Released by Squaresoft in the year 1997 on
the Playstation, Final Fantasy Tactics would be a spinoff tactical strategy game creating
the Ivalice worldsetting used in other games like Final Fantasy 12 and Vagrant Story. Written and Directed by Yasumi Matsuno, who
helped create the Ogre Battle games, a dark story-rich tactical strategy series, he joined
Square and basically made another Tactics Ogre game except with Final Fantasy themes. For characters, the game centers around the
mercenary Ramza, though up to 24 more characters can be added to the army roster. For gameplay, battles are standard tactical-turn-based
faire on an isometric grid with characters earning levels at regular intervals, and there
is a permadeath system in place for most characters. There are 22 available jobs for players to
grow their characters within, and each character can be built from the primary, secondary,
and passive abilities from the jobs they've leveled up in so far. In between main missions, sidequests can be
undertaken to occupy unused units, and equipment can be purchased and outfitted. Other than human units, select monsters and
even chocobos can be usable units, and Chocobos can also be used as mounts for other characters. In 2007 the game was ported to the Playstation
Portable with additional cutscenes and updated resolution, as well as a few updated guest
characters, changes to names and translations, new classes, and the inclusion of multiplayer. Chronologically, War of the Lions takes place
hundreds of years after Final Fantasy 12, when a massive cataclysm has destroyed technology,
most all the other non-human races, and repurposed the Espers. The story only gets larger from here, so let's
cut it down to size with a RECAPitation. As the game begins, we see this tale is recounted
by a student named Arazlam, as he speaks of the famous War of the Lions, and its war hero
Delita. However, he brings up that common knowledge
isn't the whole truth, and begins by introducing the nobleman forgotten by history, Ramza. A report hidden by the church until recently
called the Durai Papers recounts the time period from a different perspective, in which
Ramza is actually the true hero, though the Church has officially branded Ramza a heretic. This new testimony brings to question what
really happened during those times, and Arazlam delves in deeper. The story begins recounting how the Kingdom
of Ivalice suffered under a 50 years war, and one year after its defeat in the war,
its King had died due to illness. With only his baby son as heir, stewarding
the kingdom would naturally fall to his guardian, the Queen's elder brother Larg. However, fearing oppressive rule under the
queen, the parliament ousted Larg and instead appointed the king's cousin, prince Goltana
as the new guardian. Both Princes were respected generals in the
50 years war, as powerful Nobles united under Goltanna's Black Lion banner, and disenfranchised
nobles and knights united under Larg's White Lion Banner. Thus began the fight for succession named
later as the Lion War. We now see the young knight Delita scouring
the land until he finds the church where Princess Ovelia is in hidden. Within, we see Ramza has abandoned his nobility
and is now just a mercenary, in the employ of protecting the princess. When enemies under the banner of the black
lion come to attack, Ramza joins Ovelia's guard Agrias in fending them off. This is actually a distraction, as Delita
sneaks around and kidnaps the princess. Giving chase, Ramza is shocked to recognize
his childhood friend Delita and confused at what he's doing. He recalls that at the end of the 50 years
war, many knights and nobles lost their titles or ended up with no money, and so many turned
to lifes of crime or rebellion against the crown. At the time, Ramza and Delita were cadets
in the military in the city of Gariland, under the Order of the Northern Sky. They were sent to help quell revolts in the
kingdom from band of brigands like the Corpse Brigade, and have earned praise for their
battle victories. En route to their assignment of guarding the
headquarters Duke Larg will be at, Castle Eagrose, they encounter some members of the
Corpse Brigade and save one of their prisoners, another squire named Argath. Argath recognizes Ramza's family name Beoulve,
and asks his house to help him also rescue his lord Elmdore from the Corpse Brigade. Taking Argath with them, they meet with Ramza's
family, currently headed by his older brother Dycedarg who lends some aide but this is not
to Argath's satisfaction. Ramza and Delita meet their sisters, Alma
and Tietra who are also taking refuge in the castle, though Delita's sister Tietra is having
a hard time fitting in because she and Delita are actually commoners here under special
exception of Ramza's late father. Ramza's other older brother Zalbaag is dealing
with the ransom situation, but thinks there's more to this and drops information for Ramza
and Delita to work off of. Entering the slums, they briefly spot the
