Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 23

23: Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1/PSP)
Developer: Square(Enix)
Year: 1998

Final Fantasy Tactics came to me during a strange point in my life. Well, let me start at the start:

When I got a Playstation, I was made hungry for Final Fantasy games, having played the shit out of 7 and 8 on PC (bad ports, but the versions I love). I’d read great things about Tactics and, as such, rented the game. And I hated it. I don’t know why, exactly. It wasn’t the ingenious class system, since Final Fantasy V’s gameplay featured that. It was probably the lengthy, turn-based battles, but – I mean, come on -Final Fantasy IV and V had those, just not on a grid surface. I don’t know what it was, exactly, but I never really got into it and, in the end, took it back without a second thought.

The rarity of the game (especially with a black bar on the side instead of a green “Greatest Hits” version) made me kinda want to pick it up whenever I could find it, but it wasn’t enough to entice me to actually drop money on it. I mean, I kinda wanted to give it another go as years went by, but not so much that I ever actively sought after it, is what I’m saying.

Flash forward to two years ago. I was saving a bunch of money to start a new life in L.A. with the woman I – at the time – loved the shit out of. Well, as all good things in my life end up, that became a dead end (in a manner of speaking) and then I had a ton of money I was sitting on and nothing to do with it. In my rich-ass depression I picked up a PSP and Crisis Core (already featured on this list). But I burned through that game in a matter of days since I was still as eager as ever to devour anything Final Fantasy VII related, regardless of its quality (turns out CC was great). So, in a used game store I found Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. You can judge me for getting this great game on the PSP all you want, but just know that I got it and loved it at all.

Broken-hearted, defeated, and suddenly without direction, Ramza’s world of Ivalice called to me like a dream. Political intrigue, backstab after backstab, curious characters with engaging backgrounds, and a country at war with itself in a fashion most Shakespearean met me out of the gate as I burned over 80 hours into the main game, with side-quests aplenty to follow (especially considering the PSP’s version had bonus content not found in the original… plus: Cloud Strife?! More FFVII BS to devour!). I had fashioned a perfect fighting team and created a party unparalleled in the world. Challenge after challenge was met as I raced through the story, always yearning for the next piece of the puzzle. It was a breath of fresh air, a welcome reminder that – in my youth as a gamer – I used to be retarded and hated things that were great.

All in all, Final Fantasy Tactics kinda saved my life, in a way. Unable to put the damn thing down (to the point of walking around in stores while playing it, playing it while getting my haircut, and – yes – doing a few rounds while driving home on I-80… I’m ashamed of it, but I didn’t die, so…), FFT’s cute-but-imposing sprite graphics, intense characters, bewilderingly fantastic score, and seemingly endless modes of customization has left me wanting. Tactics Advance, while fun, doesn’t do this game’s title justice by any means, leaving me now dying for any kind of sequel. But, as it stands now, FFT is a game that will be remembered as a slight milestone for me as a gamer, and an embarrassing one at that: it was the first time a video game was used to quell an angry heart. Because of that bitch, though, I found a different love entirely.*

Classic Moment:
So getting Construct 8 on your team made the game way too easy, but fuck all if I cared. I had previously struggled my ass off to finish bosses, acquire better items, and beat the tar out of jerks trying to rain on my parade. Then the option of getting a robot comes along, promising to make my experience easier (Note: Not easy. Easier. There is a difference)? Like I’m going to turn THAT down. From that point on, Construct 8 never left my party, always blasting the fuck out of jackass enemies across the screen. Sure he’s kind off a cheap mother of a character to constantly utilize, but I only really pulled him off the bench when I got him and then every so often, when I couldn’t beat a boss after a number of tries. So, to you, Construct 8… a toast!

*despite the fact that i found a “different love entirely” it should be noted that because of that chick i have never been able to make any kind of meaningful connection based on trust ever since. stupid woman.

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Added April 3, 2017
I have said this a ton in my archive project but, man, put this shit on the Switch!
I should replay this game but I only have it on PSP and that isn’t as appealing as it should be, anymore.