I can post this in General but decided here would work as well.

I've never played Tactics, I have it, I started picking it up but didn't really get into it, then again, I got bored at the tutorial.

But anyway, I keep hearing supposedly that FFXII is set in a similar or same world as Tactics. But what I just wanna make clear is, what exactly DO they have in common?

All I know is the existance of Bangaas and Vieras and Nu Mou and such, I actually didn't know that until recently, but that explains how from the start of XII it seemed they somewhat expected us to be familiar with these species.

But... I heard the world is also called Ivalice, but does it have any of the same locations? Or do they just share a name and set of races? I wouldn't expect much of the same people or anything.

Also, all the Espers in XII seemed to come out of nowhere as unfamiliar characters unlike the classic array of summons used in the previous games. Their names were kept, as ships though.

But this set of summons... like Zalera, Adrammelech, Belias etc., are these names from Tactics? Or are they totally new, because I've never seen them before. Then again I haven't played FFI through FFV.

Just, in short, what do these games have in common? As much as XIII and Versus do?

You are correct, this can be posted in General FF.

And there it shall be moved, as it covers two FF games.

They have the world Ivalice, also Tactics Advance and XII share the same races.

Useless knowledge: Vandal Hearts takes places in the same world as Ivalice.

FFT, FFTA, FFXII, Revenant Wings, and FFTA2 all have something in common: They all take place in some part of Ivalice.

But none share the same locations?

They normally aren't the same locations as the time periods are different. Where in the time periods they take place, no one knows. Some theories involve the kingdom of Ivalice being different sizes depending on the game/time period.

Well, except for Revenant Wings since I'm sure that's a direct sequel to XII.

The biggest tie in between FFXII and Tactics is that the summons in FFXII are the main villains in Tactics. Otherwise, the games have surprisingly little in common for two games that take place in the same world.

And the races... and Montblanc. (TA)

I was only really talking about the original Tactics. TA is even harder to place on the Ivalice timeline, if it's part of the timeline at all.

I thought it was an illusionary Ivalice, but then wtf are Vaan, Penelo, Al Cid and co doing in TA2 Ivalice if it's fake? The FFTA series seems to take a more "Never Ending Story" approach to it, at least that's my take on it.

Some theories suggest that at the end of TA when the kids get back "home" their made up world lived on, hence leading to XII.

Yeah, I've heard that theory. I always assumed that the world the children live in at the start of FFTA was a future Ivalice; thus why there was a magical book depicting all the old races.


I thought it was an illusionary Ivalice, but then wtf are Vaan, Penelo, Al Cid and co doing in TA2 Ivalice if it's fake?
Unlike FFTA, FFTA2 has been confirmed to take place in the real Ivalice. They may not be directly related to each other at all.

I mean more like the kid reading the book and traveling to a world different from his own.