FFXII should be out

[Nev]

Bit surprised no one's posted yet, in fact. Have we all grown up so much that we don't have time to play games anymore? Good god.

I might pick it up today or tomorrow if stores aren't sold out of it - probably tomorrow in fact, since I have a good head of steam built up on work today and I don't want to shatter that.

Big contrast with the reaction to FFVII back in the day, hey?

[Oracle]

Just because I didn't post doesn't mean I didn't get it... and do something I normally wouldnt do just to get this game.

My PS2 kicked the bucket a couple months ago. FFXII coming out... problem. So, I look on my game shelf and say to myself "holy shit I never play any of this junk anymore." So I went to EB, traded in something like 25 or 30 games for enough credit to get a PS2, FFXII, Trauma Center for the DS, and $150 on an EB card that I'll put towards a Wii.

Oh, and did I mention I had to drive 45 min out of town to do this at the EB in another city because my city has some stupid fucking pawn shop bylaw that prevents EBs here from doing direct trade in? In my city, EB can take your games, sure, but you don't get squat until they sell em. Stupid consignment system...

[Flip]

I bought it on the way home from work yesterday, but have yet to open the packaging.

I was busy after work yesterday... and today... but should be able to tear into it Thursday-weekend.

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

Have we all grown up so much that we don't have time to play games anymore? Good god.

Calm down, dude :\.

Late February for the PAL territories. Fuck!

[Blotus]

I've been at it pretty solid between work and sleep since 12:30AM Tuesday. Stayed up all night playing... haven't done that since RE4. Too bad it looks like garbage on my HD LCD. Might switch back to the tiny Commodore monitor soon.

Seeker, which EB was that? I only saw the one while I was in Charlottetown (University Ave?). Did you go to NB?

[Blotus]

Big contrast with the reaction to FFVII back in the day, hey?

Most of us were teenagers without jobs. Except Zeus... I think he was on his first set of dentures then.

[Oracle]

I'm not Seeker. I hijacked his nick for my Halloween costume.

The city I live in is Regina (rhymes with fun!) where we have like 5 EBs and I had to drive to Moose Jaw (yes yes my province sure can pick names).

[Zeus]

Big contrast with the reaction to FFVII back in the day, hey?

Most of us were teenagers without jobs. Except Zeus... I think he was on his first set of dentures then.

I was selling it to you teenagers without jobs ;-)

I got mine, but only 'cause I paid 40% of the cost. Series lost its luster after FF7 so I don't care anymore. Haven't even picked up my collector's edition from EB yet, probably gonna do it tonight

[Oracle]

FFXII is different, that's all I can really say.

If anyone has played FFXI, the battle is a lot like that. Absolutely 0 transition from exploration to battle, kind of like Secret of Mana. It has it's own in-battle menus so you can do the old attack magic skill item, etc stuff. Your party members are controlled by AI, which you can set and expand.

Basically, it's a single player MMO. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, it's just different.

[Julius Seeker]

Bit surprised no one's posted yet,

viewtopic.php?t=10999


I also disagree with Zeus's comment on the series. I did like the NES FF1 and FF3, but the series as a whole had a very generic RPG feel until FF6. I didn't love FF7 like I loved FF6. FFT and FF8 are easily my two favourite Final Fantasy games, and they both came out after FF7. I haven't played FF12 yet, but I do have a strong feeling that it is going to blow the others away. I am actually going out to buy the game right now =)

Also, BL, when you were in Charlottetown, did you go to a Club called Myron's? I bartend there. I'm the tall one with blonde hair.

[Torgo]

Picking mine up today. I would've bought it on the first day if I knew we were getting it on time.

[Julius Seeker]

Got it, they had about 60 copies of it filling up an entire shelf.

[Manshoon]

Checked the UPS tracking site, and it's right outside my door waiting for me when I get home.

[Tessian]

I was wary about how well it was going to be received after FF X-2...but everyone raved about it so I picked it up yesterday afternoon after an eye doctor appointment and been having a blast with it.

