FFXII: Love It or Hate It?

I just didn't like it... The plot was bland and predictable, the characters were underdeveloped, and the battle system was rather boring to me.

My biggest complaint of those is the plot. It doesn't pack a bang, there's no astonishing plot twists that make you go "WOAH!" like the earlier games had. More often than not earlier games had you guessing and trying to make sense of things until you get to a point where something is revealed that just puts everything into perspective and blows you away. But even then you'd still have questions about certain unexplained things, and it would make you want to learn more and drive you forward in the game.

I mean, putting the puzzle together was the reason you'd want to keep going, to gain the knowledge and get answers. With XII the only reason I found myself moving forward was just to bring up the next cutscene so I could move to the next area and maybe purchase some new weapons.

Plot is by far the most important thing to me in a game, and XII's just wasn't deep enough for me to enjoy it.

It also didn't help that most of the characters were sort of underdeveloped, so I ended up not caring about what happened to them. It left me emotionally detatched from them.
 
I absolutely loved the game play and found it to be both challenging and entertaining. That being said the customization as far as abilities, weapons, armor, etc., leaves a lot to be desired. It seemed as though character customization was fairly bare-bones and although each character may take a different path (mage, warrior, healer, archer, etc.) they all end up relatively the same, and it doesn't take long for that to happen.

It feels as though the license system is an inferior version of the sphere grid from FFX, and lacked any sort of real customization as opposed to pervious titles like VII (materia) or VIII (junctioning).

The story itself also left a lot to be desired as the game starts out rife with mystery and intrigue. I was immediately drawn in by the geopolitical conflict only to find that the game was over just as it was starting to get really good. It felt as though the story was a pressure cooker for the first 70% of the game and then it just fizzled out.

The characters were far too stagnant in that they never really developed, changed or progressed. Granted, it can be difficult in a plot such as XII, as there really wasn't a main character, but we've seen it perfected before with VI, where each of the characters underwent some revelation or change, experiencing growth as the plot progressed. None of the characters in XII really grow or change, which was disappointing and left me a little detached as far as the story was concerned. Instead of asking questions like, "What is the origin or Sephiroth?" or "What happened to Cloud that makes him the way he is?", I found myself asking, "Why is Vaan even apart of this party?".

Regardless of all that is left to be desired XII is still one of my favorites and it only makes me more excited for what's to come.
 
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I hate this game, so much. It is, in my opinion a disgrace and does not deserve the title "Final Fantasy" and giving it a 40/40 score is just wow? I think the main reason I hate it so much is because the story is stupid and the battle screen is gone. Which was one of the reasons I enjoyed Final Fantasy. Also when you attack a monster you choose - attack and wait several seconds before he even swings the sword? I bought XII about 9 months ago and have had an approximately 35 minutes of playtime on it. Complete waste of money..

No offense to whoever finds it.. enjoyable.
 
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hireshi said:
I bought XII about 9 months ago and have had an approximately 35 minutes of playtime on it. Complete waste of money.
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35 minutes? That's hardly getting around the first town, or at most into 2 or 3 battles in the Desert?

Even in games I think are absolutely horrible, I can't really judge it until I've played almost, if not the whole game. And with being 35 minutes into it, how can you even know what the story is about to call it stupid. The story really isn't even visited until a good few hours into the game, and even then with plot twists and new information being revealed later on past the middle of the game, the story is still adapting and changing.

A review of the first 35 minutes into the game hardly sets up a justified reason to call the game "a waste". But we do all have our opinions and likes and dislikes, so it's all good. :busta:
 
BustaMo said:
35 minutes? That's hardly getting around the first town, or at most into 2 or 3 battles in the Desert?

Even in games I think are absolutely horrible, I can't really judge it until I've played almost, if not the whole game. And with being 35 minutes into it, how can you even know what the story is about to call it stupid. The story really isn't even visited until a good few hours into the game, and even then with plot twists and new information being revealed later on past the middle of the game, the story is still adapting and changing.

A review of the first 35 minutes into the game hardly sets up a justified reason to call the game "a waste". But we do all have our opinions and likes and dislikes, so it's all good. :busta:
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I could have putted it differently. I don't mean story as in storyline. I mean, talking monsters, the names of all the different characters (not the ones you play, but the others in the game). And the really middle age thing doesn't fall into my taste. Despite that, I did try to give it a chance. But I really dislike the no battle screen and the fighting in the game. I just can't find myself spending hours trying to figure the game out XD.
 
hireshi said:
I could have putted it differently. I don't mean story as in storyline. I mean, talking monsters, the names of all the different characters (not the ones you play, but the others in the game). And the really middle age thing doesn't fall into my taste. Despite that, I did try to give it a chance. But I really dislike the no battle screen and the fighting in the game. I just can't find myself spending hours trying to figure the game out XD.
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I getcha. That makes more sense.

I mean I know I've started a few games myself where you can just tell the feel isn't there, so ya just don't continue it and finish it. I think I did that with Star Ocean and a few older PS2 games, heck even recently Last Remnant.

