Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

The tactical RPG genre is regarded by many as the pinnacle of video games, dwarfing other games in sheer complexity. TRPGs in general are difficult to grasp, but possibly as a result, extremely satisfying to master. When Square made Final Fantasy Tactics, it was a great merging of two worlds - Final Fantasy and tactical RPGs. This magic would not be replicated until six years later, with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

To say that FFTA is a port, remake, or even sequel would be foolishness. It is an entirely new game of its own, with a brand new (if lackluster) story and massively different gameplay mechanics.

The story of FFTA is rather juvenile - in a nutshell, the main character (Marche) and two friends (Mewt and Ritz) come upon a magic book which, unbeknownst to them, grants wishes; the introverted Mewt wishes for a dream world with nothing but happiness for him; and everyone is taken to this world. Marche becomes the head of a clan as he tries to figure out how he got to this strange place, and the majority of the game is spent trying to return to reality by destroying the dream world. As the game progress, the story is told in an increasingly interesting way, but the basic plot remains pretty hokey.

Fortunately, though, a lack of epic story potential is made up for with gameplay systems that could probably be described as "FFT on crack." First of all, FFTA isn't nearly as story-oriented as FFT. The game flows through missions, accepted in a town's pub; some missions require the dispatch of a party member for a length of time, some require a battle to be won by the party itself. Unlike traditional game progression wherein side-quests are an interruption to the main story, in FFTA, a story-progressing mission is an exception. Of the game's 300 missions, only 24 are in the actual storyline. In a related difference to FFT (and just about everything else), in an odd twist, locations are unlocked by mission progress - and the decision of where to place a location, be it town, forest, mountain, cave, et cetera, is in the hands of the player. Yes: the game's overworld map is customizable.

Random battles in FFTA aren't exactly random: they're wholly avoidable. These battles are represented by roaming clans on the overworld map, which appear at a random location at a random time, then vanish after seven days of moving around. Running into these clans initiates a battle, but the roundabout map allows for plenty of opportunities for escape (unless you're surrounded by multiple clans). Battles themselves are similar to FFT's: characters take turns based on speed, can move across the battlefield terrain, can act based on their abilities, and battle progresses until a goal is met or missed. An unusual addition, though, is Law - every day has a set law arrangement (more laws are active simultaneously depending upon game progress, from one at a time in the beginning to three at a time in the end), and acting against these laws (which outlaw things such as using certain weapon- or magic-types) earns you penalties, even prison time. Expendable items known as Law Cards can set or anull laws when used in battle.

Perhaps the biggest draw of FFTA's core gameplay is in the job and ability set. FFT had one race and 20 job classes (which were taken largely from Final Fantasy V); FFTA, in comparison, has five races (human, moogle, bangaa, nu mou, viera) and 34 job classes - some crossing multiple races, but most restricted to one. FFTA's jobs are mostly different from FFT's, and many present welcome and fun new sets of interesting abilities. Customizable abilities remain mostly the same, with a main ability set for a job class, optional second set from a previously-learned class, a reaction ability for coming under attack, and a support ability for passive empowerment. There are also selectable combo abilities which, when learned, can be executed by multiple characters within attack range when one of them uses the Combo skill. Combos deplete JP, which are not Job, but Judge points in FFTA (summoning totema - unique summons affiliated with each race, summonable regardless of class - also uses JP). Which leads into perhaps the most aggravating difference between the two games: contrary to FFT's system of learning abilities for a job class based on Job Points (attained from successful actions, just like experience points) from using that class, FFTA's class abilities are learned by equipping certain weapons and earning ability points (which are doled out only at the end of a battle, and are independent of the actions taken in said battle). Not only does this make earning the points required to learn abilities more time-consuming, but the matter is further complicated by the rarity of many ability-teaching items.

Graphically, FFTA is pretty good for a portable screen (some effects in particular look wonderful even when enlarged with a Game Boy Player). A large annoyance in a related department, though, is that unlike the original FFT, FFTA's battlefields cannot be rotated - and it's not uncommon for something (a location or even a character) to become hidden entirely behind something in front of it. FFTA is musically pleasing despite handheld sound limitations, with a number of addictive tunes, and the sound effects (even some of the death cries) are well-executed.

Replay value is big in FFTA. Not only do races, job classes, ability sets, and (tons of) items make for a wide array of customizability, but there are also lots of things to do. As mentioned earlier, the game has a total of 300 missions (many of which can be replayed). There are five secret characters to be earned after beating the game. Each location in the game can be "freed" to become "Clan Turf" (which unfortunately comes under near constant attack). And the basic game, just playing through, could easily last around 50 hours. Some estimate that FFTA has up to 300 hours hiding within it, just waiting to be exploited - the game is far from over after its "ending."

FFTA has a lot of new ideas: some of them hit (clan wars, new classes, new abilities, extended game length), and some missed (clan turf, law, ability learning system, story). It would be difficult to claim that FFTA can measure up to the original Final Fantasy Tactics, but nonetheless, it is a good and innovative game. If you're a fan of FFT, or any tactical RPGs, you should play FFTA.

Progress: Complete