the gran grimoire

Along with countless others I finally picked up my pre-ordered copy of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFTA) this week. The game has undoubtedly been well receieved, with gamespy giving an unusually gushy report. I've spent enough time with it that I can give a few impressions here. And now that this title has been secured, I can move on to anticipating the other big releases for the GBA this upcoming season.

I love Shining Force. When my friend let me play Final Fantasy Tactics on his PSone, it was pretty close (By the way, Atlus, I'm still waiting for Shining Force Advance so if you need someone to playtest just drop me a line). And now we have FFTA. I've come to expect long winded stories from the Final Fantasy series, so I braced myself for the intro of the game, which isn't skippable, unfortunately. And it was pretty tedious. I can appreciate the fact that the game's story may have been aimed at kids, what with the eye-rolling dialogue and borrowing liberally from The Neverending Story, but when examining the game mechanics (which are extremely detailed and well designed) I doubt that a kid would last much farther than the tutorial battle. Also, Square turns on the gender-destabalizer again for the human characters. Seriously, what the fuck guys. Let's try a little harder to make the characters more interesting (and distinctive) next time.

This is not a terrible game; on the contrary it adds a few new dimensions to FFT that makes the gameplay more interesting. The action points are a bit cumbersome, as they severely limit the weapons your Clan can use at first. But I can see why, as most items have magic properties that allow you to "learn" a special ability once you have gained enough experience using the weapon. And I actually like the Laws system, despite the ridiculous ones that seemingly tie your hands. It forces you to think about the battle ahead - this is a strategy game after all. However it is far from being a truly great game, as some reviewers have been saying. I wouldn't dare compare this title to my precious Golden Sun, but I have heard some claim that FFTA is actually better. I bite my thumb at those fuckers.

Do I like it? Yes, very much. It is a great strategy game, but I am reluctant to pile on the praise. The story is depressingly simple-minded, and doesn't have the political and religious undertones that made its predecessor so engrossing. Glass and Clan Machina will be venturing on regardless, if only to kick some ass and rake in the Gil.

FFTA was a pretty big release for the GBA, probably the most anticipated of the year. But we've still got three months to go, and there are a few other titles that I'm jonesing for. Fire Emblem is at the top of my list since Shining Soul was unseated, and the recent review of the US version hasn't changed my mind. Intelligent Systems (the makers of Advance Wars) are behind Fire Emblem, and it's looking pretty good. Combining elements of (you guessed it!) Shining Force, Golden Sun and Advance Wars, you engage a team of heroes in battle that level-up and gain new skills RPG-style. The focus seems to be on strategy as opposed to roleplaying, though, so I imagine that it will maintain the same gameplay as AW except in a fantasy setting.

Of course, I haven't forgotten about Sword of Mana. It appears to be shaping up into a solid RPG, and should fill the void left by my abandonment of Shining Soul nicely. Another RPG I'm still looking at is Mario & Luigi. Although from some of the descriptions it may be a little too cutesy for me to stomach. Still, all our favorite characters from the Mario Bros. universe are there in a new adventure, and I don't doubt the gameplay will be engaging. Trying to be overly kid-friendly is one of the weaknesses of Nintendo I suppose. I really think they should darken stuff up a bit. Is Wario honestly the best they can do? There needs to be more flesh-eating zombies and fire-breathing demons in Mario World.