Final Fantasy Tactics A2 review

On the face of it, FFTA2 should be quite a simple game. You have a Clan of characters, each with their own unique attributes, and you have to utilise them to perform Quests. This is usually accomplished by taking turns against AI opponents on a chessboard-like battlefield. Starting out in FFTA2 is a very daunting experience, however. It's not as straightforward as other turn-based games on the DS, such as Advance Wars, or Fire Emblem, but having played these games will certainly put you in good stead. It's the ability to customise the characters that sets FFTA2 apart from its competition, and makes it more complex. Whereas Fire Emblem allowed you to equip different weaponry to give your characters an advantage, for example, FFTA2 allows you to teach them special moves, and more accurately affect how they grow and level-up. With its medieval setting, and characters to train and evolve, FFTA2 is like the outcome of a Fire Emblem and Pokmon love-fest.The depth of customisation in FFTA2 is really quite astounding, and Gamestyle have probably spent more hours perfecting their Clan than actually carrying out the quests. Like its predecessor, the game is set in the universe of Ivalice, which is home to a variety of races. Each race can take on specific roles, or Jobs, enabling them to learn different abilities to assist them during the game. You can change jobs at any given time, and learn new abilities, enabling you to "mix and match" to create a truly unique group of warriors. For example, you can have a Black Mage, who is a master of offensive magic, also learn White Magic, enabling them to also cure and defend on the battlefield. Archers can add close combat to their long range attacks, and aggressive fighters can also be subtle assassins.The secret to learning abilities lies in the weapons and equipment the characters wield. New weapons and armour can be created using Loot that is collected during quests, and most of these carry abilities that will be learnt whilst that item is equipped. Once you have mastered that ability, you can use it, even if that weapon isn't equipped. Again, the amount of items that can be unlocked during the game is staggering, and there are over 300 abilities that can be learnt during the game. If this doesn't keep you amused, levelling up your character certainly will. Each one has base statistics, and each Job affects the rate at which they grow. Similar to Pokmon EV training, you can use this to strengthen a character's weaknesses. If an archer has a weak defence, for example, change him to a paladin, which will make his defence rise more quickly. Similarly, if your fighter is too slow, a short stint as a thief will increase his speed. Your character will have to perform many different Jobs in order to unlock the better occupations, but once you have decided what Units you want in your Clan, you can set about the task of perfecting them.Underneath the statistics and equations, however, lies a rich and rewarding game. FFTA2 is incredibly addictive, and with a strong story and entertaining characters, it offers hours of amusement. There are 300 quests to complete, and although some are no more than taking an item to a particular destination, the vast majority involve a lengthy battle against increasingly challenging and varied foe. There is a fantastic amount of variety in the quests, from having to defeat a specific number of a particular type of enemy, to searching the ground for potions whilst fending off monsters. The Law system returns from the first game, giving you a different handicap to abide by for each quest, examples being no magic, healing, or attacks dealing more than a certain amount of damage. This adds another aspect to each quest, and helps keep each battle fresh. If you don't fancy taking on each and every quest yourself, you can dispatch members of your Clan to do the dirty work for you, with their level and experience being key to success. Your time spent playing FFTA2 could easily surpass 100 hours, and for a game that can now be picked up for less than 10, this is extremely good value.The game has an almost sandbox feel, as you can perform quests as and when you please. There are certain missions that must be completed to progress the story, but you can do these at your convenience. Days pass as you explore the world of Ivalice, and certain quests only appear at certain times of the year. The game's calendar also affects when and where new characters will appear to join your Clan, and what race they will be. This ensures that everybody's own experience with the game will be unique. There's an auction mini-game that occurs once a year, to enable you to gain control over the different provinces, and there are tricky Clan Trials to undertake, which unlock useful power-ups when completed. You can play the game how you want to; soldier on with the main quest, or take your time and explore the provinces.There's little to disappoint in FFTA2. It's perhaps sad that some of the scenery is reused (every pub and shop looks the same, for example), but there are several battlefields across Ivalice, and whilst some are used for more than one quest, they are individual, with different landscapes and environmental aspects that affect the outcome. The game is accompanied by an impressive orchestral score, and although the characters and battlefields themselves are quite pixelated, some of the attack animations are superb. The dual screens allow more information and action to be displayed on screen, but Gamestyle found that the stylus support is unnecessary.All these minor faults are soon forgotten once Final Fantasy Tactics A2 starts to slowly take over your life. It's been a while since Gamestyle has found a game that can occupy their time so easily, and like the first game, hours will pass in an instant. It may not be a game that is to everyone's taste, but if you persevere past the initial intimidation of the game's mechanics, you will find one of the best titles that the DS has to offer.