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Final Fantasy XVI is on the horizon, set to release in June 2023. However, while players wait for the next major installment in the Final Fantasy series, there are plenty of other RPGs the developer and publisher has released to sink some time into. This naturally includes some Final Fantasy titles, but also other Square Enix games from the PlayStation one and Xbox 360 era that has shared some of the development team for XVI or provided inspiration for the mainline game.

Tactics Ogre k2013

Tactics Ogre is a given for those that want to experience what inspired Final Fantasy XVI. Naoki Yoshida, Producer of Final Fantasy XVI has stated in previous interviews that Tactics Ogre (and Final Fantasy Tactics) writer Yasumi Matsuno has been something of an inspiration to him. Tactics Ogre itself is a story-driven strategy RPG that focuses on the conflict between two nations currently at war. Featuring a highly nuanced story, it begs the question as to what sacrifices must be made in order to strive towards peace. It received a remaster, and was made available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. For those that want a glimpse into what Final Fantasy XVI could be, it's worth checking out.

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A mainline title set in the world of Ivalice, this politics driven Final Fantasy game has a lot more in common with Final Fantasy XVI than you might think. It features its own version of Rosaria, and has an incredible localization and some great English voice work to boot. What makes Final Fantasy XII worth playing is it's commentary on colonialism and occupation, and you can see the throughline to what makes it potentially similar to XVI. Overall, it's a fairly solid mainline game that has similar medieval aesthetics, but has a more diverse cast. It's on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC.

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You might be wondering why The Last Remant is in this list of recommended Square Enix RPGs. Well, this is where the Torgal reference comes from. Additionally, Final Fantasy XVI Director Hiroshi Takai also served the same role on The Last Remnant. While not as serious in nature as Final Fantasy XII or Tactics Ogre, it is another hard fantasy title. It boasts a fairly unique system which involves boosting morale and commanding squadrons on the battlefield. Fairly predictable in of it's narrative, it's still intriguing all the same and has one of the more interesting worlds a Square Enix RPG has to offer. It's on the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, and PC.

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Perhaps one of the most well regarded spin-off games within the entire Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy Tactics is set in the Ivalice universe, similar to XII, and shares some DNA with XVI as a result. Tactics is a game mired in politics, discussing class and war in interesting and meaningful ways. With another masterful localization, similar to Final Fantasy XII, it's a game with an incredible story that is absolutely worth spending time playing. Not as ambiguous as Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics is definitely more clean cut in of the morality of its narrative, but just as effective. It's on the PlayStation, PSP, and mobile devices.

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Another Matsuno title, this game features a more "action" focused combat system. Players assume the role of Ashley Riot, a member of the Riskbreakers, who confronts a religious cult bent on seizing control of Valendia. While smaller in scale in of the environments players can explore, Vagrant Story feels more grounded in of its presentation. The combat system may be a bit clunky by comparison to newer RPGs, but is worth visiting for its gorgeous visual presentation and incredible localization. It's only on the PlayStation.

Final Fantasy XVI will come out on June 22, 2023 for the PS5, with a demo to appear roughly two weeks before official release.

The post Quite a Few Square Enix RPGs Capture the FFXVI Vibe appeared first on Siliconera.

Tactics Ogre could be headed to current platforms, if an accidental leak on the PlayStation Network store is to be believed. A dummy PSN store page for an as yet unannounced game called Tactics Ogre: Reborn has gone live, apparently accidentally. Though the product information is by Square Enix and lists the game as "announced" for an undetermined release window, the description is still listed as "dummy,” indicating that the page may have been published accidentally by the PlayStation Store's s.

As of 9:45 p.m. ET on June 13, 2022, the Tactics Ogre: Reborn store page was still live at this link. Here is an embedded screenshot, in case it's taken down.

So far, no platform information is present on the store page, but if legitimate, Tactics Ogre: Reborn could appear on the PS4 and PS5. Whether the game will make it to additional platforms, as Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions did, is unconfirmed. Square Enix filed a trademark for Tactics Ogre: Reborn in April 2022 as well.

There was also some art to be found on the store page, including what looks to be a logo mockup and a background piece. Check them out below.

[gallery ids="930067,930068" link="file"]

Tactics Ogre characters like Denam, Catiua, Canopus, and Warren are clearly visible in the art, implying that Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a remaster or remake of 2010's Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together on the PSP. That game was itself a remake of the 1995 SNES original. It added a number of new features, including a way to explore different branches of the story, as well as to move backwards and redo moves mid-battle.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is playable on the PSP and PS Vita.

The post Tactics Ogre Reborn PSN Store Page Leaked appeared first on Siliconera.

A new game in the Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre series could be on the way. In Japan, Square Enix trademarked the name “Tactics Ogre: Reborn.” The company didn’t make any announcements after calling dibs on the title. However, Square Enix did file trademarks along this line ahead of announcing games like FFVII Ever Crisis and the Live a Live remake. [Thanks, Renka and Nibel!]

First, here's a copy of the Tactics Ogre: Reborn Square Enix trademark that Renka shared.

スクウェア・エニックスが

「Tactics Ogre: Reborn
（タクティクス オウガ：リボーン）」

を商標出願。
pic.twitter.com/jZoXTs9PHK

— れんか (@Renka_schedule) April 7, 2022

This strategy game series began with the SNES game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen in 1993. The series then went on to include games like Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber, Ogre Battle Gaiden: Prince of Zenobia and Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis.

