Best Game Ever Reprise!

[Locke4God]

I posted a thread titled Best Game Ever over a year ago I think now, just after getting started with 12 and being extremely impressed, and I'd like to now offer a quick review of how,,, well it's not the Best Game Ever


I did love the Gambits actually, and the License board, probably a tad moreso than the Sphere Grid, but both were cool.

Problems?

1. Areas of Nothing! And this is what I'd like to hear comment on the most. Seriously after I started north from the Estersands, the Mosphoran Highwaste was OK, but then Salikawood, Nabudies, Nabrues Deadlands, The Phon Coast, the plains afterwards, and even the caverns immediately after that were about 10 hours of pure nothingness. They were totally dead. Nothing. I was bored off my ass for hours and hours and hours, and I'd like to know if anybody else felt the same way, or if there is something other than hunts I could have been doing in those areas?

2. Summons? WTF were these things? None were classic, and I was annoyed to use them. In fact I stopped and never used one of them again after getting into the westersands. I just didn't like them at all but maybe I'm missing something?


I do have the game ranked 5th in the all-time main series for me. Behind 7, 8, 10 and 6, so it does have a lot. I enjoyed chaining and the gambits, and I truly loved talking with all of the NPC's and most of the hunts and things like that. I found them all to be things I'd like to get more into on a replay, so I do like the game, but wanted to list those things for your comment on how it fell short, IMO, of an all-time best billing.

[Angel of Iniquity]

I posted a thread titled Best Game Ever over a year ago I think now, just after getting started with 12 and being extremely impressed, and I'd like to now offer a quick review of how,,, well it's not the Best Game Ever


I did love the Gambits actually, and the License board, probably a tad moreso than the Sphere Grid, but both were cool.

Problems?

1. Areas of Nothing! And this is what I'd like to hear comment on the most. Seriously after I started north from the Estersands, the Mosphoran Highwaste was OK, but then Salikawood, Nabudies, Nabrues Deadlands, The Phon Coast, the plains afterwards, and even the caverns immediately after that were about 10 hours of pure nothingness. They were totally dead. Nothing. I was bored off my ass for hours and hours and hours, and I'd like to know if anybody else felt the same way, or if there is something other than hunts I could have been doing in those areas?

2. Summons? WTF were these things? None were classic, and I was annoyed to use them. In fact I stopped and never used one of them again after getting into the westersands. I just didn't like them at all but maybe I'm missing something?


I do have the game ranked 5th in the all-time main series for me. Behind 7, 8, 10 and 6, so it does have a lot. I enjoyed chaining and the gambits, and I truly loved talking with all of the NPC's and most of the hunts and things like that. I found them all to be things I'd like to get more into on a replay, so I do like the game, but wanted to list those things for your comment on how it fell short, IMO, of an all-time best billing.

Yes, there were areas of nihility that kinda sucked.
Such a gap in story leaves the player dispatched from the story.
That's a common element in WRPG's.

Summons.
Well they were all clasic in a sense. More like Cameos. Mateus from FF2, Chaos from FF1, Ultima from numerous...
I will say that it sucked having random summons that serve NO PURPOSE to the story at all, literally. I summoned them and watched their limit and then never summoned them again.

Actually, from Bur Omisace all the way until archadis... nothing really... >.>
THough the Salika, and Phon coast were my favorite areas.

[Zargabaath]

Problems?

1. Areas of Nothing! And this is what I'd like to hear comment on the most. Seriously after I started north from the Estersands, the Mosphoran Highwaste was OK, but then Salikawood, Nabudies, Nabrues Deadlands, The Phon Coast, the plains afterwards, and even the caverns immediately after that were about 10 hours of pure nothingness. They were totally dead. Nothing. I was bored off my ass for hours and hours and hours, and I'd like to know if anybody else felt the same way, or if there is something other than hunts I could have been doing in those areas?

2. Summons? WTF were these things? None were classic, and I was annoyed to use them. In fact I stopped and never used one of them again after getting into the westersands. I just didn't like them at all but maybe I'm missing something?

The Salikawood had the moogles that the player had to round up as well as the King Bomb "side-quest" of sorts. It's also where the player can first enter the Necrohol of Nabudis. The Phon Coast had two cutscenes, one that was pretty important. I don't know if you are using a hyperbole to describe how it felt, but, for instance, the trip from Mt. Bur-Omisace to Archades does not take that long if the player goes straight there and not dillydally. At most I would think around a hour & a half. That also depends on how much exploring the player had done before that part of the game. In my latest playthrough I had explored the Salikawood prior to Bur-Omisace so when the time came to trek to Archades I warped to Salikawood.

As for other stuff to do in some of those places besides hunts? Well you could fill out the bestiary so you could get all the entries' secondary pages. There are monsters that drop some valuable loot. Could be some stuff to steal/poach. Farm loot if you need money. For the last suggestion is where having all the characters with full gambits comes into play. The developers gave the leader the options for gambits as well for instances like that or for grinding. Stuff that some people found to dull.

