Paging through the magazine, however, we spotted at least two advertisements that we wanted to share with you. As we were tearing them out to throw into our scanner, we thought, "Why not post all of the other DS ads (and the cover)?" Join us past the break for the scanned pages!
But, in all seriousness, isn't it? When looking back at the game and its coverage in Japan, we've all pretty much seen the boxart. Once it was confirmed for release in North America (and dated), we were fairly certain that the U.S. boxart would just be some rearrangement of the Japanese logo for the game. And, here we are.
That's not to say we're any less excited about the whole thing, however. We're still dying to get our play on, one turn at a time.
Gallery: FF Tactics A2
Do you enjoy Final Fantasy games? We've got plenty of coverage on the many titles in the franchise Square Enix is releasing on the DS. Also, be sure to check out our 2008 Blips feature, which FFTA 2 was featured in.
Unless you have abundant amounts of currency, though, you probably can't afford to buy that many games in such a short period of time. Also, money isn't the only problem. Supposing that you could afford everything you wanted, you wouldn't even have the time to play them all.
Narrowing down the field is tough, but necessary. What games that are coming out in the next three months do you consider must gets? And they don't have to be chosen from the games listed above, so go nuts.
Update 2: And now any mention of the paddle peripheral has disappeared again from our press release! We're confused as can be at the moment, but we're contacting Square Enix for clarification ... now. Stay tuned!
Update: Silly us, we totally overlooked some critical parts of the press release. It mentions an "optional paddle controller" for Arkanoid DS, which causes us to think the game could release in a bundle including the peripheral. We've also included the full press release past the post break.
Fantastic news, but there are two questions we urgently need answering. One: will the two Taito titles enjoy the same budget price that looks likely for the U.S. release? And two: will we be getting the wonderful paddle controller for said games? We can't think of any reason why we shouldn't receive such a peripheral, but the lack of an announcement is concerning.
Posted Mar 19th 2008 3:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
Finally! We were beginning to think that Square-Enix would never announce its stateside release date for Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, keeping localized copies of the SRPG out of our reach to punish us for poor Front Mission sales. Surprisingly, FFTA2 will hit stores as soon as June 24th, usually a slow period for video game releases.
The North American version has been enhanced to improve its touchscreen controls, one of several complaints we've listed about the game. Players should be able to now command their characters and navigate FFTA2's menus using only the stylus, as should be the standard for SRPGs on the DS. This comes in addition to the sequel's new classes, jobs, and clan system. Hit the gallery below for four new screenshots from the English-translated game.
Well, what do you know. We were only just writing about Square Enix localizations, and now the news has spread that Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift is headed to North America. According to Game Informer, the projected release date isn't too far off, and the strategy game will be coming to American shores this summer.
We knew this game would get here eventually, but we can relax now that we really know. In case you thought you might actually get outdoors and be active this summer, though, this announcement might have just caused a rift in your plans.
A new portable Final Fantasy game set in the world of Final Fantasy Tactics A2 came out today. For cell phones. Crystal Guardians W1 is the first in an episodic series of mobile FFTA2-related games released for Japanese i-mode phones. In what we think is an inspired choice of genre, Crystal Guardians is a tower defense game that features all of the jobs in Tactics A2. Except instead of a tower, your team defends a crystal against monsters. Because, you know, Final Fantasy.
This announcement puts an end to the speculation about the "Crystal Guardians" trademark registered last week. DS fans would probably say that an inaccessible cell phone game is the worst possible result. But at least it's not a CG movie.
What separates Final Fantasy Tactics Advance from most other handheld SRPGS? Its level of polish. As with the original Final Fantasy Tactics game for the PlayStation, Square Enix put its talents and resources behind FFTA's soundtrack, character designs, and solid mechanics. Even today, five years later, the GBA title's presentation outclasses releases like Hoshigami Remix and Luminous Arc.
FFTA2 now boasts over 45+ different professions, ranging from Chocobo Knights (Chocobo-riding Moogles) to Bastards (a surly lot). Just as interesting as the vocations included are the ones that were cut from the final release due to time constraints or continuity issues. We came across their design documents while sifting through Square Enix's dumpster for discarded figurines, and we've posted the never-seen-before job classes right here for you!
