Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance

In my youth, I was very captivated by video games. They just intrigued me, what with their stories of treasure and adventure, heroes and villains, and who could forget the way they made the time just fly away. I spent lots of time on a very select few video games, and one in particular I spent the most time on. I can say I spent an upward of over 200 hours logged on this game (so sue me, I love this game). The game you might ask? Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

In this game, you play as a young boy named "Marche". He lives in a town named "St. Ivalice" with his friends "Ritz" (A self-conscious young girl) and "Mewt" (A sort of shy, outcast kid). After learning a bit about the three and a few more characters (mainly Marche's family), the three kids begin to read a very old book. After reading it, they are transported to a land aptly named "Ivalice"; a land in which the children meet fantastic races and fight deadly monsters in a very medieval-themed style. Magic and monsters run amok, and judges are the only moderators of otherwise random battles.

The battle system takes the form of a board game; your units travel around the board by a set amount of "squares" a turn. Each square can contain (or not) a single unit, and each time a unit's turn comes up it can both move and perform an action. These actions can range from casting a spell, to using an item, to attacking the enemy. When a unit falls in combat, you can revive him or her either during or after the battle, unless you fight in a special arena-then the unit is dead for good.

While the battle system is amazing, the story is also really good. It starts slow, but once you get rolling in it you'll just get caught up. It really did leave me wanting more. If I had to pick out a few flaws, the first would be in the musical tracks. While they are good, the gameboy isn't really the best system for it, and the music becomes repetitive after awhile. Also, late in the game (when you obtain a lot of items), the menu can become cluttered.

Another famous element of Final Fantasy Tactics games is the job system. You start out with a few basic classes a unit can be - fighters, black mages, white mages, etc. - and once you gain enough experience in those classes, they can become higher-tier classes, such as a Ninja or a Summoner. Eventually, a single unit could become a spell-slinging archer, or a thieving Paladin, whatever you have the drive to do you can, which highlights the core gameplay of Tactics - customization. More about the job system can be found here.

If I had to rate this game, I would easily give it a 8.5 or 9 of out 10. It was easily in my Top 5 games I've ever played, and with only a few flaws, can rank up there with the best of them. Once you delve past the basic kid-friendly exterior, you can find a diverse and involved game that will keep you entertained for hours and hours.