Rikku's first impressions...

[Markus. D]

Okay, so yesterday I rented FFXII to see what was all the fuss about the game was...
I popped it in the PS2...Picked up my controller...Started playing...

Big dissapointment to me, big time. Why was I so dissapointed in Final Fantasy Twelve? I'll tell you why...

For one, the gameplay is tedious to the finest degree. To pause the action around you to attack, use items or whatnot is irratating. Unlike in FFX or other installments that keeps the action around you going. To pause, then wait for an action bar to fill up, only to pause the game again is aggravating. In other Final Fantasy games, when you defeat an enemy, you get exp. and gil at the same time, in Twelve; this is forgotten. I ask you why? It was practical and logical.

But not further explored on your behalf, you can edit the battle system in the config menu.

Another thing I was greatly dissapointed in was the appearence of the game. For a second there, I thought it was a Lord of the Rings, Star Wars crossover! I really was infuriated when I saw my beloved chocobos decorated in heavy armor. Chocobos in Ten were decorated in armor as well, but not to the extent of the ones in Twelve. Chocobo's are supposed to be realistic, but adorable. In Twelve, they lose their trademark cuteness. So have the moogles. Moogles have a cat-like appearence, but in Twelve, they take the shape of a rabbit! Way to break tradition Square!

Moogle keep to the same art style that were in the Previous Ivalice involved games, know your stuff ... Chocobos however... need clad to survive in wars :3

Another failure in Twelve is the shoddy storyline. Like I said before, the beginning of the whole thing looks like a Lord of the Rings clone. The story makes it seem out of place with the rest of the Final Fantasies. Although, I haven't gotten that far in the story yet, it seems to me, based by other posts here, that we don't have a specific main character. If that is true, then it's a failure. In a story, you must have a specific main character.

Yeah I thought it sucked ...

All in all, I'm very dissapointed in this latest installment of Final Fantasy. I was blown away by Final Fantasy Ten, but this game, doesn't make a dent.

They try something different with each installment, which I think is wonderful

Sorry to fans of Twelve, but this is Final Fantasies low point.

I don't really like it either... but your points aren't very researched at all...

[Tiamat3710]

what are you talking about 12 and 10 suck but especially 12 if people want to play a GOOD FF then do any game underneath the number nine

this game is so star wars theres the poor guy vaan (luke skywalker) the princess ashe (princess leia) the old but wise person basch (ben kenobi) theres the guy with smart ass comments and owns an airship (milenium falcon) balthier (han solo) theres fran the half human half animal (chewbacca) the wimpy annoying one penelo (c3po) and lord vayne which is basically darth vader i mean there called the freakin empire

[Yiazmat]

I can understand why Rikku is so obsessed with FFX. It's an incredible game!
It's a shame that some folks are so Anti-FFXII though. This isn't a game that you can one day, just decide to rent for a weekend and pick up and play for a couple of hours. I must confess that when I first played the game I was a bit skeptical and had a hard time grasping the battle system. Before I knew it over 282 hours had been invested in my first play through! I was simply blown away and fell in love with the battle system and everything else that the game has to offer. The "main" quest is just the beginning. The real FFXII is experienced by doing all of the hunts and side quests. Collecting all the different loot, weapons, armors, and accessories, is a game in itself! There's just so much to do and experience. It's now my absolute favorite Final Fantasy game! (thus far)

[Bolivar]

what are you talking about 12 and 10 suck but especially 12 if people want to play a GOOD FF then do any game underneath the number nine

this game is so star wars theres the poor guy vaan (luke skywalker) the princess ashe (princess leia) the old but wise person basch (ben kenobi) theres the guy with smart ass comments and owns an airship (milenium falcon) balthier (han solo) theres fran the half human half animal (chewbacca) the wimpy annoying one penelo (c3po) and lord vayne which is basically darth vader i mean there called the freakin empire

I said this shortly after the game came out and no one wanted to hear it, except I said Penelo was R2D2...

"I'm Vaan Ratsbane, I'm here to rescue you!"

