Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

Screenshot (PlayStation version)

The gameplay of Tactics Ogre is similar to the turn-based strategy style of tactical RPGs. It focuses on squad-level, turn-based, grid movement skirmishes. Like other tactical RPGs, the player builds up a team of several characters with changeable classes and fights battles on isometric grids.[7] The order of movement is determined by the speed of individual characters, in contrast to games in which each side moves its entire team at once. Each character is moved individually on the grid and the order of combat is calculated for each character individually.[7][8]

The gameplay is intermixed with expositional cutscenes revealing the plot, shown in the same isometric view as the battles. Movement and team management between battles are done through a map interface. Most human characters begin as either amazons or soldiers. By leveling up correctly, they can later progress to the other male or female classes, although most advanced classes are limited to certain alignments: lawful, neutral, or chaotic. Another feature is the "Warren Report", a type of database on the land, people, encounters and races of Valeria.[8][9]

The turn-based gameplay style introduced in Let Us Cling Together launched a sub-series within the Ogre Battle franchise with Tactics Ogre being used to distinguish the two forms of gameplay in later sequels, such as Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis.

A map of the kingdom of Valeria.

Chronologically, it is the 7th episode of the Ogre Saga. For eighty years, Valeria has been in constant strife, and its three leading ethnic groups all claim leadership. King Rodrick, aided by the forbidden powers of the "Palace of the Dead," is able to dominate the people of Valeria until Dorgalua of Bakram successfully leads his army to defeat Rodrick. Dorgalua then claimed the throne as his own, and was able to end the struggle between the ethnic groups. Under King Dorgalua, the rights of the people were preserved, and all internal struggles in Valeria came to a temporary halt.

All is right until the entire royal family is lost due to a string of accidents. Because the late King Dorgalua had no living heirs, the ethnic groups once again struggled for leadership: Abuna Brantyn of the royal court, Heirophant Balbatos of the Galgastani, and Duke Ronwey of the Walister all fought for control, but in the end, Balbatos and Brantyn stalemated. In order to preserve their power, the two men took separate measures: Heirophant Balbatos sought an ethnic cleansing policy and slaughtered thousands of innocent Walister and Galgastani, while Brantyn received aid from foreigners, the Dark Knights Loslorien of the Holy Lodis Empire.

Denam Pavel is the primary protagonist in Tactics Ogre. He is the son of Abuna Prancet, and after Prancet was taken away by the Dark Knights and his home town was massacred, Denam, his sister Catiua, and his friend Vyce plan a vendetta against the Dark Knights. He must lead the "Liberation Army" to bring freedom to the oppressed nation of Valeria.[10]

Tactics Ogre had a long development cycle for its time, and was released 18 months after it was first announced.[2] This was the second game directed by Yasumi Matsuno, following Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, which featured a considerably different game style. Conceived as the seventh episode in the Ogre Battle Saga, the game was originally titled Lancelot: Somebody to Love, and then Tactics Ogre: The Bequest of King Dorgalha, before the final title was settled upon. According to Matsuno, Japanese players were not used to the real-time strategy gameplay of Ogre Battle so he changed to a turn based grid system for Tactics Ogre. Furthermore, he stated he felt the previous game "lacked reality", with too many gods and demons, and thus decided to switch to a more dark fantasy atmosphere with a Middle Ages/Roman Empire base for a more realistic setting.[11]

The game was innovative in its nonlinear branching plotline inspired by sound novels and gamebooks at the time.[11] Crucial decisions made in the game determine the path of the story, the members of your army and the ending sequence. There are multiple endings with radically different outcomes. The game expanded the non-linear alignment system of its predecessor, with three types of alignments for each unit: Lawful, Neutral, and Chaos, none of which are portrayed as necessarily good or bad. The game gives players the freedom to choose their own destiny, with difficult moral decisions, such as whether to follow a Lawful path by upholding the oath of loyalty, even if it means slaughtering civilian non-player characters on the leader's command, or follow the chaotic path by following a personal sense of justice, even if it means rebelling.[7][8] Such factors affect the game's ending, which is also affected by decisions such as whether to obtain the most powerful class, which can only be acquired by making a tragic sacrifice.[8]

While the concept of branching storylines affected by Law/Neutral/Chaos alignments had already been explored before in the Megami Tensei series developed by Atlus, Tactics Ogre presented choices more grounded in reality, revolving around war crimes and political alliances, rather than supernatural elements.[12] The dark, complex, political narrative of Tactics Ogre revolving around the reality of war was inspired by Matsuno's outside perspective on events that unfolded during the Yugoslav Wars in the early 1990s, including the Bosnian Genocide.[13]

The subtitle of Let Us Cling Together is a reference to the Queen song "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" from their album A Day at the Races. This is one of many references to Queen songs in the series, including Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, which references "Ogre Battle" and "The March of the Black Queen" from the album Queen II.[14]

