I personally adored FFTA. It was my first tactical RPG and one of my first JRPGs ever (having been introduced to the genre by Pokémon Red, Silver and Golden Sun). I regret so much never actually owning it physically. I don't mind the kiddier or simpler plot because having never played FFT and being a kid at the time it being my first Isekai story and being such a good one (it and Escaflowne which I saw later are still my favourite takes) felt pretty advanced writing for a game at the time for me. It's mission structure, music and spritework also felt so incredibly cozy that I didn't even consider I was missing any more serious plot or structure. I wish we got a remaster of all FFT as well as new iterations of the franchise apart from Triangle Strategy. I've also always dreamt of tactics spinoffs with this graphical style but based on worlds such as Spira with its own species.
Love this game! I know its got its naysayers, but it's a lot better than critics give it credit for. I have no doubt it would benefit greatly from a remake to really make it shine (unlikely but still haha). Great video as always!
4:25 no. The ffta games dont have the replay value from fft early job unlocks and setup variety because everything is tied to weapons. 4:54 no charge time for spells too, though I admit fft implemented that poorly, especially cloud and spells slower than holy. Swiftness was a pain and forced a black mage setup to keep attack magick. Jail was a pain too, though ffta2 just takes away rewards at least.
I agree with your opinions on the law system being very cumbersome and obtuse. Why doesn't it, nor the sequel, warn you when you're about to break a law? Then there's the fact that the penalties are too severe. You lose your character for multiple battles, and you can even have permanent stat reductions. Ridiculous! This has resulted in me resetting the game countless times. And, agreed, having a limit on the number of items that you can hold is frankly dumbfounding. I think that the mission structure in this title works well but the sequel definitely has stories with more meat to them. I disagree about most criticisms leveled at the story. I don't think it really needed to be any deeper than it is. Perhaps a little more battling with Ritz, Marche initially enjoying the fantasy before coming to the realisation that it is all fake, Donad pulling a few more mischievous acts throughout the game would've upped the stakes (he appears far too late in the game), and a few more conversations about the hardships each member faced in the real could've made it a little more emotionally impactful. But overall, I prefer this plot over the original Tactics. That title has less fleshed out characters and more political ideologies in human form. I think more time could have been spent talking about the actual battles in this review. Particularly how you acquire abilities. My thoughts are that it takes way too many fights to acquire skills and abilities permanently. One thing to warn anyone going into this for the first time is not to level up too much, as it means that story missions become a cake walk. I did my first playthrough with almost no grinding for the first time ever, earlier this year, and it was a lot more enjoyable because of it. This title definitely needs a re-release, with improvements made to increase fluidity and the length of time needed to get the best skills.
I... Hate that they took an established setting, gave us an iffy 'this might actually all be a dream' isekai with it, and then cleared nothing up (did this actually happen in Ivalice? Is the original Ivalice also some fakeness? Are we REALLY playing a Square game about a Square game?) when it ended. Then they released the sequel (and War of the Lions) which made everything even more confusing. Just... Give us stories in the world you spent all this time creating. What the hell was this
You have to release this right before I have to go to bed....
It’ll only hold you back 30 minutes 😅
While it does have its shortcomings, I really enjoyed FFTA as a teen and can appreciate the themes it was trying to convey as an adult.
What are you talking about? you can set the L button to display the laws in the settings menu!
WHAT!!! Then I'm an idiot and I have two not three issues with the game. Thank you for keeping me honest! 🙇
I personally adored FFTA. It was my first tactical RPG and one of my first JRPGs ever (having been introduced to the genre by Pokémon Red, Silver and Golden Sun). I regret so much never actually owning it physically. I don't mind the kiddier or simpler plot because having never played FFT and being a kid at the time it being my first Isekai story and being such a good one (it and Escaflowne which I saw later are still my favourite takes) felt pretty advanced writing for a game at the time for me. It's mission structure, music and spritework also felt so incredibly cozy that I didn't even consider I was missing any more serious plot or structure. I wish we got a remaster of all FFT as well as new iterations of the franchise apart from Triangle Strategy. I've also always dreamt of tactics spinoffs with this graphical style but based on worlds such as Spira with its own species.
This was a fun game, and thelaws made for a fun and interesting challenge!
Love this game! I know its got its naysayers, but it's a lot better than critics give it credit for. I have no doubt it would benefit greatly from a remake to really make it shine (unlikely but still haha). Great video as always!
I really wish they would make another Ivalice game in the Tactics format. I played the heck of this and the sequel back in highschool
I don't know you or your channel, but I clicked and am here.
Very cool video!
4:25 no. The ffta games dont have the replay value from fft early job unlocks and setup variety because everything is tied to weapons.
4:54 no charge time for spells too, though I admit fft implemented that poorly, especially cloud and spells slower than holy. Swiftness was a pain and forced a black mage setup to keep attack magick. Jail was a pain too, though ffta2 just takes away rewards at least.
I agree with your opinions on the law system being very cumbersome and obtuse. Why doesn't it, nor the sequel, warn you when you're about to break a law?
Then there's the fact that the penalties are too severe. You lose your character for multiple battles, and you can even have permanent stat reductions. Ridiculous!
This has resulted in me resetting the game countless times.
And, agreed, having a limit on the number of items that you can hold is frankly dumbfounding.
I think that the mission structure in this title works well but the sequel definitely has stories with more meat to them.
I disagree about most criticisms leveled at the story. I don't think it really needed to be any deeper than it is. Perhaps a little more battling with Ritz, Marche initially enjoying the fantasy before coming to the realisation that it is all fake, Donad pulling a few more mischievous acts throughout the game would've upped the stakes (he appears far too late in the game), and a few more conversations about the hardships each member faced in the real could've made it a little more emotionally impactful.
But overall, I prefer this plot over the original Tactics. That title has less fleshed out characters and more political ideologies in human form.
I think more time could have been spent talking about the actual battles in this review. Particularly how you acquire abilities. My thoughts are that it takes way too many fights to acquire skills and abilities permanently. One thing to warn anyone going into this for the first time is not to level up too much, as it means that story missions become a cake walk. I did my first playthrough with almost no grinding for the first time ever, earlier this year, and it was a lot more enjoyable because of it.
This title definitely needs a re-release, with improvements made to increase fluidity and the length of time needed to get the best skills.
Everyone there but hostile LEO are welcome to protect me. Thank you... I'm so sorry to take you from your families on this important day.
I want a restraining order
Good
I... Hate that they took an established setting, gave us an iffy 'this might actually all be a dream' isekai with it, and then cleared nothing up (did this actually happen in Ivalice? Is the original Ivalice also some fakeness? Are we REALLY playing a Square game about a Square game?) when it ended. Then they released the sequel (and War of the Lions) which made everything even more confusing.
Just... Give us stories in the world you spent all this time creating. What the hell was this
I had to replay the whole game because of ghat f****ng adamantite alloy
I feel ya, only too well 😠
Yeah I wasn’t a big fan of the law system
My favorite GBA game; even more than Pokemon. 🤌