Final Fantasy Tactics

Final Fantasy Tactics is a strategy role-playing game in the Final Fantasy series. It was released for the PlayStation in June 1997, and has since been re-released as the updated Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions for the PlayStation Portable, iOS and Android platforms. It was directed by Yasumi Matsuno and produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi, with Akihiko Yoshida providing the character designs and both Masaharu Iwata and Hitoshi Sakimoto providing the score. It was the first strategy role-playing game in the series.
The game is set in Ivalice, a unified kingdom of seven territories, which is caught in the middle of the War of the Lions fought between two opposing factions vying for rule of the kingdom. The story focuses on Ramza Beoulve, a member of the respected House Beoulve, who finds himself caught amid the war and later uncovers the truth behind a sinister plot behind it.
Final Fantasy Tactics features battles fought on a map divided into a grid in which units can move. The order of units' turns is determined by an "Active-Time" like system, and actions can only be executed within a range of the units' position. Units each have a job class which provides them abilities, but they can also equip abilities from other jobs they have leveled up or mastered.
Final Fantasy Tactics is the first game set in the recurring setting of Ivalice, which was later the setting of main series installment Final Fantasy XII. It has also spawned spinoffs Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. Games that take place in Ivalice have later been grouped in the Ivalice Alliance series.
==Gameplay==
Battles are fought on a map divided into a grid where units can move about, and actions can only be executed within a certain range. Obstacles, terrain types, and elevation create further strategic elements. Each unit is allotted one move and one action per turn. Order of turns is determined by an "Active-Time" like system, a unit's Charge Time filling a bar and deciding when they get to act, which is affected by the character's speed stat. Spells and some other abilities also have charge times and once cast, will go off when the ability's charge time hits 100.
An action's chance of success is best when attacking an opponent from the rear and is least likely to succeed in frontal assaults. Units, including the player's, are assigned zodiac signs, and opposing pairs are especially effective against each other. For instance a male Pisces and a female Virgo (such as Milleuda) can inflict massive damage to each other, where as a male Pisces and a male Virgo (such as Wiegraf) will deal much less.
===Job system===
Final Fantasy Tactics uses many classic job classes from previous Final Fantasy games, although the localization of the game's original PlayStation version caused some of this to be lost in the translation. The White Mage job was translated as Priest, and the Black Mage job as Wizard, for instance, but this was changed for the re-release version.
As each human character develops, they gain experience to improve their overall level. Characters also gain Job Points (JP), which level up jobs. As a character gains more experience in various jobs, they gain access to other, more advanced or specialized jobs. Some jobs, like Arithmetician and Mime, require invested time and experience in several jobs, and require mastery of others to be truly effective. Once learned, skills and job-specific commands can be used even after a character switches jobs, though a penalty may be applied.
Story-related characters have special jobs as their default, such as Agrias, a Holy Knight, each with their own stats and unique abilities. These special jobs are exclusive to their respective characters and cannot be learned by other units. They essentially replace the Squire job (and even share the same Reaction, Support and Movement abilities), meaning that Agrias and other story characters cannot use Fundaments.
Two new generic jobs, Onion Knight and Dark Knight, were added to War of the Lions version.
:Job names in parentheses are the original names from the PlayStation version.
;Physically-oriented jobs
*Squire
*Knight
*Archer
*Monk
*Thief
*Geomancer
*Dragoon (Lancer)
*Samurai
*Ninja
*Dancer
;Magically-oriented jobs
*Chemist
*White Mage (Priest)
*Black Mage (Wizard)
*Mystic (Oracle)
*Time Mage
*Orator (Mediator)
*Summoner
*Bard
*Arithmetician (Calculator)
*Mime
;Special jobs
*Squire (Ramza, Delita, Argath) 
*Holy Knight
*Fell Knight (Dark Knight)
*Cleric
*Machinist (Engineer)
*Astrologer (Astrologist)
*Divine Knight
*Sword Saint (Holy Swordsman)
*Ark Knight (Arc Knight)
*Assassin
*Templar (Temple Knight)
*Dragonkin (Dragoner)
*Soldier
;War of the Lions jobs
*Dark Knight
*Onion Knight
*Game Hunter
*Sky Pirate
=== Recruitable monsters and poaching ===
Once the player unlocks the the Orator job (and the ability Entice), the party can also recruit creatures like chocobos and various monsters, to be used in battle. Although those monsters also level up like the human characters, they do not gain jobs or skills, and also cannot use equipment or items. Recruited monsters will lay eggs over time, which can spawns variants of the same monster family and allows the player to obtain more powerful creatures. If a character has the Beastmaster support ability (learned from Squire), allied monsters will have access to additional abilities if they are nearby this character.
Monsters (both enemies and allies) can be turned into items through the Poach ability. Those items, which range from consumables to weapons and accessories, can be obtained at Poachers' Den as the player progress in the story.
===Multiplayer===
Multiplayer is a new feature added to The War of the Lions, in which two players can choose to play together using Ad Hoc Mode. The two modes of play available to the player are Melee and Rendezvous. Multiplayer is the only way players can obtain exclusive equipment like the Onion equipment. The mobile version has no multiplayer option.
