Why do people like this game? I don't see it...

[Dan558]

I recently tried to replay this game and it feels like such a chore. I wouldn't say the game is exactly the worst thing I've played but it seems very "bleh" to me every time I play it.

I find that The characters are very boring. Vaan can be a little engergetic and enthusiastic but comes off as too much of a baby with his blind wonder. Vaans painted on abs/chest also scare me. Fran is downright boring, Panelo is just Vaans boring girl sidekick. Ashe dosn't fit in with the rest, like why is she there? (I know why she originally went with them but now its like they are uninterested bodyguards with no lasting connection to her). Basch and Balthier are the only actual characters that feel Final fantasy-like to me and I like their personalities (mostly Balthiers, Basch just looks cool)

The maps in the game seem very endless and while the destination is shown, I either get really board or lost before I'm halfway through them.

The battles seem incredibly slow, Quickenings and summons are weak, Quickenings destroy your MP (making them only useful as a fairly weak finisher without chaining them past 15), levels/experience seem useless compared to LP

Lastly, maybe I haven't taken an invested interest in the story but it seems very loose and not so urgent. Some rulers have sized power and there are "judges" running around supposedly doing bad things but I have yet to see any major destruction beside possibly the battle where Reks died (that I can remember.

I'm not sure how far I am but I just beat Cid for the first time (I heard you fight him again).

I love most of the other Final Fantasys. It's bewildering to me that this game got such high reviews.

So This is kinda a two part question:
Am I missing some major reason why people like the game? (Am I not far enough to see anything cool? Am I playing it wrong? Is there actually any further character development so that I don't feel so bored with them? or is whole whole heavy politics thing in the game not my cup of tea?)

and, What makes the game a good? especially compared to other final fantasys? (in their time of coarse, just don't say "it's a new way of things", that answer doesn't really satisfy me... Just because a game/style is old now doesn't mean it wasn't original or great in it's time or that it's bad now)

[Zidane77]

I see what you mean, for some reason i've played this game 3 times over 500 hours, mainly because i like the battle system but i would agree this game is a fail though
The storyline is too short and lacks depth, the characters are not that good (especially Vaan in my opinion which sucked, Penelo wasn't that cool either) and the music was overall pretty bad, compared to almost all other FF games.
Didn't care for the politics either, not my cup of tea.
The quickenings and summons got really boring as well, i agree.

But there is something to like about this game though, the battle system is fun and collections, finishing side-quests and some of the characters are cool like Balthier and Fran.
So i would say it isn't nearly as good as XIII and the classic ones, but still can be fun to play, i like to look at it as "none final fantasy game" cause it just doesn't seem to have that at all, similar to Spirits Within,Dissidia which sucked even more, you can still enjoy it though (up to a certain point).

[Lily]

Good game, shame about the story. I hated it my first play through, it seemed like, infact it just was, one massive dungeon crawl. By the time I'd crossed one area and reached the next I'd be like, where am I in the story again..? which, incidentally, could be written on a post it note. It only seemed to get interesting toward the end of the game, the main villain was utter shite as well, something along the lines of the Occuria would have been better.. anyway, I'm waffling

After my first playthrough, and deciding to give it another shot, I discovered I just really enjoyed the game play, it was fun. I gave up giving a chuff about the story and just got into the mini games and the Hunts. I loved the monster arena in X and the hunts in XII were no different

If the title Final Fantasy wasn't attached to it, I really don't think it would generate as much hate as it does. People just reacted to the new battle system and the story, and the fact that the main character wasnt actually the main character. I just couldn't get attached like I did with the other FF's, I felt like more a spectator than actually getting involved and attached to the character/story. I think FFXIII has a similar issue, only in reverse. It's just all story.... combined this would be the perfect game

They need to get the balance right

Also. Dr Cid instantly makes this game win despite all its faults

[Zargabaath]

I find that The characters are very boring. Vaan can be a little engergetic and enthusiastic but comes off as too much of a baby with his blind wonder. Vaans painted on abs/chest also scare me. Fran is downright boring, Panelo is just Vaans boring girl sidekick. Ashe dosn't fit in with the rest, like why is she there? (I know why she originally went with them but now its like they are uninterested bodyguards with no lasting connection to her). Basch and Balthier are the only actual characters that feel Final fantasy-like to me and I like their personalities (mostly Balthiers, Basch just looks cool)

