FINAL FANTASY Tactics: The War of the Lions Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)) Reviews

• Great Guide

  
  By A2W0LMPC72GGTJ on 2007-10-28
  As an owner of the Prima Final Fantasy Tactics Guide, I had very high expectations for the new guide. The Prima guide was excellent, and everything a guide should be; well put together, offering pages and pages of useful tables, great battle maps, and useful strategies ... all without giving plot away (well, as much so as possible). Luckily, hit & miss BradyGames has created an excellent guide for FFT: War of the Lions that is just as good as its predecessor.
  
  Pros:
  * Very pretty to look at
  * Very well organized, clean, and easy to read
  * Useful and easy to read tables
  * Great looking battle maps, with treasure grids and deployment locations.
  * Useful battle strategies - it will help you win if you're new to the game or struggling, and will make sure you don't miss anything if you're a veteran and are breezing through.
  * Many great hints and strategies for getting the most out of your party, many great optimization strategies
  * The Job Overview section is very well laid out, and has a recommended skill set section for each job. Very handy for new players, and might offer new and exciting combos for veterans.
  
  Cons:
  * Several minor typographical errors. My favorite is: "Female [X Zodiac Sign] has the best chance of stealing [Y's] equpiment and everything he has is really worth taking. Try not to deploy" ... what a great place to cut off. :p Luckily, the really important information was stated
  * I have 1 quibble with the layout of the guide. They chose to do a walk-through section, followed by a section of secret stuff/sidequests, followed by a section of the multiplayer stuff. However, the earlier multiplayer rendezvous are in the walkthrough section; only the later ones get their own section. I feel that all of the multiplayer material should have been grouped in one section, or scattered through the walkthrough as it becomes available; not a combination. Also, the secret material should definitely have been put in the walkthrough section when it becomes available, so you don't miss it.
  * The Prima guide has a very useful star system for ranking all of the job abilities. This guide just has a paragraph for each section telling you strategies and such about the jobs. While I like the strategy paragraphs, I wish the star system was there if you just want to quickly see which abilities are worth learning/using.
  
  Overall:
  This was a GREAT guide whos pros definitely overweighed the very minor cons. I highly recommend it for new players and veterans alike, as its jam-packed with useful information, full-color and easy to understand maps, and is very easy to flip through and find what you need. Sure you may be able to find all of this info online, but you can't really get the easy to read maps online; those alone (for the hidden treasure) make the guide worth it. 5 stars!
  
  *update*
  A few additional thoughts/problems:
  1) Meliadoul's attacks now affect any unit, not just units wearing armor. The guide says the exact opposite, and discusses strategy based on that premise.
  2) You can no longer steal from elmdore. The guide doesn't mention this, and seems to suggest the opposite.
  3) Some of the errand rewards on the errand table are wrong. However the needed factor and suggested classes are correct, so its not a big deal.
  
  None of these problems are enough to detract from my score, however.
  
  

• Excellent Guide

  
  By A28V2K87KOCQZ4 on 2007-12-23
  This guide is very useful for the average gamer and the hardcore ones. The job chart in the guide shows you how to unlock each job and I found myself referring to it on a constant basis. It helped me plan on which characters were going to do specific jobs like Dancer (female only) and Bard (male only). The guide also has great deployment recommendations before going into battle without revealing the storyline or cut scenes. It also shows you how to see hidden cut scenes and obtain rare weapons and armor for Dark Knight! If you are a true FF fan and plan on beating the game and unlocking everything, then this guide is for you!
  
  

• FFT Guidebook: good and worth it

  
  By A315DYNLQAYGQH on 2008-05-05
  Well it covers everything you need in the game, and not just the basic walkthrough of each mission. It gives some really good tips on jobs and skills, some combinations I haven't used before that are really good.
  Also it covers all the secret missions and how to beat them and also how to get all the secret characters, and it's no big secret Balthier from FF XII is one of the guys you get.
  
  The book gives an in depth chart on all the missions, all the maps, all the items/weapons/armour you can get. And also guide for the Deep Dungeon (one for the hardcore with time to spare) to tackle.
  
  Aside from it being a great guide... you will be happy to know the artwork is great too. Not like some guidebooks that are so fnctional I may as well read it from gamefaqs.com... this one is lovely. As you can see from the cover, you get a few bits of eye candy. And on a small note, the pages aren't fragile thin as they are plastic coated/filmed.
  