I love the graphics and the fact that battles are real time AND no transition between moving and fighting. I don't know how many times in FFX I cursed everytime the battle music started up after the screen swirled.

My only complaint so far is the bounty rankings...The first 4 bounties are all Level 1...yet they vary horribly in difficulty.

*grumbles about damn homosexual cactus kicking his ass...*

[Zeus]

Picked mine up yesterday. Best part about picking it up is that they dropped the price of the Collector's Edition by $10 to match Best Buy. The Collector's Edition is only available at EB/Gamespot, so I don't get it, but I'll enjoy it. I initially had paid $31 for it using that trade in deal from before (how I got my 360). So yesterday, I was told I had an extra $10 trade in ($11.40 after taxes) to put towards another game since I had fully paid for it and it had dropped (I put it towards Guitar Hero 2). So, in essence, I only paid $20 Cdn after tax for it.

Even for a series I don't care much about, it's worth it just to add the game to my collection with that edition. I've heard lots about it being different, so I am actually interested in trying it. At that price, I will.

I love EB and their policies :-)

[Oracle]

Yes, we know you got the game for cheap. We knew that several posts ago. Play it, and tell us how you LIKE it!

[Nev]

I probably won't get it until after then 10th, much as I'd like to before that. Sadly, until then, I have about enough money in my bank account to pay for the electric bill or FFXII, and while that should be an easy choice, it is made complicated when one realizes that without electricity, playing FFXII is harder.

*sigh*

Hey Killer Bee, want one of us to smuggle ya a copy into the country for ya? Or will a U.S. copy not work on a PAL setup?

[Zeus]

Yes, we know you got the game for cheap. We knew that several posts ago. Play it, and tell us how you LIKE it!

I was trying to point out the fact that I was more excited about getting 35% of my money back than I was playing it.

But I"ll let you know what I think once I actually play it, Oracle

[Zeus]

Hey Killer Bee, want one of us to smuggle ya a copy into the country for ya? Or will a U.S. copy not work on a PAL setup?

Can't work. NTSC and PAL are methods in which a picture is displayed on a TV screen. So a game made to display images in NTSC won't work on a TV that only shows PAL and vice versa

Japan and North America (and I think some of Europe) are NTSC.

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

The NTSC/PAL thing is no longer an issue. Any television bought in the last ten years will be able to display both formats. The problem is that all PS2 consoles are region locked and my PS2 is not modded :(.

I've got a friend at work that's bought some crazy disc-swapping device and has downloaded a copy of FF12. He's going to report back on his success using the former to play the latter on his unmodified PS2 and I'll be all over it if that works :).

[Eric]

the girlfriend has apparently gone out and gotten me the collector's edition for christmas. I'm going to die of anticipation.... most especially if this place is littered with spoilers..... glaiven

ha, owned is you.

[Oracle]

Dude, just buy it now and act surprised later.... It's her own damn fault for buying you a game and making you wait two months to play it.

[Lox]

Dude, just buy it now and act surprised later.... It's her own damn fault for buying you a game and making you wait two months to play it.

By the way...um, do you have the receipt? No reason...just curious.

[Nev]

the girlfriend has apparently gone out and gotten me the collector's edition for christmas. I'm going to die of anticipation.... most especially if this place is littered with spoilers..... glaiven

Yeah, if you take a hard line on spoilers (as I tend to), don't come to Gamethought for a few months. Or at the very least, stay away from any thread with FFXII in the title.

[Julius Seeker]

OK, so I haven't even started the game yet, one of my roomates has been hogging the game, and is already 40 hours into it (He needs to get a new fucking job, he's the oldest one in the house, and the least productive). I am not too worried about it though, I have a lot of other things to do that are much more urgent (it's essay and marking season).

[Tessian]

FORTY HOURS and it's only been out for say 84 hours?? Your roommate needs a life badly. I bought it Tuesday afternoon and I'm...

