#game-review # Final Fantasy Tactics A2 Grimoire of the Rift  [Console:: Nintendo DS] [Status:: Dropped] [Approximate Start Date:: 2023-01-05] [Finish Date:: 2023-01-19] [Clear Time:: 5h] [Total Play Time:: 5h] [nReplays:: 0] ## [Rating:: 49] it's a fine game, but I don't know if I'd consider it to be a game I really enjoyed. I'd probably have to play it nonstop because it seems like there's truckloads of content. Feels like a lot of really pretty menus. # Playthrough Notes Played on stream with my friend dex, who is very familiar with the game and could offer insight on concepts I wasn't clear about. After two play sessions I've moved to playing off-stream to be able to take things better at my own pace and not feel rushed while playing. # My Thoughts ## After the first stream The story is lacking so far. Kid who gets into trouble ends up defacing a book and is transported into a new world where everyone trusts him and he's extremely capable. Probably the most generic isekai that you could have to be honest. The core gameplay is very cool and easy to understand while also being somewhat complicated at first. Once I understood how to position myself and operate accordingly, things slid into place well and I really felt confident in my initial abilities. With the ease of class changes and the multitude of items and quests, it's clear that the game wants you, the player, to constantly be experimenting and optimizing your party to get the perfect combinations for the task at hand, and I admire that. I would rather a game encourage me to try new things than punish me if I happen to choose a party class that isn't quite optimal. I also appreciate that there appear to be plenty, if not near unlimited amounts of maps you can grind on to boost levels, get skills and test out new concepts. I wish that you were able to move about some of the non-combat spaces like the Pub more freely since it is basically just a fancy little menu and nothing more than that. ## The Judge the Judge imposing a specific rule, or "law" on the mission at hand makes for a really fascinating gameplay dynamic. If you clear the mission without "breaking the law" then you get an extra little reward in the form of an item, but if you break the law while doing a mission you lose the ability to revive party members and the party bonus that you choose at the start of each mission. The question thus becomes a question or risk-vs.-reward: "can I afford to lose my bonuses and ability to revive party members in order to make this mission easier in other ways?". It's a cool system and apparently each rules is pre-determined for the mission as decided by the game designers, so one can infer bits and pieces about the mission difficulty from a game design perspective. For example, in the Dragoon mission, the Judge imposed a rule that says "no spread moves allowed", however the White mage healing action can only be employed in a spread manner, meaning, effectively, you're not allowed to use any healing magic. the whole point of the mission is to both defeat all the foes AND keep the Dragoon party member alive throughout the whole encounter. If you can't heal him, then you're going to have to hope you can clear out al the foes before they all get to him. # Favorite Moments / Memories - Cid just gets shot?! # What were you doing when not playing this?