearances in Opus III, IV, V, VII, X, and XIII. A remixed version of

8320-425: The ending were left ambiguous, Matsuno considered the narrative complete on its own. During its preplanning phase, the music was going to be in an upbeat style in line with the mainline Final Fantasy series. Due to its portrayal of people fighting each other rather than fighting monsters, Matsuno felt upbeat music was wrong. The original score was written by Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata , both veterans of

8450-442: The freedom to choose their own destiny, with difficult moral decisions, such as whether to follow a Lawful path by upholding the oath of loyalty and slaughter civilian non-player characters on the leader's command, or follow the chaotic path by following a personal sense of justice and rebelling, or instead follow a more neutral path. Such factors affect the game's ending, which is also affected by decisions such as whether to obtain

8580-709: The game a 31 out of 40. Due to its creativity and attention to detail, it won the prestigious 32nd Seiun Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, beating October Sky , Bicentennial Man , Juvenile , X-Men , and The Iron Giant . and It was a nominee for the " Game of the Year " from Japan Game Awards but lost to Phantasy Star Online (for Dreamcast , GameCube , Xbox and Windows 9x Compatible-PC). Tactical role-playing This subgenre of role-playing video games principally refers to games which incorporate elements from strategy video games as an alternative to traditional role-playing game (RPG) systems. Like standard RPGs,

8710-489: The game should have been done in 2D style so that the PlayStation's processors could handle larger battlefields. Nob Ogasawara, when writing for GamePro , was also concerned with the small scale of the battles, saying that as a result the game "isn't so much Tactics Ogre with a Final Fantasy flavor as it is FF with a TO flavor". A reviewer at RPGFan criticized the game's difficulty as inconsistent, in part due to abilities unique to certain characters which unfairly sway

8840-944: The game the Editor's Choice Award in 1998, praising the in-game graphics as "amazing" and the battle environments with its extra details as being "extremely well designed". GameSpot named Final Fantasy Tactics as one of "the greatest games of all time" in 2007. The game placed 84th in the "Top 100 Favorite Games of All Time" poll by Japanese magazine Famitsu in March 2006, 45th in Game Informer 's list of top 100 games, 43rd in Electronic Gaming Monthly 's list, and 38th in IGN ' s rankings of greatest games. The world of Final Fantasy Tactics has been featured in several other Square video games. After

8970-399: The game's release, the development staff developed Vagrant Story , which featured several subtle references to Final Fantasy Tactics . In an interview, Matsuno said both titles are set in the same fictional world of Ivalice. During the development of Vagrant Story , Matsuno and Sakaguchi initiated a sequel to Tactics , which would have used 2D graphics due to issues with 3D development at

9100-453: The game's storyline and concept art, with some track names being chosen by Sakimoto based on first impressions of relevant characters. Sakimoto described his music for the game as "bright and cheerful tunes", carrying themes of hope and love. Sakimoto and Iwata worked separately on their own tracks. The album was first released on two compact discs by DigiCube on June 21, 1997, and was re-released by Square Enix on March 24, 2006. Tactics

9230-481: The game, it also successfully implemented a modified job system , previously used in Final Fantasy V , which allowed the player to change a unit's character class at any time during the game and learn new abilities from job points earned with each class. The game was acclaimed for both its highly tactical gameplay and its well-written storyline that touches on issues such as class, privilege, religion, and politics. The game's reputation led to other developers adding

9360-605: The game, some towns contain "Fur Shops" for obtaining items by way of poaching monsters. Random battles happen in pre-set locations on the map, marked in green. Passing over one of these spots may result in a random encounter. Tactics features a character class system , which allows players to customize characters into various roles. The game makes extensive use of most of the original character classes seen in earlier Final Fantasy games, including Summoners , Wizards (Black Mages), Priests (White Mages), Monks , Lancers (Dragoons), and Thieves . New recruits start out as either

9490-408: The highly regarded Silent Storm engine . Other titles inspired by Jagged Alliance include Brigade E5: New Jagged Union (2006) and its sequel, simply titled 7.62 (2007), by Russian developer Apeiron; Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge (2007) by GFI Russia; and Jagged Alliance: Back in Action by bitComposer Games. The Brigade E5 series incorporates an innovative hybrid real-time system