For me I like the characters and by that I'm including the whole cast, not just the six permanent party members. I'll focus on the six party members for the most part. They each have varying levels of character development most notably with the least amount going to Penelo. One of her main angles is that she really cares for Vaan, shown in one of the first scenes in Rabanastre. At the same time Penelo, and Vaan, are in the party to show the commoners view; there were a few scenes to illustrate this, such as: the Phon Coast, when they first arrive in New Archades, & leaving Jahara. There is a very important scene, for Penelo, one of her few, that exemplifies just how much of a commoner she is; the scene is in the final dungeon so I can't go further into that. Probably her biggest thing is her friendship with Larsa and the scene where her, Vaan, and Larsa are talking when they just left Jahara is a pretty important one for them, though it is Basch who makes the observation that is so vital.

Some people have found Vaan's naivety to bother them, myself on the other-foot found his naive exploits pretty funny such as when the party first meets the Gran Kiltias, Vaan wonders if he is asleep at which time the Gran Kiltias wakes up and Vaan, scared, stands at attention. Vaan has some funny moments which adds to his personality bringing me to another issue. Some people, not saying that you are one of these, think that "good character development" is when the character grows; this is simply not true. Character development is also when the audience learns more about the character's personality for it shows the nature of the character. I also don't need great character development to like a character, if anything charisma is most important. If there is some quality to the character that I take a liking to, such as Vaan's naivety, than I like the character. Bartz has plenty of funny lines in Final Fantasy V, he may not be as developed as some of the cast in Final Fantasy VI, but him making me laugh makes me like his character which we would presume is part jokester.

Back to Vaan, throughout the story he does grow: the scene at the Jahara bridge revealing why he tagged along and his new resolution and many times one of the cast members mentions how Vaan is becoming more and more of a sky pirate, more so than Balthier which went in tandem with him becoming more of a leader. Vaan does have his share of serious moments that showed he wasn't plain dumb; one of my personal favourites is after the party rescues Mjrn in the Henne Mines. Larsa takes the manufacted nethicite from Penelo after learning its harmful affects saying to some degree that he shouldn't have left such a dangerously powerful item in her possession, because he values her as a friend, to which Ashe replies that "even power such as this has its place". Vaan is looking at her while she says this and his response is not a long or epic, but impactful and insightful. Vaan says, "I hope you are right". That simple sentence is character development for it reveals that Vaan isn't too sure about people wielding such enormous power and that it has use.

As I said a character does not need to grow in a game to be a good character, having good character development outside of growth can be enough (it's all about the charisma). Prime example is Basch who never really changes throughout the game. His values, character traits, personality are set; he is already grown and matured and does not have some behavior that needs fixing via a "save the kingdom" journey. Be that as it may, his story is one of my favourites because of his relationship with Gabranth. Basch lost his honor when King and kingdom fell, yet he still keeps his knightly vows to protect Ashe when he could not protect Dalmasca or Landis for the matter. Though he forsakes what he holds most dear Basch still must do what what he must because not having honor from people is less important than protecting Ashe.

Balthier does have unresolved issues that he does overcome, he has his character history, and he's got plenty of witty remarks that gave me a chuckle or two. Most detractors of the game's cast often find Balthier to be the exception, which you did as well so I won't get much farther into him.

Fran takes the role of the "elderly sage" person except though she be old she looks like Hugh Hefner's perfect playboy bunny. Her most important part of the story could be at Euryt Village though she is in another touching moment or two in the some scenes later on. The audience never gets a lot of information about her and her personality is a mystery unless how she was in FFXII is her "normal" self.

Out of all the party members Ashe is on the biggest "growth" roller coaster. There are so many twists and turns that she goes through eventually finding what she had wanted. Is she a little ostentatious? Yeah, to which I don't like, but her trial and tribulation to reclaim her kingdom was touching and well done, to me.

The maps in the game seem very endless and while the destination is shown, I either get really board or lost before I'm halfway through them.

