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160-732: Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS handheld game console . Releasing in 2007 in Japan and 2008 in the West, the game is a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and forms part of the Ivalice Alliance , a group of games set in the titular fictional universe. The game features cameo appearances from central and supporting characters from Final Fantasy XII ,

320-513: 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

480-413: 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

640-471: A "straightforward interpretation of the [tactical RPG] genre", enjoying several elements of the gameplay and calling it one of the genre's best examples on the DS. Game Informer ' s Joe Juba positively noted the greater range of strategic options compared to earlier Tactics titles. Will Herring of GamePro praised the amount of content and breadth of gameplay freedom. GameSpot ' s Shiva Stella enjoyed

800-557: A CD release. A two-disc soundtrack album was released on November 21, 2007. Tactics A2 was announced in December 2006 alongside the other Ivalice Alliance projects Revenant Wings and The War of the Lions , a remake of Final Fantasy Tactics for PlayStation Portable . As part of the cross-game promotion, Tactics A2 protagonist Luso appears in War of the Lions , with the decision being made when

960-424: A Sniper secondary job could use abilities from both jobs, but has the stat profile and appearance of an Assassin, its primary job. This may deny the use of some abilities depending on their equipped weapon. In the previous example, any abilities that require the possession of a great bow, will not be allowed for use if the character has a Katana equipped. Tactics Advance also introduces five playable races: Humans,

1120-497: A Totema. JP are also received upon knocking out an opponent. Later in the game, the player gains the ability to use law cards, which can add laws, and anti-law cards, which can nullify laws that are already in effect. The story of Tactics Advance revolves around three primary characters: Marche Radiuju, the main character who battles the dream worlds of his friends; Ritz Malheur, a stubborn girl who speaks her mind and changes sides in her struggle for self-acceptance; and Mewt Randell,

1280-404: A Unit's HP is depleted, they are knocked out. Some battles are affected by changing weather, which impacts unit movements and abilities. Unit abilities are tied to a character class -based Job system , with over fifty different Jobs; a unit's Job influences their abilities, and some Jobs are specific to the game's seven playable races. Job abilities are learned from armour and weapons equipped to

1440-439: A big fan of fantasy novels and video games. Mewt comes across a dusty old tome in a local used bookstore and eagerly wishes to show it to his friends. Unaware that the book is the legendary Gran Grimoire, Mewt brings the book over to Marche's house along with Ritz. The old book is written in a language none of them have ever seen before, and a single inscription reads: "Alta oron, Sondus kameela". The next morning, Marche wakes up in

1600-542: A boy whose mother died that discovers a magical entity that changes the world into the world of Ivalice. There are also secondary characters, such as Doned Radiuju, Marche's little brother who does not desire to return to the real world, since he is sick in the real world and healthy in the dream one; and Cid Randell, Mewt's father who becomes the Judgemaster of Ivalice. Within Ivalice, there are other characters that help advance

1760-745: 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

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1920-447: A cinematic attack which damages all enemies. A feature carried over from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is the Law system. Each battle is supervised by a Judge, which imposes a randomised restriction on the battle such as not healing party members or refraining from using certain spells. Complying with the Law results in the party earning additional rewards at the battle's end, while breaking

2080-455: 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

2240-578: 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

2400-497: A customizable map for the world of Ivalice. While built for the Game Boy Advance, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 's graphics are vibrantly colored and extensively detailed, and though environments and characters are wholly sprite-based, facial expressions are easily identifiable and many motion frames have been given to create a smooth animation. The game also introduced an option to switch between three display modes. Two of

2560-569: 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

2720-422: 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

2880-431: 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

3040-503: 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

3200-433: A grid, a themed Job system , and a "Law" system placing limitations on player action during battles. Originally planned for Game Boy Advance prior to the DS's worldwide commercial success, the project began development in 2006 with the aim of expanding on the elements of Tactics Advance . Director Yuichi Murasawa, artist Ryoma Ito, and composer Hitoshi Sakimoto all returned from Tactics Advance . The English translation

