The Official Final Fantasy XII Thread!

[Masquerouge]

So I got it yesterday and played for about 4 hours. I'm not very happy with the game so far. It is gorgeous and I like the battle system but cut scenes are to much for my liking. Granted I haven't played it a whole lot I just hope it picks up the pace some.

People say the game picks up after 3-6 hours. I'm barely at 2 right now so... cut scenes

About strategy guides: I usually really like to try games without reading the strategy game. Now what I find really, really irritating is when you can not get the best stuff without reading said strategy game - a not-so-subtle scheme to make you buy it? Xanikk I really wished you had used the spoiler tag, that way I wouldn't have read your comment. I KNOW I opened that freakin'chest.

 

[Masquerouge]

WARNING: FOR PLAYERS OF FFXII WHO WANT THE BEST WEAPON IN THE GAME READ THIS!!

Spoiler :

It says in the strategy guide DONT open up the chest near the guy you have to talk to in the undertown. I forgot his name but if you open that chest you cant get the best weapon late in the game. So dont open any chests in the south sprawl of the undertown just to be sure.

And theres a couple more chests later in the game you cant open if you want your ultimate weapon. Look them up or be prepared for grief.

I had to restart because i opened the chest without reading the strategy guide.

Okay besides using the spoiler tag (Xanikk check how I used them ) here's what I have to say about this.

If this is true, it plainly sucks.
I believe the general consensus among Final Fantasy players is that if you play well, explore most of the stuff and use your brains, you will be able to come to 100% completion, and you will be able to get the ultimate weapons.
Ultimate weapons are a feature of Final Fantasy games. They usually were a side quest of their own.
I remember having to cross-breed chocobos to get KOTR in FF7. To do some weird side quests to get them in FFXII (dodging lightning bolts 200 times anyone?). But always, always, I had the chance to get them.

Now if to get the Ultimate Weapon you HAVE to read the strategy game, and if furthermore you can actually screw your chances to get it right at the very beginning, it sucks. What fun is that? I did not do anything stupid, I play the game the way it's intended, and my reward is that I won't be able to get the Ultimate Weapon? Well thanks, Square!

 

[Matrix]

Moderator Action: No problem.

 

[Sullla]

WARNING: FOR PLAYERS OF FFXII WHO WANT THE BEST WEAPON IN THE GAME READ THIS!!

If what Xanikk99 has posted is true, I concur with Masquerouge that this is horrible game design on the part of Square. No one should HAVE to read a strategy guide to get the most out of their game. That seems like an unbelievably anal way of forcing people to purchase the "Official Strategy Guide" (TM) which tells everyone how to play the game for them. So much for figuring things out on your own, eh? Good thing Square would never do that... oh wait, that's EXACTLY what Final Fantasy X-2 was like.

More seriously, could we possibly get some non-fanboyish evaluations of this game? All of the reviews are in love with this game, but that doesn't really mean anything, due to the legion of fans of the Final Fantasy series. I'm intrigued by the open-ended customization of the characters, but certain parts of the game design seem dubious, at best (you program the AI to fight for you?!) So for those of you who have the game, is it worth buying? Keep in mind I've played dozens of Square games by now, and the "story" isn't going to interest me much.

 

[Xanikk999]

If what Xanikk99 has posted is true, I concur with Masquerouge that this is horrible game design on the part of Square. No one should HAVE to read a strategy guide to get the most out of their game. That seems like an unbelievably anal way of forcing people to purchase the "Official Strategy Guide" (TM) which tells everyone how to play the game for them. So much for figuring things out on your own, eh? Good thing Square would never do that... oh wait, that's EXACTLY what Final Fantasy X-2 was like.

More seriously, could we possibly get some non-fanboyish evaluations of this game? All of the reviews are in love with this game, but that doesn't really mean anything, due to the legion of fans of the Final Fantasy series. I'm intrigued by the open-ended customization of the characters, but certain parts of the game design seem dubious, at best (you program the AI to fight for you?!) So for those of you who have the game, is it worth buying? Keep in mind I've played dozens of Square games by now, and the "story" isn't going to interest me much.

You can control the AI if you want. Gambits are just an option.

 

[Xanikk999]

I have to agree with the above posters that was a bad game design thing. They should not punish players for opening chests.

However i have some GOOD NEWS ABOUT THIS.

You can still get the ultimate weapon!!!

But its in a certain chest and it only has a 10% chance of you getting it. So you have to reload and reload until you get it im afraid.

