One time, I was arguing with my buddy, and while we were running the ol' back 'n forth, he said something to the effect of "handheld entries in a series can never compare to their console counterparts". Now, I'm a big DS/GBA fan, so naturally I vehemently disagreed. But of course, as the open-minded, introspective, reasonable individual I am, I had to give it some actual thought later. Does his declaration really hold no weight? It's not too farfetched, consoles are far more powerful than portable devices after all. So I ran down a list of series I've played, and, though there were many exceptions, I understood where he was coming from. Many of these games (often despite their best efforts) can't compare to the scope and execution seen in their console counterparts.

So I played FFTA, keeping this in mind, and found that although it doesn't hold a candle to it's predecessor, it's a great game in its own right. Gameplay is noticeably watered-down compared to FFT, with job variety and the extent of customization being lower (as not all races have access to all jobs), and the combat being much easier, BUT I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun mixing and matching what I could and letting it rip. The story was VERY different from FFT too, but it was pretty touching (and not as hard to follow). It's also neat to see the origins (I think) of Viera, Nu Mou, Bangaas, Judges, and the new design of Moogles (which you would stay for later Ivalice games, like FFXII). I'm pretty sure I even recognized some locations too.

I realize I might be too liberal with the FFT comparisons but it's only natural, this is it's sequel. Regardless, FFTA tried to do its own thing, and I had fun, so clearly it did it pretty well.