Review: FF Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

From Emily: After acquiring the games journalism bug when I coerced him into live-blogging the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix beta with me, Josh has written his first review. I had been planning on covering this myself, but it got to the point where he had put 20 hours in (then 30, 40, etc) so I knew I would never catch up. This works out because he is actually sort of an expert on Final Fantasy Tactics in general, and I am not really that great at turn-based strategy anyhow. Feel free to heckle us both from the comments section.

The original Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite games of all time, and despite being a twice-removed cousin of that original gem, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 is a remorselessly cute and surprisingly deep turn-based strategy game. FFTA2 is solidly in the camp of its GBA predecessor (thus the “A2″ part of the name). It has the same judge system and simplified combat while adding two more races and even more jobs (bringing the total up to something like 44).

The story (which is quite thin compared to the original FFT) starts with a snotty little kid (our hero) getting detention in the library at school, where he opens the namesake grimoire (an old book), gets sucked into Ivalice, and is thrown into the mercenary profession.

Make no mistake; this game is about being a true mercenary, working for whoever pays your salary and barely thinking twice about switching sides in back-to-back missions. In a way, it’s nice that the story isn’t a morality tale (ignoring the part about power corrupting, cause we all know that’s true anyway).

The main story arc is actually a minimal part of the game. There are side quests aplenty — at least 200, the number I completed — and many of them form groups of related missions that tell stories of their own. You collect little Moogle statues, too, one for each 50 missions you complete. Many of the jobs are unlocked through various quests as well.

Dispatching (sending groups of your fighters off to complete quests in the background) is a great way to level and learn abilities, and is much easier now that there is a new visible stat, MVP, that indicates how effective a leader a character will make on dispatch missions.

But what if you fail? Fear not, for this game is endlessly forgiving. Any quest you fail you get another chance at next time around the calendar. Time passes when you move between regions on the world map, and with no random encounters, advancing time is far less tedious (and dangerous) than it was in FFT.

The battles are entertaining. The range of attacks, spells, and techniques at your disposal is vast, and the 2.5d isometric animation is top-notch. It’s not quite as pretty as the original FFT (and you can’t rotate the map) but it moves more quickly and is easier to follow since actions are always carried out immediately.

Sometimes I miss the deeper system in the original, where the target of your spell could move out of the way before it went off, but then I remember how, as a relatively pathetic gamer, I enjoy not being repeatedly humiliated by my toys. Make no mistake, this game is not hardcore, but it is fun.

The judge system can be infuriating, though. It places arbitrary restrictions on each battle, prohibiting things like “dealing <20 damage,” various elemental attacks, “harming the weak,” and even reaction abilities (automatic counterattacks).

Why obey the judge? While under the judge’s protection, you get a “clan ability” bonus that can increase your speed, power, luck, or grant other benefits. You can also resurrect KOed characters — if you’ve violated the Judge’s rules your dead guys are dead until the battle is over. You also get bonus loot if you haven’t pissed off the judge by the time you win the mission.

But what good is loot? Let me tell you about loot. Loot is for crafting. Loot is how you make 90% of the 300+ weapons, shields, and accessories that turn your cute little Moogles into raging tanks of destructive power. (The level cap was raised from 50 to 99, so those tanks can really rage.) Items are divided into 94 categories (with marginally helpful names like “Vermillion Vestments”, “Gift of Stone”, or “Night’s Embrace”) and five ranks (A thru E).

Unfortunately the crafting system is a cruel mistress, forcing you to blindly send your materials to the bazaar in the hopes that a great item (like the Materia blade, granting the Ultima Sword ability) will become available, and not something like Ensanguined Shield, a shield that actually makes you more vulnerable to fire. Both are ranked “A” so you have to be careful.

Or would have to, if I hadn’t done all the hard work for you in the form of this handy spreadsheet (XLS, HTML), which lets you know how to make a kinky Rubber Suit for your female warriors to protect them from lightening.

Having a reference is especially helpful for Ninja-lovers out there as there is no way to learn four Thief abilities (the prerequisite for becoming a Ninja) without crafting at least one item that grants a thief ability. Cinqueda, a rank C knife from Smallswords crafted from Damascus, a Spiral Incisor, and a Kalos bloom is a good choice since it grants Loot Lv. 4, a great way to collect rare loot to craft even more goodies.

There is a mini-game Auction system that is a multi-round silent auction whose explanation in terms of story makes no sense at all. Why spend collective experience called clan points to enter and win auctions, just to gain control (in name only) of geographic areas and have random citizens give you generally worthless junk? Nonetheless, the auctions are an entertaining diversion. Win all the auctions in a region to be declared “champions for life” and start playing auctions for items instead of prestige.

The format of this game lends itself so well to the DS’s instant sleep, instant awake, über-portable system that I kept it on my desk at work, playing a round or two while my code compiled. Of course, I also played it in the morning when I woke up, which sometimes made me late for work. I played it before I went to bed, which sometimes made getting up so I could play before being late for work more difficult.

I played it in the bathroom. I played it waiting for pizza at Seranno’s. I played it while eating lunch. I played it while eating dinner. I played this game for eighty hours (about 20% of my waking life since getting a copy) and was still kind of sad when I made it to the (admittedly anticlimactic) ending. The last time I was this obsessed with a game, I was playing Bioshock.

This game is by no means for everyone, but if you have a taste for a cute version of Ivalice, and love a little light, turn-based-strategy you can pull out of your pocket to play while waiting for the elevator, this game is for you.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.