Every gamer worth their salt is familiar with the Final Fantasy franchise. Some of the best-regarded RPGs of all time, these games really are the yardstick by which all other JRPGs tend to be measured. Not everything the Final Fantasy label touches turns to gold, of course, but the iconic status of the core series speaks for itself.
With such an overwhelmingly popular franchise, spin-offs are bound to crop up. Sure enough, the series has successfully ventured into almost every genre, from fighters to rhythm games. Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story are two very different offshoots from the company, but which is better? Let’s pit them against each other in a number of categories in an attempt to decide!
10 PLOT: Tie
Both 1997’s Final Fantasy Tactics and 2000’s Vagrant Story were critically acclaimed, meaning that this will be one heck of a battle. One aspect of both games that was lauded is their respective storytelling and plot, making it impossible to choose between them on this one.
Final Fantasy Tactics wove an intricate political story, a tale of conflict between rival factions vying for the throne of Ivalice. Vagrant Story, meanwhile (sharing the Ivalice link), follows Ashley Riot, a member of an elite military unit, as he investigates the town of Leá Monde (also ravaged by warfare) in pursuit of a high-ranking politician at the heart of a conspiracy. There are intriguing plot twists by the dozen in both titles.
9 PRESENTATION: Vagrant Story
Of course, being two decades old (a little more in Final Fantasy Tactics’ case), the original releases of both of these titles are looking more than a little jagged today. This is simply to be expected.
However, at the time of its release, Vagrant Story was an incredible technical achievement. The effects, the visuals, the audio… it all combines to make a game that, perhaps, drew every ounce of strength out of the original PlayStation. In fact, in 2007, Square Enix’s Akitoshi Kawazu responded to 1Up’s query about a potential port with, “Vagrant Story was a title that pushed the PS one to its limits. The technical hurdles in porting it to the PSP would be extremely high.”
8 GAMEPLAY: Tie
Again, there’s just no picking a winner in this category. Both titles are sublime, finely-honed gaming experiences (as would be expected of a Square Enix firing on all cylinders), even if they are very different.
Final Fantasy Tactics, like furry funster Crash Bandicoot’s Crash Team Racing, is an example of a studio diving into brand-new genre territory and absolutely nailing it. The turn-based tactical gameplay is still as much of a blast to play as it ever was. Meanwhile, Vagrant Story offers a brilliant strategic twist to the familiar trappings of an action RPG, with some truly unique mechanics to explore.
7 ACCESSIBILITY: Final Fantasy Tactics
As is so often the case with turn-based strategy games, Tactics is a title that breaks the player in relatively gently. The rock-paper-scissors relationship between units is spelled out quite neatly, before the difficulty steadily ramps all the way up. The concept of “easy to jump into and hard to master” is one of the biggest clichés in the book, but it’s definitely the case here.
Vagrant Story, on the other hand, is a game that had bold, ambitious, super complicated ideas and wasn’t afraid to confront the player with them. It’s as deep and engaging an RPG as the PS1 ever saw, which is certainly admirable, but this may have counted against the game with a lot of players.
6 CREATIVITY: Vagrant Story
Fans of turn-based strategy games will feel right at home with Final Fantasy Tactics. The essence of the genre, balancing and positioning units (job classes) with different proficiencies to keep supporters out of the fray, heavier units topped up with health and everyone at their effective ranges, is all present and correct here.
It’s a huge testament to the team that they established all of this so well in their first attempt at such a game. However, Vagrant Story arguably brought more to the table when it comes to its respective genre. From its upgrade system to its combat mechanics, this action RPG really was something entirely new back in the year 2000.
5 DEPTH: Vagrant Story
Final Fantasy Tactics strikes a fantastic balance between complexity and player-friendliness, meaning that it’s not a title simply for genre diehards. Vagrant Story, however, doesn’t make any concessions there.
Even today, dedicated RPG fans who have mastered some of the best titles the genre has to offer can struggle with this one. Groundbreaking in all sorts of areas, Vagrant Story eschewed a lot of RPG conventions (there are no handy item/equipment stores here), for incredibly deep systems and mechanics of its own. The weapon upgrade system alone offers a myriad of options for those who can untangle it, while the combat (in which Ashley can target and weaken different parts of a foe’s body individually, so as to debilitate it in different ways) is finely crafted and very rewarding too. It edges out Tactics here.
4 REPLAY VALUE: Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics is a game that has a very special place in fans’ hearts. Between the original, ports, re-releases and follow-ups (more on those later), there’s something about its formula that has kept players engaged for decades.
Turn-based strategy titles and tactical RPGs, by virtue of their very design, usually offer numerous approaches to each battle and mission. As a result of this and the title’s nigh-perfect gameplay, superfans can play through the game over and over, changing tactics, compositions, and such to give themselves an entirely new experience. While Vagrant Story has similar traits in terms of customization, its linearity causes it to lose some of that impact.
3 Homage To The Series: Final Fantasy Tactics
Of course, spin-offs don’t have to proudly wear a franchise’s identity on their sleeves. When it comes to engaging lifelong fans of said series, though, it certainly doesn’t hurt.
With its oh-so-familiar character classes and setting, Tactics has that Final Fantasy vibe that may well have turned many gamers into tactical RPG fans in the first place. It’s alive with Final Fantasy references, in a way that Vagrant Story isn’t. The latter has a fantastic tone and style all its own, which it’s rightly admired for, but some may not know that it even is an Ivalice title.
2 Legacy: Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics, bolstered by the strength of the Final Fantasy name, became much more than a one-off PS1 title. In fact, it became a series in its own right.
The original game was followed by 2003’s Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, an alternative take on the original as opposed to a simple sequel. Elements from it would feature in the main series’ Final Fantasy XII. Four years later, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift released for Nintendo DS, with the most recent instalment being Final Fantasy Tactics S for mobile systems. Meanwhile, sadly, Vagrant Story has seen only PS3/PSP/PS Vita release in the years since its launch.
1 WINNER: Final Fantasy Tactics
Vagrant Story is an absolute cult classic, a sadly under-appreciated gem in the Square archives that pushed the boundaries of the genre in fascinating ways. It’s a blast to play through, for those with the expertise and patience to master its myriad complexities.
In the contest between Ashley Riot’s adventure and Final Fantasy Tactics, though, the latter spin-off just takes the title. Both are fantastic accomplishments, but Tactics blended key aspects of Final Fantasy with an entirely different style of gameplay and made an engrossing experience that continues to fascinate fans all these years later. Not to mention the series that sprung up around it.
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