A relic from an age gone by is reborn for a modern era. Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together was originally released in 1995 on the Super Famicom, during the twilight years of the console’s lifespan. Like many other Japanese RPGs of that era, it was destined to remain overseas due to its release timing and perceived marketability to a Western audience.

Fortunately for tactical-RPG fans on this side of the Pacific, Atlus localized the title and released it for the original PlayStation back in 1997. The game received good reviews despite its 16-bit look and remains one of the more sought-after titles on collector’s lists to this day. Now, 14 years later, Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together is brought to life on the PlayStation Portable with a fantastic remake that fixes a lot of the problems of the original while maintaining the core strategic gameplay that made the game such a hit among RPG enthusiasts around the world.

Game: Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Genre: Strategy RPG
Price: $39.99
Verdict: One of the best remakes Square Enix has ever produced, and a must for fans of Final Fantasy Tactics.
Cons: Story is very involved, peculiar design decisions regarding unit management are disappointing given the quality of the game.

Acquired via Publisher

At its core, Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together is a strategy-RPG consisting of story sequences, team/equipment management, and intense turn-based army vs. army battles. These battles make up the core gameplay of Tactics Ogre, and can pit a party of up to 12 units against an army of up to 20 enemies. The gameplay will feel immediately familiar to anyone who has spent time with the Final Fantasy Tactics series. Turns consist of a single move, action (such as attack, item, or magic), and use of a skill. Each unit has to learn and equip such skills outside of battle, and they level up as each unit participates in battle. Additionally, units can change class once they acquire a “class mark,” an object that can either be bought in shops or found through other means. A new feature unique to Tactics Ogre is class-based leveling. Similar to the original Valkyria Chronicles, individual units do not gain levels in Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together. Instead, each class that participates in a skirmish will gain a share of experience – whether the unit performed any actions in battle or not. This is a VERY welcome change, as abusing allied units for the sake of XP gain (a practice common in Final Fantasy Tactics) is no longer necessary.

Additionally, players can utilize the CHARIOT system to rewind time during battles (reversing up to 50 character turns) if things go awry. As nice as this seems at first, it isn’t quite as powerful as it appears because the game’s number generation is not reset. This means a player cannot cheese his/her way through hoping to get a random lucky hit (or miss) if actions are performed on the same unit(s). Still, it can be useful if a single bad decision ends up creating major problems during battle. Similarly, a feature known as the WORLD allows players who have completed the game to return to specific branch points in the storyline with their current squads and levels intact. Players no longer have to choose only one path through the game. Do keep in mind that although player levels, items, and equipment carry over, enemies in the alternate paths are similarly powered-up.

The graphics have received a minor makeover from the original release in the sprite department, though the game sacrifices detail in its characters for its backgrounds. In many ways, the resulting look is still decidedly 16-bit, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The spell effects, however, have been entirely redone with modern flair – certainly a nice touch. As an added bonus, none of the slowdown present in TOSE’s port of Final Fantasy Tactics has made it into Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together; the game runs at a brisk pace throughout.

The plot is political intrigue at its finest, shedding a lot of the melodrama and deus-ex-machina that Japanese RPGs are known for. Yasumi Matsuno’s epic tale takes center stage here, with a brand new, high-quality localization. The soundtrack is also one of the most memorable for RPGs in recent years.

Regarding unit management, veterans of Final Fantasy Tactics will both feel right at home and very lost at the same time. Many of the classes are different, the skill sets are different, and the method of learning magic is a bit more complicated. One thing I certainly miss is the “fitting room” feature that was present in Final Fantasy Tactics, as it allowed units to be outfitted quickly with minimal effort in determining which units can equip certain types of items. The process is more complicated in Tactics Ogre, requiring use of several menus to determine optimal purchases. Multiply the effort by dozens of units and the process becomes a bit exhausting.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is one of Square Enix’s finest efforts on the PSP. There is a core game here that can literally consume hundreds of hours. The presentation is polished, the music is memorable, and the storyline shows Matsuno at his finest. The story is admittedly a bit complicated and tosses the player right in (be prepared to use the in-game encyclopedia to figure out exactly what is going on), and some puzzling design decisions (such as lack of a fitting room in shops and overly complicated magic acquisition system) can dampen the fun at times. However, the fact remains that Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is a worthwhile purchase for any Japanese RPG fan. Among the many Square Enix remakes on the market, this one shines the brightest by far.