Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
 

Don't see any threads started yet talking about this upcoming AWESOME GBA title, so I will do the honors and start one. :D

**The threads floating around about the $14.99 price at SG and the one about the commercial don't count hehe**

So far I've read the previews posted at IGN.com & Gamespot.com and the reviews by GamePro and EGM. It seems most of them agree that this title is better than its Playstation predecessor and a 'must have' for tactical RPG fans. This is enough info to warrant my $30 + TAX purchase come next Tuesday :D :D

For those of you who want to know what the differences are between the original FFT and FFTA then check out this link:

LINK


No game is flawless and there are some things that I'm somewhat concerned about. This is from information I've gathered from other players that have played the import version:

1) Story - it's 'Kiddie'

2) The game is too 'easy'. Apparently you don't feel like you accomplished something when beating it because the game doesn't present that much of a challenge.

3) Can't change camera angles. There is no rotating the battle field or zooming in and out which presents some problems on certain maps. This is because the game is sprite based and not polygon like FFT.

4) Equipping Items. There isn't a fitting room like in FFT. So equipping weapons, armor and accessories can be guesswork because when you're purchasing items it doesn't tell you if the new weapon, armor or accesory is more beneficial than the one you already have equipped.

***UPDATE***

I just found out that Item #4 is somewhat incorrect. There isn't a 'fitting' room per say but when you go into a shop and you're going to buy, let's say for example a sword and you want to know if it's better than the one you currently have equipped. Just hit the 'Start' button when the sword is highlighted and it will bring up a window showing a stat comparison between the weapon you're buying and the one you currently have equipped. So this solves that problem it's just the fitting room would have been nice because now you'll have to do that procedure for each equipment slot. It beats having to write down the stats on the weapon you want to buy just so you can see if it's better than what you have hehe.

5) Battles are slow. Waiting for enemies to take turns is like watching grass grow. If you've played or are currently playing Disgaea then this will be a huge step back as far as the pace of the battles go.

1 & 5 don't really concern me but 3 & 4 are dissapointing but not enough to prevent me from picking this title up. Feel free to add to this list or comment on the ones I've listed. If you've heard anything differently, please post it . :)

#2.. :(
#5.. :(

6) Characters have noses this time.

gah too bad! I was looking forward to this one.

1, 2, 4 & 5 will keep me from buying this one. that just sucks.

I wouldn't say the story is so kiddy hehe.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hlight=tactics
I started one on 8/22 :p

I'll break each one down:

1) Don't care. This is a video game, stop pretending to be bad anime. In fact, "Kiddie" may be a welcome change.

2) If the game is REALLY fun, this is excusable, but this is a tactical game and some thought should be required. If IGN says it's too easy than it must be RETARDED easy. (Or is it EGM I'm thinking of that are wimps?).

3) No biggie.. unless characters hidden behind walls is a constant problem.

4) Yay!! Welcome back to the 80's guys!! :rolleyes:

5) I would find this a problem.. I hate sitting around waiting for things to happen in games. I hated Golden Sun because everytime a character spoke they had to "animate" it, and thus, conversations took 10-15 minutes to go by when it was maybe 3 minutes of reading. I only played the snowball fight, but I don't remember it being a problem, of course, it was the first battle so..

My only REAL problems are 2 and 5.. :(

I have this game on order but have been playing it on my PC for a couple days now. I agree with most of what was said above. So far I definately don't feel that this is better than FFT, although it is very fun. My opinions after 6 hours of gameplay:

1) The story is definately very kiddy so far (especially compared to FFT). Characters are warped from reality into "Final Fantasy" land. Haven't seen any of the deaths and treachery that made the original pretty interesting. Most of my time is spent doing missions that are accompanied by a page of text and a couple blurbs of dialogue pre and post fight.

2) Very easy. Haven't been challenged by any battles so far. I remember having to replay the 2nd (?) battle in FFT on PS many times before winning. Characters don't seem to permanently die anymore.

3) Graphics and sound are a huge step back. Obviously the GBA can't compete with a CD based format, but I'm kind of disappointed still. The levels don't look nearly as interesting as before. The 3D levels plus excellent textures made for some very nice level design in the original. So far everything in FFTA looks like a bunch of cubes stacked on each other. I also miss the huge variety of 2D sprite animation that the PS version featured (particularly in the cutscenes). Spell effects are underwhelming so far. (FFT had very nice looking summon and spell effects, even for minor spells). Music is decent, but doesn't stack up against FFT (one of the best soundtracks ever).

