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Review  Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
- By Lander Clinton
[Editor In Chief]
Here it is, Square's first game on a Nintendo system since the Super Famicom's Treasure Hunter G. It's their first in America since Super Mario RPG, and their first Final Fantasy since number three (six in Japan). So was FFTA worth the wait? How about the weight? You know all that dragon meat goes right to Final Fantasy's thighs...
Gameplay:
FFTA is a strategy RPG and a semi-sequel to the Playstation's Final Fantasy Tactics. What that means is you shouldn't expect the typical Final Fantasy experience. Instead, almost the entire game is played out in battles. The only things the player can do outside of battles is learn more about the story and customize the party, which can have up to 24 characters.
Battles are fought with up to 6 party members at a time to keep it from getting insane, although it would have been fun to wage a massive battle with all 24 members of my party. I know there's a joke about the show "24" in here somewhere, but I want to get on with the review. Personally I'd rather talk about the show "60," I mean, what's going to happen to the prime minister's sandwich?
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance employs a combination of Final Fantasy systems. Equiping items is like FF II (IV Japan) in that you need to cover the whole body, including boots and gloves. Characters learn new abilites directly from weapons they equip like FF VII, but earn Ability Points so they can still use those abilities after they unequip the weapons like FF III (VI Japan).
Then, if your characters have learned as much as you want them to learn, you can find new jobs for them like FF V. A human can be a white mage, a black mage, a soldier, a fighter, a thief, an archer, etc. Other jobs for other races include animist, juggler, dragoon, bishop, fencer, gunner, summoner, and several other types of mages. I'd say there are at least 40 jobs the five different races can become, which lets you really customize how you want to play the game, instead of, say, FF X, which was mostly just a movie.
To keep things friendly for people new to the Tactics format (like me), the developer has simplified some parts of the battle system. The only advantage holding higher ground gives you is if someone shoots an arrow that doesn't reach all the way and hits the hillside. Really though, the computer won't make a mistake like that, only you do until you learn. The only terrain types in the game are land and water. Here's a hint- don't go in the water. There- problem solved.
This dumbed-down strategy might make for an easier adventure, but it's still a LONG one. I've put over 30 hours into it and I can tell by my map I have at least that much more to go, and since there are battles outside of scripted missions, you can keep playing for as long as you want. I've been using my GameCube GB Player and won't play this game in a real GBA- I can only imagine the batteries it devours.
(poke) Huh? Oh right, the story. Kids, magic book, alternate dimension, some want to go home, some prefer the fake world, something's gotta give...
Aesthetics:
This game has highly detailed sprites that are reminiscent of the SNES Final Fantasy games. Unfortunately it's starting to look a little dated. After playing games like Golden Sun, I expect a little more graphical flare from the company that invented 3-minute doomsday spells. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the spells are over quickly, but they could have been cooler.
FFTA won't push the GBA's limits, but once you're playing you won't care about the graphics.
Sound:
What a disappointment. The battle music is catchy which helps it a little, but why must almost every battle have the same music? These battles usually last around 20 min. and most of them have the same little ditty floating around over and over? That's just a mistake. Boss battles and important battles have different music. The overworld and the shops have different music too, but since that's such a small part of the game, why did they bother? They should have put more effort into varying the battle music, perhaps a different song for each location type, like mountain battle music, town battle music, etc.
I know me- I'm too lazy to put on my own music when playing a game, so really they made me suffer through the same music over and over, and I still have 30 hours left!
Control:
Control is what you'd expect from a Final Fantasy game. The only gripe I have is the opening tutorial only explained the battle mechanics, not what all the menus were for. It felt strange having to actually read a game's instruction manual after years of opening level explain-athons. Lousy reading...
Multiplayer:
Guess what? I don't know anyone who owns this game, so I haven't tried the multiplayer features. I know you can battle a friend and exchange items and characters. Maybe if you hook it up to Metroid Prime you can unlock the original Final Fantasy Tactics- or not.
OVERALL:
Reading over this review I sort of have a negative tone. Don't be misled- I'm not qualified to review anything! FFTA is a great addition to the Final Fantasy side-story games, and a great buy to a Final Fantasy fan looking for something different.
The Lowdown on  Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
| Aesthetics: Very Good |
Control: Very Good |
| Gameplay: Very Good |
Multiplayer: Very Good |
| Sound: Below Average |
Innovation: 4/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 6/6 |
Rating Explanation |
Overall: Very Good!
"A Must-Buy"
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This game is:
Very Good
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ADDITIONAL
MEDIA: |
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None Yet
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IN A
NUTSHELL: |
| Go clan Nutsy! |
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