Gameboy Advance - Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Format
Gameboy Advance
Publisher
Nintendo
Developer
Square Enix
Country of origin
Japan
Genre
Strategy RPG

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

By David Rasmussen
6th Oct 04

Studio - SQUARE ENIX
Age - E for Everybody
Genre - Strategy/Fantasy
Sub Genre - RPG
Similar Game - Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSOne

"It was a day like any other day"
With those words the game opens.
Set in our "real" world, we meet the main hero of the game... you.
You are in school taking place in a snowball fight, which teaches you the basics of fighting in this game, and you meet your friends, a tough female student and a mousy male student.
You also have a little brother who is sick.
One day your quiet friend buys a book with strange writings, which turns out to be a magic book.
The next thing you know you wake up in one of the different Final Fantasy worlds and end up joining a Clan to survive.

That is when the game becomes Final Errand Boy.
Once you join a clan you end up going on a lot of "missions".
Fighting missions which range from saving an area from being invaded, to fighting over a flower to cheer somebody up and fighting because it's Sunday or there's things to pick up or just because.
And there's also "dispatch" missions of which you have no control over. All you can do is assign somebody to the job... which you might not be able to do if you are not carrying the proper mission items for a particular job.

There is, of course, a story... unfortunately it's not the usual Final Fantasy "save the world" story.
In fact, if I dare say so, your job in this game is to tear the world apart.
Why? Apparently this world is overlaid over your world, and for some unfathomable reason you actually want to go back. Yeah, sure, if you had your favorite FF characters on your team you'd NEVER go back... too bad he doesn't see things the way you do.

The story, however, isn't very strong. In fact the game is more about the missions than anything else.
Fighting here is unique. Not like the usual combat you've seen in past Final Fantasy games, this is combat more associated with war sims than Final Fantasy games.
You fight it out on huge "boards" where you turn base move across the board to fight enemies in a battle of strategy and wits. Simply powering through fights won't work here, you'll have to think it through and fight with some strategy and skills. Magic, after all, can backfire if it's cast on enemies too close to friends unless you know how to cast just right. Enemies can gang up on you and overpower you -- unless the laws forbid it that is.... Eh? Laws?

Remember that meek boy? The one who bought the book in the first place? He's got a cushy place in the world now! His father is now a big Judge in this world, and his mom... somehow I think she's manipulating everything, well she's queen and the boy is prince whose word is law.

Well, he's a pawn, you're an errand boy slash human resources manager (as you fight your clan grows and you'll have about nearly 2 dozen people to "manage"), and your female friend turns out to be in a rival clan... but I've only seen her once to date while playing and haven't seen her or her clan since.

There's a way to bring this world to an end, by the way. And the closer you draw to it the more "laws" (what you can't or can do in a fight) are handed down each fight. However there are "antilaws" to reverse that so it won't be so harsh...

Eh... better break this down now and get to the point.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Breakdown
What's Hot?
Final Fantasy fan? You'll be buying this just to try it out. But it's also a must for fans of strategy games, and games where you need to really put some serious thought down when playing.

What's Not?
That being said, however, I wish more thought was put into the story.
It's fair, but it could have been better. Somehow I wish there was more to it than what has passed so far.
Worse the game, for the most part, pits you as part human resources manager slash world "breaker" (since you are NOT going to save the world, but tear it apart).

Another Not, for me at least, is the lack of depth in characters.
Sure the main characters (few) get some depth and character development, but for the most part the game is filled with a lot of unremarkable cannon fodder characters who all look alike, never experience any development of their personalities and characters during the story, have jobs that can be swapped ala Final Fantasy X-2 giving each member new abilities, and very little individuality past their name.

In fact a majority of your team is these "little people" who you train, swap and discard at a moment's notice.

As for the missions? While some tie into the story a majority are basically "gopher" jobs... as in "gopher" this, and "gopher" that. And the lack of interaction with the "Dispatch" missions is another sticking point.

Finally the imbalance of combat/story makes it not as good as, say, a Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy X storyline. You don't need to have PS2 level graphics and gameplay, but you do need a better and more gripping plot than what this has.

Lots of weapons, armors, tools and so forth to master -- but not much space to have a story to go with the gameplay. It's good, but it could be better.

Moments to Remember
Sadly there's little (so far from what I've seen) that is memorable. Hopefully that changes as I play onwards and see more of the game.

What to Ignore?
Ah, the little people! A majority of the characters are generic little people... don't you wish you could ignore that? I do.

Overall?
I liked it better than Final Fantasy : Crystal Chronicles but not by much.
It's a FF game, and it has it's good points and solid gameplay... still it could have been better.
Somehow I hope that, well, if there is a FFTactics Advance 2 I hope it does a little better than this storywise... but still it's a good game so check it out.

-- David Rasmussen 6th Oct 04

Gameboy Advance Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Images