Published by: SquareEnix
Developed by: SquareEnix
Score: 65

Telling people these days that you loved Final Fantasy Tactics doesn’t really surprise anyone and you’re usually met with more praise for the game as well as “deep” tactical discussion. However, telling others that you’re a fan of Final Fantasy Tactics…Advance doesn’t bring the same reaction. Welcome to my situation because I am in fact a fan of the original Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFTA) which originally appeared on the Gameboy Advance. Recently released is Final Fantasy Tactics A2. Notice how they ditched the word advance? The removal of that word, however, may be applicable in more than one way as you’ll read.

Published by: Tecmo
Developed by: Team Ninja
Score: 80

Back in 2004 I salivated over a game called Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox. The high paced action and penchant for bad ass looking combos (comparable to Devil May Cry sans the “cool” or “devilish”) truly made it a game worth coming back to again and again. With expansion packs, trying to see every nook and cranny and find even better, faster way to kill enemies made Ninja Gaiden inseparable from my Xbox. After a slew of re-releases in the form of Black and Sigma, we now finally have a new Ninja Gaiden game from the Itagaki era, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS.