Square Enix has revealed the release of Tactics Ogre: Reborn for the PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and Steam for November 11, 2022. This will actually be a re-release/remaster of a 2010 Tacitcs Ogre title, Let Us Cling Together, which was only available on the PSP.
What are the upgrades from Let Us Cling Together to Reborn?
HD characters and backgrounds- The original pixel art has been remastered to look better on modern HD displays.
Fully updated user interface- The interface itself is now in HD and has been redesigned to make all information easier to understand while streamlining the controls.
Sound improvements- All sounds have been given the HD treatment and the soundtrack itself was produced using a live orchestra. The voice acting can be switched between English and Japanese at any time during game play as well.
A completely redesigned battle system- This game will use a Unit by Unit leveling system with a vast upgrade to enemy AI where they will change tactics based upon the battlefield layout and overall status of the battlefield itself.
General playability improvements- A quicker pace of battle, auto-save and general improvements to to all controls have been added to Reborn.
While it's nice to see an older title like this, especially such a "niche" title and genre, get the remake treatment it's not without complaints from fans. One of the complaints is about the HD remake of the visuals. Fans seem to think it takes away from the experience as a whole. In my opinion, I think that's just nostalgia clouding their minds as you can see in this graphic below the HD pixel art looks way better than the muddy pixels of the original game.
The other, more legitimate, argument is the price point for this remake. Tactics Ogre: Reborn comes in at about $49.99. While paying that much for a remake of a PSP game, I have to give Square some support here. It probably wasn't easy porting over a 12 year old game, with outdated graphics, code and god knows what else, and getting it to run on current gen systems with the improvements they have made. If you feel the $49.99 price point is outrageous then do like a lot of people will do; wait for an inevitable sale and snag it then. It's what I would do. Or just complain on the internet for clout and buy it anyways at full price. You do you.
In conclusion it's actually a welcome sight to see an older game of this genre, and especially the franchise, get a remake. There's been too many cash grab remakes/remasters of all successful last gen franchises since the launch of our current gen titles. Games like GTA V and The Last of Us seem to have become the Doom of consoles: "can the system run our game?" "Yes. It can bu-" "Shut up Floyd! Put game on the system! I don't care how many iterations we've got out there! Just tell them it's got even more enhanced stuff and we'll throw in all the years old DLC!"