Topic: tell me about these RPGs

[VladCT]

All three are indeed set in Ivalice, just in distant time periods.
...So says the Word of God.

[DragonSlayr81]

All evidence I've seen about Radical Dreamers points to being the sequel of Chrono Trigger. It was out for the Super Famicom so finding a rom shouldn't be a hassle.

Radical Dreamers is a text-based adventure. If you don't mind playing a video game "choose your own adventure", you might like it. Based on your choices, there are different outcomes and endings. The scenarios differ considerably. Some are related to Chrono Trigger, others are just crazy random stuff. Chrono Cross is basically based off of some ideas from Radical Dreamers, and uses most of the songs(it's interesting to hear the RD versions), but the majority of CC is different. It kinda seemed like, they realized that they couldn't make RD into a full game, so they took some creative liberties to expand the story, which is what CC became. Interestingly enough, RD takes place in a different part of the CT world than CC, a region many think is located between Dorino and Porre, in the forest area where Frog's dwelling was once located(in 600ad). The general art direction and the way you play reminds me of a lot of PC games from that time. I did like the atmosphere a lot. It's really dark(lol, REALLY).

All three are indeed set in Ivalice, just in distant time periods.
...So says the Word of God.

I actually don't mind that. Ivalice is like the Final Fantasy's take on the Suikoden world. You never fully explore the world in it's ENTIRETY in any of the games, just regions, and the history of Ivalice is so rich and LONG, you can basically set new titles in centuries apart, in lands unexplored, and it wouldn't conflict with the general history. It's also one of the few, if anything, the ONLY Final Fantasy world where you get to experience the world through different time periods. FFXII takes place in the "Ancient Civlization of High Technology" which is a period many FF games reference in their pasts, but in the game's present, it's considered a time of lost wonders and the world regressed since then(FFV had the Lonkans, FFVIII had the Sentra, FFX had Zanarkand and such). FFT takes place in the post-Fall of the Ancient High Tech Civilization where the world has become more of an Medieval-set place where there is lore of the ancient technology and people are excavating airships and robots here and there. FFTA and FFTA2 are set(initially) in the most modern period of Ivalice, where magic pretty much disappeared(and has become a thing of lore) and the world is in a contemporary state(basically like our OWN world today). I always liked that broad show of history.

[VladCT]

Actually, Tactics Advance is set in a Dream Ivalice created by Mewt through the power of the Gran Grimoire.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

But Dream Ivalice is equivalent to the other Ivalice.
In essence, the 'real world' is where Newt and Co. (and Luso) come from, and the dream is the Ivalice world we know.

Who's to say they are not one and the same?

[VladCT]

The reason I say that the Ivalice in Tactics Advance is a mere dream world is because it depends on everyone's (i.e. Mewt & co.) desire for it to exist. That, and from a technical aspect the Dream Ivalice is geographically different from the Real Ivalice. To elaborate, the locations in the Dream Ivalice is variable according to the player's choices, whereas the locations in the Real Ivalice are already predetermined.
Oh, and Luso got transported to the Real Ivalice through the power of the Grimoire of the Rift; not the same thing as the Gran Grimoire.

[darkmanx_429]

All great titles, but no Parasite Eve, Legend of Dragoon, or Vangrant Story on the list?

[VladCT]

Vagrant Story is a great game, but it's not something I'd recommend to everyone due to its difficulty.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

The reason I say that the Ivalice in Tactics Advance is a mere dream world is because it depends on everyone's (i.e. Mewt & co.) desire for it to exist. That, and from a technical aspect the Dream Ivalice is geographically different from the Real Ivalice. To elaborate, the locations in the Dream Ivalice is variable according to the player's choices, whereas the locations in the Real Ivalice are already predetermined.
Oh, and Luso got transported to the Real Ivalice through the power of the Grimoire of the Rift; not the same thing as the Gran Grimoire.

Except Mewt is the librarian of the library where Luso reads the book, from what I recall.  Also, Montblanc is in both games.

[VladCT]

I don't think Mewt being the librarian in Luso's school has anything to do with the Grimoire being either one and the same or two different things. Also, there's an interesting fan theory regarding Montblanc's appearance in the Dream Ivalice. That, and during the reading FMV, several illustrations appear as if the Grimoire was also describing people, which might also explain Ezel's appearance in both games.