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View Full Version : Review of the FFXII demo..



Winter Nights
11-11-2005, 10:40 PM
http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3145629&did=1

Sounds good so far. Hopefully, the final game is as good as this demo makes it seem.

Necronopticous
11-13-2005, 10:37 AM
I played through the demo earlier tonight but that review said everything that I could say about it. I guess the only thing left to say is that I'm very happy to tell you the summon terminology "ESPER" has returned. I was very very happy playing through the demo earlier. It's way too short, the E3 build a year and a half ago had much, much more content.

Dreddz
11-13-2005, 10:41 AM
seems FFXII isnt a disappointment..........yay

Slothy
11-13-2005, 05:18 PM
Just skimmed the article and it doesn't seem to say much more than we already knew from earlier hands-on accounts. I'm dying to play the demo myself though. It's a shame I had to borrow $200 from my parents though. It'll be a while before I can pick up DQVIII.

tidus_rox
11-13-2005, 06:26 PM
http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3145629&did=1

Sounds good so far. Hopefully, the final game is as good as this demo makes it seem.
Oh yah! I win! Member me autum rain? Im tidus rox and i told u that ff xii is gunna be the last one and ur like NO ITS NOT and then u put it right there!!!!! Sucker i love winning! (no hard feelings):cool:

Mirage
11-13-2005, 06:36 PM
Um. "Final game" means the final version of FFXII, it's got nothing to do with when the series is going to end

silentenigma
11-14-2005, 01:29 AM
I'm definately worried about the return of the mission mode... It'll be fine as long as it doesn't make most of the story all choppy and insignificant.

Empu-Dragon
11-14-2005, 01:38 AM
im going to buy dragon quest just to play that demo.....yes im serious.....really im not joking

Shoeberto
11-14-2005, 03:02 AM
That's pretty interesting. I think they'll pull it off pretty well.

crashNUMBERS
11-14-2005, 03:14 AM
Is this demo "only" able to be aquired through Dragon Quest VIII?? If so, I better look at some DQ8 reviews...

DJZen
11-14-2005, 04:58 AM
It's dragon quest. That means it'll be cartooney, require lots of levelling up, and have a very traditional setting and battle system. And the main hero won't have a name.

crashNUMBERS
11-14-2005, 12:34 PM
Damn. I better buy Dragon Quest VIII the sooner or the FFXII demo's might run out. Did DQ8 come out yet??

Jowy
11-14-2005, 02:53 PM
Ships today, arrives tomorrow.

Mirage
11-14-2005, 05:48 PM
Looks like SEs plan is a success then ;). I probably shouldn't talk though, I bought ZoE because of the MGS2 demo ;/. I'd like to try the demo too, but first, I doubt DQ8 is even being released over here, and second, I can't afford another game right now.

FFGuevara
11-14-2005, 06:01 PM
I'm definately worried about the return of the mission mode...
You gotta be kidding...

crashNUMBERS
11-14-2005, 08:38 PM
Looks like SEs plan is a success then ;). I probably shouldn't talk though, I bought ZoE because of the MGS2 demo ;/. I'd like to try the demo too, but first, I doubt DQ8 is even being released over here, and second, I can't afford another game right now.
Ha, I hope they set their minds to thinking and set this hip to sail. Remember what happened when FFIII wasn't shipped??

Winter Nights
11-14-2005, 09:51 PM
Oh yah! I win! Member me autum rain? Im tidus rox and i told u that ff xii is gunna be the last one and ur like NO ITS NOT and then u put it right there!!!!! Sucker i love winning! (no hard feelings):cool:
That's not what I meant by "final". I meant the finished product.

Destai
11-14-2005, 10:06 PM
Ha, I hope they set their minds to thinking and set this hip to sail. Remember what happened when FFIII wasn't shipped??
Were you even born then?

crashNUMBERS
11-15-2005, 12:07 AM
Supposedly, Im just guessing, y'know, MAYBE, I just looked up the internet or found out some fan search and such, I dunno...

I may be young but I probably know more than some of you...

Russielloyd
11-15-2005, 04:18 PM
They said its basically FFXI offline with the battle system, which is ok as im use to the battles on FFXI but i feel cautious about not having full control of my other party members and if the leveling is the same as FFXI where it takes forever to do, it will get boring. The other aspects of the game look good, hopefully those two missions are just something leading on to the actual story, like in FF8 with the seeD test. I want to see some fancy weapons aswell, got to have the stylish weapons.

Miriel
11-15-2005, 05:04 PM
I really doubt that the level grind will be anywhere near as bad or as tedious as it is in FFXI.

But I really do like how similar it is to FFXI. Yay for the return of Mandragoras.

Necronopticous
11-15-2005, 06:49 PM
It's not going to take anywhere near as long as Final Fantasy XI to gain levels in Final Fantasy XII. All MMORPGs take months or even years to reach the top level because they want you to play for months and years and always have something to do so you'll keep sending that tasty monthly fee. There is a charm in an MMO taking that long to gain levels because you're doing it with friends and competing in a sense. If a single player game had that slow of a leveling system it would be painfully dull.

Russielloyd
11-15-2005, 07:04 PM
Well i meant not to the extent that its like FFXI but if takes longer than usual, like i though FFXI took a while to do.

It took me two months to get my WAR on FFXI to level 30.

Is there anything on how new abilites will be learnt? The other pages wouldnt load for me, so i only read the first page.

Big D
11-16-2005, 04:27 AM
Must say, I'm very optimistic after reading that demo review. I like the changes and innovations, but also the retention of key ideas.
Hopefully the 'mission' component won't detract from the ability to do things at one's own pace. I have a reasonable amount of faith that the finished product will have a good mix of events and styles.

Is it still going to be a two-disc game? I remember that being mentioned quite early on.

