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Final Fantasy XII Review (continued)
More User Submitted Final Fantasy XII Reviews
Date: 2008-07-21
A Disappointing Slide for FF Series
This game was such a disappointment. The FF series has always been a staple RPG to own with its high quality storytelling and engaging battle systems. Not every FF has met these quality standards (I have played FF4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10), but XII fails so miserably. It truly is a game to be avoided despite the name attached.
The gameplay: I actually like to play a game, not just set up gambits and have the computer play for me. For most battles, you can just leave the room and you'll still win. How exciting. It's a system that was a good idea but could've used a lot more tweaking. The license board was also a poorly executed idea. So all the characters can do all the same things? Okay! Summons were pointless and useless that take over your team members and die too quickly.
The story/world: This is where the game absolutely falls apart. All the characters are flat and boring. Only one character actually has a reason to be in the group, and all the others just tag along for no reason at all or reasons that are shunted to the side quickly. The characters aren't developed either; they have maybe one personality trait and that's it. The worst being Penelo. Why is she there? What does she do? How many lines does she get in the game besides the epilogue? It seems she was just added to meet the 3 girls in the party thing Square has going. Everyone knows a good story is created by round characters, but unfortunately, its seems Square missed the memo. In fact, the most interesting characters are the villains!
The plot all happens away from you. So while you're wandering through some cave for some artifact, the plot and intrigue happens to other characters. Why they didn't make those characters the main ones, who knows?
The world was also a poorly developed world. There was no excitement going to a new city. No city evoked the power of Midgar, the coolness of going to the Moon, the creepiness of a ghost train, or the technological wonder of Esther. It was a boring world that didn't make me want to explore it. The Deadlands was the most interesting part, and it was optional and not developed like it should have, and not as creepy as it could've been.
Graphics: Yes, the graphics were amazing. But I felt the FMVs were pointless. I can't recall a single FMV scene off the top of my head. I can certainly remember Aeris being stabbed, Rinoa in space, the water scene of X, but here, nothing. Maybe it's because there was no scene that provoked the feelings those others did.
Sound: Unremarkable and not rememberable. Enough said. Oh, but I did actually enjoy the voice acting. I found each character's voice fit and was pretty spot on in emoting.
In conclusion, rent this game first before buying. Others liked it, and so might you. I, however, felt Square has taken a big step back. I wish Square would concentrate on story again rather than on graphics. Graphics do not a great game make. Look at FFVII and VI, terrible (nowadays) graphics, but both are wonderful games that stand the test of time.
If you are looking for an excellent RPG, then try Shadow Hearts: Covenant and Shadow Hearts. There are games with great characters, witty dialogue, and set during pre-WWI with a supernatural side.
Date: 2008-07-16
Excellent game, even now!
Started playing this game again recently, and it is still as enjoyable as it was when it first came out. I still get distracted by the Hunts and sidequests. The only thing that I still don't like is the fact that the characters stats will pretty much be the same because of the License Board. Sure, one may have a bit more magick power, or higher strength, but in the end, you can use the same 3 characters and never really have the need to switch them out. Other than that, excellent graphics, great story, great voice acting, great game.
Date: 2008-07-13
It's such a good game!!!
The latest Final Fantasy was released two years ago guys! I think its about time for FFXIII dont you think? Anyways back to the game. Although I think this is the one of the weakest ones in the series, I still think it deserves
5 stars. Why?? I'll tell you step by step.
Story/Plot: It's very different from previous Final Fantasies in my opinion. but it definitely caught my attention. First of all, dont think you'e gonna get good characterization in this game because its definitely not happening. The story of Final Fantasy XII is, well, political. It starts in the middle of an ongoing war and a lot of different government and powers come into play in the story. Oh and by the way, the summons (called Espers) dont really go into the story all that well, and most of them are completely optional.
Graphics: In my opinion, there's really nothing new in this section. It just looks like Final Fantasy X to me. But there is a positive side! The voice acting is soooooo much better in this one. It's perfect to me so hehe YAY!!!
Music: Well, since Nobuo Uematsu didnt have a full collaboration in the music this time, to me it sounds.....mediocre compared to the others. But still, the music is really good and the music in the Feywood is personal favorite.
Gameplay: This is where a lot of FF fans got turned off of FFXII. The random battles were completely taken away here and you have full control of your characters in the battle field. As in you can move your characters when they are attacking. Get it? The Battle System is still turn-based but its kind of based on an MMORPG. The Gambit system is another new innovation and its fits in perfectly to the new ADB system. Basically, its how you program the A.I. of the characters you are using in the battle field. The license board kinda reminds me of the sphere grid. I didnt like this very much cuz you have to get a license to equip a weapon and learn magics. After you learn a license, then you have to buy the things you got a license for!!! WTF??? Honestly, I hated the license grid.
Difficulty: Its not very hard to me actually. I'd say about 8/10.
Basically this is a good game to play, just dont expect to play a familiar FF because its far from that.
Date: 2008-07-11
Fun FF Chapter-Needed more Story.
This was a very interesting game that could have been a lot more interesting, but is still well worth playing.
First the good.
I enjoyed the old world influences in the armor, dress, and technology. This game had an interesting mesh of future and past that I absolutely loved.
The political storyline with all the complicated alliances and allegiances was also very interesting (potentially) as were the characters with their entangled paths and similar yet different histories. So much potential.
Side-quests were fun.
