Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift [Nintendo DS]
ESRB Rating: E10+
Number of Players: 1
Genre: Strategy RPG|
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Release Date: June 24th, 2008

Final Fantasy Tactics is a classic PlayStation strategy RPG. Though far from being the first to execute the genre’s formula, it was a critically acclaimed adventure that fans loved, and it’s often referred to during SRPG discussions.  Despite the initial bad localization, FFT had a compelling story, great gameplay, and cool visuals. Years later, Square-Enix delivered something in the same vein as FFT, but instead for Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance handheld: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The great strategy gameplay remained, but new races were thrown in, the story was childish and the controversial law system turned many fans off.  It was more a love-it-or-hate-it experience.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift is its successor, but instead available on the Nintendo DS. How’s that for a confusing name? Anyway, the traditional SRPG engine is in place; all the races and jobs from the previous game return; the story finds a middle ground between the first and second entries, and the law concept is completely reworked.  Should fans that hated the GBA title pass on this one? My answer is no: Grimoire does what the GBA game sought to do.  Square-Enix appropriately handled all the previous flaws.

The story and pacing of FFTA2 are unconventional, but that’s largely due to everything being up to the player.  There’s no linearity to be found here. The narrative isn’t compelling, or as dark as the PS1′s tale, but ups the ante from the “kiddish” nature of the first Advance.  A2 opts for the “alternate world” idea from last time, with the main character being pulled into a fantasy land via a journal, which records your actions and adventures. The writing is surprisingly well-done, and the characters easy to like, increasing the game’s enjoyment factor.  There are a lot of cutscenes, and their content variety (drama, intense action, casual conversation, humor, etc.) keeps the presentation fresh.

The story is decent and builds to a solid climax. The classic PS1 game has it beat, but quality character development and heart helps it stand on its own. Dialogue is handled with text boxes and character portraits, but it’s attractive and charming at least.  The developers played conservative, yet the end result is clean and streamlined.  Not all the cutscenes are essential to understanding the goings-on, and most conversations can be skimmed quickly without hurting the experience. Keep in mind that some missions can be replayed several times, and the dialogue follows in suit.  Most scenes are short though, so spanning the dialogue never feels like a chore. The game moves smoothly and lets the player dive right back into the action.

The gameplay involves battle and non-battle sequences, While on the main map, players can visit different locations: [towns] to buy and sell items, [the Bazaar] to craft items (which are then available to buy at the shop), the auction house, the pub to collect information, engage in Clan Trials, accept quests, and if the chance arises, take on a special event or non-mission battle. The auction house doesn’t offer item-bidding, but territory control instead.   Sometimes owning land nets certain bonuses if the player enters it.  Breaching enemy territory might conversely have problems. Prizes can be won at the auction house as well via a simple token system. Characters wage on areas by using tokens of different value, which can be purchased or obtained by meeting certain conditions.  It’s a fun distraction, and the rewards are well-integrated.

The Bazaar allows you to mold previously unusable “loot” into new weapons and gear.  Also, since each equipment lets different races and job classes learn unique skills, it’s vital to keep an eye on what becomes available and what can be made. Some dialogue path-finding is necessary on occasion, but gathering information is quick and rarely requires much effort. Certain events appear on the map given a specific date/item though.  FFA2 operates on a fixed schedule, with a 20-day calendar system. Traveling between areas spans one day and missions can burn any number of days. You can also pick missions or clan trials, which are usually conditional battles such as “protect this character” or “defeat all enemies.”

Grimoire can be played with either button or stylus control, but the latter isn’t recommended because it just doesn’t work with the viewpoint. Battlefields are layered, so spaces can be ‘hidden’ behind others based on the perspective, making selecting them difficult with a stylus. Even then, it feels tacked on and clunky. It’s ok for menu navigation, but even the options therein are small and were noticeably implemented with the button input in mind.

Battles are turn-based on a grid. The location determines the terrain, as you encounter forested grottos and snowy villages. You deploy units to the board, move and attack — standard stuff. The race and job variety also makes fighting diverse, as the options to build a team are endless.  Many jobs are race-exclusive, though a few are shared.  Each job class can be expanded with new skills, and those mastered can be equipped whenever…even if said character switches. It’s a great mix-and-match system. The law system is also radically changed. In the GBA FFTA, the player had to adhere to laws or face a strict punishment (i.e. character jailings). Now it can be viewed as more of a reward system. Judges watch over all fights, and having his favor wins your party protection, meaning members can be revived and that your clan may receive special privileges like bonus experience or increased speed. Completing Clan Trials grant additional perks. Sticking to the rules and following the judge also amounts to item rewards at the end of battle.

Disobeying the rules causes the judge to leave, and he takes all those nice helpers with him.  Even so, you can still easily win with this handicap via a smart strategy and strong party.  In the event you have to redo a mission and just want to finish, not worrying about rules, it’s no big deal. Some examples of laws are “don’t use long range weapons” or “don’t use Bangaa units.” This way battles never feel restrictive or boring. Adhering to the rules gives the player a definite advantage.  With the right team, any challenge can be overcome. That’s what makes FFTA2 more accessible than the GBA game.  Battles become more intense as the adventure continues. Completing missions turns addictive, because clearing one leads to the availability of more missions, areas, more things to do, jobs to use and skills to master. Achieving victory may be on the easy side, resulting in most gamers breezing through the game, but the difficulty does ramp up.

Visually, A2 is quite nice.  The field maps are colorful and detailed, and the sprites are great. Everything moves fluidly and looks nice, and the effects when summoning a Scion are extravagant and fun to see. The cutscenes use the in-game engine, so you look at the same presentation across the board: no CG sequences or the like. The style is attractive though, so it’s not much of a loss.  It’s nice that the cutscenes don’t overstay their welcome and intrude on the gameplay. This is a well-crafted 2D game—full of color and vibrancy. The sound also enjoys an array of epic songs that bring to mind the other Tactics games. The soundtrack isn’t as memorable, but has charm, and carries battle sequences well.

There is high value for the price of admission here. With some 400 quests to conquer, lots of character customization and jobs to master, playing FFTA2 can push dozens of hours.  There’s a lot to see and it’s easy to get into. Players can even link up locally to obtain tickets, which can be exchanged for items and prizes. Now to compare… yes, this is a wonderful game, but on a different level than the original PlayStation Tactics game, which prioritized a difficult challenge. It also featured memorable characters, tons of locations, a dark and compelling story, and so on. Fans will endlessly refer to it.  This game isn’t quite the same.  It is an SRPG, but with a different kind of story, more accessibility, races/jobs, a tweaked gameplay system, and a different sense of progression. Both are wonderful, so liking Grimoire of the Rifts is no disrespect to the original, like some gamers might insinuate. While it is a bit easy, it’s also balanced, fun, and addictive, making it an ideal SRPG to take on the go.

Scoreboard:

Story: 8/10

Gameplay: 9/10

Control: 8/10

Graphics: 8.5/10

Sound: 8.5/10

Value: 9/10

Overall (Not an average): 9/10