So what if they weren't that classic. Some were based from Final Fantasy Tactics and others were old Final Fantasy bosses. As to their use here is the Esper Guide from Gamefaqs. A lot more strategical than in prior Final Fantasys and not definitely not over-powered as in Final Fantasy VIII or Final Fantasy X.

[Locke4God]

Yeah but a lot of that stuff is,,,,,,,,,,, well for instance, you mentioned that the Necrohol of Nabudis is off of the Salikawood. Ok that's great, but there's nothing in there either. I mean the moogle roundup? OK,,,, but I don't know. And i'm actually glad to be reminded that the Summons were based on older characters, because that is cool, but still, I never used one. They just didn't ever really seem functional, or useful. I'll put it this way, I never needed or wanted to use one, and that can't be good. I've wanted to use them in every other game. I enjoyed using them in every other game.

On a replay I will keep those areas in mind though and just cut through, so that I don't have the big lull. I just kept expecting something to be there, and for 10 hours found nothing. You're right though, if you just run through it cuts that to an hour and the lull won't be a problem.

[Zargabaath]

There is the one cut-scene when you first enter the Necrohol. There is also the Esper Chaos that requires a side-quest of decent length to get to him. There is the Baknamy merchant that sells some very good stuff just before The Bahamut.

However, if the player does not want to wait for the Maximillians to be available for sale by the Baknamy merchant, the player can farm them from Elvoret. A trick used by players who do a low-level challenge to increase the drop rate of Maximillians is to build up the Battle-Chain by killing Imps & Pit Fiends in the Sochen Cave Palace then travel all the way to the Necrohol not killing anything, not saving/touching a save crystal, & using the chocobo in the Caima Hills section of Phon Coast, before the Hunter's Camp that would reset the Chain, to go on the secret path that bypasses the Hunter's Camp.

Did you look at the Esper Guide link I gave to you? It details how they are properly to be used. Yes, they are not as simple as before & definitely not over-powered as in Final Fantasy VIII or Final Fantasy X. Their use kind of goes in hand with how a Matsuno game is designed - strategically. They really shine more so during challenge play I would think but they do have use. Adrammalech is good to use against Mateus if the player has the proper buffs to cast on Adrammalech.

I don't mind the lull as I can remember the story and I'm off doing other things like getting equipment from rare drops and such. But going straight through them a person who had found the cut-scenes sparse will be surprised that they aren't that spread apart.

Another thing the player can do is enter the Cerobi Steppe from the Tchita Uplands before the Cerobi Steppe is unlocked. Unfortunately Balfhonheim Port is closed off, but the player can get drops and poach and any treasures in the area - not so bad.

[Locke4God]

Actually that is good info. Thank YOU!!! I neglected the Espers fairly early on, but running through a 2nd play through, enjoying trying to figure those out, and engaging in those other quests may actually make those areas much more appealing. Good Stuff!

[Freya]

Areas of Nothing? Really? There was nothing? Oo I spent quite a lot time in all areas you mentioned.
I liked exploring all the areas in XII, especially at the end of the game, when I was strong enough to enter Nabudies (without dying after the first monster attacked). It would've been great to have some more cutscenes in there, but it was okay. And it was a good spot to level up. And the missions there were great as well. It was just an area where you went to when you wanted to level up. :> I wasn't bored by it. It was just harsh in the beginning to get through those areas alive. ^^"

I'm now trying to remember if I ever used the Espers... but I think I didn't. I used Myth Teks a lot, but Espers... .-.

But I have to admit that FFVIII was the only game in which I used the Espers (GFs) quite a lot. In all the other games I avoided them. I don't like fighting with them and they weren't useful for me AT ALL.

[FinalFantasy12]

Areas of Nothing? Really? There was nothing? Oo I spent quite a lot time in all areas you mentioned.
I liked exploring all the areas in XII, especially at the end of the game, when I was strong enough to enter Nabudies (without dying after the first monster attacked). It would've been great to have some more cutscenes in there, but it was okay. And it was a good spot to level up. And the missions there were great as well. It was just an area where you went to when you wanted to level up. :> I wasn't bored by it. It was just harsh in the beginning to get through those areas alive. ^^"

I'm now trying to remember if I ever used the Espers... but I think I didn't. I used Myth Teks a lot, but Espers... .-.

But I have to admit that FFVIII was the only game in which I used the Espers (GFs) quite a lot. In all the other games I avoided them. I don't like fighting with them and they weren't useful for me AT ALL.

I agree. Nabudis is a GREAT place to train. I went from 62 on everyone to top 3 lvls: 99,94,96 bottom 3 lvls: 99,99,78. (I don't like Penelo, you shall notice from low level. I'm off to fight Yaizmat now.

[Locke4God]

Well that's exactly what I mean. There's nothing to do but fight, and you can do that anywhere.

And The Necrohol? There's nothing in there. There's nothing in the deadlands, there's nothing in Salikawood. The little moogle thing is nothing, come on. There's nothing but that one store in the Phon Coast. Do I really need 8 screens for each of these sections when there are just little teny tiny minor things to do in all of them. Counting the lands beyond Phon and the caves, there are like 28 areas all-together without one town or anybody to speak with or do anything. You don't find that odd or anything?