Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

"A game that will make you feel geeky for finding excuses to take long car rides."

Introduction
Well. Another review by M.H.Z. (see also Z.o.E.:T2ndR). I usually write reviews in games that I'm interested in pre-release, like Z.o.E. 2 and the like, and see if they live up to expectation. Of course, you can see how well the mecha game of the decade lived up, but would FFT:A continue to the streak of awesome sequels (see: Z.o.E2, Dark Cloud 2, Advance Wars 2, Golden Sun 2)? The answers are below.

Graphics and Presentation - 9/10
At first glance, FFT:A's packaging and box doesn't look all that catchy - some signature artwork of feminine-looking boys and girly girls, and some hulking dudes behind them clad in full-frontal body armor (don't be thrown by the wheelchair - this game still takes place in the past!). I didn't even bother to read the back of the box, since I was so eager to see the game in action (note that FFT on PSX is my favorite game of all time), but that's pretty standard Square-ish fare. Pop the game into the GBA (or SP, if you have it) and you'll instantly catch the Square Enix logo, which threw me for a second - actually seeing the logo like that was odd, for me. Anyway, the colors are beautiful on startup, especially on the SP, and this game even looks good on the Gameboy Player, which I think was probably built solely with this game in mind. There are multiple color settings, depending on which medium you're playing the game on, and don't worry, GBA people (oh, you backward people you) - it looks good no matter what. Vibrant pastels are pretty much the order of the day, and lush background and beautiful graphics complement the game's snazzy intro perfectly.
Once you've actually started PLAYING the game, however, it only gets better. The sprites and characters are well-animated and visually impressive, matching up with those of the first Tactics game, and the game does a great job of teaching you the differences in the games right off the bat, so that both vets and newbies will understand the Law of the land (more on that later). The music is fairly decent, especially given the GBA's crappy mono-speaker setup, but all the same, this game's presentation, once out of the box, rules.
As explained above, the graphics are excellent - whether the backgrounds or the characters, they all look very good. The color-setups function well, too, although it usually looks good no matter how you're playing it. FFT:A also has the advantage of learning from it's predecessor's mistake of ''skewing'' sprites as the screen rotated (a function curiously absent from the portable incarnation). Everything is visible enough, not too ''blendy'', and the effects of the spells and attacks are very impressive, given that there are just so damn many of them (and some of the ''combo'' skills put even FFT's combat animation to shame!). Overall, the graphics work perfectly fine for me - I'd give 'em a 10/10, given their incredible performance on a portable console.

