FF XII, the Least Feeling Final Fantasy Game?

[ACardAttack]

Before I start, I really loved FFXII, while it is the FF game I like the least, I still loved it, I have loved all the FF games I have played, but for me the game just did not feel like a final fantasy game, at least compared to others in the series.

There wasnt anything fantasy like with the story...sure there was the magneficte, which really just reminded me of WMDs. And then there was that ghost thing that followed Dr. Cid and then the crystal place you go to, but it still felt lacking to me.

But there was nothing like, a revolving cycle of death (Sin in X), the merging of two planets, time compression, a giant rock crashing which clones were made from and the last of an ancient civilization casted a spell to stop a meteor from destroying the planet, a world full of espers that was cut off from humans after a war between the espers and humans, or people living on the moon and in the center of the earth.

There was no love story, which when done right adds a nice dimension to the story. I didnt mind the shift from saving the world to saving your country, but it just didnt do as much for me as the others.

Anyone else feel this way?

 

[Misty]

Nope, I didnt, but then youre talking to the biggest FFXII fan on the forum. I have been disappointed with how cringeworthy and ambiguous some of these love stories have been presented in the past few games. Well, mostly...VII. I mean, there are still nasty debates today as to who Cloud really loved, and at least with XII you get a mention of a love story, references to it throughout, but it doesn't make the story a generic one in the sense that love really has to be apparent.

It doesnt feel the same? All we've had is...saving the world, saving the world, saving the world scenarios. Fun as it was, it got...boring to say the least. Same goal for a villain at the end of the day. Vayne, didnt want that. But still, there was incredible tension probably for the people and what they feared would happen if Vayne did win. I mean, LOOK at what he became, and think what he could have done.

He could have ruined the world unintentionally, so it still held epic moments for me.

There were fantasy moments obviously. Maybe not like the ones mentioned, but it general it held pretty well together as a FF game. Annnd don't start whining about the lack of a love story, the no random battles - those aren't FF alone elements. You had plenty of FF references, throughout, as in past games. If you wasnt satisfied with the story, you just had to notice the other Fantasy elements while travelling.

You don't NEED a love story really for a decent RPG to work. I've paid plenty of them, on the DS mostly, and they've not relied on a love story to really make them successful and enjoyable.

And...serious discussion aside, what is an WMD?

 

[littleslyferret]

Weapon of mass destruction.

(I'll probably edit this post or add if there's been more later when I have time)

edit: Agreeing with the following two posts, generally. Felt like quite a fantasy to me, and I loved the technological add-ins; they sharpened that blurry lore-feel most RPGs have.

 

[Summoner Yuna]

I have to agree with Lisa here entirely. As the second biggest FFXII fan on this forums (Lisa, hun, you get the honor of being the first ), FFXII couldn't have more fantasy in it even if it had been written by Sakaguchi or Tolkien himself. We had tons of magic (not only the one you used in game), but a whole civilization that seems to have supernatural stuff as the base of their culture (espers, the aforementioned magicite, the Occuria, which were magical beings), etc. The game is rife with magic. But the game throws into the mix a little more technology than usual, with the warships, etc. But EVERY Final Fantasy game has done that, especially since FFVI. FFVIII is even more sci-fi than FFXII and could be considered less of a fantasy. Time travelling is more of a sci-fi gimmick. As for the love story, I share LIsa's view on the matter. Sometimes love stories in FF (and RPGs in general) are done so badly that the game is actually better without them.

 

[AmethystRoses]

I have a bad habit. I keep comparing Final Fantasy experiences with Final Fantasy IV. It was the first Final Fantasy I played, and the first RPG I played repeatedly. So, in that sense, it did not feel the same. There is a certain feel every Final Fantasy game has as a stand alone game.

However, Final Fantasy XII was an amazing game, and as a whole, it felt just as a Final Fantasy game should. The constants were present. Moogles (Although the moogles in XII were the cutest moogles to date), Cid (Infact, we had TWO... kinda), Airships. Everything important was there.