Melee features two players facing off against each other and can be accessed by selecting "Melee" at a tavern. The player can then choose to host or join a battle. If the player hosts a battle they will be prompted to choose rules for it. The rules include map selection (only locations the player has visited can be chosen), time limit, action limit, whether special controls should be on or off, trap placement, number of traps, and whether Arithmeticks should be allowed or not. After setting the rules the battle will begin and proceed like a normal battle.
If special controls are enabled, there will be certain situations that differ from regular battle. The player can knockback an opponent by pressing before landing an attack, and if the probability of hitting an opponent with the attack command is close to fifty percent, the two players will lock weapons. When this happens both players must tap as much as they can, and the player who gains the upper hand will follow with an attack. If the player lands on a trap they can disarm it by pressing a series of buttons. After the battle the player can choose treasure based on their performance and their characters will retain the JP, job levels, and items obtained during the battle.
Cooperative play can be accessed by selecting "Rendezvous" at a tavern. The player will then select the mission, which is exclusive to cooperative play, that they want to attempt to complete with a partner. The battles in cooperative play function the same way that they do in single player mode. The players will be given an objective and will place their units on the battlefield. A Rendezvous mission can be attempted as many times as the player wants and the player's characters will retain all JP, job levels, and items obtained during their battle. If the players achieve their objective they will be rewarded with treasure based on their performance.
==Synopsis==
===Setting===
Ivalice is a medieval kingdom suffering the aftereffects of the Fifty Years' War. It is divided along class lines: great noble families, such as House Beoulve, rule over masses of peasants, lords ruling over provinces as their personal fiefs, while the monarchy is weakened by intrigue. The real power in Ivalice is the Church of Glabados, based around the divinity of Saint Ajora Glabados, with its military arm being the Knights Templar. Using manipulation the church is pulling the strings to create disorder in Ivalice and to defeat the secular powers.
Two independent armies, the Order of the Northern Sky led by Prince Larg—brother of Queen Louveria—and the Order of the Southern Sky led by Duke Goltanna, are rival forces. They fight for control of the monarchy, hoping to take control of King Ondoria's child successor to use as a puppet to rule Ivalice. The king has two children, his teenage adopted half-sister, Princess Ovelia, and the young Prince Orinus.
The princess, off in the Orbonne Monastery, is targeted by forces of the Southern Sky's Order. Ramza Beoulve, a sellsword under the greedy Goffard Gaffgarion, is hired to protect her, working with Ovelia's bodyguards, led by Agrias Oaks. The mercenaries and the bodyguards defeat the forces sent by the Northern Sky, but the princess is captured by Delita Heiral, Ramza's childhood friend. When Ramza spots Delita again, he reminisces of the time that led to Delita's disappearance and Ramza's casting off his family name.
===Characters===
Below is a list of characters who become permanent party members based on the chronology unless dismissed by the player (except Ramza Beoulve).
*Ramza Beoulve: the youngest son of the Beoulve noble family, Ramza becomes disillusioned by the corruption in Ivalice, guided by his strong sense of justice.
*Mustadio Bunansa: A young brilliant Machinist from the Clockwork City of Goug who joins the party after Ramza helps him and his father.
*Agrias Oaks: A righteous Holy Knight and the personal bodyguard to Princess Ovelia. She is a member of the Lionsguard, knights who serve the royal family.
*Rapha Galthena: A Skyseer and part of the Khamja assassination squad. She is Marach's younger sister.
*Marach Galthena: A Netherseer and part of the Khamja assassination squad. He is Rapha's older brother.
*Count Cidolfus "Thundergod Cid" Orlandeau: A powerful and legendary swordsman, general of the Order of the Southern Sky. He is a close friend of Ramza's father and adoptive father to Orran.
*Meliadoul Tengille: Divine Knight and former member of the Knights Templar, who saw the truth about the auracites and joins Ramza to put an end to her father's plan.
Below is a list of characters who may become permanent party members, if the player completes optional battles:
*Beowulf Cadmus: A Templar and former captain of the Gryphon Knights of Lionel, he now spends his time looking for his fiancée Reis Duelar.
*Reis Duelar: Fiancée of Beowulf Cadmus, encountered in the form of a Holy Dragon.
*Construct 8: An autonomous robot from the days of Saint Ajora Glabados.
*Byblos: A mysterious creature that resembles a Reaver.
*Cloud Strife: The spiky-haired protagonist of Final Fantasy VII finds himself lost in Ivalice.
In the War of the Lions versions, two more characters are introduced. Both are playable characters from other games in the Ivalice Alliance project.
*Balthier: A sky pirate from Final Fantasy XII.
*Luso Clemens: The protagonist of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift.
===Story===
Arazlam Durai, a historical scholar researching the past, comes upon his ancestor's writings, the Durai Papers, which tell the truth about the legendary hero, Delita Heiral. The papers suggest that the true hero was a noble named Ramza Beoulve, whose role has since been lost to history.
Ramza, who has cast aside his nobility and joined a mercenary group, comes to Orbonne Monastery with the rest of the group, led by Goffard Gaffgarion. The monastery, where Princess Ovelia Atkascha is residing, is attacked by several Northern Sky knights dressed as Southern Sky knights, and Gaffgarion's group, hired to defend the princess, helps fight them off.