commander of the Corpse Brigade, Wiegraf, but more brigade members bar their pursuit. Finding the leader among them, Argath beats
information out of him, while the man points out the selfishness of the aristocracy that
has forced them to these ends, when they fight for equality. He also mentions the kidnapping wasn't Wiegraf's
plan, but a radical member of theirs named Gustav, who's out in the desert. In fact, Wiegraf confronts Gustav, who doesn't
believe in his revolution, and Ramza walks in as Wiegraf slays Gustav himself. Wiegraf explains the kidnapping wasn't him,
but he will exchange Elmdore's life for his own escape, which Ramza and Delita agree to. While they rescue Elmdore, when they return,
Dycedarg scolds them for going off on their own, pointing out that they cannot punish
lawbreakers if they themselves disregard the rules. At this time, Duke Larg comes in, willing
to forgive in light of their impressive achievement, though behind closed doors, it was really
they who were looking to knock off Elmdore, and him having his life saved puts them in
a better position anyway. Ramza is ordered to serve on the front lines
of routing the Corpse Brigade, and Argath joins them, eager to see battle. They attack a hideout led by Wiegraf's own
sister, but Ramza stays his hand for killing her, despite the cutthroat nature of both
her and Argath for her death. She limps away swearing revenge as Argath
disapproves of Ramza's mercy. Meanwhile, the Corpse Brigade attacks Eagrose
Castle, stealing away Tietra and nearly stealing Alma. Dycedarg orders a full search for the Corpse
Brigade's garrison, and promises to stay their assault until Tietra is safely returned. Delita is outraged at his sister's abduction,
fueled more by Argath's disapproval of delaying their victory on the life of a single commoner. Argath also tries to convince Ramza to embrace
his nobility and stop treating lowerborn commoners like Delita like a friend. Delita storms off and Ramza dismisses Argath
from his service, though Argath says he'll just join Zalbaag in the assault of the Brigade's
hideout. Ramza meets with Delita, who is still frustrated,
and hates how his efforts won't be rewarded just bacause of his status. As they join the assault on the Brigade's
base, they run into Wiegraf's sister again, who refuses to surrender Tietra, even if she
is a commoner, and they strike her down for good this time. Meanwhile, Wiegraf is upset that once again
one of his own is sullying their revolution with underhanded tactics like kidnapping,
but his words fall on deaf ears as his men refuse to leave Tietra behind. As Ramza and crew approach where they took
Tietra, Wiegraf comes out, stating he'll release the girl, but will get revenge for them slaying
his own sister. As they drive him off, he also reveals to
Ramza that Gustav was under orders of Dycedarg as part of his plot to consolidate power under
Duke Larg, so the villains are his own house, not the rebellion. He tells Ramza to look at both his brother's
actions closely for proof and leaves. After they lose Wiegraf, and see Tietra is
still missing, they think to quickly move to the assault on the Brigade's base. At this time, the kidnapper still uses Tietra
as a hostage to fend off the assaulting knights, and lets them know their base is also storing
a large amount of explosive powder. As Ramza and Delita just arrive, they see
an unconcerned Zalbaag order Argath to shoot anyway, and Argath chooses to shoot Tietra
first, killing her, and quickly follows up to shoot the kidnapper too, wounding him. Leaving this front for another Zalbaag leaves
Argath in charge, and Ramza is stunned as he sees his brothers really didn't plan to
keep their word. Delita is enraged and calls out Argath, who
is happy to rise to the challenge. Ramza joins Delita to punish Argath, who questions
why Ramza would betray his own house. As the squires clash over their ideals, Argath
is struck down. Delita then moves to the body of his sister,
and as Ramza moves to comfort his friend, the brigand from before lights the powder
within the tower, detonating everything, and Ramza watches as he loses his best friend. Coming back to the present, Agrias, the princess's
bodyguard moves to pursue the abductor, and Ramza volunteers to come along, as he feels
compelled to confirm the identity of the man as Delita. Following their trail, Agrias has a hunch
where the captors fled to. Catching up to them, they see their abductor
protecting princess Ovelia from other Northern Sky Knights, claiming the knights wish to
kill the princess. Seeing the group, the knights who employed
the man in charge of the mercenaries, Gaffgarion, order him now to kill everyone, exposing that
he was paid to allow the kidnapping and then kill the person who did it, as Princess Ovelia
is considered an obstacle to the throne to those who do not wish for her to claim it. Recognizing Ramza, Delita calls out that this
plot has Dycedarg's touch all over it. Seeing flashbacks of Tietra again, Ramza disobeys
