Final Fantasy Tactics Advance represents a milestone in the history of publisher/developer Square-Enix. It is the first handheld title released by the company following the merger of Squaresoft and Enix, and it also marks the return of the Final Fantasy franchise to Nintendo hardware. This, alongside the release of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for the GameCube is definitely a sign of a shift in focus for Square-Enix, freeing the Final Fantasy franchise from the domain of the venerable PlayStation consoles.

Older gamers will definitely remember the original Final Fantasy Tactics that was released in 1998 on the original PlayStation. A surprisingly deep and playable turn-based strategy game, it became a cult hit that very few people actually experienced despite being released following the beginning of the RPG mania that was started by Final Fantasy VII a year earlier.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance brings back the deep and complex gameplay mechanics namesake, although it is obviously lightened in tone as far as the character designs and story are concerned. Whereas the story found in the original Final Fantasy Tactics was truly epic in scope with the tale literally lasting years for the characters and involving political conspiracies and dramatic plot twists, things are very much simpler here, perhaps to appeal to younger gamers in mind.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance starts off in the 'real world', with a snowball fight amongst children in the town of St. Ivalice used as a tutorial session of sorts. At this early stage in the story, it is revealed that most if not all of these children live in unhappy situations and yearn for a better world. And lo and behold, things totally change the next day when the world transforms into a realm known as Ivalice, and the lead character Marche finds himself in trouble with some of the other sentient species that populate this world. With the help of the kindly Moogle Montblanc, Marche joins and eventually leads Clan Nutsy, one of the many clans that roam Ivalice in search of treasure and adventure.

Along the way they learn of the sociopolitical structure of Ivalice, and finds it a place ruled over by Prince Mewt, whom Marche instantly recognizes as someone from home. Unfortunately, Mewt lives in the well-guarded Bervenia Palace, a place where Marche definitely has no access to. As such, Marche's mission is basically to find Mewt and figure out a way home.

The gameplay mechanic is almost identical to that of Final Fantasy Tactics, although there are quite a few enhancements, most of which contribute to the overall enjoyment and replayability of the game. The most obvious change is the introduction of Laws, where a NPC known only as the Judge presides over every battle and introduces a set of laws that can either punish or reward the characters in battle depending on their actions. This adds an element of strategy, particularly the way one is forced to choose his characters for the impending battle as certain laws will render some of the characters useless. Depending on the severity and level of the law, an offending character is usually given a yellow card as a warning for breaking a law. Two yellow cards lead to a red card, which will then automatically transport the offending character off of the battle and into the Jail located in the city of Sprohm. Of course there are also laws that will immediately punish characters with the red card.

There are only two ways around laws - using Anti-Law cards or staging the battle in a Jagd area. Anti-Law cards are special items that can be collected to neutralize the effects of certain laws, although there is also the option to introduce additional laws into the game using Law cards, a strategic tool that can limit the options available to the opposing forces. Jagds are special areas in the game that are lawless and Judges do not preside over battle. However, there is a risk in fighting in Jagds as fallen characters that are not revived by the end of the battle are permanently removed the game altogether.

The Clan purchases information for missions from Pubs, and there are two types of missions - the standard fighting ones and despatch missions. Despatch missions are what happens behind the scenes and is beyond the player's control. A member of the clan is selected for the despatch mission and will be absent from the game throughout the duration of the despatch mission. Apart from Pubs, there is also the pre-requisite Shops to purchase weapons, armor, and items, and a Monster Farm to view captured creatures, Card Keeper to trade Law and Anti-Law cards, and the aforementioned Jail.

The famous Job system first introduced in Final Fantasy V is found here. Each character is assigned a particular Job, which determines how the character develops as well as it's strengths and weaknesses, and each of the five races have exclusive Job classes that are unavailable to other races. Again, this forces the player to populate the Clan with a mix of Humans, Moogles, Nu Mous, Bangaas, and Vieras. Each of the race have their own unique properties, with Humans being the most balanced race that's neither particularly good nor bad at anything. This was something I recognized late in the game, which resulted in an over abundance of Human characters in my campaign but lacking in Moogles.

Appearance wise, it is almost identical to Final Fantasy Tactics, although it would be really unfair to compare the graphical capabilities of the Game Boy Advance with the PlayStation. Deformed sprites are employed, harkening back to the 16-bit era of RPGs, and save for Marche, Montblanc, Cid, Mewt, Ritz, and Doned, all of the characters have a standard look that vary only by their species and Job. However, all of the sprites are very well animated and some of the graphic effects, especially when calling upon the Totemas or when using Summoners.

Unfortunately, where the graphics excel, the audio for the game is terribly mediocre. Lacking fidelity thanks in no part to the limitation of the Game Boy Advance hardware itself, the tunes found in this game are utterly unimaginative and lacking in variety. In fact, you'll find yourself switching off the sound on the Game Boy Advance after a few hours of gameplay. Then again, this may be construed as a good thing as this can extend the battery life and squeeze a couple of extra hours from a single charge.

Considering the tremendous disappointment of Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy X, it's good to finally have a Final Fantasy title that truly deserves its title and deliver on the hallmarks of the series, namely addictive gameplay, compelling storyline, and likeable characters. Here's to more from the Final Fantasy Tactics spin-off series.