The game starts in the quaint little town of St Ivalice, where our protagonists Marche, Ritz and Mewt are all friends at school. A snowball fight acts as a mini tutorial, but whilst the novelty wears off quickly, it is a good way to introduce newcomers to the battle system. Later a book that Mewt buys sends them to a mysterious land called Ivalice which is just like their favourite game: Final Fantasy. Here is where the real adventure begins.
Now be a dear and wait your turn
The battles in the game are turn based and turn order is based on each character's speed rating. Each turn a character is allowed to use an action, move, or wait. Waiting does nothing, yet allows you to get your next turn faster. There is also the important step of choosing which way to face your characters. Enemy attacks from the front are much easier to dodge than from behind.
There are 5 different races and many different jobs to play with. Abilities are learned via equipment and organised into sets based on each job. For example, all the action abilities learned as a Ninja are placed in a set called Ninja Skills. The beauty is that there are more than just action abilities: there are reaction abilities(those that trigger when you are attacked), support abilities(enchancement abilities that are in constant effect while set) and combo abilities.
With the facility to use two different action ability sets at once (one based on your current job, and another set to whatever you wish) and any combination of the other types that you have learned adds a great amount of depth to the gameplay. Certain jobs are also restricted to certain races, so a mix of all is required. Completing missions also allows you to place locations on the world map, and different combinations of places produce different hidden items.
Prepare to be judged
This is basically the same battle system as Final Fantasy Tactics, only with the addition of races. However the big drawcard of this game is the law system. Each engagement is presided over by a judge (except for a few lawless places). Various laws are set before the battle begins, and the judge enforces those laws. Since defeated foes don't disappear like in the original game, the judges also move bodies around to avoid blocking the battlefield. If a character breaks a law, they are punished depending on how severe the infraction is. If you just break it, you are usually issued with a yellow card (caution). However, if you end up defeating an enemy by breaking a law, it is an automatic red card. Both cards involve paying fines at the local prison and doing a bit of time as well - although the red card sends you straight there.
Thankfully there is the option later of earning anti-law cards to get rid of the laws that you don't like, and you can even add new laws of your own. However it is a little disappointing that boss type characters ignore the rules, get several yellow cards and nothing happens to them. One major change from the original formula is that there is no timing of moves in this game. Everything happens instantaneously, so a whole layer of the strategy has been lost. Also the story is nowhere near as epic this time around. It is interesting however, and there is some good character development as well. This is really for the best, since you cannot save whilst a conversation is going on.
The graphics are very nice and borrow heavily from the the psone version which is a good thing. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance still mananges to look fresh though and the races are nice and diverse. The quality of the isometric battlefields is very good, and not being able to rotate the map is not a problem. Overall the presentation is superb, although the graphics do appear a little simplistic when compared to the lush visuals of Golden Sun and its sequel. The music is very well done and there are a few great tracks. However a little bit more variety would be nice, as the generic battle track gets a little old after many many missions.
With a nice indepth Link-up mode (although there is no head to head) involving co-operative missions and trading of characters and items, plus the 300 missions available this game will keep you busy for a long time. All the right changes were made, including a great mid-battle save option, to ensure that it is squarely suited to being a handheld game. You will never want to get off the bus again.
.
Loading...
