Tactics Ogre: Reborn review - Everything a remake of a classic game should be

I recently got to talk a little bit about Tactics Ogre: Reborn in the form of a preview. I have to say, my opinions have changed none since then. The Square Enix title is the grandfather of strategy RPG games. I was glad to see a game released in 1995, which was remade back in 2010, receive yet another remake. This one is far more enhanced than its predecessor, changing a wide assortment of things that made the original frustrating.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a game I genuinely love for its depth, rich combat system, and storyline that will make the player face some tough decisions. Depending on what choices you make, you’re going to alter not just your circumstances but the lives of others across the world.

This iteration of Tactics Ogre: Reborn is brilliant, and while not everything in it is perfect, it is, regardless, an exceptional game. It was everything I hoped it would be.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a genre-defining game that still holds up in the best ways in 2022

Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a remake of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, which originally debuted on the Super Famicom back in the mid-90s. An epic story where players ultimately walk the path of Law, Chaos, or Neutrality, the game was filled with memorable characters, useful character classes, and challenging battles.

This was not a game that held your hand for any reason. Brutal and unforgiving, it was difficult but also incredibly fun. The story will occasionally make you choose what your actions will be, and what made it fun was how hard these choices are. Sometimes, to preserve the Law, you must do some truly horrific things. Making these choices will ultimately change who stands with you and who is against you.

In short, this story begins on the archipelago of Valeria, where a group of resistance fighters is trying to save their home. Coming upon a company of mercenaries from Zenobia, the groups band together to fight for freedom.

The story branches depending on what you do, and even lifelong friends can part ways, even the protagonists Denam, Catiua, and Vyce. After all, Tactics Ogre: Reborn has multiple endings, and by branching the story, you can see how other sides of war treat situations. It makes the story deeper and more enjoyable.

You might find this story familiar, and it’s not really a secret why. Yasumi Matsuno also worked on Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII. Both were politically charged games, but Tactics Ogre: Reborn still felt different and special. But what changed in this remake, and is it worth it?

The times are changing

Perhaps the biggest change for me is that your characters don’t have to start over at level 1 every time they swap classes in Tactics Ogre: Reborn. Each unit has its own level, which persists no matter what class they are. While yes, there’s still a bit of grinding, you simply have to have your units survive the fight to get EXP. Unlike Final Fantasy Tactics, each action does not grant EXP. This means you don't have to leave one enemy alive to farm.

The elemental system has been updated as well. Now there are charms you can activate to change a character’s elemental type. It's like FFT’s star signs - elementals are strong, weak, or neutral to each other. This goes for attacks and spells alike.

There are also charms to hand out EXP, which is great if you get a new character that is low-level, or you suddenly find you need an extra archer, and poor Sara is only level 5. Also, you don’t have to spend skill points on unlocking abilities, finishing attacks, and passives. As characters level up, they unlock new skills.

Using abilities increases their power over time as well, so gone are the days of dealing with that min-maxing nonsense. However, it’s not all perfect. You’re confined to 4 attacks and 4 traits/skills.

While this can feel limiting at times, you can adjust to what each battle will demand of you. It’s more tactical and focused instead of simply having a ton of things you can do on every character in every fight.

Almost every ability and attack was rebalanced and updated, making combat feel fresh again. Speaking of battles, the buff cards that periodically spawn are pretty fantastic, in theory. At every turn, it seemed like a blue card popped up on the screen somewhere. Each unit in battle can have four buffs. They enhance your attack, crit chance, restore MP, and things of that nature.

However, they can also make combat unreasonably difficult. I’ve seen attack cards spawn primarily on the other side of the battle alongside crit cards. Suddenly, my allies are being picked off in one hit, and I’m trying a battle a second time. Now, this didn’t always feel unfair, but there were moments that made me want to tear my hair out.

These are just some of the quality of life changes that came with Tactics Ogre: Reborn. The game is more approachable than ever, even if the combat can still be incredibly ruthless. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because the game’s mechanics were overhauled, it’s suddenly an easy game. That is far from the case.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn is still a brutal, difficult game, even with these changes

This is still a turn-based strategy RPG, after all. This genre is well-known for brutal fights that can feel completely overwhelming. Each character takes a turn and can move and/or act in whichever order they feel like. Thanks to a targeting line, you can see if ranged units can hit their target.

Combat was even enhanced to make your elemental advantage clear. You can pick a spell, and it will show you clearly on the screen if your attack is strong versus your opponent. What a brilliant idea that was. Characters in this game have a lot of HP, though, and that just keeps scaling, so some fights are also going to feel incredibly long and difficult.

Like in Final Fantasy Tactics, characters that die have 3 turns until they die forever. You’ll probably want to avoid that. You can either revive allies with items or win the battle quickly!

Never make the mistake of thinking that the game is easy, though. You can only level so far - your party has a level cap that increases as you play the game. Players cannot simply out-level every fight by very much. You have to approach battles with a tactical mindset, and I love that. You can get a few levels over most fights, but there is a limit.

There are also vexing multi-stage fights where you should always make a separate save file. If things go wrong, you can also use the Chariot system to turn back time a few turns and try to fix your mistakes.

It’s also worth pointing out that the game's AI is smarter now. This can be a source of frustration since the enemy actively targets your squishiest and weakest party members. When combined with unique stage designs, this can be vexing but can also be seen as a fun puzzle to solve.

Visually stunning, Tactics Ogre: Reborn is also now fully voice acted

Some people don’t like the smoothed-out art style of Tactics Ogre: Reborn, but I’m not one of those. It all looks quite sharp, and each battle also looks beautiful. I’m a fan of this art style. The character's portraits are fantastic; perhaps best of all, its voice acted now!

The Japanese and English voice casts are incredible, bringing emotion and weight to some of the game's best moments. As a game I’ve played many times over the years, I was glad to hear these characters speak. Tactics Ogre: Reborn has some genuinely heartbreaking moments, adding some serious emotional heft to an already powerful game.

I feel the English dub sometimes doesn’t bring as much emotion to their line readings, but they’re far and few between. Pair this with an excellent orchestrated soundtrack; you have my undivided attention.

In Conclusion

Square Enix's Tactics Ogre: Reborn delivers the relentless tactical combat I was hoping it would, but also brings with it plenty of enhancements, improvements, and positive changes. It’s a story of political intrigue, betrayal, and genocide. It’s a mature story that won’t be for everyone. Some of it may be hard to watch, but that’s part of what makes it exceptional for me.

Fights can feel overwhelming, but take your time and approach with caution, and you can succeed (Image via Square Enix)

The price might seem high to some, but all of the positive changes that came with the remake make it worth it, in my estimation. This is how you’re supposed to remake a classic game. The visuals might not be for everyone, and some changes have made the game harder, but the positives more than outweigh the negatives. Tactics Ogre: Reborn is how tactics games should be remade, and it’s a must-play.