Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

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Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Developer(s)	Square Co., Ltd./Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)	^JPN Square Co., Ltd. ^NA Nintendo ^EUR Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Designer(s)	Yasumi Matsuno (producer) Yuichi Murasawa (director) Hideo Minaba (design director) Kyoko Kitahara (scenario writer) Hitoshi Sakimoto (music composer) Ryoma Itō (character designer)
Series	Final Fantasy series
Release date(s)	^JPN February 14, 2003 ^NA September 8, 2003 ^EUR October 24. 2003
Genre(s)	Tactical role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone PEGI: 3+ USK: 6+ OFLC: G8+
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
Media	128 megabit cartridge

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (ファイナルファンタジータクティクスアドバンス, Fainaru Fantajī Takutikusu Adobansu^?) is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix Co., Ltd. for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. It is a spin-off of the popular Final Fantasy series, but not a sequel to 1997's Final Fantasy Tactics (although they share several traits).

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is the story of Marche, Mewt, Ritz, and Doned; four misfit children who live in a small town named St. Ivalice (which shares its name with the setting of the PlayStation predecessor Final Fantasy Tactics). The children find themselves transported to a realm of the same name as their town ("Ivalice") after discovering an ancient magical book. This magical realm of Ivalice appears to be Mewt's manifestation of the video game "Final Fantasy," which the four children have played.

The game is a tactical-RPG title in which the player assembles a clan of individual characters, and controls both their actions in battle and their efforts within the game. There is a strong focus on player freedom in the sense that a great deal of liberty given in deciding the classes, abilities and statistics of characters.

To many, the game's storyline and presentation have a light-hearted feel, although the game's popularity spans young and old alike. While many elements of gameplay in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance are the same as in its PlayStation cousin, this installment sees the introduction of a system of laws.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is sometimes called Tactics Advance or just Tactics, though the latter causes confusion with the other game of a similar name Final Fantasy Tactics. It is also commonly abbreviated as FFTA.

1 Gameplay
2 Plot and setting
3 Sequel
4 Development
- 4.1 Radio edition
- 4.2 Cast
5 Reception
6 External links

[edit] Gameplay

A screenshot of the first battle in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

Marche starts his adventure in a town called Cyril where he joins a mercenary clan. Later he gains the ability to buy missions that will, for the most part, be accomplished in a precise location (the location is described in the mission's description). After winning the mission, Marche will get a monetary reward as described. Marche can also buy new equipment and sign up for other missions in towns. There are 4 types of missions:

Regular Missions are where Marche's entire party heads off to complete a mission in a particular location. Sometimes, rare items can be found, and many of these missions can be used to advance the plot, or several sub-plots.

Dispatch Missions are where Marche can send one member from his party to go complete a mission. Some of these missions actually advance the story, such as the Hero Gaol sub-quest, in which the clan must retrieve the two legendary blades of the mighty hero Gaol. In order for a character to accomplish this mission and return, Marche must complete a certain task. Sometimes it is as simple as walking around for several days, and other times, Marche must fight a certain number of battles (for example, he might be required to battle until he has knocked out 10 enemies since starting the quest, or fight three battles) in order for them to finish the quest.

Encounter Missions are where Marche can battle a rival mercenary clan by buying a mission or meeting them on the map. There are two types of clans - the more common clans are red Soldier icons on the map, and these appear randomly every few days and likewise disappear after (usually) 6 days. The second type is the kind only fightable through accepting a mission, and when the mission is accepted and Marche leaves the town, they will appear on the map as a blue Soldier. Unlike the red Soldiers, their duration timers are much longer (usually 15-25 days) or they never leave until Marche has defeated them or surrendered to them. In the second type, Marche may be able to avoid a fight by certain conditions (turning in money, giving an item, or simply surrendering), but this most often results in failure. In some instances, such as in Mythryl Rush, it is possible to win both by paying the fee and by fighting the clan. These missions often advance the plot or a sub-plot.

Area Missions are usually a dispatch mission where your clan can free certain areas. The more areas you free the lower prices at the shop and pub go, and more items pop up for sale at the shop.