Gameplay and Mechanics - 10/10
Ah. The most crucial issue of an entire game (no, RPG fans, not story). While a great story is enough to fuel some people, it's widely acknowledged that without a good gameplay system, the game becomes a chore (see also the Legacy of Kain series). However, such is not the case with FFT:A, which adeptly combines turn-based strategy with action and micro-management.
First off, FFT:A uses the same battle engine, the same ''world-map'' style, and the same feature of clicking through towns through cursor-riddled menus. Vets of the first game will feel right at home in the ''new'' Ivalice, excepting one thing - you now place world-map locations on your own, potentially setting up the entire world to your own liking (except, of course, the first town, ''Cyril''). Don't expect any of the locations of the old Ivalice to return, however - fans of Goug Machine City and Igros Castle may be disappointed to see their favorite locations gone. Mostly, though, the out-of-battle gameplay is essentially the same.
The ability setups, however, has DRASTICALLY changed. And by drastically changed, I mean it. In the previous FFT, you could learn skills according to Job class, if you had killed enough enemies/performed enough actions to warrant a Job Point reward. You gained EXP and JP for every action performed successfully, and could put those JP towards learning whatever skills you wanted. In FFT:A, there is no such feature. Sure, certain Jobs still learn exclusive skills, but now the only way to gain access to a new ability is to equip a weapon/armor/accessory that will endow you with that skills until you ''Master'' it. The only way to ''Master'' a skill is to gain AP - which you gain from the end of missions. No, you will no longer be able to level-up your fighters at your leisure - no matter how hard they fight in-battle, they will only earn EXP and ALWAYS get the same amount of AP granted to everyone else at the end of the battle. This shocked and dismayed me a bit, right off the start, but you'll get used to it. Actually, it's a rather pleasant change of pace, and lightens the load of building everyone evenly - in FFT:A, you essentially have little choice. While it's no better and no worse than FFT's system, it is a change, and some may resent it. Again, however, it's not better or worse - just different.
Battles occur in the same fashion as the first Tactics did, and for those of you who know better, the first Tactics' battle system was derived from the old Front Mission SNES games, wherein the battlefield is divided into a grid, and you ''Move'' and then ''Act''. All actions are given specific ranges - i.e., a Fighter can hit short range, but if there's an enemy perched high on a cliff, use an Archer to snipe him down. It's really great stuff, but it's essentially exactly the same as FFT's formula - proving Square Enix knows the first law of strategy games; ''DON'T SCREW WITH THE ORIGINAL EQUATION.'' Adding stuff is okay, but to detract from FFT's wondrous battle system would've been a mortal sin that no diety could forgive.
Another enormous gameplay addition is the ''Law'' system, which governs which skills, abilities, or actions you can/cannot use during any given battle (which, of course, is always watched over by a mindful judge). Use a recommended action and you'll recieve a reward (JP, Judge Points). Use an outlawed action, and you risk penalties, fines, even imprisonment! (Note that if your main character is sent to jail, the game is over.) This forces apprentice strategists to rethink their games before starting a battle - i.e., you could build up a powerful, elite, two-sword wielding ninja as your trump card character, then have ''Fight'' outlawed in a battle and rendering them useless. Of course, this plays right into the ''Antilaw'' feature, by which you can collect items (cards) that grant you the power to override certain laws and magically protect yourself against their penalties (later on, you can even institute laws of your own!). This is a strategist's wet dream, perhaps, because it makes you think on your feet - you can cancel, enact, disable, and erase Laws, which govern all action on the battlefield. It's a pleasant change, and although it takes some getting used to, a definate improvement. Anyone who doesn't like the Judge system shouldn't be a strategist, anyway - play AW2, suckas, and you'll see what I mean.
Footnotes: You can't die in FFT:A. That's right. You can't die. There are now five different ''races'' in FFT:A, and they determine which jobs you can be (i.e., a human can be a fighter, but not an assassin - only viera can be that). There's more Job classes, and the ones that remain have been radically changed so that you'll be living FFT:A, and never want to go back to FFT's Jobs. Mysteriously missing, though, are the ''specialized'' NPCs of yore - no Orlandu, no Agrias...no special jobs at all. Shocking, to say the least, but again - not worse, not better, but different from FFT. 10/10

Audio - 7/10
FFT:A is a GBA game. Unfortunately, this means that the music is strictly MIDI files that don't sound too awesome on regular speakers, let alone the GBA's crappy monospeaker setup. Still, though, the game has some fitting tunes, although nothing you'll really remember, like FF7's music. For the most part, however, the music serves it's purpose - amplifying the game's atmosphere. The sound effects are no better and no worse than the music, although the cool ''text rolling'' sound effect when characters spoke in FFT is curiously absent. Hmm.

Plot - 7/10
Wow. This is a RADICAL change from FFT's dark, gritty tale of manipulation, backstabbing, and monsters borne from the Church's lust for power. Instead of fighting demons birthed out of supposedly ''heroic'' stones, you'll be battling in ''engagements'', which can be likened to a sport rather than a war conflict. Marche Radiuju, our main protagonist, is a boy who befriends Mewt Randell, a shy and oft-picked-on boy, and Ritz Malbeur, a tough chickie who is overtly outspoken. The setting is the modern town of St. Ivalice, and the game starts off with an innocent snowball fight - a good barometer of the events to come. As things progress, Mewt opens up a world called ''Final Fantasy'' when he cracks open an ancient magical tome, and the world is filled with monsters, knights, and kings, and it all seems to reflect Mewt's ultimate dream - to have everything he wants in a fantastical setting. While the game does have some dark undertones - you are, make no mistake about it, killing your friend's dream to return to a world you didn't really like, anyway - it never comes off like FFT's grisly story about a former friend using you to serve his own purposes. Never once in FFT:A's entire plot do you get that sinking feeling in your stomach, like ''Oh, crap, that probably spells doom for our heroes.'' FFT:A is mostly a feel-good story with a semi-dark twist - it's fluff, and thankfully, it doesn't really pretend to be anything grandiose. Lucky for us, FFT:A can stand on the strength of it's fantastic battles and awesome micromanagement.

Replay Value - 10/10
Holy crap. With hundreds of skills to learn, dozens of Jobs to undertake, and randomized assignment of missions, I don't think it's possible to play through FFT:A the same way twice. It has everything you need to play it over and over again - and then some. Since the battles are so engaging, you'll be playing this one for a long, long time.

Buy or Buy?
Buy or buy? Buy. Definately. That's it. There's nothing really to this section. If you won't buy this, you're an idiot. And you should never reproduce. SO THERE.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/18/03