First time poster here.
FF Tactics is undoubtedly superior to FFTA. It's my favorite game, and it's the reason I've joined these very forums. However, FFTA is not without its merit. Not only does it hold the dubious honor of being a "dealbreaker" game for me (as in, it's the reason I bought a GBA), but it's one of the only FF games that can actually be considered a sequel.
So, since we're all in agreement that FFT is totally better, I thought I'd share a few of the things I liked about FFTA.
-Being able to change jobs/items before a battle
-Being able to see all enemies/the entire battlefield before choosing your team.
-Quicksave, yo!
-Different Races. I see this as a 2 edged sword, because while I like FFT's infinite customization possibilities, I thought the new races added some more flavor. Now if only my main character could become an Assassin or Dragoon... grr.
-New classes. Assassin, Sniper, Elementalist (even though it's a poor substitute for Geomancer), Defender, Gladiator, Red and Blue Mages... all cool additions.
-Law Cards. These took some getting used to, but I thought they were innovative. Always fun to watch the enemy get penalty cards.
-Better translation. FFT has an incredibly intricate plot, that translates pretty well, but takes a LOT of paying attention to fully comprehend. A few extra translators would have made this a bit easier. Besides, "Breath" and "Bracelet" are definitely not the same thing.
-Dragoons. "Lancer" sounds gay, especially if said out loud.
-Slower advancement. Again, a mixed blessing. I think that it's lame that you have to rely on items to learn skills, but I do think it makes more sense to require learning skills to unlock new classes, instead of gaining "Class Levels".
And now, a few of FFT's pros over FFTA:
-Way cooler Summons. Now, I'm not the type who thinks that an FF game should be all about the Summons (*cough* FF8 *cough*), but I do enjoy seeing what Squeenix's art department comes up with, and FFT delivers nearly perfectly. All cool to look at, and they don't take a freaking hour to display.
-Better Music.
-Better Graphics
-More challenge/strategy. Dude, no charge times is the suck.
-More customability. Nuff said.
-Better Storyline. FFTA was geared towards a younger audience (so it seemed to me, anyway), and FFT has one of the best storylines in any game, ever. Chrono Trigger and FF6 notwithstanding.
-"Special" characters. Yeah, if you cheat (because really, how else would you know to do this), you can find Lini the Freaking Moogle and get his lame ass abilities, along with a few others, but none of them can hold a candle to TG Cid, Mustadio, and my favorite, Agrias.
-Geomancer, Samurai, Calculator job classes. Geomancy rocks my socks!
-Single playerness. Don't get me wrong, I think it's kinda cool that you can interact w/ folks via wire hookup, but... to trade items and soldiers? Lame. I'm pretty sure you can't actually battle your friends, so what's the point? and on that same note...
-Secret Hunt. Poaching is totally better than relying on friends to help your stores get stocked.
And finally, as a difference (not really good or bad about either game), I thought is was kinda cool that in FFTA, you could start using your new abilities as soon as you found the corrseponding items, while FFT required planning. Do you save up for Hamedo, or buy Chakra now?
So there's my 2 cents. I didn't see anybody else really defending FFTA, so I felt it was my duty to do so. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play through FFT for the 5th time. :D
