Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Review (GBA) By akoy

8 / 10
17 Jan 2005 at 17:38

Review by: akoy

A wonderful blend of strategy, RPG and good ol' Square magic that should please most GBA owners. Being a great fan of strategy RPGs and the Final Fantasy brand, this was my first purchase for the GBA SP and it has not been one that I have regretted. However, as much as I enjoy this game there are criticisms that I can level at it.

From an RPG perspective, the game is weaker than I had hoped on plot and character development. While I do not anticipate the epic drama that Square produces on its PS2 Final Fantasy offerings, I can't but help thinking that the Final Fantasy series on the SNES had it better. In those games there was a significant amount of implied emotion content and you ended up being attached to certain characters. In FFTA, the character of the 'enemy' is more developed when you eventually get to the events than move the story along. As for your own gang or Clan, I see the characters as mere weapons of destruction than as 'unique' team members that I've nurtured throughout the game. I guess I just expected more from Square in this department. Having said that, I expect that very young players will find this 'Wizard of Oz' type of story easily accessible. Older players will find it less charming and devoid of Square's typical flair.

All would have been instantly forgiven if this was a class A strategy game. Unfortunately, it is more of a B+ in this regard. One aspect I'm mention is the heart of the game - the Job system. While there are numerous job classes to use for moulding your Clan members, it quickly becomes apparent how very similar the different classes operate in practice. Lots of skills are shared between classes and more or less are repackaged under different names. A seasoned player will easily nail down what needs to be done in order to create an unstoppable Clan. But I suppose that Square has made a reasonable compromise: a seasoned player may still enjoy the process of creation while a beginner may enjoy the simplicity and accessible learning curve.

Nonetheless, I'd recommend this game as it does do so many things right and with style. One caveat is that if you hate turn based games, this will not be your cup of tea.

For everyone else, everything about this game is both pleasing and enjoyable. Graphically and musically it is, as they say, all good. It is able to deliver both an all-consuming, engrossing, "where did the time go" experience as well as a quick pick-up-and-play moment on the bus.

But for the older and more seasoned fans out there, this game is definitely missing something. But then again, as fans, we can and will forgive it. Do I care it is not the best that it could have been? No. Would I have bought it if I had to choose again? Yes.

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