I already covered the main Final Fantasy series in my list of the Top Ten Final Fantasy Games, but I thought I’d shed some light on a few on the epic rpg juggernaut’s spin-off titles. Nothing newer than PS2 here, and I am a confirmed hater of Final Fantasy 11, so with that in mind here we go.
#5 – Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
A worthy successor to the unbelievable PlayStation original, Final Fantasy Tactics come in at number five on my list. This style of strategy RPG was born to be portable (see the PS1 original’s re-release for the PSP). Granted, they stripped some of the depth out of the character customization and neutered the mature storyline of the original, but with Yasumi Matsun0 (the so called father of Ivalice) producing there was no way this game could miss the mark by too much, and it didn’t. Following in it’s predecessors footsteps, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a massive and life consuming strategy role playing game that plays nearly identical to the original, but also managed to spice up the formula by adding the Judges/Laws system and other features such as the ability to link with a friend via the GBA link cable. These additions made the game seem like more of the sequel is was meant to be and less the under-powered port many feared.
#4 – Sword of Mana
Final Fantasy Spin-off you say? You bet! Follow me down the rabbit hole, here; In 1991 square released a game called Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden for the original Gameboy. By the time that the title hit our shores it had been retitled Final Fantasy Adventure. The game was essentially an action RPG spin-off of the Final Fantasy series. The game played alot more like The Legend of Zelda than any other JRPG of the time. The game spawned a sequel, entitled Seiken Densetsu 2 for teh Super Famicom. By the time the sequel was released the association with the Final Fantasy series was dropped, and the game continued on with the action RPG style game play from the first game. You and I know Seiken Densetsu 2 as the seminal SNES classic Secret of Mana. Final Fantasy Adventure was later remade as Sword of Mana for Gameboy Advance. I actually prefer the original Gameboy title over the GBA remake, but I am embarrassed to say that I don’t currently own the Gameboy version, as I lost my copy when I was a kid. I should get on that… (more…)
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