[edit] The World Map

The map looks like that of Final Fantasy Tactics, but with the same principle as Legend of Mana. As soon as Marche starts off on his adventure, the map will be completely empty except for Cyril, which is the first town, placed in a default location. When Marche wins some important mission(s), he will get to place a location anywhere on the map. Depending on where Marche places it, the enemies and fights will be somewhat different. In addition, placing locations next to each other often triggers a "treasure hunt," in which an option to retrieve treasure appears when a locale is selected. Different combinations of locale placements yield different results, some earning rare items in the process.

[edit] Clan characters

Before Marche goes into a fight, it's best for him to look after his characters. With the menu screen, Marche has the ability to set the desired configuration for his mercenaries. The first thing that Marche often does is equip his character with some accessories (sword, armor, shield, and others) available for their job. The second option is to set abilities depending on their job and accessories. The third one concerns changing their jobs. Marche and his clan members can only change their job when they have mastered some abilities in their initial job. This differs from the old Final Fantasy Tactics job system in which they were able to change their jobs as soon as they achieved a certain level of experience in that particular job. The last option available to Marche is the option to fire one of his clan members (with the exception of a few story-critical characters like Montblanc). Such an option might be necessary to recruit a unit that can prove to be more useful than the fired one.

[edit] Jobs and abilities

Main article: List of jobs in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

There are a great number of classes in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance: Soldier, Paladin, Fighter, White Mage, Black Mage, Blue Mage, Illusionist, Archer, Hunter, Thief, Ninja, White Monk, Templar, Bishop, Warrior, Defender, Gladiator, Dragoon, Sniper, Fencer, Red Mage, Elementalist, Summoner, Assassin, Alchemist, Beastmaster, Morpher, Sage, Time Mage, Animist, Mog Knight, Gunner, Juggler, Gadgeteer. Each job class has specific types of equipment available to it, and various abilities specific to that class. The only way to use and master abilities is to join the class in question and equip a specific item.

Most equippable items have various job-specific abilities assigned them. These abilities are available for use only while that item is equipped. However, abilities can be mastered by fighting in battles. Every time a battle is completed, characters will receive a specific amount of Ability Points (AP) distributed over their currently equipped abilities. Once a target amount of AP has been accumulated for a given ability (anywhere from 100-999), the character will master that ability. The character retains it for use at any time, regardless of the items equipped and job chosen.

This gives the player long-term strategic goals, swapping characters in and out of jobs and changing their equipment in order to obtain a desirable range of abilities while trying to maintain a balanced, effective unit. A dilemma arises in the case of a weapon that is fairly weak, but has a good ability attached to it. This requires players to draw a balance between fighting power and the long-term goals of their characters. Also, a unit has a primary job which determines the stat boosts they receive when they level up, and the attributes associated with that class (movement range, total MP/HP, damage modifiers, etc) - a unit may also have a secondary job, where they can use any abilities of the selected job, but with the stat profile of the primary job. e.g. an Assassin with a Sniper secondary job could use abilities from both jobs, but has the stat profile and appearance of an Assassin (its primary job). This feature, while adding depth and being tactically useful, often leads to the game being unbalanced, as units can become overpowered.

This is a screenshot of the ability sub-menu from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

There are 5 types of abilities available to a job:

A-ability (Action ability): This is a list of actions a unit may perform in a turn, determined by its primary job. They are active, meaning that the user may choose when and which attack to perform.
A-ability (Action ability (secondary)): This is a list of actions a unit may perform in a turn, determined by its secondary job. They are active, meaning that the user may choose when and which attack to perform. The default for the secondary A-ability is the ability to use items.
R-ability (Reaction ability): This is an action which the unit will automatically perform when a certain condition is fulfilled (e.g. unit is hit by a melee, ranged or magical attack). They are passive, meaning the user has no control over when they are performed.
S-ability (Support ability): This is an ability which can boost stats, allow otherwise impossible equipment combinations, or negate the effects of other abilities. They are passive, meaning the user has no control over when they are performed.
C-ability (Combo ability): This is an action which allows a unit to combine its attack with other units for extremely high-damage. The actual damage depends on how many combatants are involved and the amount of judge points the unit has at that point in time. The units involved in the combo attack must be adjacent to each other or the target must be within range of their weapon, and the unit which initiated the combo attack must have at least one Judge Point. They are active, meaning that the user may choose when and which attack to perform.

