Impressions of Tactics Advanced (probably spoilers)

[LazarCotoron]

Simply because it turns out we all have a lot to say about what the game meant to us whether we liked it or not.

No matter how much I tried to love this game, I could not get past Marche and his demented sense of 'the right thing'. Like I said-I cannot possibly agree with what Marche decided to do. I've heard it mentioned by Wolf how he chose to make people confront their problems-that's fine, but y'know, there are other ways to confront problems. I just don't feel that destroying a world because you're 'running away' in it is an appropriate solution.

Seemed to me like there were many more options open than that, even if they would've been difficult to make happen.

Besides.. what about the friends that you made while you were there? Doesn't Marche's plan wind up consigning them to non-existence? Seemingly good reasons or not, I don't believe that there are right reasons to do something so horrible.

And if you argue that was what they did to the real world when they opened the book, well... y'know, I think we'd have all been better off.

The other possibility of it having been an illusion... If it is all false, then I suppose Wolf's point of view is good. Still, if a falsehood is indistinguisable from reality based on all your senses and observations, is it false?

[Skyblade]

As it happens, you aren't the only one who feels this way. Ta da! (http://www.eyesonff.com/members/wiki/Main/ObservationsOfIvalice)

[Elpizo]

I do not hate Marche for what he does. If the world is real or not, Mewt, Ritz, Cid and Marche all believed it was an illusion. It's weird, I agree, that Marche would just simply let his clan, his friends and all that disappear.

If the world is an illusion, then his reasons are justified. Then he really is the good guy, knowing that running is not a solution. It's a lesson of life. He udnerstands it, while all his 'friends' (HAHA!) simply run around having fun leaving problems behind. I know, it's nice to leave that behind. But, it's still cowardly...

If the world was real... Than I need a really good explanation of how everything in that world was changed (or created) to fit Mewt's view (is the Grimoire really that powerful?) and how the world went 'poof' when Mewt and co went home.

Another reason why I do not hate Marche is because he has the best line of all FF main characters (IMHO).
"I am who I am, I am what I have done."
Briliant, simply briliant! :D Shows a lot of his personality, of how he has evolved during the game. I like this kid, even if he is a mass murderer.

If I really have to hate a character in FFTA, it's that goddamn RITZ.
I loath her with all my heart and yet... She's my favorite character ^^"
Don't try to understand, cause I don't understand it, either. From all main characters, her reasons to stay are (in my eyes) the most pathetic.

And past the game's main ending, there's still the whole thing in which only Mewt has left. There was a very good theory floating around this board explaining this, but I don't know why.

Where it comes down to is that Marche's actions and the massmurdering of Ivalice are a though subject because we actually can't confirm or be sure of anything... Maybe FFTA2 will explain some things?

EDIT: Oh, I see. Thanks for posting a link to your excellent theory, Skyblade.

[LazarCotoron]

That is very well thought out and considered, Skyblade.

It does not in any way resolve my issues with Marche, however. Even when I consider the possiblility that they simply 'left' an entirely seperate world and didn't cause its ruin, or that they simply disbelieved in a shared hallucination. And the reason is as you state towards the end-did Marche even consider Montblanc, his friends in the clan, the various people simply living their lives? Nuh uh-and it's clear from early in the game that he wasn't going to. In spite of this, Montblanc chooses to support him-since I am fairly early in the game, I can only speculate why, but I believe it's because that Montblanc understands, or is trying to understand, the conflict that Marche is walking into with his own friends.

I believe Montblanc is the truest of friends, the sort who follows you into Hell, even if it means they might not return.

And I am sickened by the way Marche, who is seeking to do the right thing manages to completely miss that. I suppose I'm being a bit harsh on him, after all, he's...12? But I have an overly developed sense of justice as well, and to me, the way he treats that existence as opposed to his 'real' existence is truly abhorrent. And I am doubly appalled when I consider that for all intents and purposes, Ivalice was truly real to him and everyone else involved.

So, in my particular case, filtered through my world views, I don't merely disagree with him. I find him worthy of genuine hatred because to me, what he wound up doing, is only option in the sense that it's something you could choose to do.

