Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced Review (no fat)

Game Description

Rechargeable batteries become a necessity in this fine return for the Final Fantasy series to Nintendo. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance honors its predecessor on the PSX nicely, but with more of a Nintendo theme, this version of tactics story is kid friendly. Under the hood, though, this game is equipped to attract Teens and older; Actually, anyone with a taste for fantasy warfare.

As young Marche, you are a modern day kid who fantasizes about being in the Final Fantasy world. After a cleverly disguised tutorial/snowball fight, the story progresses to the point where Marche receives his wish and he wakes up in the world of Final Fantasy.

For the rest of the game, Marche is thrusted into multiple situations in an attempt to get himself and his friends back to reality. The gameplay pretty much stays the same as the original, with the exception of the new ‘law system’.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Gameplay

If you are not interested in turn-based strategic combat, then Final Fantasy Tactics Advance would definitely not move you in the slightest. The gameplay remains at an acceptably slow pace as with all strategy games, but gains an unlikely challenge element not seen in many Nintendo games. With the addition of the Judges and the Law system players will be a lot less likely to develop tedious gameplay habits, instead mixing it up and maximizing gameplay.

The Law system invokes rules in battle, such as: No using swords, no magic, no healing, etc. There are various rules that will keep players guessing and on their toes.

There is no exploration in Tactics Advance, with everything being completely menu driving, and pretty much all the conversations pushing the story or doing simple tasks (buying equipment, getting jobs, finding out gossip). Players who are not familiar will quickly realize that the game lives on in the battlefield.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Experience and JP

Believe it or not it is possible to be a level 99 character and have minimal abilities. Why? It is because you have to allocate your Job Points that you earn after battles, to purchase new skills. You will be spending a lot of time in the character screen, equipping your characters, changing their jobs, adding skills etc.

Wisely balancing out what you need compared to what you want usually yields good results. But this can sometimes mean sacrifices on the ‘cool’ level…something that you thought would look cool won’t be needed by your character and something not-so-cool might just edge it out in terms of priority.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Battles

The battles are set up pretty easily and they are straightforward enough. You job is choosing your units and then sending them into battle on a square, chessboard-like, stage where the terrain can be your biggest enemy (…yup you have to concern yourself with the terrain on this chessboard).

Depending on the characters you choose to bring into battle, and their abilities, your attack and move range can be between 1 space to the entire board. Checking unit statuses before going into battle ensures that fatal mistakes in strategy are easily avoided.

The land you play on really impacts your play and it is easy to see how common sense things are intertwined into gameplay. So don’t expect your character to hit the enemy through a tree, or be underwater when you attack. Attacking from the side also gives better hits than a face on attack.

These features are gladly appreciated in a strategy game. The bugs are not as cumbersome as to hamper the gameplay. In fact, during the game’s most important function of battling, players are almost guaranteed an error free play.

At the end of battle if all conditions are met, you receive your just due. But don’t forget that it could be useless if you have a player sent to jail for breaking the law. Players who break the law a certain number of times are sent to jail, with a large fine required for setting them free later.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Graphics

On a handheld game, it is amazing how well the graphics make more sense. The characters and story move along nicely with the professional artwork, most noticeably during summons where the entire screen plays like a moving masterpiece.

The characters, of course, have that fancy look to them which is typical of the Final Fantasy series. Some players refer to this as a ‘girly’ look, but it really works with the game to give it that excellent finish and give it a different identity in times of great competition on the gaming scene.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Sound

Considering the now primitive sound engine of the GBA, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance plays some really good tunes. Most notable is the battle music, which is a nice touch since the entire game revolves around battling. The sound effects won’t win any awards but are really funny in some cases. There actually are some fan listings on the sound alone that have popped up over the years, not the music, but the game sounds.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Summing Up

This is a sure battery burner, even with the cutesy Nintendo label, and a slight few menu navigation problems, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance still holds its ground as a must own for any Strategy RPGer. The compact size of the game will have many playing for hours, and with its two player functionality it adds a feature that gamers everywhere can drool over.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Cost

FFTA retails for $17.99US at the time of this review.