Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together Review

[Steinbach]

In 1995, while Playstation and Saturn started to attack the market, Tactics Ogre was released on Super Nintendo. Now after the long period of 16 years, Tactics Ogre has finally arrived on the continent but this time on PSP. Once again, Square Enix PSP bet for one of its pitches. Different from many other portable titles that released last year and those who are projected for 2011, it is not a sequel of any game or a remake of a classic game developed by Quest for SNES in 1995. Even though this title may appear under Final Fantasy Tactics, which is also having an update for PSP, Tactis Ogre has appeared on various consoles like PlayStation and Saturn, and various supplies for systems such as N64 and Game Boy Advance. In addition, we are also aware that it was a great hit in US and Japan, but was less in Europe, but hopefully with the PSP version things will be changed.

As in SNES and most similar games in the genre, it has an isometric view but now there are 3-dimensional scenes and 2D characters. You can also see the plane with a top view. Just the technical enhancement would be a great excuse to go back to Tactics Ogre in portable or discover for the first time, but Square Enix were capable to adjust some aspects of the gameplay and enlarge content to make this the best version till date. The game is packed with political issues, clashes between regions, but also strongly associated stories of personal relationships.

Game’s story is set in Valeria island where the peace is found after many years of war. The difficulty takes place when the king who had unified the country dies, and conflict re-emerging, fragmenting the kingdom and dragging out the social problems. Bakram confirmed independence in the north, while in the south , Walister and Galgastani fight among themselves. This area is Denam Pavel, we join the battle against the Bakram, Galgastani and those who have oppressed the Walister Catiua with his sister and his childhood friend Vyce, all of whom have lost parents to hand the Black Knights. Our choice will shape our personality in the different questions that we made in the argument and even from the very beginning, with a test of moral querys that will test our religious attitude or the boundary of friendship. Though it may appear unimportant, these decisions mark the peers’ responses and the fate to be crossed in the future ahead.

Like other SRPG games, general mechanics is quite common to other parts: a land separated into square portions of dissimilar height, producing a terrain that adds strategy to combat the board in which to play. Each character has its own values and one of them is the recovery time, which decides the movement speed and the turn order. The type of weapons like armor-a heavier, slower, or class affects the recovery and that makes each unit, can be up to 12 in our side-act in time, without separating Time player enemy. The attack, taking into account the direction we face, since it does not cause the same damage from the front to the back.

Tactics Ogre is a very deep and multifaceted game for genre players, I can also say that it is slow and not suitable for games with little planning. Perhaps its not the best game to play if you have not experienced some strategy game, but if you do, you'll be testing one of the best game existing today. But if you're a fan of total control, looking for a title and dense millimeter many hours calculating each parameter, the game will not disappoint. There are different kinds of units such as warriors, mages, archers or rogues that increase their power by learning spells, getting items and equipment. Of course, you need to find a good balance on our side and play with cunning, a magician or archer should stay behind to take advantage of their ranged attacks without being endangered.

[Steinbach]

If you enjoyed Tactics Ogre earlier than you will notice the changes. The PSP version is essentially the same, but they have increased characters like Dame Ravness, in addition with dialogs and options screens, and new playable classes that make the game more interesting on laptop than ever. The story does have a very important role that makes more sense than ever to the word role within its definition with decisions to change sides really enemies, new allies and add summary. It may sound strange, but the game features additional control strategy that many of the RPG had in recent years, including those of the actual Square Enix. The argument is not a simple addition to spin explosive situations but empty of content, is one of the reasons for wanting to advance the story.

Let Us Cling Together does not include a multiplayer mode, but a battle against the artificial intelligence ensures that at any time we play a game without having to enter a combat history. The data in these settings can be shared with another player, and include all sorts of parameters to be a battle, as the members of your team-loaded progress in history, or the combat zone. Other than that, facelift build the game very attractive, especially for the use of illustrations and Tsubasa Masao Yoshida for the characters in the dialogues. It also consists small effects like rain, a blur to the world map and various pyrotechnics for powerful spells with detailed graphics at least for the distance of the camera, and good management artistic.

The soundtrack is flawless. Based on Hitoshi Sakimoto, Basiscape assembles the original soundtrack, adding new themes, with elements characteristic. The atmosphere of Tactics Ogre is perfect and fits like no other to the theme and setting of the story. Although the labor Sakimoto shout all the time, it also acknowledges that there is recycling some scores, whereas Valkyria Chronicles themes is extremely similar to FF XII, so that at all times have its own personality.

Although Tactics Ogre is very good, we also feel it could be better. On one hand, Matsuno admits that about 30% of the project was scrapped because of time, cost and sales forecasts, and that makes us wonder if the game would have been even more enhanced. The items creation could have been polished, for example, it is necessary to wait a while to create different objects, but neither is a monumental failure. As users, the only obstacle that can take its toll at play is the language, without a mastery of English medium or high, you must use a guide to follow events without losing detail.

Conclusions:

Square Enix's game continues the magic of a golden age in which each launch of the company became a classic instantaneous . Tactics Ogre marked an entire genre and even today most SRPG have relied on it in some way. Let Us Cling Together does not make any drastic changes, make improvements and maintains its virtues. The final result is midway between the direct conversion and the remake, but in any case, is the definitive version of this timeless game, with a pure gameplay and a story filled with characters that you will again enjoy a living legend gender.