Gaffgarion's command and joins his friend Delita again. Defeating the knights and labeling himself
an enemy to his old Order, Ramza asks Delita what his aim is. Delita reveals he's on neither Larg's nor
Goltanna's side, and is inside doing something else. But, for now he'll allow Ramza to take care
of Ovelia, as he walks away from the thanks of Ovelia and Ramza. Ramza wonders now where they can go since
they have no allies in this war, and Agrias suggests going to the neutral power of the
Church of Glabados and seek the help of Cardinal Delacroix. Elsewhere, we see a young man named Mustadio,
being hunted down for the magical stone named auracite he carries with him. Saving him, Mustadio explains he's being hunted
by the Baert Trading Company, who's quite prominent, but its a front for their organized
crime. It turns out Mustadio also seeks out Cardinal
Delacroix, an old war hero from the 50 yrs war, and needs him to save his father. Elsewhere, we see Dycedarg indeed giving the
command to Gaffgarion to capture the princess and kill everyone else, including Ramza if
need be. Regardless, he isn't worried about their endevour
to seek sanctuary under the church, but is concered about this new third party interfering
with his plans. When the group meets with the cardinal, the
cardinal agrees to shelter the princess and send forces to help Mustadio get rid of his
pursuers in the Baert Trading company. He suspects to know why they chase him, and
produces a small crystal of his own. They review the legend of the zodiac braves,
12 heroes who came forward to oppose the demon race called Lucavi and free Ivalice. Each of them bore an auracite crystal bearing
the mark of a zodiac sign. In fact, the patron saint of the Church, Saint
Ajora was one of the 12 braves, and the stones can still be used to summon their power. Mustadio reveals that ancient machinery buried
deep can be activated by auracite, and Ludovich Baert seeks to harness the power and make
a fearsome weapon. Knowing this, and seeing the princess off
safely, Ramza now leaves with Mustadio for the clockwork city of Goug to prevent Ludovich
from realizing his plot. When they arrive in Goug, Mustadio notes its
awfully suspicious there are no signs of Baert's men nor of the forces the cardinal promised
to send. They split up to investigate, but Mustadio
gets captured by Ludovich himself, who wishes to exchange him for the auracite. When Mustadio's father is now brought out
as a hostage, Mustadio cracks and reveals where he hid it. Ramza is forced to make the exchange, and
Ludovich is pleased, letting slip he's been collecting these for the cardinal himself. Realizing they've played into the cardinal's
hand, they fight out of the trap, also freeing Mustadio's father. While the cardinal's treachery is concerning,
Mustadio smirks and reveals he had the real stone on him the whole time and they only
surrendered a convincing fake he prepared earlier. However, now Ovelia and Agrias are in danger
as when the cardinal realizes the fake, he will ransom them for the real thing. Ramza conjectures that the cardinal is planning
to use the church's image as well as the legend of the braves to end the war, and use the
power of the auracite to secure his rule over even the crown. Mustadio agrees, and points out the roads
will be blockaded against them, so they must travel back by ship. In the dockyards, Ramza is surprised to run
into Delita again, who says he has ears everywhere. He asks Ramza to return to Eagrose and not
get any more involved with the princess or the stones. He points out Ramza cannot save the princess
and would only endanger her more, but he can, as he will still oppose the mighty forces
moving along the dukes, ramza's brother, and even the cardinal. Back with the cardinal, he indeed intends
to use the princess as ransom, and Gaffgarion is there to lend aide in setting the trap
for Ramza and Mustadio. Afterwards, the unforgiving cardinal personally
kills Ludovich for his continued failure. With the betrayal, Agrias has already begun
to flee, chased by the cardinal's gryphon knights, but Ramza arrives in time to help
protect her, as she explains the cardinal is working with Duke Larg. She escaped with the princess but they recaptured
Ovelia and soon move to execute her. At the same time, Delita is working with the
cardinal, though he's urging her to live, when a man comes in to make the bold revelation
that Ovelia is not even the real one. He explains that the real Princess Ovelia
died as a baby, and she was a double placed there for those who opposed the queen, hoping
one day she would replace her. This was why the queen's first two sons were
killed; to secure her route to the throne. However, the queen having another baby was
unforseen. All in all, they want her to go along with
them and be the princess, as if she went with Duke Larg, he would have her hanged. Before leaving her to think about joining
them they stress they are on neither Duke Larg's nor Goltanna's side. We now see the church's men find Wiegraf,
