Tactics Ogre: Reborn was announced yesterday after a leak already warned us of its impending arrival and November 11 release date. Like many of Square Enix’s remakes, the game features updated graphics, voice work, a re-recorded soundtrack with an actual orchestra, UI improvements, and quality of life changes that make this the best version of the game ever made.However, fans are taking offense at Square Enix’s $50 USD price (£44.99 in the UK), especially considering Tactics Ogre is a remake of a game that was already remade in 2010 for the PSP. The original game came out in 1995 for the SNES, and the upcoming remake is based on the PSP version."This is totally outrageous but, unfortunately, unsurprising in [current year]," wrote one Steam user shortly after the game’s store page went live. Others were even less charitable to Square Enix.
"I've played this game countless times on both SNES and PSP, for me it's a much better game than [Final Fantasy Tactics]," another user said. "But who the hell in Square Enix thought that pricing an emulated semi-remaster the same as a full last gen game was a good idea? There's no way this game is going to have that much new content to justify this pricing. No way I'm paying $50 for a 30-hour nostalgia trip."
More users noted that Tactics Ogre is even more expensive outside the US, with Canada, Israel, and Saudi Arabia paying more than $50 even after conversion.
However, considering Square Enix prices all its new releases at $70 regardless of whether its current-gen or last-gen, it might consider $50 to be relatively reasonable.
While the price seems to be the main sticking point for fans, some consider the remade sprites to be a step too far. Older Tactics Ogre players consider the smoothing to be too much, while younger players are actually apologizing for not appreciating the blocky sprites as they originally were.