More than a decade past it's release, FFT still shines as an example of an SRPG that isn't about mindless overleveling.

User Rating: 8 | Final Fantasy Tactics (PSOne Books) PS
Fact: in the vast majority of SRPGs (hello Nippon Ichi games) and even RPGs, the simple expedient of grinding for more exp - overleveling - is sufficient to carry the day. Combined with misguided expectations from other genres, especially the more instant-gratification ones like First Person Shooters, many gamers nowadays expect to be able to pick up any RPG and, after a few "extra battles" to "raise party levels", expect to cruise through the entire game.

FFT is one of the rare few games where having a huge peni-- er, sword, isn't everything. With a satisfyingly diverse array of disabling conditions ranging from being petrified or put to sleep to being paralyzed or turned into a frog, this is one game where simply fielding a party of beefy knights will not automatically win you every battle. Best of all, the AI is actually smart enough to take advantage of all this and give you a decent challenge. No more "I grinded an extra 2 hours and that let me sail through everything in 2 days, so much for that $60" kind of lameass gameplay you've come to expect from most other games.

I'll keep it short and brief. Everything else has been said for this game: it's old-school, it's sprite-based, the music is pretty average-decent, the story is somewhat convoluted no thanks to some unfortunately poor translation, but the gameplay shines through everything else.

Teleporting ninja who throws not just shuriken but nearly any other weapon in the game for massive damage? Check. Dancer whose skills have the chance to affect all enemies on the map and drain them of their very life? Check. Engineer with long-range attack who can snipe opponents' feet out from under them, rendering them unable to move? Check. Dastardly preacher type who can drone on and on until the enemy falls asleep? Check? Invisible sneaky geomancer whose attacks use the very nature of the terrain tiles under you to deliver damage at range while simultaneously inflicting debilitating effects? Check. The ability to train and capture monsters to fight for you, whose skills range anywhere from deleveling units to turning them to stone? Check. Dashing thief type who gets faster with every hit he takes, and uses that insane speed to quickly strip enemies naked of their gear? Check.

Of course, FFT is flexible enough (and sadly, easy enough) to accommodate the vast majority of gamers unimaginable enough to think that damage is everything and that Cidolfas Orlandu is god (I'll see your Holy Swordsman and raise with a Math Skilling character who can, in one single turn, paralyze or otherwise disable nearly every single unit on the map, regardless of range - and at no mp cost or charge time).

It's a greatly fun game, even after 10+ replays over the years - especially with the mods hacked for it (google Hacktics) - but I have to admit it could be better. Larger battles, for one - many quickly devolve into several-character pileups or are easily won through simple application of brute force rather than rewarding the player who wins through unconventional tactics.

However, I'm taking this opportunity to comment on the review by Kariana on GameFAQs. The idiot gives the game a 3 (nigh unplayable, wtf). His complaints? The game isn't "tactical enough" because you only get to deploy a handful of units. Well, yeah, but show me another other SRPG with more than twice the number of units deployed that is actually as deep? Kartia? Nope, pure mindless overleveling there. Nippon Ichi games? Haha, you're kidding, right? Those games are practically synonymous with "more levels = win".

I mean, with people giving the game 8s, 9s, 10s left and right, it's not "fashionable" to "go against the grain" and "give it a low score because I'm unique" - the game gets solid scores from a spectrum of different players BECAUSE it's a good game. Only a moron gives a good game low scores, and this is only emphasised by the fact that Kariana is the only person to give it a score below 7! That alone should be a huge "WTF is that idiot smoking?".

Finally, Kariana complains that long charge times cause the spell to miss because the target managed to move out of the range in the meantime. HELLO? Put it to sleep? Surround it? Pin it down with Don't Move? Prevent it from moving in time by draining it's CT via Mediator's Persuade? Like, USE YOUR BRAIN? There's a reason high end / high damage skills take long to cast. If they cast instantly there'd be no reason to use other skills at all. Just spam summon bahamut all day and sit back with a cigar. No, you idiot, FFT isn't that kind of game. Just because you suck at a game is no reason to give it a low score. Similarly, just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's bad. For example, I loathe shooting games, because I find them mindless repetitive and online multiplay inhabited mostly by stupid prepubescent basement dwellers who's entire vocabulary is composed of swear words. But that doesn't mean I can say that Half Life is a **** game. I might not like the game, but it is still a good game regardless of what I think of it.

Worst of all were the idiots recommending that review, until it got a star. Yeah, go star the brave person who dared post a critical review of a popular game! Except, no, in this case the star isn't merited at all - the review is built on hypocrisy and lies.

Ignore what stupid people tell you, go buy FFT. It's a great game, and you'll actually find something to do other than "just get everyone some more levels".