Post by: rpglover on August 26, 2003, 05:43:07 PM
well i have seen only one review for the game thus far- egm magazine gave the game a gold score with scores of 3 9's out of 10!!! i think famitsu also gave the game a good review- 34/40
i cant wait for this game- i hope the gameplay is there because i really want to have some fun with this title
Post by: GoldShadow1 on August 26, 2003, 09:16:53 PM
Post by: nitsu niflheim on August 27, 2003, 09:11:38 AM
Quote
I'm afraid that the GBA game might be a much more simple
I don't think this game is going to be simple. Each battle has their own rules, and if you break them you get penalized. The different classes are not available to everyone like in FFT for PS, but some are exclusive to specific races.
Post by: rpglover on August 27, 2003, 02:14:33 PM
and the gameplay is just as complex as the first one is- it is based on that game you know- and the new judges watching over the battles makes them more complex and tough to beat- i cant wait for this game- september seems so far away
Post by: Gup on August 28, 2003, 03:51:07 AM
Post by: GoldShadow1 on August 29, 2003, 04:55:18 PM
I recently got a letter from Nintendo advertising an FFT bundle pack (Really now, do I need NP, a strategy guide and headphones for an extra $30?) and I *loved* the artwork from this game. It's so great. Is it from the same artist who did FFT and Vagrant Story? I simply love that style.
Post by: rpglover on August 30, 2003, 04:28:22 AM
i dont think so- i think the judges are a new gameplay element- instead of just putting rules in the battles, square has a "judge" stand in for them- and he watches over the battles making sure you follow the rules- the judge gives you a yellow card if you break the rule a first time, and a red card a second time- if you get a red card, you are off to jail and you have to pay to get your character out or you could leave him there
Post by: GoldShadow1 on August 30, 2003, 06:09:51 AM
Post by: rpglover on August 30, 2003, 06:54:17 AM
i think the rules that are enforced are changed every match- for example- you cant use magic in one match, in another you wont be able to use items, and in another you wont be able to use your regular attack (restricting you only to use magic and techs)- i think square put it in to spice up the gameplay a little and get you to use everything at your disposal
Post by: KDR_11k on August 31, 2003, 08:24:41 AM
Post by: Gup on September 01, 2003, 10:22:06 AM
Post by: rpglover on September 01, 2003, 12:20:21 PM
Post by: GoldShadow1 on September 02, 2003, 09:34:24 PM
I'm wanting to get this game more and more. The rules do actually sound quite interesting, it's a very innovative idea that forces you to changes your strategy. I might just try and get this one with my birthday money.
Post by: rpglover on September 03, 2003, 04:58:37 AM
i would suggest it- i have yet to see a bad review about this game- i cant wait until this game releases!
Post by: GoldShadow1 on September 03, 2003, 04:23:58 PM
Post by: RickPowers on September 03, 2003, 06:34:48 PM
Post by: rpglover on September 03, 2003, 07:59:09 PM
i love that game- i found it at my eb about a year ago and it was only 5 bucks- and i loved every minute of it- i think the voice work and sound track in the game were amazing- i only wish lucasarts made games like that more often
"So for the same price as that one $30-$35 game, I can get two or three other games. Yet for FFT, I just might be willing. That tells you how much I want this game"
if you have any other games that you do not play i would suggest trading them in- sometimes it can help when you dont want to spend the full load- for ffta i am trading in advance wars 2 (got it for cheep off of my friend) and castlevania (the first one)- i dont know how much i will get but it will take off a little- but i would highly suggest getting the game- if you like rpg games then this will satisfy- i have been waiting for so long for a new ff tactics game-the first one was great- hopefully you decide to get this game- it should be worth it
Post by: GoldShadow1 on September 04, 2003, 03:03:07 PM
BTW, on Grim Fandango - The game was good. I think it was a bit overrated (the ending was lame, the puzzles could've been more interesting) but the game was definitely quite good. As you say, the voice work and the music are both great. The characters are very funny, too. There's too many great characters to even name, although I found Meche and the main villain uninteresting. I'm not sure, though, if it can beat the Curse of Monkey Island - that game had better puzzles and was very funny as well.
Um, okay, this is getting off-topic so...