former commander of the Corpse Brigade and now current fugitive. They explain their mutual goal of creating
a new Ivalice free of the reins of the current nobility, and Weigraf takes their offer. Back with Ramza, he's fallen into Gaffgarion's
trap, and fighting out, he's forced to strike down his former commander. Meanwhile, Delita takes Ovelia to the Order
of the Southern Sky, defending her along the way, and asking her to make a choice for herself
whether to wait for fate to claim her, or take his hand and live. Faced with little choice she agrees to go
with him. Back with Ramza, he now confronts the Cardinal,
who mocks his efforts, exclaiming Ramza has truly nowhere to go now that he's turned his
back to the crown, and against his house. He offers him the chance to join him like
the pricess has, believing the stones to give him the power he needs to change the world. Proving this, he takes out the auracite and
activates it, turning himself into the host for a mighty demon. Shocked at this turnabout, Ramza is forced
to kill this abomination, now seeing the artifacts for something far more foul. At this time, Delita makes it back to Duke
Goltanna, offering the princess to gain favor, but also sowing discord in his court, and
spurring him to oppose the prince's claim to the throne. Moving to attack the royal capital Lesalia,
Duke Goltanna would banish the queen and crown princess Ovelia as the new queen. In response, Duke Larg would crown the child-prince
as the true hier and declare himself regent, freeing the queen. Larg's Order of the Northern Sky would march
against Goltanna's Order of the Southern Sky in Lesalia, thus sparking the War of the Lions. As time passes and both sides suffer heavy
casualities, tired citizenry, and depleted economies, one of Goltanna's commanders, Count
Cid bids for peace, but it's firmly turned away by his peers who wish to stay the course,
regardless of the suffering of their people and armies. At this time, Ramza seeks to tell his brothers
how there is another force at play here, dictating the war. Along the way, he saves a man named Orran
Durai, who recognizes Ramza's name, but their meeting is brief as they move on different
paths for now. Arriving in Lesalia, Ramza meets his brother
Zalbaag, and tries unsucessfully to convince him there is a greater power guiding the war,
but Zalbaag hears none of it. As Ramza then turns to leave, he is stopped
by Alma. He tells her Delita not only lives, but is
the one who kidnapped the princess. He also reveals Dycedarg was the one who arranged
the princess's kidnapping, and worries that Delita is siding with even more dangerous
men. At this time, inquisitors arrive for Ramza,
wishing to bring him in on charges of killing the Cardinal and suspicion of heresy, and
warning him that resistance is admittance of guilt and he will be executed as a heretic. Ramza doesn't trust them for a second, and
thus makes a public enemy of the church. After fighting to protect Alma, he wonders
if the church is the one supporting Delita, and is aware of the auracite. Alma claims to have also seen auracite somewhere,
but now wishes to join Ramza, as she too will be branded a heretic after this incursion,
and they both know Dycedarg would not protect her against his own reputation or the church's. Forced to take her with him, they travel to
where she saw the auracite, her old schooling monastery, where they see the church's men
ransacking the place. The elder monk there explains the church has
set Duke Larg's and Golatanna's forces against one another so they can whittle down their
military might and the people's faith in the crown, while the church collects all the zodiac
stones to raise their own might. As Ramza battles to claim the stone from the
hands of the church, they seize his sister, as this division is headed by Wiegraf himself,
who also flees with the stone. A messenger then tells Ramza where he can
find them, but to also bring the Scriptures of Germonique with him. The scriptures of Germonique are a biography
of Saint Ajora by his disciple, Germonique that has been disavowed by the church. According to what he was taught, Germonique
betrayed Ajora to an empire at the time, but this book accounts for everything differently
from how things were taught. Ajora was not a divine child of god, but instead
a normal man born in Ivalice's olden age of technology According to common knowledge,
Ajora was revered since birth after forseeing a disaster that came true. In this era, there was a king who wished to
unite all of Ivalice, and turned to even dark magic to accomplish this. He summoned a demon to do his bidding but
the demon instead laid waste to the world. Ajora gathered the 12 Zodiac stones and defeated
this demon, but despite this victory, the dominant church at the time feared Ajora's
growing influence, and paid off his disciple Germonique to betray Ajora and lead to his
capture and execution. However, in the Scriptures here, Ajora was
