Tactics Ogre: Reborn Reviews
Though slightly tarnished, Tactics Ogre: Reborn is still a tactical RPG jewel.
An exhaustive reworking of a foundational dark fantasy epic, with some quietly radical new ideas.
Despite its quirks, this is the best version of Tactics Ogre. Gone are frustrating class-based levels and the overabundance of secrecy. Replacing them are new frustrations that are less experience-breaking. Reborn makes the grandaddy of strategy RPGs the most accessible it's ever been, and it’s not one to miss. According to Steam, I have already played 62 hours, and I already know that number will triple at a minimum by the time I’m done with it.
One of the grandfathers of tactical role-playing returns with an ambitious new remaster, that includes a surprising number of improvements and only a few missteps.
There’s genius and sincerity at work here. Get deep enough into Tactics Ogre and the entreaty of its subtitle, Let Us Cling Together, starts to sound a lot less goofy and a lot more urgent and sad. How deep you will get into the game depends on your appetite for micromanagement and your patience with gameplay systems that, 27 years later, are starting to creak, despite all the judicious tinkering that’s been done to them. Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a welcome, polished, and thoughtful update to a game that defined a genre — a genre that has now left it behind.
Tactics Ogre Reborn is a superb revamp of an all-time strategy game masterpiece--though this revival is not without some small issues.
Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a lovingly rebuilt remake, and one that all tactical RPG fans should experience.
Tactics Ogre Reborn is, on its own merits, one of the great SRPG in history, which we can now enjoy in the best way thanks to its playable and graphic novelties. However, we miss a greater boldness on the part of Square Enix with this revision of the 2010 remake. If you already played years ago, there are no great incentives to repeat.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a treasure of both classic tactical RPG design and modern sensibilities. I really like the quality-of-life features that make it so much easier to play and stay on the path of the story without much padding. I can also appreciate that this game also contains some tough-as-nails challenges that take an incredible amount of dedication to overcome. In between all that, it’s also just a great story and I really appreciate the Chariot Tarot system allowing you to see the paths untaken at any point you desire. If you want a great tactical RPG, this is not only the forerunner to many favorites, it’s also well-polished for a new generation.
Tactics Ogre is back again, and it's in a better shape than ever. This new edition brings back all the deep gameplay of the original title, adding brand new mechanics which make the overall experience smoother and more contemporary.
Review in Italian | Read full review
In a world where we've seen Square Enix fall down with remasters (examples include the lacklustre Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters and the egregious Kingdom Hearts on Switch), Tactics Ogre: Reborn highlights something special – a change of the guard, so to speak, that bodes remarkably well for the rest of the publisher's classic RPG oeuvre.
Tactics Ogre Reborn is the best overall way to enjoy this classic game.
Tactics Ogre Reborn is a fantastic look at the history of tactics games, and is still a blast even now.
Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a seminal and still-enjoyable SRPG that manages to respectfully hold its own against the many descendants it now exists alongside. Though some elements of its design feel a little archaic, its deeply political and branching narrative, orchestrated soundtrack, and solidly built strategic combat all come together to make for a worthwhile experience. Visually, this version is disappointing, and we wouldn't say Reborn is one to rush out and buy immediately, but if you're a sucker for strategy and want to experience an influential classic with some mod cons thrown in, we'd suggest you keep this on your watchlist.
Not much of a glow-up from Tactics Ogre's PSP remake in 2010, but this is still an engrossing turn-based tactics RPG that will keep you battling for hours and hours and hours and hours...
For all its murky mechanics and slow pace, Tactics Ogre: Reborn still blends satisfying combat with a top-tier story in a way that few games can match. If you’re a fan of the tactical RPG genre and want a serious challenge, there’s simply no reason not to play this game. But newcomers may want to start with something more approachable, or at least keep waiting for that Final Fantasy Tactics remake we’re all hoping for.
With improvements in literally every single area of the game, Tactics Ogre: Reborn is the new standard for remasters.
With improved presentation and various quality of life changes, Tactics Ogre Reborn is a worthy remaster in all areas except for one. However, that one ends up being one of the most important as with poor balancing of difficulty with union levels and an overly inflated HP pool, it became an absolute chore to play early on in the experience and never quite recovered.
For the most part, Tactic Ogre: Reborn is a good game. Heck, it's a great game. But my run took me headfirst into what feels like the cheapest and most unfair change of mechanics that I can remember in my entire personal gaming history. The entire playing experience was spoiled as a result. With the review finished, I am now deleting this game from my hard drive and never returning. I feel betrayed by a terrible design choice and look at the dozens of hours to get to this point as a waste of my time.
The rebirth of a great classic to be enjoyed until the last drop thanks to an exceptional replayability, a script that is never banal and a thousand other reasons. Graphically more could have been done, but Square Enix's mission is still accomplished.
Review in Italian | Read full review