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Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
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One of the first games from RPG mega-company SquareEnix, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a pseudo-sequel to the 1998 strategy classic. The basic premise is the same: you manage a roster of characters (called "units") and direct their development in a number of different job classes, such as knights, archers and mages. Like nearly every other RPG ever produced, your units progress by gaining Experience and Ability Points in battle. There are a host of new rule systems to learn in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, as well as some interesting new character classes and battle mechanics. It's not the exact same experience as the original game, but it's still a fine game that offers plenty of fun.
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One of the central features of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is the Laws system. Laws are set by Judges, invincible arbiter characters present at each battle excluding those taking place in the Jagds. For example, there are laws that forbid the use of certain weapons, items, elemental spells, or status changes. Breaking a Law results in punishment by Carding, the receipt of a Red or Yellow card. Imprisonment happens if a character infringes a law twice or knocks out another unit with a forbidden ability or Weapons. However, Jagds have no laws; units knocked out in the Jagds will die and permanently leave the Clan if they are not revived by the end of the battle.
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The game play of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has some of the attributes of other RPG's but the battles are from a pseudo-3D isometric perspective. FFTA plays roughly like the elder FFT but it seems to have been toned-down just a bit. The combat screen is in an isometric view as earlier mentioned, but the game-grid isn't truly 3D so there is no way to rotate the screen. There will be times that rotating the screen would be helpful due to the over-crowding of enemies, the Judge, and some scenery. The pacing of the battles is fine, but an option to speed-up combat would have been a nice addition. The enemy AI can be brilliant at times and fall flat on its face haphazardly.
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For such an out-of-this world adventure, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance begins in a very down-to-earth setting. The story begins when young Marche Radiuju moves to the quiet country town of St. Ivalice with his family, to get away from the hectic city life. At his new school, Marche befriends two other youngsters who are ... regarded as outcasts by their classmates. Mewt Randall is a shy boy who is bullied because he always carries a teddy bear, in memory of his deceased mother. Ritz Malheur is a strong-willed girl whose outspoken views have made her unpopular. But when the three friends find an ancient tome at a used book shop, their lives - and the lives of those around them - are changed forever.
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A spinoff was created in 2003, called Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, and in 2006, a stand-alone title called Final Fantasy XII was released for the Sony PlayStation 2. All three games take place in the fictional land of Ivalice. An enhanced remake of Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, was announced as part of Square Enix's new Ivalice Alliance project.[4]
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Perhaps the most interesting thing about Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is that it's sort of a dumbed down version of the original game, at least in terms of story. While the first game featured an epic (yet poorly translated) tale of honor and betrayal, this new release has a much more 'kiddie' feel to it. The whimsical plot involves three young kids who live in St. Ivalice named Marche, Ritz, and Mewt. All three are generally outcasts—Marche is the new kid in town, Ritz seems a little bossy, and Mewt is dealing with the death of his mother and the fact that his father is basically now the town drunk.
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Final Fantasy Tactics Advance