I enjoyed bounty hunting and all that came with it-earning Gil, being able to collect ingredients to be able to buy new items at the Bazaar, prizes, etc...
And going after the Espers was challenging.
So, the good was in the design and in the sidequests and in the potential. The bad was that the follow-through was just not there in the story and character development.
There was not so much any main character with one story as much as a story where separation between each character and something or someone they'd held dear in their past was the main character-and that was fine. The separation in Invalice because of the war was the theme, and the different paths the characters and others around them took in dealing with the war was the real tale.
However, there were so few scenes, so little actual story reveal, so little character development, that one could really miss this altogether unless observant, and lead to misreading characters and what should have been poignant sub-stories.
The fight system belongs somewhere between good and bad. It was interesting, and had upside.
Setting "gambits" made it fun to let your people run into the enemy and see them automatically take off and steal or cast thunder or what have you.
But that was also the bad of it.
Being able to set the protocols for your fight in advance meant that unless it was a challenging fight (which became few after visiting the same areas several times) you could put the controller down, leave the room, and your team would fight while you were gone with absolutely no involvement from you.
It also meant that if your gambit proved useless partway into the fight (let's say your person just keeps trying to steal long after the enemy is empty-handed) you then have to change the gambits mid-fight...sort of defeating the purpose. So it's a mixed bag there. Convenient, frustrating, interesting, boring...
And then there are the Quickenings, which are pretty much random, slot-machine like Limit Breaks that can be chained together (if you are lucky) with other party members Quickening skills to perform Mist Chains.
I did love playing this game, which is why I give it four stars, but hated it too. Still, all in all, I'd recommend to anyone else that enjoys rpgs and especially Final Fantasy to invest a few hours in this as well, and enjoy the roller-coaster ride of emotion that you will inevitably endure. Have fun!
Date: 2008-06-29
A Decent Game, but not up to Final Fantasy Standards...
Where to start? I'm rather disapointed with this game. At first this felt like a good game, but after playing it through, I've decided it's really rather mediocre and inferior to its predecessors.
Graphics (9/10): Excellent. The graphics are pleasing to the eye. The only negative in this department is that while the graphics are good, some of the landscapes were dull and boring. Imagine slogging through a desert wasteland full of dirt and sparse plants for a good long while. While there were some really interesting places to look at(like the Forest where Viera live), other places were very large and boring. One of the most interesting places was outside Giruvegan (the reflective fog effect was awesome).
Music (7/10): Well, the music wasn't so bad that it made my ears bleed, but neither can I remember any of the tunes. I'm not sure exactly what this implies for the music rating; probably that the music is rather mediocre. Not really bad, not really outstanding either. Voice acting was good also, with the exception of a certain female lead who sighs alot in an irritating manner.
Characters (5/10): Yawn. Just the sheer boringness of these characters is mind-numbing. Vaan might as well have not even been there. Was he even the main character of this game? It's just so hard to tell. He plays no major roles in the story really, other than to narrate. Penelo serves no purpose either. I find Ashe to be very unlikeable, which is too bad because the main story focuses on her a great deal. She sighs and wines alot, and I found it difficult to feel bad for her or want to help her regain her kingdom. Her personality just wasn't really endearing in any way. Basch is okay, but not really well developed. Fran has very little dialogue and little personality too. Balthier is really this game's saving grace. He is witty and humorous. If only the backstory between him and Fran had been explored at all. I kept waiting for interesting character development and backstories on these people, but it never really happened to the degree that was needed to make these people interesting.
Story (7/10): The story is rather lackluster. At times, it felt like a giant fetch-quest. My biggest complaint is the introduction of an extremely interesting plot twist involving some glowy spirit/god things that never went anywhere. I kept expecting more to happen involving these. But no, the game just ends without resolving much about them. I was so shocked when the game ended just like that. I kept thinking to myself "shouldn't there be more here?"
Battle System (8/10): Unlike other reviewers, I didn't hate the battle system. I prefer the regular turn-based games more, but I adapted to the AI controlled team members. Basically, you control your characters with gambits, which are simple if-then type statements. For example, you could set up a "hp<70%, then cast cure" gambit, which makes the team member it's set on cast cure on anyone who's hp is below 70% of their total. So, it's pretty intuitive. The battle system is kind of fun, but also a bit hands-off, which made me a little sleepy after awhile. Overall, though, it was enjoyable.****
Gameplay (8/10): The controls were not bad, the menu system wasn't to annoying. The only thing that keeps this from a perfect score was the fact that being chased down through extremely large environments by a pack of wolves while trying to desperately escape was not too fun. I'm not against having no random battles, it just would've been nice if they'd given you a better escape option. Maybe a "run" command that'd keep the enemies off your back for a little while... Another item to add under gameplay is the number of sidquests and minigames-which is excellent. I only wish there were more sidequests that didn't involve battling enemies. It gets tedious after awhile. Something nice like the Chocobo Hot & Cold game from FF9 or the card game of FF8 would've been nice here.
Overall (7/10): Note, this is not an average, it is my subjective score of this game. Overall, this isn't a terrible game, it's just not the best either. I would easily recommend FF7, FF8, FF9, and FF10 over this game, as each of those is definitely better. However, if you've already played those and are looking for something new you could buy this game. It IS worth owning, but if you're fast at completing RPG's, you may want to rent this one instead.
****The battle section has been edited from it's previous state, since a commenter pointed out how harsh and unfair it was. I think the new battle section score is more fair now.
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