Blame yourself or God! Let's Play Final Fantasy Tactics!

Table of Contents

• Battle 01: Orbonne Monastery / LP Introduction

Chapter 1: The Meager

• Battle 02: Gariland Magic City / Squires - Basic Information
• Battle 03: Mandalia Plains / Chemists - Learning Skills;
  [Supplemental]
• Battle 04: Sweegy Woods / Wizards - Using Spells
• Battle 05: Dorter Slums / Archers - Zodiac Compatibility
• Battle 06: Cellar of Sand Mouse / Knights - JP Bleeding;
  [Supplemental]
• Battle 07: Thieves Fort / Priests - Brave and Faith
• Material Cause
• Battle 08: Lenalia Plateau / Time Mages - Shell and Status Effects
• Battle 09: Windmill Shed / Monks - Battle Strategy;
  [Supplemental]
• Battle 10: Zeakden Fort / Thieves - Ramza, Delita, and Algus

Chapter 2: The Manipulator and the Subservient

• Battle 11: Dorter Trade City / Oracles - Chapter 1 Summary
• Battle 12: Araguay Woods / Summoners - Bar Jobs
• Battle 13: Zirekile Falls / Lancers - Losing Crystals to Delita
• Battle 14: Zaland Fort City / Mediators - Explaining Evasion
• Wistful Thinking
• Battle 15: Bariaus Hill / Geomancers - Strengthened Magic;
  [Supplemental]
• Battle 16: Zigolis Swamp / Monsters - Goblins Suck
• Battle 17: Slums in Goug / Bards - Mustadio
• Battle 18: Barius Hill / Dancers - Agrias
• Battle 19: Golgorand Execution Site / Samurai - The Music of FFT
• Battle 20: At the Gate of Lionel Castle / Ninjas - Crystals
• Battle 21: Inside of Lionel Castle / Escalation;
  [Supplemental]

Chapter 3: The Valiant

• Battle 22: Goland Coal City / Calculators - Memories of FFT
• Battle 23: Back gate of Lesalia Castle / Advanced Wizard Discussion
• Battle 24: Underground Book Storage Second Floor / Advanced Knight Discussion
• Battle 25: Underground Book Storage Third Floor / JP and Exp Gain quirks
• Battle 26: Underground Book Storage First Floor / America's Top Monster
• [The Germonik Scriptures / Supplemental]
• Vertrauen
• Battle 27: Grog Hill / Advanced Thief and Ninja Discussion
• Battle 28: Yardow Fort City / Advanced Lancer Discussion - Clockticks
• Battle 29: Yuguo Woods / Advanced Time Mage and Oracle Discussion - Status Effect Length
• Battle 30: At the Gate of Riovanes Castle / Advanced Chemist and Mediator Discussion - Spell Constants
• Battle 31: Inside of Riovanes Castle / Wiegraf, Velius, Bards
• Battle 32: Roof of Riovanes Castle / Rafa and Malak

Chapter 4: Somebody to Love

• [Supplemental: Beowulf, Worker 8]
• Battle 33: Doguola Pass / Advance Summoner Tactics and learning skills without spending JP
• Battle 34: Bervenia Free City / Ivalice Geography Lesson
• Battle 35: Finath River / Kicking Specials Out
• Battle 36: Zeltennia Castle / Mimes
• Battle 37: Bed Desert / Stat Growth Part 1
• Battle 38: North and South Walls of Bethla Garrison
• Battle 39: In front of Bethla Garrison's Sluice / Stat Growth Part 2
• [Supplemental: Nelveska Temple]
• Battle 40: Germinas Peak / Orlandu is awesome
• Battle 41: Poeskas Lake / Holy Swordsman are broken
• Battle 42: At the Gate of Limberry Castle / Learning Ultima and all about Ramza
• Battle 43: Inside of Limberry Castle / War of the Lions
• Battle 44: Underground cemetery of Limberry Castle / Meliadoul
• [Supplemental]
• Battle 45: Inside of Igros Castle / Ivalice in Video Games
• [Supplemental: Dude Looks Like a Lady]
• Battle 46: St. Murond Temple / Poaching
• Battle 47: Hall of St. Murond Temple
• Battle 48: Chapel of St. Murond Temple / Depo Dungeon?
• [Supplemental: Deep Dungeon Part 1]
• [Supplemental: Deep Dungeon Part 2]
• Battle 49: Underground Book Storage Fourth Floor / The End is Nigh
• Battle 50: Underground Book Storage Fifth Floor / No Turning Back
• Battle 51: Murond Death City / How not to play a Sorcerer
• Battle 52: Lost Sacred Precincts / MOB SQUAD
• Battle 53: Graveyard of Airships / 999 problems but a Zodiac Beast ain't one
• Battle 54: Graveyard of Airships / End Times

