And so the Marche debate continues. Haven't actually played Tactics Advance myself, so I can't weigh in (the FFIX ability-equipment system turned me off).

As someone who hasn't played a lot of Tactical RPGs outside of the GBA Fire Emblems, Final Fantasy Tactics is a lot of fun once you understand what you can accomplish through its character progression system, similar to Bravely Default and FFV. It's also the game I imagine a lot of people think of when they hear Matsuno's name. My only problem with War of the Lions is the slowdown during spell animations, but I think it was fixed out of the Android/IOS version? There's also a fan patch if you're into that sort of thing.

As a Metal Gear fan, Vagrant Story is one of my favorite RPGs. Great story (if a little vague at times), great characters, a difficult, but rewarding battle system. Unfortunately, it also does a TERRIBLE job at explaining said system's mechanics; there's a manual in game that explains everything, but it's also misleading in some ways, so if you do ever play that one, don't be afraid to ask for help. I think if I ever attempted to do another Let's Play, I'd do Vagrant Story just to explain it to people overwhelmed by it.

I've played the first few battles of a friends copy of Tactics Ogre, and I think its great, but also more demanding than Final Fantasy Tactics.

Not available for the Vita, but I've also played a little bit of Matsuno's indie title "Crimson Shroud" and it has a rather robust, if completely unorthodox battle system. Story-wise, it feels like Vagrant Story-lite, and I really want to see where it goes.