Chimney Sweep
Action Ability
sweeps your chimney
walks around covered in soot
Combo Ability
after years of choking on grit and dust, dies an early death due to cancer caused by inhaling carcinogenic chemicals in the soot
Real World Roommate
Action Ability
accuses you of disrespectin' her
Reaction Ability
refuses to accept any apologies or assurances that you had no intention of disrespectin' her
Support Ability
tells everyone in the house that you're disrespectin' her
Damn Cargo Shorts-Wearin' Kids
Action Ability
wears those damn cargo shorts every day
has too many pockets for their own good
Support Ability
perpetuates the misbelief that wearing camo anything is acceptable fashion (e.g. camo cargo shorts)
Gangsta Rapper, Circa Early-to-Mid 90s
Action Ability
checks himself before he wrecks himself ('cause shotgun bullets are bad for his health)
is the capital S oh yes so fresh N double O P -- D O double G Y D O double G, ya see
Reaction Ability
calls his crew while you call your crew so you can rendezvous at the bar around two
Combo Ability
is better than your favorite rapper
Overbearing Asian Mother
Action Ability
belittles any and every measure you take to establish yourself as an individual
Reaction Ability
repeatedly insists that you should've become a doctor or a lawyer, like your successful cousins, instead of studying "computer"
Support Ability
leaves you with crippling feelings of inadequacy and social ineptitude
Cute Friend Whom You Have a Crush On
Action Ability
hair smells of strawberries, sunshine, and summer possibilities
is a kindred spirit; totally on the same wavelength as you
Reaction Ability
looks at you pityingly when you ask her out
just wants to be friends
isn't ready to date anyone right now
Combo Ability
sleeps with four other dudes -- simultaneously! -- the following week
Translating Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift just became serious business, as the GBAtemp community has actually built an application around the project to streamline its script-editing process. With this sort of dedication and this new specialized editor, it won't be long before the team releases an English translation patch for, uh, people with pirated ROMs.
Though an official FFTA2 localization seems certain, Square Enix has yet to announce any plans to bring the SRPG stateside. Why not settle for Front Mission DS in the meantime?
We know that Nintendo's games are awesome and all, but we can't help but feel that their constant monopoly on DS game sales must make compiling sales lists dull. "Nintendo ... Nintendo ... another Nintendo." In North America., all five of the top five DS games sold this week are first-party; only one in the UK comes from another publisher. If we had an impish sense of humor (check) and access to near-unlimited funds (dang) we'd go buy 50,000 copies or so of something like Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations just to mess with the charts. As it stands, in NA and the UK, the big winners are both Brain Ages and Phantom Hourglass. And, we suppose, the people who bought those and can feel like they're on the victorious team.
In Japan, a detective game from Tecmo sits at the top spot, followed by Final Fantasy Tactics A2. This report conflicts with the report yesterday that had FFTA2 at the top-- maybe DS Nishimura Kyotaro Suspense sells better on Amazon (from whence the results for this study are tallied) than other retailers. Check after the break for the full top-five lists!
Final Fantasy fans seem to be split pretty rigidly into fanbases for the original Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, but that isn't stopping Japanese gamers from gobbling up copies of the newly releases Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. The title took the top spot this week among Japanese games, with nearly as many sales as the original Tactics Advance in the first week, despite a bevy of games on the shelves. FFTA2 moved 142,000 copies, nearly twice as many as the number two title, Ar Tonelico II for the PS2.
Will you be picking up FFTA2 when it heads to your local retailer? Or are you firmly in the other fanbase and refusing to cross over? Of course, if you're a rabid fan, you might not have to wait long, even if you can't read Japanese.
Though Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift doesn't officially hit Japanese stores until tomorrow, forumers at the GBAtemp community have already managed to procure a copy and are working on translating its squiggly words. The motivated group has deciphered an impressive amount of cutscene conversations and menu items, overlaying shots from the SRPG with English text.
Even in its early state, this picture guide will be a huge boon to interested importers without any Japanese reading skills. Considering that Square Enix has yet to announce its plans for bringing Final Fantasy Tactics A2 to the states, this fan-backed effort may be the best way to play the game for a while.