Ending: The Truth Revealed / What One Deserves



Brave Story

• Bar Treasures: Part 1, Part 2
• Unexplored Land: Part 1
• Zodiac Stones

Cast of Characters
Special thanks to Final Fantasy Tactics: Ultima Edition for portrait sprites and being a good reference source.


Ramza Beoulve
A young squire, and member of the great Beoulve family. His father was a key player in ending the Fifty Year War, and both of his older half-brothers are distinguished members under Prince Larg. He also has a sister, Alma, whom he is a full-blood relation to. She is kidnapped by a third power vying for control of Ivalice, and pursues them, holding a book that had the potential to bring Ivalice's history into question...


Delita Hyral
Ramza's childhood friend, him and his sister Teta were taken in by the Beoulve family, a generous offer considering their rather common stock. The death of his sister at the hands of the nobility he once trusted has changed him. Ramza sees him kidnap Princess Ovelia, but it appears he was merely interfering with Prince Larg's dire plans for the Princess. He is now working for a third power, under the command of a man named Vormov, but has pledged allegiance to Goltana. What exactly does he stand to gain from helping Ovelia?


Ovelia Atkascha
A young girl of royal stock, her father, King Denamunda, died during the Fifty Year War. The throne was passed to a relative of the King, Ormdoria, at the end of the War. Was told she was raised as a "fake" princess, but whether that is actually true or not has not been confirmed. Has fallen for Delita.


Alma Beoulve
Ramza's younger sister, she too a half-sibling to the older Dycedarg and Zalbag. Captured by Vormav, who seems to need her for some nefarious purpose...


Vormav Tingle
A mysterious Knight who leads a mysterious group that has been collecting the mysterious but powerful Zodiac stones. Whoever he once was, he has been revealed to have been possessed by a demon from one such stone.

* * *

Mustadio Bunanza
A young mechanic from the Goug Machine City. Him and his father have crossed a criminal organization named the Bart Company, over a legendary stone. His father rescued, Mustadio pledges allegiance to Ramza.


Agrias Oaks
Ovelia's guardian, assigned by the church to protect her. Joins with Ramza to rescue Ovelia from the clutches of Count Draclau.


Dycedarg Beoulve
The eldest sibling of the Beoulve family, and leader of Prince Larg's troops. Was part of a large scheme to take control of the country. He was possessed by a demon within a Zodiac Stone, and was subsequently killed by Ramza at Igros Castle.


Zalbag Beoulve
Ramza's brother, and leader of the Hokuten Knights. Held a high sense of justice like Ramza and their father. When his brother Dycedarg was possessed by a Zodiac Demon, he was captured and broken by their evil magic, and was forced to fight Ramza, who slew him, putting his soul at peace at St. Murond Temple.


Algus Sadalfas
A cadet like Ramza and Delita, Algus seeks to reclaim the good name his noble family once had. Killed at the Battle of Zeakden Fort.


Gaff Gafgarion
A mercenary hired by the Hokuten Knights. Taking orders from Dycedarg, he was sent to capture Ovelia, and retrieve the Zodiac stone that Mustadio had found. Killed at the Battle at the Gates of Lionel Castle.


Weigraf Folles
Former leader of a group called the Death Knights, which were discarded at the end of the Fifty Year War. Now the leader of a group called the Death Corps that seek justice against the nobles which threw them away. His sister, Miluda, was killed by Ramza. He appears several years later and is once again defeated by Ramza, but his death is staved by a demonic holy stone. Defeated once and for all by Ramza at Riovanes Castle.


Olan Durai
Son-in-law of the legendary "Thunder God Cid," he officially works for Goltana, but he appears to share Ramza's sense of justice.

I am Alazlam, a scholar of ancient Ivalice history...

Have you ever heard of the "Lion War"?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



A year after the defeat of the 50 Year War,

The King had died from a terminal illness earlier and the
prince who succeed him was only 2 years old.