The absense of a love story did not effect me much. I mean, it was kinda like it was an ode to earlier times in the series, in some odd way. Unless I am just being stupid. It felt different in its own way, and it was amazing.

UGH! The whole "There is no love story" argument. I agree with one thing, RPGs are heavy on storyline. And love stories have a way of acentuating (sp?) certain sotryline elements, but it is not necessary to have a great story.

It was quite possibly the greatest Final Fantasy game, and feels perfect to me. Just different. Unique.

 

[Busta]

Actually this ranks right up there with FFIX as one of the "most Fantasy feel" games I've played in the series.

Kingdoms, castles, kings and queens, Mages, spells, deserts, crystals, un-dead spirits, judges, traitors, war, walking everywhere instead of hailing a cab on the corner of Park and 7th...

This game had an extra FF feel to it I believe. Story unraveled slowly, but in the end you got a bigger picture of where each character came from and why they were there in the game. Sure many people just want to play it through once to say they complete it, but you only really 'complete' the game when you pay attention, figure out why things happened, and all. This game had a very interesting and complete story when you dive into it hard-core.

 

[Dionysos]

I think it was a good fantasy game, but a terrible Final Fantasy game. If that makes sense. Final Fantasy has always, to me, had a distinct magic to it. The characters, music, atmosphere, themes and overall feeling all contributed to a single mind blowing experience. This game didn't seem to do that for me. It didn't have that magic.

It had all the components you'd immediately THINK that would lead to this feeling; swords, magic, moogles, chocobos, some good music (most of it wasn't very impressive though), and some good characters (i.e Balthier, Gabranth)... But I felt it was missing the overall feel of an FF game. The combination aplied to the correct degree. It just didn't have FF appeal to me.

Perhaps it was the battle system... Perhaps it was the majority of the music (samey, uncatchy, felt more like background music that faded away into nothingness). I think its a combination of the lot really.

 

[Gaige]

Actually, it had a valid storyline and feel to it.

To your regards for Fantasy, there were mages, viera, moogles, bangaa ,Seeq and Nu Mou, four of which are extremely magical. Magicite, Nethicite and the Occuria helped things along.

There are castles, towns, plains and deserts. There is an entire world set out for you to travel across, and you get more freedom than in previous games.

Also there is an excellent combat system that immerses you greatly. It helps you feel the game and every last detail is wonderfully set, from the huge mountains in the far distance to the monsters to the little flowers on the sides of the path, and there is no screen change from free roam to battle.

Also, Vayne Solidor had valid wants, and just went down the wrong path. A villain you can sympathise with helps you get into the game.

Overall, this is a very good game, and I disagree with you.

 

[Exire]

Hm, being a newbie this isn't going to give me any points.

I have been a Final Fantasy fan for quite some time, but I'm not going to argue on what makes (or doesn't) a Final Fantasy game. All I can say is what I like and what I don't. FFXII is the first Final Fantasy I just did not enjoy. I even enjoyed FFX-2 a tad more. Granted, while I really did not like most of X-2 it had its enjoyable moments. I really didn't like much about XII. While having no definitive main character was nice to see again, kind of similar to VI, none of them really stood out all that much either. Except Balthier, but I just loved his personality.

A story of political intrigue can be done well, I certainly am not against it. However, the story was just so incredibly slow moving. Where many would be extremely impatient with these sorts of things, I have the patience for it. But even for me, it was excruciatingly slow. When things did start to pick up, mostly during/after the events in Archades, the story itself was nearly over. Get to Archades, go to Cid's Lab, then Geruvigan, final dungeon, then the end. Except there was extremely putsy work in between to the point it seemed the goals you were completing were entirely pointless.

