Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions

For the in-game event, see War of the Lions. For the Event, see Events (Tactics)#The War of the Lions.

Template:Sideicon Template:Infobox CVG Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is a strategy role-playing game from Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable handheld game console. It is an updated port of Final Fantasy Tactics, and part of the Ivalice Alliance.

The game is available on the PlayStation Network for $9.99, and is available through App Store for $15.99.

Gameplay

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 Cooperative Play. Multiplayer is also the only way players can obtain exclusive equipment like the Onion Equipment. The iOS 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 whether they want to host a battle, or join a battle. If the player chooses to host 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.

However, if special controls are turned on, 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. Also, if the player lands on a trap they will have the ability to disarm it by pressing a series of buttons. After the battle the player will be allowed to choose treasure based on their performance and their characters will retain all JP, job levels, and items obtained during the battle.

Cooperative play can be accessed by selecting "Rendezvous" at a tavern. After selecting Rendezvous 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.

Characters

Below is a list of characters who become permanent party members based on the chronology of the plot, unless dismissed by the player (except Ramza Beoulve).

• Ramza Beoulve: The character central to the entire plot. Ramza is part of the Beoulve noble family.
• Mustadio Bunansa: A young Machinist from Goug Machine City who joins the party after Ramza helps him and his father.
• Agrias Oaks: A Holy Knight and bodyguard to Princess Ovelia.
• Rapha Galthena: A Skyseer and part of the Khamja assassination squad. She is Marach's sister.
• Marach Galthena: A Netherseer and part of the Khamja assassination squad. He is Rapha's brother.
• Count Cidolfus "Thundergod Cid" Orlandeau: A powerful and well-known swordsman. He is a friend of Ramza's father and adoptive father to Orran.
• Meliadoul Tengille: Divine Knight who saw the truth about the Zodiac Stones.

Below is a list of characters who may become permanent party members, if the player completes optional battles:

• Beowulf Cadmus: A 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: A robot from the days of Saint Ajora Glabados.
• Byblos: A large creature that resembles a Reaver.
• Cloud Strife: The spikey haired main protagonist of Final Fantasy VII appears with recognisable skills.

New characters

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Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Ramza Beoulve, the hero of Final Fantasy Tactics.

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 a back door 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.

Background

The game takes place in a medieval-inspired kingdom called Ivalice following the nation's defeat in the Fifty Years' War. Ivalice is a kingdom divided along class lines: great noble families such as House Beoulve rule over masses of peasants. This aristocratic class holds much of the real power of the country, with lords ruling directly over provinces of Ivalice as their personal fiefs, while the monarchy is weaken by intrigue.

The real power in Ivalice is the Church of Glabados, based around the divinity of the Christ-like Saint Ajora Glabados, with its military arm, the Knights Templar. Using manipulation and plotting, the Church is pulling the strings to create disorder in Ivalice and to defeat the secular powers. However, the Church's plot is just a cover for a far more sinister plan that threatens the very existence of Ivalice itself.

File:Agrias Ramza FMV.jpg

Ramza and Agrias see Princess Ovelia captured.

Two independent armies, the Order of the Northern Sky led by Duke Bestrald Larg, brother of Queen Louveria, and the Order of the Southern Sky led by Duke Druksmald Goltanna, are rival forces. They fight for control of the monarchy, hoping to take control of King Ondoria Atkascha III's child successor and use them as a puppet to rule Ivalice. The king has two children, his teenage adopted half-sister, Princess Ovelia, and the child Prince Orinus. The Princess, sheltered in the Orbonne Monastery, is targeted by forces of the Northern Sky.

Ramza, a sellsword under the greedy Goffard Gaffgarion, is hired to protect Ovelia, working with Ovelia's bodyguards, led by Agrias Oaks. The mercenaries and the bodyguards defeat the forces sent by the Northern Sky, though the Princess is captured by Delita Heiral, Ramza's former friend. When Ramza sees Delita again, he has a long flashback that takes up most of the game's first chapter.

Chapter 1: The Meager

One year earlier, Ramza and Delita were childhood friends and cadets in the Order of the Northern Sky. Ramza was the third son of 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.

