You'll find no truer supporters of the Final Fantasy Tactics franchise than the DS Fanboy staff. We've spent far too many hours with the PS1 and GBA titles to ever turn our backs to the series. Reading IGN's recent interview with Yuichi Murasawa, the director of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, however, left us scratching our heads over Square Enix's handling of the upcoming SRPG. What was supposed to be a hype-building preview of the new FFTA game sounded more like a list of unimplemented features and expectations that the development team didn't meet.

FFTA's simplified, adolescent plot was one of the biggest complaints that FFT veterans had with the handheld sequel. The original game's story, in comparison, was rich with political intrigue and complex characters, enthralling players with its narrative. When asked about FFTA2's plot, Murasawa admitted that his team's goal was to once again "keep things light." Wonderful.

Though we've become accustomed to Square Enix's inadequate Nintendo WiFi support, what with Mario Hoops 3-on-3's promised-but-not-delivered online matches and Final Fantasy III's half-hearted MogNet, we were really hoping to see the FFT series' multiplayer mode expanded for internet play. According to the IGN interview, FFTA2 not only lacks online functionality, but waives the multiplayer system away altogether. Instead, we'll have a "feature that makes use of the local connection" to look forward to. Great.

The final insult lies in FFTA2's nonexistent touchscreen functionality. This feature seems perfect for the SRPG genre, enabling players to quickly maneuver units and navigate menus with a stylus, but Murasawa must not have found it to be essential. He offers this comfort towards the end of the interview, at least: "Of course, if there is ever an FTA3 [sic], we'll definitely think about it." Looking forward to it!

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is officially coming to American and European territories. Ten years after its original release on PS1, this remake will feature brilliant cinematics, new jobs, new multiplayer modes, and new characters and story elements. The game will launch simultaneously in both North American and European markets this October.

[Via press release]

We've seen small clips of Final Fantasy Tactics' gorgeous cutscenes. Now, watch the complete intro movie to the game. Square Enix is known for their outrageous production values, and this PSP remake certainly doesn't break the mold. The art is so gorgeous -- can we please have a feature length film that looks like this?

Although there's no US release date planned, impatient gamers can pick up the import version. We hope that, for the sake of our sanity, Square Enix announces a English release ... and soon.

Every juicy morsel of Final Fantasy Tactics that lands in front of us is a delight. This 30 second commercial for the upcoming PSP remake is filled with glorious animation and tantalizing gameplay. Japan only has to wait until May 10th for the game to hit their systems, but the rest of us will have to wait for who knows how long.

To get to this gorgeous video, visit the official Tactics website, and go to "Movie & Download." You'll see the TVCM there.

[Thanks, Thien!]
[Update: Embedded video thanks to Jason.]

As the Japanese release of Final Fantasy Tactics draws nearer, more details have slowly been revealed. Ruliweb has posted a scan, which features one of the enhanced port's new characters, LuSo. With the addition of Final Fantasy XII characters, it appears as though the cast of Tactics is becoming even larger than it already was. It appears portable gamers will have a lot to look forward to.

See also:
Final Fantasy Tactics' beautiful box art

[Via PSP-Vault]

It should come as no surprise that the new cutscenes in Final Fantasy Tactics are impressive. However, how does the gameplay compare? The Magic Box has tons of screenshots for you to gaze over. Are the widescreen PS1 quality graphics winning you over? Or, do you wish that Square Enix put a little bit more effort into this?

See also:
FFI & FFII on PSP = most beautiful NES game EVER!

The Nintendo DS isn't the only system to get revisited by the characters of Final Fantasy XII. GameBase reports that one of the more popular characters in the beloved RPG, Balthier, will be making an appearance in the PSP version of Final Fantasy Tactics. Considering how both FFXII and FFT share the same universe: Ivalice, it wouldn't be surprising to see even more characters make the transition.

[Via PSP-Vault]

The Ivalice Alliance is strong: Final Fantasy Tactics makes a triumphant return in a remake, enhanced specifically for the PSP. PSPHyper has some gorgeous scans of the latest issue of Famitsu, showing off the game's new cutscenes and yes ... gameplay too. What a great way to end the year look forward to the next!

[Thanks, Thien!]

Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the most anticipated titles on the PSP. Why? It was an absolutely brilliant game. Some would argue that its Game Boy Advance successor (Tactics Advance), and the psuedo console succssor, Final Fantasy XII, failed to reach the glory of the original PSone title.

Therefore, every morsel of information that comes out for this game is cherished by gamers at large. The official Japanese website of the game has recently updated with new screenshots, and better yet... gorgeous, rotating 3D models of the game's characters. You'll have to see it to fully appreciate the hand-drawn quality. Hopefully, we'll see more of this game soon (I'm wishing for a quick release, Square!).

(P.S. Make sure you have the latest version of Flash. The site doesn't tell you if you're running an old version.)

[Via digg]