RubenBaraja

Been playing this for around 4-5 hrs now and am still not too sure on whether I like it.

First real experience of a game of this genre since XCOM on the PC.

I know FFTA is a 50+ hr game and am just wondering whether its worth it. Please provide words of motivation for me!

Seanland

Hmmm.. I bought it for GBA, Havent played it in a while, but i got my times worth when I played it.. I think the big thing is the multiplayer aspect, I believe you unlock it late in the game, never got that far though :S My friend unlocked it.. I donno I thought it was worth it.
Maybe ill break out the DS and start playing it again

cabbit

I liked it, I thought the original was possibly one of the best games of all time. And FFTA had a lot to live up to. Its worth it if you like it, i dont know how else to put it. The battle system is the same throughout it, the plot, while a little unbelievable, is still unique.

Mr.Deflok

I loved it but I ultimately had to sell it due it robbing me of precious hours of sleep.

irateplatypus

played it some...

it's a dang good game, i just can't justify spending the time it takes to beat the thing on my GBA when i have several AAA gamecube titles left unbeaten on my shelf. were i to take another extended trip, it would be on my short-list of portable titles to take.

__________________
If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

~ Winston Churchill

alansmithee

I loved the game. Havent played it in awhile, but that's cause i beat it twice before.

Apokx

It was fun until multiple laws were in effect, then I turned it off and haven't played since.

Lasereth

The law system should have never been in the game. If you can get past the annoying law system then it's definitely worth it. Many reviewers said the law system made the game refreshing...no, it just made it imperfect.

-Lasereth

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"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

cabbit

never once had aproblem with the laws, guess i got lucky or my team was made right, i had so many cards and like 4 that nulled all laws and i dont think i ever used them.

alansmithee

the laws are interesting. IIRC, the laws are set for the region of the battle, so you can plan around them. Also, there are the cards to eliminate them. I liked the laws because they forced more diversification, especially if you didn't have a particular card and were relying too heavily on a particular strat for all your characters. Honestly, if it wasn't for that, certain end battles that were semi-hard would have otherwise been cake.

djflish

How similar is it to say Final Fantasy VII/VIII/IX? Is it the same sort of game, just on the GBA, or is it different intirely?
I'm thinking about getting Final Fantasy I & II Dawn of Souls for the GBA. Has anybody played this?

__________________
Europes two great narcotics, Alcohol and Christianity.
I know which one I prefer.

RAGEAngel9

I hated the laws because it wasn't very descriptive of what some of the meant.
Otherwise, it was a fun game to kill time. The story wasn't all that great but for this type of game I didn't mind to much.

Apokx

Tactics Advance plays similar to FF Tactics for the Playstation(awesome game).You have jobs to choose from, familiar spells, gear, summons etc.The only difference is the battles take place on a grid, where you can move around using things to your advantage.The game is really addicting, but I just didnt have the patience for the law system.

And yes, buy 1 and 2 for the GBA.They're still awesome.

djflish

From what people have said, the law system seems to be the make or break of this game. What exactly is it?

__________________
Europes two great narcotics, Alcohol and Christianity.
I know which one I prefer.

jonjon42

basically the law system is something that prevented you from using certain skills in battle (well you could try to use them, but your character would probably end up in jail)
It bascially was created to make you diversify your team more, and now rely on one thing. i thought it was interesting and never really had a problem with it but, your milage may vary

otherwise the game is addicting as hell.

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A damn dirty hippie without the dirty part....

Apokx

I would like to point out that NPCs who break the law numerous times do not go to jail(I had one fight where the enemy team got nothing but yellow cards, but never went to jail) which is another reason I didn't like it.

djflish

Its a pity Final Fantasy Tactics wasn't released on the Playstation here

__________________
Europes two great narcotics, Alcohol and Christianity.
I know which one I prefer.

RubenBaraja

I am finding the law system a pain, especially where you cant "Fight"

Got someone in Jail at the moment, no idea what I have to do to get them back out and havent read the manual for ages.

Anyone know off the top of their heads?

Slayer

I not sure but I think you have to pay certain amount of money to bail out your clan member.

FFTA is pretty good but it can't compete with FFT on PS1. The mission are too repetitive and the law doesn't make the game more challenging but tedious.

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"the key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering"

RubenBaraja

Another ten hours onwards and I am getting into this game now. I am a sucker for "levelling up" games though.

Not too convinced that there is a story line to it and sometimes get the feeling I am playing just for the sake of it.

If you are ever looking to pass the time though this is definitely recommended.

