Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

[Shard]

For the moment, I'm keeping Perversion's chair warm.

After yesterday's exciting reveal in Famitsu of Square Enix's plans to remake the original Tactics Ogre for the PSP, Square Enix, Inc. (the publisher's North American arm) has confirmed that the game will in fact also get a U.S. release.

As reported yesterday, this Tactics Ogre remake is being spearheaded by all the key figures of the original Tactics Ogre team, including Hiroshi Minagawa (director), Akihiko Yoshida (character design), Yasumi Matsuno (game design), and Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata (composers). This is more or less the same group of creators who went on to make other classics like Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story.

While the remake's official Japanese title is Tactics Ogre: The Wheel of Fortune, the U.S. version is maintaining the subtitle of the original U.S. release, "Let Us Cling Together," probably because "Wheel of Fortune" brings to mind Pat Sajak. "Let Us Cling Together" is, however, still less clunky than the U.S. subtitle for Ogre Battle 64, which was "Person of Lordly Caliber."

Otherwise, not much new info was revealed in the U.S. announcement: The remake will feature revamped 3D battlefields (while maintaining a 16-bit look), new (unspecified) characters, new "Battle Skill" abilities to add even more depth to character customization, and a rearranged soundtrack with 15 new compositions. There's still no official release date, though, as the press release only promises "the timing of the release will be announced at a future date."

If it is what it purports to be, Square Enix will have gotten me twice, between this and Parasite Eve.

[Karr Lord of Chaos]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

im soooo buying this!

all we need is a remake of ff7 and the world will have true peace.

[Magus]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

No, all we need is for this team to go on making great games together. This is the FFT and Vagrant Story team, back together.

Yasumi Matsuno was AWOL for the past five years. To see him back with Square is kind of a big surprise.

[Perversion]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

I should have put on a condom before I clicked the link from the main Pav page, as my work pants are now soiled.

[Hrafn]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

Though TO was never as good as its spiritual successor, this is still likely to be a buy for me. Also, this was the final nail in the coffin: the PSP now claims total dominion over the SRPG genre for all time. It already had, of course, but now it can't be disputed. Just try to dispute it, and you will fail.

And although it is from Squeenix, there's no need to doubt the game's quality in this case. Yes, they lost the ability to make great original games about 9 or 10 years ago. But they have consistently proven adept at making superior versions of titles from their good years. Most of them were from the Square side, but this shouldn't end up being any different. Presumably they had these guys in for the FFT redo a couple years back (since both games had largely the same people invovled originally), and aside from some minor sound and slowdown quibbles (and a couple of odd feature omissions), that game was improved in virtually every conceivable way.

[Perversion]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

Of course, I will buy this. I never had a PS1, so I never played the original, but I wonder how it holds up, considering this was probably one of the first (if not THE first) grid-based isometric SRPG. Of course, aside from Valkyria, EVERY SRPG is laid out that way nowadays. I'm just hoping the gameplay is not gonna carry a, "been there, done that" feeling nowadays. I'm fairly sure, though, that even if it did, the story would carry it.

[Hrafn]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

Well, the story isn't truly brilliant or anything, but it does have some depth, and one of the few things it has over FFT is that it isn't linear; there's multiple branching paths for the storyline, and your character, to take. Yes, it was a pioneer for the modern SRPG layout, but unless their additions are significant, it will feel somewhat archaic. There are a lot of character classes, but only a few are available to each person (as alignment, gender, or kill count restrictions will bar them from others). The unique abilities each have are very meager, and customization is low compared to more modern games. The large party size is interesting, but the game is crippled by even a minor difference in character level being blown way out of proportion. In most SRPGs, if the enemy party in general is a couple levels ahead of you, it's a minor advantage. In TO, it's almost an instant fail for you. Your attacks will do virtually no damage, and theirs will crush you. And since the vast majority of TO is spent without a way to bring units back from the dead (and even when that becomes available there are numerous restrictions around it), this all comes together to mean one dreary thing: any time one of your party goes up a level, you have to go through the training battles until more of your people get up to that level as well, or you're liable to get butt-raped during random battles (when the enemies will be the level of your highest party member). It's extremely slow and ponderous, and stretches out a game that's already long as hell (speaking of hell, DO NOT DO THE HELL GATE DUNGEON! This isn't Deep Darkness, where you can do a level or two and then travel off to do other stuff. It's 100 bloody levels, 75 or so of which are extremely boring and simplistic, and none of which give you XP. I was stuck there for years, not because of difficulty but because I would inevitably play a few floors, get bored, and not pick it up again for months at a time). On the plus side, however, the training battles almost certainly were the very first example of two-player competitive play, since each team could be assigned to a different controller. So they'll probably retain that with some sort of ad-hoc element.

[Perversion]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

100 level dungeon? Boring, repetitive floors? Now we know where Disgaea got its inspiration!


I will say that I did play (and almost beat) and enjoy the GBA Tactics Ogre. Played it soon after FFTA, but it was different enough to be enjoyable. Granted, subsequent to that is when I played at least 8-10 other grid-based SRPGs, and to be honest, I'm sorta burned out on the genre.


I really wish they'd make a new Ogre Battle with the setup that the SNES and N64 versions had. That setup/style was and still is unique, in that no other game to my knowlege had the sort of RTS/turn-based standard RPG-esque battles, along with the capability for a 100 member "party," and a fairly deep class/upgrade tree. Really, in my mind, those two games had the perfect SRPG seup, and were a micromanagement enthusiast's dream games.


Aside from this (which again, I've never played), the only two other games that have pushed the genre forward, in my mind, were Gladius and Valkyria Chronicles.