 

[Sullla]

You can still get the ultimate weapon!!!

But its in a certain chest and it only has a 10% chance of you getting it. So you have to reload and reload until you get it im afraid.

Oh, well that makes everything better. If you can still get it from a random dice roll.

Seriously, what kind of weed were the people at Square smoking on this?

 

[Xanikk999]

Oh, well that makes everything better. If you can still get it from a random dice roll.

Seriously, what kind of weed were the people at Square smoking on this?

I dont know. I agree its bad game design to punish players for this but at the same time most games use some form of "hidden" dice roll.

Your civ4 does for example. I cant imagine how many times i lose 50% battles when the AI wins bad odd battles frequently.

But FFXII is still a good game.

You dont need to buy the guide either just have an internet connection if theres anything you need to figure out.

 

[Ecclesiastes]

I dont know. I agree its bad game design to punish players for this but at the same time most games use some form of "hidden" dice roll.

Your civ4 does for example. I cant imagine how many times i lose 50% battles when the AI wins bad odd battles frequently.

But FFXII is still a good game.

You dont need to buy the guide either just have an internet connection if theres anything you need to figure out.

The point is though is that you shouldnt need to look things up at all to get the secrets, you should be able to figure them out on your own, face it man, its bad game design.

 

[skadistic]

More seriously, could we possibly get some non-fanboyish evaluations of this game? All of the reviews are in love with this game, but that doesn't really mean anything, due to the legion of fans of the Final Fantasy series. I'm intrigued by the open-ended customization of the characters, but certain parts of the game design seem dubious, at best (you program the AI to fight for you?!) So for those of you who have the game, is it worth buying? Keep in mind I've played dozens of Square games by now, and the "story" isn't going to interest me much.

While I have played all but FFXI (including some games like chocobo racing and others like 1,2,3 on both NES and Gameboy) I am not a fan boy. After several hours of play I'm still not entierly thrilled. Cut screens are far to often and long. Areas are small and chopped up into to many sections that need load times. The grafix are top notch. The battle system I loved out the box but after some time when the fine tuning comes in to play it gets way better. Allowing the AI to take control of the other characters is very well done. I like the non-random monsters. I didn't think I would but like the battle system it turned well. I'd give it a 6/10. The cut screens and area layout coupled with the load times just kills alot for me. If you get it get it on sale like I did its just not worth the $52.

 

[Sullla]

Your civ4 does for example. I cant imagine how many times i lose 50% battles when the AI wins bad odd battles frequently.

You lost a battle at 50% odds? OMG! The AI must be cheating!!!

Thanks for an intelligent response, skadistic. My least favorite thing about Square's recent games has been their desire to replace actual gameplay with endless cut-scene sequences. Kingdom Hearts II was especially bad, getting to the point where I started to wonder, "when do I actually get to PLAY the darn game instead of watching it?" That's not to say I won't still pick up this title at some point, but it doesn't make me want to rush out and buy it now.

 

[Xanikk999]

Fine dont play the game. Im just saying its not the end of the world or a terrible game just because of some minor flaws.

Oh and if you dont like the cinematics you can skip them.

 

[Masquerouge]

More seriously, could we possibly get some non-fanboyish evaluations of this game? All of the reviews are in love with this game, but that doesn't really mean anything, due to the legion of fans of the Final Fantasy series. I'm intrigued by the open-ended customization of the characters, but certain parts of the game design seem dubious, at best (you program the AI to fight for you?!) So for those of you who have the game, is it worth buying? Keep in mind I've played dozens of Square games by now, and the "story" isn't going to interest me much.

here's a quick review.

1. The story
the usual hero gets involved in planetary-sized plots. Move along

2. the battle system
extremely good. The gambit system is very clever, and basically allow you to customize the other three members of the party so that they will play like you would - with one exception: black/offensive magic (everything but white actually). Either I'm still lacking the proper gambit, or I'm missing something, but I find myself not using black magic at all in the gambits, because MP are scarce, ether are scarcier, and thus I do not want to run out of them. I guess it's a flaw on my part, but currently I have guys doing physical attacks backed up by guys casting cure and giving potions when HPs are low. Hey actually I just thought of a gambit I could use to cast black magic - gotta try that

3. The license system
this is quite good. The only trouble is that you have to constantly switch between your license board and shop inventories to see what you can buy next - both the license and the item, and this is awkward because you basically have to exit the shop, open the license board, check, exit the license board, enter the shop, try to find the item...
But other than that it works fine. License points are not that hard to get (just slow, and not very slow, so...) so eventually I plan to get every license for every character. I like the way some characters are adventurers on the license board, going broadly when no licenses have ever been bought before, and allowing the other characters to benefit from that knowledge and beeline for that specific license.