In a very real sense, they could continue to confront their problems in that alternate world, albeit their problems would most certainly be made manifest in different ways. Even as you yourself stated, there is danger for Mewt especially to remain there. And if it is dangerous for the creator of a world to stay there, than it is worth considering that his mind is still unsound.

[Wolf Kanno]

I don't see how Donad could possibly confront the issues of his illness in Ivalice. Nor Ritz with hers, although... her reasoning's were kinda've weak in my opinion, in retrospect, it dealt with her mother (who no longer exists in Ivalice).

Mewt especially begins to fall apart in Ivalice, it definetly wasn't healthy for him to be their. Ivalice seemed like a paradise to these children's but it really was just a place for them to pretend like their problems weren't there and just allow their anger and general lack of self worth boil within their subconscious. It wasn't happy and unfortuantely, it wasn't like Marche was given many options on another way to help his friends. You need to finish the game Lazaar cause, their is a plot twist with the crystals that shift the blame of Ivalice's demise.(yeah, it's still Marche's fault but not completely his fault)

Besides, I feel the morality of the story is something it should be praised for. Not often you stop playing a game cause you disagree with the morality of the main character. Especially coming from a supposed "Kid's game":rolleyes2

[LazarCotoron]

You'll notice I haven't called it a kids game recently at all, Wolf.

The only thing kiddish about it are the characters and the moogles that are so sugary cute your teeth rot out by looking at them.

Actually, I think the moral dilemma (as can be scrutinized by adults like ourselves) is much more interesting and meaningful than it would be for its intended audience. It is a kids game, but we should be clear that it's a kids game like Sailor Moon is a show for little girls. The Japanese actually choose to show their children complex things with ambiguous circumstances, and when looked at from the point you make of it being an allegory, it makes absolute perfect sense.

Then again, the sign of good writing is that the game talks of one thing, but the implications of what was done are much more than the sum of what was going on. I would never make the choices Marche actually makes-which I admit, makes him more convincing as an actual person (stupid real people, never listning to me!).

All in all, the game isn't bad, even if I don't feel FFIX's AP system was a good fit, but I absolutely detest Marche. HE KILLED MY STORY, DOOD!

[Fireblade13]

I'm not as worried by the genocide but by the fact he gave up being able to obliterate monsters with the swing of a sword! He has might and magic!

[LazarCotoron]

I'm not as worried by the genocide but by the fact he gave up being able to obliterate monsters with the swing of a sword! He has might and magic!

That is a completely valid point-in fact, specifically, that was the personal level of my argument. Paling around with Bangaa and Moogles, asking Viera for a 'lovely' night in the woods... Yeah.

Marche made it REALLY difficult for me to like him!

[Wolf Kanno]

I never accused you of personaly calling it a "kid's game", Lazaar. That's for the others who hate this game cause they feel it's childish without actually paying attention to the darker theme's explored in this game.

It's a twisted tale about childhood. Growing up, making painful choices, exploring new places, dealing with personal trauma, and mostly learning how to stand on your own two feet. Marche makes the choice that all of them would have eventually made (well except for Mewt:rolleyes2 ).

[Skyblade]

I never accused you of personaly calling it a "kid's game", Lazaar. That's for the others who hate this game cause they feel it's childish without actually paying attention to the darker theme's explored in this game.

It's a twisted tale about childhood. Growing up, making painful choices, exploring new places, dealing with personal trauma, and mostly learning how to stand on your own two feet. Marche makes the choice that all of them would have eventually made (well except for Mewt:rolleyes2 ).

Close, but not quite.

To be precise, this story, like many of the FFs, is a coming of age story. It deals specifically with the transition from childhood to adulthood. This transition is purely a mental one, focusing on the emotions and maturity of the characters, so the "kiddy" age of the characters is largely irrelevant.

[Elemental Alchemist]

Maybe this is one of the main reasons why people hate this game, including myself.

Go play some FFT instead. It'll do you good.

[Pike]

I still think this was one of the most fun games I've ever played. Sure, the story and characters weren't quite as memorable as those of other Final Fantasy games (though I loved the world and was glad to see it again in FFXII), but rarely do I have so much fun in a game. I loved every minute of it and I had like 164 hours logged in it before I finally got bored of it.

(I guess what I'm saying is, any story issues and stuff didn't bother me because I found the game itself to be so good.)