Bashing

[Gabranth_is_king_99]

Why Does this game story, characters, plot, gameplay get bashed on often. i personally love this game

[Yoko]

It's different from all of the other FFs. It has a different battle system, and a different way of developing their characters. To be honest, I hated the characters, Except Balthier and Gabranth. They were awesome.

The battle system was the best I had ever seen. The music was good as well. Except for Lowtown(That underground esque place in Rabanastre.) I always muted the music when I was down there.

The ending could have been better. I was disappointed with the final boss.

[Michael Swayne]

I personally feel that Final Fantasy XII gets no more and no less bashing as any of the other games featured here at TFF. There are haters of each Final Fantasy game. Some people prefer the qualities of one game more than an other game.

For instance, some people like the license system that XII had. Others feel that the concept of learning abilities through the items, weapons, and equipment used in Final Fantasy IX was superior. And still, some people find that the Sphere Grid of X or the Crystarium in XIII are the best.

You have to basically tell yourself this

For every one person bashing a game, there are at least 10-15 people praising it.

[Gabranth_is_king_99]

some people say because the characters were to mature compared to FFX, and others say the gambits made the game play's itself

[Xanatos]

It's somewhat different from your traditional Final Fantasy, and as you've noticed majority of FF fans are pretty much afraid of changes, thus all the forks and torches.

Shame really, as Final Fantasy has potential to evolve, XII while not perfect was on a good path, unfortunately Square will have to keep forcing all those cliche elements they (over)used God knows how many times, the series will stay predictable and stale as it has been for quite some time now, but at least fans will be happy, I guess.

[che]

A recent study showed that FF fans are some of the most hateful people in the entire world.

[The_Dream_Recluse]

Personally, i loved this game. It's one of my favourites. I loved the political-driven story, most of the characters, and i greatly admired the licence board/espers. I also liked how you could tailor any character into whatever you wanted (for example, Balthier usually was my bowman/pole wielder).

I loved that it gave players freedom as opposed to other Final Fantasies, where the games narrative makes a considerable amount of the game linear (such as X and XIII).

Granted, i am aware that XII, like any other Final Fantasy, has its flaws. And in regards to the characters/story, it doesn't feel like a traditional Final Fantasy. But i admire and respect Square Enix for having a go at trying something new. It is a great game in my eyes and regardless of whether people like it or not, it is still a part of the Final Fantasy family.

[Rowan]

And still, some people find that the Sphere Grid of X or the Crystarium in XIII are the best.

Name one person who thought the Crystarium was a good form of character upgrade. It was pathetic. It was essentially a limited sphere grid that wouldnt allow you to upgrade any furthar once you reach certain points in the game. Although I do realise you are using it as an example, although I think its the absolute worst system in all of final fantasy (except 2, that was... shit.)

FFXII story was a rip off of star wars. Too political, not enough fantasy. The battle system was refreshing and the world map was gorgeous and i adored the open exploration. The characters sucked, the music wasnt memorable and niether were the towns. It was just re-used textures down a hallway type thing. Its amazing how much more detail and creativity the ps1 version of final fantasy have compared to 12.

[Michael Swayne]

Name one person who thought the Crystarium was a good form of character upgrade.

One word. Me.

But because of the new posting regulations, I will elaborate.

I like how it was designed in a similiar way as Final Fantasy X. I think that the whole "Crystarium" fit the idea of the crystallization concept that Final Fantasy XIII made. This idea is similiar to FFX's idea of a "Sphere" Grid where the whole planet revolved around spheres. Sphere pool, Save spheres, music spheres, video spheres etc.

It was essentially a limited sphere grid that wouldnt allow you to upgrade any furthar once you reach certain points in the game.

I liked how you could only go so far on the crystarium. It made the game interesting. I prefer the challenge of it. To know that grinding for the points needed isn't needed made FFXIII challenging. It was challenging enough to make me appreciate the hard work I did in strategy and timing during tougher battles, but not too easy to make the battles last only 15 seconds.

Now, back on topic...

FFXII story was a rip off of star wars. Too political, not enough fantasy. The battle system was refreshing and the world map was gorgeous and i adored the open exploration. The characters sucked, the music wasnt memorable and niether were the towns. It was just re-used textures down a hallway type thing. Its amazing how much more detail and creativity the ps1 version of final fantasy have compared to 12.

As a person who has never seen Star Wars, I can't argue with you. I thought the political basis the game had was a welcome spin to the classic "Kings, Queens, Save the Princess" kind of fantasy RPG. The characters, in my opinion, had more backstory than some characters in previous FF games. However, I do agree with you about the music and towns. I have only noticed the towns details and patterns just in my most recent playthrough.

