A Final Fantasy game was thought to never grace any Nintendo hardware ever again. But about a year ago outta the blue announcements from Nintendo & Square came with news that Nintendo & Square are back on good terms. And there were Final Fantasy games in development for both the GameCube & Gameboy Advance. And the first title in this rekindled relationship is Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

Originally thought to be a remake of the PSX title but it turned out in fact a whole new game. The GBA version will instead feature a whole new great story. A boy named Myu runs across a book, somewhat obviously titled Final Fantasy. When he tries to channel the power of the book, it magically turns his world into a fantasy realm. He’s actually in the world of Final Fantasy! Along with his friend Mash, and a girl named Ritz, Myu sets off into the world of Final Fantasy to try to restore their planet to its old state. Besides an awesome storyline Final Fantasy games always come packed with awesome features. And FFTA is no different. The game has five different character classes to choose from: White Mage, Black Mage, Archer, Knight and Monk. Those five are divided by 3 character systems. The Judgment System allows you to set the order of actions while you’re in a battle. The Kuran System is exclusive to Myu and Mash. In this system, you have to follow orders from a client. Last, but not least, the Region System will help you to rebuild the world.

A sword big enough to make Cloud Strife jealous!!!

Unlike the other Final Fantasies, Tactics is a turned-based strategy game. People who played the first FF: Tactics for the PSX should be familiar with the gameplay which is also almost identical to Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis also for the GBA. And similar to Sega’s classic RPG Shinning Force (my favorite RPG ever). There have been a few gameplay changes including the inability to change the angle in which you are viewing the battle.

Outlook…
Hopefully, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance will stay true to the Tactics name and bring to us RPG gamers the same or better experience we got from the PSX version. I was surprised that FFTA is a whole different game than the PSX version and that makes me want it more. FF: Tactics Advance was recently released in Japan. There is also the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance bundle pack that includes a limited edition Game Boy Advance SP and the game. Will we get it most likely no? Its sad enough, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance does not have a specified release date for North America. Stay tuned to GamersMark.com for more release info. Until then enjoy the screenshots.

~ditto~