Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
The world of Final Fantasy returns to Game Boy Advance! When Marche and his friends, Mewt and Ritz, open an ancient magical tome, their small town of St. Ivalice transforms into a kingdom of swords and sorcery known as Ivalice. To return his world to normal, Marche must join a clan and take up the sword, learn magic and fight his way through
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Accessories
 Final Fantasy IV Advance
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy I & II Dawn of Souls
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Golden Sun
Tactics Ogre
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Reviews
Both are artificially limiting. But when the game arbitrarily and randomly decides "you can't use weapons in this battle" or "you can't use magic in this battle" with no real rationale, you just start to get annoyed with it. Restrictions on what kind of combat you're allowed to engage in SHOULD make a game interesting (they at least keep you from overspecializing in, say, warriors or wizards). The result is that you end up equipping really weak and generally useless items for longer than you conceivably would in any other game, or you end up lacking very basic skills. I also really dislike the idea of gaining skills by equiping certain items (instead of, oh, you know, USING the skills in question). This is the first time I've ever NOT finished an FF game that I bought.
If I wanted a game that was nothing but combat, I wouldn't be playing FF, i'd break out my old copy of the PC dos-based Dungeon Hack (which is exactly what it sounds like). Not because it was difficult, but because it was mind-numbing. I never thought I'd have to post a bad review of a game in the Final Fantasy franchise, but here goes. There's virtually nil NPC interaction and nothing to figure out. The game is basically a series of battles. Overall, I think the game just lacks a lot of what makes the Final Fantasy franchise such a popular one, and that's a shame, especially consider how good the original Tactics is supposed to be.
The "plot" is virtually non-existant. A MUCH better way of preventing over specialization is to throw the player up against a wider variety of monsters so that they MUST have multiple classes to be able to play to all the enemy's strengths and weaknesses. The laws are arbitrary. I don't know what the game designers were thinking with this. There are no puzzles, nothing in particular to unlock except new battles, and very little sense of progress.
Just when I thought that the game was over, I discovered that my assumption was incorrect. It's wonderful, and I've played it for three years, and I'm still surprised. It's my favorite of all the games that I own. I never get bored or frustrated by it, and the 'tactics' really are what counts the most. What a surprise. I definitely recommend this to anyone, anyone at all. This was the first final fantasy game I'd ever played on my own.
I understand that this is on a Game Boy Advance, and should be played with that in mind. There are some plus's to this game. I am writing this review to let people know that this game is not half as good as the original, and should only be purchased after proccessing that in your brain. If you play any other turn based strategy game on GBAdvanced, do not be deceived. First off, I bought it through Amazon for a decent price in good shape, so you could get a hold of it for about 20 to 30 bucks. Also, when you actually have to fight a challenging batlle.
I guess I was sold on the name, and was hoping to be impressed. I found this game to be incredibly easy for the first half of it. Basically, the only things that carried over from the PS version are the characters and the laws. It is also frustrating to pick up a new guy and have to level him up to be as useful as your current guys. It's cool to change jobs and get new skills, but that will only keep you occupied for so long. They all have very similar mechanics and gameplay.
It is fun to find/buy new weapons and equipment to give your guys new skills. This game is fun until you realize you don't care about a very thin plot line and the battles get very tiresome.
Guess that says it all. Got a good price and was shipped quick. Was told this was a hard to find item, even used. They boys tell me I scored on finding this one.
Others will advance the storyline. Certain weapons and certain armor unlocks certain job abilities. Movement and positioning is particularly important - attacking from the side or rear are more likely to succeed. The difficulty ramps up, though. Grrr. I did notice that the enemy seemed to land more low-chance hits than I did.
It simplifies some aspects: Gone is the delay between executing a particular attack and having that attack complete (like casting a spell or having your dragoon jump). Here, the random battles take the form of fights between your group of characters - your Clan - and a competing Clan. In both the original game and this one the world is represented as a series of linked areas, like dots on a graph. Here, those attacks aren't guaranteed. Tactical elements.
Is it fun. A squad of them could bulldoze a random encounter. FFTA stands in contrast to its more moody predecessor. Aside from a menuing system that's clumsy at times and a presentation that seems to appeal mostly to kids, FFTA improves on the gameplay presented by its predecessor and is a fine game for strategy fans.