During the attack Delita slips in and kidnaps the princess. Agrias Oaks, the princess's bodyguard, joins Ramza's group in hunting Delita down. Ramza, who has not seen Delita in years and thought him dead, is shocked, and cannot fathom his intentions. He thinks back on the times the both of them used to fight together in the Order of the Northern Sky.
====Chapter 1: The Meager====
The chapter title in Japanese is 持たざる者 (Motazaru Mono).
A year ago Ramza and Delita were childhood friends and cadets in the Order of the Northern Sky. Ramza was the third son of the noble House Beoulve, while Delita was a commoner working in the house along with his sister, Tietra Heiral. The two studied at the Akademy in the Magick City of Gariland and were best of friends.
Due to Ivalice's defeat in the Fifty Years' War, the soldiers returning home could not be paid. This created widespread dissatisfaction with the nobility and ignited revolts across Ivalice, like the Corpse Brigade's uprising in Ramza's home duchy of Gallionne. When Corpse Brigade forces attack Gariland, the students of the Akademy are sent to fight them, and Ramza and Delita lead their group to victory. Afterward they return to House Beoulve's seat of power, Eagrose Castle.
Ramza's party comes upon a lone squire surrounded by Corpse Brigade forces. They rescue him and learn his name: Argath Thadalfus. Argath is a noble servant of the Marquis Elmdore, who has been kidnapped by the Corpse Brigade, a rebel group that seeks to usurp the aristocracy. Argath states his case to Ramza's elder true-born brother, the cold Dycedarg Beoulve, co-ruler of the house with his brother Zalbaag since the death of their father Barbaneth. Despite Argath's impudent manner, Dycedarg says he'll do what he can, though he orders Ramza to stay in the castle. While Ramza visits his younger sister, Alma Beoulve, Zalbaag drops a hint to Ramza about the whereabouts of the Marquis, suggesting that he rescue him.
Ramza's group goes to the Merchant City of Dorter where they spot the Corpse Brigade's leader, Wiegraf Folles, but Brigade forces halt their pursuit. Argath captures the enemy leader and beats him until he reveals the marquis's location. They travel to the Sand Rat Sietch, where they find Wiegraf killing his own officer, Gustav Margriff. Wiegraf says he objects to the dishonorable tactic of kidnapping, and offers to trade the marquis's life for his own, and Ramza agrees. With Elmdore safe, Ramza returns to Eagrose to find an angry Dycedarg. Elmdore was a supporter of the Order of the Southern Sky, and Dycedarg was pulling Gustav's strings to knock off a political foe.
While Ramza's party moves to attack a Corpse Brigade group led by Wiegraf's sister, Milleuda Folles, a Brigade force led by Gragoroth Levigne strikes Eagrose Castle, injuring Dycedarg and almost taking Alma hostage. When Zalbaag rescues his sister, Gragoroth grabs Alma's lowborn friend Tietra instead, thinking she is noble-born. Dycedarg promises not to attack the Brigade while they hold Tietra, but Argath, never a friend to the peasant class, expresses his disapproval, causing an argument with Delita. Ramza sides with his childhood friend and forces Argath out of his party. Ramza and Delita leave to rescue Tietra and share a moment watching the sunset over Mandalia Plains.
Looking for Delita's sister, they come upon Milleuda again. Though they do not see her as an enemy, she refuses to back down and they are forced to kill her. They find Wiegraf's group holding Tietra in a windmill in the Fovoham Windflats. Wiegraf wants to free her, but is forced to go out to fight Ramza with his chocobo, Boco, so his allies can escape. He is beaten and flees, abandoning his revolution to its inevitable defeat. Gragoroth, fearing for his life, steals away Tietra and makes for Ziekden Fortress, with Ramza's group following.
Despite Dycedarg's promise not to attack, Zalbaag leads an assault on the fort and orders his new soldier, Argath, to shoot at Gragoroth, who is holding Tietra at knifepoint. Argath does so without hesitation and mortally wounds them both. Seeing this, Delita attacks Argath with Ramza's aid. They kill their old ally and betray the Order of the Northern Sky, but Gragoroth has filled the fort with gunpowder and sets it alight. Ramza thinks Delita is killed in the explosion and abandons the Order and his family to become a sellsword.
====Chapter 2: The Manipulative and the Subservient====
The chapter title in Japanese is 利用する者される者 (Riyō Suru Mono Sareru Mono).
After telling his story, Ramza's party, along with Agrias and Gaffgarion, pursue Delita across Ivalice. They find him and the princess at the Zeirchele Falls, surrounded by hostile Northern Sky forces. A Northern Sky knight tells Gaffgarion to attack Ramza and he complies, revealing himself a traitor working for Dycedarg. Delita fights on Ramza's side, and tells him afterward that he was trying to rescue Ovelia from the Northern Sky by leading her to the Southern Sky stronghold at Fort Besselat. He leaves, letting Ramza's party take Ovelia to safety at Lionel Castle, held by the supposedly neutral Church of Glabados.
