Final Fantasy Tactics refresh comes to the PSP this October

The War of the Lions release scheduled for North America, Europe

July 7, 2007

Square Enix has announced that its strategy-RPG Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions will be released in both North America and European territories in October, 2007.

The War of the Lions is an updated version of the original Final Fantasy Tactics for the Sony PlayStation. The game features updated graphics and added full motion video cutscenes with voice acting in the English version.

"The strategic gameplay and exciting combat of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is perfectly suited to a handheld system," says John Yamato, president and CEO of Square Enix Ltd. in Europe. "It's incredible that such an epic story with beautiful graphics, cutting-edge animation and a captivating score can be squeezed onto such a small disc."

The game, which was released in May to the Japanese market, has been well-received. The only major criticism of the game is a slow-down effect during some parts of battle. Square Enix's localization team who are working on the English translation commented in an interview with RPGamer, saying the slow-downs are "not really bad, but what little there is in the game is out of our hands."

The War of the Lions will feature new cel-shaded video cutscenes with voice acting.

Two new job classes, Onion Knight and Dark Knight, will join the twenty from the original Final Fantasy Tactics in the re-release. The game also adds new characters, including one familiar face. Balthier of Final Fantasy XII will appear in what Square Enix describes as an "important role".

The game also features an added multiplayer mode which can be played using the PSP's wireless features.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is part of the Ivalice Alliance project, which includes other titles set in the world of Ivalice: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (Nintendo DS) and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Fuketsu no Grimoire — both for the Nintendo DS.