3360-462: 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,

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3520-494: A human unit wishes to change jobs to Paladin, it needs to master at least two "action" abilities from the Soldier job. Units have a primary job which determines the stat boosts they receive when they level up and the attributes associated with that class. A unit may also have a secondary job set of abilities, where it can use any abilities of the selected job, but with the stat profile of the primary job. For example, an Assassin with

3680-579: A law twice or knocks out another unit with a forbidden ability or weapon. However, Jagds have no Judges or laws; units knocked out in the Jagds will die and permanently leave the clan if they are not revived by the end of the battle. To offset the difficulty of having things forbidden for use, there are certain things that are recommended by the Judges, and therefore grant Judge Points if used. Judge Points (JP) are used to carry out combos with nearby allies or to summon

3840-449: 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

4000-459: A link-cable peripheral, and also trade items and party members. Additional missions and items are also offered when players link. There are 34 "jobs" in Tactics Advance that govern a character's stats, equipment, and abilities. Most items that can be equipped have various abilities assigned to them, each available for use by characters of a certain job while the item is equipped. When a battle

4160-414: 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

4320-468: A minor role, but he was later turned into a recruitable character. The biggest change from developing Tactics Advance was the dual screens of the DS, which enabled menu displays to be spread out and increase the visual spectacle of some sequences. The team's aim was to make a "character-building game with a twist", promoting variety and depth with character customization. The quest variety was also expanded compared to Tactics Advance , as Murasawa regretted

4480-439: A moogle minstrel. Characters from Final Fantasy XII appear as cameos with exclusive Jobs. The characters are Vaan , the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XII , fellow protagonist Penelo, supporting character Al-Cid and the moogle Mont Blanc. On the eve of leaving school for summer break , Luso is forced to stay at school and serve detention helping in the school library. Finding a half-empty book and writing his name in it as

4640-500: A payment before returning and joining the Clan, and the minstrel Hurdy. Luso eventually meets the mage Lezaford, who reveals that the book Luso still carries—which is recording his actions in Ivalice—can take him back to his world. Going on a journey to discover more about the book, Clan Gully face off against the criminal group Khamja. They also battle the hand of a monster which emerges from

4800-464: A portal. While fighting one of their agents Illua sees the book glow and attacks it, but it deflects her attack and Illua is driven off. Lezaford then identifies the book as the "Grimoire of the Rift", having the power to open portals between worlds and consequently being highly dangerous; the monstrous hand Clan Gully fought off belongs to a beast called the Neukhia, which could be summoned into Ivalice using

4960-432: A prank, Luso is magically transported with the book into Ivalice. Landing in the midst of a battle between Clan Gully and a powerful monster, he is saved and helps in the battle once granted a job. Meeting Clan Gully's leader Cid, he explains his situation and Cid vows to return him to his home; Luso also offers to help the Clan during quests. During their time taking on quests, Luso meets the thief Adelle, who initially steals

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift - Misplaced Pages Continue

5120-421: 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

5280-426: A rival mercenary clan by purchasing a mission or meeting them on the map. In dispatch missions, which do not involve battle, Marche temporarily sends away one member from his party. Area missions are usually a dispatch mission where Marche's clan can liberate certain regions to obtain bonuses and discounts at shops. Some missions, typically dispatch missions, require a special item to be in possession in order to accept

5440-413: A role he shared with the other Ivalice Alliance projects. The producer was Hiroaki Kato, while Kyoko Kitahara acted as scenario and event director. Character designs were by Ryoma Ito, who also worked on Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy XII . The logo design was created by Akihiko Yoshida . Planning for Tactics A2 began due to positive fan reception and demand for a sequel to Tactics Advance , which

5600-413: A rotating camera were commonly criticized. Miekle felt that the pacing was inferior to fellow DS tactical RPG Advance Wars: Days of Ruin . Parkin called the graphics among the best on the DS at the time, while Juba praised the general graphic designs. Hatfield said: "Excellent translation, engaging characters, memorable tunes, and a dazzling art style come together to make a great package". Dutton called