9620-566: The inspirations behind the 2005 turn-based strategy computer RPG, The Battle for Wesnoth . The first game in the long-running Super Robot Wars series is another early example of the genre, initially released for the Game Boy in 1991. Another influential early tactical RPG was Sega 's Shining Force for the Sega Genesis, which was released in 1992. Shining Force used even more console RPG elements than earlier games, allowing

9750-523: The invaders, but throughout the ordeal, far too many pilots have been killed in action. To ensure the future of the human race, the Japanese government enforced a student draft which recruited high school students to become HWT pilots. Gunparade March follows the lives of the 5121st Platoon, which consists mainly of drafted high school students and their struggle to defeat the Phantom Beasts and at

9880-482: The leader, and where battles are large-scale with characters sometimes filling an entire screen. Master of Monsters , developed by SystemSoft and released in 1989 for the MSX2 , added fantasy characters and magic attacks to the gameplay of the wartime combat Daisenryaku series, which had instead opted for tanks, planes, and other vehicles of real-world modern combat. Master of Monsters also added experience bars for

10010-408: The line between a role-playing game, turn-based grand strategy wargame , and simulation video game . Similarly, Kure Software Koubou's Silver Ghost (1988) combined elements of both tactical RPGs and action RPGs, while Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (1993) blurred the line between a tactical RPG and a real-time strategy. Metal Gear Acid (2004) blurs the line between a stealth game ,

10140-439: The line even further by incorporating tactical RPG gameplay with both real-time strategy and third-person tactical shooter elements, including over-the-shoulder manual aiming and a cover system . This has led to the game being described by one source as "the missing link between Final Fantasy Tactics and Full Spectrum Warrior ". In an interview with Eurogamer, X-COM developer Julian Gollop mentioned how surprised he

10270-491: The middle of play. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, though was not as well-received as the series' more traditional RPG titles. Soldiers of Anarchy (2002) is a squad-based real-time tactics computer game by German developer Silver Style Entertainment . Gameplay involves squad tactics, vehicles and a wide variety of weapons and ammunition. The game received mixed reviews from critics. Freedom Force (2002) and its sequel, Freedom Force vs.

10400-633: The most powerful class, which can only be acquired by making a tragic sacrifice. Another feature was "Warren's Report", a type of database on the land, people, encounters and races of Valeria (similar to, but much more expansive than, the troves of knowledge in Mass Effect ). Although this game defined the genre in many ways, it was not widely recognized by American gamers because it was released to American audiences several years later. Final Fantasy Tactics shared some staff members with Tactics Ogre and shares many of its gameplay elements. A prequel to

10530-435: The most successful to date, and was the second Nippon Ichi game released in North America, the first being Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (published by Atlus). Throughout this generation, companies have recognized the large audience and popularity of these types of games, particularly Atlus and Nintendo. La Pucelle: Tactics and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness , which Atlus re-released due to high demand, have become cult hits for

10660-607: The original Tactics Ogre , Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis , was later released for the Game Boy Advance. A remake of Let Us Cling Together was later released for the PSP in 2011. In 1996, the tactical role-playing game Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War also featured a non-linear branching storyline, but instead of using an alignment system, it used a relationship system resembling dating sims that gave players

10790-500: The particular soldier has learned. The story takes place in the kingdom of Ivalice, inspired by the Middle Ages . The kingdom is located in a peninsula surrounded by sea on the north, west and south, with a headland south of the landmass. It is heavily populated by human beings, although intelligent monsters can be found living in less populated areas. Magic is predominant in the land, although ruins and artifacts indicated that

10920-480: The past populace had relied on machinery, such as airships and robots. Ivalice's neighbors are the kingdom of Ordalia in the east and Romanda, a military nation to the north. While the three nations share common royal bloodlines, major wars have taken place between them. An influential religious institution known as the Glabados Church heads the dominant faith, centering around a religious figure known as Saint Ajora. The story takes place after Ivalice ended its war with

11050-466: The player (except in the case of certain bosses), allowing the player to know how much damage they still have to inflict on a particular unit. In the world map, the player moves on predefined paths connecting the towns and battle points. When the character icon is over a town, a menu can be opened with several options: "Bar" for taking sidequest job offers, "Shop" for buying supplies and equipment, and "Soldier Office" for recruiting new characters. Later in