*switches TV to PS2 and unpauses game*

8.5 hours into the game...yup, definitely needs a life.

Hide his memory card and demand he get a job before he gets it back

[Chris]

I'm loving the game. my only problem so far is the horribly unoriginal score. I'm sorry but so far I have barely run into any unique piece of music. it's all just more symphonic versions of final fantasy 4 and Chrono Trigger music. kind of annoys me. other than that though the game is fantastic and has me very interested. I'm not loving the story as much as I loved Suikoden 5's which in my mind is one of the best rpg stories I've played through in my life. But I'm finding the story still to be enjoyable even with it's very generic theming. I feel like I'm playing final fantasy 9 againwith some of the plat twists being the same

[Torgo]

I love it so far. If you wanted a Final Fantasy to be done in the style of FFT and Vagrant Story, then this one's right up your alley. I'm really enjoying the new battle system. Things can get pretty hectic when your party of four takes on four flans.

As for the music, it's standard Sakimoto stuff (which is good), and the rehashed FF tracks aren't used that often so it doesn't really bother me that much.

[Julius Seeker]

FORTY HOURS and it's only been out for say 84 hours?? Your roommate needs a life badly. I bought it Tuesday afternoon and I'm...

*switches TV to PS2 and unpauses game*

8.5 hours into the game...yup, definitely needs a life.

Hide his memory card and demand he get a job before he gets it back

It was worse than that, he played the game the first 50 hours (nearly) that it was in the house. Heh, everyone here is annoyed with him, constantly.

[Flip]

I've played 11 and this reminds me of it a lot. The towns, the models, and the fighting.

Luckily the battle system is a little better or i'd give it up as i cant stand leveling in MMORPG's.

I'm only 3 hours in so far.

[Julius Seeker]

Alright, I played the first two hours of it. So far:

The game is much more vast in scope, so far, than Final Fantasy 10. It does feel much more like the sequel to FF9 rather than the sequel to FF10. Why? Because gone are the tiny towns of FF10, back are the large sprawlling, yet detailed, cities of Final Fantasy 9. The first town is literally larger than all of FF10's towns combined.

The impression that I felt was Final Fantasy Tactics, meets Vagrant Story, meets Skies of Arcadia. You can definately tell, right away, that this is a Yasumi Matsuno story. The characters, if you have played Vagrant Story especially, definately feel in that vein as well. As far as the PSX Final Fantasy goes, this game so far feels like the perfected version of those.

The battle system is actually very similar to the PSX Final Fantasy's, although, like Skies of Arcadia, your characters will move around on the field and attack. Unlike Skies of Arcadia, you can actually control them. Also, one MAJOR improvement, no longer is it about just button mashing away: attack, attack, attack, you have the commands in already, and your characters just do it, you can literally sit back and enjoy the battle while keeping an eye on the stats, and just doing what needs to be done. It is the perfection of the battle system from FF4-9. Similar to how FF10 was the perfection of the battle system of 1-3. It is very easy to get the hang of, and the game eases you in as well.

The development system I have not had much of a chance to experiment around a lot with yet. it seems mostly in the vein of FFT/FF8/FF10, but I am not entirely sure on that.

I'll have more impressions tommorow, I hope to get another 3-5 hours in.

My current location, without giving any spoilers away, I just got back to South gate after getting the sunstone.

[Anarky]

Anyone else feel the game is way to much about getting the Mist Knacks ASAP....

[Tessian]

I don't even know what mist knacks are!

I have a few mist attacks...but they eat up all my MP so I don't use them often...am I missing something?

I'm a good 13 hours into the game too.

[Nev]

You spoilerrific asstards. I'm going to kill you both.

[Don]

I found the battle system akin to trying to box a party in a MMORPG while being very bad at it and you basically end up buying Gambits to train your brainless party into doing something that remotely resembles what a human player would do. Due to the way the active time system works you've to let the AI take over for you because you either can't react fast enough, and even if you can you still lose significant time issuing commands every time instead of doing Gambits.