[gudkid]

heck with this thread....
i've been reading this thread but i had to stop halfway through.
arguing, for me, is so primitive... just like a pack of cavemen going at each other for a piece of rock that is abundant around.
no matter how much so-called "reasoning" you put into it if you don't respect others' opinion, you'll end up being Hitler. no one's forcing you to like it but please don't force your side. i have played both games and i enjoyed both. i don't consider 10 better than 12 nor the other way around. each has their own flaws but have more good stuff in it. i like the entire series because each one of it's games are great in its own way.
no single game becomes appreciated if it's compared to other games' standards coz each has got standards of their own. just like what's happening here.
i hate it.

i suddenly recall a saying...
keep your mouth shut when you got nothing good to say...
all i'm saying is that saying something negative is good as long as it does not condemn something... hell, being a fanboy's cool but it becomes wrong if you start to demean other games.
FF10 and 12 was not all good but it was great for me. so please stop this bull...

[demondude]

what are you talking about 12 and 10 suck but especially 12 if people want to play a GOOD FF then do any game underneath the number nine

this game is so star wars theres the poor guy vaan (luke skywalker) the princess ashe (princess leia) the old but wise person basch (ben kenobi) theres the guy with smart ass comments and owns an airship (milenium falcon) balthier (han solo) theres fran the half human half animal (chewbacca) the wimpy annoying one penelo (c3po) and lord vayne which is basically darth vader i mean there called the freakin empire

It may have some inspiration from the star wars series but that dosent make it a bad game.
The only reasoning you seem to have is that star wars is slightly similar.
And I don't know what your on about by saying X sucks.

heck with this thread....
i've been reading this thread but i had to stop halfway through.
arguing, for me, is so primitive... just like a pack of cavemen going at each other for a piece of rock that is abundant around.
no matter how much so-called "reasoning" you put into it if you don't respect others' opinion, you'll end up being Hitler. no one's forcing you to like it but please don't force your side. i have played both games and i enjoyed both. i don't consider 10 better than 12 nor the other way around. each has their own flaws but have more good stuff in it. i like the entire series because each one of it's games are great in its own way.
no single game becomes appreciated if it's compared to other games' standards coz each has got standards of their own. just like what's happening here.
i hate it.

i suddenly recall a saying...
keep your mouth shut when you got nothing good to say...
all i'm saying is that saying something negative is good as long as it does not condemn something... hell, being a fanboy's cool but it becomes wrong if you start to demean other games.
FF10 and 12 was not all good but it was great for me. so please stop this bull...

Good point but there is a difference between debating and arguing.
Though I completely agree with the fanboy comment.

[Nifleheim7]

what are you talking about 12 and 10 suck but especially 12 if people want to play a GOOD FF then do any game underneath the number nine

this game is so star wars theres the poor guy vaan (luke skywalker) the princess ashe (princess leia) the old but wise person basch (ben kenobi) theres the guy with smart ass comments and owns an airship (milenium falcon) balthier (han solo) theres fran the half human half animal (chewbacca) the wimpy annoying one penelo (c3po) and lord vayne which is basically darth vader i mean there called the freakin empire

I said this shortly after the game came out and no one wanted to hear it, except I said Penelo was R2D2...

"I'm Vaan Ratsbane, I'm here to rescue you!"

I also completely agree with Tiamat about the Star Wars part...it was one of the reasons that after a while i stoped caring about the plot and characters.I love the old Star Wars trilogy but Final Fantasy has an obligation to always be unique.That Uniqueness unfortunately was lost with FFXII.It was very inspired by hollywood and an obvious attempt to lure the average western (mostly American) gamer.
BUT,i do like the game.It had so many other things that i liked that i forgive them for the lack of story and characters.Of course i know that this is only a matter of personal taste as i've come to know many people that liked it's story.