11180-414: The player could control over thirty units at one time and fight against scores of enemies. Since Der Langrisser in 1994, the series offered non-linear branching paths and multiple endings . The player's choices and actions affected which of four different paths they followed, either aligning themselves with one of three different factions or fighting against all of them. Each of the four paths leads to

11310-601: The player to progress through the game and the story in whatever order they wish. In addition, instead of having separate screens or maps for exploration and battle, the game features a seamless transition between exploration and battle. This time period also saw the Western debut of Fire Emblem in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (simply titled Fire Emblem outside Japan). On seventh-generation consoles, Sega 's Valkyria Chronicles (2008) for

11440-533: The player to walk around towns and talk to people and buy weapons. It spawned sequels, Shining Force II for Sega Genesis and Shining Force CD for Sega CD, besides the Shining Force Gaiden 1, 2 and 3 for Sega Game Gear and Shining Force III for Sega Saturn. The game's creator, Camelot Software Planning 's Hiroyuki Takahashi, cited Kure Software Koubou's 1988 tactical RPG, Silver Ghost , as his inspiration. One game released solely in Japan for

11570-440: The player typically controls a finite party and battles a similar number of enemies. Like other RPGs, death is usually temporary, but this genre incorporates strategic gameplay such as tactical movement on an isometric grid . Unlike traditional RPGs which are traditionally single-player, some tactical RPGs feature multiplayer play, such as Final Fantasy Tactics . A distinct difference between tactical RPGs and traditional RPGs

11700-534: The player's dialogue choices that lead to different endings, as well as Sega's 1997 Shining Force 3 , SCEI 's Arc the Lad Collection (1996–1999), and Square's 1997 Final Fantasy Tactics and 1999 Front Mission 3 . Konami's Vandal Hearts was an early PlayStation title that helped popularize tactical RPGs in the US. It was released by Konami and featured a 3D isometric map that could be rotated by

11830-496: The player. A sequel was subsequently released, also for the PlayStation. One of the first 32-bit tactical RPGs, Guardian War , was developed by Micro Cabin and released in 1993 on the Panasonic 3DO . While the game lacked in story, it included many game mechanics that are seen throughout many of the 32-bit tactical RPGs; like isometric camera rotation, interchangeable and hybridization of "jobs" or "classes" for each character,

11960-415: The players had to direct, oversee and command multiple characters. Unlike later tactical RPGs, however, Silver Ghost was not turn-based , but instead used real-time strategy and action role-playing game elements. It also featured a point-and-click interface, to control the characters using a cursor. A similar game released by Kure Software Koubo that same year was First Queen , a unique hybrid between

12090-400: The polished CGI aesthetic of Final Fantasy VII , the team wanted a hand-drawn artstyle. The opening and closing cinematics were created by Western company Animatek International. Matsuno's prototype was originally closer to his previous real-time strategy game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen and would have featured 2D graphics; some sample images were produced, but this concept

12220-522: The previous three games, Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown , was released to less-than-positive reviews in 2015. In 2014 the tactical RPG Blackguards based on the German The Dark Eye pen-and-paper setting was released to mixed or average reviews. A sequel, Blackguards 2 , was released one year later. In 2014, The Banner Saga was released, the first chapter of a TRPG trilogy that would lead to two sequels . 2015 saw

12350-722: The random-draw, forethought and resource management appeal of card battles like in Konami's own Yu-Gi-Oh! games (1999 onwards). Developer Kuju Entertainment released Dungeons & Dragons Tactics for the PlayStation Portable in 2007. The game intended to adapt the rules and mechanics of the popular table-top role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons , but suffered from a poor interface and awkward camera controls. The Atlus title Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (2009) blended together both traditional and tactical RPG gameplay along with non-linear adventure game elements. It also featured an innovative demon auction system and

12480-604: The release of Invisible, Inc. for OS X, Windows and Linux. It has been described as a "tactical RPG that mixes stealth with procedural generation", since it introduces elements of espionage and roguelike gameplay. It received generally favorable scores from reviewers. A version for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch has been released. In March 2017 the German indie developer Overhype Studios released its tactical RPG Battle Brothers out of Early Access to generally favorable reviews. This mercenary company simulation