Well I know that a common trait that fans of the older games like is the exploration. Final Fantasy XII has tons of exploration though if the player does not side-track each map shouldn't take too long.

The battles seem incredibly slow, Quickenings and summons are weak, Quickenings destroy your MP (making them only useful as a fairly weak finisher without chaining them past 15), levels/experience seem useless compared to LP

Do you use "Wait Mode" or are you in "Active Mode"? I find wait to be slower since the player would be interrupting the flow of battle more. I use "Active" and I do turn up the battle speed. Summons have been put in check. In Final Fantasy X they were too strong; in FFXII their use is more situational and strategic. It seems that you like the older style when limits and summons were really OP, I'm not entirely sure. If the Quickenings were too strong then the game would become easy, it takes work and some luck. As for the last part, equipment is more important than levels so grinding away isn't as helpful. It requires the player to find good gear and to build the characters well. Which all three of these require is thought in strategy and to know what to use at the appropriate time.

Lastly, maybe I haven't taken an invested interest in the story but it seems very loose and not so urgent. Some rulers have sized power and there are "judges" running around supposedly doing bad things but I have yet to see any major destruction beside possibly the battle where Reks died (that I can remember.

The judges aren't running around doing bad things that the party is specifically after them. The judges do show up and cause some problem for the party. A refreshing of the story so far could help and youtube is your friend for that.

Final Fantasy XII is less about the action and more about the build-up with political maneuvering and the strife of many characters. Their struggles with what is going on in their part of the world.

So This is kinda a two part question:
Am I missing some major reason why people like the game? (Am I not far enough to see anything cool? Am I playing it wrong? Is there actually any further character development so that I don't feel so bored with them? or is whole whole heavy politics thing in the game not my cup of tea?)

I would say that you aren't playing the game to its fullest potential; story-wise the game is almost over but you can fiddle around to find new strategies. There is a very cool scene, to me, that is not far off, but since you haven't found anything cool yet I suppose this game is not your cup of tea. The character development is throughout the story, but there is less time focused on it and presented in a different way from the rest of the series norm. It appears that a political story just doesn't fit your style, you seem to like the action and whatever is "cool".

and, What makes the game a good? especially compared to other final fantasys? (in their time of coarse, just don't say "it's a new way of things", that answer doesn't really satisfy me... Just because a game/style is old now doesn't mean it wasn't original or great in it's time or that it's bad now)

What makes the game good? The story and the cast. The whole political intrigue with characters making alliances and some breaking bonds and all of them trying to come out on top. The battle system being fun, diverse and very deep. The choice to do tons of things and the freedom given to the player; though freedom isn't something that is really vital to me - I loved FFX. The game having more content than any offline FF game. The multiple play-styles and the many challenges the game offers. The voice-acting. The dialogue. The lore of Ivalice.

[Xanatos]

Another one, geez...I guess it's all about personal taste, for the same reason you hate the game many on the other hand love it. I myself consider Final Fantasy XII to be one of the best game in series, certainly in my top five, I'm also one of the few who think it evolved the series in many aspects. Huge open spaces and non random battles are step forward in my book, not to mention all that content which frankly neither game in the series can't compete with. And after playing the first ten games you just have to appreciate the fresh and original story XII has to offer, finally a story without all those cliche elements SquarEnix was forcing through previous tittles.

Though I see why many people moan about the characters, I myself am not thrilled about them either, they're not a shabby bunch just not developed enough. As for battle system, same as in most previous tittles, the ATB system is still there as you have to wait for the bar to fill up, which makes me wonder why so many people bitch about it, I guess they're pissed because their characters aren't standing still. Yes, now you have more control over you characters, which makes the battles more realistic and epic in my opinion. Not to mention the brilliant License Board and Gambit System which allows you to customize your characters the way you want, something I always appreciate in good RPG game. And of course the music is brilliant, i honestly don't feel the absence of Nobuo Uematsu as Sakimoto did a really great job

All the reasons why I love this game, I think those who made the reviews had the same view as me, but then again it's all about personal taste as I already mentioned, there's always the older tittles if you don't feel like plying this one.

