Quote Originally Posted by chrisguapo69 View Post
This is my first FF game I've played. I was curious to know what was all the hoopla in playing these FF games. Is it imperative to get the book everytime you play a FF game??? It seems like the main storyline is only half the game. Not only that, but even the main storyline seems too hard to figure out on your own without the book.
I'll give you that FFXII is a kick to the head to come into, especially if you're not familiar with the rest of Final Fantasy...though I think some of the people HERE who ARE familiar with the rest of FF may have been better off never having played another FF before...

The main story IS only half the game. You, as an individual who can think for yourself, can say "Wow-after completeing the story, I've still got a lot to do!" or "What a gyp! I can keep playing the game, but only for these stupid tacked on side quests!?" So it depends on what you think. Good, bad, and ugly are all up to you-though some people who will remain named Ultima_Weapon will try to steer you otherwise.

For what it's worth, you never 'need' the book. And I think FFXII is the second game I have ever played (first being WoW) that actually gives you enough information inside of the game that you really don't HAVE to look anything up-though some things are just faster that way. The only issue is that it's a lot of reading in the game-the Clan Primer, the random people, the Clan Hunt quest givers, guards, store clerks, everyone and many things in this game have something to say. "Knowledge is power." to quote that one guy in Archades.

Strategy guides are one of those things, Chris. You have to decide if you have the power to puzzle things out and save yourself $20 or not. Is the hoopla necessary? Not really. Did people get shot for PS3's? Yep. And it all swings around to you making choices with your money that you base off of the things you know and the things you don't know. For me, I have a certain level of gamers pride-I buy strategy guides for art, and once in a while, because I know the game has truly arcane things in it that I would never even think of. Dragon Warrior VII and Suikoden II are both excellent examples of games that I shelve my pride for.

I didn't buy a strategy guide with FFXII, and honestly, I don't think I need it. I have faith that my puzzler can puzzle until my puzzler is sore, and then it can continue to puzzle the puzzles some more. Remember, whether you think you can or can't, you're right.