Introduction
Hello and welcome to my SSLP of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift! In which a young man is torn from his summer vacation to go on a magical adventure, make friends and slaughter his away across the country.
What's this?
Released in 2007 (JP) / 2008 (NA and PAL) for the Nintendo DS, FFTA2 (as I will be writing it) is a turn-based Strategy-RPG developed and published by Square Enix. It's a sequel (sort of) to the 2003 game Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which is itself based (loosely) on 1997's Final Fantasy Tactics. FFTA was a major departure from FFT when it comes to plot, and FFTA2 goes even further. There's none of the moral ambiguity or "are we the baddies?" undertones found in FFTA. What we do get is more of the isometric strategy experience with new jobs, new races and new abilities. In my opinion, it's a big improvement over FFTA, though it definitely has some problems.
I'm going for an informative/completionist LP. We'll be completing every mission, recruiting every secret character, and trying out as many classes as we can. Yes, that means I will be doing that section of the game. It's a long game, with over 300+ missions total! Expect 70+ hours of gameplay.
+There are exactly 301 missions in the game.
My goal is one update per week, though some updates will be lighter information dumps talking about the jobs, races, gameplay and so on. This is going to take a while.
Who are you?
I'm Solumin, and this is my first LP! Yes, I realize choosing this as my first LP means I have severe problems with things like "making good choices" and "maintaining my health and sanity." But I like FFTA and FFTA2, and despite several attempts over the past decade, there's still no LP of FFTA2 on the archive. It's a worthy endeavor!
Do I need to know anything about FFT or FFTA?
Nope! There's really no connection between FFT and FFTA/2, and the connection between FFTA and FFTA2 is loose at best. I'll explain the basic mechanics as they come up, along with the differences between FFTA and FFTA2.
If you're interested, Orange Fluffy Sheep did a couple great LPs of FFT and FFTA, which are on the archive. I highly recommend them.
DO NOT POST SPOILERS. If you have a question about something that you aren't sure is a spoiler, go ahead and ask with tags. But please don't talk about future plot points, characters, dungeons, etc. I like this game a lot and I'd like to give it at least some respect.
I'd like to see more Isometric Strategy JRPGs!
Well, there are the aforementioned LPs of Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactice Advance by Orange Fluffy Sheep. You could also look for LPs of the Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre games, which are all the brain-children of Yasumi Matsuno. Or for something a little different, there's Pokemon Conquest by Crosspiece.
A note for the archive: Yeah, there are a lot of updates here! Updates 1 to 37 cover the main story arc of the game with a good selection of side quests, while 38 - 75 are all the other quests and end-game dungeons. There are a couple informative posts that give some useful information about the game, plus a series of updates where I discuss the various jobs in the game. You might find those useful, but you should be able to follow along without them.
Table of Contents
1: Take a Look, It's in a Book2: Am I My Trapper's Keeper?
3: Cat Ears: the Anime Avatars of Ivalice
4: Found a Job
5: Trials and Tribulations
6: Why Not Just Use Cure?
7: There's no Mist without Dragons
8: Auction Season
9: Good Company
10: Shellfish, Ninjas and Airships
11: Swamp of the Living Dead
12: Found Another Job
13: Nightmares and Flashbacks
14: Found Yet Another Job
15: Pirate Rescue!
16: Jagd Little Pill
17: Mrs Blue Sky
18: Entomology for Fun and Profit
19: Thieves, Healers and Backstabbers
20: Digging Too Deep
21: The Immortal's Choice
22: I Can't Believe I Already Used "Am I My Trapper's Keeper"
23: Duelhorn, Part 1
24: Duelhorn, Part 2
25: Duelhorn, Part 3: The Fall of Duelhorn
26: The Tale of Frimelda Lotice
27: Have at Thee, Ham-planks!
28: The Bonga Bugle, Part 1: Ethical Journalism, Shmethical Shmournalism
29: The Bonga Bugle, Part 2: Journalism Edition
30: The Bonga Bugle, Part 3: How is this paper still around?
31: This Update Is Mostly About Sentient Rocks
32: Primo Ladro, or A Thieving Obsession
33: Adelaide and the Five Kings
34: Bazaar Rewards
35: Don't Get Lost In Heaven, Part 1
36: Don't Get Lost In Heaven, Part 2
37: Demon Days
38: The Adventure Continues
39: Revenge of the Cake
40: Obligatory Tournament Arc, Part 1
41: Obligatory Tournament Arc, Part 2
42: Obligatory Tournament Arc, Part 3
43: Obligatory Tournament Arc, Part 4
44: The Witch of the Fens
45: Prima Donna and the Case of the Chocobo's Talon
46: The Clan Sawyer Pet Agency
47: Fashionable Weapons
48: Fighting for Privileges
49: Tinker, Trickster, Soldier, Agent
50: In Which Adventures are Had
51: Mini Update: Clan Overview
52: Magick Airship Ride
53: Bounty Hunting
54: Bounty Hunting, Part 2: Ultimate Bounty
55: Brightmoon Tor: First Watch
56: A Poisonous Bounty
57: Monstrous Fish
58: Feathers and Foozles
59: Five Kings and Digging Deep
60: I Need Your Strongest Potions
61: craigslist > ivalice > loar > camoa
62: Brightmoon Tor: Second Watch
63: Playful Raid
64: The Adventurer's Field Guide to Loar
65: The Adventurer's Field Guide to Ordallia
66: The Art of the Blade
67: The Game is Afoot
68: The Volcanoes of Ivalice
69: Love, Friendship and Speed Battles
70: In Pursuit of Poachers
71: A Mobile Feast
72: The Feud of the Foothills
73: Brightmoon Tor: Third Watch
74: A Martyr to Memories
75: The Final Quest
Informative Posts:
The Races of Ivalice
Jobs 101
Job Roundups:
1: Starter Jobs 1: Soldier, Warrior, White Monk
2: Starter Jobs 2: White Mage, Black Mage, Thief
3: Starter Jobs 3: Animist, Archer, Fencer
4: Early-Game Unlocks: Green Mage, Beastmaster, Dragoon
5: The Color of Magick: Blue Mage, Red Mage
6: Ultima Power: Hunter, Sage, Assassin
7: Unusual Magicks: Bishop, Time Mage, Alchemist
8: Hidden Arts: Ninja, Sniper, Elementalist
9: Guns & Gears: Fusilier, Cannoneer, Tinker
10: Knights of Ivalice: Moogle Knights, Defenders and Paladins
11: Bad Job Teardown: Scholar, Flintlock, Arcanist, Chocobo Knight
12: Physical Might: Fighter, Parivir, Master Monk
13: Job Seeq-er: Ranger, Viking, Berserker, Lanista
14: Might and Magick: Gladiator, Templar, Spellblade
15: Soul Music and Memories: Bard, Heritor
16: Swords, Magick and Dragons: Geomancer, Ravager, Raptor
17: Magick Power: Summoner, Illusionist, Seer
18: Fool's Paradise: Juggler, Trickster
19: The FFXII Camoes: Dancer, Sky Pirate, Agent