- Timeless classic remastered with enhanced visuals
- Exceptional voice acting and engaging story
- Valuable quality of life improvements
- Overpriced and lazy remaster
- Blurry, outdated graphics and poor camera
- Missing 'War of the Lions' content
Emotions
Players are highly satisfied with the game's overall quality, particularly the faithful remastering, updated graphics, and significant quality-of-life improvements. The inclusion of full voice acting, especially the English and Japanese options, is frequently praised for enhancing immersion and the story. Many appreciate the game's availability on PC and its smooth performance, often noting the option to play both the classic and enhanced versions.
Disappointment stems primarily from the perceived high price for what some consider a 'lazy port' with insufficient new content and missing features from the War of the Lions (PSP) version, such as specific classes and multiplayer. Issues like poor optimization, blurry visuals, and the absence of certain language localizations (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese-Brazil) also contribute to negative feelings. Some players are also let down by changes to the UI, voice acting quality, and the inclusion of Denuvo DRM.
Excitement is driven by the long-awaited PC release of a beloved classic, allowing players to revisit a masterpiece with modern enhancements. The high quality of the remaster, including new visuals and voice acting, generates enthusiasm for replaying the game and experiencing its deep story and tactical gameplay. Many express anticipation for future content, mods, or even sequels within the Tactics series.
Players experience frustration due to clunky UI, unintuitive controls (especially mouse and keyboard), and limitations with the camera. Performance issues like frame drops and sluggish fast-forward mechanics are also common complaints. The absence of expected quality-of-life features, missing content from previous versions, and the perceived high price for an 'archaic' game design further contribute to frustration.
Nostalgia is a powerful emotion, with many players revisiting a cherished childhood classic. The game evokes strong memories of playing the original PS1 version, appreciating its enduring qualities, and reliving past experiences. While some changes are noted, the core experience largely resonates with fond recollections, making it a trip down memory lane for long-time fans.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 81% · Negative 19%. Score: 19 / 100
Positives:
- Players overwhelmingly praise the game as a timeless masterpiece and one of the best tactical RPGs ever made. The remaster is celebrated for faithfully preserving the original's essence while enhancing it for modern platforms, evoking strong nostalgia for long-time fans.
- The updated graphics, UI, and overall presentation are highly appreciated. Players note that the visuals remain true to the original art style while offering a cleaner, crisper, and more modern look, significantly improving the user experience.
- The newly added full voice acting is a major highlight, with many players calling it top-notch and immersive. It significantly enhances the storytelling and character depth, making the narrative more engaging and impactful.
- Numerous quality of life (QoL) changes, such as improved save systems, battle fast-forward, and the ability to avoid random encounters, are highly valued. These enhancements streamline gameplay and make the experience more fluid and accessible for both new and returning players.
- The game's story is consistently lauded as fantastic, profound, and comparable to epic dramas like Game of Thrones. The rich world of Ivalice, with its political intrigue and compelling characters, continues to captivate players.
Negatives:
- Many players feel the game is severely overpriced for the minimal improvements and content offered. It's frequently described as a 'lazy port' or 'cash grab' that relies heavily on nostalgia without delivering a truly enhanced experience.
- The game's visuals are a major point of contention, with many players complaining about a pervasive blurry or grainy filter that cannot be disabled. Sprites and character portraits are described as looking smeared and pixelated, leading to an overall dated and visually uncomfortable experience.
- Players consistently report frustrating camera controls, including locked angles, lack of free movement, and constant refocusing during combat. The overall control scheme, especially for mouse and keyboard, is described as unintuitive and worse than previous versions, significantly hindering gameplay.
- Several players expressed disappointment over the absence of various language localizations, including Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish, especially since some of these were present in previous versions of the game.
- Players are critical of various changes from the original game, including alterations to names, dialogue, and story beats, which are perceived as unnecessary and inferior. The new UI and menu navigation are also frequently cited as downgrades from the original's simplicity and charm.
Gameplay:
- Players can choose between an 'Enhanced' version with updated graphics, voice acting, and quality-of-life improvements, or a 'Classic' version that faithfully recreates the original PS1 experience. This allows purists to enjoy the game as it was originally released.
- Combat is turn-based and grid-based, drawing heavy inspiration from classic tactical RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. It emphasizes strategic positioning and understanding game mechanics, which can be challenging for newcomers.
- Zodiac compatibility is a crucial strategic element, affecting hit rates, damage, healing, and status effect success. This system adds depth to character interactions and combat planning, with compatibility depending on character signs and genders.
- While the game recommends using a gamepad, it also offers good compatibility with mouse and keyboard controls. Some players appreciated the ability to play primarily with a mouse.
- The auto-battle AI is not as effective as manual control, especially for complex strategic decisions, buffs/debuffs, and avoiding danger. Players also noted a lack of information about enemy composition before some battles.
Performance:
- Many players report the game runs flawlessly on various hardware, including Steam Deck and older systems, with solid frame rates and no significant bugs or crashes. Performance is generally smooth, with some minor exceptions.
- Some players experienced poor framerates, particularly in battles, until VSync was disabled. Battles appear to be locked at a lower FPS (around 26 FPS) for some users, while menus run at 60 FPS.
- The game runs on Linux, but players need to use specific Proton versions like Proton Hotfix or 10.0-2 (beta) to ensure proper functionality.
- A few players noted minor issues such as screen flickering, microstutter in some FMVs, and occasional visual glitches, though these are generally not distracting.
- The game is capable of running on systems with integrated graphics, such as Intel Iris Xe, indicating good optimization for lower-end hardware.
Recommendations:
- While many returning players appreciate the chance to revisit a beloved classic, some veterans suggest sticking to older versions (like PSP's War of the Lions or emulated PS1) due to perceived lack of significant enhancements or issues with the remaster. Others still highly recommend it for nostalgia and the convenience of a modern platform.
- Many players strongly recommend this game, especially to newcomers who have never experienced it before. They emphasize its engaging story, satisfying combat, and overall quality as a classic RPG experience.
- The game is consistently praised as a top-tier tactical RPG, often compared favorably to other genre staples like Tactics Ogre and Fire Emblem. Its strategic depth, character progression, and engaging narrative are highlighted as core strengths.
- A significant portion of the feedback advises potential buyers to wait for a sale, particularly if they are not die-hard fans or have played previous versions. The current full price is often cited as a deterrent, with some regretting their full-price purchase.
- Some players recommend buying the game to show support for the franchise, hoping it will encourage Square Enix to develop a sequel or more games in the Final Fantasy Tactics series.
Miscellaneous:
- Players, especially long-time fans of the Final Fantasy Tactics series, express a strong desire for more games in the tactics genre, including sequels, prequels, or new entries in the Ivalice universe. Many hope the success of this release will encourage Square Enix to invest further in the genre.
- Many players have a deep nostalgic connection to the original game, often citing it as a childhood favorite or a formative gaming experience. This emotional attachment drives their purchase decisions and willingness to overlook some perceived flaws in the remaster.
- There's significant anticipation for modding support to enhance the game, particularly to restore missing content from the War of the Lions version, improve visuals, or add new features. Players also express willingness to purchase DLC for additional jobs, characters, or content.
- The original game is recognized as a nearly 30-year-old classic that set a high bar for tactical RPGs. Players are surprised and pleased to see it remastered after so many years, highlighting its enduring legacy.
- Players express mixed feelings about Square Enix, with some praising them for bringing the game to PC and listening to fans, while others criticize the company for past disappointments and suggest a return to their RPG roots.
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