Tactics Ogre (1995) - a battlefield ordered by speed; 34 points in Famitsu

October 6, 1995, on Super Famicom

Hello, this is Toki. Episode 75 of "Today Is Release Day." Today's pick is Tactics Ogre for the Super Famicom.

It went on sale on October 6, 1995, exactly 31 years ago today. Quest developed and published it. The date matches across a Famitsu-affiliated retro article and the Japanese and English Wikipedia.From the thumbnail of "Tactics Ogre Let Us Cling Together (SNES) - Opening" (CyberWeapon1337, YouTube)

What kind of game: a battlefield ordered by speed

It is a tactical RPG. You move your units around a grid-based battlefield to fight the enemy.

Its signature is the "Wait Turn" system. Instead of you and the enemy alternating, each unit's speed and equipment decide who acts next.

The hero Denam faces choices throughout the story. Those choices change which characters join, where you can go, and how the story unfolds.

The director was Yasumi Matsuno. In interviews from the period (later re-published in English), he said he wanted drama rather than a dull exchange of numbers, and that development took about two and a half years.

Reception at the time: 34 points in Famitsu's cross review

Famitsu's cross review gave it 10, 8, 8 and 8: 34 out of 40. According to Japanese Wikipedia, that earned it the Gold Hall of Fame.

English Wikipedia also notes that the US magazine GameFan named it Best Import Strategy Game of 1995. The game reached fans abroad as well as at home.

Sales figures are reported differently depending on the source, so I will not print a number here.

On the branching story, Matsuno says in the same interviews that memory limits made the paths converge in Chapter 4. Freedom of choice had the limits of its hardware.

Afterwards: three more platforms, then Reborn in 2022

The Sega Saturn version came out on December 13, 1996, and the PlayStation version on September 25, 1997. The PlayStation version also reached North America in 1998, per English Wikipedia.

On November 11, 2010, the PSP version "Wheel of Fortune" followed. Then on November 11, 2022, Tactics Ogre: Reborn launched on PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

The Reborn press release describes the original as a beloved tactical RPG that debuted in 1995.

Video: the opening

The video below is the Super Famicom opening. It was uploaded by CyberWeapon1337 and is not official footage from the time. I include it as a record to convey the game's atmosphere.

Writing it down: 1995

1995. October 6. Now that I have written the date, the article feels finished.

A battlefield that orders turns by speed still makes players ask who they want to act next, even 31 years later.

In a game where choices change the story, have you ever gone back and redone a path you had chosen?