12610-507: The release of Rebelstar: Tactical Command (2005) by X-COM creators, Nick and Julian Gollop . The game would be highly praised for adapting the combat mechanics of the highly detailed and acclaimed PC strategy series, but would also receive criticism for sub-par presentation, a lackluster storyline, and lack of link-mode support. The game ended up receiving an average score of 77.83% at GameRankings . In early 2006, Idea Factory 's Blazing Souls featured nonlinear gameplay that allows

12740-423: The rest of the game systems, due to staff shortages and needing to focus on the scenario the battle system was designed by Hiroyuki Ito . Ito disliked tactical RPGs of the time, growing bored with their mechanics, so designed the battle system to be engaging and feel fast and exciting. Matsuno had to push against Ito's wish to simplify the class system. The level design, which used compact diorama -style levels,

12870-615: The same developer, Julian Gollop . They did not, however, feature the statistical character development and strategic map of the later series. Bokosuka Wars (1983), a game regarded as the progenitor of the strategy/simulation RPG genre, is also difficult to clearly define. While often referred to as a strategy/simulation RPG, it is also sometimes referred to as a prototype real-time strategy , an early reverse tower defense game, and an early action role-playing game . Nobunaga's Ambition (1983) and later Koei titles as well as Capcom's Destiny of an Emperor (1989) have blurred

13000-526: The same time, featured a similar "World" system that allows players to revisit key plot points and make different choices to see how the story unfolds differently. Atlus title Growlanser IV: Wayfarer of the Time (2012) features a unique battle system that blends turn-based and real-time strategy. The player controls each character in turn, but the actions play out in real-time. Imageepoch 's title Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari ( Final Promise Story ) for

13130-461: The same time, lead a normal social life. A manga adaptation by Hiroyuki Sanadura was serialized in the magazine Dengeki Daioh . The three volumes published by MediaWorks between 2001 and 2003 were translated by ADV Manga between 2004 and 2005. The story focuses and revolves around the 108th Guard Squad, stationed in Aomori, Aomori . A poorly equipped unit with very little military standing, it

13260-400: The series was never released outside Japan , South Korea and Taiwan . The latest game, Vantage Master Portable for the PSP , was released on April 24, 2008. Jagged Alliance is a tactical turn-based RPG series developed by Sir-Tech Canada released in 1995, with a sequel released in 1999 . A third game in the series , developed by Haemimont Games and published by THQ Nordic ,

13390-476: The story of protagonist Ramza Beoulve. The game features two modes of play: battles and the world map. Battles take place on three-dimensional, isometric fields. Characters move on a battlefield composed of square tiles; movement and action ranges are determined by the character's statistics and job class. The battlefield also factors in elements such as terrain and weather to determine strategic advantages and disadvantages during clashes. Battles are turn-based ;

13520-721: The surrounding environment. Notable examples include the Jagged Alliance series (1994-2018) and the Silent Storm series (2003-2005), with many titles owing considerably to the X-COM series (1994-2016) of strategy games. In fact, Western PC games in the genre were largely defined by X-COM in much the same way as Eastern console games were by Fire Emblem . Lords of Chaos (1990) came about when Julian Gollop wanted to add more role-playing elements to his 1985 video game Chaos: The Battle of Wizards , which

13650-469: The tide of battle either in favor of or against the player. Critics praised the story's depth and plot twists but some remarked that the large number of similar-looking characters made it hard to distinguish between characters to develop an emotional attachment. RPGFan criticized the English localization as rife with grammatical mistakes. The game's soundtrack was also praised. IGN awarded

13780-432: The time described his wish for the narrative to emulate "a sense of swashbuckling heroism". His aim was to create a Final Fantasy -themed morality tale. Matsuno stated that the game's thematic use of class-based society was derived from his experiences within game production companies, observing their hierarchy and how senior designers were treated as royalty. The story premise of a long-suppressed account of ancient history

13910-430: The time. The project was outsourced to an unspecified developer because of the team's commitment to Vagrant Story and was later cancelled for unspecified reasons. In 2006, Final Fantasy XII was released, also set in the world of Ivalice. Square Enix announced at the end of the same year the Ivalice Alliance , a new series of games set in the world of Ivalice, during a Tokyo press conference. The first title released

14040-465: The two nations in what is known as the Fifty Years War, and is facing economic problems and political strife. The king of Ivalice has recently died and his heir is an infant, so a regent is needed to rule in place of the prince. The kingdom is split between two candidates named Prince Goltana, represented by the Black Lion, and Prince Larg, symbolized by the White Lion. The conflict leads to what

