The most definitive, accessible version of Tactics Ogre to date, and a brilliant tactical RPG in its own right.
Taking place some time after Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen, Let Us Cling Together tells the story of a willing young greenhorn from the Valerian Isles; Denam Patel (or whatever name you want to call him) who, along with his older sister Catuia and his hotheaded childhood friend Vyce, are caught up in a web of political intrigue involving three warring city-states that threatens to bring a violent end to a stable period of fragile peace. Before starting a game, you'll be asked five questions according to the enmities of the mystical Tarot Cards that will determine the growth of your character. From a gameplay standpoint, Tactics Ogre is all about choices. And if you didn't already know by now, the decisions you make can lead to favorable outcomes and dire consequences. The story will proceed apace regardless of the path you choose to take, and Let Us Cling Together offers the player numerous opportunities through dialogue and combat to forge unlikely alliances, destroy close friendships and pen one of several possible endings.
The tactical combat system of Let Us Cling Together is about as challenging and exciting as it gets---even more so with the PSP release. You are able to employ the services of 50 Units in your party; nearly double the amount of the original Super Famicom game. As many as 12 units can be deployed in the field, elevating battles to an even bigger scale than its forebearer. Units can be retrofitted with a variety of different skills and abilities based on their class, placing a deeper emphasis on individual flexibility. For example, a Mage can specialize exclusively upon Earth magic, a Rune Knight can be made to handle two-handed Swords and healing powers, and so forth. Furthermore, during the course of the game, the player can recruit willing allies either by fulfilling specific story conditions or hiring them from the Guild. When you hire sellswords from the Guild, the game eliminates the drudgery of tedious character cultivation by automatically determining their individual levels based on the rank of the Class you wish them to possess. For instance, if you have a Level 7 Knight and hire a new Unit from the Guild to become a Knight, he or she will, in fact, be at Level 7 and stand ready for use immediately in the front line when the situation calls for it. The only thing the player need worry about is cultivating the class---not the character. This significantly eases the steep difficulty curve for potential newcomers as well as lighten the precarious gameplay load burdening other similar games, providing a greater accessibility than the original Super Famicom release.
Even with these blessings firmly in place, Let Us Cling Together is by no means a walk in the park. There will be times when skirmishes against the Bakram and the Galgastani become an engrossingly difficult affair-something that will most likely see many of your important characters die brutal deaths at the hands of brilliant, AI-controlled tacticians. Unfortunately, your AI-controlled allies seem to welcome the idea of a suicide assault---as more often than not, they will precariously charge headlong into the thick of a hopeless fight and get themselves killed despite the best intentions of their AI setup. Conversely, deaths of important AI characters will change the course of the story as well as relationships with specific people in the game.
But don't fret – all is not lost. Let Us Cling Together offers these crucial tools at your disposal---the Chariot and World Tarot Cards. The Chariot Card is a "rewind" button that will prove to be a trusted friend when you need it the most, allowing the player to retrace 50 turns during combat with little to no penalties. The World Tarot card is also, in effect, a "rewind" button for when you want to revisit earlier story sequences and respond differently during dialogue branches. As stated earlier, the choice of response that you're faced with will have an adverse effect on character relations and the flow of the story. The Warren Report, an invaluable resource that records character dossiers, events and other information, will keep track of your story progress and give you insight into the consequences of the decisions you've made. But, if you've ever regretted making a decision that you know you shouldn't have made, of if you don't fancy making an enemy out of a trusted friend, the World Tarot card is your "do over" in going back to a specific point in time and making things right (or wrong if you so prefer). Both the World and Chariot Cards will prove to be a most welcome optional choice that will cater towards casual players; all the while sacrificing none of the antiquated challenge precedents that please hardcore players.
Visually, Let Us Cling Together harkens back to its 16-bit yore by reusing many of the game's original sprites and graphics---updating them slightly with new, adjustable camera angles (including a top-down view similar to Shining Force). While it's certainly not bad by any means, much of it looks rather outdated compared to today's standards and doesn't really compliment the stunningly beautiful character portraits or its brilliantly updated musical score. Speaking of the latter, the music by Basiscape (with original composers Masaharu Iwata and Hitoshi Sakimoto) is absolutely gorgeous----updating the Super Famicom's song tracks with stunning clarity, a rousing gravitas, and several songs from Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen thrown in for good measure. The game's translation has also been notably improved over the lackluster, asinine PlayStation localization effort handled by Atlus with lighter profanities and drubs of pleasant old English.
Most tactical-RPGs aren't typically designed with every gamer in mind due to their increased difficulty, steep learning curve and complex gameplay system. Yet, Let Us Cling Together extends a good-natured invitation to greenhorns of the genre and welcomes them with open arms while keeping most of its original, challenging gameplay intact for seasoned professionals. Whether you've already experienced the Super Famicom or PSX releases, or are just now getting into the swing of things, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is by far the most definitive, accessible version of Tactics Ogre in existence today.