When I first fired up this game, first thing I notice about this game is the similar bgm that I can simply hum. Even though some bgm are just ported from the gba versions, there are still some new tracks which in my opinion are greater than the old bgm. Those new bgm are simply memorable and I will just use headphone when I hear them.
Next, some may complain that the graphics dont see major improvement than the gba version. I do admit, it still looks familiarly same but nonetheless, the graphics seem to be more intricate and I was just simply marvelled when I look at the cutscenes of espers appearing. One thing I have been puzzled though, why Square Enix never bothered to make the characters in upper screen during battles less blocky? It might seem ok after playing for some time but I still think that Square Enix could have done something to remedy it.
This game still plays the same like before, so if you have played the gba version, I am sure you will have no problem managing your team. Laws are still here, but it is much less punishing than before. In this game, if you uphold the laws, you will get some special items after the battle and you will be able to enjoy law privilleges during the battles. However, if you break the laws, deceased characters will be sent to prison and you can no longer enjoy the benefits of those privileges. Do not misunderstand though, those sent to prison will remain so for the battle ONLY. At first I thought I am gonna lose those characters permanently so I quickly restart my games once I have broken the laws and have my characters killed. Never did I know they will resurrect once the battle is over until I tried it accidentally. How stupid am I? The worst thing that could happen is those characters wont receive desirable experience points due to unable to participate in the battles anymore. Regarding the special items you receive after upholding the laws, you will soon realize those so called bonus items are no longer useful later as they tend to be weaker than those we can get from bazaar. Other than that, I don't think there is any problem and I have no qualms letting some characters die and be sent to prison. Also, I notice in this game, unlike the GBA, missions and battles are simply tied to same laws and there is no way you can change it like you did in the GBA version, which means if you are in some battles with some really absurd laws, either you are going to uphold it or you are going to break it! Worst of all, opponents will never be punished when they break the law, so they can exactly do what they want with disregard to the laws. Unfair huh? Luckily we don't have to pay too much for breaking the laws, or else I foresee many paying for their second consoles(haha because of throwing their NDS after getting screwed by the law systems. What? Not funny? Ok...)
For those who plan to upgrades themselves to powerful classes early on, there are some restrictions now as you can only unlock certain new jobs after completing certain missions. It is to prevent gamers from abusing some powerful jobs I guess and I am certainly ok with it. As usual, there are new jobs and even 2 new races here. So far I still haven't managed to try any new jobs except for arcanist for Nu Mou and I can't really tell as I haven't unleash it's full potential yet.. What I cant forget to mention is the new race, Seeq. A berserker Seeq is really great and it surpasses my expectation. In my opinion, it is more useful than white monk because of some of its abilities. You guys should try it yourself and shouldn't let its oversize body fool you guys.
Other notable changes from this game are:
1. You can no longer create your own maps like before. It seems like there will be a larger fixed map this time and it will require you to use airship to travel to other continent. Sweet!
2. Missions are more diversified this time. Even though most of the missions are still battle focused, this time it will add in around some extra storyline, so the whole affair isn't just as mundane and tedious like before.
3. You will no longer battle with other clans to gain the ownership of certain areas, instead you will be competing out with other clans in auctions to own those areas before the next auctions. The auction itself serves as an interesting mini game and it might take a couple of trials and errors before you can manage to get all areas in one auction. Nevertheless, it is fun and it is certainly rewarding once you do so as you will be able to bid for powerful weapons once you become an area master(you become one after winning all areas in one auction)
4. There will be a new section called bazaar in this game. You will be trading loots you gain from missions or battles for some powerful weapons that you can gain access to at a shop.
5. Our characters will start out with 0 MP in every battle and every round each character will restore 10 MP automatically. This is not some change that I favour as later on you will find there will be many restrictions as the magics you want to unleash will consume MP. Luckily you will get a new clan privilege that will double the MP restoration each round.
6. There will be clan trials in this game. You will get new law privileges after meeting certain requirements and new titles as well.
All in all, for those who expect a deep storyline here, I would suggest you to steer clear of this as this game main selling point is its deep customization system. This may sound complicated to some newcomers but be rest assured that once you get hang of the whole thing, you will soon be enjoying this like the rest of us do. Just don't shy away from this just because this seems to be so alien and strange to you. I remember I used to have same feelings when I started playing the gba version but I am really glad that I have taken to first step to experience it, or else I wont be hooked to strategy rpg games at all. I have clocked in around 32 hours since last week and I only managed to complete 75 mission and there are actually 400 missions in this game. Long? Yes. Addictive? Of course. Satisfaction? Priceless!
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