I just beat FFTA! Here is my review.

[SaShman]

Alright I finished this game last night so I figured I should share my opinions on it.

Story
The story is fairly weak.

Spoiler!

It follows Marche, a boy who is brought to the world of Ivalice by a magic book. After a while Marche discovers that he is in fact in the imaginary world of his friend Mewt. Mewt is using Ivalice as an escape from reality. In real life Mewt is bullied and he has parental troubles but in Ivalice he is the prince and he receives his every desire. Basically Marche is trying to get back to the real world but Mewt and Marche's other friends wish to remain in the imaginary world.

I thought the story progressed too slowly and at times it seemed too simple for my liking. However, it was good enough to keep my attention.

7/10

Gameplay
The gameplay is very similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. However, it is significantly easier. The battle system follows the chess-like system which was employed in FFT. But there are a few key differences which work in your favour. Firstly your characters cannot actually die forever

Spoiler!

with the exception of one area

If a character gets KO'd then you will still be able to use them in later battles. Secondly, there is no charge time for spells (unlike FFT) this means that there is no chance that you could 'accidentally' heal an enemy or harm an ally (unless of course you target the wrong tile).

There are plenty of side missions to keep you occupied too. There are 300 missions in total and only 24 of them are compulsory. So if you are into that sort of thing, go nuts!

The gameplay makes up for the storyline. It provides the player with a game which relies on a certain level of strategy. But as I said before it is incredibly easy, which is either a good thing or a bad thing, you decide.

8/10

Music
Nothing special, but it's not horrible. I thought it got really annoyingly repetitive after a while though.

6/10

Visuals
Fairly cartoonish, but decent. I think the cartoonishness ties in well with the

Spoiler!

imaginary world

setting. They didn't leave me in awe or anything, but they complimented the game nicely.

8/10

Overall Rating

29/40

It's worth a play, but you wouldn't be missing out on too much if you gave it a miss.

[tempestman]

I liked the gameplay of TA and TA2, although the stories were (like many said) lacking. There are a few good moments full of humor, and Montblanc is a decently developed character (mostly due to his role in other games I'd imagine).

TA's story was darker and somewhat more dramatic, and the end game was much better than TA2's, at least in my opinion. TA2 had the potential of revolving around a war between to crime syndicates, but instead decided not to focus on that (which would have been AWESOME!) and rather had the same focus as TA, send the main character home.

At least Luso isn't a bitch like Marche.

[Alpha1253]

Ok gamers, here is my review of FFTA2 (for DS):
Concept: Square Enix "milks" the tactics/Ivalice genre of games and brings it to the DS in hopes of drawing in both new/tried and true fans of the role-playing experience.
Gameplay: Everything you expect from the previous two installments with a few extra conveniences thrown in exclusively for the DS owners; The 'fitting room' is a refreshing breath of air for gamers who felt that equipping and customizing their characters was a tedious and daunting task to deal with (given the sheer number of items in these game) in the previous games. Also, the introduction of the bazaar and the auction are welcome additions to the game for many reasons, although mostly because they give you something to do with your gil, unlike FFTA for gba. Anyways, clan points throw in variety as well. This game gets rid of the 'law cards' that were staples of FFTA. IMO-not a bad idea really.
9/10
Story: To put it in the most basic terms, the story of FFTA2 is dismal and lacking in both the strength and depth of its predecessors. The story revolves around Luso, a young boy who is sick of the 'school atmosphere', just as marche in the previous game was. Upon entering the library to serve detention , he is intrigued by an open book lying on a table nearby entitled, 'Final Fantasy,' and is apt to read it. Upon reading its pages, Luso is thrown into the fantastical and majestic world of FInal Fantasy. Great, so now what? Luso meets new friends and enemies along his journey to return to his home-world. Luso is forced to trek through boughs and boughs of poorly conceived story missions in order to write (2) pages of the Final Fantasy book so that returning home becomes possible. Some may feel that getting rid of the political aspect of the previos game was a good move by Square-Enix; however, there is nothing in this game to replace the political aspect, thus leading to a forced narrative. Thus, the attachment is lost towards the narrative in FFTA2, ultimately putting the spotlight solely on the gameplay.
3/10
Characters: Luso is as generic as main characters in a FF game can be (except for FFI) with almost no notable character development in the story. hmmm..yep sounds about right. Have no fear though, as Cid, a staple of the Final fantasy franchise makes his presence known throughout the game with sharp dialogue and wisdom. As a sidenote, Cid is one of the characters whose background is made known throughout the story, in an interesting way, I might add. Adelle makes her debut in this game as a young cunning thief who often gets on Luso's nerves as a result of her treasure hunting, yet carefree nature. Again, I stress that there is little-to-no character development, and certainly none that is apparent to the gamer as he/she progresses in the game.
4/10
Visuals: The jump to the DS platform offered a couple of things to the powerhouse Square-Enix. The detail on every character has been given an overhaul, meaning there is much more color and brightness overall. This adds to the kid-like approach to the game, but is nonetheless a joy to marvel at. Dual screen functionality only helps to stress the detail level, as two screens are better to look at than one . As a sidenote , touch screen functionality has been introduced and is, in my opinion, absolutely useless. In fact, I've attempted to use it several times to move characters around etc.. and its useless. As compensation, however, A and B buttons are as responsive as ever.
7/10
Music: I am pleased to say that the magic behind Hitoshi Sakimoto's FFXII soundtrack is as crisp and masterful as ever in its transition to the handheld platform. It really helps battles become less of a chore and helps add to the magic of Ivalice.
8/10
Concluding Statements:
With 400 quests to choose from, newly added jobs, and a colorful overhaul, FFTA2 continues with the same gameplay that made the last two installments a joy to pick up and play. Emphasis is directed towards side-quests however, because the narrative is absolutely flat and boring. IT IS CLEAR, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THAT THIS GAME IS EASIER TO PICK UP AND PLAY THAN THE OTHERS in the tactics genre. With a gameplay that remains as strong as ever, a newly revamped visual appeal exclusive to the DS, and a great adaptation of Hitoshi Sakimoto's (and partly Nobuo's) music, FFTA2 is a must play for those of the role-playing genre and/or turn based battle systems.
Overall: 7/10

[FinalFantasy2012]

I have bet the final fantasy tactics game i like the ending, i also like the characters. I am thinking that i like it soo much i prob will play it again but not right now because i have too many games to play right now!