Ranking Every Final Fantasy Spin-Off Game

The weakest entry in the Tactics subseries, not counting the abomination that was the short-lived mobile game that dragged the Tactics name through the mud and should never be spoken of, Tactics Advance is still an exquisite creation. The first game to release on the Game Boy Advance before remakes of IV, V and VI arrived (the latter two of which are still the definitive and almost impossible to obtain versions of those games), it dialled down the darkness of its predecessor in line with the target audience of the system, but still succeeded in weaving a wonderful narrative.

The dilemma of Marche’s determination to return to reality versus Mewt’s desire to hide away from the pain of it in his fantasy creation played out terrifically, whilst the diversification of the job system to lock specific jobs and combinations to specific races added a good layer of tactical depth. The inclusion of 300 missions (with a postgame and a few other extras, like clan wars and leagues, on the side) also gave it a considerable lifespan.

One huge flaw relegates it to third in its own subseries, however. A Judge is present in each battle, with up to three actions ‘forbidden’ and punishable by removal from battle. Given that these actions could be combinations of basic things, such as attacking and healing, and bosses were mostly immune, they created an ill-thought out difficulty spike and were a huge source of often game-breaking frustration.