Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was released in 2003 for the Gameboy Advance. It is an isometric tactical RPG in the same vein as Final Fantasy Tactics, though it has no connection to FFT other than its setting in Ivalice (albeit an alternate version of the region). The game follows a young boy called Marche, who is transported to Ivalice through a magical book and seeks to return to his world.

The game's tactical brilliance comes through in its use of races and job classes. There are five races — Human, Viera, Moogle, Bangaa, and Nu Mou — and each has a number of jobs they can use, some of which have to be unlocked by learning abilities of certain jobs. Characters can also use abilities from a secondary job, and with at least half a dozen jobs for each race, you can see where the customization comes in. In addition, there are laws for each battle, along with a judge to enforce them. The number of laws per battle increase as the story progresses, and add another layer of difficulty to the game, though at a certain point the laws can be altered by the player.

The game advances through the use of missions, 300 in all. 24 are required story battles, and the rest expand the storyline and gameplay. Some are battles, while others require a party member (often with certain characteristics such as job and race) to be sent out. In addition, after all 300 missions have been completed, there is a bonus, post-game arc of more missions.