So I'm Finally Gonna Play XII

[Forsaken Lover]

Well I insist on being years behind everyone else and I think it's about time I played this game.

I have to ask first though. I know there are a couple "sequels" but I can't play either of them because Squeenix sucks balls and put them on the DS.

I'm just wondering if they suck and don't really expand the story and thus I can ignore them and not feel inadequate?

[Saber]

I haven't played the other games besides Tactics and Tactics Advanced. I own Vagrant story, but never played it much. The thing with 12 is you have to be up for side quests or the game isn't much. Storyline isn't all that great, but the side quests are awesome. There's so many things in FFXII thats hidden so I suggest you get the brandy guide and look stuff up online if you are still lost.

[Forsaken Lover]

Oh i always use a strategy guide for games to make sure I find items that will be helpful. People who don't use guides are purist fools. (no offense if there are any such people reading this thread)
I don't use the guides for boss fights typically, though. The guides just tell me which quest to go on to get which nifty and useful item/weapon.

[ANGRYWOLF]

How can I say this ?

FFXII got a huge favorable rating from various reviewers when it came out.
It had a lot of fans who loved it even though they hadn't played it.They thought it was the best FF ever.
If you felt differently then..well..you know.
As time has gone by most of the fans seems to have withered away and now most people I talk to about the game recognize it has some serious deficiencies.
There are still a few people that feel it's a good game, mostly because of the hunts.

I liked the hunt idea I just felt it didn't go far enough.


I haven't played Revenant Wings so I don't know how it ends or if it fills in some of the gaps in the story.

I hope you enjoy FFXII.Let us know if you have any questions.

[Wolf Kanno]

XII has two direct sequels though it is attached to the original Tactics and Vagrant Story as well but they happen 1000 years after the events of the Cataclysm so there is only a few things that keep them connected (mostly the Lucavi/Espers).

I don't particulary care for RW as it sorta feels like XII smashed into a bit of the X story frame with a mediocre RTS battle system. Most of the cast feel like caricatures of themselves as opposed to how they are presented in XII and the plot tries to come off epic but always seems to misstep somewhere. I can't give a good recommendation but take that with a grain of salt cause I know our taste differ greatly from each other. Some people feel the cast is more "lively" in RW than they were in XII.

FFTA2 is a semi-sequel as four characters from XII do show up and have roles that give them a bit of a larger purpose than simple cameo. Mostly you finally get to see Vaan and Penelo as adults and Al-Cid reappears as well as Gurdy (he's a very minor NPC in XII) gets more of a starring role. Montblanc also weasels his way in as fan service character. Its actually a really good game but its not important to understanding the story of XII. XII is pretty much self contained.

[Mirage]

Oh i always use a strategy guide for games to make sure I find items that will be helpful. People who don't use guides are purist fools. (no offense if there are any such people reading this thread)
I don't use the guides for boss fights typically, though. The guides just tell me which quest to go on to get which nifty and useful item/weapon.

People who don't use guides actually want to use their brains when they play. Have fun following a guide like a mindless drone.

[Saber]

Oh i always use a strategy guide for games to make sure I find items that will be helpful. People who don't use guides are purist fools. (no offense if there are any such people reading this thread)
I don't use the guides for boss fights typically, though. The guides just tell me which quest to go on to get which nifty and useful item/weapon.

People who don't use guides actually want to use their brains when they play. Have fun following a guide like a mindless drone.

I think some things in 12 are too hard to just figure out without a guide. I find it hard to believe that anyone would know the lava eater or hell even some main game hunts on their own. I know a guy who has played the game for 200+ hours and was still no where near I was with 120 hours. I almost had game completed and he just finished the story line. This guy is a good player at Final Fantasy too, its just this one game I would suggest to use a guide. It makes life a lot easier on you.

I'm sure if he just wanted to get through story line he would be able to manage. Sure he'll get stuck but nothing major. I'm just talking about the secrets of the game. If you want everything in the game.

[Forsaken Lover]

People who don't use guides actually want to use their brains when they play. Have fun following a guide like a mindless drone.

Yeah, you have a great time using your brain in Final Fantasy X-2. You'll get 100% no problem using just your brain. Your brain will tell you you have to choose the Youth League in order to get 100%. Your brain will tell you you have to immediately talk to O'aka as soon as he comes on the airship in order to get .1% story completion. Your brain will tell you there's a secret hidden dungeon in the Mi'hen Highread and you have to send Chocobos there relentlessly to find it.

Brains are just so awesome.

I'm sure if he just wanted to get through story line he would be able to manage. Sure he'll get stuck but nothing major. I'm just talking about the secrets of the game. If you want everything in the game.

Thank you for the vote of confidence. Typically, on my first playthrough, I do just go with the story. That way all the sidequests and things I miss give the game replay value ya know?
But we'll see what I do when I get the game. Hopefully I'll have it by this weekend.

[Crop]

People who don't use guides actually want to use their brains when they play. Have fun following a guide like a mindless drone.

Yeah, you have a great time using your brain in Final Fantasy X-2. You'll get 100% no problem using just your brain. Your brain will tell you you have to choose the Youth League in order to get 100%. Your brain will tell you you have to immediately talk to O'aka as soon as he comes on the airship in order to get .1% story completion. Your brain will tell you there's a secret hidden dungeon in the Mi'hen Highread and you have to send Chocobos there relentlessly to find it.

Brains are just so awesome.

Erm, you just said you'd use guides to get through the game (which is what I think Mirage is referring to)...now you're saying you use it to get 100%? There's a big difference.

[Mirage]

Crop knows it :p.

I really don't give a crap if I miss out on a single item that will let me inflict 20 more damage for an hour until i find something better, There aren't many games, especially not RPGs because it's usually laughably easy to get through their "main story" anyway, that are so hard that you absolutely must get every single secret useful item to beat the last boss. Probably not even to beat the optional bosses. When was the last time you were unable to defeat a boss because you forgot an item pre-endgame?

The first time I'm playing through a game, I'll rather actually play it than dig my face into a walkthrough. I guess that's not as important as getting cookie cutter character builds to some people.

[Forsaken Lover]

I said I'd use it to get good items and weapons because you don't always know where those good items and weapons are.

Example. FFIV Advance. i wouldn't have known about Eblan Castle or the goodies in it without a guide. I suppose I could have wasted my time flying around the entire world looking for things that might be useful, but I just don't think that's a productive use of my time.

And it's no different than trying to get 100% at all. They're both things you have no way of knowing on your own. You either waste your time or you be smart and find out where the good stuff is and then go get it.

[Brennan]

Axes are really random with their damage, so watch out for that. But as far as storyline-wise, the game's easy enough.

[Crowseye]

You can play XII without a guide, just be mindful that most of the game features outside of the main storyline assume that the player will want to explore and try, like, every single solution to sometimes ambiguous clues that you can think of.

Without the desire to explore beyond the main storyline, you'll miss some summons and a number of items created from "rare" drops that you very likely wouldn't come across without doing a lot of fighting/farming and keeping track of what various enemies dropped.

Definitely commit to doing the hunts. They will actually help facilitate some of the exploration you'll need to find some of the "hidden" stuff.

[PuPu]

Just use a guide so that you know what chests not to open for the Zodiac Spear. That's something that can't be figured out on your first playthrough without some outside help.

[Forsaken Lover]

The shipper in me is curious. Does RW confirm Vaan x Penelo?