The Final Fantasy Tactics Retrospective

As Final Fantasy grew more popular in the early 1990s, Hironobu Sakaguchi wanted to bring the series into the realm of strategy RPGs. In 1995, the opportunity would arrive in the form of Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre creator Yasumi Matsuno, and the result would go on to be one of the most celebrated entries in the entire franchise.

00:00 Intro
1:14 Part I - Yasumi Matsuno
7:00 Part II - Concocting Strategies
12:35 Patreon
12:49 Part III - Final Fantasy Tactics
21:52 Ramza, Delita, & The Class Divide
29:27 Truth & The Institutions That Write It
39:37 Final Fantasy Tactics Ogre Battle
53:36 Presentation & Localization
56:49 The Lucavi Take Over the Plot
1:07:49 Ending & Personal Thoughts
1:11:22 Part IV - The War of the Lions
1:20:36 Part V - Reception & Legacy
1:25:09 Credits & Shout Outs

Sources:
11. “Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune.” Dengeki Games. 15 Oct 2010. p. 26.
24. “New Game Cross Review.” Famitsu. No. 445. 27 Jun 1997. p. 31-35.

[AndrewBluett]

ADDENDUM (& Links to my friends' projects mentioned at the end)

Some of you have brought up the idea that Ultima was referring not to Ramza's ancestor on his father's side, but his mother's side, which would discredit the idea of a noble being the one who defeated Ultima long ago. I had not considered this, probably because Ramza and Alma being half-siblings of Dycedarg and Zalbaag only came up two or three times and Ramza's father and noble lineage were more at the forefront of the story (i.e. how others thought of him). The text leaves it ambiguous as to whether Ultima is referring to his ancestor on his father's (noble) or mother's (commoner) side, and the disparity in how the story frames Ramza's parentage left one of these sticking more in the forefront of my mind, so that's where my mind went. Given how the story frames the class struggle, I think it's fair to say that the intention was that Ramza's ancestor, on his mother's side, defeated Ultima originally, as it would be keeping with the themes of the narrative. This was an oversight on my part, one which I think is understandable given the framing around Ramza, but an oversight nonetheless. I will cop to that.

[SivartAuhsoj]

FFT is a work of literature. Matsuno deserves a spot in history as one of the greatest game directors of all time for this and his other work.

[dariocantumo]

Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite stories of the whole series.

One point you touched upon that I'd like to expand is about Ultima not being able to maintain control of Alma and that he recognizes Ramza as a descendant of the person who stopped him before.

Yes it's weird that the Lucavi were able to possess and manipulate Dycedarg and Zalbaag as all 4 siblings are Beoulve but there's an explanation that goes under people's radar, both Ramza and Alma share a different mother than their older siblings, their mother's last name is Lugria a commoner's name (which Ramza took when he was a mercenary), Ultima could be referring to that bloodline and not the Beoulves.

I think that is a cool point that fits with the themes of the game, it wasn't a descendant of a grand noble bloodline but a descendant of a hero of humble origin.

[mesektet]

Every Single Final Fantasy Tactics Fan during the Game Of Thrones craze:
“Meh, it’s okay, I guess.”

[LunarWingCloud]

Tactics is my favorite story of any Final Fantasy title. It's so deep yet easy enough to follow, with enough political and religious intrigue that sucks you right in and doesn't let go. I love the unit customization and job classes in the game. It's all around easily my favorite Strategy RPG and I am so glad you covered it!

[ShoddyCast]

An 86 minute video about one of my favorite video games? I'm heccin IN.

[whichcache]

Completely new to FFT, but it's very funny that, due to the overall plot of this game essentially being a historian's revisionism of distorted events, that other characters' appearances would have to be justified in the same way.
"And then a guy from another dimension showed up to help. Then 2 other people from different time periods also showed up to help. Why? I dunno, it's what the papers say!"

[Kabeliel]

This type of content is so rare and difficult to accomplish, with the proper investigation and compelling writing. Thank you for such a great video about one of my favorite games.

[Retro_Cafe]

i am not even a fan of Final Fantasy ( or RPGs in general ), but your videos are the most enjoyable youtube videos ever, you are one of the best "video game retrospective reviewers" ever.

[christopherpumphrey]

This was my favorite FF title growing up. Definitely overshadowed by FF7. I think all these later this game is getting all its deserved flowers.

[sen]

When ultima tells ramza that he is the descendent of the hero who defeated them last time i think it may be implying that this is through his common born mother. Its still pretty lame but way better than if it was through his "noble" beoulve blood.

May also be related to why alma is a suitable host for ultima

[Tskiven]

the slow down on PSP was actually done intentionally, to mitigate a crash caused by load times. I forget if it was loading related to the visual effects themselves or the audio that went with them, but it was related to loading data off the UMD and the fact that it couldn't load various data related to the special attacks fast enough. the original fan patch worked on ISO files played on a PSP with CFW as well as in emulation, because loading off of a memorystick was significantly faster than loading off of the official UMD.

[SpaceCat]

"Did you get your end in all this, Ramza?

I...I got this."

-Delita Heiral, Epilogue

[The_Pariah]

FFT is a god damn masterpiece and I hope everyone who worked on it knows it.
Good games have many things done right.
FFT had damn near everything done right. Every choice was well thought out.
And the different mindsets of the creators helped to round it and polish it in the best way.
I could write an entire essay praising this game, but luckily, AndrewBluett did an even better job than I could.
Liking this video wasn't a choice. It was obligatory.

[FoNgThOnG]

I remember when I was a kid, I picked this up mainly cause it was a Final Fantasy game. Never played any of the Ogre Tactics games or any Tactics game. I fell in love and FFT still sits at the top of my list for one of the greatest FF/Tactics games out there.

[All_I_can_say_is_Wow]

I remember when I was a kid, I got Final Fantasy Tactics because I loved playing FF7. At first I was like oh no this isn't similar at all! I ended up loving the game the story and the job system. When I reached the end credits I was sad that the game was over. Then I went out and bought Brave Fencer Musashi just to play the included FF8 demo! Good times indeed. Even Brave Fencer Musashi turned out to be a pretty fun game.

[TheOutlawsTable]

Thanks for the shoutout! Funnily enough, Brad made some music for our show as well!

[spitboi]

Anytime I see you post it’s like a work holiday for me. Thanks for making my days and life a bit better each time with your careful research and thoughtful storytelling Andrew ❤

[blimblam]

Always a good day when a new vid in this series drops

[PicturingOurPast]

This was an extremely welcome presentation. This was and is my favorite video game of all time. I’m 37 now.

Thank you for the time and energy to share this with us.