Final Fantasy is bordering on a cult at this point. The series of loosely connected games, movies, and merchandise resonates with gamers worldwide and continues to spin off loads of new material. Square Enix has come to be known as a developer with extraordinary ideas and standards for quality largely built on the reputation of the Final Fantasy series. I was a fan of Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, so Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions has been a long time coming. Why is it that we would shill out cash on these Final Fantasy titles we've played before? They don't look nearly as nice as new titles like Jeanne D'Arc or Brave Story: New Traveler. Flashier anime cut scenes and dynamic 3D graphics engines can't unseat the Final Fantasy legacy. We may agree that other games look "dated" but Final Fantasy always looks "classic" for some reason. I'd be fibbing if I said that War of the Lions is more fun to watch than Jeanne D'Arc, but it just doesn't matter. There wouldn't be a Jeanne D'Arc without Final Fantasy Tactics, so that kind of trumps pretty graphics, sound, or music.

In all aspects of visual and audio presentation, it may be the case that War of the Lions doesn't dress to impress. It has incredible depth and gamers like me that played the original on PlayStation all these many years ago will instantly be transported back in time to the days when quality gaming wasn't about how many polygons you could stitch together or about comparing draw-in distances. The sprite-based characters are instantly recognizable and have lots of personality. The cut scenes that are enhanced for this release, compared to the old game, are excellent. Instead of an anime look, the cut scenes look cel-shaded with bold outlines and some very nice design in how each scene is "shot." The voices and music are excellent, with the voices being new from the original. The music is great and is the aural equivalent of those sprite-based graphics.

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions keeps the original gameplay intact for the most part, including a deep job system and large party management dynamic. The story places big focus on the history around a war that is brewing in the shadows of a massive battle that defined two dynasties. It isn't all that much different than the dynamic in Jeanne D'Arc, which is an unfortunate coincidence for War of the Lions since gamers that don't know may play both and assume that War of the Lions is derivative. There is less of a dominant character in War of the Lions compared to Jeanne D'Arc, and more of a cast of characters. Final Fantasy games have done an incredible job of creating engrossing worlds and giving players a chance to bond with several key characters and a colorful entourage. The loss of a character in War of the Lions means that character is lost forever. You'll think twice about sacrificing pawn players or creating pawn players in the first place once you lose a character that you spent hours developing. Players new to the franchise will find a lot of reading in War of the Lions that helps develop the story. The cut scenes are well placed and effective at conveying important transitions, but not so plentiful that they've reshaped the way the game's story is told.

A tactical RPG is nothing more than your typical turn-based affair with some added depth. The deep quality that we loved in the original game almost ten years ago and in the Game Boy Advance variation was the job system. This allows a character to morph and move along a tree of new abilities and skills. In some cases, this will involve learning magic and in others, it will be tied to using weapons and perfecting special attacks. Each battle earns your characters new Job Points that can be cashed in to advance the learning curve for specific occupations. If you don't like the way a character is going or don't think a particular job suits them, you're free to make changes. The best part about how jobs are implemented is that you can carry over learned abilities even when you discontinue a particular job. In some cases, the learned abilities are very specific to a particular job but in other cases are incredibly handy to have regardless of your status. New features in the PSP version include a multiplayer mission mode that is lots of fun. There are some constraints in this mode such as the requirement for both players to have a copy of the game, rather than offer up action via game sharing. The Melee Mode is a competitive battle against a real, live opponent that grants you real rewards. The Rendezvous Mode accessed from the same (Tavern) area in each town also grants rewards to characters and parties, but allows you to work cooperatively with the other player to complete an assigned mission. It's too bad that three or four players aren't able to connect and play these since it wouldn't be hard to just assign player-characters as needed to make up a full force on both sides of the field.

That thing about permanently killing off characters is pretty severe. Save often and keep a few save game files in case you realize you've miscalculated in your strategic decisions along the way. Choosing the best strategy is the biggest challenge in War of the Lions. Terrain differences, attacks on weak and strong sides of each character, and varying degrees of resistance to magical/physical attacks makes for a dizzying array of variations each time you step onto the battlefield. War of the Lions is pretty unforgiving about some things during battle. Most tactics games now employ a system for moving and acting that lets you reverse out your move if you don't like how things turned out. In War of the Lions, you have to carefully select where you'll move before you take any action. This can backfire if you find that the attack you had in mind won't reach your opponent or that some piece of the landscape is blocking your attack. As you learn each character, these things become second nature but the forced movement seems like an artificial handicap at some points. The damage dealt by enemies early in the game will fell weaker characters in your party and force you to move around doing lots of healing. Creating a healer helps but the ramp up to winning battles with ease is pretty steep. Not that we'd expect anything less from an old-school title like this but it can be daunting to newer gamers fed on tamer fare.

Navigating the menus in War of the Lions is not the easiest thing in the world. Little shortcuts help to make some things easier, as in the use of Select as an instant help system. There is also an "Optimize" feature in the shops that equips available clothing and weapons automatically on your selected character. Getting to this point early in the game was sometimes frustrating because there is so much text on the screen. The instructions help to lay out the play mechanics of the game and a Tutorial Mode goes over the basics for even the most novice player. My favorite training mode was the snowball fight in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance used to illustrate basic play mechanics. Nothing quite as good makes an appearance here, but the early stages are almost complete pushovers, training more than anything else. You'll have to learn to master deployment more than anything else, in choosing what units go to battle. This involves mastering the roster review, which can be complex at first. Each character has more stats than a pro baseball player and it falls on you to memorize them or review them in advance of a battle where you don't really know the makeup of the enemy force. This dampens the strategic insight and you'll have to make good decisions, but increases the replay value quite a bit. There are so many ways to build a character and in turn, build your party in Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. Players looking for well-balanced troops will be able to cultivate these qualities and also develop specialists. The ultimate specialist to join your party are roving bands of monsters. Play your cards right and you'll be able to recruit a few to join your side and fight.

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is a great entry to the PSP library and lets gamers access an enhanced classic. The new version of a classic game doesn't look a million light-years away in some respects, but comparing the two versions side-by-side would show there's been some heavy tweaking for this release. The cut scenes are a piece of that in addition to voice-acting and the multiplayer features. If any of those have you curious enough to give this game a try, you'll be rewarded with a rich experience that most titles don't even approach. Jeanne D'Arc is notable for creating so much buzz in a genre that hasn't seen many titles to rival Final Fantasy Tactics. There's always room for improvement but a classic is a classic.