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1. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift Review
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Dec 25 2008

   It's been years since onetime Final Fantasy Tactics series director Yasumi Matsuno helmed the original Tactics, blending chesslike game mechanics with Final Fantasy fan service -- and his absence shows. In the 10 years since Tactics' U.S. debut, the series has transformed from overly complex political soap opera to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance's clash of two teenagers' angst-ridden inner psyches to -- with Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift -- one kid's afterschool-punishment blues. While turn-based strategy fans grow older, the series' plotlines grow younger, and although the game mechanics haven't exactly been dumbed down, they haven't advanced much, either.
   
   Tiny armies filled with tiny warriors still do battle on tiny dioramas that, ironically (in the five years since the last iteration on Game Boy Advance), haven't advanced much at all. Yes, the visuals, resolution, and character details fare better here in the prefixed Tactics Ogre-esque camera angles than in the recent remake of the original, partly 3D Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions for PSP, but you'd still expect better than the last-gen handheld graphics FFTA2 offers. Still, while the storyline and visual advancement might be uninspired at best, the only reason FFTA2 gets away with this sort of lethargy is its deep-as-hell battle engine, which offers players an exceptionally immersive and pliable tactical experience via an ever-expanding tech tree of classic and not-so-classic Final Fantasy job classes. Job abilities open up through weapon use, and these abilities in turn make characters more effective at different jobs. The more jobs a character masters, the more advanced job types become available. This system is time-consuming, but it allows endless flexibility in forming one's dream team.
   
   The Law system introduced in the previous FFTA, however, limits things. In each battle, a randomized "Law" is introduced, disallowing the use of certain types of attacks and magic and penalizing any party member who inadvertently uses the banned skill. While this may make things more "interesting," forcing players to carefully select party members for a mission (if, for example, lightning magic is barred, it may benefit you to add Archers to your party and let Black Mages warm the bench for a round), it prevents the no-holds-barred, stress-free, pure tactical showdowns of games like Tactics Ogre. The Law system was a novel -- if annoying -- gimmick in the previous game, but it simply wears out its welcome here.
   
   Review: 8.9
   
   What's offered here in FFTA2 is by no means a poor excuse for a game. Anyone buying this for strategic role-playing will most definitely get their money's worth -- new players in particular. But based on the series' past legacy of excellence, it's just a shame that Grimoire of the Rift feels more like an expansion pack than a bona fide sequel. With games like the aforementioned Advance Wars offering faster, more attractive tactical handheld fun on the DS, this latest Tactics is a distant second-best in the DS strategy catalog...and more importantly, a notable disappointment compared to its predecessors.

   
   

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