Play Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift Online

Summary

School is out, but Luso Clemens can’t escape detention. While hiding in the library he finds an ancient book that pulls him into Ivalice, where he meets Cid’s clan and gets swept into a battlefield‑torn world.

The game plays on the DS’s two screens: the top shows the isometric grid‑based battles, the bottom handles menus, items and the Law system that forces quirky restrictions like "no healing" for bonus rewards. Over fifty Jobs—from Warriors to Summoners—can be swapped by equipping gear, and inactive units can be sent on Clan quests or training missions to boost the clan’s territory control.

Ryoma Ito’s character designs keep the bright, “moe” feel of the original, while Hitoshi Sakimoto’s soundtrack lifts every scene with a light‑hearted, high‑quality score that even streams like a CD. The real‑time summons use both screens for dramatic, cinema‑style attacks.

Critics praised the depth and sheer amount of content, noting the translation by veterans of Final Fantasy XII and the elegant art style. By 2009 the title sold 670 000 copies worldwide and won IGN’s Best Strategy Game for the DS, its Job system later resurfacing in Square Enix’s mobile titles.

Storyline

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift follows Luso Clemens, a teenage troublemaker from St. Ivalice who scribbles his name in a half‑empty book during summer‑break detention. The prank transports him into the real world of Ivalice, where he is rescued from a monster attack by Clan Gully’s leader, Cid, and later befriends the thief Adelle and moogle minstrel Hurdy. Together they undertake quests, confront the criminal gang Khamja, and battle a monstrous hand summoned by the dangerous Grimoire of the Rift, which Luso still carries.

The Grimoire is revealed by the mage Lezaford to be a portal‑creating artifact capable of unleashing the beast Neukhia. Illua, an agent of the Neukhia, seeks to destroy the book, but her attack only awakens the full monster, which Luso’s party eventually defeats. After the final showdown, Luso returns to his school library, where librarian Mewt Randell believes his tale and lets him go home, ending with a summer‑break celebration and his new friends continuing their adventures.