“Final Fantasy Tactics Advance” marks the return of Square-Enix’s vaunted “Final Fantasy” series to the Nintendo camp. Released in September, the game is available solely for GameBoy Advance.
The first thingt hat caught my attention was the graphics. They’re similar to the classic, Super Nintendo-style graphics epitomized in “Final Fantasy VI,” originally released in the United States as “Final Fantasy III.”
However, the combat views are isometric and the graphics are more detailed and prettier than the “Final Fantasy VI” graphics. Admittedly, there is a grainy feel to them due to the nature of the GBA’s screen.
Once the game begins, the player gets a feel for the time scale of “Tactics Advance.” The first in-game save point is some 30 minutes into the game. The first 30 minutes are used mainly for developing the story line. Once game play properly starts, however, the game can be saved at any time, including during battles. Only one save may be used per battle, but the feature is necessary. The battles are long, sometimes lasting 15 minutes. I found the save feature useful whenever I traveled with the game.
The story seems more kid-oriented than the average “Final Fantasy” game. All of the human main characters are in grade school at the beginning of the game. Each main character has his or her own background story. Marche, the protagonist, moved to the town of St. Ivalice after his parents divorced and his sickly brother took a turn for the worse. His friends Ritz and Mewt also have their own issues, which play out in the story.
Marche and friends find an ancient book, which transforms their town of St. Ivalice into a new world, Ivalice. Marche recognizes this world from a game he plays called “Final Fantasy.”
At first, he is lost in this new world, which is populated not just by humans but by other races, including moogles and lizard-like Batha.
He is befriended by the moogle Montblanc, however, who helps Marche join a clan. Clans are private organizations that keep peace in Ivalice and carry out missions for fees. Marche and the clan then select their first mission and the story unfurls from there.
The game play in “Tactics Advance” occurs on multiple levels. Most of the player’s time is spent in battle. As the battle begins, the player selects clan members to fight the battle and places them on the map. The map is divided into grid squares similar to those of a chess board. The player then manages his units in turn-based combat against a computer opponent. The unit types vary from melee jobs like warrior and fencer to ranged archers to magic users like white mages who cast curative and support magics and black mages who cast offensive magics. Overall, the player has multiple options and correct handling of units is essential to winning battles.
Of special importance during battles are the Laws. The Laws are arbitrary rules imposed on the player at the beginning of combat. For instance, a Law may state that a player may not use fire magic. If the player does so anyway, the offending character is either red-or-yellow-carded by a judge, who is present in all battles, and possibly sent to jail.
Also, the Laws may favor a particular action, such as casting ice magic. If a character casts Blizzard, then he will receive a judge point, which allows the character to do limit break-type special moves or call forth summons. Judge points are awarded for felling opposing characters.
The job system, which the game shares with a few other “Final Fantasy” games, adds another layer to the game play. The job systems allow a player to change a character’s job at any time except during battle. A character’s job possibilities are limited by his race and prerequisites for the job.
On top of the battle system and the job system resides the clan. The player manages the clan by accepting or rejecting new characters, taking on missions and “freeing” towns on the map from other clan’s dominance. Clans also gain skill points and levels from successful missions.
Missions come in two types-battle missions and dispatch missions. Battle missions result in the player-controlled battles discussed earlier. Dispatch missions have similar rewards to battle missions but consist of the player dispatching a character to handle the mission. The result of the mission is determined by chance and the character’s level and the character may not be available for combat for several battles.
“Final Fantasy Tactics Advance” is an in-depth, turn-based tactical role-playing game. The variety of missions, laws, jobs, skills and races ensures the great play depth of the game. The is as addictive as other “Final Fantasy” titles. Its battle system is more in-depth than any other “Final Fantasy” except “Tactics.”
Play is a little slower at first than in other “Final Fantasies,” especially since the battle sequences are so long. It picks up as the game progresses, however.