This meant his guardian would actually reign in his stead
as King.

The Queen's elder brother Larg was designated as guardian
but fearing an oppressive reign from the Queen, the parlia-
ment ousted the potential prince appointing instead the
King's cousin, Prince Goltana, as the guardian.



Prince Goltana had the support of the powerful Nobles but,
disinfranchised Nobles and knights clearly supported Prince
Larg.



This is the beginning of what will later be known as "The
Lion War".

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Everybody living here knows this hero's tale...

But we also know that what we see with out eyes alone...
isn't necessarily the truth.



There's no record of his playing an active part in history but...

According to the "Duray Report" released last year (conc-
ealed for many years by the church), this unknown man is
the true hero...

The church claims he was a blasphemer and anarchist -
the root of all evil...



Won't you join me on a journey for the "truth"?






* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SQUARE PRESENTS

The "Zodiac Brave Story"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Orbonne Monastery

(Scene: a young lady in a red cloak is praying in front of a
church altar. Behind her stand an elderly priest and her
guardian, a striking figure in heavy armour.)



Female Knight: Princess Ovelia, let's go.

Princess Ovelia: Just a moment, Agrias.

Agrias: The guards have already arrived.

Priest: Princess, don't give Agrias trouble. Please hurry...

(The door to the cathedral opens and three men step
through. A grizzled man in dark armour leads the others.
Behind him is a man in a brown hood and loose fitting
armour, and a young blonde man dressed in a fine suit of
light armour.)



(The two men behind Gafgarion kneel. Gafgarion gestures
in a mocking tone.)

Gafgarion: Is this going to be alright, Agrias? (he pauses.)
This is an urgent issue for us.

Agrias: So there are rude knaves even among the Hokuten?

Gafgarion: I'm being more than kind to the guard captains
here.



(The princess stands up.)

Ovelia: Enough. Let's go.

Priest: Go with God.

Ovelia: You too, Simon.

(Suddenly, a wounded female knight stumbles into the
room. Simon, the priest, rushes to aid her.)



Simon: Prince Goltana's men!?

(Agrias rushes out of the room)

Gafgarion: What one must do to make money.



Gafgarion: ...That's right. (he pauses.) Well then. Let's go!

(Gafgarion, Ramza, and their companion, Rad, leave the
room.)




* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(Scene: outside Orbonne Monastery. Agrias and her two
knight companions, Alicia and Lavian stand before them.
Agrias recognizes their colours...)



Agrias: What's wrong with Prince Goltana!? He's such an
idiot! Does he want to start a war?

Goltana Knight: Knave! There's no point in resisting! Just
give us the Princess, or that beautiful face of yours will be
scarred forever!

(Gafgarion, Ramza, and Rad exit the monastery. Gafgarion
swaggers up to the front.)

Gafgarion: Fool! Only idiots attack head on!

Agrias: Leave this to us!



Gafgarion: Rad, Ramza! Follow me!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Welcome to Let's Play Final Fantasy Tactics! My name is Eddie, and I'll be your player and commentator.

It goes without saying that Final Fantasy Tactics weighs in as one of my favorite video games ever. It was one of the
first games that I ever sunk over 100 hours into one playthrough. When I musing about starting an LP, and I saw that
FFT was on the list of 'most requested' I figured I'd be crazy not to take a stab at it. What's the worst that could
happen? I play a fantastic game again?



The challenge before me is quite immense; this is not one of those games that you bring to the LP game haphazardly,
and it's going to be work. But I hope I can live up to any expectations and make this a fun and interactive LP.

Final Fantasy Tactics?
I'm no historian, but allow me to give the people who played this game a brief history.

FFT was released in Japan in mid 1997, and in North America at the beginning of 1998 on the Playstation. It's one of
them 'tactical role-playing games,' the kind that were mostly unheard of in the United States (or here in Canada). The
closest game that FFT could be compared to was Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. In fact, one Yasumi Matsuno
designed both games, and would later win hearts and minds with his involvement with other great games like Vagrant
Story and Final Fantasy XII (the histories of those games, I shall leave for others to tell, but Vagrant Story is near and
dear to my heart as well).



FFT sold pretty well, garnering enough sales to get a re-release, a lower price, and an ugly green stripe when it joined
Sony's Greatest Hits collection. I'm a proud owner of an unblemished copy, but sadly the manual took a lot of water
damage from a flood in my place last year. With any luck, the decade old CD will chug along well enough to play.