FFTA is going to be great! Yay! =D
Post by: rpglover on September 11, 2003, 06:29:14 AM
first of all this game feels a whole lot like tactics ogre (for those who have played it) and fft in terms of gameplay and visual style so if you have played those games you can jump right in- but for those who haven't i will give a brief explanation of how the game is played- first of all there is no town wandering- you are shown cut scenes when you get to parts of the story which show you in towns and other areas- basically you have a world map and you go to a town and select pub from the menu there- you will go to the pub and choose a mission to take- from that you go to the area where the mission is and commence battle- you can only have 6 players on the battle grounds of your team (which can go up to 23 i think) and you start the battle after you put the players you want down- when your turn comes up you go to the character highlighted for the turn, and you can choose to move, action (which has attacks, magic), wait, or item- basically it is a combination of a strategy game and an rpg- it is a lot of fun, but even the simplest battles can take up to 15-30 minutes to complete- so you must really like both genras to get into this game- this game is very long- there are 300 missions to complete in the game (i only have about 30 done so far) if anyone has any other questions just ask
Post by: vudu on September 11, 2003, 09:55:07 AM
does everybody in your party gain experience from battles, or only the ones who participated in (and are alive at the end of)the mission?
i understand that you earn magic abilities through your weapons/armor. and after you get enough experience points you gain the magic abilities even after you equip other weapons/armor. but what happens if you're halfway through mastering one ability and then you switch to a new weapon/armor, and then you later switch back so you can master the ability? do you have to start over at mastering it, or do you continue where you left off?
is there any way i'm supposed to know where you place things on the over-world map? i'm told that if you place things in a certain order you get to go on treasure hunts and earn rare items. is there any way i'm supposed to know where to place things, or is it all blind luck? is there any way i can move things once i place them?
what's up with the days on the over-world map? it takes one day to travel from one spot to the next. is there a time limit or something? do i have to complete goals in a certain time frame or face the consequences?
lastly, are there any missions/events that i can only complete at certain times and if i miss them i don't get to witness them unless i start over?
i lied, one more; does anyone know if there are multiple endings to the game?
Post by: rpglover on September 11, 2003, 09:18:19 PM
no- only the ones who participate in the mission- here is how the system works- after each turn for each character (if they did some action such as fight or tech or magic or item use) that character gains a certain amount of experience points which are then shown on the screen- such as "gained 12 exp."- not all characters get those points, only the one who did the action- once you reach 100 experience points, that character levels up, and thus takes another 100 to level up agian- so you must do actions to gain experience- if you just move but do not take any actions except for wait, then you do not gain any experience points
" understand that you earn magic abilities through your weapons/armor. and after you get enough experience points you gain the magic abilities even after you equip other weapons/armor. but what happens if you're halfway through mastering one ability and then you switch to a new weapon/armor, and then you later switch back so you can master the ability? do you have to start over at mastering it, or do you continue where you left off?"
as far as i know the ability points stay with you so if you take the equipment off half way through, you can put it on later and retain the ap from that original equipment- when i had my magic rod on my one character i had 3 magics, but i didnt let it gain enough ap, and i switched to another weapon- i got the magic from that one, then switched back and i think it kept my ap in the other one since it only took 1 battle for me to master the 3 magics
"is there any way i'm supposed to know where you place things on the over-world map? i'm told that if you place things in a certain order you get to go on treasure hunts and earn rare items. is there any way i'm supposed to know where to place things, or is it all blind luck? is there any way i can move things once i place them?"
i think you put the places on the world map by yourself where ever you please- and to get into the treasure hunts is random i think- it will randomly appear on the menu selection for that town or place- you then choose it and violla instant item!
"what's up with the days on the over-world map? it takes one day to travel from one spot to the next. is there a time limit or something? do i have to complete goals in a certain time frame or face the consequences?"
no- it is there for some dispatch missions- in those you send out a member of your clan and sometimes must wait a certain number of days until the mission is finished- some take 5 days, others 10- some dispatch missions also require other things such as you must fight 2 battles until it is completed
"lastly, are there any missions/events that i can only complete at certain times and if i miss them i don't get to witness them unless i start over?"
i dont know- i havent gotten too far in the game just yet, but for right now i have yet to see any
" lied, one more; does anyone know if there are multiple endings to the game?"
i dont know the definate answer to that, but i would say yes- and it is probably determined on the number of missions you complete- there are 300 in the game- completing all probably would get you something
well i hope this helps
if you have any other questions just askPost by: vudu on September 12, 2003, 05:08:02 AM
another questions, when i get attacked by an enemy, it says something like "gained 10 exp points". i'm assuming the game means the enemy gained exp points, not me. but i can't figure out why i would care that the enemy is gaining exp points. will i keep running into the same enemies throughout the game? i'm assuming yes for some of the clans, but why would i care that the big red dog thing is gaining exp. i've never seen one level up in a battle i was fighting.
on a side note, i restarted one of the levels once (i didn't know if you got a yellow card during the battle you lost the rewards you should have won for completing the mission) and i noticed that the enemies' names all changed. this is also leading me to believe that i won't be running into (most) enemies more than once in the game. so, again, why do i care that they gain exp?