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 is Argath Thadalfus, a noble servant of the Marquis Elmdore, who has been kidnapped by the Brigade. Argath states his case to Ramza's elder true-born brother, the cold Dycedarg Beoulve, co-ruler 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 sister, Alma Beoulve, Zalbaag appears and 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 fighting and 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. Little did he know that Elmdore was a supporter of the Order of the Southern Sky, and Dycedarg was pulling Gustav's strings to knock off a political foe.

The two friends watch the sunset.

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 directly, badly 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 Plain.

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 powder and sets it alight. Ramza thinks Delita was killed in the explosion and abandons the Order and his family to become a sellsword.

Chapter 2: The Manipulative and the Subservient

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 that he is 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 neutral Church.

Major characters of Final Fantasy Tactics.

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.

There they meet Alphonse Delacroix, second-in-command of the Church. He offers refuge to Ovelia and her knight, Agrias, and reveals vast knowledge about Mustadio's plight. He knows that Mustadio carries the Taurus Zodiac Stone, an object of great power related to the legendary Zodiac Braves, twelve knights 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 for this 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 magic. 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 off Ramza's route, forcing them to travel by ship to the Port City of Warjilis to rescue Ovelia. There they run into Delita, who tells Ramza to stay out of these 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 and that he 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 that Ovelia is not really the princess, only a lowborn impostor placed to create strife among the aristocracy.

While weeping at his sister's gravestone over his failure to protect her or bring down the nobles, Wiegraf Folles 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 his offer.

Ramza enters the cardinal's demesne and challenges Delacroix, but the cardinal uses the power of the Scorpio Zodiac Stone to transform into a Lucavi demon called Cúchulainn, the Impure. Ramza's party defeats it and it explodes with dark energy, leaving only a Zodiac Stone. Ramza realizes that the Zodiac Stones 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. The 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

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 north 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 says that he intends to go to the Orbonne Monastery to find the Zodiac Stone 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 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, who is held by the Glabados Church to be a child of the gods, and his account is nothing like the story Ramza knows. They say 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 and sold Ajora out. Ajora had no connection to the Zodiac Braves, but did search for the auracite stones for an unknown reason. With this artifact in hand, potentially disastrous for the Church, Ramza goes to rescue his sister.

Ovelia trusts Delita.

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 the battle 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 the Lucavi Belias just as Ramza's party arrives. Together they are able to 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 a Zodiac Stone 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.

This slaughter becomes known in taverns across Ivalice as The Horror of Riovanes.

Chapter 4: In the Name of 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 and Delita at Zeltennia.

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 were the ones that 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 entirety of 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 decapitated, the Church will take direct control of Ivalice, using the Zodiac Stones 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 just 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.

However, 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 this 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 Tengille, 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 and as Loffrey leaves, he hands Dycedarg the Capricorn Zodiac Stone, as a show of goodwill from the Church. Zalbaag overhears the conversation and checks the grave of the late Barbaneth. Finding the toadstools, he learns the truth, that his brother murdered their father. He returns to Eagrose, sword in hand.

Ramza hears from Meliadoul that Dycedarg has been given a Zodiac Stone. 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. In the end, he 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 that 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 Alma, 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, and he tells them where the Templars are going.

Ramza's party ventures into the Necrohol, defeats each of the Knights Templar and finally 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. He turns into Hashmal, Bringer of Order, and attacks Ramza and his party to spill their blood, but he is defeated instead. 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.

Saint Ajora is divided by Alma within her and Alma is freed. Ajora transforms into Ultima, the High Seraph, and though this 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.

Ramza and Alma riding away in the end credits.

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, he 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.

Spoilers end here.

Music

Template:See Also The game 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.

