I'm currently playing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on my cellphone. FFTA is one of the greatest games of the GBA, and certainly one of the best Ogre-Battle-like games of that time. But there's a big problem: Everything takes so much time to happen!


  • Going to cast a spell? Wait for the animation to end. Every single time, for every single spell..
  • Got the wrong move? Wait for the character to move until the new position to finally cancel it and go back.
  • Died when you got into a hard battle and didn't save? Well, too bad, go back and do the last 4 battles again, because you forgot to save. Better luck next time!

I mean, this isn't exactly bad - it's the design of those games. But after playing FFTA on an emulator, I can definitely say that some features like Fast Forward and Save States can make certain games better. Fast Forward makes the battles end so much quicker, and you can do a lot more in less time, which is great for a game that encourages grinding. This way, I can play a lot of battles during the bus ride to work, or in my lunch time. This can also help in repeated playthroughs.


I don't like the use of save states to cheat - I usually save before a battle or in the formation screen, so it's quick to retry if something goes wrong. But save states can have other uses, mainly for experimentation. Sometimes, certain rules of the game aren't very clear, and having the option to experiment before proceeding can make certain encounters or situations easier in a way that the player doesn't feel cheated, which is awesome.


In the end, it's quality of life stuff. You may or may not use it (you always have the option!), but, for some games, I can't live without those features. They help a lot, and I can't help but love that!