Tactics Ogre Reborn Impressions - 2

Just got done playing through Chapter 2 of this on the Chaos route.

I still think this is a solid remake, but there are flaws that are starting to get dangerously prominent. The battles from Ashton to Tanmas were largely fine, and honestly I enjoyed the battles where the enemies were better geared and so presented a decent uphill challenge. While the challenge escalated afterwards, it did so in a pretty awful, inelegant way, by adding way more meat than the situation called for. I was forced to switch Denim and a warrior to two handed weapons to get sufficient damage, which isn't a good thing, as the game had not ever indicated the team's damage falling off before this.

What really soured the experience was the Vice fight. After a tense, grueling battle in front of Amorika's gates, I was greeted with a uber fast enemy that not only tanked everything, but also got in meaty swings, including an extremely dangerous finisher that often struck Denim for more than 2/3rds his health. And this was with him wearing heavy armor and being a dragoon, a solid frontline class with great defense. I eventually won it by grinding out some levels and getting in a bunch of high end healing items, but it really wasn't a great experience. SRPG duels are rarely enjoyable or interesting, and I have no clue why they decided to make this fight even more painful.

I was a little wary when finishers started showing up, but I would say they are mostly decently balanced here. They can be utilized more often, but their damage isn't outrageous, and them costing MP makes them compete directly with spells and other moves, so they work decently well in expanding player choice without inflating damage, something that was a big problem with them in the PSP version. I still think there were more elegant ways to provide more player choice, but I can't complain too much about their current implementation.

The presentation remains top notch, and the performances remain firmly enjoyable, the only exceptions being Aloser and Lans Tartare, who sound wayyy more like prissy, huffy nobles instead of the badass, fierce/grave warriors the narrative portrays them as.

Off to Chapter 3! Let's see if it compares favorably to other versions there. For those curious or following along, I will be taking the Neutral route. Later!