It's odd that a summon monster has been given an ability called 'roxxor'... I hope this isn't an example of n00bish getting incorporated into the game's script.

Rostum
11-16-2005, 09:38 AM
Wow, it looks like it's going to be a top notch game. I just hope the story line and character developments live up to the standards of the new innovative battle system and gameplay. =)

crashNUMBERS
11-16-2005, 12:41 PM
Man, this might end up just being my favorite FF. I gotta see what Gamespot and IGN say about it when it comes out...

Nucah
11-16-2005, 11:23 PM
I just got done playing the demo and it's pretty sweet. The only thing i have to complain about is that Vaan can summon an esper called Hasmal, and he looks exactly like Ifrit, and if Ifrit is replaced by Hasmal I will be forever sad.

Crossblades
11-17-2005, 12:39 AM
I just got done playing the demo and it's pretty sweet. The only thing i have to complain about is that Vaan can summon an esper called Hasmal, and he looks exactly like Ifrit, and if Ifrit is replaced by Hasmal I will be forever sad.

Me too:(

Duncan
11-17-2005, 05:31 AM
Well, I played the demo and I'm really not sure how i feel about it. As someone state earlier it felt alot like FFXI, no more random battles. The demo let you play in wait mode or active mode (one quest for each). Since I don't like the idea of letting the computer control 2/3 of my party, first thing I did was turn gambit mode off. As a result, I found that I enjoyed playing in wait mode since there is alot more going on. However, since I've only played through it once I'm sure that once I got used to the gameplay mechanics that I would be fine running in active mode with gambit turned off.

The demo was quite short in my opinion and therefore I don't think I really got a good feel for how the final product will turn out. I will say that I'm a little disappointed that they've moved away from the random battles and the changing from battle mode to adventure mode, that for me has always been one of the things that make a FF game feel like an FF game. Yes, I know, games have to evolve but I like what i like.

One thing that did bother me was that during some of the fights i ended up not being able to even see some of the members of my group. Because the camera follows the main character, I noticed that when I would tell my team to 'attack' that two of them would move in for the melee fighting and as a result the third (ranged) character (Penelo or Balthier, depending on whether I was doing the active or wait mode) would end up behind me and off camera. Yes it's minor, but I'm just used to being able to see my team. Hopefully, in the final product, there's an option that you could set that always keeps the entire team in view or something like that.

One interesting thing to note was that once you chose to attack an enemy, it showed you exactly what it's weakness was. I thought that was interesting as it seems to take a bit away from the game, esp when it comes to encountering a new enemy that you know nothing about.

So, basically, I don't know how I feel about it. To a certain extent it didn't 'feel' like a FF game, but on the other hand it felt like I was right at home, (menus, espers, potion, hi-potion, etc.). I'm interested to see how the final product turns out.

Slothy
11-17-2005, 05:49 PM
The demo was quite short in my opinion and therefore I don't think I really got a good feel for how the final product will turn out. I will say that I'm a little disappointed that they've moved away from the random battles and the changing from battle mode to adventure mode, that for me has always been one of the things that make a FF game feel like an FF game. Yes, I know, games have to evolve but I like what i like.

You said it yourself, games have to evolve. To be honest, I'm more excited for this game because of the battle system than I would have been had they used a traditional turn based random encounter style. Frankly after 11 games in this series which all used random encounters and turn based combat, I'm pretty sick of it at this point. The main thing I like is the fact that I'll be able to see the enemies on screen and avoid them if I choose. Random battles become annoying sometimes, especially if you're trying to get to a save point because you have to stop playing or something. And I don't see why they didn't ditch random battles years ago.

Duncan
11-17-2005, 06:17 PM
Random battles become annoying sometimes, especially if you're trying to get to a save point because you have to stop playing or something.

I definitely know what you're talking about there. As I've thought about it more I don't think it's the randomness that I'll miss. I think it's the feeling that I'm losing a bit of control with the gambit mode and the fact that once you select and attack, I don't have to do anything else. Or rather, I can do something else, but the game doesn't force me to choose and action. However, I've played through the demo again and, now that I knew what to expect, felt much more comfortable with the gameplay mechanics.

Truth be told, everytime a new FF game comes out I always go through a period of, "What the...why did the designers do that?" time until I get comfortable with the gameplay mechanics. Since I do enjoy controlling the entire group (no gambit for me) wait mode seems like it will be my play style of choice when it's released. It's just too hectic for me in active mode (I guess i'm getting old).

Sephex
11-17-2005, 10:41 PM
I liked the demo. Uh...that's all I got to say about that. The full version should be all good.

Nucah
11-18-2005, 05:48 AM
I agree with Duncan, I really don't like that fact that when I am attacking i can only see the main character that I am controlling. Turn based I think it is nice having all of your character at least so you can see them all doing something, it makes you feel like they are more of a team and it makes you feel like the characters are more part of the game because you are interacting with them more.

Duncan
11-19-2005, 04:57 AM
Well, I played through it again, and I'm liking it less. When you leave gambit on in particular there doesn't seem to be any challenge. The AI automatically heals you when you need it and you just hack away. I preferred when I was in complete control and The game would ask me each turn what I wanted to do with each character. It doesn't seem to be much of a challenge. What would be nice is an option that would either let the game go on autopilot in battles or have the ability to choose the action for each character for each turn (like in previous games). That option, coupled with active/wait mode option would allow the player to tailor the game a bit for how they want to play and make everyone happy.

Slothy
11-19-2005, 01:38 PM
I doubt I'd mind the computer controlling the other characters myself. I loved games like KH and Tales of Symphonia, both of which had the computer controlling the other characters and it didn't bother me one bit. I'll have to decide which I like more in FF12 though once I can see how it's implemented there.