Post by: rpglover on September 12, 2003, 08:07:24 AM
yeah it shows the experience points the enemy gains too- it really doesnt matter all too much so dont worry about it-and you probably wont run into the same enemy's in the game too much except for clans i would figure- i guess the experience point showing is part of the game- it shows it for everybody
Post by: vudu on September 12, 2003, 09:38:48 AM
how do i learn reaction/support/combo abilities? is it just by equiping the right armor/weapon, same as the regular abilities?
is there a possibility that there will be a time when i can't progress any farther in the game because i have insufficient gil and/or don't have the right type of clan member in my group? (e.g. if a mission requires a blue mage and i don't have anyone in my party who is a blue mage or capable of becoming a blue mage and there are no missions to gain the necessary abilities to become one.)
**actually, i just thought of a solution to that problem; i'm guessing that enemy clans will continue to roam the over-world map so i can probalby fight them to get the required gil/abilities to qualify for the next mission.
any chance you'd be able to clarify the difference between the main skill set and the secondary skill set under the attack menu during missions? sometimes the secondary skill set seems to be replaced by the option to use an item. also, what's the difference between a battle tech? i think it's that they don't use mp, but i'm not sure. can they be learned by anyone, or only certain races? if they can be learned, how?
Post by: rpglover on September 12, 2003, 02:34:27 PM
i dont quite know for sure but i think they may just happen- you gain ap in the battles and those abilities are gained- for most others it is just from equipment- i dont remember it ever saying that i mastered the combo ability with marche but he still has it (in my game)- so it may be random but it probably has to do with equipment in some way
"is there a possibility that there will be a time when i can't progress any farther in the game because i have insufficient gil and/or don't have the right type of clan member in my group? (e.g. if a mission requires a blue mage and i don't have anyone in my party who is a blue mage or capable of becoming a blue mage and there are no missions to gain the necessary abilities to become one.)"
doubt it- and most of the time the only missions in the game that require things are the dispatch missions
"any chance you'd be able to clarify the difference between the main skill set and the secondary skill set under the attack menu during missions? sometimes the secondary skill set seems to be replaced by the option to use an item. also, what's the difference between a battle tech? i think it's that they don't use mp, but i'm not sure. can they be learned by anyone, or only certain races? if they can be learned, how?"
i dont think you can clarify- most of my group in my clan dont have any significant secondary skills so i just have item for that- you can replace them by yourself by going to the party screen, choosing the character, and go to the change ability screen- most of the time to gain more abilities you should try out new jobs for your characters- and i think battle techs use mp just like magic does- just not that much of it- most battle techs probably use about 1 mp- and the techs are specific to the job you have- if you are a soldier you can gain battle techs through your swords, and if you are a monk you can gain monk techs through your equipment as well- the best way to know what you are getting is when you are buying equipment, i think you can press r and the information on that equipment will come up- and it shows what techs or magic can be learned by which jobs
"we should change the title of this thread to "ask rpglover"."
well i am just trying to help
Post by: Dracula on September 20, 2003, 05:38:21 AM
What about Golden Sun: Tha lost age? Well to be honest it was a huge dissapointment, becuase of the annoying lack of bosses in the game. You could go to a dungeon/mountain or whatever, climb all the way to the top/get to the end of the dungeon, and then get the object you came to get, before you had to use exit or whatever that psy energy was called to get to the beginning of the dungeon/mountain again, and then just leave.
How boring and repititive is that? I was looking forward to fighting bosses after I spent almost a couple of hours climbing a mountain, and what do I get as a reward? I have to use exit (the psy energy was probably called something else, but I dont remember it, as the game was stolen, when someone broke the window of my car and took it and my GBA), and just get on with the next dungeon/mountain.
One of the high points of a turnbased RPG are the boss fights, and if the fight forces you to use strategy and goes on for almost half an hour, then it just cant get any better. But when a RPG misses out of that, then for me it just isnt a good RPG, especially when the stroy is as weak as it was in The Lost age.
And this wasnt after a couple of hours play, I put in a good 30+ hours in it, before it was eventually stolen, and I just cant be bothered to buy it again.
But back to FFTA and Tactics Ogre. I pre ordered Tactics Ogre as I really wasnt that keen on FFTA, because of what seemed like a weak story line. But since Tactics Ogre is a rare game (so it seems), I wouldnt recieve it in a couple of weeks, and therefore I decided to buy FFTA to kill the time, while waiting for the real RPG that was Tactics Ogre to arrive.
But now that I have spent over 30+ hours in the game, I must say that I am as little dissapointed, and this dissapointment eventually lead me to cancelling the pre order of Tactics Ogre. The reason why FFTA has been a dissapointment for me is obviously the very weak and paper thin story line, that is one of THE most weak story lines ever, annoying is it as well.