5760-603: A selection of musical tracks from the game arranged by Yo Yamazaki, Akira Sasaki, and Satoshi Henmi, was released by SME Visual Works on February 26, 2003. White spans 11 tracks and has a duration of 46:10. Within the game, the classical-themed soundtrack is compressed into MIDI file format. Simple sound effects are used during battles, and there are no voices or speech within the game. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance sold over 440,000 copies during its year of release in Japan, with nearly 225,000 units being sold in its first week alone. By August 2004, more than 1 million units of

5920-416: A special in-game currency dubbed Clan Points and feature optional handicaps; the reward for completion increases with the amount of handicaps in place. The Clan also controls areas of Ivalice, with the Clan bidding for control of areas in auction houses and defending them with teams made up of inactive party members. When the Clan fights in native territory, they receive passive ability boosts. Between missions,

6080-490: 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

6240-452: A staff and cloak to convey his status as a wise mage, which his features being similar to Cid due to being from the same race. Many of the Job designs were carried over from Tactics Advance with minor revisions, so the new Job outfits were designed to fall in line with the earlier designs. Rather than starting from full illustrations, Ito first created many of the basic jobs as pixel art. Designing

6400-440: 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

6560-486: 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

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift - Misplaced Pages Continue

6720-399: A title set in Ivalice. Tactics A2 follows a young man named Luso Clemens after he is transported through a magical book to the world of Ivalice. Rescued from monsters by a clan leader named Cid and later joined by the thief Adelle, Luso becomes involved in battles between rival clans as he seeks a way home. Gameplay carries over mechanics from Tactics Advance including turn-based combat on

6880-526: A unit, with the types and number of skills learned enabling characters to switch Jobs. Jobs are drawn from the Tactics games and the wider Final Fantasy series, including close-quarters melee fighters such as Warrior and Soldier; ranged fighters such as the Archer and Sniper; and magic-based jobs such as White Mage, Black Mage and Summoner. The Summoner job allows a unit to summon Scions, powerful beings which deliver

7040-500: 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

7200-532: A world-famous minstrel. Tactics A2 was developed by Square Enix , owners and main developers of the Final Fantasy franchise. The game forms part of the Ivalice Alliance , a series of games sharing the setting of Ivalice while taking place at different times in the land's history. The director was Yuichi Murasawa, who had directed the original Tactics Advance . Akitoshi Kawazu acted as executive producer,

7360-460: 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

7520-537: Is a 2003 tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix ) for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance . A spin-off of the Final Fantasy series, the game shares several traits with 1997's Final Fantasy Tactics , although it is not a direct sequel. The player assembles a clan of characters, and controls their actions over grid-like battlefields. Players are mostly free to decide

7680-460: 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

7840-554: 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

8000-447: Is completed, characters will receive Ability Points (AP) distributed over their currently equipped weapons or items (such as armor). Once a target amount of AP has been accumulated for a given ability, the character will master that ability, allowing the character to use them at any time, regardless of items equipped and job chosen. Mastery of abilities in different jobs will eventually allow the character access to more jobs. For example, if

8160-449: 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

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8320-422: Is one of the initial products from the cooperation of Square and Nintendo made for the Game Boy Advance console; it was developed by the team brought over from the game company Quest Corporation . Following its release, Tactics Advance -themed merchandise was introduced. The game was positively received. It has a sequel, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift for the Nintendo DS . Tactics Advance

8480-662: 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

8640-499: Is the ruler of Ivalice and was in the Gran Grimoire itself in a form modeled after Mewt's deceased mother. Ivalice is a world created by four ordinary children: Marche Radiuju, a new student and resident of St. Ivalice and its school; Mewt Randell, a shy boy still attached to the memory of his late mother; Ritz Malheur, an assertive and outspoken classmate of Marche and Mewt; and Doned Radiuju, Marche's younger, handicapped brother and

8800-424: 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

8960-446: The Ivalice Alliance was first announced. The game was released in Japan on October 25, 2007. A North American and PAL-region versions were released in 2008. The localization was handled by Kajiya Productions, a company led by translators Alexander O. Smith and Joseph Reeder; Smith and Reeder were veterans of previous Square Enix titles, having worked on the acclaimed localizations for Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story . The game