Similar to FF8, I found that every guy that looks cool is either dead or not someone you can play as, and you're stuck with a loser as your main character. Most of your party members are also ugly as dirt. Aside from FF8, this is probably the most uninteresting cast of misfits I've seen in a game.

[Eric]

You spoilerrific asstards. I'm going to kill you both.

You should have learned by now Nev, come on. =o

[Lox]

I found the battle system akin to trying to box a party in a MMORPG while being very bad at it and you basically end up buying Gambits to train your brainless party into doing something that remotely resembles what a human player would do. Due to the way the active time system works you've to let the AI take over for you because you either can't react fast enough, and even if you can you still lose significant time issuing commands every time instead of doing Gambits.

Similar to FF8, I found that every guy that looks cool is either dead or not someone you can play as, and you're stuck with a loser as your main character. Most of your party members are also ugly as dirt. Aside from FF8, this is probably the most uninteresting cast of misfits I've seen in a game.

Translation: This game is fun for everyone else!

[Nev]

I bitch a lot and I like to complain.

Let us know how that works out for ya!

I won't be getting the game until after the 10th, so I won't be reading this thread anymore due to spoiler hazards. Though I may come back and see if I've managed to piss off Don. But to everyone else, hope you have fun with it...

[Julius Seeker]

Wow, I manage to disagree with Don on every single point, my opinions:

Laguna was the loser, not Squall. Squall is the opposite of Laguna, and is more of an elitest: he is Garden's best warrior, wears the coolest clothing, and he's rich bitch! =)

FF8 has perhaps my favourite or second favourite cast of characters (FF10 did have Wakka and Rikku afterall, along with the other great characters).

On the FF12 battle system, I feel that it takes the FF4-9 battle system and eliminates all of the unrequired elements.

[Flip]

Radiata Stories has a similar system where you buy useful commands for your otherwise idiot companions, and of course the good (most logical) commands were expensive as hell.

I dont like that very much. To be effective, now, you need to buy spells, weapons, armor, and 'brains' for your party. It is another element that is a waste of money and time. FFX's system was turn based genius. Seeing when your people get a turn and planning for it is much more strategic, IMO, and since you contol everyone you dont need to buy brains.

I agree with Seeker, these systems are completely opposite of each other. FFX mastered the turn based, while this one is doing a good job (i wont say it is perfect yet) with the live method. I prefer the turn based, but am still having fun so far.

[Oracle]

When it comes to grinding, I love the active battle system. Brings back the mindlessness of the turned based battles without the load times.

Bosses are another story. Timing attacks is rough when it needs to be done perfectly. But now that I have quickenings and summons, I can just lay down enough damage and not have to worry about the finer details in boss fights. Sounds like a Final Fantasy to me!

[Manshoon]

Impressions at 25 hours in, just left Erkyut Village...



Wow. This game kicks ass on a number of levels. Frankly I love the new battle system and hope Square-Enix sticks with it for future FF titles and doesn't go back to the outdated ATB system. Battles are actually fun now and not a slogfest (Active mode FTW). It's sort of like playing Guild Wars single-player with henchmen, except these stick with you the whole game and you're able to customize them the way you want. The Gambit AI is pretty smart as well. For example, if you set Ally-any -> Protect on a member, he'll cast Protect on everyone and not re-cast it on someone who already has it. So it's pretty simple to set up buff/debuff lists for fighting bosses/marks. Though I've found 90% of the time you can get away with Foe -> party leader targeted -> Attack (have one member on auto-Steal to rake in the loot). I think my only real complaint so far is the difficulty - once you get enough LP it becomes something of a cakewalk. Hopefully that'll change by the end though.

I also like how you can get a glimpse of high-level zones, even if you can't fully explore them yet (Zentani Caverns for where I'm at). It's better than FFX where you're basically exploring on-rails from zone to zone until the end.

As for characters, does anyone else think Fran sounds an awful lot like Bjork?

