Final Fantasy features dozens of beloved characters and stories, and it’s easy to argue the franchise has pushed the medium’s storytelling forward by leaps and bounds over the years. While plenty of people have favorites like Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy X, the series’ most ambitious narrative is the cult classic spinoff Final Fantasy Tactics. While Final Fantasy often dabbles with weighty themes, Tactics is an entirely different story, with an epic tale of war that dives into themes of racism, xenophobia, religious dogma, and how history is skewed by those in power. On its face, Final Fantasy Tactics seems as simple as any other game in the series, but the way the narrative plays out and builds layers of complexity is incredible — and something that even very few modern games can match.