9120-429: 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

9280-481: 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

9440-493: 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,

9600-746: 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

9760-702: 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

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9920-427: 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

10080-469: The Cat". The character Cid—the first non-human version in the Final Fantasy series—went through multiple revisions as Ito created designs based on Kitahara's directions. He first designed him to be very thin, then based his next design on an American bison . His final design blended the bison design with other elements, with his clothing using a cowboy style and common South American colors. Lezaford's design used

10240-737: The Clan can purchase new equipment at guilds, with the types of gear available depending on their Clan ranking. Equipment is principally earned from loot drops after an enemy is defeated. The game's turn-based battles play out in a grid-based arena; each unit on both sides has their turn placed according to their Agility statistic, with the most agile units going first. During their turn, characters can be moved and positioned to face in four directions, and perform actions such as attacking, performing skills and using items. Each unit has health points (HP) and magic points (MP), with MP starting at zero and regenerating with each turn. MP are used to perform magic abilities, with more powerful spells costing more MP. When

10400-455: The Grimoire. Illua wishes to harness powers beyond the portals and seeks the Grimoire's destruction. During his journey, Luso is forced to both act as representative for Clan Gully after Cid is injured on a mission, then confront a rogue Adelle and free her from Illua's control. During a final confrontation with Illua, a portal is opened and the Neukhia fully emerges, killing Illua before attacking

10560-468: The Law causes the Judge to abandon the battle and leave defeated units unable to be revived until the battle ends. Tactics A2 is set in the fictional world of Ivalice . Rather than the dream version featured in Tactics Advance , Tactics A2 takes place in the real world of Ivalice, a setting shared with Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII ; the opening uses a version of the town of St. Ivalice,

10720-452: The Li-Grim, the physical manifestation of the book's wish-based magic that had been masquerading as Mewt's mother, Queen Remedi. He teaches the other children in the process that they cannot live in fantasy but must learn to live with their misfortunes in reality. The other children are wiser from the experience, as the ending reveals them all to have become happy with themselves. In addition to

10880-533: 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

11040-455: 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

11200-563: 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

11360-525: The Seeq race proved challenging due to showing a lot of skin. For the new Gria race, Murasawa asked Ito to make them moe , a term Ito described as "sort of like cute, but different". Ito's design for Vaan had him looking more mature than his appearances in Final Fantasy XII and its sequel, with the main difference being a shirt covering his chest. Vaan's appearance, which was supposed to mirror that of Balthier,

11520-556: 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

11680-497: The Year at the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards in 2004. GameSpot named it the best Game Boy Advance game of September 2003. It was also rated as outstanding by IGN (9.0 out of 10) and given 5 out of 5 by GameSpy . In 2007, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was named 14th best Game Boy Advance game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the Game Boy Advance's long lifespan. It

11840-531: 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

12000-519: The amount of content despite general pacing issues, while IGN writer Daemon Hatfield praised the overall depth while noting a lack of innovation. Fred Dutton of Official Nintendo Magazine generally praised the gameplay, although he noted that the game's scale and depth could be quite daunting. Critics had differing views on the Law system; some praised its challenge, while others found it needlessly restrictive or an unwanted element from Tactics Advance . The slow pace of battle, menu design and lack of

12160-400: The battles are "clear and colorful", and character jobs are easily identified, though gameplay becomes slow when too many character sprites are in one screen. The gameplay is also lauded for retaining the elements of Tactics Ogre yet offers freedom to players to develop characters as they wish. GameNOW said that the game "lives up to its legacy—and then some", and called it "easily one of

12320-398: The best GBA games around". Criticism was directed at the game's menu, which was cluttered with complicated options in organizing the clan members, and did not detail out statistics for characters and equipment. Some reviewers thought there are too many character jobs since some jobs overlap one another and certain abilities are redundant. In 2007, a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

12480-649: 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

12640-445: The clan of protagonist Luso Clemens—Clan Gully—for turn-based tactical combat in three-dimensional isometric areas viewed through a fixed camera. The game's world of Ivalice is divided into sections which unlock as the story progresses; character units not in the player's active party can be sent on training missions to grow stronger or complete side-quests . In addition to story and side-quests, Clan quests can be completed which cost