Merlocke

http://www.gamefaqs.com/

the only video game site you'll ever need (for cheat/walkthrough).
It's got a great map for this game.

__________________
-=[ Merlocke ]=-

Mantus

For those who played Final Fantasy Tactics on PSX, is Advance better or worse?

aeturnum

Personally, I didn't get as into advanced. Mostly it was because the job system in advanced is more limited (which is to be expected, it being on a much smaller medium and all). Also, from what I could tell there wasn't much "new stuff" (classes, skills) that you got after maybe only 10 hours of gameplay. Because of that, while the game itself is pretty well done, the stuff that kept me going in the regular game (tweaking abilities, training up odd jobs, etc) wasn't there in advanced. It's a good game, but it didn't hold me like the origional did.

Mantus

Any one played far enough into Tactics Ogre for PSX to get a feel for it?

A friend of mine had the game, I started playing it and the system was very similar to FFT but the plot seemed a little dry. Unfortunately I only got about two hours of game play cuz the disc got damaged. It's very hard to find, so I am wondering if it worth looking for.

RubenBaraja

I am after a copy of this too. The ebay prices over here tend to reach £40+ so not too sure if it will be worth it.

Pretty sure there might be a Tactics Ogre for the GBA too

alansmithee

I'm a big fan of the tactics style games in general, and you could argue that Tactics Ogre is the best. The company that made it (Atlus) helped on the first FFT, and I think also on the GBA version iirc. There is less jobs than the FF games, but you can field 10 units at once and also have alot more options for capturing enemy units. Some of the enemy monsters you capture can actually level from what I remember. The story for all the tactics games seem to be very convoluted and somewhat nonsensical, so I quit following them for the most part. Tactics Ogre also has the most challenge out of the games to finish completely, and a few more hidden things from the FF games (hidden classes and dungeons). I remember there's one hidden dungeon area that is around 100 levels, and you can only rest every 5 or 10. Good luck finding it though for less than around $75+, as it had a limited production run and is valued alot. If you dont mind the cash and like the style of game, I highly recommend it.

alansmithee

There is a tactics ogre for GBA as well, which is easier to find. I also would recommend that for anyone who likes the style of game. Came out before FFTA iirc. Bit more straight forward than FFTA as well (no laws, etc).

Mantus

The GBA version is called: Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis

The PSX version is called: Tactics Ogre (Ogre Battle series)
The japanese name is Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together


Then I stubled upon Ogre Battle for N64

...I had no idea!

RubenBaraja

Is Ogre Battle related?

I have noticed that on ebay a few times but didnt really have a clue to what it was?

By the way, for those who have completed FFTA, what was the average completion time?

Mantus

Ogre Battle is tactics-ish yet differnt. It's not turn based. You have a strategic map where you control your units. Each unit is comprised of 1-6 men. You have various combinations. There is also the concept of law and chaos. Each map is a mission.

I dind't find Ogre Battle for SNES and its PSX port very fun. It had allot of potential though. That's why I am hoping that they might have fixed the game on N64.

RubenBaraja

I may be a wimp but I am officially pulling out of playing FFTA after 21 hrs.

Was never really 100% into this and have just wasted an hour and a half on one battle to only get defeated by Babus one on one.

777

With Air Render and Far Fist, who cares if you can't "Fight". I haven't put in as much time as I would like, and it's a damn fun game. The GBA version is a little easier, since 99.9% of all the monsters counter attacked on PSX. I wish their were more jobs for each race (No Samurai?!), and I miss the old Job Point system where all of a class's ablilties were avalible from the begining. Oh well, guess I'll have my theives stealing all they can

__________________
"I don't know that I ever wanted greatness, on its own. It seems rather like wanting to be an engineer, rather than wanting to design something - or wanting to be a writer, rather than wanting to write. It should be a by-product, not a thing in itself. Otherwise, it's just an ego trip."

Roger Zelazny

Mantus

While I was getting Tactics Ogre - which is fun but not as polished as FFT. I stumbled upon a game called Front Mission 3. Which is essentially FFT accept with Mechs. Well I was sold. It's very fun and the story line as well as characters are very well done.

nukeu666

just got the game
i played it for a few hours....then a friend of mine explained the intricacies of powerups/AP/new weapons...gotta start the game again oz of all the AP i wasted
pretty good game for the time i played it
i love it when little 5mb roms can keep me engaged for hours and 5gb install of gta:sa bored me in an hour

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RubenBaraja

Sensible decision starting again.

I got twenty hours in and then realised I was getting out of my depth and there was no going back once the difficulty increased.

Let us know how you get on and if you can last longer than me