On the way, the party meets a machinist named Mustadio Bunansa, who is running from assassins sent by the Baert Trading Company, a crime syndicate specializing in human trafficking and opium smuggling. Mustadio joins Ramza's party, thinking he will find help at Lionel.
They meet Alphonse Delacroix, second-in-command of the church, who offers refuge to Ovelia and her knight, Agrias, and reveals vast knowledge about Mustadio's plight. He knows that Mustadio carries the Taurus auracite, an artefact of great power related to the legendary Zodiac Braves, twelve knights said to have led by Saint Ajora to defeat an ancient demon. The cardinal promises to aid Mustadio against the trading company.
Ramza and Mustadio make for the Clockwork City of Goug where Mustadio's father, Besrudio, is held hostage by the company. Mustadio leaves Ramza briefly to rescue his father, but is captured himself. Ludovich Baert, head of the trading company, threatens Ramza and demands he give up the Taurus stone, but Mustadio is prepared and tells Ramza to give him a fake. The company believes it but attacks anyway, and Ramza's party defeats them and saves Mustadio and his father.
Baert returns to his master, none other than the cardinal, who, not willing to suffer failure, destroys his conspirator using an unknown magick. Gaffgarion returns to his employer, Dycedarg, to report that he failed to kill Ovelia. Dycedarg sends Gaffgarion to fight Ramza, apparently working with the cardinal and unbothered by the idea of ordering his brother's execution.
The cardinal blocks Ramza's route, forcing them to travel by ship to the Port City of Warjilis to rescue Ovelia. They run into Delita, who tells Ramza to stay out of the affairs, saying he is going against the current of history, though what he means is unknown to Ramza.
They find Agrias fighting the cardinal's soldiers in the Balias Swale. She says she has escaped from the cardinal who plans to execute the princess. Ramza's party rushes to save her, but Agrias has been misled and they find only Gaffgarion and his troops. Ramza kills him at the gates of Lionel Castle, then goes to confront the cardinal himself.
Delita, working with the cardinal and an unknown man, takes Ovelia to the Order of the Southern Sky. The man reveals Ovelia is not really the princess, but a lowborn impostor placed to create strife among the aristocracy, as the real princess had died as a baby.
While weeping at his sister's gravestone over his failure to protect her or bring down the nobles, Wiegraf is confronted by Loffrey Wodring of the church's Knights Templar. Loffrey promises Wiegraf that, if he were to join the organization, he would help destroy the tyrannical nobles. Wiegraf takes the offer.
Ramza enters the cardinal's demesne and challenges Delacroix who uses the power of the Scorpio auracite to transform into a Lucavi demon called Cúchulainn, the Impure. Ramza's party defeats it and it explodes with dark energy, leaving the auracite behind. Ramza realizes that the auracites are not holy relics of the Zodiac Braves, but something far more sinister.
With the Southern Sky claiming Ovelia as the rightful queen and the Northern Sky holding up Prince Orinus as king, Ivalice is divided by the civil war that becomes known as the War of the Lions. Marquis Elmdore, now fighting for the Southern Sky, dies in battle, and Queen Louveria is captured by her enemies and imprisoned in Fort Besselat. Delita rises in the ranks of the Southern Sky by exposing a plot and killing a lord who betrayed Duke Goltanna. Lords bleed their people dry even as the kingdom is beset by famine and drought.
====Chapter 3: The Valiant====
The chapter title in Japanese is 偽らざる者 (Itsuwarazaru Mono).
Ramza and his party go to speak with his brothers, who are occupying the Royal City of Lesalia along with their Northern Sky army. On their journey they meet Orran Durai, adopted son of the Order of the Southern Sky's fiercest commander, Count Cidolfus Orlandeau, known as the "Thunder God" for his strength in battle. Orran is threatened by a group of bandits, and is thankful when Ramza's party saves him, but continues on his own afterwards. Ramza reaches Lesalia and tries to convince Zalbaag that someone is orchestrating the war, but Zalbaag refuses to listen.
As Ramza prepares to leave the city, inquisitors from the church confront him, led by Zalmour Lucianada. Ramza has been branded a heretic for his role in the death of Cardinal Delacroix. He refuses to cooperate and they attempt to take him by force, but Ramza, his party and his younger sister Alma defeat the confessor. Ramza intends to go to the Orbonne Monastery to find the auracite there before the church can. Though Ramza fears for her safety, Alma demands to go with him.
When Ramza's party reaches Orbonne, the Knights Templar are already there, led by Wiegraf Folles and Isilud Tengille. Elder Simon, the monk who runs the monastery and a tutor to Alma, is injured, but offers what help he can. Isilud retreats by capturing Alma as leverage. Wiegraf is mortally wounded, but the Aries auracite in his hand, given to him by the Knights Templar, speaks to him, promising to save him from death. Wiegraf takes the offer, transforms into the Lucavi demon Belias, the Gigas, and teleports away. Before Ramza leaves, a barely-living Elder Simon gives him a book he has spent his life translating: the Scriptures of Germonique.