described a normal man who was a revolutionary, who also founded his own religion that annoyed
the then-dominant empire. He was a spy and saboteur, and Germonqiue
was just an agent hired to infiltrate Ajora's rank and aide in his arrest. Ajora did indeed stumble upon some Zodiac
stones, but his intention with them was unknown, and there was no struggle against a demon
to mention. When he was caught and killed, a part of the
Empire's city happened to fall into the sea on the same day, thus leading to the rumor
Ajora was a son of god. Making a divine martyr of him, the church
under him confiscated these scriptures, for fear it would expose the truth of Ajora. Elsewhere, we see Ovelia begin to believe
the story that she is a false double, as it would explain why she's been kept away all
her life. Delita sympathizes with her, revealing he
too was put in a role higher than his birth, and made to be someone else's tool. Which is is why, he announces his intention
of burning down the existing kingdom and building a new one with Ovelia as Queen, where the
corruption can be rooted out. With this, and after saving her life from
more assassins, Ovelia begins to warm up to Delita. Elsewhere, Ramza runs into others tossed aside
in the wake of the war, including desperate men after his head simply because they have
no other means to get by. He runs into Orran again, who turns out to
be Count Cid's adopted son, and thus with the Order of the Southern Sky, but given how
Ramza's late father trusted count Cid, Ramza trusts Orran to pass along to Cid the notion
that there are men manipulating both dukes into war, and they are the ones who are the
real enemy. Orran believe's Ramza's story and intentions,
and tells him to consider him an ally. En route to rescuing Alma, Ramza runs into
the messenger from before, named Marach, arguing with his sister Rapha, who urges them both
to flee from Grand Duke Barrington. Barrington eyes the throne of Ivalice himself,
and meanwhile has been leading development of armaments and training mages and asssasins. After Ramza saves Rapha, she explains Barrington
has been exploiting both her an her brother for their unique magic, as he previously had
burned down their village, killed thier family and even raped Rapha personally. Still, Ramza is warned by Marach not to delay
any longer else Alma's life be forfeit. Elsewhere within Barrington's keep, he meets
with the leader of the Knight's Templar, Folmarv (vormav), who was the one who told Ovelia
she's really a double. Barrington recognizes the Knights Templar
as the most powerful force in Ivalice thanks to the Zodiac stones, even more than Duke
Larg or Goltanna, and seeks that they join forces to rule Ivalice. He reveals he already has 2 of the stones,
thanks to Folmarv's own son, who was raiding the monastary with Wiegraf earlier. They are interrupted when Ramza arrives, so
Wiegraf and Marach move to intercept, as Folmarv ends the discussion declaring he'll simply
kill Barrington for knowing too much of the stones and the Scriptures of Germonique, as
he wields a stone of his own. As Ramza wins entry into the castle, he sees
all the guards within slaughtered, and Wiegraf before him. They duel, and Ramza wins the exchange, forcing
Wiegraf to pull back and reveal he also wields a zodiac stone, transforming himself into
a demon, and summoning more demons to his side. Destroying them, Ramza claims Wiegraf's stone,
and hurries to save Alma. Alma actually walks in to a room where Folmarv
has butchered everyone, even severly wounding his own son. He realizes Ramza was right about the stones
and the Lucavi, and tells her to give the auracite he had on him to Ramza. She complies as he dies before her, but now
Folmarv enters, and moves to kill her. However, his Virgo stone suddenly reacts to
Alma, and he pauses, pleasantly surprised, and instead seeks to spare her life and steal
her away. With his battle now taken to the roof, Barrington
is confonted by Rapha, and admits his crimes to her, overheard by Marach, who takes the
bullet meant for his sister. He demands the stone off Marach's body, but
suddenly, a female assassin comes from behind and hurls Barrington off the roof to his death,
and now Lord Elmdore, whom Ramza helped save years ago, enters asking for the stone. Ramza recalls hearing Elmdore died in battle
some time ago, and suspects they aren't human, and succeeds in fending them off. As the sun rises on a terrible night for Barrington
Keep, Rapha hears the stone on Marach sympathize with her and chooses to use it, depsite the
warning of Ramza. To his surprise, Rapha doesn't turn into a
demon, and instead, a holy light comes down and restores Marach to life, forcing him to
wonder if the stones reflect the heart of the user. Grateful, both siblings join Ramza's forces,
and within, Ramza finds the auracite Alma just dropped. In the bigger picture, the war of the lions
has now reached the point where both sides are so weakened, they could not keep rule
of Ivalice even if they won. Ramza notes its strange how some in the church
