Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

"It's good. Go buy it. Now."

So, I remember when this game was coming out, I had always thought it was just going to be another piece of camelpoo from Square whatever it is now. I have rejected EVERY final fantasy game since FFV, which I still hold my opinions on as being the best FF game out there. No, I don't pay every month for the new ones. For some reason, I find this game to be a much better resemblence to FFV, even if it isn't. So sue me.

So naturally, I had dreaded the thought of ever buying this game. However, coming back from summer camp put me in the mood for an RPG of some sort. Having beaten KotOR so many times, I decided it was time to experiment a bit. A bit more research showed this was a good game, so I went out and bought it. Now, I'm not one for admitting I was wrong, but I think I deserve to be smacked for not getting this earlier.

Graphics
>>>>8/10

The only other GBA RPG I have ever played was Golden Sun, so I'll compare the graphics to that. First off, the graphics here were better than that. So I won't be comparing. I lied.

The graphics here are VERY well drawn for the GBA. However, I have seen better. My main problems here were that all the species had relatively the same sprite. It made it less "fun," I suppose. A lot of the characters also need some work. Although intentional, you can't tell from the developers who is a boy, and who is a girl. Open ended? Meh, they could have just let you pick between the two genders (something that Pokemon G/S/C actually did right).

When you change classes, or jobs, your sprite usually changes. However, it doesn't always. Sometimes it feels exactly like what you've been looking at. The more important the character, the less the general change you see. At least, that's my deduction on it. This can get kind of annoying, because I have extreme trouble knowing when my Blue Mage is not a Soldier or Fighter class. That means I need to navigate through menus to find out. Great.

As for weaponry effects, well, I guess they are quite good. Anyone who would have played an RPG, and would be playing this one, knows what a Summon is. And the summons here (calling fourth a magical beasts to hurt the enemies drastically), refered to as "Totema," are quite well drawn. In fact, they are some of the best effects of the game. Better than most of the normal attacks, by far.

The way normal weaponry and magic is concerned, the effects get the job done. They aren't anything spectacular, but they ARE still good. Some of the fire effects definately need some work, as do some of the ice ones, but for the most part I enjoyed what I was looking at. Lightning is probably the best here for magic. Sword wise, the sword sprites do change with your equipment selection, so you will notice the difference in battle.

Controlls/Navigation
>>>>9/10

The controlls for this game are quite simple to understand, as it's an RPG. The usual, A selects what you want in the menu, B exits it, D-Pad moves, and so on and so fourth. That's not where I took a point away, however. No, A point by me was removed by the fact that I just can't get used to the moving my character around.

Like I said, the last FF game I extensively played was FFV. So I am NOT used to moving my character on the battlefield. I was always much more comfortable with being able to just line up and fight, colonial style. However, I guess the system of moving around is more realistic, and it does present more combat options and outcomes. Now party members can get in the way of shots, and now you need to strategically place your people.

Menu navigation is also a pain, at first. It just kind of sucks to me. Althought this might fit more with gameplay, it is quite easy to say that I had no idea how to tell how many AP points I had, that weapons could add more abilities, and that I could change jobs, all from the start of the game. Normally, this isn't that much of a hassle. Bleh. However, once you do learn it, it's a piece of cake.

Sound
8/10

The sound here isn't much to note. The game seems like it is constantly playing that same old battle tune. In fact, it is. Could this be a worse thing to listen to? It's fine at first, but it easily becomes the most repetitive and unenjoyable thing to listen to. And considering how much battling a good RPG'er will be doing, well, I hope you have a stereo nearby where you normally choose to play.

The sound EFFECTS here are very well made, however. The "miss" sound from a failed attack is actually one of the most matching sounds I have ever seen. As soon as it starts to play, my brain is just thinking "oh damn." The magic sounds fit quite nicely too. Thunder sounds like thunder, ice sounds like ice. It's all good, more or less.

The actual weapon effects, such as guns and swords, however, are not quite as entertaining. They sound like a tin can being poked with a pencil, if I had to put it in words. It's just not good enough. Once again, I normally turn my sound DOWN to play, so this is easily avoided, I suppose.

Storyline
>>>>7/10

The storyline here really isn't anything noteworthy. Here is what the first five minutes of playing, and the back of the box gets you (it's actually really easy to explain).

Your character, whatever you name him, and his friends read a library book. Since all of them don't exactly enjoy their lives, some sort of magic in the ancient book (yes, it's magical an ancient) causes their world to change. The characters soon realize they are now IN Final Fantasy, one of their favorite games. Then the story continues as you play. Sort of. Now you are fighting to fix the world, but of course, do you really want this to happen? (That's the dramatic question that's on the back of the box).

Now, the story progressess as you take certain missions in the game. However, the story really sucks, in my opinion. It just was more of a thing to put around the gameplay and move it along, not visa versa. The benfit of that game making strategy, is it now provides better gameplay. Woopie.

At any point in time, you could easily choose NOT to take those certain missions, if you can guess which ones they are (so far I'm a good guesser), and just enjoy levelling up, and things of that sort. In fact, the story IS a nice break after some hard hours of fighting constant battles.

Gameplay
>>>>10/10

Finally, the heart and soul of this game, if you didn't know I already thought that. First off, this is an RPG. Role Playing Game. This means you get a party, and you go through certain "jobs," such as a soldier, blue mage, black mage, archer, gunner, and so on. There are quite a few of these to choose from, for each species.

So you travel the world map. However, it's not like it used to be. You actually pick yourself where to put each town, one by one. You also no longer have random encounters. Instead, you get other clans going point to point like you are, and you will engage, should you meet up. No one dies, because of the judges and the laws.

The judges and the laws are forms of enforcement in engagements. You start off with one law per battle, and laws change every day. So in your first battle, lightning might be prohibited. Doing a lightning attack can cause a card. Think soccer for a minute, with red and yellow cards. That's what happens here. Two yellows is a red, and a red is an eject.

The judges enforce the laws, which gradually become more numerous per battle. They usually just sit and watch the fights, but will move out of the way, and move KO'ed bodies out of the way, whenever they see it necessary. Basically, they are there to help. When they see a law broken, they can send the infringing character to jail. Later in the game you can cast antilaws to override these laws, and even make your own rules. It's kind of fun.

Jail usually means a couple of days or battles being out of your party. After that, you go pick them up again. Easy, but annoying. If your main character gets ejected from a battle, or gets killed in the lawless lands, then the game is over. Or if your party is KO'ed.

The lawless lands are the lands that the judges have no power in. With these lands, loss means death. This makes it quite a bit more nerve racking, especially when you don't want to risk your entire party going dead after all those hours of work. This is where I usually save my Summons (Totema) for. Saves me quite a bit of stress.

So yea, theres FF:TA in the most bit of a nutshell.

Overall

Pros
==>Incredibly fun
==>The replay value comes in just trying new things
==>Once you learn it, you are good to go
==>Most RPG'ers can get this right away

Cons
==>Decent Graphics
==>Hard for new gamers to pick up and play
==>Terrible sound.

Buy or rent

For the love of God, buy this game. It is beyond worth it. Don't think it would be stupid. I was, and it turned out I was the stupid one. This game really is all that people praise it to be. I enjoy it, and I can almost guarantee, you would as well.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/29/04