There are a large number of different abilities available, not all of which are offensive in nature. For example, there is the Thief A-ability "Steal:Weapon", which would allow your unit to steal another unit's weapon. Another example would be the White Mage S-ability "Turbo MP", which increases the damage dealt by a unit's spells, but doubles the MP cost of the spell. Yet another example would be the Fighter and Gladiator R-ability "Strikeback", which allows a unit to avoid any physical attack, and counter-attack with a melee attack if the attacking enemy unit is in range.

Later in the game, creatures can be captured by using the Hunter's capture ability and Morphers can then take on the captured creature's abilities. Blue Mages can learn monster abilities with Learning. Usually these monsters' abilities are physical-attack based (with great attack power behind them to offset this) but occasionally will have a magical attack.

[edit] Laws

One of the central features of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is the Laws system. Laws are set by Judges, invincible chocobo-riding arbitrator characters present at each battle excluding those taking place in the Jagds. For example, there are laws that forbid the use of certain weapons, items, elemental spells, or status changes. Breaking a Law results in punishment by Carding; the receipt of a Red or Yellow card (in a similar manner to red and yellow cards in soccer) and possible imprisonment. Imprisonment happens if a character infringes a law twice or KOs another unit with a forbidden ability or Weapons. Jagds have no laws however, characters KOed there will die and permanently leave the Clan if they are not revived by the end of the battle.

To offset the difficulty of having things forbidden for use, there are certain things that are "Recommended" by the Judge for use, and therefore grant Judge Points. For example, if "Items" are forbidden, but "Poison" is recommended, a character who uses an ability that Poisons another character will receive a Judge Point. Judge Points (JP) are used to carry out Combos with nearby allies or to summon a racial Totema when the unit has ten JP. Judge Points are also received upon killing an opponent. Later in the game, Marche gains the ability to add new Laws and cast "Anti-Laws," which can nullify laws that are already in effect. However, in a few missions involving tournaments at Bervenia Palace, Marche cannot add new laws or nullify the laws that exist. The exception to this rule is the Almighty Anti-Law card.

[edit] Plot and setting

The story takes place in Ivalice, a world created when four ordinary children; Marche Radiuju, Mewt Randell, Ritz Malheur, and Doned Radiuju come across a dusty, old, and rather large book which Mewt purchases at his local used bookstore. Unaware that the book is the legendary Gran Grimoire with the power to change the world as its readers desires, the children transformed their hometown of St. Ivalice into an Ivalice of a Final Fantasy game.

Other than humans, four other races make Ivalice their home -- Moogles, Bangaa, Viera, and Nu Mou. The geography of Ivalice revolve around plains, mountains, deserts, forests, and swamps, and also introduces areas called jagds; lawless slums where no Judges dare to tread. Jagd is a German word which means 'the hunt'. Jagds are the only places in the game in which a character can die; everywhere else, they are protected from death by the judges and are simply knocked out.

[edit] Story

The children of St. Ivalice

Ivalice is a world created when four ordinary children, Marche Radiuju, a new student and resident of St. Ivalice and its school; Mewt Randell, a shy timid boy with an emotional past and an incredible and powerful imagination; Ritz Malheur, a friendly and whimsical classmate of Marche and Mewt; and Doned Radiuju, Marche's younger, handicapped brother and a big fan of fantasy novels and video games, come across a dusty, old, and rather large book which Mewt purchases at his local used bookstore. Unaware that the book is the legendary Gran Grimoire, Mewt brings the book over to Marche's house along with Ritz, and the four school children begin to observe the odd book. Its pages are torn, fainted in ink and incredibly damaged. Yet what can be seen are pictures of various creatures, writing in a language none of them have ever seen before, and a single inscription, most likely later written by a previous owner, written in a language similar to Latin reading: "Alta oron, Sondus kameela". As the children go to sleep, the next morning they wake up in the world of Ivalice (though in the Radio Edition it is somewhat different, as a few moments after Mewt reads the Latin-like inscription outloud the magical book transforms the world right in front of their faces).