12800-465: The classes, abilities, and statistics of their characters. The game's story centers on four children; Marche, Mewt, Ritz, and Doned, who live in a small town named St. Ivalice. The children are transported to a realm of the same name as their town, " Ivalice ", after discovering an ancient magical book. The story then focuses on the exploits of Marche as he attempts to return to the real world while facing opposition from those around him. Tactics Advance

12960-489: 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

13120-554: 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

13280-528: 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

13440-489: 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

13600-434: The computer's team in turn-based play, although unlike Final Fantasy Tactics characters execute their actions instantly. Missions are tasks undertaken by a clan. There are four types of missions: regular, encounter, dispatch, and area. In regular missions, Marche's entire party ventures to a particular location to do battle. Many of these missions are used to advance the story. In encounter missions, Marche's group battles

13760-574: The developers was thematically represented by the opening being set during the beginning of summer break, and reinforced by Luso's attitude to his situation. The characters from Final Fantasy XII were planned on from an early stage. Kato initially wanted Balthier to be included, but Kitahara repeatedly refused. Wanting characters who could appeal to long-term fans and series newcomers, the team incorporated Vaan and Penelo, with Vaan's attitude reflecting his character development across Final Fantasy XII and its sequel Revenant Wings . Al-Cid originally had

13920-449: 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

14080-497: The dream as well, many of whom are now suffering under Mewt's rule or are being slaughtered by the adventuring Clans that populate the world. The other children, and Mewt's father Cid, slowly realize through Marche's efforts that the world has been shaped according to their wishes. Mewt is no longer being teased, is reunited with his deceased mother, and is now the Prince of Ivalice; Ritz no longer has her white albinic hair, instead having

14240-473: The former is famed for its Tactics Ogre series. Initially thought of as a port of Final Fantasy Tactics , Tactics Advance is developed with an entirely new storyline and setting, and received significant changes to make it more user-friendly for the GBA handheld console; e.g. a quick-save function. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance uses the gameplay of Final Fantasy Tactics , but introduced certain changes such as

14400-442: 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

14560-455: The game had sold 670,000 units worldwide; 310,000 were sold in Japan, 240,000 in North America, and 120,000 in Europe. The gameplay was praised by Famitsu for its relaxed difficulty compared to Tactics Advance and large amount of content, while 1UP.com ' s James Miekle praised the depth of gameplay as the game's strongest feature. Simon Parkin, writing for Eurogamer , called the game

14720-607: The game were sold in North America and Europe together. In the United States alone, the game sold 660,000 copies and earned $ 22 million by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 40th highest-selling game launched for the Game Boy Advance , Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable in that country. The game was well received among the gaming community, widely regarded to feature an outstanding combination of music, graphics, gameplay, and storyline. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance won Handheld Game of

14880-463: The game's development began when Square announced its publishing agreement with Nintendo, and was later confirmed by the producer Matsuno. The development team of Tactics Advance , Square's Product Development Division 4, was constructed from employees of Quest Corporation , and work began in February 2002. This comes after Quest announced the handover of its software development team to Square, of which

15040-481: 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

15200-408: 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

15360-415: The increased hardware of the DS, Sakimoto could incorporate higher-quality music into the game compared to Tactics Advance . While the battle tracks were the first to be started, they were the last to be finalised as Sakimoto kept making adjustments when all the other themes were complete. To maintain a high quality for battle tracks, Sakimoto used sound streaming, bringing the music's quality close to that of

15520-555: 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

15680-489: The lack of variety in the original game. The summoned monsters were taken directly from Final Fantasy XII , and the team used both screens for their attacks to convey their scale. Initially planned to be purely cinematic attacks, the effects team successfully created a version which used real-time graphics and still conveyed the summons' scale and power. When creating the gameplay, the team carried over multiple mechanics from Tactics Advance , while also adjusting elements such as

