But seriously, as a guy with magnificent taste in games it does interest me talk about the myriad of pros and cons FFTA has over the original. I would fucking love for a game to have all the best things about both the original and Advance. But that's why Advance is one of my favorite games and not one of the best games ever made. Tactics had so much room for improvement and Advance was so different but it also had problems.
Cons:
It's too easy.
In a game where min-maxing your characters is much easier than its predecessor, its a big downside that the game never poses the same challenge.
Some of the better nuances have been abandoned.
Things like archers having better range at higher altitudes, and not being able to shoot through allies with guns. Locational strategy barely matters at all anymore.
Some classes are a little too similar.
Mostly due similar classes in different races, but if certain classes are exactly the same why not make them the same class regardless of race? To be honest, this was a much bigger problem in A2.
Laws
There was just nothing redeeming about these. They only made run around the map timing it so that a harmless enough set of laws came up in the story fights.
No more permanent death
Not that I would ever accept victory if one of my guys died (I have such trouble with Fire Emblem games), but it made things matter all that much. I love my parties in Advance so much more than in Tactics, and I would love feeling like their lives were as precious.
Pros:
The races of Ivalice
I fucking the love races introduced into this game. They bring a whole new dimension to my party.
More ubiquitous classes
No more classes that are dedicated to only breaking items or only charging up attacks. Far too many classes in Tactics existed only for their stats and equipment.
The worse nuances have been abandoned
I'm so glad that I can no longer fail 3 revives in a row because my target wasn't faithful enough or the wrong zodiac sign.
No guest characters that outshine your normal people
Hey, I love my party in Tactics and Advance. But in Tactics, it was actually considered a challenge run when I play without Agrias or Orlandu or the others. Maybe because it was fucking insane, but that's how much I love the guys I make. I don't want their spotlight being stolen (and sadly you miss out on alot with Mustadio). That and with all the guest characters you don't even have much room for other party members.
Not as many exploits
So Tactics was hard even with spamming Accumulate to gain JP, it still felt silly.
As far story, calling Advance a children's story is a pretty stupid way to look at it. It's a clear homage to some of the escapist children's movies I grew up on, and the story appealed to my inner child. It still dealt with issues that were beyond children, as all good children's movies should. To put it into perspective, I enjoyed Tactics as a child. I enjoyed Advance as an adult. But Advance was also fascinating in its own right, because unlike the stories it draw influence from (and A2, sigh), instead of Marche living the dream life and some maguffin bringing him home in the end, going home is the active goal in spite of how everyone else has big issues keeping them in Ivalice. The fact that some people interpret Marche to be the real villain (which I do not agree with) only shows how much more complex the story is than the people who just write it off as childish want to give it credit for. I get that it may not have been the story you wanted out of a tactics sequel, but can you not possibly judge it by its own merits?
I absolutely loved the Ivalice in Advance and the most disappointing thing about FF12 was how little I recognized anything. Advance is definitely one of my favorite video games.
EDIT: No MofoPopo, I did play Tactics years before Advance (I played Advance several years after it came out tbh).
Advance 2. Well. Advance 2 is the story that people who are criticizing Advance are criticizing. It's the same thing but with no complexity at all and character who just wants to fight swords. I remember the scene where Yoda was like "Well the maguffin book says that if you run around and have enough fun you'll eventually get home anyway" and I was just like seriously?
