AWAY WITH THE FAERIES

FAE TACTICS revives and simplifies the tactics JRPG.

- Philip Palmer

Taking away some of the complexities seen in other JRPGS, Fae Tactics is a stripped-down and faster experience than classics like Final Fantasy Tactics. From the outset, the game lays out building blocks that most strategy players are familiar with: Elemental rock-paper-scissors, creature collecting, and combo attacks. Fae Tactics lets you get comfortable in a routine for a few battles, then upsets that routine with novel threats.

Some of these challenges were painful the first time I encountered them as heroine Peony, resulting in difficult battles if I didn’t adapt my party composition or tactics. Other times, I found ways to turn enemies’ traps against them. Once I encountered a gremlin operating a cannon covering the bridge over a pond, with another enemy blocking the far side. After my first two attempts got me blasted by cannon fire, I tried swapping out my summoned units for a pair of flying ones, who merrily flew across the water and then cleared out the roadblock.