[Julius Seeker]

Alright, I am over 7 hours in now (My non-spoiler key location word to those who have played past here: the Leviathan), and I think I would now best describe this game as Vagrant Story meets Skies of Arcadia; which is certainly a good thing since those are two of my very favourite games of all time.

So far my major gripe with the game is conversation system; and that is not saying much at all =)

There are plenty of people around in the towns of this game, it is similar to Final Fantasy 8's huge populations in a lot of ways. The thing is, Final Fantasy 8 had the best conversation system that I have seen, essentially you just walk by people and the dialogue box appears above their heads, you can approach them and speak with them further if you would like. FF8's system just made a lot more sense for RPGs with highly populated locations than the system in place (which is the merely standard conversation system). So that is one thing I would change about the game so far.

[Don]

It's annoying because I walk by a guy that says 'Nebastrian' and you know he probably has nothing important to say but you got align yourself up to see what useless thing he has to say. Of course I just stop talking to anyone that doesn't look important now, but why have all these people if you're never going to talk to them?

The battle system is fast which is good, but it is still more or less the same thing as what it's been. Faster is better, but I think it's rather artifical you got to buy 'brains' to do what you've always been able to do.

[Manshoon]

Well the whole point of buying "brains" is the customization factor. Otherwise you end up with everybody being able to do everything from the get-go, which I find to be rather boring. Of course if you're beating your way through everything you come across, you'll eventually get to that point anyway, for which I think increasing the LP requirements for certain abilities substantially could've put that in check.

Also I've noticed there's instances for which getting certain abilities is a no-brainer. For example when you first come to the king's tomb (I forget his name), there's a merchant outside with weapons and such for sale, and one weapon, the Iron Hammer, is so much better than anything else currently available that it's more than worth spending your fighters' LP just to be able to use that one weapon. Then of course there's all the Augment abilites which you'd be crazy not to get ASAP.

But anyways, just because the execution of the License Board is a bit flawed doesn't mean the idea isn't sound.

[Julius Seeker]

Wow, I actually died last night when playing. This is about 7 hours in:

Minor Spoiler:

It is in the Leviathan, I went through killed off mostly everything while avoiding the red lasers, and luckily I had the sense to run all the way back for 5-6 minutes to save my progress (I got level ups and such). Anyways, there was a battle where I was fighting six guys, and they slaughtered me, I think I got caught a bit off guard, I was not expecting something quite so intense. The advice given before the battle was to kill the judges, but I found that they were kind of tough and that the mages dealt a lot of damage, so switched targets, killed them off, and then focussed on the other two regular guards. I suppose I made a mistake somewhere, but I ALMOST won, somehow both judges managed to survive, and both were down to about 10% HP. I spent the last moments of the battle as Balthier frantically running around and using potions until I was killed in short time. I am going to try this again, but luckily I have a lot of FP, I am going to try and get some status effect spells that might help out. I figure instead of fighting my way through again, I am going to take Fran and just run through everyone and directly to the end, and then pull out my other characters to fight when they are needed

[Oracle]

That iron hammer you speak of is garbage. I don't know if you read the travellers tips in the clan primer, but hammers, axes and hand bombs are striking weapons. All striking weapons have a massive variance. I had the iron hammer on Basch and he was doing anywhere between 75-1050 damage with it. I know that high end seems nice, but it does NOT make up for all the times he wiffs.

I find using a reliable lance-type weapon or just a sword works nice.

And does anyone else find it fucked up that katana damage is governed by a character's magick power?

[Julius Seeker]

Balthier reminds me a lot of George Lazenby's version of James Bond. In looks, he resembles my Thai boxing instructor almost too well, and they are both British too.

Oh, and if anyone is wondering, I just went back and did the part I died on and crushed them, I am back in town now.

[Don]

I died on the judges too. That was actually a pretty cool fight.

There's no way you get enough money to buy anything if you don't have one person set on stealing all the time. I don't know if it's intended but having your party leader charge in only to steal first on every fight because you need to steal stuff before the enemy dies looks rather goofy.