Like its predecessor, FFTA allows you to change the character's job. On the strategic side, the introduction of Clan fights gives random battles much more meaning. The characters are likeable and I found them believable after the intro. You need to cough up gil in order to chase after a mission. FFTA is all about kids tromping through a fantasy world. When you're browsing a particular weapon at the shop, the game doesn't tell you which of your characters is already equipped with it, or which are eligible to use it or, more importantly, whether a particular character already has the ability that the equipment unlocks. In the original game, wilderness areas randomly spawned battles and these were used primarily to grind your characters up to the next level. In the original game, a side or back attack almost always landed.
The tactical side is just as much fun as the original game. Until these abilities are "mastered", the character must use that weapon to access that ability. While both present cute character designs, the original game featured a darker, more complicated story. Bottom line:. The enemy AI is fairly easy at the lower levels - several times it has failed to gang up on one of my weakened characters or has sent a its thinly armored spell caster right into a group of my soldiers. But I think it is hindered by a clumsy menuing system. They did this pretty well in the original game. Forward attacks are even less successful.
Presentation. Linking abilities with weapons is not an unwelcome innovation. If you miss that final screen, you gotta go through the process all over again. I have to wonder why it was presented this way - especially with a gameplay system as deep and complicated as this one. They certainly aren't annoying like the whiny COs of Advance Wars: Dual Strike (ugh.
Landing hits has become more difficult. No more wasting an attack because your target has moved out of the way. It also gives you a bit of empire management as you have to chose between chasing off rival clans or finishing off missions. The focus on maneuver is what sets tactical rpg battles apart from traditional rpg ones (where the focus is primarily on timing). I don't know why they dropped it here. However, the game also rachets up the difficulty by introducing laws - rules imposed on the battlefield that prohibit you from using certain weapons, or taking certain actions. The laws, here, forces you to build up alternative characters and think of new battlefield tactics.
Elevated positions increase the range of ranged attacks. In the original game, the casting times just nerfed high level abilities. Here, the game initially ties job abilities to the weapons and armor. How many kids are drawn to these types of games, anyway.
FFTA is a "tactical RPG." The "tactical" part comes from the way it arranges its battles: Characters are arranged on a 3 dimensional grid and take turns moving and taking action. This problem could have been remedied by linking the shop screens with your character information screens. Gameplay. The bright colors and light hearted music reflect that.
You can chose to disobey these rules, but doing so may remove the offending character from battle. The "RPG" part comes from the ability to grow your characters over time. I'm not sure this really adds to the strategic gameplay. The effect of these fights not only levels up your characters, but also increases your Clan's influence on the immediate area. The only thing it does, aside from preventing you from purchasing all the latest and greatest gear (at least in the early game), is to provide some impetus to taking on rival clans. Each new day changes the laws in effect. In the original game, a monk with the Ninja's dual-swords ability and a Counter reaction could land 4 triple digit hits in one turn.
What good is that high level Bolt when the entire enemy squad gets to move before you can cast it. The inclusion of laws is, ultimately, a good thing. Reflecting this, you are rewarded with two types of experience: one that affects your base stats and one that affects your job stats. This, in turn, affects the money you need to pay to engage in story missions. It's reminiscent of the Final Fantasy VI's magic learning system that required characters to equip certain Espers and then to accumulate a certain number of ability points (awarded after every battle) before being able to use certain spells.
FFTA introduces several new tactical elements that set it apart from its predecessor. Instead, attacks are completed when they are executed. stop it with the hip-slang already.). There is much satisfaction in coming up with a plan to attack the enemy's weaknesses, maximize terrain advantages and maximize the strength of your forces. The final notable strategic element is managing the laws themselves - Movement between points on the world map takes a single day. It forces you to come up with creative alternatives and prevents you from stocking your clan with too many of a one class. Yes, I did say "pay" to engage in missions.
Abilities are mastered after a character accumulates enough job experience points which are awarded to all characters at the same rate after a battle. The game also deepens the role of random battles. Themes were more adult, colors were darker and the music was more somber and urgent. Most missions give you items and money. All of the battlefields are well presented and the screens between battles are nicely drawn and I think the crisp graphics rival those on the PS1.
Removing casting times is very welcome. It certainly gives more strategic significance to equipment selection. The order of the changing of the laws is accessible in one of the screens, so once you take on a mission or go after a rival clan, you can time it so as to avoid the more restrictive laws. On the strategic side, FFTA deepens the role of equipment. Strategic Elements.
You can access a list of jobs that can use a weapon, but even this involves hitting the select button, going through a few dialog screens and then hitting the select button again at the final dialog screen. In the original game, equipping your characters involved merely purchasing the most powerful sword you could afford.
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