[Sharpshooter]

People don't seem to like the storyline very much just because they find it hard to understand. I know that the characters use medieval language, but thats what you have to understand. In order to "feel" whats going on, you have to pay close attention. If you do, you still get that sensatition after playing any other final fantasy game. I mean, I found the storyline to be breath-taking. I mean, if you diden't undertsand something, just wiki it =P

How were the characters boring? Thats just how people were back then. They each had their own unique personalities and traits.

And I have to admit that im a bit taken-back when people complain about why this game is so "over-rated" or that "it sucks compared to other final fantasies"
To hell with that nonsense, you can't judge a game by comparing it to others!
Its like saying Mario sucks because Sonic is better.....
I don't judge the game by looking at the past final fantasies, I judge it by what it presents.
And what it presents is a fun, easy fighting system with great character customization with a perfect storyline and interesting characters.
I dont say stuff like "This game was ok compared to other final fantasies"
Thats the 1 thing I fail to understand...

As for the music, I won't complain. People have their own likes and dislikes.
I personally loved the music!

[Dan558]

Ok so from the few replies I've got so far it seems my answers are

It just dosn't fit my 'style' (i.e. not boring, lol j/k). I've liked many other story-intensive games before (in fact most of my games I would like the story before any sort of gameplay) but I guess it's the combination of thier awful accents and slow boring demeanor most characters radiate that fails to make me care enough to get 100% of the feeling and substance

It seems I'm mostly not to far off from calling the characters and maps boring but again like always there are people who think the opposite.

I have a somewhat unclear answer for the battle system, i do play active (why would i ever not...) and the battles still seem slow. The argument about "people don't like it because they do not stay still" seems weak because most of the moves hit you no matter where you stand and the few that you can dodge aren't that hard. The other characters that arn't your party leader pace around slowly changing nothing for me from the "stand in a line" approach most other rpgs have. A better way to make battles less "stand an take turns"-like would be to make the battle system more like Kingdom Hearts or Legend of Mana.

Lastly it seems like I may have forgot some elements of the story? Other than that I did Hunts and a few other side quests, while still not great, they blow the main "story" out of the water to the point of why bother progressing apart from unlocking more side quests....

Again, like most things, it boils down to my opinion. I don't consider myself to be a close-minded person and I can see that people are saying that they like it for certain reasons but I still find it hard to believe how they actually like those things... I should have learned by now that most reviewers just like anything thats "new" rather than good/meaningful/powerful/exciting and especially deep and FFXII had some game-changing new things so I think that clouded their minds.

Anyways I should probably just suffer through the rest of the game just to say i beat it then probably reward myself with a playthrough of FFVI, FFVII, FFT, KH1, KH2, legend of mana or a MGS (games on the opposite end of the spectrum)

[Xanatos]

I have a somewhat unclear answer for the battle system, i do play active (why would i ever not...) and the battles still seem slow. The argument about "people don't like it because they do not stay still" seems weak because most of the moves hit you no matter where you stand and the few that you can dodge aren't that hard. The other characters that arn't your party leader pace around slowly changing nothing for me from the "stand in a line" approach most other rpgs have. A better way to make battles less "stand an take turns"-like would be to make the battle system more like Kingdom Hearts or Legend of Mana.

Complaints about battle system in Final Fantasy XII is something I'll never understand, especially those coming from fellow FF fans. As I said many times before, the battle system is almost the same as in many previous tittles, the ATB is still there with exception of characters moving around during the battle. Slow, I beg to differ, without opening and ending animation, being able to give commands faster and not having to repeat them every turn, the battles are going in faster pace than the ones in previous tittles, why you consider battles to be slow is something I cannot explain.

Again, like most things, it boils down to my opinion. I don't consider myself to be a close-minded person and I can see that people are saying that they like it for certain reasons but I still find it hard to believe how they actually like those things... I should have learned by now that most reviewers just like anything thats "new" rather than good/meaningful/powerful/exciting and especially deep and FFXII had some game-changing new things so I think that clouded their minds.