14170-533: The unit must first attain Job Level   2 as a Chemist), which also allows the character to gain more JP in that class in battles. Once all the abilities of a job class have been learned, the class is "Mastered". A soldier in a specific Job always has its innate skill equipped (Wizards always have "Black Magic", Knights always have "Battle Skill") but a second job-skill slot and several other ability slots (Reaction, Support, and Movement) can be filled with any skill

14300-469: The way. It is also considered to be an early prototype real-time strategy game. Another notable early example of the genre was Kure Software Koubou 's 1988 PC-8801 strategy RPG, Silver Ghost , which was cited by Camelot Software Planning 's Hiroyuki Takahashi as inspiration for the Shining series of tactical RPGs. According to Takahashi, Silver Ghost was a simulation action type of game where

14430-525: The word "Tactics" to their titles to indicate the tactical RPG genre. It was later ported to the PSP as Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and is still regarded as one of the greatest tactical RPGs of all time. On sixth-generation consoles, a loyal American fan-base has been established by Nippon Ichi , makers of the PlayStation 2 games La Pucelle: Tactics , Phantom Brave , and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness . Of these games, Disgaea has been

14560-531: Was Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings . Square released Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance in 2003. The game setting and engine are similar to the ones of its predecessor, but the cast of characters is considerably smaller and the plot is simpler. An indirect sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance , titled Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift ,

14690-519: Was abruptly ended when an alien race appeared on Earth and began to slaughter the human population. This alien force, known as the "Phantom Beasts" (or Genjyu in Japanese) had effectively taken over more than half of the Earth. The year is 1999 – 54 years later, mankind is still fighting to survive against the alien forces. Earth forces now use advanced mecha called Humanoid Walking Tanks (HWTs) to combat

14820-496: Was also the first to bear the name "Tactics" in the title, a term gamers would come to associate with the genre. Not only are characters moved individually on a grid, but the view is isometric, and the order of combat is calculated for each character individually. The game also expanded the non-linear alignment system of its predecessor, with three types of alignments for each unit: Lawful, Neutral, and Chaos, neither of which are portrayed as necessarily good or bad. The game gives players

14950-457: Was chosen to allow the intended 60 frames per second, carrying over the smooth gameplay experience gamers expected from the genre. The small scale of battles also reinforced the personal nature of the game's narrative conflicts. Level design and mastering continued until a week before the game shipped. Under Matsuno's direction, the game's design strayed significantly from Sakaguchi's original concept, particularly in its narrative tone. Matsuno at

15080-729: Was conceived in 1993 by Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi , who is a fan of the tactical role-playing genre. Due to his heavy involvement with the mainline series, he was unable to realize it at the time. Production finally began at the end of 1995 under Yasumi Matsuno , who until that year had worked at Quest Corporation on the Ogre Battle series, resigning once work was completed on Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and bringing several of its staff over to Square . During this period, Square had broken its long-standing development partnership with Nintendo and moved their game projects over to Sony's PlayStation . Matsuno acted as director and lead scenario writer. Sakaguchi

15210-682: Was described as a "cleverly constructed, carefully balanced board game". Other games combine similar mechanics, but typically belong in other genres. Tactical wargames such as the Steel Panthers series (1995–2006) sometimes combine tactical military combat with RPG-derived unit advancement. Avalon Hill's Squad Leader (2000), a man-to-man wargame utilizing the Soldiers at War engine, has also been compared (unfavorably) to X-COM and Jagged Alliance . Rebelstar (1984) and Laser Squad (1988) were precursors to X-COM created by

15340-420: Was first released in Japan on June 20, 1997. It came bundled with a demo disc for SaGa Frontier . The English localization was partly outsourced, with the other part of translation and localization being handled by Square Soft's Michael Baskett. Baskett started writing the script in a style close to Old English, but this was beginning to impact the game's understandability and make characters sound alike, so it

15470-558: Was how close Valkyria Chronicles was in design to his cancelled game Dreamland Chronicles . Infinite Space (2009) by PlatinumGames is a hybrid of tactical RPG, real-time strategy, and space simulator . The 3rd Birthday (2010), the third game in the Parasite Eve series, features a unique blend of action role-playing game , real-time tactical RPG, survival horror and third-person tactical shooter elements. Final Fantasy Tactics Final Fantasy Tactics