[Bolivar]

what are you talking about 12 and 10 suck but especially 12 if people want to play a GOOD FF then do any game underneath the number nine

this game is so star wars theres the poor guy vaan (luke skywalker) the princess ashe (princess leia) the old but wise person basch (ben kenobi) theres the guy with smart ass comments and owns an airship (milenium falcon) balthier (han solo) theres fran the half human half animal (chewbacca) the wimpy annoying one penelo (c3po) and lord vayne which is basically darth vader i mean there called the freakin empire

I said this shortly after the game came out and no one wanted to hear it, except I said Penelo was R2D2...

"I'm Vaan Ratsbane, I'm here to rescue you!"

I also completely agree with Tiamat about the Star Wars part...it was one of the reasons that after a while i stoped caring about the plot and characters.I love the old Star Wars trilogy but Final Fantasy has an obligation to always be unique.That Uniqueness unfortunately was lost with FFXII.It was very inspired by hollywood and an obvious attempt to lure the average western (mostly American) gamer.
BUT,i do like the game.It had so many other things that i liked that i forgive them for the lack of story and characters.Of course i know that this is only a matter of personal taste as i've come to know many people that liked it's story.

i also noticed recently the way the theme song delivered is alot like how they do it in the beginning of each star wars with the credits, which is alot in the same way they presented each "Chapter" of Omdore's diary.

The huge orchestral buildup and then the unleashing of the main theme...except its the final fantasy epilogue or wahtever and not the star wars one. If anything I think it's intentional, FF plays alot off of stereotypes and if so, I think it worked.

[Quindiana Jones]

I think 12's a great game. Different, yes. Annoying, sometimes. Good, absolutely. Some parts I hate, some parts I love. But I can say that about any game.

Overall, I think 12 is the only good FF on PS2. I hate 10, and 10-2. Well, not hate really. 10 was alright. 10-2 was rubbish though.

[Reasoniamalive]

I'd go through posting all my feelings about why I like this game and don't like it...but it's just easier to copy/paste from another forum I commented on this same topic:

BE WARNED THIS TEXT CONTAINS SPOILERS...THANKY!

I found XII extremely unsatisfying - mostly because of the storyline...or lack thereof. There is simply not enough character or story development. Even later on, when the world is falling apart - there's no evidence of it ~ you can freely roam anywhere in the world without it blowing apart or w/o insighting mass hysteria (unlike 6, 7, 10, etc.) Be warned; however, as I was in love with FFX - you may not appreciate my review. I gave FFXII 6.8/10. It would have gotten a much better score with a little more work by the developers to get rid of some monotony, ditch the license board for something a little bit more exponential (like the sphere grid) and story/character development.

My advice: Borrow it from a friend or go in on it together to pass 1 1/2 months away kicking the crap out of baddies. You'll be happy, your friend will be happy, and you won't think you've wasted $50 US (whatever it is by you) + money for the guide...

BTW: I've since played through the game again and have slightly improved ratings for it...it definitely does grow on you on seperate playthroughs.

[gudkid]

of course there are always blindspots on each and every game.... but you tend to enjoy it once you repeatedly play it disregarding the bad stuff.
nothing can annoy you unless you let it annoy you.
plus, like any other game, it actually grows on you...

[Quindiana Jones]

Oh God, not the Sphere Grid. That was like FF cancer. License Board is way better than that.

[Nifleheim7]

Oh God, not the Sphere Grid. That was like FF cancer. License Board is way better than that.

No it isn't.
Sphere Grid gave you much more control on how you wanted to develop your character and it was more in sync with the game.There wasn't a need for grinding.
In FFXII by the time you got some of the better abilities,you didn't really need them because your level was way higher than the monsters you confronted.

[Quindiana Jones]

I don't want control. It's an RPG. You get a mage, a fighter, a ranger, and some random thing that no-one is sure what it is. That's how it should be.

License grid still isn't as good as set jobs.

[Captain Maxx Power]

You people and your opinions make me sick!

Actually, scratch that. You people and your assumption that your opinion is right makes me sick. Seriously, listening to you people picking apart people's arguments as to why people like/don't like a guy and explain why they're wrong is just...poor form really.

Seriously guys, it's one thing to profess your love of a game, but to pull people's arguments apart just to reaffirm it? Get out more is all I'll say.