Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions keeps the original gameplay intact for the most part, including a deep job system and large party management dynamic. The story places big focus on the history around a war that is brewing in the shadows of a massive battle that defined two dynasties. It isn't all that much different than the dynamic in
Jeanne D'Arc, which is an unfortunate coincidence for
War of the Lions since gamers that don't know may play both and assume that
War of the Lions is derivative. There is less of a dominant character in
War of the Lions compared to
Jeanne D'Arc, and more of a cast of characters.
Final Fantasy games have done an incredible job of creating engrossing worlds and giving players a chance to bond with several key characters and a colorful entourage. The loss of a character in
War of the Lions means that character is lost forever. You'll think twice about sacrificing pawn players or creating pawn players in the first place once you lose a character that you spent hours developing. Players new to the franchise will find a lot of reading in
War of the Lions that helps develop the story. The cut scenes are well placed and effective at conveying important transitions, but not so plentiful that they've reshaped the way the game's story is told.
A tactical RPG is nothing more than your typical turn-based affair with some added depth. The deep quality that we loved in the original game almost ten years ago and in the Game Boy Advance variation was the job system. This allows a character to morph and move along a tree of new abilities and skills. In some cases, this will involve learning magic and in others, it will be tied to using weapons and perfecting special attacks. Each battle earns your characters new Job Points that can be cashed in to advance the learning curve for specific occupations. If you don't like the way a character is going or don't think a particular job suits them, you're free to make changes. The best part about how jobs are implemented is that you can carry over learned abilities even when you discontinue a particular job. In some cases, the learned abilities are very specific to a particular job but in other cases are incredibly handy to have regardless of your status. New features in the PSP version include a multiplayer mission mode that is lots of fun. There are some constraints in this mode such as the requirement for both players to have a copy of the game, rather than offer up action via game sharing. The Melee Mode is a competitive battle against a real, live opponent that grants you real rewards. The Rendezvous Mode accessed from the same (Tavern) area in each town also grants rewards to characters and parties, but allows you to work cooperatively with the other player to complete an assigned mission. It's too bad that three or four players aren't able to connect and play these since it wouldn't be hard to just assign player-characters as needed to make up a full force on both sides of the field.
