A very good sequel to FFTA
posted by ButtonMash (WATERLOO, IA) Aug 19, 2008
Member since Jun 2005
The first FFT I put well over 90 hours into unlocking everything and doing every quest. This is in a day when I am not compelled to do that with most games.
That being said, FFTA2 was going to be a tough sell going in. At first, I wasn't thrilled with the interface changes, as it felt dumbed-down. But once I got into it, I saw it was quite improved. No longer do you waste days just walking back and forth looking for random battles to grind leveling. Instead, the map is split up into provinces and you only spend days when going between provinces. Thus, if you have a lot to do in one area, you're not spending multiple days just doing quests. Meantime, the clock is running on anything else you've accepted. The only other thing with the interface is the touch interface feels a little tacked on. However, I do like how SquareEnix didn't think they were OBLIGATED to come up with a touch screen gimmick when it wasn't necessary (a la Mario 64 DS).
The new system of unlocking items in shops can be a little daunting. Once you get into it it adds a nice bit of depth and beats having to check the shops constantly for new items after a main quest line mission.
The missions are widely varied and the clan trials are actually fun. The only thing that is lacking so far is the story. Some people were put off by the 20+ min opening to FFTA1. I personally enjoyed it, as it set up what turned out to be an epic story. The intro to FFTA2 is much shorter and kind of left me wondering why I should care about the main character and what he's going through. Hopefully that will turn around as I progress through the game.
Overall it is a great sequel, despite the changes to the story. It has successfully sucked me in and will be keeping this one.
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