[Hrafn]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

Nah, I've yet to see a superior SRPG setup than what's available in Final Fantasy Tactics. Extreme depth and customization throughout (heck, even some of the monsters you could invite in had more combat options than a lot of normal units in other SRPGs, Tactics Ogre included). Besides, the regular Ogre Battle game I remember playing didn't allow you direct control of your units in combat. Snooze.

Presumably the GBA Tactics Ogre was better than that abomination which blasphemed the Tactics name on that platform.

As for Disgaea, I got it after hearing that it was the big Tactics killer, and enjoyed a lot about it. It'd be a great game if not for one crippling, fun-killing fact: that units can't simply change classes. This whole starting out new characters at level 1 thing, that was interesting when Tactics did it with Cloud. Why? Because they only made you do it once (and even then 'made you' is relative, since he was not only optional, but rather hard to find if you didn't know how to get him). Having to grow level 1 characters as a constant throughout the game is a move of awe-inspiring stupidity, and ultimately led to me putting the game down in favor of D&D Tactics, where **** moved slow as hell and the story was balls but at least you got good customization in the mix and everyone was the same good and proper level.

[John Mora]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

I tried Tactics Ogre on the GBA and even though I'm sure the team behind it are really swell people, I didn't end up liking it. Here's hoping the original is better! I am also glad Yasumi Matsuno came back from the funny farm. :3

[Big Rick Cook]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

Couple screenshots and a goofy ring of people.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/...coming-to-psp/

[The Toecutter]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

I heavily cherish this game still today. It is one of the best rpgs I have ever played with regard to challenge. It can be very fun when you are at lower levels than the enemy, and it is also fun being able to micromanage your characters' stat growth. Also, I <3 Debordes! BEST... PARTY MEMBER... EVER...

Making Denim a wizard makes the game much fun as well because he can literally overpower characters like Byan with regard to spell damage. It also gives you motivation to make sure he's out of harm's way, because he'll die in one hit, adding to the challenge and risk of using him for offense. You get plenty of strong characters with high HP in the game, especially Canopus and Mildain, that properly equipped, can take such spell damage a few times before death, but physical attacks don't harm them nearly as much(and they're reasonably quick characters too, so they dodge attacks often from enemies of higher level).

This game makes you contemplate how you wish to use the characters provided through the story, and I loved that about it.

Auto-training is easy and 2-3 levels can be gained per session for characters close in level to your highest level characters; the Petrify spell works extremely nicely for this. Low level characters(lv 1) can often be levelled up to 2-3 levels below the norm for your party in 1-2 sessions(depending on when/if you want to change classes) if the high level characters petrify themselves; once they do, set the low level character lose with a low-damage weapon appropriate to their class type(to gain more exp). They will get a level up with each hit until very late in the levelling process, and have 10 characters to kill total once you have enough characters(usually do by the time you get Petrify).

But losing characters in this game's battles is nice and punishing. That's the way it should be. It really makes you think about tactics so that you don't lose your characters; it's possible to win this game without losing characters and without over-levelling, and paying attention to/playing by the game's rules gives you the advantage you need to do it, as any JRPG should.

The Hell Gate is my favorite dungeon ever. I especially enjoyed what was on B50. I also regret not being able to get Venefik Falfadet to join my party at the beginning of the dungeon; she was an exceptionally appealing character to my tastes(Debordes is my favorite) and had an insane amount of magic ability(can equip ALL spells in the game and high INT; 8 per level plus base). The idea of having an 'evil' magician party with 3 gunners to do finishing kills on enemies weakened by spells would work out quite swell. There are so many combinations you can fight with that are effective in this game... Sadly, Venefik Falfadet doesn't join you, but she would be a nice asset.

This game had a ****load of sidequests. Getting the 3 guns was especially difficult and secretive; this game has hidden 'easter eggs' all over, which warrant multiple playthrus. You can even get Sister Shelly to join you. I didn't get nearly everything on my first try. The story's depth is immersive; few games match its depth to this day. You have individual character plotlines(that are often interlinked and effected by character death, even in mundane battles!), events that are significant in that world(many of which you don't see in the normal course of the game's story, but have to search for), an ending dependent on who has joined and is still alive and on what path you took. This game has an awful lot of exploration for being limited by the fact that it's a strategy RPG.

Imagine the versus battles you could have with other players in this game, should S-E see wisdom to include such a feature. Battling each other's parties online at various chosen battlefields would be entertaining. It will make obtaining rare items/characters that much more purposeful as well, and how you choose to develop your characters will be essential to success.

[Hrafn]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

The Hell Gate is my favorite dungeon ever.

No. Just no. I realize everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But I am afraid I have to inform you that yours is wrong. Please change it accordingly.

Seriously, how could you like that? Fighting on the exact same featureless battlefield 70 times? And only 7 or so of the battles were actually unique, and didn't recycle the same enemy sets over and over. Out of a hundred. Ugh. I'm falling asleep just thinking about it.

[Jeroak Nelave]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

Hrafn, just because you don't like it,doesn't mean he can't. Calling his opinion wrong because you don't agree with it undermines your argument.

I for one am greatly looking forward to this.

[The Toecutter]

Re: Tactics Ogre Remake for PSP

No. Just no. I realize everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But I am afraid I have to inform you that yours is wrong. Please change it accordingly.

Seriously, how could you like that? Fighting on the exact same featureless battlefield 70 times? And only 7 or so of the battles were actually unique, and didn't recycle the same enemy sets over and over. Out of a hundred. Ugh. I'm falling asleep just thinking about it.

The enemy sets didn't bother me; it is possible to end those battles in under 5 minutes if you set your party up properly. I like all of the hidden items, equipment, abilities, and unique classes(you can persuade some of the exotic enemies to join your party) that the dungeon has to offer.