15840-478: 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

16000-423: The leveling system and Law mechanics. For the original Japanese release, the team decided not to use the DS touchscreen as it did not fit in with their design plans. The Western versions added touchscreen-based stylus control. The team also included a large number of tutorials, further catering to a casual audience. Ito came on board the project after finishing his work on Final Fantasy XII , being invited to join

16160-408: 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 ,

16320-439: 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

16480-650: The main plot, there are two side plots: the Redwing Arc and the Judge Arc. The Redwing Arc centers around the Redwings clan, a foreign crime ring, their subordinate clan Borzoi, and their smuggled foreign monsters. The other is the Judge Arc, unlockable after beating the main three hundred missions. This serves as an alternative ending where Marche never goes on his quest and stays in Ivalice, overthrows several corrupt judges, and becomes next in line for Cid's judge sword. Rumors of

16640-453: The main story line. One arbitrary game mechanic of Tactics Advance is the Laws system. Laws are set by Judges, invincible arbiters present at each battle, with some exceptions. Laws may forbid the use of certain weapons, items, elemental spells, or status changes. Breaking a law results in punishment by Carding, the receipt of a red or yellow card . Imprisonment happens if a character infringes

16800-470: The main theme of Tactics Advance by Nobuo Uematsu was also used. Sakimoto said that, including new and returning themes, the soundtrack had over sixty songs. As with Tactics Advance , Sakimoto moved away from his typical heavy style to create a more light-hearted score. While he knew what to do, he felt under pressure due to fan expectation. The opening feel of the game was a bright summer environment, which impacted Sakimoto's choice of musical feel. Due to

16960-457: The main theme. The Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Original Soundtrack album was released by DigiCube on February 19, 2003. It spans 74 tracks and has a duration of 2:05:27. The first disk includes every song from the game, as it sounds through the Game Boy Advance hardware. The second disk contains fully orchestrated versions of 32 of the same 42 tracks. A new age arrangement album entitled White: Melodies of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ,

17120-491: 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.

17280-501: The mission. Others require a dispatch character to have a specific job class. In regards to items, this may mean another mission must be done to get an item that would allow you to perform the later mission. The world map is initially empty except for the starting location; it is customized as the player wins location "tokens" after certain missions. These tokens represent different terrains and settlements, such as plains, mountains, deserts, forests, and towns, that can be placed in slots on

17440-523: The modes are optimized for gameplay on Game Boy Advance and the new Game Boy Advance SP respectively, and there's also a TV mode for better color display while playing this game into a television screen by using a Game Boy Player which, must be attached to a GameCube for this to work. In Japan, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 's story was expanded and broadcast in Japanese radio stations. The radio drama entitled Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Radio Edition

17600-627: 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

17760-435: 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

17920-532: 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

18080-414: The party. Luso's party defeats the Neukhia, and feels able to go home after bidding farewell to Clan Gully. Arriving back in the library, Luso encounters the school librarian—Mewt Randell, a major character from Tactics Advance . Believing Luso's tale, Randell allows Luso to go home. Post-credits scenes show Luso enjoying summer break, Cid and Adelle continuing to adventure with Clan Gully, and Hurdy becoming

18240-414: 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

18400-584: 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

18560-524: 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

18720-440: 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

18880-524: 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

19040-491: 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,

19200-415: 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

19360-528: The plot. Some characters befriended Marche, such as the moogles Montblanc and Nono; Ezel Berbier, a Nu Mou troublemaker and self-proclaimed genius; and Shara, a Viera archer who befriends Ritz. There are other characters who antagonize Marche, including Babus Swain, a Nu Mou Royal mage in Mewt's service; Llednar Twem, a mysterious enforcer who replaces the Judges when they become independent of the Palace; and Queen Remedi, who

19520-429: The presentation "top notch" and praised the musical score; these sentiments were echoed by Stella in her review. Famitsu felt that the game's narrative development was "unsatisfactory". Miekle negatively noted a lack of mature story elements compared to the original Tactics or Tactics Advance , while Parkin found the initial premise cliche and noted a lack of substantial story after the opening segment. Juba said that

