- Three young men open an ancient tomb, and unleash a magical tomb that turns their town into a kingdom of s & sorcery. They'll have to take up the arts of combat and magic, to fight for the soul of their home!.
- Battle your way through dozens of turn-based conflicts, using your strategic thinking skills to come out on top.
- Command your squad of fighters, mages, and monsters and create battle plans that suit their unique abilities.
- Team up with a friend to battle deadly nents -- but be careful - if you don't follow the rules of combat, you'll wind up in jail!.
Product Description
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Enhanced graphics, favorite characters and a brand-new storyline
deliver an unparalleled role-playing experience.
From the Manufacturer
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You can almost hear the collective drooling of RPG and Game Boy
fans worldwide. As the inaugural Nintendo/Square reunion title,
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has a lot to live up to--and it
does, spectacularly!
The long heralded Final Fantasy series has enjoyed a number of
spin-offs and sequels. Using the familiar character types and
classes of the Final Fantasy series, but with a wholly original
storyline, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance creates an immersive
world of strategic combat and conquest.
Snow Job
While most fantasy games favor romantic landscapes, Final
Fantasy Tactics Advance slyly starts out in a plain-vanilla
suburb. Players assume the role of young Marche Radiuju in the
humble burg of St. Ivalice.
A snowball fight introduces the characters and sets the
groundwork for future battles. After a brief (but chilly)
skirmish, Marche heads home to visit his younger brother.
Marche Madness
Soon after, Marche's friends drop by to show him an ancient book
of mysterious origins. After failing to translate the text
properly, Marche's friends leave for the evening. After a wistful
slumber, Marche awakens and realizes he isn't in Ivalice
anymore... or is he?
Alone in a foreign land, Marche quickly comes under the care of
a helpful creature known as a Moogle. It doesn't take much to
convince Marche to adopt a lucrative career as a mercenary.
Gangs of Ivalice
A quick stop at the town inn introduces Marche to his new gang.
A motley crew at best, your associates include low-level monks,
mages, archers, and soldiers. The only hope you have of finding
your way home is to turn your ragtag group of misfits into a
finely tuned fighting force.
Begin your tour of duty by chatting up the local barkeep. He'll
clue you in to interesting news bits, rumors, and job
rtunities. Due to your severe lack of experience, early
quests are little more than errands.
As you gain experience and reputation, your job options grow as
well as the rewards. You can also send one of your crew members
on side missions for extra swag. You cannot use these members in
your regular quests until they return from their mission.
Rules of Engagement
Whether your quest is to fetch rare s or escort the local
nobleman, you can always expect bad company. The battlefield is
set up from an isometric 3D viewpoint, allowing clear view of
every character in play.
At the start of a match, you must choose which members of your
gang you wish to take into battle with you. You have a clear view
of the enemies before choosing, so try to match your lineup to
your sition.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance introduces an innovative law system
to the series. During every battle, an impartial judge decrees
specific rules, such as banning poison attacks or physical
attacks. The judges' unpredictability requires players to keep a
well-rounded group of characters at all times.
Technically, you can break the combat laws, but it is generally
not recommended. Even if you win the battle, any of your
characters who breaks a law is whisked away to prison. They can
only be released after paying a hefty fine.
Fantasy Fighting
The battlefield is set up like a 3D chessboard, with elevations
and terrain types. In each turn, a character can move a specific
number of spaces and perform a single action, such as attack or
using an item.
Most strategy games employ either real-time or turn-based
action. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance employs a speed-based
system that is somewhere in-between.
Characters still take turns to move and perform actions, but
these are based on each character's individual speed ratings.
Nimble characters like rogues and ninjas are usually the first
characters to go and can usually move farther than other
characters. The downside is that faster characters typically lack
strong armor and stats.
Subtle details such as terrain type and attack proximity can
have a direct affect on your ability to hit an enemy. Attacking
an enemy from behind or the side will yield much higher hit
percentages than head-on attacks.
Job Fair
What you do off the battlefield is arguably more important than
what you do on it. Thanks to a stable economy, your characters
can usually change job classes once they gain enough experience.
Need a little more magic in your life? Try turning one of your
grunts into a mage. There are more than 30 different job classes
available, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Even in far-off fantasy lands, commerm is a way of life.
You'll be amazed at how quickly you'll end up spending your
hard-earned greenbacks on shiny new stuff. Weapons and armor
serve not only to boost your stats, but also grant special
abilities to specific character types and species.
While one might grant tremendous attack points, a
seemingly lesser may give its wielder access to a special
attack that can tip the scales in your favor. Thanks to the law
system, one should never get too attached to a single piece of
equipment.
Face Value
Gorgeous character illustrations and 2D sprites harken back to
Square's 16-bit glory days. Each of the shops, inns, towns, and
fields is superbly detailed, with subtle background animations.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance maintains the series' stellar rep
for technically and visually brilliant summon attacks.
Uniquely, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance features three separate
display settings, depending on whether you're playing on the Game
Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, or the Game Boy Player. Each
setting offers different levels of brightness, contrast, and
saturation to appease even the most fickle of gamers.
The only thing that can rival the on-screen wonders is the audio
candy. It is no surprise why Square Enix's soundtracks are the
most sought-after in the video game community.
Lasting Power
Needless to say, there are hours upon hours of gameplay packed
into this tiny little cartridge. Square Enix has done a
tremendous job in creating an easily accessible yet incredibly
deep gameplay experience. Plug into one of the finest strategy
RPG experiences ever created with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.