Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

aka: FFTA
Moby ID: 10325
Game Boy Advance Specs
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Description official descriptions

Marche and a few friends are out on a usual venture through their local town, St. Ivalice, only to discover a book filled with fantasy and magic. Setting their mind to the thoughts of a magical land, they get transported to the world of Ivalice, which happens to be based on one of the friends' favourite games, Final Fantasy.

Finding himself alone, Marche must join a clan of warriors and travel through this new land of mystery to find his lost friends, and return to the real world, while learning all about this new place and the magic it holds.

Not a direct sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics, FFTA combines the many elements of the tactical original with a slightly modern feel, and an original storyline for the GBA. As a clan leader, you must manage your team (from their combat skills and inventory to each and every battle you face).

Both your basic handheld weapons and magic are available to you, with the ability to summon monsters for support. Two players can link GBA's for battles, trading items and clan members as well.

Spellings

  • ファイナルファンタジータクティクスアドバンス - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Game Boy Advance version)

68 People · View all

Directed by
Character Designed by
Design Work Directed by
Music & Original Score
Music Composer
Scenario Writer
Planners
Event Script Editor
Assistant Planner
Main Programmer
Programmer
Assistant Programer
Artistic Supervisor
Art Director
Background Creators
Visual Effects Creator
Animation Creators
Assistant Creators
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 86% (based on 63 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 70 ratings with 5 reviews)

Big, long lasting, compulsive and enjoyable.

The Good
Where do I start! It looks very cute n colourful and its music is catchy, but maybe a little too tedious as the game only has around 5 tracks (seriously!). Also there is ALOT to do - choosing right equipment, picking missions, customizing units, selecting abilities, and fighting, which most of the game is based. Instead of moving around in a world map and dungeon like environments like most final fantasies, you simply 'click' where you want to go on a symbol based map making the game seam simple, but the battles and the decisions you can make in each one can make it very involving. Also I like the way you can customize your clan and soon get attached to your many members you raise. Also the depth of job classes, secret units, items, weapons, missions and moves make this final fantasy one of the best ever...



The Bad
The battle animations aren’t very far reaching and can get very repetitive; also it takes a long time before you get good moves and equipment... Also you need a lot of free time to play this - I racked 192 hours on it, which is pretty long for a game. The final bad thing about this game is the rubbish storyline and stupid ending ' I’ve played through a 100 odd missions for this!!’ There is a secret ending which is also equally bad! Also there is a general lack of rewards for completing the game - Also its prequel (final fantasy tactics on Sony playstation) is apparently better, but since I have not played this I can not comment on this...

The Bottom Line
It takes a lot of time, has a weak story, but the feeling of involvement and accomplishment is worth it.

Game Boy Advance · by Garland (12) · 2004

An amazing game just like every other FF game.

The Good
This game is quite long. I have spent about 70 hours on this game and I have still only beaten 200 of the missions. It is intensely long and very fun. The sheer number of abilities and magic spells are amazing. I absolutely love it.

The Bad
The game does tend to be anoying at some levels where you need one item to beat a mission to get to new missions, but you got rid of that item a long time ago and so you can't go any further. Simply Annoying.

The Bottom Line
This is a wonderful game even if you do not know anything about final fantasy games.

Game Boy Advance · by Jester236 (34) · 2004

An Obsessives Paradise

The Good
This is simply a regular Final Fantasy RPG but without all the graphical "bells and whistles" of the PS1/2 releases. As such it makes you realize that said "bells and whistles" are actually pretty unnecessary. I really like having between four and six characters in each battle having always felt that the roster of three per battle, on other FF games, was limiting rather than tactical. Ok..the story is simpler than you expect from Square but this doesn't really hinder the enjoyment. (I haven't played the original "tactics" so cannot compare it to this title.) The little characters who initially all seem so samey do really begin to matter to you. They become like twenty small virtual pets that you've nurtured and raised to their current levels, through different jobs, imprisonment and hard fought battles(though never that hard) As always with this sort of game it comes down to stats/items and progression. This game certainly delivers. You can spend an unhealthy amount of time equipping and unequipping, trying to learn that last spell or defensive technique. Suddenly you do and new job options open up extending the lifespan of the game as you train up in a whole new set of techniques.

The Bad
I felt quite "dirty" getting so obsessed about learning every last job and fulfilling every last one of the 300 odd missions. It's just lucky I spend a few hours per week on long train journeys.

The Bottom Line
Excellent, deep, obsessive and rewarding. It may take a while to get into but it's really worth it. It's everything that's good about the other Final Fantasy games without the cheap eye-candy. Graphics-whores need not apply! Buy this if you truly want to play a real RPG.

Game Boy Advance · by kemmysunshine (9) · 2003

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Trivia

Awards

  • GameSpy
    • 2003 – Game Boy Advance Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
    • 2003 – #8 Game of the Year
    • 2003 – #2 Game Boy Advance Game of the Year
    • 2003 – Game Boy Advance Strategy Game of the Year

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Related Sites +

  • FF-Fan
    A fansite that offers all kinds of information on the entire Final Fantasy franchise, including walkthroughs, game media, discussion boards and fan art.
  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
    Official FFTA website by Nintendo

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 10325
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

Wii U added by Michael Cassidy.

Additional contributors: Shoddyan, —-, Fred VT, Patrick Bregger.

Game added September 12, 2003. Last modified January 2, 2024.