The children are separated in Ivalice and soon find each other with Marche's stubborn determination to change the world 'back to normal'. But throughout the story, it is slowly realized that the world of Ivalice is a reflection of each of the children's, as well as Mewt's father Cid, who is also present, dreams and imaginations, for the world is now shaped according to their wishes, such as Mewt no longer being teased, his deceased mother is alive (or so it seems) and he is now the Prince of Ivalice; Ritz no longer having her white albinic hair, instead having the silky red hair which she always wanted; Doned now experiencing the miracle of being able to walk and move his legs; and all the children's love of Final Fantasy, now being able to live in a world just like their favourite games.

Though, at the end of the story, which deals very deeply with escapism and accepting reality and loving it for what it is, the four children and Mewt's father return to the 'real world'. Each of the children, however, are deeply worried about what will become of Ivalice, but it is later stated that as long as the peoples and creatures of Ivalice wish to remain in their beloved world, it will never cease to exist.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance characters

The children who created Ivalice (from left to right): Ritz Malheur, Marche Radiuju, Mewt Randell, and Doned Radiuju.

Marche Radiuju - Marche Radiuju recently moved to St. Ivalice both because his parents got divorced and because his younger brother Doned needed the fresh country air for his health. Marche is the new kid in town and is very unsure of himself. When he appears in the world of Ivalice, he begins his quest to find a way home.

Ritz Malheur - Ritz Malheur is a very headstrong, outspoken classmate of Marche and Mewt in the real world. She has a secret complex about her hair, and in Ivalice, Ritz's dream comes true (Her hair is pure white - her mother dyes it pink every morning in the real world. In Ivalice, however, her hair becomes naturally pink.). She travels throughout Ivalice with her friend Shara and their clan. In the beginning of the story, Ritz stood up for Mewt and Marche when both were bullied.

Mewt Randell - Mewt Randell is Marche and Ritz classmate in the town of St. Ivalice. Naturally shy and passive, Mewt is teased and bullied at school, adding to the boy's introversion. Mewt's mother passed away, and his father Cid, always drinks (although he is shown as having problems with work in the American version, possibly because alcoholism was not seen as an appropriate topic for American children).

Doned Radiuju - Marche's younger brother, who is handicapped as a result of an inherited disability. He is also less healthy, and his and Marche's mother moved to the country to help his health. In Ivalice, however, he can walk. In a stage of the game, however, he is happy of his ability to cast multiple spells and do things he could never do. In the book Mewt has selected, however he said he'd love to attack with swords. Doned is a Mage in the "Other World" and he loves his new abilities.

Montblanc - Montblanc is Marche's first friend in Ivalice. The clever and witty moogle teaches Marche all about the world of Ivalice and helps him start up their clan. Montblanc will follow Marche throughout their adventures in Ivalice, becoming a loyal friend and clan member. Montblanc is very curious about Marche's world. Montblanc also has a little brother named Nono.

[edit] Races

Tactics Advance introduces a variety of races. Each race can take up certain "jobs" that govern what abilities the character can use in a similar manner to Final Fantasy XI. Although jobs are meant to only be availible to their own race, there are jobs that are almost exactly the same as ones in a different race altogether. For example, the Warrior class is extremely similar to the Human job, Soldier. Along with the abilities you obtain with Experience, each race has a guardian beast called a Totema to represent them and which can be summoned to their aid when a member of that race has 10 Judge Points. These Totemas do massive damage to the entire enemy party's HP or MP, depending on the race of the summoner.

The races are as follows:

Human: Generic, well-rounded characters that can take a wide variety of jobs. They are Archer, Soldier, Paladin, Fighter, Hunter, Black Mage, White Mage, Thief, Ninja, Illusionist, and Blue Mage. The Totema linked to Humans is Mateus (the final boss from Final Fantasy II). Humans are the only ones to take the Blue Mage, Paladin, Fighter, Ninja, and Hunter jobs.

