Tactics Ogre: TKoL fixes some of the major flaws from LUCT, making the entire experience much better.
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It's nice to see more genres representing the Game Boy Advance, not to mention quality games within the genre. Strategy games were almost non-existent on the Game Boy Color (Warlocked! comes to mind), but it's a miracle to see more of them appearing on the 32-bit wonder. First gamers were given the excellent Advance Wars, the so-so Zone of Enders: Fist of Mars, and now strategy fans are blessed with Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis...that is, if you were lucky enough to find it.
TKoL is a side story which takes place 23 years before the events of Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (Episode VI) for the Nintendo 64 and Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (Episode VII) for the PlayStation. You are Alphonse Loeher, and as a member of the Order of the Sacred Flame, your mission is to investigate a strange occurrence on the island of Ovis. Ogre Battle vets would be interested in knowing that the main character is from Lodis, which usually is the series' main enemy.
When players begin the game for the first time, they will immediately notice how much more colourful TKoL is compared to the PSX Tactics Ogre. Characters animate as much as they did in TO--nothing more, nothing less. Spell effects are as simple as before, but one improvement is that they're slightly quicker than in TO. Overall, the graphics are very nice--not Golden Sun nice, but good enough. Sound isn't anything special; there isn't anything particularly noteworthy about TKoL's soundtrack, except for the fact that certain trademark themes, such as the classic overworld theme, are missing.
Tactics Ogre for the PlayStation was a great strategy game overall, but it wasn't without its major flaws. The biggest flaw in TO was the very tedious Training mode, and the fact that it was a necessity. There was a big difference between a Lv. 1 soldier and a Lv. 4 soldier, so making sure your characters were at equal levels all the time was a test in one's patience. It also didn't help that new recruits always began at level 1. When Atlus claimed that TO had 100 hours of gameplay, that wasn't advertising BS. Thankfully, TKoL is a much more playable game; every flaw in TO was fixed in TKoL. You can still train your units, but it isn't nearly as necessary; a party of level 4 units won't slaughter a party of level 1 units with ease anymore. This might sound bad to the hardcore players, but remember how bad it was to train every single unit in TO? Recruiting new units is almost painless now, thanks to the ability to hire units at the same level as your current characters. Doing so, however, requires 20% of the initial price per level. Training isn't necessary anymore, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't train every once in a while. Besides, you can do more than level up in Training (which I'll explain later).
The meat of the gameplay--the battle system--is improved as well. First of all, Wait Time (the period of time before a unit could take its turn) was kicked to the curb. Now, units can take their turn in any order. You move your units first, and then the CPU moves its units; repeat until one side is wiped out. Weight is still a factor, only this time it affects a unit's movement rating. Naturally, the more equipment you have on, the less spaces that unit can move. Units still come with an innate element (Wind, Earth, Fire, Water, Bane, Virtue), and terrain/weather are still factors in a unit's effectiveness on the battlefield. Quest have made the battle system more complex by adding two new factors: a Support/Fear meter, and Biorhythms. The Support/Fear meter is a colourful bar that ranges from -2 to +2. A lower number means that a unit is Frightened (lower performance in combat), while a higher number means that a unit is Supported (better performance). A Biorhythm is basically a unit's invisible Luck rating. You can get an idea of a unit's biorhythm by inspecting his/her name (press Select in the unit's status screen). Low biorhythm indicates a lower hit rate and damage, while high biorhythms indicate a better hit rate/damage.
The biggest change in gameplay is the addition of Emblems. Emblems add a twist to class changing, since you need them in order to change to the more advanced classes. Some Emblems give you special stat bonuses or other abilities. Emblems can only be obtained by meeting specific requirements during battles; almost anything you do will result in a new Emblem, but quite a few of them require some thought, trial & error, or luck. One emblem, for example, requires that you attack an enemy from either the front or from the sides, but not from behind, risking a counterattack. Another emblem, however, must be acquired by killing an enemy in one blow--something that isn't easy to do. Fortunately, the Training mode allows you to win Emblems, so training is worth the time invested. The key to getting all 32 Emblems is to experiment...
TKoL offers some replay value outside of the branching storylines associated with Ogre Battle games. TKoL offers three modes--Quest, Vs., and Exchange. Quest mode is a cool feature that allows you to win items not found in the main game. Throughout the game, you will come across special books, which speak of a secret treasure. In Quest mode, you may attempt to find these treasures, but only if you have a sufficient amount of cash. You can set a number of turns in which to complete the quest; the lower the number, the better the rewards. Vs. mode is self-explanatory--you and a friend can duke it out in a 5-on-5 battle (each player must have a cartridge). Items are awarded to the winner of each battle. Exchange mode allows you and a friend to trade items, and even units.
So, TKoL sounds like it's a big improvement over Tactics Ogre, and even Final Fantasy Tactics (depends on what you like in your strategy/RPGs). The question begs to be asked: what's wrong with the game? First, TKoL lacks the option to recap on recent events, and also character backgrounds. You're left to memorize everything that happens, and everyone who is introduced. This is strange, since every other Ogre Battle game beyond the first had this feature. Second, the majority of the battles are easy...perhaps Quest should have taken a page from Hoshigami and give the enemy units superior equipment. The AI isn't really the problem (although it's a step below TO's)...it's the fact that most enemy units don't deal a lot of damage. The CPU doesn't have much of an advantage over your units, which usually isn't the case in most strategy games (in Hoshigami's case, maybe too much of an advantage). Battles are also made easy by the ability to save your progress at anytime during a battle, but that's a necessary evil, especially on a handheld game. TO is known for its high difficulty, but TKoL will be known for everything but that.
Regardless, TKoL is worth the cash, and it's worth the trouble of finding it (every Ogre Battle game is shipped in limited quantities). It's not a game that you'll stop playing after playing through it once; it has that Final Fantasy Tactics addictiveness to it, thanks to the Emblems and the branching storylines. Plus, TKoL has the multiplayer modes that should be a standard in all strategy games. Furthermore, it's a new game in an often-neglected genre. Advance Wars gamers looking to play this game should be warned that there's a lot more to digest. Die-hard Ogre Battle fans already know what to expect, and won't be disappointed. Here's hoping that Final Fantasy Tactics for the GBA will capitalize on what The Knight of Lodis does right for future strategy games.