Lessee... I've played all three of em...

Final Fantasy Tactics
Pros: Well, I can't deny a good story when there is one. FFT has an incredible plot, probably the deepest in the entire franchise when it comes to political-based stories. If only FF XII could have maintained this level... Also, the music in this game was excellent, especially during the final battle.

Cons: Gameplay. It's probably because I played this after I played FFTA, but FFT really didn't have any fun gameplay for me. It was hard, which I don't mind, but then they throw in Velius and the game because almost unfair. I won against Velius because I could silence him with Agrias. And then you get Cid and nothing is hard anymore. It's too unbalanced. I didn't like the job system here, either. Some classes had bad abilities, like Dragoon. And mages were useless thanks to the waiting time. I used a Chemist for healing duties throughout the whole game. I just didn't have any fun customizing my troops and I didn't like the way you gained abilities. It all just didn't feel refined enough for me. I won't replay this one, ever, since there's no fun in playing. I played it because people said it was so miles ahead of FFTA, but for me it really, really wasn't. Gameplay killed it.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Pros: Story. Gods, I can't stress this enough. This was my first Final Fantasy, one of my first RPGs (second only after the Golden Sun series) and the story struck a chord with me. I could identify myself with the characters and their problems were far more realistic than people give it credit for. While the plot is relatively simple, the story and its underlying messages have a very mature tone to it, that people don't credit enough. I could understand Marche, why he wanted to go home and how mature he was for realizing it was wrong, but I could understand Mewt too. Ritz was a mixed bag for me, as her hair seemed a pretty silly reason even to me, but I could beat her up later in the game and she redeemed herself for me with "Mortal Snow". It was also great that there was a second ending, it made finishing all the missions very rewarding, as the story it told was pretty neat. The Corrupt Judges was a great story arc.

I enjoyed the world here, too, and I liked the way you could set up your worldmap and that it would give you different results for treasure hunt (yay for Genji gear). The world felt very developed, too. You had different races that populated it, and they lived in a society of clans. You learned a lot about this world, I felt: the monarchy ruled it, the laws kept clans and monsters in check and the different clans 'warred' each other for turf. It was a good explanation for why these clans on the world map wanted to engage with me. I liked that the turf you gained gave you a discount and stuff.

Music was fantastic in this game. Most engagement had upbeat and lighthearted tunes, suiting the battle, but then there were some truly touching themes. Mewt's theme is the prime examle of this, but so is the Crystal's theme or "Incarnation", the final battle theme. A fantastic musical score that is very underrated.

And then there's the gameplay. I LOVED the laws. Yes, you read it. I may be the only person on this blue ball that had NO PROBLEM whatsoever with the laws. Not a single one. It was there and it was good. It made you realize how tight the monarchy's grip was on the land and its inhabitants. It made you feel part of the world: break the law and you'll pay for it. That's realistic. And they could be easily put to your advantage by simple doing one step more on the world map and change the day.

The jobsystem was great. This game, unlike FFT before it, truly allowed streamlined customization and every class could be of some use or had useful abilities. Some more than others, of course. And I admit, some classes were very broken. Assasin, I'm glaring at you. But just like Thunder God Cid, you couldn't use them if you wanted to. I love the way abilities were gained, too. Weapons teaching abilities? Sure, why not? It reminded me of Golden Sun a lot, where special weapons have these special abilities too (like the Sol Blade's Megido, anyone?). And, I'm a FF IX fan, which makes me like this system even more. Sure, it's hard to get some weapons, sometimes impossible even, but I'm not a perfectionist. Mastering jobs is not a must for me. Besides, once I got my Marche excalibur II with Sonic Boom, I didn't need any other abilities anymore. Pwnage right there.

A final thing I liked here were combos. Yup, I liked the fact that your clan could truly operate as a team by ganging up. FFTA2 should be ashamed of not doing this as well.

Cons: Oh, there are very little cons to FFTA. But if there had to be, it's that the main story is too short for my liking, twice as much missions really wouldn't have hurt. ALso, getting mithril weapons is not very easy, but once you figure out the trick, it becomes bearable (engaging clans in wastelands early on seems to give you mithril weapons much easier). In general, the hunt for equipment might be the most annoying thing about FFTA, but given how fantastic this game is, it's easily forgiven. A last thing I do not like is the secret characters. They should be more involved if you get them. I liked the scene between Shara, Marche and Ritz after you get those two girls in your clan. Why couldn't there be more like those?

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Pros: Gameplay was rather enjoyable, though a big step back from FFTA. Practically all I liked about FFTA was taken away here. The music was still good, especially the rearangements from FF XII. The secret characters were rewarding enough to get, too. Also, clan ability was a good idea. I liked the world map as well, though I kind of missed FFTA's idea of the world map, and treasure hunt.

Cons: Uh, oh, now this game's gonna get it. First of, the story sucks like there's no tomorrow. Matsuno was dearly missed here. No great political scheme like FFT, no mature story about growing up and escapism, just a thrown-together mess that made no sense. Things were never explained, or not enough. Who was Ilua? Why was I fighting her again? That Final Boss, what was it? More out-of-nowhere than Necron, for sure. By the time the credits rolled, I had no feeling of closure, nor any satisfaction that I had gotten to the end. Because it didn't feel like the end. That, and the characters were flat, especially when compared to FFTA. Luso was just that, Cid even more so. Adelle was decent, but they never really tapped into her potential. No, the story definately was a failure.

Then there's the gameplay. I felt it had gotten too much of FF XII and too little of FFTA. The interfaces were changed, especially the jobsystem, which I didn't like. As Skyblade said, mastery in FFTA2 was not complete. I liked the idea behind the Bazaar, and monster loot, but it really felt like something was missing. By the end of the game I had three Tournesols, go figure. Legendary weapons thus lost their legendaryness. I didn't like how KO'd units didn't stay on the field. Too cluttered? Yeah, right. It was kind of cool that you didn't have to get behind an oponent for a greater hit rate anymore, but that made the game lose some of FFTA's tactical aspects. I missed the combo's, too.
Also, the new races were poorly added. Seeq had not enough jobs, and Gria dropped out of nowhere into Ivalice. Couldn't they have added Aegyl from XII: Revenant Wings? It would have been so much cooler. Like Seeq, Gria lacked jobs.

And then there's my biggest gripe with FFTA2: the laws. WHERE WAS MY JUDGE?! Where were my red cards? My judge's whistle? The politics behind the laws like in FFTA? The inclusion of laws in the story? Damn it, SE, what did you do to the system I loved so much? These weren't laws anymore, merely bothers. The small bonus you got at the end made obeying the laws not worth it. At least in FFTA a law felt like a law, a true restriction at times. But FFTA2, oh, FFTA2... SE, when you make FFTA3, promise me you bring the laws back like in FFTA. It'll make the game so much better already.

And finally, where were my references to FFTA? They were far too sparse. Ezel had a cameo. And adult Mewt. Montblanc screams Marche when he gets KO'd. Ritz as a drawing in the beginning. THAT'S IT? What an utter disappointment. Why couldn't we get more extras and bonuses for having FFTA in our GBA slot instead of just a clan ability that you can get later anyway?

All in all, FFTA2 was a step back in every way when compared to FFTA. I was immensely dissapointed in this title, and if this is the future for Ivalice games, it looks grim indeed. If you want a TA game, fans, do yourself a favour and go for FFTA.