Anyways I should probably just suffer through the rest of the game just to say i beat it then probably reward myself with a playthrough of FFVI, FFVII, FFT, KH1, KH2, legend of mana or a MGS (games on the opposite end of the spectrum)

The same way I can't believe how someone could love Final Fantasy V, but they do. It's their cup of tea, simple as that.

Also, I really don't think reviewers were blinded by "new shiny things" Final Fantasy XII has to offer as most of them take all in consideration before giving the final score, some of them even rate every part of the game separately, like on IGN, then draw the score based on all parts of the game. Also, keep in mind that most reviews were written by one guy who may or may not have the same opinion as you, and as you can see the final score varies from review to review as many of them have different opinion on the same game, thus Famitsu gave Final Fantasy XII a perfect score while Gamespot on the other hand didn't.

[loaf]

I like XII because it brought new and improved parts to the FF series. Given the World Map is gone...they took it out in X also. I don't care about that. This Final Fantasy has more content, more challenging, and a better/improved battle system then any previous game. What I think people hate about it is they would rather stand still and battle instead of moving one guy around. The story is fine, nothing wrong, just actually pay attention to it and it'll be easier to understand. The thing with the characters, I don't think they are meant to only represent themselves. Like how Vaan and Pinelo represent the people who get effected by the events taken place. In the end, being a broken record, it's all taste.

[Dodie16]

Personally, I enjoyed FFXII immensely. It's a fantastic experience with a rich and inviting world, and the character customization and party set-up was done very well.

Also, kudos to the localization team that worked on this game! Zargs touched on this in his post, but I feel like I should say something as well, because when I played through it, everything that was stated in the game (it's lore and the way that the characters interacted) felt so natural.

Finally, expanding on what Loaf was talking about how characters aren't supposed to just represent themselves: I think Vaan was a great character to segue the player-to-world interaction. He's pretty much a kid that didn't know anything at first, but grew as the game went on. Isn't that what players do too? We don't know much of anything about the world when we are first introduced into the game, so following a character in pretty much the same shoes is a way to get accustomed to everything. I enjoyed the rest of the playable cast as well, but I felt that I needed to expand on Vaan because I feel his character gets a lot of undue hate...

Well, I don't really want to close this post by saying the things that pretty much everyone else has already said, but I feel that it truly does boil down to a game just not being your cup o' tea.

[Bangladesh]

oh wow, well let me just start off by saying that i like the game i think they did a great job with it overall. Compared to other final fantasy games i feel like they fell short. But i understand why they were going with a different approach for the battle system. All im saying is that if they were going to make a mmorpg they should have made it at least online. It would have made for a better ff game and plus i was already playing other games online like battle field and start wars battle front

[loaf]

oh wow, well let me just start off by saying that i like the game i think they did a great job with it overall. Compared to other final fantasy games i feel like they fell short. But i understand why they were going with a different approach for the battle system. All im saying is that if they were going to make a mmorpg they should have made it at least online. It would have made for a better ff game and plus i was already playing other games online like battle field and start wars battle front

They have 2 FF onlines games. And I am tired of people saying XII is trying to be an MMO. MMOs, you can't beat the game at lvl1 or with like nothing to buff your character up. Just cause you walk everywhere don't mean it's an MMO.

[Dan558]

Another thing too the language they use all the time is really annoying too. It may be a unique style but sometimes its so bad I feel like I need an English-to-retard dictionary just to know what they are saying/telling me to do. Using words like o'er(over), tyme(time), Sun Cryst (Sun Crystal) are just useless. Those specific words aren't exactly what I'm talking about (only ones I remember off the top of my head) when I say I don't understand them but when every word is like that along with FF made-up words and words no longer used in modern English, it frustrates me to the point where I stop caring about what dribble the story is talking about.

[Zidane77]

Yeah the story wasn't for everyone.
I liked it up to some point but it wasn't really interesting to me, especially because it was so short. Way to deep for a short story.
The whole game was mostly about doing side-quests and hunting monsters, which i liked.
Only the storyline should've been more aligned with that or least been longer to actually make sense.
(Maybe should've added dialogue to make up for the lack of cut-scenes).