and knights templar know the use of the stones, and many do not, and wonders if there is yet
another influence manipulating even the church. He now seeks to go to Zeltennia, where Delita
is, in hopes he will help shed light on Folmarv and what he wants. Delita is indeed in Zeltennia, and Ramza asks
him directly why the church planted him in Goltannas's men, and Delita is fine with revealing
he is to assassinate Duke Goltanna and Count Cid. As the war drags on and the people grow more
tired of the leaders of each side, when the heads of both sides and their closests allies
are cut off, like Ramza's brothers, the fighting will stop and everyone will be so weak as
to be forced to accept whatever terms of peace the church offers. Possession of the Zodiac stones will only
solidify their position, but there is one person blocking them in that regard, Ramza
himself. Delita claims he's also on no one's side but
his own, though that means he would not hesistate to kill Ramza, if the time was ever right. Since it isn't the time right now, Delita
doesn't consider Ramza an enemy, and Ramza asks again if they can bring peace together. Delita turns down the offer, though still
aides Ramza in killing another Inquisitor that shows up to take him down. Their business done, Ramza now moves to speak
to Count Cid, as he has hard evidence against the church that can persuade the famed warrior
to his side. However, Cid is now under scrutiny as the
church itself claims he is plotting against the duke. Cid is in disbelief that his decades of loyal
service are turned over so easily without proof, as Goltanna dismisses and arrests him,
and instead brings in Delita to be promoted to Knight Devout and commander of the entire
Order of the Southern Sky. Meanwhile, as both Orders prepare for a final
clash, the church has trapped their battlefield with a debilitating but nonlethal mossfungus
poison. Duke Larg is staggered like his troops, and
Dycedarg takes this opportunity to slay him in cold blood right in front of Zalbaag, who
is shocked to also hear Dycedarg is the one who killed their father to gain control of
their house and now seizes control of the Order of the Northern Sky. Ramza infiltrates the fort Cid is being held
at and meets Orran again as they free his father. He also takes time to prevent the battle between
both orders from continuing by opening up a nearby sluice gate and flooding the battlefield. Now freed, Cid recognizes Ramza from when
he was a child as his father and himself go way back. Needing no convincing from Ramza that the
church is plotting against them all, he joins Ramza's forces to confront the church, while
Orran is sent to secure Princess Ovelia. At this time, Delita makes his move, using
the trust of Goltanna against him to kill him, and sets up a volunteer fake Cid to be
killed at the same time, knowing the real Cid has escaped with Ramza. With both Dukes dead per plan, the Church
proceeds with the next step and attempts to offer peace. However, both sides are surprisingly not in
the mood to wage peace just yet, as Ramza now makes to Limberry to rescue Alma. The church sends a Knight Templar to speak
with Dycedarg about pursuing peace now, and Dycedarg refuses, despite the church reminding
him they helped his assassination plot to begin with. The Templar also drops they are aware of the
knowledge Dycedarg has of poisons and relates this use of Mossfungus to the exact same way
Dycedarg's father died, conveniently enough, noting victims of the Mossfungus sprout toadstools
above their grave. Regardless, on behalf of the church, they
gift him a Zodiac stone, though unknown to them, Zalbaag is listening outside, no longer
trusting of his brother. Arriving in Limberry, Ramza walks into an
ambush left by the lady assassins of Elmdore, who also bring forth demons. Within, Elmdore is with Folmarv, mentioning
how the stones choose their hosts, but a few are already slain. They also discuss how a host has been found
for the High Seraph, but stop as Ramza approaches, and Elmdore opts to stop him on his own as
Ramza seeks his sister. Elmdore explains Alma isn't here and instead
uses his Zodiac stone to turn into yet another powerful demon that Ramza is forced to deal
with and overcome. It bothers Ramza why the true masterminds
behind this have not played their hand with the immense power they still wield, but its
confirmed Folmarv is the one he seeks for answers, and worse yet, he learns he gave
a stone to Dycedarg. Elsewhere, we see an injured Orran infiltrate
the Southern Sky, and inform Ovelia Delita murdered Goltanna as part of a plot by the
church. Delita comes in, sending Ovelia away, who
instead listens in from hiding as Delita spares Orran and instead reveals his plan to topple
both orders, and even the church, and make all of Ivalice level, using everyone as a
tool to build his legend. Elsewhere, Zalbaag confirm mossfungus toadstool
grows on his father's corpse, which confirms Dycedarg has played everyone for fools. Ramza hurries home to Eagrose castle, right