19680-513: 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

19840-507: The project by Murasawa. Luso's design was based on Kitahara's comparison of the character with Tom Sawyer . When designing Luso, Ito decided to give him a red hat to give him a heroic look, and made yellow a dominant color in his design. Luso was originally red all over, but upon seeing the developing background scenes Ito changed the main color to yellow. The character Adelle was designed based on design documents by Kitahara, with her lithe physique and bow ribbon reflecting her nickname of "Adelle

20000-444: The project from GBA to DS. Production for this version began in 2006, with active development being delayed due to Murasawa's commitment other projects. Like its predecessor, Tactics A2 was designed to be accessible to casual gamers while maintaining "serious narrative themes"; the team designed the game with the large casual gamer base of the DS in mind. In contrast to the mature tone of Final Fantasy XII , Tactics A2 ' s story

20160-718: 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

20320-429: The region: web money cards, posters, character card collections and a set of twenty pin badges. Square and Nintendo released a limited-edition Final Fantasy Tactics Advance -themed Game Boy Advance SP package to commemorate the game and the console's launching in February 2003. A Japanese-exclusive adaptation of the game's story in radio drama form was also released. It was aired from January to March 2003. The series

20480-600: 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

20640-507: 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

20800-615: 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

20960-522: 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

21120-400: 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 ,

21280-474: The setting of Tactics Advance . Chronologically, Tactics A2 is set shortly after the events of Final Fantasy XII . The Ivalice of Tactics A2 is populated by seven races, five of which return from Tactics Advance . The five returning races are the human-like Humes; recurring series mascots Moogles, and Ivalice-specific races the Nou Mu, Viera, and Bangaa. The two new races are the Seeq from Final Fantasy XII , and

21440-495: The silky red hair which she always wanted; Doned can now walk and is no longer sickly; Marche is suddenly athletic and popular; Cid is the highest-ranking official in the nation; and all of them now live in Final Fantasy , the video game the children all love. Eventually Marche succeeds in his quest to return Ivalice to normal. He achieves this by destroying the crystals, or world threads, of Ivalice, defeating Llednar Twem (the manifestation of Mewt's negative emotions), and killing

21600-444: The small rodentlike Moogles , the strong lizard-like Bangaa , the agile rabbit-like Viera , and the magically skilled Nu Mou. Certain jobs are only available to certain races. Along with the abilities obtained with experience, each race has a guardian beast called a "Totema" to represent whom and which can be summoned to whose aid when a member of that race has 10 Judge Points, that is after your clan has defeated that Totema as part of

21760-437: The story "certainly won't keep [the player] enthralled", and Herring found it a suitable backdrop to gameplay despite its low quality. Stella called the plot "generic", while Dutton felt that the light tone of the story was at odds with the gameplay. Tactics A2 was awarded Best Strategy Game for the Nintendo DS by IGN for their 2008 video game awards. At the 2008 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers awards, Tactics A2

21920-704: 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

22080-691: The third. Like Tactics A2 , the Crystal Defenders series uses the true Ivalice as its setting. The Crystal Defenders games were released between 2008 and 2009, with the second and third entries releasing internationally. Music from Tactics A2 was used for the Crystal Defenders series. The Tactics A2 jobs were later used in the mobile title Final Fantasy Tactics S . Tactical role-playing game 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,

22240-464: 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

22400-403: The wholly new Gria. The main protagonist is Luso Clemens, a young troublemaker native to the town of St. Ivalice who is magically transported to the land of Ivalice. Soon after arriving, he is rescued from monsters by Cid, leader of the small Clan Gully and a recurring Final Fantasy character. Luso is helped in his quest to return home by Adelle, a thief who eventually joins the Clan; and Hurdy,

22560-522: 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

22720-482: The world map. Items are rewarded to the player depending on the placement of the tokens. Ivalice also introduces areas called Jagds, lawless slums that Judges avoid. Jagd is a German word which means the hunt . Jagds are the only places in the game in which a character can die; everywhere else, they are protected from death by the Judges and are simply knocked out. Tactics Advance also offers multiplayer capability for two players. Players may cooperate or compete using

