Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions - T

Deep, rich, and challenging role-playing game.

Publisher: Square Enix USA Inc Category/Genre: Video Games - Strategy Platform: PSP Price: $30.99 Online Enabled: Yes Graphics: Medium: Colorful and clear -- which is key for a tactics. Playability: Hard: Very complicated and challenging. Reading Level: Heavy Release Date: 10/10/2007 ESRB Rating: T for Blood, drug reference, fantasy violence, mild suggestive themes

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that combat is a crucial component of this game, but that it's turn-based so that while you plan it, you don't directly participate in it. The battle animations are not overly graphic. The game offers a compelling fantasy world with loads of depth and replayability. The characters are squat, noseless, and very ... cute.

Families can talk about whether playing a medieval fantasy game sparks interest or questions about real medieval history. How do you feel about the "might makes right" nature of this kind of game? How did you solve particular problems and difficult missions in the game? Also, the characters are cute and child-like -- how do their looks affect your response to the game?

Rate It!

Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Andrew Bub

The Final Fantasy series of video games is very popular, but only older fans remember the game's brief foray into the smaller "tactics" genre. Now, new fans can explore the "tactics" version with FINAL FANTASY: THE WAR OF THE LIONS. It's the original 10-year old game with new stuff added, everything updated, and the gameplay intact -- now presented in a portable form for the Sony PSP handheld. For those new to the genre, a tactics game, particularly one like this one with role-playing elements, demands a lot of strategic brain power. You must read a lot, constantly fiddle with your characters' stats and equipment, and pay close attention to the weaknesses of your enemy.

The game is beautiful, with lovingly rendered battlefields and well-defined characters. The turn-based combat found in War of the Lions is tactical war-gaming at its best. The game offers challenging battle after challenging battle. This is the type of game where party composition and how characters are moved and positioned matters above all else. Side attacks, back attacks, making extra sure to maximize the power of a certain spell -- all these matter a great deal, and these battles and your progress in the epic story hinge on learning them.

The only problems with this game are the substandard manual and the shallow and tedious tutorial. It's almost like the designers figured that only fans of the 1998 version were going to buy this game so they didn't really need to spend much time explaining how to play it. Players must be willing to learn mostly by trial and error. Fortunately, for those willing to put in the time to learn the complexities, the game rewards the players' efforts with a deep, rich, and challenging game.

If you like this kind of game, try Final Fantasy XII (the newest in the Final Fantasy series) and J'eanne D'Arc, one of the best tactical games of 2007, also for the PSP.

Rate It!

Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content
Violence Bloody effects are very rare and look more like dots than blood.
Language Terms like "whoreson" and "bastard" can be heard.
Message
	Social Behavior
	Commercialism Part of a series of video games.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco There's an offhand reference to "opium smuggling" but that's hard to find in this long game. It's not a theme.
	Educational Value Requires planning and studying.