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Final Fantasy XII Review (continued)
More User Submitted Final Fantasy XII Reviews
Date: 2007-11-21
Not what I was expecting
The game reminds me all too much of the very game I was trying to escape by playing it, World of Warcraft. The battle systems in FF games past were the very reason I grew so fond of them. Having to worry about "adds" and "hate/threat" (MMO terms) is REALLY not what I was looking forward to.
Also, the licensing system in this game it very annoying at times and is difficult to keep track of "who has which license?"
One last thing, it is very hard to feel like you're making progress in this game. I've been playing for over 30 hours now and I have 3 characters at level 21. Feels like I've been playing for years to get to that point! There are also characters I'll never use so I hope they're not important later, because to level 6 characters with as long as it takes to do so would cause me to turn off the game and want to play World of Warcraft again.
I suggest playing any one of the FFVII-FFX2 titles over again. I think that would be more enjoyable.
I hope the next FF game goes back to feeling like a turn-based RPG again and not an MMO.
(I gave this 2 stars because I do like the cinematic parts of the game).
Date: 2007-11-07
Complete Crap
This game takes away everything a true FF title is.
It has a real MMO feel to it, and if it wasn't for the title, you'd NEVER know you were playing "Final Fantasy"
If you're buying this because you're an FF addict, don't bother..but, if you're just looking for a decent RPG with an MMO feel, go ahead and pick it up.
Conclusion - It's decent, but gives real Final Fantasy titles a bad name.
Date: 2007-11-05
Fun But Lacking
I was given final fantasy 12 as a gift from my fiance probably a year ago. I have been a fan of final fantasy ever since final fantasy 7 on playstation and I felt that this final fantasy was rather lacking in gameplay and spell animation. Don't get me wrong, final fantasy 12 is an interesting approach to take on the franchise. However, it felt very uncomfortable without the ATB bar and turn based strategy elements that I have been accustomed to in previous final fantasy games.
The graphics are very nice for a playstation 2 release. The cut scenes look spectacular as always and the characters are animated very nicely. However, one problem I did have with the graphics is the spells and quickenings (similar to limit breaks). In previous final fantasy games, spells to me always looked lavish and beautiful with each level of spell better looking than the last. However in this final fantasy, thunder looked really cheesy, just like a spark or something flying from your character into the enemy. And the quickenings, they just seemed drab and boring with little originality. Basically the screen turns black and the character shoots the enemy with like a green beam of light or something. Not too impressive spell wise.
The gameplay was okay. I felt uncomfortable with the new battle system and hopefully square-enix will decide to return to the atb bar in the next instalment. Basically your character can be set up to follow a set of commands called gambits which your party memebers will act out basically in order that you placed them. During battles with bosses for example I felt out of control with the battle system. Typically in other final fantasy games, I liked to set up a strategy before major battles but the way that the game functioned made it hard to do moves on the party like haste, shell, protect, and other status effecting spells with out being attacked by an enemy too much.
The story I believe has too little substance. I have always really liked the final fantasys that take place in the somewhat future as a setting rather in the mideval days like final fantasy 3 and 9. This story features a city stuck in combat with another country and end up being totally controled by the other city. And at 20 hours, I felt the story had not really progressed too much.
Overall, the game is an average rpg but doesn't even make a dent in how good final fantasy 7-10 are. I would suggest this game to collectors and fans only.
Date: 2007-10-30
Five, even FOUR stars?
Before I'm vilified for making a constructive criticism of Final Fantasy XII, let me first say that I have been a fan of this series well before you were all twinkle in your fathers' eyes. Final Fantasy XII is essentially an MMORPG with the online element removed, but still retains the riveting action of drying paint in MMORPG glory! Final Fantasy XII had great promise, but fell short a couple thousand miles. This game was all eye candy and no story! When watching the game's opening, you'll think you're in for one HELL of a treat (I certainly did!), but as the story "progresses", you'll have this nagging voice in the back of your mind, asking, "Hey, when is this game going to START?" and a truck load of back tracking and useless quests that would have Silent Hill 4's Henry Townsend feel badly for you! I'll try my best to condense this review.