4) The pace of battles does seem pretty slow. I ended up turning off nearly all messages (experience points, judgment points, attack names, etc.) to speed things up. It doesn't help that the "judge" decides to move from one side of the level everytime he gets a turn.

5) Purchasing equipment is a bit clumsy. You get no feedback on whether anybody in your party can use the item, or if the item is better than anything currently equipped.

6) World creation. You decide where on the map each new location is. Be placing certain locations together, you can can get some very powerful items that can't be obtained any other way. However, I haven't seen any clues so far that help you decide where to place things. Kind of annoying.

This may all sound very negative, but the game is very good. It may be better than the original in some ways (if you consider the simpler gameplay better), but I'm not convinced that overall it is a better game. I hope that we see a fullblown FFT sequel on a home console sometime in the future.

i was really looking forward to something better than Golden Sun

One more note: the game feels much more like a Tactics Ogre game than FFT to me so far.

The equipping items things sounds like it sucks. But for those problems, the reviews have sure been fantastic.

I'd still give the game a shot. Like I said, the information was provided by players who have played the import version. Not saying the information is totally untrue but I'm pretty sure it's not 100% accurate.

I just found out that Item #4 is somewhat incorrect. There isn't a 'fitting' room per say but when you go into a shop and you're going to buy, let's say for example a sword and you want to know if it's better than the one you currently have equipped. Just hit the 'Start' button when the sword is highlighted and it will bring up a window showing a stat comparison between the weapon you're buying and the one you currently have equipped. So this solves that problem it's just the fitting room would have been nice because now you'll have to do that procedure for each equipment slot. It beats having to write down the stats on the weapon you want to buy just so you can see if it's better than what you have hehe.

As far as the game being too easy....the EGM reviewers stated playing straight through this game will take a good 50-60 hours and the Judgement system provides a unique challenge to the battles. I've read posts from people who said they have beaten the game in under 10 hours and it was 'too easy' so take their word for what it's worth.

The reviews i've read have been positive, with one EGM reviewer saying this is better than FFT. So, despite a few setbacks I'm defintely going to check it out.

Whew.. good news on the buying weapons thing. :)

That update on the equipment system does make things sound a lot better. I needs me phat l00t.

Are you sure about the item purchasing thing? I think that comment applies to the equipment screen. You don't have any particular character selected while in a shop, so I'm not sure who it would be doing the comparison on. When equipping items, you press start to see how your stats are affected by equipping the new item. I don't have the game in front of me right now so I can't double check.

I don't see this game as being any bigger than Tactics Ogre or Onimusha Tactics. It's just another Shining Force game with FFV's Job system.

:lol: You rock!

I got my info from GameFAQ's web site. It was posted in their forums...it says, 'Before purchasing the item press 'Start' to compare the stats of an item compared to an equipped one'. The majority of people who posted in regards to this same subject agreed with the poster and there were lots of people that hadn't figured this out yet and thanked him. Personally I have not tried this myself as the game hasn't been released yet.....I take it you're playing an import copy?

:up: :up: :up: :up: :up:

They need to release a complete Shining Force 3 to Playstation!!

No, they need to make a NEW Shining Force game...and not that Shining Soul crap. I already have the complete trilogy for Saturn.

you guys do realize that golden sun and it's sequal are done by the shining force team right? Great games btw (best on gba imo)

Er, I think Camelot worked on some, not all, of the Shining games.

Either way, Golden Sun was pretty OK for an RPG. I wasn't compelled to get the sequel though.

Camelot did all the Shining Force tactic style games which were the best ones of the series. There were other Shining games that were done by other teams. Shining in the Holy Ark, etc.

I just finished Golden Sun Lost Age and it was twice the game the original was. If you played the first one you are missing out on a tremendous story if you don't play through the second one and finish the game. They probably should have done it as one complete adventure, but I logged 40+ hours on the second one doing all the side quests so its worth the money. The way they make the first one linkable with the second and carry over some of the events and the characters is amazing.

If you like FFT/FFTA, check out Disgaea too. Great strategy RPG game.

Well, that's great, but I'm sure there's probably room for both. Some people haven't spent the $125 or whatever to buy up the 3 discs of Shining Force III, printed out a translation for acts 2 and 3 and played by reading the script. And I even have a Saturn.