I've been wondering the same thing. It seems that people either LOVED this game or HATED it, with not too many people in between (I fell into the latter camp, and it's not an age thing, I was in my late 20s). Those who loved it tend to be quite vocal about it and it tempts me into giving it another chance.
I think the main reason I hated it was expectation. It also came after FFX (sequels and MMOs aside) which is my joint favourite with VII and I was kind of hoping for a HD equivalent.
I expected interesting and exciting characters like Yuna and Auron, and none of them seemed to meet that for me. I expected a strong badass clear antagonist like Seymour or Sephiroth (probably with some Sin or Jenova thing behind them) and got... that guy I can't even remember the name of. I expected all the good guys to be nice in some way especially the pretty ones, and got Ashe (who I couldn't stand, she came off as a cold hearted brat IMO). I expected the usual story about a small group of misfits saving the world from a maniac (I like this story, that's why I play FF games) and got a story about war and politics. I expected turn based battles (I like turn based battles, that's another reason why I play FF games) and got the MMORPG type system. The list goes on. In summary expected a typical FF game in the style of either the classics or the VII-X era, and got something completely different. So I was bitterly disappointed, hated it and metaphorically stuck the logo over the box of Lost Odyssey instead.
But now that I know it's the black sheep of the FF franchise, I think I could enjoy it for what it is. I know what to expect. I know that there are very realistic shades of grey and the good guys are not all completely good and the bad guys are not all completely bad. I know it's a sort of "single player MMORPG" (a contradiction, but you know what I mean) and designed more for taking your time exploring and doing quests ("missions/marks") than following the main story. I know not to look for much in the way of character stories and to instead enjoy and analyse the politics, and I know that the characterisation that is there is subtle and requires deeper analysis than say, Yuna and Auron.
So maybe I'd be able to stop looking for the wrong things in it, and see its good sides.
I never played much of FFXII when I first tried it as I wasn't hugely impressed, but I have been convinced by you guys to actually give it more of a chance. That and boredom needs to be sated. xD
It better be awesome or else I will be disappointed! *shake fist*
I did give FFXII another shot. Sort of. :3 I got really busy with school and didn't get very far. I only completed the first mark. I was having fun ruthlessly killing sleeping cactuar after that.
I have to say, even though I didn't get too far into it, I was having a lot more fun this time around. I intend to pick it up again soon. I don't think I appreciated the gameplay when I was younger. But now that I'm a bit older and have replayed my copies of older Final Fantasies with the ATB system to death, I enjoy the new battle system much more.
The only reason why I haven't really played this game much recently is because simply that I am a perfectionist. In the Cerobi Steppe there are tons of treasure chests with potentially lucrative items, and a very base chance of receiving it. Being the perfectionist, I refuse to continue until I have got a ribbon.
I'm going to hate obtaining the Danjuro
yea hcbailly's LP is making me give this game another shot even though I was bored with it when it was new. I keep getting distracted though with other games lol