As for the music it's not all bad, it's fun that the battle music is not always the same.
I guess i didn't like the music cause i was comparing it to classic FF games, but still it grows on you. (Still don't like the Rabanastre/downtown music).

[Xanatos]

Another thing too the language they use all the time is really annoying too. It may be a unique style but sometimes its so bad I feel like I need an English-to-retard dictionary just to know what they are saying/telling me to do. Using words like o'er(over), tyme(time), Sun Cryst (Sun Crystal) are just useless. Those specific words aren't exactly what I'm talking about (only ones I remember off the top of my head) when I say I don't understand them but when every word is like that along with FF made-up words and words no longer used in modern English, it frustrates me to the point where I stop caring about what dribble the story is talking about.

I don't recall having such difficulties, and keep in mind, English is not my native language. Saying that every word is spoken or written in such manner is going to far if you ask me, as far as I've noticed majority of them are usually written that way but spoken quite clear.

Characters with such vocabulary are few and rare, often those of noble heritage, Ashe and Larsa for instance, and even they speak what you call modern English majority of time. If you have hard time understanding what they're saying than you may actually need English-to-retard dictionary, I would certainly like to see you reading "The Sun".

To me this looks like another one of yours petty reasons/excuses to bash the game, like calling the battles slow, and reviewers being blinded by "new shiny things" wasn't enough already.

[Zargabaath]

Yeah the story wasn't for everyone.
I liked it up to some point but it wasn't really interesting to me, especially because it was so short. Way to deep for a short story.
The whole game was mostly about doing side-quests and hunting monsters, which i liked.
Only the storyline should've been more aligned with that or least been longer to actually make sense.
(Maybe should've added dialogue to make up for the lack of cut-scenes).

The biggest cause of Final Fantasy XII having pacing problems are the amount of side-quests/optional stuff the player can do. They can literally spend tens of hours not continuing the story. At the same time, Final Fantasy XII does not repeat itself as a refresher to the player. Once something is said the player ought remember it because the game won't say it again; it expects the player to remember the prior story and then to take that into the new cut-scenes. With the amount of cut-scenes being way less than Final Fantasy X people can forget the story more easily. However this "pacing problem" is not much of problem. Why? Because it stems from doing optional stuff meaning the player is in control on what they do, how much optional content they will pursue.

During my current play-through (2nd) I realized something new about the game. Sometimes the pacing for the second half of the story (After the Leviathan sinks) may be criticized, but the cut-scenes at Jahara are not that far off; as well as the scenes in Eruyt Village, Henne Mines, Paramina Rift, & Mt. Bur-Omisace. If the player goes straight to the destination than to reach the next cut-scene should take no longer than an hour in that stretch. Of course if the player wants to explore - something that fans of the world map having complaining about since FFX took out the world map - or do side stuff then that is their prerogative. I do find it humorous that FFXII offered a lot of exploration but that some people found it to be too much.

Also, my baby niece (20 months old) pointed to these emoticons so they must be important in a mysterious way:

[randy666]

personally i enjoyed FFX more than 12, but in FF12 there is a sense of a lot of freedom, generally you can go where ever you like and do what ever you want (although they could have added even more sidequests.....

also I found FFXII more of a challenge than other FF simply because the battle system was difficult to work out and rare items were often diffuclt to obtain early in the game, it basically made you play the game properly and allowed you to mess around if you wanted but at your own gain.

[ZantetsukeN]

Look, Square-Enix tried something new, and they suceeded in in my point of view. I love FFXII. What's wrong with trying something outside the usual box.
As much as I love FF, it wouldn't be good to see them all the same. FFXII is a refreshing twist on a genre that was starting to become a bit routine.

The battle system seemed like a test run, but it came out great. It is nice to see your prey for once. The characters were good, although OK, some got annoying (Larsa kind of annoyed me). Most of the NPC characters were great. Vayne was awesome, and is possibly in contention for my favourite FF villains.

The story was good. Not amazing, but it kept me playing to find out what happens next.

The best part of the game was the environments. All of them were magnificent, especially the Rift. They really pushed the graphical capabilities of the PS2 to its limits. Although graphics aren't always everything, I think it added a lot to this game.