15600-542: Was inspired by cyberpunk works such as The Matrix , Blade Runner , Ghost in the Shell , and Philip K. Dick novels; and Metalheart: Replicants Rampage is a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk tactical RPG inspired by Jagged Alliance , Syndicate , and Fallout . COPS 2170: The Power of Law is set in the same "Reality 4.13" universe that first appeared in Paradise Cracked . Hammer & Sickle (2005)

15730-524: Was inspired by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls , and the story of The Name of the Rose . For Tactics , Matsuno created an entire new world dubbed Ivalice , which he would use in multiple later projects. Ivalice was designed as a complex setting with a deep historical background. He described it as a blank canvas on which he and later others could create narratives. While some aspects of

15860-575: Was later ported to the PlayStation , along with Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen . Both of the PlayStation re-releases were marketed in North America by Atlus , as was Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber for the Nintendo 64 . Tactics Ogre's gameplay is more similar to the genre of tactical RPGs that Final Fantasy Tactics belongs to (which was developed by former members of Quest and created/written/directed by Yasumi Matsuno ), complete with battles taking place on isometric grids. It

15990-485: Was more of a tactical wargame. Incubation: Time Is Running Out (1997), part of the Battle Isle series, was one of the first strategy titles to use fully 3D graphics and support hardware acceleration on the 3dfx Voodoo . Other titles in the series are mainly tactical wargames featuring vehicle combat and base capturing. The game was generally well received by critics. Gorky 17 (1999, a.k.a. Odium )

16120-467: Was producer, and the battles were designed by Hiroyuki Ito . Multiple other staff members were veterans of the Ogre Battle series, including artists Hiroshi Minagawa and Akihiko Yoshida , and composers Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata . The game received critical acclaim and has become a cult classic since its release. It sold about 1.24 million units in Japan during 1997, and over 2.4 million worldwide by August 2011. It has been cited as one of

16250-455: Was released in 2023. Shadow Watch (2000) is a video game adaptation of the Tom Clancy's Power Plays novel of the same name developed by Red Storm Entertainment . It has also been compared to X-COM , though it features a different action point system and is missing the latter game's upgradable units. The game's reception was mixed. Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)

16380-669: Was released in Japan in 2007 and in the rest of the world in 2008. It is also one of the titles released under the Ivalice Alliance game series, and takes place in the Ivalice universe. Ramza and Agrias appeared in online trading card game Lord of Vermilion III in 2014. Ramza also appears as a playable character in the fighting game Dissidia Final Fantasy NT . In 2017, the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn portrayed an alternate version of Final Fantasy Tactics in which Ramza and his companions died at

16510-602: Was sold on June 29, 2000, along with titles such as Saga Frontier , Saga Frontier 2 , Brave Fencer Musashi , Front Mission 3 , Ehrgeiz and Legend of Mana . In 2001, four years after its release, Final Fantasy Tactics was selected as part of the Sony Greatest Hits line of re-releases. Final Fantasy Tactics also became part of Ultimate Hits , Square Enix's main budget range available in Japan. A PlayStation Portable version of Final Fantasy Tactics , entitled Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of

16640-541: Was the game's producer. The lead programmer was Taku Murata, who had previously worked on the Mana series. Matsuno described the working environment at Square as more democratic than at Quest, with a greater ability for the whole staff to contribute design ideas. The art design was a collaborative effort led by Tactics Ogre veterans Hiroshi Minagawa and Akihiko Yoshida , with additional character designs and artwork by Hideo Minaba and Eiichiro Nakatsu. Contrasting against

16770-492: Was then scrapped. Matsuno then aimed for a tactical RPG that would be accessible, something he originally aimed for with the Ogre Battle titles and later felt he had failed to accomplish with Tactics . When deciding how to differentiate Tactics from his earlier title, he placed a focus on individual character growth similar to the main series, contrasting against the army-based simulation of Tactics Ogre while keeping its chess-inspired gameplay. While Matsuno designed most of

16900-456: Was toned down in the final script. It was released in North America on January 28, 1998, by Sony Computer Entertainment America, who, at the time, acted as Square's Western publisher for the platform. It was re-released as part of the Square's Millennium Collection. This series of games was released only in Japan, and each title is bought with a set of related merchandise. Final Fantasy Tactics

#789210