What happened to this series?

[Del Murder]

Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the better games with FF in its title and is, arguably, the best tactical RPG ever made. The Tactics Advance games were less impactful but still a very popular and fun series. So why are no more games being made with the FF Tactics label? I would have thought we'd have at least one more TA game for DS or 3DS.

And, to dream, a true sequel to FF Tactics would be awesome.

[VeloZer0]

My guess would be going from 2.13 million of FFTA sold to 0.69 million in sales of FFTA2 threw some water on the fire.

As much as I love FFT I can't really say I have been enthralled by anything else the Ivalice alliance has produced, so I don't consider it a huge loss to not have any more releases.

Not that deep down I don't hope for a FFT2 that will blow my mind....

[Roogle]

Personally, I don't like the direction that the series took in that it started out as a very dark, serious political-oriented story and then its subsequent portable sequels turned to fantastic worlds, races, and powerful children.

I liked that Final Fantasy Tactics was about humans and demons, not the fanciful races of ancient Ivalice working together in harmony.

When I was younger, I used to think that there was potential in a sequel involving Arazlam Durai, wherein he discovers some type of conspiracy -- something like The DaVinci Code -- in the modern Ivalice.

[Fynn]

I liked that Final Fantasy Tactics was about humans and demons, not the fanciful races of ancient Ivalice working together in harmony.

Except TA is nothing like that. TA2 perhaps - I love it for the fun it offers in its carefree nature. But TA deals with the quite heavy topic of escapism, which I believ it handled perfectly.

I, too, wish there were more. Sadly, I doubt it. Not without Matsuno, anyway

[Skyblade]

Personally, I don't like the direction that the series took in that it started out as a very dark, serious political-oriented story and then its subsequent portable sequels turned to fantastic worlds, races, and powerful children.

I liked that Final Fantasy Tactics was about humans and demons, not the fanciful races of ancient Ivalice working together in harmony.

When I was younger, I used to think that there was potential in a sequel involving Arazlam Durai, wherein he discovers some type of conspiracy -- something like The DaVinci Code -- in the modern Ivalice.

Did you play FFTA? Did you somehow miss the dictatorial government manipulating facts and enslaving people in a mad scheme to hold on to a fracturing power base? Does dragging an entire town to prison, purging the entire citizenry just because there's a chance a fugitive might be there, count as "working together in harmony"? Did the disenfranchisment of the public and brewing rebellions against the crown somehow not count?

Not to mention either the escapism theme that dealt with the characters from our world, or the JudgeWatch bonus arc, which was bloody brilliant.

[Bolivar]

What happened to the games? The team reimagined Tactics Ogre and it was arguably better than all of them.

And Matsuno just quit level 5 to get ready for a new super secret project.

I wouldn't be worried.

[Roogle]

Did you play FFTA? Did you somehow miss the dictatorial government manipulating facts and enslaving people in a mad scheme to hold on to a fracturing power base? Does dragging an entire town to prison, purging the entire citizenry just because there's a chance a fugitive might be there, count as "working together in harmony"? Did the disenfranchisment of the public and brewing rebellions against the crown somehow not count?

Not to mention either the escapism theme that dealt with the characters from our world, or the JudgeWatch bonus arc, which was bloody brilliant.

Yes, I played Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I did not miss the dictatorship and how it causing problems among the populace. I also did not miss the fact that the entire world was a take on the real Ivalice turned upside down by giving a type of power to a bullied child. I don't care if an entire town has been taken to prison if the only real people in the entire world are Mewt, Marche, and Ritz. I don't like that type of story. That is my opinion.

Except TA is nothing like that. TA2 perhaps - I love it for the fun it offers in its carefree nature. But TA deals with the quite heavy topic of escapism, which I believ it handled perfectly.

I was thinking more about Final Fantasy Tactics A2. It deals with the topic of escapism, sure, but it presented a bright, cheery world and conveyed its story through children. I think it has its own merits, thematically, but when you look at the first battles of each game it is hard to take Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

A lot of fans that liked Final Fantasy Tactics Advance are quick to bring up the fact that it deals with some heavy themes in its storyline, and I agree, but that doesn't change the fact that it went in a completely different direction from its original predecessor and we have yet to see a game similar to the original since.

How many of you like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance or Final Fantasy Tactics A2 over the original?

[Gamblet]

How many of you like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance or Final Fantasy Tactics A2 over the original?

Original rocks my socks off, I have never been interested in FFTA/2. Mostly because of the pinkish colors, but that's me.

[Fynn]

How many of you like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance or Final Fantasy Tactics A2 over the original?

Though Tactics is probably the better game and I have a huge respect for it, I personally love TA the most. I also think it is severely underrated and often gets bashed for shallow reasons. Not saying that's what you said, since you were quite respectful, but many people dismiss it as being childish simply judging by the color palette.

[Bolivar]

we have yet to see a game similar to the original since.

How many of you like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance or Final Fantasy Tactics A2 over the original?

I prefer the Tactics Ogre remake to FFT and it's more FFT than FFT was

I agree with you on FFTA, though. My bigger concerns are with the game balance and presentation, I don't have too many problems with the characters and setting, but I do take it less seriously as a game. The Lion King and The Little Mermaid also have heavy themes. That doesn't stop them from being children's films.

[VeloZer0]

Saying that one is shallow for being distracted from the story by the art style is like saying someone is shallow for letting poor dialogue distract them from the great story. Video games are a multi-media art. Gameplay, Writing, Graphics and Music all go into creating the narrative experience. To say that one should look beyond the graphical style to find the real story is essentially saying that at the core all video game can be are a book experience with some flashy graphics, gameplay and music slapped on the side. As far as I am concerned the graphical style the game chooses to use is part of the story they are trying to portray.

[Roogle]

I don't care about the graphics of each title as they are strategical role-playing games and the 2D art-style of each game helps it age well. Final Fantasy Tactics, for example, was rereleased only a couple of years ago with no graphical updates aside from adding in some animated cutscenes. That is how a game should be.

I agree with Bolivar about the Disney films comparison. I did think that the story of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was interesting enough, especially when you look deep into the themes, but I found it hard to care about the denizens of the world knowing that everything was an illusion except for the three children.

[VeloZer0]

To be clear when I am talking about graphics I am talking about art style, not the resolution.

[Skyblade]

I agree with Bolivar about the Disney films comparison. I did think that the story of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was interesting enough, especially when you look deep into the themes, but I found it hard to care about the denizens of the world knowing that everything was an illusion except for the three children.

Was it though? Were Montblanc and the clan just "illusions"? Were the friends who fought and suffered not real?

The main theme is Mewt's refusal to face reality, and his shaping the world to remove problems, rather than face them. But how much of the world that he changed is just an illusion?

When Shara is helping and protecting Ritz, or offering insights into her problems, or her feelings, is she just an illusion?

Mewt changed the world, or created a new one, but it is populated by people who are very real indeed. One of the biggest problems with this game is how little this is touched upon (it does happen, but only in a couple of places), because it does bring an entire new depth to the whole escapism thing, when you have to factor in the impact the events have on the populace.

[Fynn]

Not to mention that the characters that are the focus of the game are, in fact, real. The main conflict in the game is actually their coming to terms with their realities instead of just turning away from their problems and ignoring them. It's an entirely different heaviness than Tactics, but I actually think it might get a little over the heads of many children. Heck, a lot of adults found this game's aesop to be wrong, so there you go.