4. the world map
Skadistic says it's fragmented. That might be true at the beginning, but it gets freakin'HUGE where I'm at currently (right before the tomb of King watchamacallit.) I guess Square had to compromize between area size and loading time, and they did a good job. Monsters roam freely and it's easy to avoid them if you must - like when you only have one guy left standing and have to exit the Bhurjuba mines

Overall my feeling so far is that it's one of the best additions to the FF series - on par with 7 and 10.

 

[Xanikk999]

here's a quick review.

1. The story
the usual hero gets involved in planetary-sized plots. Move along

2. the battle system
extremely good. The gambit system is very clever, and basically allow you to customize the other three members of the party so that they will play like you would - with one exception: black/offensive magic (everything but white actually). Either I'm still lacking the proper gambit, or I'm missing something, but I find myself not using black magic at all in the gambits, because MP are scarce, ether are scarcier, and thus I do not want to run out of them. I guess it's a flaw on my part, but currently I have guys doing physical attacks backed up by guys casting cure and giving potions when HPs are low. Hey actually I just thought of a gambit I could use to cast black magic - gotta try that

3. The license system
this is quite good. The only trouble is that you have to constantly switch between your license board and shop inventories to see what you can buy next - both the license and the item, and this is awkward because you basically have to exit the shop, open the license board, check, exit the license board, enter the shop, try to find the item...
But other than that it works fine. License points are not that hard to get (just slow, and not very slow, so...) so eventually I plan to get every license for every character. I like the way some characters are adventurers on the license board, going broadly when no licenses have ever been bought before, and allowing the other characters to benefit from that knowledge and beeline for that specific license.

4. the world map
Skadistic says it's fragmented. That might be true at the beginning, but it gets freakin'HUGE where I'm at currently (right before the tomb of King watchamacallit.) I guess Square had to compromize between area size and loading time, and they did a good job. Monsters roam freely and it's easy to avoid them if you must - like when you only have one guy left standing and have to exit the Bhurjuba mines

Overall my feeling so far is that it's one of the best additions to the FF series - on par with 7 and 10.

Hey we are at the same spot in the game! Im crossing the sand sea right now.

 

[Masquerouge]

Hey we are at the same spot in the game! Im crossing the sand sea right now.

Spoiler :

I'm having a bit of trouble actually - I went to the tomb but got my arse handed to me on a plate by the boss guarding the entrance. I know it has to do with that whole Monster-eating-nomads thing, and I killed it, but I guess I had to go back to talk with the moogle who handled me that quest. So now I'm heading back to him.

PS: don't tell me if I'm right or wrong

So what level are your guys? Vaance is 16 and the rest 14, besides my guest who's 18...

 

[Xanikk999]

Spoiler :

I'm having a bit of trouble actually - I went to the tomb but got my arse handed to me on a plate by the boss guarding the entrance. I know it has to do with that whole Monster-eating-nomads thing, and I killed it, but I guess I had to go back to talk with the moogle who handled me that quest. So now I'm heading back to him.

PS: don't tell me if I'm right or wrong

So what level are your guys? Vaance is 16 and the rest 14, besides my guest who's 18...

Before i went to that city after rabanastre that starts with a B. I leveled up vaan to like level 16 in the westersand. He killed monsters by himself for like 200 xp per mob.

(This was before i realized how to put people in your party manually.)

Right now vaan is lvl 24 and the rest 17-18.

 

[Chukchi Husky]

I don't think I'll get it, or any of the Final Fantasy games, and try to avoid it.

 

[skadistic]

here's a quick review.

