Final Fantasy Tactics was developed by Squaresoft and published in the US on January 19, 1998 by Square/EA for the PlayStation. It was quite rare and could bring prices from $60-100, depending on condition, until it was rereleased as part of Sony's "Greatest Hits" series on July 31st, 2002. (A note of interest: the first print run of disks in the rerelease had to be recalled due to a flaw that rendered them unplayable on PSOne and PlayStation 2 consoles.) The game is now easily obtained even in mainstream retailers.
Final Fantasy Tactics was rereleased in the last wave of Sony's "Greatest Hits" for the original PlayStation, despite the fact that Final Fantasy Tactics was actually an incredible flop, financially. Tactical RPGs, like the Shining Force, Front Mission, and Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre series, have never had success as anything but cult classics.
The lead producer of Final Fantasy Tactics was Yasumi Matsuno, also known for Final Fantasy XI and Vagrant Story. He was also the head director of Tactics Ogre, a game to which Final Fantasy Tactics bears striking similarities. This probably didn't affect Final Fantasy Tactics' sales in the US, as Tactics Ogre was released after FFT in the US, due to a lack of a publisher. (Neither Ogre Battle nor Tactics Ogre was ever a big seller in the US anyway.)
For veterans of the strategy RPG genre, the game is much more fun played without ninjas or calculators. They take all of the challenge out of the game.
As of the time of this noding (August 18th, 2002), a port of Final Fantasy Tactics for the Game Boy Advance was in progress, complete with a new translation. One can only hope that Devaronese will become a thing of the past.
This new game is apparently a new sequel, with a completely different story and as-of-yet undescribed gameplay (as of October 10, 2002). The current working name is Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, but there's no word as to what the final title will be.
There is a sequel for the Game Boy Advance, titled, appropriately, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. In keeping with series tradition, FFTA is only a sequel insofar as gameplay is concerned, not story.
Final Fantasy Tactics || Final Fantasy Tactics Advance || Final Fantasy XII