Friday, March 13, 2009

Fantasy Friday-Final Fantasy Tactics A2 Preview

FFTA2 cover Heya, G1s…and I guess anyone else…how would you even find this if you weren’t one? Anyways I’m your host, Zack Fair, and today we’re taking a preview at one game, and one game only, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Two: Grimoire of the Rift. That’s right, I spelt out every little word, and you know why? That’s just how badass this game looks. I might be just a little biased, but no joke this game looks superb, I really mean it. Just head over to the official North American site for the game and click on “battle system” to catch a glimpse of the sweet footage.  

Aw, man. I just have no idea where to begin. I definitely won’t talk about any of the story as not to spoil anything at all. Let’s start with all the old complaints that didn’t get fixed, so that way they don’t get in the way of all the problems that were fixed, and awesome new stuff. Hmmm…well these are actually few and far-between. Aside from the story being “weak” (more on this soon), the camera is still stuck in the same position. This was quite a pain back in the first FFTA as you would often place a unit somewhere, think he was safe, and than realize all too late that he was one row too many to the left. However this is far outweighed by new special features, and some much needed other fixes. Also, I feel the story, though not too heavily focused on in FFTA, was a fairly good one. It had one underlying theme that just about any gamer can relate to; being different, and wanting to escape reality for something that may or may not be better. Nearly everyone has faced these issues, and they should not be belittled, even when put in a lighter setting.  

Alright, time for some spruce-ups. First off, the biggest complaint for the first FFTA, the judge system. I’m right with you guys on this one, as it definitely sucked the fat one. It was so ridiculously pointless, and they really could have thought of a better way of limiting you. Fret not G1s as I have already said this was the fixed stuff section. How could they fix such a demonstrous error?  

Like this: Originally, the premise of the judge system was that laws would be set down to prohibit you from doing certain actions, like casting a particular type of magic, and rewarding you for its opposite. If you didn’t check the laws every single damn time, you could get fucked and lose items, stats, or even have your best character thrown in the slammer. People friggin hated this, so the great minds at Square got together and said, “You know what, this judge system sucks balls, lets make a new one!” And there was much rejoicing…at least there will be hopefully. There are usually two types of discipline, the “punish for bad behavior” approach, which the old system was, and the “reward for good behavior approach”, which you can guess the new system is. It works in that during each match you are allowed to select a clan privilege which is basically a booster that affects your entire clan. They start simple, like boosts to speed, strength and the like, and as you earn more get gradually more complicated and powerful. The privilege and the laws are tied together. If you follow the laws, you keep the privilege, if you break it, you lose it for that fight. Aside from that, you can break that damn rule as many times as you feel like, no more judge breathin’ down your neck like an asshole.  

I for one think that this new system will work well and not be as much of a hassle as the old piece of shit system. Another thing they touched up on were of course the graphics and sound. Because of the new hardware provided by the DS, music is now more varied and impacting, and graphics much smoother and less laggy. Whereas the first one would have scratchy, pixilated graphics and take several seconds for most animations, the new animations are much more fluid and just plain better. Most animations have been upgraded and are much flashier and appealing.  
Alright, time for my favorite part, your favorite part, everyone’s favorite part of a sequel, the new features! While this may seem like a spruce-up, there’s been so much new shit that’s been added to the clans that it should be in the “new stuff” section. First off, something called the clan trials has been added. Two things have been confirmed for this feature, one is a set of organized brawls that allow you to obtain new titles and privileges for your clan. Titles will most likely boost your stats, gain access to either new areas or missions, and make you feel like a badass. You can also participate in real time auctions to bid for control over sections of Ivalice. Remember back in FFTA when owning sections of the map meant shit? No more! By holding land areas, your clan receives special privileges and treatment not enjoyed by the clans you outbid. Can anyone say clan brothel? XD The bazaar system from FFXII was also put in, so you can go find items, sell em on the market and gain access to sweet, sweet loot. And of course what is a new tactics game without new jobs and races? Several new jobs have been added, from returning faves like the samurai, and new faces, like the chocobo jock and green mage (fuckin shit that’s right they have yet another colored magic wielder!).  

The new races appearing in this game are the shark-pigs called Seeq’s from FFXII that can take on unique jobs such as the berserker who uses powerful, savage blows, and the ranger who sets traps for the enemy. The other new freak-I mean race…to show up in FFTA2 are the Gria, half dragon, half girl warriors. Like the Bangaa, they prefer weapons though there is a magic wielding class. What makes this race so unique is that the wings on their backs actually work, unlike the Moogles (yeah, I know they can fly, why do you think I do an RPG blog? For some reason they just decided they couldn’t in tactics). Because of the functionality of their wings, they are extremely mobile and can traverse heights and great distances with ease. Another new feature that just kicks ass is the use of the top screen. While you can touch around on the menus at the bottom, the top provides extremely valuable information.  

This information includes the current law, privilege, mission objective, and turn order. Also, by scrolling through the turn order, you can see detailed information about each character and monster. A selected character on the top screen will show their name, level, place in the turn order, and also what element that character is weak to, immune to, takes half-damage from, and absorbs. It has friggin’ EVERYTHING!! The top screen alone eliminates nearly ten to twenty minutes of searching through countless number of menus and status screens. In short, it lets you get straight to the fighting, mess free.  

If you’re not stoked for this game yet, you just don’t like tactics or RPG’s…so what are you doing here? Well, thanks for reading, and I hope you’re as excited about this game as I am. I’m Zack Fair, and this was Fantasy Friday!

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