[QUOTE=Skyblade;3241543]
Quote Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno View Post

TA2 is just a game without someone to focus it and it shows, the main plot is weak, and largely borrows ideas from the Never Ending Story, in a way I sometimes feel it was written this way as a means to compensate angry fans who thought the first TA game was going to be a simple FF style version of the Never-ending Story and got slapped in the face by the stories heavy subtext. Even the few high points in the game just lack the gut-wrenching qualities of the early works. Its a fun world but it lacks the soul that Matsuno puts into his games and it shows. The man is a master of sleight of hand in his writing and design, always presenting you with something that seems simply only to discover too late the deeper subtext of his work.
I still feel differently about this one. I don't think FFTA2 is weak on themes or ideas, but rather on structure, pacing, and execution.

To me the story always feels rushed and unfinished. The Neukhia is basically completely unexplained, Khamja gets far more development in the side plots than in the main plots, and the main story is filled with huge exposition dumps that don't show up anywhere else in the series.

If the game had taken its time with the story elements, not spent half the main questline with pointless tutorials, and really fleshed out its concepts and themes, I think there would have been a very interesting story there. It certainly has some incredibly strong elements with great potential. But they're almost all discarded at the last minute in some rush to a final boss fight, instead of being explained and getting to come to fruition.

The Neukhia, Khamja, the Whitesilver Magicite, Ilua & Cid's relationship, the relationship between the grimoires, Ilua's relationship to the Chosen... So many things this game brings up, only to cast aside in a last minute scene before the final boss without having a chance to develop them.

And the high points of this game are bloody brilliant. I'll rate Frimelda's storyline above any of the writing in FFT.
We'll have to agree to disagree, while I like Frimelda, I felt her story was mostly unique largely because FFTA2's plot was more on the light hearted side, but I felt Frimelda's story lacked the elements that keep you thinking and wondering which is why I still rate FFT and VS higher than FFTA2. It was a strong story and certainly a high point for the game but it just couldn't redeem the title for me. I still feel Delita was a far more interesting character whose actions and story left you wondering and analyzing whereas Frimelda's story is pretty cut and dry once the smoke clears and there isn't as much to really debate or wonder about. Its the quality that brings forth debate that makes the Ivalice titles interesting for me and I just don't feel anything in FFTA2 really gives me that. Course, I don't feel FFXII has it either sadly.

Quote Originally Posted by Bolivar View Post
Since we're at it, lemme ask you guys, since the story is subpar in TA2, what about the gameplay? Do you think it's a game that could satisfy a Tactics fan with just some battles and characters to grind away with?
Its a vast improvement over FFTA and while it still lacks the overly complicated mechanics of the original FFT, the game is superior to its predecessors in terms of mission variety. There are far more missions that are not simply "Kill everyone" which combined with some of the side content allows the gameplay to have stronger legs to carry the game. For me, it was the stories that ultimately carry me through FFT and FFTA, it was the gameplay that kept me going in FFTA2. Of course this all depends if variety is a strong point for you, if you could care less about not having to do the same thing over again, and the customization is all the gameplay you really need, then you may want to go back to the original FFT.