as Zalbaag confronts Dycedarg on his longstanding list of murders and lies, topped by killing
their father. Dycedarg justifies his thirst for power, claiming
it was best for house Beoulve. Though, as soon as they strike him down, his
auracite activates, turning him into the host for another Lucavi demon. He turns to Zalbaag and kills him on the spot,
and in return Ramza overpowers and kills the demon, ending House Beoulve, noting that men
are the sum of their deeds, not their name. As he continues his journey, he collects allies
both new and old like Luso, Balthier and Cloud, and now has the majority of the Zodiac stones
in his possession. Knowing this, Folmarv assembles the Templars
and have them revolt against the church. They capture the high confessor running the
church and have him reveal the location of the necrohol. He tells them the location, but also says
they need the scriptures of Germonique to break the seal on it. Frustrated, Folmarv know he has to find Ramza
now, as he has not only most of the stones, but the scriptures too, and leaves as his
men backstab the head of the church. Ramza marches right to Folmarvs doorstep and
confronts him directly, wherein Folmarv offers to release Alma for the scriptures and stones,
but Ramza offers only the scriptures until he sees Alma first. Taking the scriptures, Folmarv escapes instead,
and in pursuit, Ramza finds the wounded high confessor who shares where the templars are
heading before dying to his wounds. Before leaving for the Necrohol themselves,
Agrias visits Ovelia one last time, ensuring her safety and giving her a dagger to serve
as some protection, should she need it. Journeying into the Necrohol, Ramza's forces
contest and defeat waves of templars, until one of them breaks the seal leading back,
leaving them no way to go but forward. Making their way through the hellish landscape,
they find an airship graveyard and Folmarv within, frustrated that the demon within Virgo
will not awaken and possess Alma, and realizes it's because not enough people have died. As it turns out, the real purpose of the war
was to generate enough death as tribute needed to summon his master the Angel of Blood, and
they need more yet. Using his own stone, Folmarv reveals the true
Lucavi possessing him, and seeks to destroy Ramza once and for all, but Ramza edges out
a win yet again. Not settling for defeat, the demon sacrifices
himself as tribute to awaken the angel of blood, and immediately, Alma awakens as the
legendary Saint Ajora. However, the possession is weak, as Alma is
still able to fight for her own body, and the two are literally divided. Ajora now transforms into Ultima, the High
Seraph, whom the original Ajora hosted ages ago. As Ramza and his small force of revolutionaries
clash against the leader of Lucavi, and its ascended form, they succeed in destroying
the demon that would claim Ivalice. Defiant to the end, the power of Ultima explodes,
destroying everything around them and catching Ramza and crew in the blast. As the game ends, a strife-ridden Ivalice
is without leaders and war now, as we now see a funeral be held for Alma, the last of
the Beoulve house. Ramza, a denounced heretic would be denied
any such service, even though his body was never found, but the service is attended by
his friend Orran. he explains to the grave that Delita has wed Ovelia, and despite being
commonborn, is now a king, and hero who is restoring peace and stability to Ivalice. Despite his tactics of manipulating everyone,
Orran beleives Delita may have been the purest-hearted of them all. Just as he turns his back wondering if Ramza
and all truly died, he is shocked to see Ramza and Alma alive and well, casually riding past
their own funeral. We now see King Delita, bring flowers to Ovelia
for her birthday, but Ovelia quickly brandishes the dagger Agrias gave her and stabs him,
accusing him of using and casting aside absolutely everyone, even Ramza, and certain he will
do the same to her. Immediately, Delita pulls out the dagger and
stabs Ovelia, killing her, and staggers away. His thoughts turn now to Ramza, wondering
which one of them got the the ending they wanted, as he would survive this wound to
lead Ivalice to a long era of peace and become legend, while Ramza would travel to lands
beyond and be forgotten by history. Orran would go on to chronicle all events
of Ramza and his role in the war as the arguable true hero,
and present his report, called the Durai papers to the church that was in the middle of deciding
its new leader. However, history repeats itself, as like Germonique,
his report would be confiscated, Orran himself would be branded a heretic, and he was burned
at the stake for fear of spreading the truth. We now turn to years later when Orran's descendant,
Arazlam, is the one recounting this tale, now understanding the truth of the Zodiac
Braves and the War of the Lions. Final Fantasy Tactics has enjoyed the success
of selling over 3.5 million copies worldwide.