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 81% (PS)[25] 88% (PSP)[26] Metacritic 87/100 (PSP)[27] Review scores Publication Score 1Up.com A+ (PSP)[28] EGM 33/40 (PS)[29] Eurogamer 9/10 (PSP)[30] Famitsu 34/40 (SFC)[31] 31/40 (PS)[32] 30/40 (SAT)[33] 36/40 (PSP)[34] Game Informer 8/10 (PS)[35] 9/10 (PSP)[36] GamePro (PS)[37] (PSP)[38] GameSpot 7.9/10 (PS)[10] 9/10 (PSP)[39] GamesRadar+ (PSP)[19] IGN 8.5/10 (PSP)[40] Nintendo Life 10/10 (SFC)[41] PSM 9/10 (PSP)[42] Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) 7.66/10 (SAT)[43] Joypad (FR) 70/100 (PS)[44] Mega Fun (DE) 84/100 (PS)[45] M! Games (DE) 92/100 (PSP)[46] Gamers (BR) 32/40 (SFC)[47] SuperGamePower (BR) (SFC)[48]
Awards Publication Award Supergiant Games[49] Game of the Year Metacritic[50] PSP Game of the Year GameSpot[51] Best Remake

The original release of Tactics Ogre for the Super Famicom received a score of 34 out of 40 from the Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu,[31] while the Sega Saturn port received a score of 30 out of 40.[33] These releases remain exclusive to Japan, despite the Super Famicom version having been made available for the Virtual Console system for the Wii, Wii U and New Nintendo 3DS.

The PlayStation port of the game was the first to be released in other territories, and it was well-received in and outside of Japan, according to the review aggregator Game Rankings, with an average aggregate rating of 81%.[52] GameSpot deemed it "a blast from the past for just about everyone." Comparing it to Final Fantasy Tactics, GameSpot says "aesthetics aside, however, Tactics Ogre is purer and more playable than its hi-tech descendant and definitely worth a look from strategy/RPG enthusiasts".[10] Joypad noted that the game would give players hours of enjoyment, as it is a complex and large T-RPG. However, they noted that the version had no additions from the original version, other than being in English and having loading screens.[44] In Japan, this port received a score of 31 out of 40 from Famitsu.[32]

Released fifteen years after the original game, the PSP port received positive reviews, with an average aggregate rating of 88% at GameRankings,[26] 87 out of 100 at Metacritic.[27] Reviewers praised the gameplay, storyline, and changes to the leveling system as well as the World and Chariot systems.[46] Thomas Nickel of M! Games praised the PSP version as being far superior to the PSP port of Final Fantasy Tactics (which had excessive slowdown) and said that the port preserves the best qualities of the original game, while the new features improve the game.[46]

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is widely considered to be the forefather tactical RPGs genre.[46] Kurt Kalata from Hardcore Gaming 101 stated that "Quest's Tactics Ogre shook up the strategy-RPG formula with its strong, politically oriented storytelling and complex tactical combat", and "together with Square's Front Mission, released earlier that year, essentially redefined a whole sliver of the subgenre".[62]

Although not the first isometric tactical role-playing game – CRW Metal Jacket and Front Mission preceded the release of Tactics Ogre – Let Us Cling Together helped the graphical style to become more popular and prominent in subsequent tactical RPGs, such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Vandal Hearts. Final Fantasy Tactics, in particular, was heavily influenced by Tactics Ogre, to the point it might be considered a spiritual sequel to the game.[63] The gameplay style of the game was also replicated in Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, while other sequels to the Ogre Battle saga – Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber and Legend of Ogre Battle Gaiden: Prince of Zenobia – retained the style introduced in Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen.

Final Fantasy XIV's writer, Banri Oda, claimed that the game's approach in reflecting real-world issues was inspired by Tactics Ogre, and that the game's story would have been different if he did not play that game.[64] Naoki Yoshida, the director and producer of Final Fantasy XIV also claimed Tactics Ogre was one of his favorite games and that it made such an impact on him that he built his career in such a way that he would have the opportunity to work with Yasumi Matsuno, the director of the game, which he did in the Stormblood and Shadowbringers expansion several decades later.[65]

In March 2006, the Japanese Famitsu magazine readers voted on their 100 all-time favorite games, and Tactics Ogre was named number seven.[66] In December 2009, Game Informer published a list of the top 200 games of all time, and the PlayStation port of Let us Cling Together ranked 199th.[67] In 2017, IGN placed Tactics Ogre as the 20th best RPG of all time, citing the mature themes, multiple thread lines, and multiple endings.[68] In 2019, Famitsu conducted a poll of 7,158 of their readers to determine the best games of the Heisei era, with Tactics Ogre placing 15th.[69][70] In 2020, USGamer published a list of the top 25 RPGs of all time and ranked the PSP remake of the game at the 24th spot, considering it to be Matsuno's "most complete and defining work".[71]

• Official website