Germonique is the disciple who supposedly betrayed Saint Ajora. Ajora is held by the Glabados Church to be a child of the gods, but Germonique's account is nothing like the story Ramza knows. The scriptures claim that Ajora was not a holy man, but a revolutionary working to undermine the Holy Ydoran Empire, and Germonique was a spy for the empire who sold Ajora out. Ajora had no connection to the Zodiac Braves, but did search for the auracites for an unknown reason. With this artefact in hand, potentially disastrous for the church, Ramza goes to rescue his sister.
The Order of the Southern Sky places Delita in charge of Princess Ovelia's protection and he begins to soften up to her. Delita promises to protect her and states his ambition to destroy the corrupt powers that rule Ivalice and rebuild it with a new order—all for Ovelia's benefit, he claims. Delita saves Ovelia from an assassination attempt by Northern Sky agents, bringing her closer to him.
Ramza finds Rapha Galthena being chased by her brother, Marach, and a group of Barrington's men. Rapha is a deserter from Khamja, a group of assassins under the command of the powerful Grand Duke Gerrith Barrington, who has captured Isilud along with the auracite and Isilud's captive, Alma. Rapha fled from her master after he raped her, but never told her brother. Seeing that Rapha is in danger, Ramza helps her and she joins his party. Marach survives the battle and, speaking through a toad, tells Ramza that if he fights the Grand Duke, his sister will be killed.
At Barrington's stronghold of Riovanes Castle, Folmarv Tengille, leader of the Knights Templar, Isilud's father and the mysterious man who told the princess she is an impostor, meets with the Grand Duke in negotiations. Wiegraf is with him. Barrington attempts to use his leverage against Folmarv to create an alliance with the Templars, whom he considers the strongest power in Ivalice. Folmarv is not interested in compromise and orders Wiegraf away to settle his score with Ramza. Folmarv transforms into a Lucavi, kills everyone in the room, and fatally wounds his own son for his weakness. Alma escapes from her cell and runs into Isilud just before his death. After their conversation, Folmarv returns, human again. He senses that Alma is to be the new host for his "master" and, hoping to complete his plot, carries her away.
Outside, Rapha and Marach leave to finish their personal feud. Within the castle, Wiegraf attacks Ramza alone. Though Ramza tries to reason with him, the former leader of the Corpse Brigade announces he no longer cares for the peasant revolution or his sister's death, and only wishes to bring destruction to humanity. Ramza defeats Wiegraf's human form in a one-on-one duel, and Wiegraf turns into Belias just as Ramza's party arrives. Together they destroy it.
On the roof of Riovanes Castle, Rapha confronts the Grand Duke. Barrington admits to raping Rapha, making Marach realize he has been fighting on the wrong side. Barrington kills Marach and Ramza's party arrives, along with the Marquis Elmdore and two assassins, Celia and Lettie. Ramza remembers that the marquis had died in battle and realizes that Elmdore too must be a host for a Lucavi. Despite the debt he owes Ramza for saving his life years ago, Elmdore and his servants attack, but retreat when one of them is near defeat. Rapha stands over her brother's corpse with an auracite in hand and hears a voice from the stone. Ramza fears that it will take control of Rapha like it did Wiegraf, but instead of an evil power it returns Marach to life with a holy light, and the Galthena siblings join Ramza's party.
The slaughter becomes known in taverns across Ivalice as The Horror of Riovanes.
====Chapter 4: In the Name of Love====
The chapter title in Japanese is 愛にすべてを (Ai Ni Subete Wo) SOMEBODY TO LOVE.
As the war continues, both sides suffer from the strain, knowing that, if the war does not end soon, neither side will retain enough power to rule Ivalice. The Orders amass their forces near Fort Besselat, hoping to end the war. The Order of the Southern Sky is especially weakened, as many lords only continue to serve Duke Goltanna due to the example of the Thunder God. Though Orran suggests to his father that he should leave the Order, Count Orlandeau is too bound by his code of honor to betray his oath to Goltanna.
Ramza seeks the aid of his father's closest ally, the very same Orlandeau, at Zeltennia Castle. During the journey, Ramza's party is threatened by Folmarv's daughter, the Templar Meliadoul Tengille. Because she knows nothing of the Lucavi, she thinks Ramza's band killed her brother at Riovanes. Ramza forces her to retreat but cannot convince her of his innocence.
At Zeltennia, Ramza does not find the Thunder God, only Delita, who gives up the church's plot. He is to kill Duke Goltanna and Count Orlandeau while another takes out the heads of the Northern Sky. With both sides incapacitated, the church would take control of Ivalice, using the auracites and the legend of the Zodiac Braves to sway the populace to follow their orders. Zalmour appears outside, hunting for the heretic that escaped him at Lesalia, and though Delita is working for the church, he briefly betrays it by helping Ramza kill the confessor. Afterwards, Delita leaves Ramza, now manipulating him too in service of his grand ambition.
Ramza's group runs into a Templar named Barich Fendsor, who has sabotaged the Battle of Fort Besselat by devastating both sides with Mossfungus poison. Ramza defeats Barich and rushes to the battle, where his party opens the sluice gates, flooding the battlefield. When the Mossfungus is released, neither army is seriously affected, but the flood prevents an end to the War of the Lions.
