Use your Tactics to the Advance to Seal the Rift of the....what?
So after writing my article on the DS (found in my blog, somewhere), I inspired myself to pick it back up again and carry on playing some of the games I never finished (of which there are probably hundreds, but that’s not the point.) One of these games was Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Grimoire of the Rift. Not only is this possibly the longest title I have ever come across in my life, but it’s also a pretty damn good RPG game, considering it’s on the DS. But then, for a Square Enix game, I wouldn’t expect any less.
The game starts with you controlling Luso Clemens, a young boy forced to start his summer vacation by spending his afternoon in the school library as punishment for various misdemeanours. When he finds that the librarian isn’t there, all thoughts of detention leave the young boy’s mind, and his eyes fall on a very old, very intriguing book. The pages inside are mostly blank, only a single line is written; “Tell me who will fill these pages”. In an instant Luso’s name is written down, and his story begins.
Grimoire of the Rift is set in Ivalice, the same location we spent time in in Final Fantasy 12 and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. This world is filled with all the stuff we loved about those games, as well as a whole bunch of new stuff to sink our teeth into. The gameplay is easy; the storyline is simple, and it’s just a whole lot of fun to play.
What I like
Battle System: The battles in this game are all done on grids. Each character can only move so many squares, and must get close enough to an enemy before they can attack them. Though it may seem a little slow at first, once all the characters are within range of one another, the battles become intense. One wrong move could mean all the members of the other team gang up on you and destroy you, whereas playing things right spells total annihilation for your enemies.
Bazaar: We saw this in FF12 and it makes another appearance in Tactics A2. The bazaar is something of a lucky dip where you’re always a winner. You submit certain components to the shop keeper who will turn them into awesome weapons or armour. You’ll never walk away from the bazaar empty handed, and nothing feels more fulfilling than having a whole bunch of new stuff to equip your characters with.
Graphics: Though we only see the world of Ivalice on flat, grid type maps, the graphics are still pretty commendable. The green lands look lush, the cities look busy and the caves are downright damp and awful. And though the characters are teeny pixel people, they look pretty cool too.
What I don’t like
Job System: In this game, jobs must be unlocked through quests or missions. Though there is nothing wrong with this part of the system, the actual obtaining of the job annoys me. For example, for a Hume to become a Paladin they must know three soldier abilities. But for the first massive chunk of the game, only two soldier abilities are available. I understand why the developer’s have done this, but there’s nothing more annoying than wanting to move forward in the job world and being held back by something out of your control.
Laws: Each battle is governed by a judge, who sets down a law at the start of every conflict. If you adhere to them you get a bonus, but break the law once and you forfeit that bonus. Break it numerous times, and your players get sent to prison. The laws have no purpose but to make the battles more challenging, and though most of the time they are easy enough to adhere to, sometimes they’re completely out of your control. It would also be nice if the rules applied to the enemies as well. Nothing is more aggravating than watching your foe blatantly break the law and having nothing be done about it.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Grimoire of the Rift is one of my favourite RPG games on the DS. While the story line is nothing to write home about, the actual gameplay itself is extremely enjoyable. Fighting battle after battle doesn’t get old until your eyes are burning from staring at the screen for too long. It’s a perfect game to play on long train rides or car trips if you need to drown out all the noise, or even just sitting in lectures with nothing better to do (because nobody really pays attention in lectures anyway, right?) If you can find it, then grab it, play it, and wait for the love to sink in. Because it totally will.