I think the PlayStation FF Games were more into the detail of towns because that was what the audience wanted at the time. I love the use of colors they used, especially in IX. In XII, gamers wanted story, and realistic-looking people. The producers and the people handing out the checks wanted that as well, that's why they paid for it. If they wanted more color, then they should have made it an equal priority as the cast designers etc.

[Hero without a Name]

As a person who has never seen Star Wars, I can't argue with you. I thought the political basis the game had was a welcome spin to the classic "Kings, Queens, Save the Princess" kind of fantasy RPG. The characters, in my opinion, had more backstory than some characters in previous FF games. However, I do agree with you about the music and towns. I have only noticed the towns details and patterns just in my most recent playthrough.

Dude you never watched star wars before? You're missing out my friend, should check it out. But back to what's important....basically everyone has said it. People bash every single game out there, even though every single game has become a masterpiece sold by square enix. Heck people still "hate" the game, but still play it. I'll be honest, I like some things about FFXII and there things I hated about, for example the espers, I like the idea of it, but they made horribly weak imo....or perhaps I wasn't using it right.

That's the problem with humanity, as good as something is, we will always find the one thing that lacks and will hone in on it like a bloody missile. I personally did not mind FFXII, in the list of favorites it would probably be....5th. Between VII, X, IX, and IV. Nevertheless, people bash games, let the haters hate and just enjoy the game!

[Cereal~Killer]

I always thought the characters (except for Vaan and Penelo) were good, but not good enough. Not good enough meaning when you compare them to characters of other FF games, they pale in comparison. I liked the characters, but are they exactly a Cloud, Aeris, Kain, Terra, Celes, Cecil, Locke, ect? Not really. They're boring in comparison. The only character in XII that shows real personality, I think, is Balthier.

Also, I think the game is a little too serious. There wasn't much comic relief. Not near as much as we'd seen in previous games.

The story is also boring. Some people can try to say the story was just clever and misunderstood, but no. It's just boring. Not FFXIII boring, but boring.

Gameplay was one of the main high points of the game. Sure, I miss the classic Active Time Battle system, but FFXII's battle system was fun and you didn't have to wait for loading screens before and after battles. The Hunt feature was one of the things that made the game, in my opinion.

All in all, it is still one of my favorites in the series, but not for the same reasons some of the other games are also my favorites.

[Xanatos]

Gameplay was one of the main high points of the game. Sure, I miss the classic Active Time Battle system, but FFXII's battle system was fun and you didn't have to wait for loading screens before and after battles.

Nothing personal Cereal~Killer, I just find this sentence to be fascinating as it's been used a lot, and it always cracks me up. Final Fantasy XII relies heavily on classic ATB, wait, what am I saying , it is in fact classic ATB, same one as in Final Fantasy VIII, or IX, difference being characters roam during the battle which makes it look more dynamic.

I always thought the characters (except for Vaan and Penelo) were good, but not good enough. Not good enough meaning when you compare them to characters of other FF games, they pale in comparison. I liked the characters, but are they exactly a Cloud, Aeris, Kain, Terra, Celes, Cecil, Locke, ect? Not really. They're boring in comparison. The only character in XII that shows real personality, I think, is Balthier.

This is personal opinion and as one I respect it, to me though, it's not really hard to top angsty ****ed up teen who wasn't himself for major part of the game, which is apparently some kind of personality these day, what's frightening here is how many kids can relate to him, I mean WTF.

Kain and Cecil, great characters, but so is Jose Armando from Esmeralda. Both story and characters in Final Fantasy IV are as good as next soap opera, because it is in fact a cheesy soap opera wrapped as a game, I mean, love triangle, amnesia, long lost brothers, backstabbing, cheesy dialog, fake deaths and dramatic comebacks... Dios mío, por qué, por qué lo traicionó Kain, por qué? I would be first to watch that shit, if they ever made it into a real soap opera.

[Ryu-Kentoshii Hirokima]

The Truth Is, Different People Like And Dislike Different Things. Something Might Be Awesome To Us, But Might Tick Off Someone Else. This "Pseudo-Rule" Applies To Pretty Much Everything And Everyone In The World. Now, As For Me On The Subject Of FFXII Being Good Or Bad...Well, I Loved It...Except For Some Parts Of The Game, But It Was Mainly Awesome. I Still Play It Every Now And Then Just For The Hell Of It, Even If I Had Already Beaten It. So, I Don't Bash On FFXII, Since I Think It Was Pretty Damn Awesome!