The real warfare takes place behind the lines. Duke Goltanna arrests Count Orlandeau as a traitor, following a false tip given by Delita, and names Delita the new commander of the Southern Sky. Delita uses the duke's trust as an opportunity to murder him, and then kills a fake Thunder God to silence the church while the real Count Orlandeau joins Ramza's party. On the other side, Dycedarg uses the confusion created by the Mossfungus poison as a chance to murder Duke Larg. Zalbaag watches the betrayal without taking action, but what he sees disturbs him. Before Larg dies, he mentions that Dycedarg murdered his father, a shock to Zalbaag's ears. Zalbaag no longer trusts his brother.
Following a lead that Alma is in Limberry Castle, Ramza's party moves to confront Marquis Elmdore at the seat of his power. Ramza fights through Celia and Lettie and reveals their true forms: Ultima Demons. Argath, now a powerful undead creature brought back by the marquis, attacks Ramza, and is killed again. They find the marquis in Limberry's undercroft, where he reveals that Alma was never there and the entire journey was a trap, and transforms into the Lucavi Zalera, the Death Seraph. Meliadoul, who happened to be there at the time, sees Elmdore's demonic form and joins Ramza's side to destroy it. She can no longer deny Ramza's story that her father is a Lucavi, and decides to accompany him to end the Lucavi plot.
Dycedarg, now the commander of the Northern Sky, is confronted by the Templar Loffrey Wodring, who makes insinuations about Dycedarg's guilt in the death of his father, mentioning that those killed by Mossfungus have toadstools growing on their graves. Dycedarg denies everything. As Loffrey leaves, he hands Dycedarg the Capricorn auracite as a show of goodwill from the church. Zalbaag overhears the conversation and checks the grave of the late Barbaneth. Finding the toadstools, he returns to Eagrose, sword in hand.
Ramza hears from Meliadoul that Dycedarg has been given an auracite. He rushes across Ivalice to Eagrose and finds his older brothers fighting each other. Dycedarg claims he was doing what was best for House Beoulve. Dycedarg is killed, triggering the auracite in his hand. He turns into Adrammelech, the Wroth, and destroys Zalbaag. Ramza and his party defeat the Lucavi, ending the reign of House Beoulve.
At Mullonde, the seat of the church's power, the Templars under Folmarv revolt. They capture the High Confessor Marcel Funebris and order him to reveal the location of the Necrohol of Mullonde, a dimension of evil required to revive the master of the Lucavi. Funebris reveals it is in Orbonne, but the Scriptures of Germonique are required to open the door to the rift. Though the Templars promise to save the high confessor's life, they fatally wound him.
Folmarv and his servants confront Ramza and tell him to give up the scriptures in exchange for Alma. Though he agrees, the Templars do not release her, and instead attack him and are forced to retreat. Folmarv revives Zalbaag as an undead creature and sends him to kill Ramza. Zalbaag begs Ramza to kill him, and Ramza has no other choice. As the party leaves, they find the high confessor, near death from his injuries, who tells them where the Templars are going.
Ramza's party ventures into the Necrohol, defeats each of the Knights Templar and reaches the Airship Graveyard. Folmarv, the last of the Templars, tries to summon his master using Alma, but cannot. Too few have died; more sacrifices are needed, the true reason they sought to orchestrate the war in Ivalice. He turns into Hashmal, Bringer of Order, and attacks Ramza and his party to spill their blood, but is defeated. Realizing the only way to revive his master is to make himself the sacrifice, Hashmal digs his claws into his chest and brings Saint Ajora back to life, Alma as his human host.
Saint Ajora is divided by Alma within her and Alma is freed. Ajora transforms into Ultima, the High Seraph, the leader of the Lucavi, whose previous human host was Saint Ajora. Though the demon has immense power, Ramza's party defeats it before it can bring devastation to Ivalice. As Ultima dies, she unleashes a massive blast of energy that destroys the area, leaving the fate of Ramza's party unknown.
Orran Durai attends the Beoulve house funeral. Since Ramza is a heretic, and his body was never found, he cannot be given a proper burial. After the service, Orran spots Ramza and Alma riding chocobos away to freedom. Orran writes a history of these events and Ramza's role in defeating the Lucavi, but the church senses the danger of his work and brands him a heretic and burns him at the stake. This work becomes the Durai Papers that Orran's descendant, Arazlam, uncovers generations later.
Delita, now king of Ivalice, comes to his queen, Ovelia, with flowers. She runs at him with a knife and wounds him, out of hatred for being used, but he takes the weapon and kills her. Delita thinks of Ramza, wondering which of them truly succeeded in the end.
Although the game's ending may have seemed ambiguous, Director Yasumi Matsuno has confirmed that Ramza is alive and went on to have another adventure in a different country.https://twitter.com/#!/YasumiMatsuno/status/169572953686683648
==Music==
The soundtrack is composed by the duo Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata. The soundtrack spans two discs and 71 tracks, with Sakimoto composing 47 tracks and Iwata the other 24. Since then, their names have been eponymous to the music composed for games related to the Ivalice series.
The Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions version retains the music used in the PlayStation version. It also retains the hidden Sound Test feature that was found in the PlayStation Japanese version. When the player starts a "New Game" with the name "PolkaPolka", it takes the player to the Sound Test menu where the player can listen to the soundtracks for the game, listing its oddly named tracks as well as the composer's nicknames.
==Fan patches==
Due to the perceived poor translation of the original PlayStation version, some fans have created a patch which uses the official English script from Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions version with some bugs and glitches fixed by hackers. Ability incantations and graphic novels were re-translated and added by fans because they were omitted in any version of English releases from the Japanese release.
Another mod has been developed for the original PlayStation version that added most additional content from Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions PSP version while keeping the original translation, while also including a single-player remade version of the Rendezvous missions with a new improved Treasure Wheel and new unique post-game content. 
The War of the Lions version has been criticized for slowdowns during battles and decreased audio quality, most notably when casting spells or using special abilities that require different lighting effects. Patches removing the slowdown have been created for various Sony PlayStation Portable releases by a fan of the game.
==Development==
The idea for Final Fantasy Tactics was originally conceived by series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi in 1993, who had Square trademark the name while he experimented with designing a Final Fantasy strategy RPG. Since Sakaguchi was occupied with development on mainline Final Fantasy games at the time, he was only able to produce a short 5–6 page design document and his plans for Tactics were never fully realized.
In 1995, Yasumi Matsuno, Hiroshi Minagawa, and Akihiko Yoshida joined Square after leaving Quest Corporation, where they had just finished development on Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. Sakaguchi had greatly enjoyed Matsuno's work on Tactics Ogre and wanted him to join the company so his talent had somewhere to flourish. Upon joining Square, Matsuno saw that they wanted to add a strategy RPG to their library of games and it was decided that he would lead the project, with his former Quest colleagues Minagawa and Yoshida joining him as art director and character designer respectively.
Matsuno built on the feedback for Tactics Ogre while developing Tactics. The more critical feedback Tactics then garnered caught Matsuno's attention, and with Vagrant Story he was determined not to make the same mistakes again.
When writing the story, Matsuno wanted to "create his own version of Final Fantasy, a kind of "morality tale adventure story." The themes he has included in his games often reflect the people and the situations Matsuno was working in during development. A major theme in Tactics is the class-based society of nobles and commoners. This came about when Matsuno joined Square and discovered that some individuals there "were like royalty" and had amassed abundant social capital. Experiencing this made Matsuno doubt whether someone without "those gifts" could succeed at Square. In his original plan, Matsuno wanted to write a parallel scenario from Delita's perspective, but this was cut early on due to development constraints.
Matsuno had originally wanted to design the battle system for Final Fantasy Tactics himself. However, the development team was short-staffed, so he had to focus his efforts on writing the story and creating the character development systems, while veteran designer Hiroyuki Ito was put in charge of handling the battle system instead. 
Matsuno and Ito were shown Sakaguchi's original design documents for his planned Tactics game, but decided to forgo using many of his ideas. Ito disliked the slow aspects of strategy games, such as the time spent having to set up and equip individual units, so wanted to create an entry in the genre that felt more urgent and exciting. Instead of creating a large-scale war simulation with huge armies, the team wanted the game to feel similar to other Final Fantasy games, where players could clear battles with a small party of characters they had developed throughout their play time. The team aimed to keep the game accessible and tried to balance gameplay so that beginners wouldn't have to master it to finish the story. Around 30% extra content/abilities were created to appeal to completionists. Maps were limited to 16x16 grids in order to keep the game running at a consistent 60 frames per second. They were also made rotatable, so that players could "enjoy them like a diorama, or a miniature garden".
===The War of the Lions version===
The War of the Lions began development in late 2005 and was officially revealed at the end of 2006. Producers Takamasa Shiba and Shingo Kosuge were chosen to work on the title as they were longtime fans of the original game before working at Square Enix. They were initially worried about whether such a lengthy game would be appropriate for a handheld port and if they could even fit all of the game's content onto a UMD.
The developers sought to add new bonus content without upsetting the balance of the original gameplay. The new Dark Knight job was inspired by Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV, while Onion Knight was influenced by the Onion Knights from the then-recent 3D release of Final Fantasy III. Their abilities were designed with the new PvP mode in mind, in order to bring more variety to multiplayer battles. Other jobs such as Blue Mage and Red Mage were considered, but ultimately were left out. Kosuge also wanted to add a job based on Ramza's father's class, but struggled to figure out appropriate weapons and abilities for it.
Due to the positive reception towards the multiplayer missions and item trading in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the team wanted to include wireless connectivity features in this title as well. The War of the Lions subtitle was partially inspired by this new multiplayer functionality.
The original version's English localization was widely criticized, so Square Enix opted to retranslate the game. Joseph Reeder, who had previously been involved with localizing Final Fantasy XII, was tasked with leading the new translation. He was assisted by Tom Slattery, who later took over as lead translator when Reeder left the project to work on Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. Voice acting was added to the English release, despite being absent in the Japanese version. Japanese voice acting for the port's new movie scenes was considered, but the developers decided it was not necessary and would feel out-of-place since the rest of the game would still be unvoiced.
====The new intro and menu screen====
FFT War of the Lions Intro - 1.png|War of the Lions intro.
