Getting lost

When I played this game for the first time, I wanted to do all the extra stuff. All the hunts, summon battles, everything! But there was so much and the world was so huge that I got all wrapped up in that and ended up getting bored with the game. So I left it and didn't pick it back up again for 2 years when I finally decided to just go through it and beat it.

Did anyone else feel that way about this game? I'm guessing many others did, since with FFXIII they did the opposite, gave you very little freedom of exploration and questing and put you right on a straight path to the end (or at least to Chapter 11).

I found it a tad frustrating having to trek all over the place to do stuff. I mean, being able to see the world was great and I would rather have that then make it linear, but it made it tough to remember where I was going and what I was doing.

I was very impressed with the scale of the crafted world at first, but that appeal ran out when it became more and more apparent Ivalice was the star of the game and the plot was an excuse to make you run around in it. That hike to (SPOILER)Archades really tested my patience.

I went for a perfect game and gave up. Too much :bou::bou::bou::bou: to sift through.

FFXII is one of the only FFs where I actually enjoyed exploring. I liked running around every huge new map to find out what new chests and baddies there were. FFXII did a lot of things wrong (the chest system itself comes to mind...), but I think scale and exploration were big positives.

EDIT: though I can understand the concerns that it slowed down the plot. The pacing of the plot was indeed very bad, and I did find myself caring very little later on. However, I think that could have been dealt with without scaling back too much on the exploration positive.

Like Raistlin I think that the problem doesn't lie so much with the exploration factor itself but rather with the largely uninteresting plot. There's hardly ever any desire to move on with the story past a certain point for me. The gameplay and the exploration is fun, which makes it easy to pretty much forget about the plot and stop caring.

The way the open world exploration, combat and side-quests came together was done perfectly. I'd say FFXII is the most fun to actually play. Of course the story and other aspects of the game suffered because of it. So while I do think its flawed its still a massively enjoyable game for me.

It would be nice if the enormous areas actually had any content besides the occasional Hunt marks. Knots of rust and pots with 3 gil in it don't count!

Yeah I was sick of those knots of rust by the end of it.

I loved it, although I will admit the Yensa Sandsea thing is beyond irritating/

I never had much of a problem with it. While I agree the treasure chest deal in XII made hunting treasure far less enjoyable, I did love uncovering little secrets and optional bosses. I also loved the return of towns whose only purpose was to act a safe haven for the characters as opposed to it being relevant to the plot.

I'm pretty much with Dreddz on this one. The game is certainly flawed but I feel it's one of the more enjoyable to actually playthrough.

The best thing about FFXII was the immersion in the world, and how they had the balls to not allow players to actually 'warp' wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

My problem is kind of the opposite. When there's so much exploring and so many sidequests to do, I tend to put them off and then never do them. I'm always more interested in the plot than learning more about wolves and trees. Then I finish the game, and it's all just too much to do at once.

I do like the plot though. It grows on me with each playthrough.

I just went through XIII for the first time a couple weeks ago, and now I'm playing through XII again. After XIII, everything that people seem to complain about in XII is like a breath of fresh air to me.

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Originally Posted by Merry

I do like the plot though. It grows on me with each playthrough.

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I'll attest to this as well. On my first couple of playthroughs, it was easy to miss a lot of the intricacies of the plot... This game definitely does not spoon-feed its story to the player.

FF12 was less limited then FF13, I have to admit. I have hated the constrictions of 13.
To be honest, it reminded me a bit of FF10... For some reason, 10, 12 and 13 seems to lack some freedom that the other FF had... I wonder why.

The battle system frustrated me a bit, but the challenges of the quest were great, even if they sidetracked the gameplay.
Training was gruesome...

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Originally Posted by Setzer the Gambler

For some reason, 10, 12 and 13 seems to lack some freedom that the other FF had... I wonder why.

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It's cause they don't have a world map! I miss the world map. :(

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Originally Posted by Rantzien

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Originally Posted by Setzer the Gambler

For some reason, 10, 12 and 13 seems to lack some freedom that the other FF had... I wonder why.

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It's cause they don't have a world map! I miss the world map. :(

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You are completely right!!!
Man...
Well, there is a map in FF10, but it's not... it's not the same feeling.

I hate World Maps because I want to walk all over the towns and pretend Squall is a giant monster but every time I try I just go inside :(

I'd definitely side with the people who enjoyed exploring on this one because I would place myself in that category. Initially I was a bit miffed by the lack of a world map as I felt that FFX didn't make the loss worthwhile, but FFXII did it perfectly, in my view. The world was very immersive and I greatly enjoyed wandering around locations, scouting out all of the map and bumped into new enemies. The fact that enemies wandered around on screen in front of you, rather than random encounters, was good fun too.

As to whether or not it slowed down the plot, I don't remember thinking as much at the time, though I'll admit I've only done the one playthrough of FFXII and that was when it came out (4 years ago!). I generally found that the plot kept my interest throughout, though I'd definitely class it as 'interesting' rather than 'exciting.'

The treasure system was an absolute nightmare though. I'd much rather they'd just kept to set loots from each one.

The only times I disliked exploring is when you were wandering around and a cure gambit made an elemental or an entity decide it wanted to destroy you. :(

Maybe a detailed world like the Ivalice in Final Fantasy XII would be better approached as a mission type of game rather than a game with a seemingly linear plot.

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Originally Posted by Roogle

Maybe a detailed world like the Ivalice in Final Fantasy XII would be better approached as a mission type of game rather than a game with a seemingly linear plot.

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Yes, especially if they could make it all one piece.

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Originally Posted by Setzer the Gambler

To be honest, it reminded me a bit of FF10... For some reason, 10, 12 and 13 seems to lack some freedom that the other FF had... I wonder why.

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I'm sorry, is this meant to be a joke? you think XII lacked freedom? I'm not trying to be condescending I really think your mistaking XII for some other game.

Yeah, Murd, I was exactly the same when I played it through. I struggled to remember what was going on in the storyline when I did get back into it, too, and I think I actually ended up starting over.

You're not the only one who struggled with this---i've heard many a gamer comment on similiar irritations.

I myself seem to be an exception to most things regarding FFXII(and even FFX, for that matter). I've never lost interest in the plot, even when the game requires me to go through several different enviornments and fight a variety of fiends(and be chased by the occasional elemental). I like the freedom of exploration that this game offers. I love the fact that you have to work for your plot essential information, and that in order to achieve full game completion you have to dedicate time, patience, and strategy to the game. And I love the fact that each time I play this game I find something new and interesting about the story(something I haven't found in a game since Shenmue). The plot is subtle, as are the characters. For some people, subtly such as this is not very effective in capturing their interest. Personally, I don't like to have everything spelled out for me---I like to get frusterated at difficult bosses, I like to have to pay close attention to the character dialogue, and I even liked being randomly assaulted by elementals.

Once again, I seem to be the exception. And while I don't share your qualms about this game, I can understand how the way the story and world of Ivalice has been set up can be difficult and frusterating to people who don't have my specific oddities and quirks.