(Image source: Square Haven.)
As noted previously, the AI in Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is tougher than in turn-based games. As a result, your party members will die more often than in most games.
Death is handled a little differently in FFT. Units whose health have been reduced to zero are deemed KO’d. They fall with a dramatic (if tinny) scream and kiss the floor. You can revive a KO’d unit in three ways: item, spell or by completing the battle objective before the KO timer winds down. If you fail to revive a KO’d unit within three turns, that unit is gone forever.
This mechanic makes battles very, very tense indeed with many a battle requiring a desperate rescue attempt to save a fallen party member. It also leads me to replay battles I’ve won simply because I lost a valuable unit.
Interestingly, the KO mechanic applies to enemy units as well and you will sometimes see enemy units reviving their fallen comrades. This leads to comical situations which see you hacking down the same unit turn after turn.
The KO mechanic doesn’t apply to characters you’re meant to protect during a battle. If they fall, you’ll get a Game Over screen immediately.
The 3 turn limit on revival after a KO does lead to some tense moments. In one random battle some of the tentacle demons confused my most mobile character and he dashed off to the top of the waterfall where he perished. Cue a desperate struggle to get close enough to revive him, made awkward because in the previous turn I had Immobilised my Chemist because he was also confused and I didn’t want him causing trouble!
I absolutely hate the Confuse status. Nothing like spending time planning your strategy, fine-tuning each unit’s equipment and abilities and then watching it all go to hell when the boss confuses two of your more powerful units with his first move.
(On a related note, if I ever visit Japan, I’m going to repeatedly swing my arms up and down whenever I don’t understand something.)
I had a valuable Ribbon that I stole from someone that gave immunity to all Status conditions, but someone stole it off me in a tough story battle that I didn’t want to repeat. I never found another one (sob).
As for arm waving, that also accompanies regular communication in Italy!! :o)
I’ve noticed cool items on some foes but more often than not I’m desperately trying to kill enemies in story battles as quickly as possible. I seem to be at the stage of the game where there doesn’t seem to be any room for experimenting with jobs or abilities. If my party members aren’t at their optimum configuration, a defeat is almost guaranteed. I should probably try some random battles to level up, unlock jobs and abilities.