The game has been be re-released on the PSP as Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and is a superior version
with a (much) better translation, two new character classes, some great looking FMV, and a few other nifty features.
Definitely worth a purchase!

There have been two other Final Fantasy Tactics games that have appeared. The first was Final Fantasy Tactics
Advance on the Game Boy Advance, and Final Fantasy A2: Grimoire of the Rift on the Nintendo DS. I recommend
FFTA2, but I had a lukewarm experience with FFTA. Still, the first Tactics Advance game has its fans.



It should be noted that the Advance games play VERY differently than the original Final Fantasy Tactics. I'll be explain-
ing the game mechanics as I go along, so those who are only familiar with the portable Nintendo games should be able
to spot the differences.

Final Fantasy Tactics is, to my knowledge, the first game to be set in Yasumi Matsuno's world of Ivalice. The world is
used in all the Final Fantasy Tactics games, Vagrant Story, and all the Final Fantasy XII games. The games are suppo-
sedly all connected into some sort of timeline, but like most video game timelines, it's confusing, and ultimately is not
worth trying to comprehend.

Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story also are rather un-notable, when it comes to the world-building of Ivalace
however. Aside from some place names, the games do little to distinguish their worlds as being anything exceptional. It
wasn't until Final Fantasy Tactics Advance that the setting really begun to be created, adding several races and
*shudder* Judges that appeared in both FFXII and FFTA2. Sorry Viera fans, the original Final Fantasy Tactics has no
bunny girls. But hey! No laws to worry about either!



The battle you've seen played out in between my words words words is technically the first one in the game. It's pretty
simple tho; the only character you control is Ramza, and between Agrias and Gafgarion losing is probably somewhere in
the realm of 'incredibly difficult.'

But I'm sure one of you readers has used a Gameshark to hack your way to defeat.

Sadly, everyone will have to wait until after the next battle before we can start making any quasi-serious decisions.
But decisions will be made dear viewers! I'm going to be spreading out class and battle mechanics as the LP goes, but
I'm more than willing to answer any questions or listen to any suggestions people have here as to what direction this LP
goes (I'm thinking Ramza + 4 Talking Time recruits), so don't be shy!

We're just about done the introduction here. Join me next time for Chapter 1: The Meager!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(Just after Agrias and her allies deal with Goltana's men, a
scream is heard from inside the monastery.)



Agrias: Damn!

(Agrias rushes back into the monastery; out the back door
comes a knight wearing gold armor. Princess Ovelia's hands
are bound, and she is being dragged away.)



Ovelia: Why should I listen to you!?

Knight: What an annoying Princess.

(The Knight turns Ovelia around and delivers a blow to her
stomach, causing her to collapse. He then grabs her
body and tosses it on a nearby Chocobo. Agrias runs out
just in time to watch the Knight escape.)

Agrias: Wait!



(The Knight, Princess, and Chocobo run off-screen. Agrias
falls to her knees, having failed her charge to keep the
princess safe. Ramza, watches a man he long thought
dead ride off into the night.)



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To be continued...

All chemist ninja party plz.

Dragoon and calculator because those are the only other job names I can remember. I'm not even totally sure they're in this game.

I like your idea to go with mostly recruits. It's my favorite way to play SRPGs these days. Screw you, story characters!

do a calculator scc

this game is my favorite console game of all time.

And if you don't use a monk, i will kill you.

Oracle / Blackmage.

Name him Crowley.

Recruit or breed a Behemoth and name him Dwyvaer.

I swear, that baby Behemoth has saved my butt more times than I can count in my WotL playthrough. Especially in the two random battles I entered specifically to Poach him!

I've got a friend who's completed most of the SCCs (everything except Calculator and Mime, according to him), and from what I've been told, Oracle and Geomancer are supposed to be super-fun to play. I should probably get back to the one I started, in fact...

Not that we're doing an SCC for this run, but I'll just throw that out there anyway.

Anyway, I'm putting my vote in for a Summoner named Vera, because they're the best easy-access mage class and totally rule the school.

Samurai are best. They're the coolest looking and they're not in the later Tactics games.

My favorite team ever was Mime, Samurai, Monk, Dancer, Bard.

I insist that you raise a bunch of animals only to poach them later. Actually, let 'em breed, then poach their kids in front of them.

