Tactical Ogre: Reborn is essentially a remake of Tactics Ogre: Let’s stick togetherwhich itself was already a remake of the original Tactic Ogre. It’s incredibly rare for a game to get a second chance, let alone a third, but what’s even more interesting is that Square Enix wasn’t content with just putting out a simple re-release reborn.
With the help of series creator Yasumi Matsuno, Square Enix has brought a wealth of significant changes to the game Tactical Ogre: Rebornre-evaluate the game’s core systems and create an experience that practically feels like something new.
Tactic Ogre takes place on an archipelago called Valeria and focuses on a trio of characters named Denam, Catuia and Vyce. The narrative continues after the death of King Dorgalua Valeria, which plunged the country into a civil war between three factions. The trio of main characters are part of a small Welsh resistance group whose village was burned by the Dark Knight Lanselot of the Holy Lodissian Empire.
As you’d expect, there’s a lot of lore and history behind it Tactic Ogre Story, but you gradually learn about it as the story progresses. Interestingly, the story starts out rather small in scope by focusing on the trio, but as they are thrust into the middle of a war, things expand significantly in both scope and drama. The registered letter Tactic Ogre is still absolutely fantastic and adds a layer of complexity to an already complex and politically charged story.
This narrative is exactly the same as before in terms of content, but the way it’s delivered has seen some serious improvements. The voice acting is the big innovation here, and I was hesitant at first, not sure if it could properly convey the seriousness and weight of the game’s script.
Color surprises me then when reborn Voice acting turned out to be my absolute favorite addition. The cast does a phenomenal job across the board, bringing real dimension to a variety of characters and turning the story into an even more dramatic affair than it was. I can’t think of a single tactical RPG I’ve played that has this quality of voice acting, aside from maybe Fire Emblem Echoes. To help with this, the character art has been retouched to look even better than before, and there are some previously generic characters that now feature unique designs.
The majority reborn However, changes occur in the combat system. The core concepts are the same: choosing classes for characters, equipping items and consumables, and managing MP. But the biggest change is how leveling works, with each character leveling up separately instead of classes. On top of that, your entire party now has a level cap that only increases as you complete certain battles in the story.
That means you can’t endlessly grind to level up your characters, instead focusing on strategy to beat tougher fights. This makes the leveling system a double-edged sword. I appreciate the constant challenge, but some of the more intense fights can get incredibly frustrating, especially when the bosses are feeling so far above your party’s power level.
Fortunately, other small changes make battles more accessible. You can check incapacitated units, rewind time with the Chariot Tarot, and predict ranged attack trajectories. Buff cards that appear on the battlefield can be picked up by both you and the enemy.
Tactic Ogre Battles are more challenging and dynamic than ever before, and your skills will be constantly tested, whether it’s hour five or hour 40. There’s a plethora of other changes I could enumerate a few thousand words more, but the whole point is The Tactics Ogre’s systems are more accessible than ever. However, that doesn’t exactly mean they couldn’t be better.
Just like the last two versions of the game, reborn is still a relatively dull tactical RPG that requires a lot of work from you just to understand its systems. There’s a game guide you can read, but most of the decoding is left to you through trial and error. Creature capture and loyalty mechanics are still largely unexplained, and it’s easy for players to overlook or underuse them.
Tactics Ogre: Reborn Review – The Verdict
Advantages
- Excellent story made even better by incredible voice acting.
- Significant changes that make combat feel constantly challenging.
- New mechanics like buff cards really make battles feel more dynamic.
Disadvantages
- Still has a lot of obtuse systems that aren’t properly explained.
- A high level of difficulty may turn off players looking for a more accessible experience.
Tactical Ogre: Reborn is a thoughtful re-release of a classic, adding meaningful changes to make the experience more accessible compared to previous installments. Overall, these changes are a good thing, but the complexity of Tactic Ogre is not lost. Die-hard fans will probably be happy to hear this, but it would have been nice to see Tactical Ogre: Reborn strive to be even more accessible to newcomers.
Despite it, Tactic Ogre remains one of the most imaginative and addicting tactical RPGs ever made, and this is by far the best version of the game yet. If you happened to have missed any of the last iterations of Tactic Ogrethere’s never been a better time to jump in, and hopefully it means the franchise still has a future.
[Note: Square Enix provided the copy of Tactics Ogre: Reborn used for this review.]