FFT War of the Lions Intro - 2.png|War of the Lions intro.
FFT War of the Lions Intro - 3.png|War of the Lions intro.
FFT War of the Lions Intro - 4.png|War of the Lions intro.
FFT War of the Lions Intro - 5.png|War of the Lions intro.
FFT War of the Lions Intro - 6.png|War of the Lions intro.
FFT War of the Lions Intro - 7.png|War of the Lions intro.
FFT WotL Menu.png|War of the Lions Main Menu.
==Releases==
===Original===
A collector's edition of Final Fantasy Tactics was rereleased as part of the Square Millennium Collection. The game's contents remain unchanged from the original Japanese release, but the collection features unique disc art, and also came with a Zodiac Clock and a Character & Job Playing Cards set.
===Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions===
====PlayStation Portable version====
An updated port of Final Fantasy Tactics was released on May 10, 2007 in Japan for the Sony PlayStation Portable as part of the Ivalice Alliance project. The display ratio was altered from 4:3 to 16:9 and new characters and jobs were implemented, as well as new pre-rendered cutscenes, multiplayer features, and various other changes. The English version was released on October 5, 2007 with a new localization.
====iOS/Android version====
The game was released for iOS in 2011, with the iPhone version released on August 4, 2011. An iPad version was scheduled for later in the year, but was delayed for unknown reasons and was finally released on February 23, 2012.
While retaining most of the new features of the PSP version, the game uses touch screen inputs and allows full camera control, though the user interface was only minimally altered. It also does not include multiplayer features; the items introduced in the PSP version and found in the multiplayer mode are instead unlocked upon completing the game, appearing in the Poachers' Den after the credits roll and the game auto-saves.
On February 14, 2013, Square Enix released the port for Android in Japan exclusively through the Square Enix Market app store, updated for high-resolution displays with new HD unit and portrait sprites and improved graphics rendering speeds. An update bringing these new features to the iOS version was subsequently released on June 4, 2013. On June 4, 2015, the Android version was released internationally on the Google Play app store.
==Production credits==
===Staff===
Executive Producers 	Tetsuo MizunoTomoyuki Takechi
Producer 	Hironobu Sakaguchi
Co-Producer 	Michio Okamiya
Director & Writer 	Yasumi Matsuno
Game Designer 	Hiroyuki Ito
Art Director & Event Director	Hiroshi Minagawa
Character Designer 	Akihiko Yoshida
Main Programmer 	Taku Murata
Composers 	Masaharu IwataHitoshi Sakimoto
Main Battle Planner 	Hiroyuki Ito
Additional Battle Planner 	Takayuki Suguro
Event Planner 	Jun Akiyama
Movie Director 	Toshiyuki Momose
===Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions===
Producer 	Takamasa Shiba
Co-Producer 	Shingo Kosuge
Character Designer 	Akihiko Yoshida
Director 	Toshihisa Yokoshima
New CG Movies Creators	anima.inc
====Voice cast====
Ramza Beoulve 	Phil LaMarr
Delita Heiral 	Robin Atkin Downes
Ovelia Atkascha	Kari Wahlgren
Agrias Oaks 	Hedy Burress
Balthier 	Gideon Emery
Luso Clemens 	Justin Cowden
==Packaging artwork==
Fftjacover.jpg|Japanese PlayStation.
Fftnacover.jpg|North American PlayStation.
Fft square millennium.jpg|Square Millennium Collection edition (Japan exclusive).
Final Fantasy Tactics Millennium Collection disc art.png|Square Millennium Collection disc art
Fftlwjacover.jpeg|Japanese PSP.
Fftlweucover.jpg|European PSP.
Fftlwnacover.jpg|North American PSP.
==Allusions==
Final Fantasy Tactics makes numerous allusions to main series Final Fantasy games, especially in its sidequests.
==Trivia==
*Final Fantasy Tactics appeared, along with Final Fantasy VII, in Smithsonian Art of Video Games exhibit held between March 18 and September 30, 2012. The video games in the exhibition were decided by public vote.
*Game director Yasumi Matsuno is an admitted Queen fan, and has stated he was influenced by Queen songs in the titles of other games (most notably Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen and Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together). Similarly, Chapter 4 shares its name with the Queen song "Somebody to Love", though the name was changed in the English release of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.
*Virtually every instance of the word "breath" in this game was mistranslated as "bracelet" instead. The mix-up comes from the fact that "breath" and "brace" are written the same in Japanese (ブレス).
==See also==
*Allusions
*Artwork
*Translations
*Ivalice Alliance
==External links==
*Final Fantasy Tactics at Wikipedia
*Final Fantasy Tactics Sprites (PS1 version, supplemented by new characters and jobs from the PSP version)
*Final Fantasy Tactics Screen Shots ~PSX~
*Official Japanese site
*Official North American site
*Official European site
*iTunes Store Purchase Page
*Google Play Purchase Page
==Citations==
de:Final Fantasy Tactics
es:Final Fantasy Tactics
fr:Final Fantasy Tactics
it:Final Fantasy Tactics
pt-br:Final Fantasy Tactics
ru:Final Fantasy Tactics
 
Category:Games in Ivalice