But its not all bad though, I've eventually discovered that I actullay enjoy the strategic battles, and the option to build an army, make them learn the different abilities, and upgrade their weapons are definitley the strong points of the game. And therefore I am thinking of ordering Tactics Ogre again. Cause it promises a great story line, and almost all the feautres that FFTA hold.
So all in all, I have to say that I'd give FFTA a 7/10, if it had a better story line, it would definitley compete with the likes of Golden Sun and BOF2 for the best RPG of GBA, but as it is now, its IMO only barely better then the likes of BOF and Golden Sun:The Lost age. I've got higher hopes for Tactics Ogre though.
Post by: InSaNe_Skillz on September 27, 2003, 04:15:28 PM
(Not refferring to FFTA there)Gameplay - So far its great. I have beat about 3 or 4 missions, but a couple things are confusing me. Like how you build the world by placing things on the map. I'm not too crazy about that. I like games where you jump into an already built world with people and lives and everything
Placing everything where I want is kind of dumb, but really no big deal. The turn-based battles are great. Alot of strategy in moving and everything. I like the rules system although it's a bit frusturating. Right now I am on this mission where you have to beat bandits but you cant use swords. Which is what my 4 soldiers use So this is a bit of a challenge for me. It's been really great so far.Graphics - The graphics in the game are really, really good
They impressed me. I like the way they create the illusion of lights, I noticed this when they showed a car's headlights slowly going down the street. And the way they do the shadowing in one of the rooms make it looks like it's running on a real - time rendering engine. The graphics really seem to fit the style of the game. A complaint though is that on the battlefields everything is really blocky. I know this is because it's suppose to be like a game-board, but they could atleast try and make things look organic. Hills are just blocks with textures on them Story Everybody says the story is not that great in this game and they just can't stand it, but I really like it. It feels like I can relate to these kids in the story and the things they do. And I actually felt sorry for poor Mewt in the beginning
I haven't got far in the game though so I can't say much. But it seems like the story doesn't really progress. What does happen? the story moves ahead whenever you beat a certain mission or something? Or is there basically no more story or cutscenes after the beginning of the game?Random The music in the game is great but extremely repetive. They play the same tune almost every time for everything. The same music for the pub, the same music for the battles, everything. Sound is good I suppose, nothing really special, nothing really bad, just good. Overall, I'm thorougly enjoying this game but wishing for a couple more things
Joe's Score: *** : Three of five stars
Post by: Koopa Troopa on September 27, 2003, 08:42:36 PM
Gameplay
My only gripe so far is the judge/law system. I may not be far enough into the game to truly understand its significance, but so far it has been an annoyance, and little more. I don't like waiting for the Judge to do his thing, and I don't see the reasoning in having them at all (I'm the good guy!). Aside from that it has been very fun. Oh, and I don't like having to buy items to get skills.
All in all I'll give Gameplay 8.7/10 (The original being a ten)
Story
So far I've found the storyline to be good, not quite as interesting as the first, and it definitely starts out slowly. I guess I don't like the "random" feel of the missions, it doesn't feel like I'm building up to anything (yet). Whereas in the original each mission had some sort of purpose/impact on the story.
Story gets a 7.8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Bottom line: I'm having fun
Post by: vudu on October 10, 2003, 01:18:55 PM
Post by: Syl on October 11, 2003, 08:05:20 PM
around an 8.5-9/10 i definately enjoyed it.
Post by: Terranigma Freak on October 14, 2003, 10:01:43 AM
Post by: TrekGeekMid on October 15, 2003, 05:05:11 AM
Personally, I think it is a great game. The story is a refreshing change of pace from all the "the world is going to end because of people/monsters/evil forces disturbing the natural order" that seem to be so prevalent in a lot of RPGs.
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on October 15, 2003, 07:49:36 PM
Post by: Terranigma Freak on October 16, 2003, 10:32:52 AM
Post by: ActorJ on November 04, 2003, 07:53:28 PM
However, the game is really really repetetive. I mean, it the same thing over and over and over and over again.
I guess I juust really prefer the classic puzzle solving travelling from town to town RPG. Actyally it would be great to combine a strategy RPG battle system with the Gameplay of say, FF6.
Post by: benomoth on November 09, 2003, 03:06:56 PM
graphics-very nice, colorful, good battle animations 9.5
sound-music is crisp and clear, not much variety, gets annoying at times 8.5
gameplay-very fun and addicting, easy once learned 9
replay-wow 300 missions, unlimited character building, very long 9.5
overall-great game, especially if your a fan of this genre 9
Post by: vudu on November 10, 2003, 06:44:49 AM
