If You Haven't Played This Game Yet, You're Missing Out...
GRAPHICS (10/10): Excellent art detail. Graphics for this strategy game are wisely kept to the graphical standpoint of the first Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, while making some slight changes in detail. The character animations are the same, but with a few additions that make the units look more nice and animated. The environments are artful and very creative. Attack animations look really good.
SOUND (10/10): The musical soundtrack is very nice, I love it. For those of you who have played the first FFT Advance, you'll notice it's familiar tunes are remixed in this game, as well as the addition of a few new tunes for the game. The sound effects are nice, sharp and sound really cool. No spoken dialogue, all restricted to text...but it works well. The most common time you'll hear voices is when a unit is KO'd.
CONTROLLING AND PLAYABILITY (8.75/10): The regular controls are pretty good, however, don't even bother with the stylus controls. Just stick to regular button controls. The lack of camera rotation is kind of offsetting. Some of the menus in the game have confusing controls that require some time to work with, but you'll get used to it. But overall, the rest of the game's playability is good.
ENTERTAINMENT (9.25/10): I have to agree with many professional reviews on the story. It does kind of suck, but it's far from unbearable and does have numerous moments of glory. The real-charm of this game is the combat, customization of units, lengthy main quest, numerous side quest and many secret characters to unlock. The addition of two new races and more jobs adds to the entertainment as well. However, I have to criticize that some of the laws are really restricting and just unfair (for example: "no dealing over 50 damage" or "no missing." WTF?!), but at least breaking the laws won't be as much a pain in the ass as it was in the first FFT Advance. Instead of going to jail, you just loose your clan privilege and you don't get law-obeying reward items.
REPLAYABILITY: 3.5 out of 5
You'll spend so much time trying to beat it 100% that you won't care that much for a replay. But that's what makes the game's entertainment more fun and seemingly endless.
THE GOOD: The graphics are impressive and the majority of the game's playability is good. The real charm of this game is the seemingly endless amounts of missions and battles that test your skill in making the best combat units. You can customize your units in your clan in whatever way you want and there are numerous way to do it. This game is entertainment for hours on end.
THE BAD: The story is kind of lame and some of the laws are frustratingly restrictive. The stylus controls are just plain lame, but thankfully not necessary. The lack of camera rotation is a big error and some of the menu controls take a while to get used to.
THE BOTTOM-LINE: This is a great game, fit for any strategy game fan and any RPG fan. There are rare occasions where a Final Fantasy game comes out that sucks...however, this game isn't one of them! With the endless ways to battle and customize your clan, the numerous missions and side quests, this game will keep you occupied for a long time. However, the story is a little bad and there are a few things amiss with the controlling and playability. However, I cannot deny that this is one of the best DS games out there and it was well worth the $40 I spent for it.
FINAL SCORE (PERSONAL): 9.5/10