Need I preface this article with my brain paralyzing love for Square? I think not. I have to say though, at GDC I played a PSP and for the first time thought I might actually want one (which is inconvenient because I can't make fun of it anymore if I buy one). With the upcoming release of titles like this and Crisis Core, it's quickly becoming a must have on my list.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War celebrates the ten-year anniversary of the original game with expanded features such as multiplayer, co-op modes and anime-style cutscenes. Final Fantasy XII players will be pleased to see that Balthier plays a role in this title (I love his cutesy anime restyle here). The Japanese release date is set for May 10th, with no specific date set for stateside release yet. Never fear, my little robots, surely it'll be here soon enough.

This info came from Square Haven, which is a superlative source for those of you who channel your adoration of SquareEnix's work through your every pore. Rather than just taking the obvious fanboy route, the editors have a variety of objective input on where Square is going, which is refreshing. We need more level heads in the game universe, rather than the usual garden variety of people we all dream of stabbing in the face.

Ah well, maybe I'll get a PSP sometime soon for this game, Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, and other various games that look good for it.

thats true, I would take an FFT remake over revenant wings any day

The only thing I'm REALLY excited to see is the new graphics. I could care less about the gameplay because it never gets old, it's fun every time u play it, but to see Zalbag, Delita (My fav), Vormav, etc all in cell shade should be NASTY

Not to mention the newly rendered cut-scenes, giving the game a medieval anime feel to it, Record of Lodoss War anyone?

I swear to god thats what i meant. I dont care about ingame graphics, i meant cell shading

Seriously, if you played FFTactics on PS1, skip the PSP version. It took like 7 seconds for Gafgarian to start doing a sword tech after I ordered it. Yes, time that in your head. Picture yourself selecting the command, then count 7 nice big fat seconds, THEN picture the attack beginning. Yeah, it's that bad. And you are part of the problem if you buy that pile of ass-swizzle.

Seriously, if you played FFTactics on PS1, skip the PSP version. It took like 7 seconds for Gafgarian to start doing a sword tech after I ordered it. Yes, time that in your head. Picture yourself selecting the command, then count 7 nice big fat seconds, THEN picture the attack beginning. Yeah, it's that bad. And you are part of the problem if you buy that pile of ass-swizzle.

Doesn't it take a few seconds of charge time for it to work???

The sound quality seems to have taken a hit as well, with music lacking the reverb that made it sound so majestic; plus, certain sounds are simply awful now, like the wind effect that now resembles a busted Atari 2600 game more than a haunting breeze. And then there's the slowdown -- most monster attacks and any animated battle effect, such as spells and sword skills, bring the game to a crawl.

Well, I'd like to investigate the bugs further because this is the first I've heard of the gameplay, and right now it's an unidentified source. I'd like to see IGN or Gamespot review it first, and then get some of the takes on it.

I am pasting this from another thread just to further warn you all: this game is pretty lagtacular

A: The slow down is not really bad, but what little there is in the game is out of our hands.

Not in the PS version. No, they don't.

From: http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3159537

A couple of the comments posted on that:

"they better fix the sound and slow down problems, "

"... but hearing about the slowdown and clunkiness turns me off. Why wasn't more attention placed on utilizing the PSP's screen dimensions? That is absurd."

Anyway, I'll tell you this: the story parts of the game are still awesome. Very awesome. The cinemas and stuff they added are great, and seeing old favorite scenes redone like that is just ridiculously cool. But it's far from perfect, and I'd say the lag/loading/slowdown even bring the game down near or below "Average" status. Terrible how the two ended up balancing each other out like that.

I can still understand if folks buy it, because FFT is like unto crack cocaine, but hear my plea and at least consider waiting until the price drops substantially before making the dive. This is a Square game, and a Final Fantasy at that; you know it won't get rare or anything.

I'm not pointing necessarily at any particular FF game or calling the series bad per se, but you know what I mean. This game can have all the lag in the world, and you know people on these kind of forums will still be calling it the "best ever" and such. It's sad but true.

Differences are present in the PSP version which may make it intriguing for even the most seasoned FFT vets...though there is heavy mid-battle and mid-scene lag that could upset a lot of players as well. Starting with the bad news, the game severely slows down during most varieties of special attacks. Many of the flashy knight-sword skills and monster attacks, for example, execute at about half the speed as their PSX version counterparts. Other skills are also noticeably slowed, and players will notice Ramza taking a little stutter-step when arriving at certain points on the map, somewhat randomly. Sadly, it also falls victim to diminished sound quality, most obvious with the magic spells.

But on to the good news, eh? Final Fantasy Tactics was a game with a great story told in choppy translation and restricted visuals. The PSP version contains animated sequences that are nothing short of amazing. They have not completely replaced story segments done with the game engine, but the most important and most memorable events have been remade in impressive quality. Even better, the English version of this game is getting retranslated script. No more being all like, "What the hell does that mean?" after certain lines.

It should be noted, however, that the aformentioned lag is still present in these new animated scenes. There can easily be over 20 seconds of loading while waiting for the sequence to begin, and usually within the first 15 seconds or so, a given cinema will stutter or skip at least once. (I tested this on mulptiple PSPs.)

Here is an exclusive video serving two purposes: one is to show you the amazing cinemas, and another is to demonstrate the skips and load time associated with them. There is a short version for those who just want to see the lag/skipping for themselves, and a long version for those who want to see this example cinema in its entirety. It's a conversation between Delita and Ovelia, and there aren't really any spoilers, especially if you can't read Japanese somewhat quickly.
(More at link)

I have a feeling the demo wasn't optimized and probably why even the prerecorded animated scenes are lagging. Square-Enix will most likely get it all sorted out before release.

I don't think that was the demo, but the Japanese version.

Square-Enix will most likely get it all sorted out before release.

Incorrect.

The Japanese version of the game sold respectably in May, but it suffered from a number of notable shortcomings. The most frustrating was the constant slowdown that plagued the battles; seemingly every small action caused the PSP to stutter briefly, and many visual effects (particularly those from magic spells) caused the game speed to slow to a crawl. The U.S. edition of the game doesn't completely smooth over these issues, but they've been dramatically reduced; now the technical issues are about on par with the minor slowdown exhibited in the PS1 release and are no longer distracting.

Which makes it particularly puzzling that Square Enix came right out and said that it would not be addressed. Their dude even called it "not that bad," in those exact words. And my bro that played it at Square Enix headquarters in L.A. said the English version still had the lag.

I remain cautious. You should too.

I mean I sure *hope* this is true, but it just seems like Square would have told people "Yes it's getting addressed" if it was actually getting addressed. Wouldn't that make more sense?

I don't see why you would get a psp for just like one game. That's f*ckin stupid.

You certainly will

(Assuming they're still as bad, which I guess the jury is still out on)

The Japanese version of the game sold respectably in May, but it suffered from a number of notable shortcomings. The most frustrating was the constant slowdown that plagued the battles; seemingly every small action caused the PSP to stutter briefly, and many visual effects (particularly those from magic spells) caused the game speed to slow to a crawl. The U.S. edition of the game doesn't completely smooth over these issues, but they've been dramatically reduced; now the technical issues are about on par with the minor slowdown exhibited in the PS1 release and are no longer distracting.

Wow... that lag would just annoy the hell out of me... nope... I can't deal with THAT much lag. As for the actual added scenes, well... they look amazing, I just love the style of art but with no voice acting and only background sounds I'm really not that bothered.