Tactics Ogre: Reborn (2022) [PC] review

“Let us cling together as the years go by
Oh my love, my love
In the quiet of the night
Let our candle always burn
Let us never lose
The lessons we have learned”

-Brian May, Queen (1977)

The island nation of Valeria was once at peace, but has been shorn apart thanks to battles between a number of warring clans. This has led to the little people being crushed by the ravages of war…but some of those little people might not stay so little. Case in point: Denam Pavel, his sister Catiua, and their friend Vyce, young members of the Wallister clan who seek revenge for the destruction of their home. This small mission eventually leads Denam and Catiua into events that will serve to shape the whole of Valeria, to say nothing of the changes that circumstances will one day bring about in Vyce. It might also teach them more about the world – and themselves – than they’d ever wanted to know. Revenge is one thing, but the real question is how one manages to maintain one’s principles in a time of war.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a remake of a remake of a game from 1995. Yes, really. We first saw Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together on the Super Famicom in 1995, and the game made its way to the Saturn and Playstation in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 2010, this tactical strategy adventure was ported to the PSP where it would benefit from some gameplay rebalancing and improved graphics. A popular mod, One Vision, came into prominence recently, further changing up Tactics Ogre’s gameplay to suit strategists seeking a little more of a challenge. Now we’ve got Reborn, the latest take on the game, which adds even shinier graphics, some surprisingly decent voice acting and the latest iteration of the title’s gameplay.

Super Famicom

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together vs Tactics Ogre: Reborn

Reborn has a lot in common with its cousin Final Fantasy Tactics. You’ll lead an army of fantastic characters, with your troops consisting of warriors, wizards, ninjas, monsters, and more. With your forces prepared, you’ll take to the field of battle against rival armies to determine the fate of Valeria. You can add to your army by hiring mercenaries or convincing foes to switch allegiance mid-fight, then customize your soldiers by choosing their class, assigning spells and skills, and equipping gear with various effects. One significant divergence from Final Fantasy Tactics is that there’s not a lot of interplay between class upgrades on a given character here, so you can’t exactly take a mage and convert them into a spell-slinging warrior. Your customization tends to focus on large-scale army compositions rather than tweaking individual soldiers precisely to your liking.

Another thing Final Fantasy Tactics fans are going to have to come to grips with is that this game is tough. Further, thanks to the new level-cap mechanic introduced in Reborn, your troops can’t exceed a certain level based on your story progress, so you’re not going to be able to just grind your way past difficult battles. With boss maps in particular you’ll often be pitted against overwhelming numbers of enemies, each of whom has a level or two up on your own characters, and you’re going to have to figure out how to prevail regardless. It’s important to emphasize precisely how difficult this makes many of Reborn’s more significant battles. Don’t feel like you’ve got a handle on how tough this game is going to be based on the first few hours – sooner or later, some battle is going to make you wish you were able to grind up some levels.

Indeed, this can be a recipe for frustration when the game doesn’t do a great job of explaining mechanics that might help you come out on top. At no point, for instance, is it explicitly said that upgrading your gloves will help your characters jump further…and it’s left just as unsaid how vital that jumping ability can be on maps with rivers and gaps. Likewise, many skills and abilities that you’d expect to come on characters instead are attached to gear, encouraging you to create customized gear sets that serve as an integral part of a character’s build. Even the value of various consumable items is understated, such that you’ll be hobbling your strategy if you don’t try them. A hint: debuffing items from shops are cheap, readily available, work every time you try them, and cause far, far more debilitating effects on enemies than you might expect. Give them a shot if you get stuck.

Even so, you’ll want to slog it out past the most difficult battles to keep up with Tactics Ogre: Reborn’s gorgeous story and presentation. It’s a beautiful game with great voice acting that adds a lot to the experience – and you can switch that voice acting from English to Japanese and back to suit you. What’s more, there’s a number of branching story paths that lead to significantly different outcomes and new battles besides, so there’s plenty to do and see. These are far more consequential decisions than you might expect when we’re talking about a game that’s originally from 1995, so expect some shocking surprises as the plot twists and turns. What’s more, when you’ve finished the game, you’re able to revert your progress and see how the other paths turn out, which is a fantastic touch.

On top of all that, there are several extensive dungeons, including the particularly grueling 100-floor Palace of the Dead that’ll push your stamina and tactical acumen to the limit. While the training battles you’ll use to level your characters don’t provide any money or experience, that’s not the case when it comes to dungeons, so you’ll likely spend a lot of time revisiting these to farm up gear, stat-boosting tarot cards, and recruits. Between the various story paths and the sheer number of battles to clear, you’re not going to run out of content in Tactics Ogre: Reborn anytime soon.

Strategy fans who are willing to deal with some pretty nasty difficulty spikes are bound to have a good time with Tactics Ogre: Reborn. That tasty sense of triumph when you conquer a map that seemed unwinnable is hard to beat, after all, and you’ll certainly want to see how Denam’s story pans out. Players looking for a direct and faithful rendition of the SNES or PSP versions of this game are going to be disappointed, but an open mind and a ton of patience can take you pretty far here. If not, well, the One Vision mod for the PSP version exists and is readily available, so, either way, you’d be well-served checking out Tactics Ogre in some fashion.

Pixel Perfect

Recommended

Cory G. believes the pen is mightier than the sword…well, depending on how sharp the pen and sword are. A child of the ’90s and a prolific writer, he strews his work about like Legos made of words, just waiting for your brain to step on them. He enjoys a devilish challenge, so when it comes to talking about some of the more difficult games out there, you might just run into the Infernal Accountant Mage. Some advice: hold on to your soul around this guy, and don’t sign anything. Read more at popzara.com.