To offer a better idea of what people could perhaps expect, here’s a trailer from the last Tactics Ogre game released. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together appeared on the PSP in November 2010 in Japan before releasing worldwide. It was a remake of the the Japanese Super Famicom game that also ended up appearing on the Sega Saturn in Japan and PlayStation worldwide.

In the meantime, Square Enix has a few other strategy games available in 2022. Triangle Strategy is out now on the Switch. The Diofield Chronicle will show up on the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Switch and PC later in 2022.

The post New Square Enix Tactics Ogre: Reborn Trademark Filed appeared first on Siliconera.

Famitsu recently held a poll for its readers to vote for their favorite games that released in the Heisei period (Jan 8, 1989 – May 1, 2019), and this week’s issue of the magazine has revealed the full top-20.

The post Here Are The Top-20 Games Of The Heisei Era As Voted By Famitsu Readers appeared first on Siliconera.

Earlier this month, we uncovered new trademarks for Tactics Ogre. Now, say hi to Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune, a remake of the original Tactics Ogre by series originator, Yasumi Matsuno.

Famitsu magazine brings us the scoop. They reveal that character design duties are being helmed by Akihiko Yoshida. In addition to art directing for games like Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy XIV, Yoshida also worked on the background art for the original Tactics Ogre. Music for Wheel of Fortune is being composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata, just like the original. The director for the game this time around is Hiroshi Minagawa, who handled art direction for the original game.

The PSP remake has a new character, Raveness Loscaerion, and a new fully-loaded battle system. Other features include new skills, classes, and character side stories. Battles are bigger too with 12 party versus 18 enemies. The original game's largest battles were 10 on 10 fights.

Spencer's note: Square Enix trademarked Wheel of Fortune, in English, in Japan too. Hmm...

Update: Square Enix confirmed the reimagining of Tactics Ogre for North America. In the West, it will be known simply as Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together.

The post Square Publishing A Tactics Ogre Remake For PSP [Update] appeared first on Siliconera.

After Square Enix absorbed Quest, Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre were dropped and Final Fantasy Tactics, a spiritual successor of sorts, lived on. That was eight years ago. So, why did Square Enix a bunch of trademarks related to Tactics Ogre this past week?

And, of all places, in Europe.

Atlus brought the Tactics Ogre series to North America, but the series never saw a release in PAL territories. Even though it hasn’t been used for years, Square Enix is perhaps overprotective of the Tactics Ogre name.

Or, maybe, Square Enix has plans for Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. They trademarked that subtitle too and it would be easy to put the PsOne version on PlayStation Network.

Update: The plot thickens! Square Enix ed Tactics Ogre and Let Us Cling Together in North America too.

The post Square Enix Readies Army Of Tactics Ogre Trademarks [Update] appeared first on Siliconera.

We’re swimming in a sea of trademarks from Square Enix and the latest one is Hikari to Yami no Senshi or Warrior of Light and Darkness in English.

I don’t think Square Enix would release a game just called Warrior of Light and Darkness so I’m going to guess this is a subtitle. But, what franchise is it for? Final Fantasy Gaiden: Warrior of Light and Darkness? Dragon Quest: Warrior of Light and Darkness?

Wait a second… Square Enix also re-trademarked Tactics Ogre in Japan on the same day. Could this be for Tactics Ogre: Warrior of Light and Darkness?

The post The Latest Square Enix Trademark Is Warrior Of Light And Darkness appeared first on Siliconera.

The original Super Famicom build of Yasumi Matsuno-directed Tactics Ogre ~ Let Us Cling Together has been "translated" in its entirety by Aeon Genesis, for anyone that's interested in checking it out. Why the quotes? Because AG didn't write a new script from scratch for the game, choosing, instead, to patch the PlayStation version's script into the Super Famicom ROM.

Many consider the Super Famicom version to be the superior of the two, due to loading issues present in the PS1 build. The translation patch -- which you can find here -- needs to be applied to the v1.2 revision of the ROM. Tactics Ogre games are known for their difficulty and excellent soundtracks, composed primarily by Masaharu Iwata and Hitoshi Sakimoto.

The post Tactics Ogre ~ Let Us Cling Together “Fan-Translation” Complete appeared first on Siliconera.

Next month Japan is getting a couple of RPGs to play with as Virtual Console s. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is one of them, but don't count on this coming out here. Even though an English translation in exists it was done by Atlus for the PlayStation release. The Super Famicom version never came out over here and it's doubtful that Square Enix will invest in translating it themselves.

Don't hold your breath for the Genesis port of Dragon Slayer either. Nihon Falcom probably doesn't have a translated version of the Genesis ROM lying around in a closet.

What games can we expect in North America after seeing this Virtual Console list? Galaxy Force II, Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, and maybe Wallaby!! Usagi no Kuni no Kangaroo Race. I'm kidding about the last one, but it would be amusing if Nintendo gave a green light to an obscure game with kangaroo races taking place in a kingdom run by rabbits.

Here is Japan's Virtual Console list for February 2009. Games marked with a star come out on February 3.

Famicom (500 Wii Points)
Formation Z*
Double Dragon

Super Famicom (800 Wii Points)
Tactics Ogre

Master System (500 Wii Points)
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars

Mega Drive (600 Wii Points)
Galaxy Force II
Dragon Slayer ( title sold for 700)

PC Engine (600 / 800 Wii Points)
L-Dis*
Ghouls 'n Ghosts*
Winning Shot
Super Darius 2
Wallaby!! Usagi no Kuni no Kangaroo Race

Images courtesy of Square Enix.

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