I never played the PSP version of Final Fantasy Tactics all the way through, but I am a gigantic fan of the original on PSX. So playing through this mod was quite a treat for me giving me a double dose of new experiences. I liked that I actually had to strategize and prepare more than usual and couldn’t always go with my default gorilla strats stemming from the PSX version here, new balances and adjustments had me messing around and experimenting with different builds and characters, one of the most welcoming being Rafa who actually got time to shine (and not be a huge hindrance where she is a Guest).

Many of the quality of life adjustments make a lot of sense as do the new balance changes, making Knight Swords two hand only in particular because let’s be honest, those weapons were straight busted in the original, especially combined with Ninja’s Dual Wielding. The entire playthrough I was was unable to hit for damage cap at all. Monk Ramza with Bracer and a couple rounds of Scream? Nope. Even the almighty T.G Cid was unable to hit for beyond +500 after acquiring the best gear I could get for him. The closest I was able to get was through Beowulf, I’m sure if I pumped him up a bit more I’d be able to pull it off, course that means keeping him in the danger zone.

Deep Dungeon’s changes were some of the most welcome with how it progressively became more difficult as enemies got stronger+tankier, with some particularly nasty combinations of gear and abilities, and of course, that final boss fight at the end that really tested my squads mettle. In the OG I’d just have Ramza teleport straight up there to him, Chaos Blade in hand and he’d go down quick, but here I actually had to slowly wage war up that mountain to avoid getting nuked and locked down.

The final battles going into the “Necrohol” (PSP localization is still new to me) were all quite rough for me as well, especially Cletienne who proved most challenging, compared to the original where he was a mere pushover. However the final boss, the Bloody Seraphim herself Ultima felt like I just scammed her time and time again - She would not let up on targeting Alma.

Once I managed to get Alma to cast Aegis on someone, and slowly start getting everybody else buffed, that was it for her. Going into the 2nd Phase, she just would not stop trying to Dispel those buffs from my squad, and by constantly recasting Aegis on everybody, I essentially had her in an infinite loop. She did not get a chance to attack even once. A pathetic way for the final boss of the game to go, but oh well, the name of the game is Final Fantasy TACTICS and my scumbag tactics won out in the end. Being able to control Guest characters really is the best. No Rafa trying to yolo Not-Sephiroth and his Escorts, and Alma actually getting to see GAMEPLAY, even doing DAMAGE. Amazing.

That said, it was a satisfying experience and I enjoyed it very much. Bit disappointed that I apparently missed out on a couple PSP-exclusive events, but maybe next time.