What's funny is, it's even been said as much.  One of Matsuno's friends said in a source interview that Final Fantasy Tactics was his attempt at a more simple story more casual people could get into.

Which is pretty funny considering the FFT story is still complex in it's own right, wish I could still find that interview.  The FFTA series i'm guessing was his further expeirmentiation down that line afterwords.

The FFTA games get a bad rap...  they have good stories... they're just DIFFERENT.  Or at least the first game has a good story.

Dude, you have no idea the feeling of triumph I felt when I played this game back in the day.
This is easily worth 1500 Wii points, hell 2000, because it's a retail game and a half packaged to look like downloadable content. Trust me, anyone with doubts, listen to this man! He's gone to great lengths, writing a formidable review. And now, like Jesus Christ, son of Nazareth, the great lamb, you should follow him blindly, without questioning his decree.

OB64: PoLB: Longest game title in history, most satisfying game experience.

I like ot believe that if enough people buy this, Square might get Matsuno to make a sequel.

*sigh*

A man can dream.

I felt PURE RAGE the first time I beat this game.  Mostly because I thought it opperated on the same Chaos Frame objectives as the first game, so I got an "evil" ending because I had nothing but high alignment units and they captured nuetral and Evil towns.

I mean, i started a game up again right afterwords like I was planning to anyway, but when i'm playing an evil route i like to goof off and expierment more since you get more to work with usually.

First time I beat the game I had a CF of like 30 - just low enough to get the bad ending.

It was really troubling, but really great for that reason. I realized all the terrible things I had done as a leader, and how the decisions I made had made the people hate me.

It was really great.

I've had over 6 playthroughs! This game is amazing in every level. The rich politically heavy story is amazing. The customization options is astounding, and the battle mechanics make you feel truly like a general. This is my top game of all time. ( I have the Original n64 version ). I also recommend Tactis Ogre for GBA.

IF anyone has any questions regarding this game feel free to ask.  Like Khuutra I've done everything there is to do in this game :D.

Finally added icons to the OP, and provided links to a lot more, which can be found in my photo albums here:

Album one!

Album two!

So if you like this game and wouldn't mind having an avatar that shows it, feel free to join in! These avatars are naturally free to use and I'd be delighted if people decided to grab one or two.

There. Now Frederick can look deeply concerned about every word that I type.

Is there a system to catching monsters? Is it based on my alignment or just luck?

Alignment is definitely a factor. I've seen platinum dragons eagerly run to my lawful characters, and run the hell away from chaotic characters.

I'm guessing that some critters respond better than others to having the crap beaten out of them, too.