First, let's review the pros (*chortle*):
Pros:
-Gorgeous FMVs and graphics
-A talented and skilled cast of voice actors (kids, believe it or not, there's a world of difference between "bad voice acting" and your opinion of whether or not a particular actor's voice fits the character)
-Balthier. This character was a real card--and about the only character that was "alive" in this snore-fest. Take Balthier out, and this game would have NOTHING!
-Customizable characters. No more archetypical, spineless, female white or black magic users that are killed by weak enemies! Now they can raise hell with battle axes and guns! GET SOME!
Cons:
-The story. Where the HELL is the story? When your television is graced with the game's introduction, you'll get pumped and truly believe you're going to receive a colossal bang for your buck! A truly legendary tale full of war, sacrifice, honor..you know-all that good stuff. These expectations begin to fizzle 45 minutes into the game. The military occupation of Dalmasca by the "mighty" Archadian Empire feels about as tense and menacing as playing with mashed potatoes! Their presence is hardly even noticed! The developers attempted to add some political intrigue in there, but they seem to have forgotten about it in exchange for pointless side quests and some other equally flat villain that was "BEHIND THE SCENES!1!11!". Some particular characters decide to stab you in the back for no reason whatsoever. Konami's Suikoden II (a PS1 game) did a much better job than these guys in terms of a tyrannical enemy occupation.
-The Characters. With the exception of Balthier and Ashe, none of these characters were memorable. They were all flat and one dimensional with virtually no interaction with one another. For example, what was the depth of Balthier and Fran's relationship? If you were to write out the other characters in your party, you wouldn't even miss them. I assumed Vaan was supposed to be the main protagonist, but he was suddenly tossed to the back seat for Ashe and Balthier, and was only given a few lines after that. A few other characters were thrown in (Al-Cid, The Judges, Archadian Senate), but really had not purpose either. (Even Fran seemed pissed off about this game!)
-Battle System. Was too damn slow for my tastes.
-Music. Whomever this new person is, they're surely no Uematsu or Sugiyama!
-Licensing Board. This is truly a double edged sword. Whereas I liked customizing my characters, having to get a "license" via the licensing board just to equip a friggin' HELMET will get on your nerves.
Because of certain negative factors that plagued this game, I feel that this title was rated with a double standard, simply because "Final Fantasy" is in the name. If this were a regular run of the mill RPG, I'm sure it would have been graded harshly.
Date: 2007-10-27
I don't get all the hype.
I remember when I first heard about Final Fantasy XII, a few months before it came out here. I was excited. Half the reason I got Dragon Quest VIII was to play the demo game of FF XII that came with it, infact the demo was the first thing I put in. I played it for five minutes and thought "..This game's gonna blow." So FF XII came out, I didn't get it.
I ended up talking to my friend who said he didn't like the demo either, but liked the game. I wasn't playing any other game and had the money, so I went out and got it. I gave it 25 hours of play and stopped. I couldn't stand it.
First off the battle system to me is the same as nails on a chalk board. Now, I like it that they use a different battle system, or change the way you level up and etc. Infact, I usually look forward to it and love even random battles. However in this one, it made them feel like a chore. I like real time battles, and I like turn-based. However this feels like they tried to mix them, and just went beyond messing up. I'd find myself running from battles so often, mostly ones I could handle, just because it was so dull.
And thing that killed it more, I didn't just find myself not caring about the characters, I found myself hating almost all of them. I kept hoping Van would just die, honestly. The ones I didn't hate, I just didn't care about. And caring about the characters is half of a RPG.
Overall, unless your just a completely rabid fan who doesn't care about battle systems or charcters, then get it. Unless you are and get it, enjoy wasting your time.
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