A viera archer, one of the races in FFTA's Ivalice.

Moogles: As seen in other Final Fantasy games (usually white and pink but brown in FFTA). They specialize in jobs of dexterity that involve engineering or deftness of hand. The Totema linked to Moogles is Famfrit (based on the final boss Dark Cloud in Final Fantasy III). Moogles are the only ones to take the Gunner, Animist, Juggler, Gadgeteer, and Mog Knight jobs.

Nu Mou: Stout, pig-like creatures with long floppy ears. They specialize in the magical fields, and don't have a single melee-based class they can choose. Jobs are Black Mage, White Mage, Time Mage, Alchemist, Sage, Beastmaster, Morpher, and Illusionist. The Totema linked to Nu Mou is the angel Ultima (from Final Fantasy Tactics). Nu Mou are the only ones to take the Beastmaster, Morpher, Sage, and Alchemist jobs.

Viera: Tall and slender rabbit-like women. They specialize in fencing, archery, and natural magic, along with other jobs based on agility and spiritual links. Vieras have the highest average speed out of the five. Jobs are Archer, Fencer, Red Mage, Elementalist, Sniper, Assassin, White Mage, and Summoner. The Totema linked to Viera is Exdeath (the final boss from Final Fantasy V), correctly translated in this game as Exodus. Vieras are the only ones to take the Fencer, Red Mage, Elementalist, Sniper, Assassin, and Summoner jobs. Intrestingly, Ritz Malheur is a human character who, if not for being affected by the "Dmg2: Human" law, would be classified as a Viera, due to having accessibility to only the Viera job pool. One possible explanation for this is being around Shara, her Viera partner (much like Montblanc is to Marche), for so long.

Bangaa: Reptilian creatures with immense strength. They specialize in fighting jobs. The Totema linked to Bangaa is Adrammelech (From Final Fantasy Tactics). They consider it an insult to be called a "lizard", presumably because that compares them to less intelligent, albeit similar creatures - much like how in reality it is offensive for humans to be called a 'monkey' or 'primate'. Final Fantasy XII, however, tries to give another explanation for this. The available jobs are White Monk, Templar, Dragoon, Bishop, Defender, and Gladiator.

[edit] Sequel

In 2006, Square Enix revealed Final Fantasy Tactics A2 Fūketsu no Grimoire, which is a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, to be released on the Nintendo DS. Along with Final Fantasy Tactics Shishi Sensō and Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings, it is a part of a set called the "Ivalice Alliance". No exact gameplay details have been released about the game, but it is confirmed as a Nintendo DS title.

[edit] Development

[edit] Radio edition

A radio drama based on the game was aired in Japan in January and February of 2003. The series was released by DigiCube on CD in four separate parts.

[edit] Cast

Marche: Yuka Imai
Mewt: Asami Sanada
Ritz: Yumi Kakazu
Doned: Hiromi Ishikawa
Cid: Yasuyuki Kase
Montblanc: Kumiko Yokote
Nono: Masako Jou
Shara: Rie Kanda
Babus: Kumi Sakuma
Ezel Berbier: Wataru Takagi
Llednar Twem: Hikaru Midorikawa
Queen Remedi: Yoshiko Sakakibara
Famfrit: Mitsuaki Madono
Ultima: Kaho Koda
Adrammelech: Toshiyuki Morikawa
Judges: Akimitsu Takase
Moogle Knight: Ryoukichi Takahashi
Eaglets: Katsuhiro Harasawa
Bangaa Tribe: Satoshi Katougi
Madam Kiri: Kiri Segawa

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[edit] Reception

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was well received among the gaming community. The game is widely regarded to feature an outstanding combination of music, graphics, gameplay, and storyline. It is one of only three series entries to have received a perfect 5 out of 5 on X-Play. The others receiving this perfect score are Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy VI Advance. It was also rated as outstanding by IGN (9.0 out of 10) and given 5 out of 5 by Gamespy. In 2007, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was named 14^th best Game Boy Advance game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the Game Boy Advance's long lifespan.^[1]