1. The story
the usual hero gets involved in planetary-sized plots. Move along

2. the battle system
extremely good. The gambit system is very clever, and basically allow you to customize the other three members of the party so that they will play like you would - with one exception: black/offensive magic (everything but white actually). Either I'm still lacking the proper gambit, or I'm missing something, but I find myself not using black magic at all in the gambits, because MP are scarce, ether are scarcier, and thus I do not want to run out of them. I guess it's a flaw on my part, but currently I have guys doing physical attacks backed up by guys casting cure and giving potions when HPs are low. Hey actually I just thought of a gambit I could use to cast black magic - gotta try that

3. The license system
this is quite good. The only trouble is that you have to constantly switch between your license board and shop inventories to see what you can buy next - both the license and the item, and this is awkward because you basically have to exit the shop, open the license board, check, exit the license board, enter the shop, try to find the item...
But other than that it works fine. License points are not that hard to get (just slow, and not very slow, so...) so eventually I plan to get every license for every character. I like the way some characters are adventurers on the license board, going broadly when no licenses have ever been bought before, and allowing the other characters to benefit from that knowledge and beeline for that specific license.

4. the world map
Skadistic says it's fragmented. That might be true at the beginning, but it gets freakin'HUGE where I'm at currently (right before the tomb of King watchamacallit.) I guess Square had to compromize between area size and loading time, and they did a good job. Monsters roam freely and it's easy to avoid them if you must - like when you only have one guy left standing and have to exit the Bhurjuba mines

Overall my feeling so far is that it's one of the best additions to the FF series - on par with 7 and 10.

Point 1. Moving on.

Point 2. Tip on gambits: If your in an area with flying monsters you can't hit with swords put the attack flying enamy gambit matched up with black magic. You get more gambits then you'll know what to do with. Buy all the ones in rabanester.

Point 3. To cut down on the menu jumping look for whats lit up. After I realized that if you have an item that you still need the licence for it will be high lighted in the licence menu and if you have a licence but not an item it will be high lighted at the shop menu and the characters in the upper corner will be highlighted too. I'm daft and it took me forever to notice that.

Spoiler :

In the Giza plain there are monsters that give you 2 LP. And there is also an accessory that gives 2x LP put the two together and you get stuff right quick.

Point 4. I got a 167 chain in the sand sea. Fun times. Those are the biggest places I've seen so far.

 

[Masquerouge]

Point 2. Tip on gambits: If your in an area with flying monsters you can't hit with swords put the attack flying enamy gambit matched up with black magic. You get more gambits then you'll know what to do with. Buy all the ones in rabanester.

Mmmh. I guess you're way further ahead than me - I've bought all the gambits in Rabanaster but I don't recall having the ennemy - Flying...

Point 3. To cut down on the menu jumping look for whats lit up. After I realized that if you have an item that you still need the licence for it will be high lighted in the licence menu and if you have a licence but not an item it will be high lighted at the shop menu and the characters in the upper corner will be highlighted too. I'm daft and it took me forever to notice that.

Spoiler :

In the Giza plain there are monsters that give you 2 LP. And there is also an accessory that gives 2x LP put the two together and you get stuff right quick.

Yeah, I finally noticed that but still sometimes I say, okay I need to buy that, then do it, then exit the shop, and spend all my license points before I realize I forgot to buy the license for the stuff I just bought, so I have to reload.

Point 4. I got a 167 chain in the sand sea. Fun times. Those are the biggest places I've seen so far.

He he. This is where I got my 100+ chain too. But I noticed the chain level stopped increasing after I reached 40something... Furthermore, do you know why, when you're in the high numbers, some are red, some are yelloy, some are glistening yellow?

 

[skadistic]

Mmmh. I guess you're way further ahead than me I spent two days with a killer intestinal virus so I had some extra inbetween the frequent bathroom visits - I've bought all the gambits in Rabanaster but I don't recall having the ennemy - Flying... Hmmm not sure where I got it then, maybe the second city? I have also found several the treasure chests that lay about.


Yeah, I finally noticed that but still sometimes I say, okay I need to buy that, then do it, then exit the shop, and spend all my license points before I realize I forgot to buy the license for the stuff I just bought, so I have to reload. I have resorted to pen and paper. I scroll through see whats best then kill a few badies then go back. Its kinda annoying to have to go back and forth.



He he. This is where I got my 100+ chain too. But I noticed the chain level stopped increasing after I reached 40something... Furthermore, do you know why, when you're in the high numbers, some are red, some are yelloy, some are glistening yellow?I think the colour may have to do with the kind of bonus you get like shell, protect or extra health but don't hold me to that.

I'm currently on a few hunts but cant get two in particular....

Spoiler :

Gil snapper in the Giza. You have to open an extra area by chopping down trees then do something durring "heavy rains" not sure what but I went in durring the rain and nothing happened. The other is in the westernsands and it too is dependant on weather. How? Hell if I can tell yet.