The one and only time I played FFT the game gave me a Monk named Dallas.

So I think you should have a Monk named Dallas.

(Table of contents is a good idea! I'll have to remember that for my next LP.)

I'm an unabashed fanboy of the WotL translation. It's hard for me to even look at the dialogue in the original version anymore.

i couldn't disagree more. the original translation is better in every way. I had a good feeling, motherfucker!


(there needs to be a monk named bean, a knight named strawberry, and a black mage named harry. i fucking love the random name generator so much)

...But I've been doing it since Bahamut Lagoon...

The old war is rekindled once more.

I'm sure you're serious, because you just seem like the kind of guy who would like the original more, but your choice of an example as to why is curious.

Oh, you.

The original had a vivid charm about it. The very title of this post is indicative of this. Blame yourself or God is a far more interesting sentence, a far more punchy and emphatic phrase, than the new "'Tis your birth and faith that wrong you. Not I." It makes delitia into a very interesting character, doing what he has to do with a very cold, minimal attitude. His new dialogs all make him sound like he doth protest too much, if you know what i mean.

Plus, I got a good feeling just sounds so much better than the stars were in alignment.

The game lost a lot of charm when it became all formalised pseudo-fancy english.

Shh! I'm trying to give the new guy some encouragement!

I second (third?) the old translation. The new one was great but this one makes the whole thing that much more entertaining. Here's looking forward to a great LP!

Thanks!

There's already been a bunch of talk about "use class X" which is super-rad; I'll only be able to use four from the beginning, but I'm not adverse to making more than four randoms.

A few people have piped up asking me to use monsters, which I'm rather loathe to do. Aside from Hydras, most monsters are kind of terri-bad (although with them around you always have eggs for breakfast). I'm willing to grab a few tho if there are enough requests; to fit them in some special characters will need to be booted due to the crappy 16 character limit, but I wasn't planning on using them anyway. I do want to hang onto a few of them tho to at least recruit everyone (and maybe show them off a little) before booting em.

The translation might require it's own separate post; the dialog encountered within the main game is generally passable. It was clearly "looked over" for clarity compared to say, the tutorial stuff Daravon says, which contains a delightful amount of broken english.

As much as a new translation would be neat, you know what? Heck with that. This is the game I fell in love with, translation and all. I'll make sure to highlight some of the funnier ones in a post sometime.

- Eddie

I request a character with the Move Find ability so you can find the secret items on EVERY MAP. Make him a Mediator and name him "Bidoof".

Also, I think it goes without saying that you will steal all the Genji equipment when the opportunity arises.

I just had this horrible image of this mediator, purposefully lowering his own brave/self-esteem to increase the success rate of Move-Find Item.

Except the only word that comes out of his mouth is "Bidoof!"

- Eddie

True calc or spell calc? The first (only?) man who completed true calc was so ecstatic he broke his foot during his victory celebration and didn't notice till after he posted about it. I may be embellishing a little.

I did Geomancer, Ninja, Monk, Knight, Samurai, Lancer, Bard Ramza + 4 Dancers, Wizard, Oracle, and Summoner. I was running concurrent Preist and Mime SCCs, a Mediator Ramza + 4 monsters game, and my own idiotic 8-Bit Theater inspired challenge when I finally burnt out. But BY GOD did I get my money's worth. Best game ever.
l...i..t...t...l..e.....mo...n...e...y'...s.....w. ..or...t...h
It's bizarre, but I remember the names and some of the stats of my first team. My starting chemists, Ramuda and Dog, had awful Faith. They each fully mastered Chemist before moving on to Priest and Wizard, which they sucked at. It turned me off from magic for a long. Then there was Olive, with low brave and high faith, who was a crummy squire, a crummy knight, a crummy monk, and a crummy thief. Then, unexpectedly because I went into the game blind, she became a ninja and the best character on my team until T.G. Cid showed up. Also, my archer got crystalized and eaten by Mustadio, Ramza masted Squire, then Knight, then Geomancer and had Auto-Potion at Wiegraf, which made the fight piss-easy.

Request time: Stick with generics, using the names the RNG gives them. I love that RNG.

Double Request time: Geomancer! Either as a "red mage" magic platform or twinked out with absurd multiplier and PA stacking.

this. this so hard.

Names!

"A year after the defeat of the 50 Year War"

Yeah okay I gotta go with the new translation. At least that one has grammar.