  

• Worth buying.

  
  By AKG4WXXGU1F2T on 2007-12-02
  Little to no errors in the text and guide itself. It lacks equipment lists for enemies in battles which is anoying, but not crippling.
  
  As stated early in the guide, it is not for people brand new to the game. It is for people returning to the world. Some good tips (some I had no clue about) and tricks as well as good coverage on the multi-player aspect.
  
  All in all this guide is well worth the money.
  
  

• One of the best guides ever.

  
  By A1Z1BIXFWQJNT3 on 2007-12-07
  Now I've acquired many a player's guide over the years, some great, some not so great, but I have to admit, I couldn't ask for a better guide than this one. First off: It looks fantastic. The artwork looks great. There are charts for each job that are very easy to read. The maps with the locations of hidden items and traps are especially helpful. There are lists of all the items and pieces of equipment at the end of the book so you know just what to snatch up when you come across them, and they usually tell you when a particular character has a useful piece or set of equipment worth stealing. They also have the new Melee and Rendevous battles placed in the book right after the storyline battles that have to be completed to unlock them. Now I've beaten the original Playstation version more times than I care to admit, and I've got to say, "This guide has EVERYTHING!" They have all the tricks and secrets that, while considered cool glitches when the game first came out, are now the staples of building your own personal dream team. As much as I've played this game, this guide has strategies that I'd never even thought of for certain classes' ability set ups and equipment combinations that make you nigh unstoppable. This is the ultimate guide for the ultimate strategy RPG. Brady games always does a fantastic job, and this guide is no exception. Bravo.
  
  
• Decent guide but has some issues
  By A315WVTJUWATJW on 2007-12-12
  This guide is awesome as far as maps, poaching, level up/down tricks, jobs, and the best source for the new multiplayer function. It does have some things that were changed from the original that either they didn't know and assumed, or forgot to mention; example: Elmdor's Genji equipment CAN NOT BE STOLEN. They mention it in the guide, but don't bother trying, IT DOESN'T WORK. He has a built in Maintenance/Safe Guard in the PSP version and it doesn't work. I tried and tried until I read on the forums at gamefaqs.com. The only other issue with the guide is, even though it is one of the few authorities on multiplayer currently, it is off on how the reward system works, so don't put a lot of faith in it. Other than that it's great for the Story Line of the game and has a lot of nice art.
  
  
• Well-Executed, Well-Organized, and Thorough
  By A2DF8N3I4L9NB3 on 2008-01-03
  This is one of the best strategy guides I have read, and that's saying a lot. (I have a few dozen strategy guides in my collection.) This guide is worth buying even if you only have the PS1 version of the game and don't plan to buy the PSP version.
  
  The guide opens with an explanation of the game's mechanics that is beneficial to FFT newbies and veterans alike. (It even reveals several of formulae that the game uses to compute damage and success rate.) The guide also rates the statistics and gives advice for maximizing the potential of all the generic and special jobs, including recommended skill sets for each job. There are battle maps for each area, including a grid showing where your units will deploy and where you can find various treasures. (There are even usable maps of Midlight's Deep, AKA Deep Dungeon.) One nice afterthought that BradyGames added was a list of definitions of some of the more obscure words used in the new translation.
  
  My only complaint is echoed in Brian Klein's review: the Rendezvous and Melee battles should be in separate sections, since many people won't play the wireless mode.
  
  
• Don't Just Win the Battle; Win the War
  By A29BQ6B90Y1R5F on 2008-01-14
  If you've picked up Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and you're interested in all the extras, then this is the perfect guide. If you've got the original Prima Games guide to the original Final Fantasy Tactics, you're not getting a whole lot of info for what has been added to (and changed) from the original Final Fantasy Tactics. In short, even if you have the Prima Guide to the original game, the Bradygames guide is a far better investment.
  
  The guide begins with a long introduction. It's nothing special, but quite interesting to read if you're a little interested in the history of Final Fantasy Tactics.
  