If my last post sounded like I was scolding you or coming off as a dick, I apologize. It's just our opinions on FFXII that differ. :)
 
BustaMo said:
I getcha. That makes more sense.

I mean I know I've started a few games myself where you can just tell the feel isn't there, so ya just don't continue it and finish it. I think I did that with Star Ocean and a few older PS2 games, heck even recently Last Remnant.

If my last post sounded like I was scolding you or coming off as a dick, I apologize. It's just our opinions on FFXII that differ. :)
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Haha, don't worry. I don't take grudges easily on the interwebs. Just having a normal discussion from time to time would only do you good. And I'll take your word for it. I'll probably let my brother or sister take on the task of finishing it.
 
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I didn't really love or hate it, i was right in the middle, cause some parts of the game were great, but others were kinda sucky.
 
I'll decided if and when I finish the game. I'm only like an hour into the game and I'm already bored, the gameplay and graphics are great, but the story is just naff.

Well it's been over half a year since I started playing the game, maybe I'll finish it by the end of the year lol.
 
The end of the game scene isn't really all that good either, and the final boss battle is like as hard as sephiroth on FFVII
 
I haven't yet finished it, but I love it. It's nice and different from the norm, but still retains the feel of a Final Fantasy title. I think the characters are great and the story so far is quite good. When I stop playing through some of the others, I might go back and actually finish this one properly. I may even start it from the beginning to recap.

My one problem with it is....fewer opportunities to listen to the victory fanfare. Without battle windows, I was dreading that they had removed it at first, but there was a little relief when I realised it's played after certain battles. So it's still all good.
 
Yes, i truly recommend finished FFVII, It's not the best graphic wise, but it still kicks ass compared to the others. But if you restart i also recommend getting the strategy guide seeing as there are a lot of easter eggs.
 
vladamir420 said:
Yes, i truly recommend finished FFVII, It's not the best graphic wise, but it still kicks ass compared to the others. But if you restart i also recommend getting the strategy guide seeing as there are a lot of easter eggs.
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Lets try not to deviate from the original topic too much, we have plenty threads in the FFVII section of the forum you can post in, thanks ;))
 
i really love the gameplay its quick & interesting...(gambit is the best feature that ever designed by square or square-enix)


& the graphic, though not a typical final-fantasy-style but still very attractive. especially the buildings and landscape, the most realistic of all ff series. though i have a bit problems with the zodiacs's design, bt the other clans that appear in the game are brilliantly designed. not to mention those vieras...(i love fran & balthier)


the storyline, i found it catchy but sometime a bit bored.(what exactly was happening after the bahamut? i just follow the instructions blindly)


the weakest link would be the music, as none of them really catch my attention (in ff7 the golden saucer & Rufus' Welcoming Ceremony still make me dance, ff8 the everlasting eyes on me & breathtaking liberi fatali, ff9 the Secret Library Daguerreo made me someone who nvr learn any music instrument to start playing piano, ff10's to zanarkand and sudeki da ne are known even to those who had nvr played ff be4)



i was not very please when i heard tat nobuo & nomura are not in the staff... bt after the game i was shocked and quite satisfied with it. i would rate it a 9 out of 10.
 
it was a good game but the battle system wasn't the funnest for me. at time it felt like i wasn't even participating in the battles. but it had good characters that i really enjoy. and atleast they tried something different in gameplay instead of doing the traditonal battle so that added a little something too even though it wasn't the best
 
I was actually pretty disappointed with this game unfortunately.

I expected it to be so great and enjoyable much like FFX only to find that I quit halfway. =/

It didn't have that same spark that FFVIII and FFX seemed to have and there was nothing that really drew me into the game itself.

I didn't really want to get to know about the characters as much and just lost interest.

Maybe one day I'll pick it up again and find it totally different to what I think now. I hope so anyway. XD
 
i liked this game. i liked the fighting system, athough in some battles i could leave my ps2 and come back and i would have won the battle, espically once your speed is really high. at least they were trying to be orginal with this game. some of the storyline i found a tad boring.

it had a realistic backgrounds compared to the previous games. it lacked music that makes you want to learn an instrument, or those upbeat battle tunes that makes you want to dance, that almost every ff has.

i think the only reason why i finished this game was because of the characters. my favs. basch and balthier.
 
I don't hate FFXII as much as I'm dissapointed in it. I love it because almost everything mechanical is great; the world is great, the battle system is great, the bosses are great, the art is WONDERFUL!! but the story could use a lot of work on it. it starts off amazingly then just fizzles out and make you just go through the motions. characters come and have little depth given then die. the grid system could have work beautifully with the job system of other final fantasies yet they just went and made all the character basically jack-of-all-trades which annoyed me.
character needed to be fleshed out and better established, take Baltheir and Fran. both come off in the beginning as fantastic characters yet then just kinda meander about for the rest of the game. Vaan and penelo are just there, and the only characters who are somewhat developed are Ashe and Basch and both of them not all that well to begin with.
it has it's good points and it's bad points but I voted for me loving it. not because of what it is, but more along the lines of what it can be and hopefully down the future, will be. I just pray that this isn't the last time we visit the land of ivalice in a true final fantasy game.
 
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