Long lasting and addictive
The story centers around Ivalice, a land that was formed after a magical book transformed St. Ivalice, a modern-day town, into a realm based on Final Fantasy. The story centers around Marche, a boy from St. Ivalice, as he tries to change the world back to it's original form. Along the way he will meet many characters both from the Final Fantasy world and from his own.
The gameplay is tactically based, and involves moving units on a board, similar to many other turn-based strategy games. Although some battles can be drawn out, and can get quite annoying, especially when they don't pertain to a specific quest, they offer plenty of enjoyment and are very well done. In FFTA, characters learn skills by first equipping the appropriate equipment item, usually a weapon. The skills are class specific, and classes are race specific, although many classes overlap onto multiple races. After battles or quests, characters will gain 'AP' points. Once they receive a certain amount, they will master the ability, and be able to use it without the equipment. Characters can use skills from two different classes at the same time, although they can learn skills from all classes for their race, allowing for great flexibility in party setups. A number of features in the game really stand out, such as the ability to take-over territory and hold it for your clan. You will then have to defend this territory when other clans attack, but holding it will allow you to gain certain bonuses in cities and shops. Another feature is the world map, which is entirely customizable, save for a few locations, as the player is able to place territories as they come into play in the story. The graphics for the game are simple, yet satisfactory, especially for a GBA game. Although some of the spells and skills have rather bland animations, every single weapon has it's unique image, which is a nice feature. You can not see armor or other accessories on your character, as their image will be based on their class. However, the equipment still have an image in the inventory, so you can use your imagination if you really want to. The sound isn't too special, you'll hear the typical swords slashing and the repetitive magic spell sounds. But it is rather satisfying at time to hear the cry of a fallen unit, or the sound of a sword successfully hitting it's target. The music also isn't too memorable, but it does add a nice atmosphere to the game.
Overall, I have spent hours playing simply because there is so much to collect and do. I have replayed it numerous times, since each time feels like a new experience. There are so many pieces of equipment, skills, and classes to play around with that it will be a long time before players run out of things to do. FFTA is most definitely worth the money.