  The guide then goes into the basics. Despite being ten years old, Final Fantasy Tactics is still a fairly complicated game in many respects. If you're familiar with the original version, then the game basics section isn't meant for you. However, there are still some valuable tips and good information here that's good for those who are unfamiliar with the game and those who need to be reacquainted with it. It does a far better job of explaining the game than the instruction manual. There's also a great deal of information here that isn't present in the manual. If you're having trouble understanding the way Final Fantasy Tactics works, the strategy guide is a far better resource than the manual. The basics section is huge, spawning over twenty pages filled with tons of information. By the time newcomers are finished here they should be able to breathe Final Fantasy Tactics.
  
  When we're done with the basics we move into the job system portion of the guide. Once again, you'll find some helpful tips and you'll also find a job flow chart that will show you what job levels your characters need to be to access new jobs. The guide doesn't explain how to use the flowchart, but it's pretty self explanatory. Afterwards there is one page dedicated to every job on the list. They'll tell you the requirements to get the job and what jobs require it. For example, it shows that there are no requirements to get the chemist job class, but it is required to use Chemist in order to access White Mage, Black Mage, Onion Knight and Mime. There is also a job overview as well as suggested tips to help you fight well with the jobs. There is also a full list of abilities. This is actually one of the most helpful sections of the guide, especially because they've got some really good tips to raise job classes to their full potential.
  
  The guide also gives full detail on the characters. It's actually a lot like looking at the job class section of the guide. But once again, very useful information can be found here. Especially for those who are struggling with the difficulty Final Fantasy Tactics presents to new players. It'll also give you the lowdown on finding hidden characters like Cloud and Balthier.
  
  The walkthrough is where some may not find the guide as useful as others. Final Fantasy Tactics is, afterall, a tactical strategy RPG. Unlike other RPGs your enemies attacks and movements are completely unpredictable. Hence, the guide doesn't go into a lot of detail on the encounters. Just the same, it doesn't have to. It does offer suggestions, such as what job classes to assign in the battle. But don't expect it to tell you where to move along the field. It just gives you the low down on what jobs to send in and who to eliminate first. So while some of the strategies are pretty vague, you're actually getting more help than you think. It helps you figure out what to do in battle, but lets it up to you to decide how to do it.
  
  Aside from some tactics, what the guide really helps with when it comes to encounters is how it manages to point out most everything. Where the enemy units start and where to find hidden goodies on the maps. For those experiencing Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time, Bradygames has crafted a spoiler free walkthrough. But it doesn't leave you out in the dust either. Along the way there are also some crystal clear screenshots with captions there for you.
  
  There are tons of secrets in Final Fantasy Tactics and the PSP version has a plethora of new things to find provided you don't mind linking up with someone. The guide will go into all the Rendezvous and special missions as well providing some advanced tactics like how to raise units faster or how to learn spells without JP. There are a few keepers here in terms of secrets. You'll also, of course, learn about how to obtain the hidden characters. Everything about Melee mode and the helpful secrets of Rendezvous mode are revealed. You're definitely getting your money's worth with this guide.
  
  Finally there's a poaching guide and errands run down. Needless to say these portions of the guide are also excellently detailed. Last but not least, there's the appendices that list all the weapons, armor, items etc., which is pretty standard fare for an RPG guide.
  
  If you need help with Final Fantasy Tactics The War of the Lions, this is the guide for you. It's full of just about everything you need. Don't just win the battle. Win the war.
  
  
• Excellent
  By A1E5PUN329YHQP on 2008-02-12
  It has everything from pictures to guidelines. Everything a "strategy guide" needs. Well organized and easy to follow.
  
  
• Great and Complete guidebook of FFT psp version
  By A1WNZ3ZVMAEX7C on 2008-02-12
  I really like this book, because it contains all of the details, of course, not only the walkthrough. But, more importantly, it also tells us the invisible factors in the calculation of achieving something, for example, to achieve rare item after the melee mode. Other than that, it's standard; details walkthrough, nice printed, easily-to-look format, and great paper quality (if this counts,lol).
  
  Only one thing is bad, after my great great experiences purchasing items at Amazon, I received this book in a defective condition. It's torn (I don't want to return it since i couldn't wait to receive and use this book right away, yet another book). I don't know if it's because UPS or from Amazon. But, it's no big deal. The shipment is a very lightning fast shipment (This is what i like from Amazon). Anyway, great book.
  
  

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