And as for the language used by some of the characters:

Characters with such vocabulary are few and rare, often those of noble heritage, Ashe and Larsa for instance, and even they speak what you call modern English majority of time. If you have hard time understanding what they're saying than you may actually need English-to-retard dictionary, I would certainly like to see you reading "The Sun".

I couldn't have said it better myself. It's easy enough to understand.

I think the only reason people didn't like it is because it is different from the others. Which, in my eyes, is not a bad thing what so ever.

[Blackbird VIII]

Huh, I am replaying this brilliant game as we speak. Personally, it is my 3rd most favorite FF of all time. I think that the battle system was extremely refreshing and incredibly fun. The story was again a refreshing change for the series. I have always enjoyed political story lines and in a way FF12 is perfect for that. The characters were okay but not the spicy FF7 cast that every one seems to compare the entire series to. I absolutely loved the hunt feature. I spent hours just not saving the hunts that I killed so I could go back and redo them haha.

There are many more reason why I love this game but it would take far too long to list them.

[ffking997]

IF you go through all the side quests, espers, hidden bosses etc. then, it's great. More freedom than any other Final Fantasy.
As for your first post, Dan, the more exciting parts come after the first fight against Cid. Currently, I'm on the Bahumut. Last levels, and I'm stuck.. going to go back and train my secondary/reserve party.
So anyways, this game has a lot more to do than the other Final Fantasy's before it. I think it was a masterpiece, walking into/through the new areas, the remarkable storyline, brilliant. It's easy for me to see why people like it so much.

[Dan558]

IF you go through all the side quests, espers, hidden bosses etc. then, it's great. More freedom than any other Final Fantasy.
As for your first post, Dan, the more exciting parts come after the first fight against Cid. Currently, I'm on the Bahumut. Last levels, and I'm stuck.. going to go back and train my secondary/reserve party.
So anyways, this game has a lot more to do than the other Final Fantasy's before it. I think it was a masterpiece, walking into/through the new areas, the remarkable storyline, brilliant. It's easy for me to see why people like it so much.

I dunno, I got as far as some sort of tower on the edge of the world before this game killed me with boredom again. I weant up 2 or three dreadfully boring levels then it seems like it continues like that for far too long I said "I'm not doing that boring crap again and requit trying to give this game a chance.

I don't have my original post open so I can't remember exactly what I typed but people seem to focus a lot on defending this game with its battle system. It's not the worst battle system and its not exactly what kills the game for me but I can tell you its not special, very repetitive and all-in-all not fun. After seeing experiencing how lackluster the battle-system is it makes me wonder why every person who likes the game can't shut up about it.

Also I may have been exaggerating with how much I can't understand how they talk (which people seemed to spitefully take offense to enough to basically insult me personally, jerks). Overall though there language adds nothing to the game for me, I hate it when people arn't direct and the dialects they use make me want to smack them into stating things clearly and concisely instead of dancing around "serious" issues with useless imagery. If I was sent back in time 300+ (don't expect me to know specific time periods and dialects that were used then) years I would go insane just having to listen to the way people talk.

Edit: Xanatos, that was the stuck-up, self-righteous person who felt the need to insult me personally

[ffking997]

I understand what you mean about the language used. Personally, I like it. The middle age talk, the more the better. However, when Fran starts talking about mists and all that, I get confused and it irritates me as well. The game is still remarkable, although I have given up (from being bored) and restarted numerous times. Still yet to complete the game.

[kajarxxx]

I liked FFXII because of the characters, story (mainly story, coz it wasnt another melodramatic love story that makes you skip all the cutscenes..FFXII was great at that aspect), customizeable characters (I mean you can buy new armor, wep etc) and it had good presentation and atmosphere..
Thats what i can think about right know...
Oh btw even tho i didint fully understand the story, or i didint want to understand it but i liked it either way coz there rly wasnt so many bitching around most parts, well Vaan was being a ***** sometimes, LOL.

[Leon]

I just wanna say that, even though I haven't played the game, I watched videos of it and nothing about it bothers me. The music's good. The battles are in real-time (although the old ATB system is great, as well). I see nothing wrong with it. I don't know much about characters, but until I get the game I'll always give FFXII a positive review.

