One thing that I don't feel is explored enough is the role of magic. This is further reinforced by the inclusion of "propositions", or mundane jobs like mining and salvage that your subordinates can be sent off to complete. This suggests a great deal of distance, meaning that 99% of the game world isn't visible and can be assumed to hold farms, mines, and all the other necessary components of a functional society. It takes a day to travel between "waypoints", and a waypoint represents a general area - a forest, a marsh, a city, a castle, or whatever it needs to be. There were no wacky shoehorned races with a single defining characteristic - it's just human interaction.įFT works on a sort of waypoint map system. To me, this gave it more of a direct historical bent. Humans are the only species who have any sort of culture or infrastructure. Monsters and other creatures still exist, but they are dealt with primarily in the form of random battles (i.e. Unlike the later incarnations of Ivalice, the world of FFT holds humanity as the only "sentient" race. However, the actual low-key elements are ignored in favor of the comparatively high-fantasy, high-magic plot. Even the "sealed demon" plot is a bit more mundane than most, connecting more into the intrigue and drama of a tangled social web rather than simply being "get all the stones, kill the demon, everything's fine". It's a war of kings and successions - the mundane nature of the strife makes it more believable. The background is one major thing that I like about FFT. Still, the fact that they don't really discuss either conflict in-depth allows the player to imagine what must have happened given the descriptions in the game's libraries. I can see why they did this, but it also feels like a bit of a waste. In fact, most of the War of the Lions is only shown when it intersects with the "find all the macguffins" plot. Everything described above essentially exists in the background except where protagonists and their actions are concerned. The protagonist's actions deal not with these disputes, but instead with the dealings of the church, who are attempting to gather ancient stones and unlock a sealed demon. In essence, FFT's plot is largely political. Behind the scenes, however, the state church of Ivalice has its own agenda, and is manipulating things to its advantage. This dispute, largely used as a way for nobles to gain power themselves, resulted in the War of the Lions. This trouble came to a head when the weak and ineffectual King Ondoria Atkascha died, leaving the throne torn between his infant son-by-blood Prince Orinus and his adopted daughter / half-sister Princess Ovelia. This led to rebellion and an increase in banditry throughout the kingdom. Following this, payment could not be delivered to the soldiers who had fought in the conflict (an event not dissimilar from the Shogunate's inability to pay samurai after the failed Mongol invasion of Japan). Ivalice's most important recent event is the Fifty Years' War against their neighbor Ordallia, which was costly to both sides. Final Fantasy Tactics takes place in the Kingdom of Ivalice, which consists of multiple duchies not unlike a real kingdom.
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