Ditto!Originally Posted by Tavrobel
Granted, I'm going very slowly cause I'm ripping all maps and such images for my wiki, but still...
FFXII is a long but enjoyable game but it takes time to get into it, like mentioned above. Definitely not a game I liked from start.
Me and my kids have dragon eggs:
So the topic creator basically kinda rushed the game..
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.
Some demons are best left in your imagination where they can harm only you.
I figured you can play the game without the book. But there just seem to be many puzzles that would take hours, even days to figure out before you get through them. I don't think I'd have the patience to do so. Also, how can you figure out the sidequests, hunts, etc without having a strategy guide? Seems like not all sidequests stand alone. Some if not, a majority of them rely on completing a task or acquiring a certain object prior to being available.
From what I've experienced I don't think you can look this up within the game itself. It's also hard to remember the info given to you by the townsfolk as well, so that can't be too reliable.
But anyway, I find this game interesting. So versatile. So challenging. I'm used to playing straightforward, linear games that have a controlled environment. Usually takes an average 3-5 days to finish on a medium-advanced setting. I'm a PC gamer. My few only games I play on PS2 is the Madden Football series and the Grand Tourismo series. I'll now add the FF series to my repretoire.
After beating FFX in 30 hours, this game is refreshingly long. I'm 50 hours in and I just beat Cid. I'm not sure how far I am from the end, but I'm only Level 40, so I figure I have at least 10 more hours or so in the main story.
I don't expect to beat FFXII any time soon, because I've still got alot of hunts I want to do before I even get back to the story ((SPOILER)Heading to Giruven (sp?) to find Cid+Venat.)
Going to Archades is pretty much the halfway point of the game I believe. Yes you still have a long way to go and I'll tell you now. Try to finish up most of the hunts since you should now have access to the spells needed to do them with little frustration. Also, now is a good time to look for the optional espers...
True beauty exists in things that last only for a moment.
Current Mood: And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe. Maybe this year will be better than the last. I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself. To hold on to these moments as they pass...
I am playing my first play without "the book" and without reading ANY walkthrough, as a matter of personal challenge. I've been doing good, only got stuck once.
I got stuck at the Stillshrine of Mirian, where the on game instructions referred to the map in 3D and I kept on trying to do what made sense in the the 2D map we get with "select"
Me and my kids have dragon eggs:
Well, just remember that 'Final Fantasy' doesn't make it good. If you need a list of stuff for the PS2 that's not junk-ware, I can give ya one over a PM. The existence of these forums is enough to tell you that each game in the series varies wildly from the other ones. I like FFVI, FFIX, and FFXII, as well FF Tactics. Outside of those, I think the other FF titles did some interesting things, but I don't necessarily LIKE them. It's up to you though.
On the other hand, I really haven't been having any issues with the game that I needed the book for... unlike back in Diablo 2 where they gave the Horadric Cube and told you to 'try stuff'. Don't get me wrong here-I get LOST a lot. Course, then again, I've been playing Zelda, FF, Okami, and Sly Cooper more than I play my PC. I'm probably more used to thinking about these puzzles and filling in the gaps than you are.
Some demons are best left in your imagination where they can harm only you.
Before I bought XII, I decided that I wouldn't look at any faqs of any kind. That's why I only started posting in XII threads (that pertain to in-game stuff) after I beat it, and I'm still careful where I venture as I've not discovered everything yet.
I'm compiling my own walkthrough (and believe it or not, that's kind of fun in itself). This means that I have to do a lot more talking and walking around to get through some of the more involved side-quests (and there aren't many that are very involved), but it's worth it to me. Especially since, in the past, I've relied heavily on guides and whatnot, going it alone is that much more rewarding.
Brian: "If I remember correctly, this is the Physics Department."
Chris: "That would explain all the gravity."
i did 20 hunts and quite a few of the sidequests (and mind you they're pretty boring) i replayed the Ridoranna Cataract two times because i forgot to buy some spells. I trained for over 10 hours. I got really tired of the game at one point. However, it just doesn't give you the feeling that the BIG ending is gonna come soon. I mean, in FF7, gosh, you get a timeline of when the final battle is coming with the meteor and all. In FF8, the final fight was pretty well hinted in the 3rd disk. In FF12, i didn't even know who the final boss was even gonna be if i hadn't read those spoilers. There wasn't much signs stating that (SPOILER)vayne is the guy you fight. I did know that somehow, you had to fight the venat after the giruvegan scene in FF7, you knew from like the first disk that you'll be fighting sephiroth.
Farplanar... you have no idea how happy it makes me feel to see someone who realizes that the rewards for going through something without a guide make every battle, every victory, and every moment that much more special and personal. And I can bet that as a result, you can honestly say that you 'know' this game better than any other you've ever gone through with a guide.
Some demons are best left in your imagination where they can harm only you.
Didn't the game explain to you that you're going to stop Vayne? I think they started to mention it in Mt. Bur-Omisace. And 20 Hunts is quite low, because I already done more than 30 Hunt before I reach Ridorana.i did 20 hunts and quite a few of the sidequests (and mind you they're pretty boring) i replayed the Ridoranna Cataract two times because i forgot to buy some spells. I trained for over 10 hours. I got really tired of the game at one point. However, it just doesn't give you the feeling that the BIG ending is gonna come soon. I mean, in FF7, gosh, you get a timeline of when the final battle is coming with the meteor and all. In FF8, the final fight was pretty well hinted in the 3rd disk. In FF12, i didn't even know who the final boss was even gonna be if i hadn't read those spoilers. There wasn't much signs stating that (SPOILER)vayne is the guy you fight. I did know that somehow, you had to fight the venat after the giruvegan scene in FF7, you knew from like the first disk that you'll be fighting sephiroth.
Our country rarely have a strategy guide for sale, most of us play games without guides. It's quite fun, figuring things on your own and like Farplaner, I also make my own FAQ.
The Late Owen Macwere Production.
Glad to be of service, Lazar.Yes, I would say I'm learning this game, if not more completely, much more quickly than others. There's still quite a few gaps in my guide (heh, heh), but the info is accumulating quickly. I am definitely learning enemies more quickly. Instead of looking down at a magazine for a quick reference of strengths and vulnerabilities, it's trial and error with, for instance, bosses and marks, which has a tendency to engrave more clearly on the memory.
I was kind of surprised that Vayne was the end of it. In other FF's Vayne would have perhaps led to (SPOILER)a journey to confront the "gods" on some quasi-ethereal plane. Even if there was no battle, I think they could have gone a lot further into explaining them and their place in Ivalice.
Brian: "If I remember correctly, this is the Physics Department."
Chris: "That would explain all the gravity."
QFT
Me and my kids have dragon eggs:
Again, I don't agree with what anyone is saying about the story...
Then again, when FF ceased being character interactions followed by playing the game and turned into an interactive movie where the only purpose of the game between cutscenes was to get you from cutscene to cutscene marks the point where I didn't feel FF was my sort of gig anymore. This is probably why I like FFXII as much as I do. I'm 65 hours in, still fighting IN Giruvegan-I was trying to do some hunts and wound up spending the six hours I played the game yesterday on 2 story fights, 2 optional bosses (1 Esper), and a pair of rare hunts. I pretty much blundered into them while I was looking for my hunts, neat stuff, and new gear.
And if this were nearly any other game, I would've said what happened last night was a complete waste of time. In FFXII, I enjoy it because the fights are interesting and the payoff is worth it.
I'm thinking when I beat the game I'm going to have 90 hours logged the way things keep going...
Some demons are best left in your imagination where they can harm only you.
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