One of the biggest draws of the original Final Fantasy Tactics was its compelling plot and job mechanics that stood just as tall as its tactical gameplay. Though Final Fantasy Tactics A2 retains much of the overall charm it lacks those same strengths that made the original a classic. Though its heart still beats as a tactical RPG it comes across as more like the gameplay equivalent of whipped topping; light and fluffy yet ultimately lacking a large amount of substance.

The plot tells the tale of a boy who in modern times was tasked with cleaning up a library. As an act of rebellion he decided to open up a dusty tome and write his name in it, which ripped him from his world and dropped him into the land of Ivalice. Though Ivalice is filled with combat and strange creatures the boy takes a liking to it, and while the overall goal is to get the boy home it also revolves around him exploring this interesting new world.

Nearly upon his arrival the boy takes up arms with a local clan, which are groups of fighters making their way in the world by taking on quests posted by those who need jobs done. These range from simply killing some creatures that have been harassing local townsfolk to gathering certain materials or objects while battling with the local wildlife. The vast majority of the game revolves around this mechanic, with the player visiting pubs to check the current global roster of quests. Some quests have time limits after they are accepted or other limitations in the form of necessary clan requirements, and all of them have a finder’s fee that must be paid first before the quest can be accepted. Thus, the game eschews any random encounters and instead lets players pick and choose what missions they wish to undertake.

Clans themselves fight for fame and fortune as they try to make a name for themselves in the world of Ivalice. Clans have four attributes including teamwork and negotiating skills, though their only real purpose is that certain quests have specific requirements to be accepted such as 15 negotiation skill. These attributes gradually rise with any fighting as does the clan’s points, which can be spent to accept quests that can raise one attribute at the slight expense of another. Clans can be composed of many different members, and as the player’s clan grows through the course of the game they can elect to dispatch a party of clan members out on a quest and have them complete it while the player and their party tackles another.

Regardless of what quest is chosen it will require some form of combat to see it through. The action is turn based, with characters with higher speeds going first and more often. The top DS screen shows basic battle information as well as the unit queue to see what units on either side will be taking their turns soon. Units can move and attack in the same turn and in any order, though if they only perform one of the two actions they will see their next turn sooner than if they perform both.

The game does a good job of bringing Ivalice to life, and the look of the characters and the environments that they fight in are always as distinguishable as they are colorful. Battles themselves don’t have too many bells or whistles past spell effects which are often reused for other spells, so actual combat isn’t incredibly engaging but it’s something that is par the course for the series as a whole. The menu system is easy to read despite the sheer volume of information that covers them, letting the player quickly know what they need to know without sifting through screen after screen.

Much about being successful in the game is to know what capabilities your party has and reading into what strengths and weaknesses the enemy party has that can be avoided or exploited. Blocking access to your magic users with stronger warriors and soldiers can let them cast spells all day, but then the whole group can get nailed by enemy magic slingers. To deal with those pesky annoyances you may want to send a fast thief or ninja up to stab them from behind. Hitting enemies in the side or back yields greater damage, and knowing what units to place where while keeping to higher ground or bottlenecks can make for easy victories.

The job system is needlessly confusing in parts and overly simplified in others. In the original PlayStation title characters gained job points, which were then spent to unlock abilities in their current job. Here, the members of your clan gain universal job points and unlock abilities along a set path in the job. Certain weapons can make their wielder learn abilities as well as long as they have them equipped for enough combat. This makes the job system much less flexible and customizable, and even though there are a larger number of jobs each race only has access to certain ones.

Coming back from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is the law system, though in this game the judge himself no longer is on the battlefield. The law system is such that the judge puts a certain restriction on the current quest such as not using fire attacks or not using any ranged weapons. Breaking the current law can either make you fail the mission outright or simply make you lose the bonus at the end as well as the ability to revive party members in the middle of the action. However, these laws do not apply to the enemy, and often can be triggered on accident. During one mission that has a law of not using a ranged attack if one of your characters have a critical melee hit not only does it make the enemy get knocked back a square but it makes you instantly fail the mission. Granted it is rare that breaking a law actually results in failure as they normally stick to softer penalties, but when it is something that the player has no control over it can be frustrating.