22880-422: The world of Ivalice. The fantasy Ivalice is supposedly a reincarnation of Mewt's memories from a Final Fantasy game. Marche is separated from the others, and immediately begins a quest to return home. Even after realizing how much better his life is in the new Ivalice, he believes that none of it is real and is even more determined to return to his home when he realizes that everyone in town has been dragged into

23040-463: Was also rated the 67th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power 's Top 200 Games list. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was also nominated for NAVGTR Award for Strategy Game of The Year Category, but lost to Command & Conquer: Generals for Windows 9x compatible-PC. Reviewers were pleased with graphics and visuals of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ; GameSpot added that

23200-496: 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

23360-479: Was among those nominated in the "Game Strategy" category. RPGFan named the game "Strategy RPG of the Year: Handheld" during their "Games of 2008" feature ahead of Yggdra Union . The artwork and character jobs of Tactics A2 were reused by Square Enix for Crystal Defenders , a series of titles released principally for mobile and covering turn-based strategy for its first two entries and tower defense for

23520-584: Was broadcast in four radio stations within Japan from early January to late March 2003. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was released in 2003 in Japan on February 14, North America on September 8, Australia on September 19, and in the United Kingdom on October 24. The music in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was primarily composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto , with additional music contributed by Kaori Ohkoshi and Ayako Saso; Nobuo Uematsu provided

23680-414: Was described as "light adventure" similar to Tactics Advance . The first story draft was much darker, with Kitahara setting the entire story in Ivalice. Luso was to have been living a carefree life in his village, with the story starting after an attack on the village left everyone but Luso dead. The team decided against this approach, going for the lighter tone of the final game. The sense of fun intended by

23840-670: 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

24000-402: Was done by Alexander O. Smith and Joseph Reeder, who had worked on Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story . It received generally positive reviews, and went on to sell 670,000 units worldwide. Elements from the game were later used in mobile titles set in Ivalice. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift is a tactical role-playing game in which players take control of a party from

24160-561: 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 Advance Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

24320-530: 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)

24480-570: 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

24640-479: 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 )

24800-492: Was re-released for the Nintendo Wii U Virtual Console in 2016; on January 28 in Europe, Australia, and North America and on March 30 in Japan. In Tactics Advance , turn-based tactical battles take place on a three-dimensional isometric field. The player takes the role of Marche, a clan leader; he must organize the clan's members and advance their status through missions that are offered in pubs. The player competes against

24960-419: Was released for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2003. The team also wanted to add new features, as the short development time of the original Tactics Advance prevented their inclusion. The team initially planned to develop the game for the GBA, cutting down on development time, and started producing a version for the system. After the Nintendo DS was launched to worldwide commercial success, Square Enix shifted

25120-491: Was released for the Nintendo DS as part of the Ivalice Alliance series, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift . While the story focuses on different characters than Advance , several characters from the game appear in cameo roles, such as Montblanc and Mewt. Montblanc also appears in Final Fantasy XII as the leader of Clan Centurio. To commemorate the release of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance in Japan, several pieces of merchandise were introduced exclusive for

25280-449: 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)

25440-434: Was released in North America on June 24, and in Europe on June 27. During its first week on sale, Tactics A2 reached first place in gaming charts, selling over 142,000 units; these sales put it level with debut sales of War of the Lions , and the only title that week to sell over 100,000 units. The following week, the game dropped to third place with further sales of 51,000, bringing total sales to 193,000 units. As of 2009,

25600-703: Was suggested by Kato. While the rest of the game's artwork was dominated by Ito, the logo design was done by Yoshida, who had previously worked on Tactics and XII . Yoshida's design combined the figure of a Judge with an open book. The music for Tactics A2 was composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto , who previously worked on Tactics Advance . Sakimoto also produced the soundtrack, in addition to arrangements. Additional arrangements were done by Masaharu Iwata , Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Kimihiro Abe and Noriyuki Kamikura of Sakimoto's music studio Basiscape. The soundtrack included themes from Tactics and Final Fantasy XII by Sakimoto, Kaneda, Kaori Ohkoshi and Ayako Sasou. An arranged version of

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