Buying Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift when it hits Japan in two weeks might not be economically feasible for you, what with shipping costs and jacked-up import pricing, but that doesn't mean you can't make everyone believe you've purchased and played the game.
Hori'sFFTA2 kit, available for preorder at Play-Asia for an affordable $17.90, includes everything we've come to expect with these supplementarykits -- a themed system case, an extendable stylus, a stylus pen casing, and a screenwipe strap -- enough branded stuff to convince any doubters out there that you're the proud owner of Square Enix's newest SRPG, even if you really aren't.
As for why you'd want to live this double life, pretending you're in possession of a game you've never actually held, we're not sure what your motivation would be; we're just offering advice in case you ever find yourself caught up in the dilemma we've described. Click past the post break for more photos of the set.
Posted Sep 10th 2007 7:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
Six weeks away from the SRPG's release in Japan, Square Enix has offered a preview of job classes for the two new tribes in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, the Seeq and Gria, the former being a race resembling portly pigs and originally appearing in Final Fantasy XII, and the latter of which are a humanoid feminine race with dragon-like characteristics.
The Seeq's Raptor class has skills similar to the Knights' in Final Fantasy Tactics, while the Gria's Lunistas are able to trade HP to increase their critical hit chance. Both tribes also have a Bastard class which we assume to comprise of one of the following:
Children born out of wedlock
Jerks of the highest degree
Warriors who wield oversized medieval swords
You can check out some concept art for the Seeq and Gria past the post break, where we always hide the goodies. It has yet to be confirmed whether or not the two tribes, similar to Wu-Tang Clansman Ol' Dirty Bastard (R.I.P.), like it raw.
For the Final Fantasy nut in you, Famitsu has just put up some new screens for Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced 2 (what a title!). The screens reveal the inclusion of two characters from the PS2 title Final Fantasy XII (and its upcoming DS spin-off title Revenant Wings) in Vaan and Penelo.
Aside from that, machine translation hasn't given us any more information to go on.
Do you enjoy Final Fantasy games? We've got plenty of coverage on the many titles in the franchise Square Enix is releasing on the DS. Also, be sure to check out our 2008 Blips feature, which FFTA 2 was featured in.
Update 2: And now any mention of the paddle peripheral has disappeared again from our press release! We're confused as can be at the moment, but we're contacting Square Enix for clarification ... now. Stay tuned!
A new portable Final Fantasy game set in the world of Final Fantasy Tactics A2 came out today. For cell phones. Crystal Guardians W1 is the first in an episodic series of mobile FFTA2-related games released for Japanese i-mode phones. In what we think is an inspired choice of genre, Crystal Guardians is a tower defense game that features all of the jobs in Tactics A2. Except instead of a tower, your team defends a crystal against monsters. Because, you know, Final Fantasy.
We know that Nintendo's games are awesome and all, but we can't help but feel that their constant monopoly on DS game sales must make compiling sales lists dull. "Nintendo ... Nintendo ... another Nintendo." In North America., all five of the top five DS games sold this week are first-party; only one in the UK comes from another publisher. If we had an impish sense of humor (check) and access to near-unlimited funds (dang) we'd go buy 50,000 copies or so of something like Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations just to mess with the charts. As it stands, in NA and the UK, the big winners are both Brain Ages and Phantom Hourglass. And, we suppose, the people who bought those and can feel like they're on the victorious team.
Final Fantasy fans seem to be split pretty rigidly into fanbases for the original Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, but that isn't stopping Japanese gamers from gobbling up copies of the newly releases Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. The title took the top spot this week among Japanese games, with nearly as many sales as the original Tactics Advance in the first week, despite a bevy of games on the shelves. FFTA2 moved 142,000 copies, nearly twice as many as the number two title, Ar Tonelico II for the PS2.
Buying Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift when it hits Japan in two weeks might not be economically feasible for you, what with shipping costs and jacked-up import pricing, but that doesn't mean you can't make everyone believe you've purchased and played the game.
Six weeks away from the SRPG's release in Japan, Square Enix has offered a preview of job classes for the two new tribes in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, the Seeq and Gria, the former being a race resembling portly pigs and originally appearing in Final Fantasy XII, and the latter of which are a humanoid feminine race with dragon-like characteristics.