[Crazy Chocobo]

I guess it depends on people's tastes, some people are going to like it while others hate it. I am not a big fan of this game, I haven't even played that much of it really because I couldn't really get into it. The characters annoy me, the battle system isn't that great, there's too much desert. It's just not my thing, some of it was ok but it just couldn't keep my interest for long enough so I haven't touched it again since.

[HUNK]

I'm not going to say that Final Fantasy XII is the best thing to ever happen to Final Fantasy or anything crazy like that but I will say that it was a great addition to the FF series.

Let's start with the different battle system. If the haters could pull there heads out of their butts for a moment, they could realise it's NOT THAT DIFFERENT! It still has charging guages that rely on ATB, you can move around but it's not like you can dodge attacks or anything...I don't see the real difference.

The story has a great amount of depth but really I don't think they ("they" being Square) really spent as much time as they would've liked to in developing it.

I think it's a good game...try to stop hating people.

[Angel of Iniquity]

^
l
l
You can dodge certain attacks.
Well, this game was a little slow. Nothing spectacular like FF8- Dollet, War of the Gardens, Lunatic pandora and Lunar cry, and Time kompression.
This game... actually that is all, too slow and boring.
Oh and the color pallet wasn't the best. All dry colors. My favorite area was the phon coast cause of the colors.

Oh and no set themes, Oh and the Mimic Omega, Oh and the VERY mature story, Oh and the lazy persons Battle system, Oh and the main character that almost does nothing to the storyline, Oh and the annoying bunny lady who thinks she knows everything, Oh and the retarded swap names of the Espers (Really? The bahamut a skyarch?), Oh and the... I can go on forever >.>

[Zargabaath]

Well, this game was a little slow. Nothing spectacular like FF8- Dollet, War of the Gardens, Lunatic pandora and Lunar cry, and Time kompression.
This game... actually that is all, too slow and boring.
Oh and the color pallet wasn't the best. All dry colors. My favorite area was the phon coast cause of the colors.

There was the top of the Pharos Lighthouse, Draklor, But-Omisace, assassination of the Emperor, Giruvegan, & I'm Basch fon Ronsenburg. Bwahaha.

Colors aren't everything, architecture and scenery have value.

Oh and no set themes,

Well there's coping with great loss(es), freedom vs. tyranny (which is doubled because of the tryanny of Vayne/Judges/Arcadian Empire & the Occuria), revenge, redemption, necessity, to list for ya.

Oh and the VERY mature story,

A more mature storyline than prior FFs. Has a less anime influence than previous FFs. Has a story that does not repeat itself - good memory useful.

Oh and the lazy persons Battle system,

A lazy person wouldn't like having to swtich/set gambits for every new area or to fight a certain monster. A lazy person wouldn't like switching equipment often, & in battle at times, to fit the situation. That's too much work. I would like to know how, your personal favourite Final Fantasy VIII, is not a lazy person's battle system? As with most FFs - press "confirm" for attack 3-5 times each round depending on which FF the gamer is playing.

Oh and the main character that almost does nothing to the storyline,

Vaan did not shake the storyline up like past FF heroes/heroines have, but this game was bound more in reality - small party without great [anime-like] power. Ashe never commanded the story to her will. Vaan does have involvement in the story.

Oh and the annoying bunny lady who thinks she knows everything,

Well she did know a lot, so she didn't need to think she knew everything. The wise sage of the party was her archetype - as was: Fusoya, Tellah, Strago, Cid Previa, Bugenhagen(?), Auron, etc.

Oh and the Mimic Omega, Oh and the retarded swap names of the Espers (Really? The bahamut a skyarch?),

Mmmkay? I can understand that Omega is just a huge "mimic-like" machine of doom. The mimics of Final Fantasy XII seem to have an influence by the Omega's of old in appearance. But both complaints are nit-picking.

Oh and the... I can go on forever >.>

Don't.

[loaf]

If anyone knew the history of Ivalice (and played FFT) they would know why the Esper names aren't like the original summon names.

[Tidus235]

people like the game cause it gives them something to do and its fun. if u want to know more ask others around u