What I Know Going In
-I’ve played XII, Tactics, Tactics Advance, and Revenant Wings. I’m familiar with Ivalice and know FFTA2 continues in this world.
-I expect FFTA2 to continue
-I don’t know why it’s called “Tactics A2” instead of “Tactics Advance 2” or “Tactics 3.” It’s probably just an abbreviation, but I know games that have played with expectations around abbreviations (like Danganronpa V3 or Undertale). I’m keeping an eye out.
-I’m also expecting this to be a sequel, not a prequel.
-Not sure who the main characters will be. A few possibilities jump out at me:
1) The main XII cast. Vaan, Fran, etc.
2) Adult versions of Kytes and Filo, or Tomaj even.
3) Continued adventures of Llyud and the aegyl.
4) Continued adventures of the FFTA crew. Like, I could imagine a “Hook” thing where a middle-aged Marche, Ritz, and/or Mewt find their way back to the dream world.
5) Continued adventures of the FFT crew, or their descendants.
6) SOMETHING NEW!
Only one way to find out.
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New Game!
-EEEEE! A variation on FFTA’s start-up music hits. I love that tune.
-The game’s subtitle is “Grimoire of the Rift.” The only rift I know is the Paramina Rift, which is probably unrelated. Maybe the Grimoire is the book that took us into the dream world.
-I choose normal difficulty rather than hard. No question.
-The first thing we hear confirms at least thematic ties to FFTA: a kid talking about summer vacation amidst sounds of a noisy classroom.
“Summer homework: keep a journal. That’s not too bad.”
-WAIT THE MAIN KID IS LUSO??? He was a cameo character in FFT. I thought he was underdeveloped, but he was really just an easter egg.
-Hee! I get to write his summer vacation goals in the journal. Hang out with friends, play video games non-stop, or study for next year? Gaming, of course.
-I can also pick his personal summer goal. Swim more, study more? Noooope. Going with the “level my warrior to 75” option.
“I promise not to let the dog eat my homework. Maybe I can find a cat…” I already love this kid.
-The bell rings and class is dismissed.
-His name is Luso Clemens. The teacher, Mr. Blair, sends him to the library. Apparently his slacker tendencies carry over to attendance. He’s often late, so he’s in charge of cleaning up the library as punishment.
-Holy shit, the teacher threatens to visit Luso’s house if he skips this assignment. That’s going nuclear.
-Luso heads to the library. No sign of the librarian, Mr. Randell.
-He finds an old book. One that I think is probably familiar given FFTA.
-lol Luso is kind of an asshole and I love it.
-He opens the book and starts reading. There are swords, wizards, all pretty cool, but the pages are blank halfway in, with a message: “One is fated to fill these barren pages. Know you his name?”
ME: Don’t write your name, don’t write your name, don’t write your name…
LUSO: *writes “Luso Clemens”*
-Shit starts. The tomes pages flip wildly on their own, and books fly about the library.
-A void opens. Luso falls in, along with the book.
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Ivalice
-Scene change to a wooded area. A viera, nu mou, and… hume?
No, some new race, someone with horns and some face protrusions. The trio stumbles across something.
-I assumed they’d found Luso, but no. They find an ADORABLE GIANT COCKATRICE THAT I WANT TO SNORGLE
-They’re hunters. This cockatrice is their mark.
-The Not!Hume leads the party.
-Only now does Luso crash down. Right in front of the angry cockatrice.
-The Not!Hume offers his protection if Luso joins his clan. I mean… you could just protect this helpless kid WITHOUT forcing him to join your clan, but you do you. [Later edit: I no longer think this is the case. I think there’s something magical in being officially in a clan that confers protection.]
-A judge appears, classic horned helm and all. A symbol heralds their arrival. I’ll have to check that symbol out a bit more.
-He swears the oath to join the clan. The Judge nods, swipes his sword, and beams of light appear. The light transforms Luso from his school clothes into the gear we met him in back in FFT, with the signature beret.
-Luso adapts quickly. Now that he’s in the clan and knows he can’t die, he’s psyched to play fight.
-THE NOT!HUME IS CID!
-The mission begins. Objective: defeat Klesta. That must be the cockatrice. Two smaller cockatrices entered the fray.
-The laws system from FFTA is back. No ranged attacking this fight. The forbidden weapons list has two new entries presaging new jobs. Dunno what job uses hand-cannons. Cards are probably for a Setzer-esque gambler job.
-The viera white mage gives a brief tutorial, stuff I remember from prior games.
VIERA: “Those of different blood and different calling move differently as well. Some are swift, some not so.” This probably means that some jobs and races are faster than others. The races thing surprises me. Was it that way in prior games?
-Klesta isn’t a cockatrice. They’re a “Crushatrice.”
-Cid just has guest status. I can’t control him.
-Luso’s starting job is “Soldier,” like Marche.
-The art and graphics are so sharp!
Like Klesta’s “Territorial Markings” attack, where they jump up slowly and slam down on Luso.
-The black mage is Silmer. The white mage is Drisha.
-We ignore the little cockatrices and focus on Klesta. They fly away before we can kill them.
-We get a bonus for adhering to the law, and win a Longbow.
That’d be awesome if instead of a penalty for breaking the law you just get a bonus for following it.
-Now that the fight’s over and Luso can catch his breath, the weirdness of all this hits him. Cid’ll take us back to town.
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Next time: getting our bearings at the Clan Hall.
