Square's one of those companies that have either mastered the art of supply and demand, or just don't like money. I haven't really settled on which they are...maybe both. I could go on for hours about games in their repertoire that desperately need to be sequelized, franchised, and revived, RPGs and otherwise. Bahamut Lagoon. Tobal. Einhander. But if one game in Square's portfolio needed a sequel, it was Final Fantasy Tactics. Despite the shoddy translation with the domestic release, FFT is easily some of the best stuff to ever come out of Square. It took all of five years for them to pump out a sequel.
 
Teases.
 
I'll say this up front: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was easily the game I anticipated the most out of this year. I had to wait a little longer than usual for it, thanks to the gelatinous schedule my employer's been keeping us on. But once I got back to the States and got my hands on it, there was pretty much no stopping me. The GBA's no stranger to the genre- Strategy games have flourished on the handheld this generation, but it's safe to say FFTA is the biggest title out of all of them.
 
The story begins in the present day "real-world", in a snowy small town by the name of St. Ivalice, which is where we meet our cast. The story's protagonist, Marche, is the new guy. He recently moved to the town and his timid nature makes him a target for the other kids at school. Being somewhat of an outcast, Marche befriends some kids with similar dilemmas. Ritz is very headstrong and has issues about her hair. Mewt, passive and introverted, carries around a teddy bear wherever he goes. He lives with his dad, who's life has fallen apart since Mewt's mother died. One day, after a snowball fight, Mewt brings his favorite book, Grand Grimoire, over to Marche's. Little do they know, the book is a portal to the fantasy world of Mewt's favorite game, Final Fantasy. The book transforms the sleepy town of Ivalice into a medieval world of sword and sorcery (lucky the book wasn't about Resident Evil, eh?).
 
In Ivalice, you become part of a clan. Your clan is basically your entire party. You sign up for missions at the pubs in each town whilst competing for territory. Friendly or "freed" towns give discounts on goods at the shops and intel on missions and such, so it's mathematically advantageous to strive to "free" as much territory as possible. It likely will not to affect you that much though, because gil flows like a river in this game. As you complete missions, your clan levels go up, opening up... more missions.
 
The storyline is decidedly less mature than FFT's war torn saga of betrayal and bloodshed. It has its fair share of plot twists and revelations and what-not, but if anyone plays strategy RPG's for the storyline, they're missing the point. FFTA is chock full of enough micromanaging gameplay to suck up a gamer's free time for at least 50 hrs.
 
This being a "homecoming" of sorts for Square, making a Nintendo game after all this time and all, Product Development Division 4 threw in a fair share of old school Final Fantasy lore: Onion swords. Crystals. Chocobo. Red Mages. It's like an 8-bit revival. That said, FFTA does a good job of introducing new things into the FF fold at the same time.
 
Engagements in FFTA are governed by laws. These laws change from day to day, but they can't be ignored. If these laws are broken, your party members will be penalized accordingly depending on the level of the crime, R1 to R5 (R5 being the highest offense). The penalties range from paltry law card fines to tickets to jail.  This forces you to change your strategy accordingly to different battles. I found the law system to be very bothersome, nothing that really ruins the game, but it comes off as a buffer for the game's cakewalk difficulty. Imagine your level 20 ninja with the "Double Sword" ability mastered, rendered completely useless by an R5 Katana law. It's arbitrary, but often I could swear the game was against me. The game eventually breaks this up by offering you anti-law cards. These cards you collect can be used to negate laws as you see fit, pending you have the card to do it. You can only hold so many though, and it seems like you never have the one you need.
 
FFTA's Ivalice is sort of a melting pot- there are five races that specialize in different things. There are 34 diverse jobs in total, separated by race and normal and expert job levels. The human race is the most well-rounded, practitioner of all. They can assume a wide range of roles in your party, ranging from White Mage to Fighter to Ninja. The lizard-like Bangaa are the muscle of your party's offense. Their job classes focus on high defense and offensive prowess. Some of the job classes they can master are Gladiator, White Monk, and the classic FF class, Dragoon (Lancer). The Nu Mou hold an affinity for all things magic. Their jobs encompass some very strong magic classes including Illusionist, Alchemist, and the Sage. Moogles are back with a vengeance in FFTA. Their job classes have their uses, but border on being more battlefield mascots than actually having a real role. However, Moogles make the best thieves and Mustadio's Gunner class from FFT is accessible by the moogles, too. My personal favorite, the all female Viera, have really awesome classes based on speed, spirituality, and stealth. They can become Assassins, Elementalists, Snipers, and the ever popular Red Mage is also exclusive to them.
 
FFTA's job building system is simplistic, dropping the original's JP system for a system very reminiscent of that in FFIX. Abilities are learned from equipped weapons, armor, and accessories. Some of the rare items teach the more coveted, high-end abilities (which is understandable), but if that item's not available in the shops, only one party member can learn that ability at any given time. The advanced classes open up quicker this time around because the requirements are less strict. The sluggishness at which last year's Tactics Ogre moved along turned off a lot of people, I'm sure, and FFTA's pace is a lot faster.
 
Much to my vexation, FFT's charge time system, the most revolutionary system since ATB, did not make the trip to the GBA for reasons unbeknownst to me. Instead, spells are cast, arrows are fired, and special attacks are executed, all as they're selected. This simplifies battles considerably. Also of note: unless you're fighting in the lawless Jagds, your characters can't die. Any strategy game vet will cut through FFTA's battles like a hot knife through butter. It's not the strategy equivalent of DMC2 or anything, but I was disappointed.
 
FFTA's art style mimics its predecessors, but the humans aren't all blond and have noses. It still has the same charm, though. Graphically, it's the best looking game the genre has seen. The isometric fields don't rotate and aren't in 3D, but it's a sharp looking title. Casting Totemas and advanced spells flex some serious GBA muscle. The soundtrack is catchy enough. I bought the Japanese soundtrack some months ago and they don't really use all of the tracks often enough, instead, recycling the same few. Uematsu's done better, though I'm sure there are those that would disagree since FFTA's score sounds like the older FF's.
 
The multiplayer options include trading items and party members. There are also missions you can complete with "support clans". Some are co-op, some are competitive, but strangely absent is a head to head versus mode.
 
I'd honestly refer FFTA more to newcomers to the genre rather than a seasoned strategy RPGer. Regardless of my issues with some of FFTA's unique spins on the formula, I enjoyed the game immensely. Easily one of the most addictive games I've ever played. Pick it up if you don't value your free time.