Tactics Ogre VS Final Fantasy Tactics detailed comparison.
First of all I feel that I am as qualified as anyone to compare the two as i have spent well over 100 hours on both games if you count the originals.
Tactics ogre was originally released in 1995 for the SNES
At the time of it's release there was really nothing else like it. Granted fire emblem had a similar game style but tactics ogre added so many features. For example height affecting game-play (as well as the type ground you are standing on), multiple story-lines, an extensive class and ability selection, it was probably the most ambitious modification to the TBS genre and amazingly it turned out extremely well. The storyline was excellent, the strategy involved in the game-play was unparalleled and the end result was the most complex and immersive tbs ever released which could be enjoyed by both moderate and hardcore gamers. It did however have a few annoyances.
Final fantasy tactics was released three years later in 1998. The game-play was similar but it had many significant changes. The most noticeable was of course the graphical improvement to 3d environments. Another improvement was that it took 4 turns after a unit dies for it to turn to Christal form (die for good). In the original tactics ogre, unless you had a rare item equipped, once the unit died it would be gone forever which resulted in tediously loading when a unit died that you didn't want to lose. Even so, in final fantasy tactics you would no doubt have to restart several battles on your first play-through but the delayed death as well as resurrection/phoenix downs left more room for error. Final fantasy tactics also had a skill system with hundreds of abilities to learn which enabled a much more in depth character customization as well as many more classes. This also allowed an infinite amount of possibilities with regard to party strategy. In both games however, you are more likely the stick with the hero characters and their abilities which you would probably augment with recruited characters with specialized classes. You wouldn't use a dark night as a chemist in FFT (inside joke) just like you wouldn't use give Canopus a staff in TO. One significant feature of final fantasy tactics was the story and music which is probably about equal in awesomeness to tactics ogre in my opinion.
While final fantasy tactics was an exceptional release, it took advantage of the great game-play that was originally introduced in tactics ogre. It is impossible to say that one was conclusively better than the other, both were excellent stand alone games and had their own strengths and annoyances. Anyone who says that one is better than another is simply voicing their personal opinion. I didn't play tactics ogre until after I had beat final fantasy tactics, and i still found it very enjoyable which just goes to show that this game was by no means out-dated. The re-playability of both games is superb, there are so many reasons to go back and play through the whole story all over again in both games.
Now as for the PSP versions of these games, the new tactics ogre release improvements put the final fantasy tactics improvements to shame. Playing FFT on psp felt like playing the same game again but with the sharp edges sanded out. Playing the new TO release felt like playing a completely different game. The only thing important to me is the end result. The CHARIOT system was another ambitious innovation which works surprisingly well in tactics ogre. The camera angle also erased a well known problem. All and all I think we should all be grateful that square did such an excellent job with this new release and hopefully more players will fall in love with this amazing game. Now if you'll excuse me Duke Ronway has asked to see me and I would hate to keep him waiting.