Development

Changes from the original version are as follows:

• A new translation in a medieval-like style, changing the names or spelling of many characters, places, abilities, jobs and monsters to be clearer, to sound better in English or to be consistent with other Ivalice Alliance games, such as spelling "magic" as "magick" and using the term Auracite to refer to the Zodiac Stones. This means that some names' pronunciations no longer match their katakana.
• The spelling of six Lucavi's names and titles were changed to match their counterparts in the Ivalice Alliance games and the actual spelling of the real world mythological references:
  • "Altima, the Bloody Angel" is now "Ultima, the High Seraph" but still called "Angel of Blood" at times.
  • "Hashmalum the Regulator" is now "Hashmal, Bringer of Order".
  • "Queklain the Impure King" is now "Cúchulainn the Impure".
  • "Velius the Warlock" is now "Belias the Gigas".
  • "Adramelk the Ghost of Fury" is now "Adrammelech the Wroth".
  • While his name does not change, Zalera's original title of "Angel of Death" is now "the Death Seraph".
• Dialogue when using abilities such as magic and sword skills was removed for the US and EU versions of War of the Lions, but not the Japanese version.
• War of the Lions uses a calendar based on the zodiac instead of the Gregorian calendar, e.g. Capricorn 10 instead of January 1.
• The infinite JP glitch, the item duplication glitch, the poaching glitch, the Ghost Chocobo Riding Glitch, the Quickening Glitch and the Jump Glitches in the original PS1 version have been fixed.
• Oil status (inflicted by Bombs and all its variants), which had no effect in the original game, now works: it doubles Fire damage received.
• The Unyielding Blade skills used by Meliadoul, Folmarv and Orlandeau now damage enemies even if they're not using the appropriate type of equipment, including monsters, although they still fail against enemies with the Safeguard skill.
• Some scenes are now cel-shaded cutscenes, including the opening and ending sequences, which were CG movies in the original version. Voice acting was added to these for the English translation.
• The "Job Demonstration" and "Lion War" sequences found in the original version by waiting at the title screen are not present in War of the Lions.
• Remastered soundtrack.
• 16:9 display.
• Two new generic jobs: Onion Knight and Dark Knight.
• Final Fantasy XII's Balthier and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift's Luso appear as playable characters.
• Cloud Strife can be recruited earlier in Chapter IV.
• Wireless multiplayer.
• Additional items.
• Additional battles and events.
• Some status effects have new icons.
• More space for characters in the party roster. Whilst the player could only have 16 characters at one time in the original, it is now expanded to 24.
• The difficulty of some battles was lowered for the original English version, but War of the Lions contains the original difficulty (the Japanese) for both US and EU.
  • However, the "infamous" fight against Wiegraf at Riovanes Castle in Chapter 3 actually had its difficulty slightly lowered for all versions of the game (including the Japanese).
• In the original English version, Ramza and other special job characters (including Delita and Argath in Chapter 1) had their stat growth slightly tweaked (making them much stronger than normal enemies) in order to make the game easier for the north-american audience. That stat growth have been reverted to the original Japanese version in all versions of War of the Lions.
• Unlocking jobs and certain skills now costs more JP. For instance, while the original "Hamedo" cost 1,200 JP, "First Strike" costs 1,300, and Cloud's Limit Cherry Blossom cost 1,200 JP in the original version, they now each cost 2,500 JP.
• The lack of the software from the PS1 that optimizes the sound effects makes some of them sound different (in a slightly inferior quality).
• When skills (most notably Magick and Sword Skill attacks) and monster attacks are performed, the game slows down to to 15 frames per second (half its normal speed).

The New Intro and Menu Screen

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Fans' patch

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions 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 successfully created for various Sony PlayStation Portable releases by a fan of the game. [1]

Ports

iOS/Android version

Graphics comparison between the old version (top) and the upgraded version (bottom).

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.

The iOS version does not include the multiplayer feature. All the new items introduced in the PSP version and found in the multiplayer mode are unlocked upon finishing the game. After the credits, the game will auto-save and all the PSP items will appear in the Poachers' Den. The game works by touch screen controls, but the menu screens are not resized to reflect this.

On February 14, 2013, Square Enix released the iOS port of the game for Android (Japan only), with upgraded graphics and improved drawing speed. iOS users also got an update with all of the added features in the Android version on June 4, 2013.

Packaging Artwork

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Trivia

• Although the game's ending may have seemed ambiguous, Yasumi Matsuno has confirmed that Ramza is alive and went on to have another adventure in a different country.

See also

• Final Fantasy Tactics
• Ivalice Alliance

External Links

• Official Japanese site
• Official North American site
• Official European site
• iTunes Store Purchase Page
• Final Fantasy Tactics Sprites (PS1 version, supplemented by new characters and jobs from the PSP version)

References

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