[Elise]

This is personal opinion and as one I respect it, to me though, it's not really hard to top angsty ****ed up teen who wasn't himself for major part of the game, which is apparently some kind of personality these day, what's frightening here is how many kids can relate to him, I mean WTF.

^ is pure gold!

People rapidly try to justify their opinions, but FFXII is FFXII, someone could hate a certain feature that another finds it the most enjoyable.

The only thing I didn't like about the characters is Vaan not having any bearing on the main story. The beginning was good as it justified his motives, but later he just got lost. Even Penelo who was caught up in the middle because of him had more effect on the story.

Generally speaking, I think the main two reasons people hate the characters so much are:
- Romance is not the central theme
- The development of Ivalice itself is so good that it may lead some to overlook the development of the characters

[Xanatos]

Generally speaking, I think the main two reasons people hate the characters so much are:
- Romance is not the central theme
- The development of Ivalice itself is so good that it may lead some to overlook the development of the characters

It's really stunning, and somewhat disturbing how many people resent Final Fantasy XII for lack of teen love, like we need another one. Ever since Final Fantasy VII Square kept forcing this ideal, Disney-like, love thing, even making two games based solely on it, the way things were going I thought they would hire Stephenie Meyer to write the script. What's wrong with subtle approach as in Final Fantasy IV, and VI?

One thing that keeps cracking me up is people who dislike characters of Final Fantasy XII, not because they don't like them, but when I ask why quite often I end up with shallow and stupid answer. I keep hearing about this lack of motives and determination, truth is they have higher motives and are more determinant than majority of characters in Final Fantasy franchise. Take Squall for instance who is claimed to be one of the best characters in Final Fantasy franchise, what are his motives? He has none, for major part of the game he fought because he was ordered to, like some kind of puppet on strings, only after good chunk of game he finds his reason to fight which is even weaker than Penelo's.

Then we have this lack of personality people keep mentioning, not sure what's that about, I guess they wanted another angsty/****ed up/one man army teen who's good chunk of background isn't really his (apparently, this is definition of deep and well developed character, I personally don't get it but if they say so), what they got is Vaan. Ordinary fella who lost his entire family, had to bear brother's suffering, forced to steal so he could have slice of bread to eat, and you know what, he still kept smiling with strong determination to fulfill his dreams and stop war so others don't have to go through what he has. As crazy as it may sound a lot of us can identify with him, not personality wise, but rather what he represents, and his excitement and will to explore and learn about Ivalice. Many think he's way too cheerful, which is quite understandable since he's just a kid, it also may be some kind of defense he developed to hide his scars. Despite being kid, he proved to be more mature and reasonable than half of characters in Final Fantasy franchise, just look at that scene prior to first fight against Gabranth and you'll know what I mean (apparently this is definition of poorly done character, still don't get it but if they say so). Vann didn't have impact on the main story as other protagonists prior to him, but he didn't overshadow other characters nor was it all about him as with other protagonists. I'll rather have set of equally great characters than one excellent with mob of other characters where you ask yourself what the **** are they doing here...

...I didn't mean to write this much, I guess I got carried away.

[Elise]

I agree with everything you mentioned.

the way things were going I thought they would hire Stephenie Meyer to write the script.

... this is not funny... ... ...

Vaan. Ordinary fella who lost his entire family, had to bear brother's suffering, forced to steal so he could have slice of bread to eat, and you know what, he still kept smiling with strong determination to fulfill his dreams and stop war so others don't have to go through what he has. As crazy as it may sound a lot of us can identify with him, not personality wise, but rather what he represents, and his excitement and will to explore and learn about Ivalice.

I think that Vaan is like us on another level too, I mean we as players are like witnesses for the events in the game and not direct contributors. I'm not sure but maybe Square wanted Vaan to be like us in not knowing what the hell is going on at some points, and curious to keep going to see the whole thing to its end. I am not trying to give excuses, this is just a theory, I still would have loved to see the Reks theme continues.

My advice for the people who hated the characters is to re-play the game, especially if they had only played it once when it was first released. Some people admitted that they fell in love with it years later when they decided to replay it, this could work with you. Personally; my English was crap four years ago, even though I loved it I just couldn't understand everything. I last played it two years ago and that was when it became my favourite, well it and IX.

If you did this and it doesn't change your opinion, even slightly, then there is no problem with that, your opinion remains your opinion.

[lady ashe]

Why Does this game story, characters, plot, gameplay get bashed on often. i personally love this game

i argee this game is amazing... but i suppose people have their reasons...