I started questioning just what the point was. Especially since generally, you needed to do power leveling in each new area you got to. Not to mention if you wanted to get everything, notable completing the Bestiary, you needed to fight all enemies several times, including the more rare ones. There was a lot to FFXII, more than most any Final Fantasy game to be sure. Except even for me, it was so slow and boring that I lost any joy I normally have when playing a FF game, or any RPG for that matter. I did not enjoy the story, most of the characters, backstories felt weak and poorly done, and even the main villain didn't seem all that impressive. There was an epic feel you got when facing the different FF bosses that have gone down in history really. Kefka, Sephiroth, Ultimacia, Kuja, Sin, etc. They all have left a lasting memory, even the most recent, such as Sin. Vayne just did not do that for me, besides seeing him as an evil Laguna.

All in all, I was disappointed. If you don't like the characters or the story, and if the pacing is bad, it can destroy any enjoyment you have in something, whether it be a video game, anime, movie, book, whatever. That was FFXII for me, I managed to get to the ending, but I didn't care in particular about what happened. I cared when Aerith got stabbed by Sephiroth, I cared about Squall getting stabbed by Edea, I felt the strong feelings at the end of FFX. FFXII didn't fulfill any of these feelings or the other thoughts I said above, that is why I did not like it, that is why I feel it's the least well done Final Fantasy, in quite a long time. I will say, if XIII is like XII, I probably will lose complete interest in Final Fantasy. I was just very displeased with the game. I agree that the story and other concepts are interesting, but I need to care to like it and I didn't like it.

I've gone on a little too long again. If the characters were done a little better, if the pacing wasn't so excruciatingly boring on an MMORPG point of things, I would have liked FFXII a lot more. That's really all there is to it. I enjoyed FFVIII or FFX a hundred times better than FFXII, for lack of a better term. FFXIII and Versus look interesting to say the least, so I'm looking forward to those.

 

[aki_aku]

The thing that I didnt really enjoy. None of the characters I thought were likable.


Sure they were ok, but you didnt attatch to them as you did in previous FF games. Vaan and Panello pretty much had no reason to be going along with the rest of the party.


With Tidus in X you were him being a new person into a new world. So your on screen character was just as unaware of the world as you. In VIII your a lone wolf, casting yourself aside from the rest of the party making you feel part of the game. VII Cloud with his whole identity crisis trying to unravel that.

But I just didnt attatch to any character in XII at all. And I thought they were all too serious and cardboard. Their could of being some mild comic relief.




I admit the world is amazing, great locations and HUGE area to explore. And the amount of side quests was good, especially the hunts and beastiry thing.

 

[Icarus]

Third biggest FFXII fan. Biggest FFIII fan.
I hate love stories... it just sprouts meaningless discussion. Fangirls all say "OMG CLOUD IS TEH SEXORZ" and "BALTHIER TEH LDAY KILLR", as fanboys say stuff like "O HEY THERE LOOKING AT SOME VIERA P*RN" and meaningless junk. FFVII featured a few girls fighting over Cloud... and look and how much shit there is in the VII forum... This and FFIII were better than that, less love stories allowed more room for mysteries left unsolved.

 

[Ashe B'nargin]

Final Fantasy 12 was the least unenjoyable Final Fantasy in the series. Final Fantasy 12 has a very mature feeling, to it's game. However it's not really thrilling, the long towns, the online style of fighting monsters and the lack of character development makes this game seem very dull, dry, and boring.

Kind of agree that FF12 had the least Final Fantasy feeling, because the shortage of storyline and character persona and background. Didn't mind missing the romance bewteen the story, but sure did miss the fun ( yet annoying ) random battles, the fast-paced storyline ( that was like playing a video game novel ) and saving the world from werid aliens, monsters from the moon, or becoming a crystal knight.

Just kind of felt that FF12 was very slow, dry, and dull.

 

[Totoro]

I think I found FFXII to be rather slow paced, maybe because I was expecting too much, but I found myself wondering when the game was going to actually start (like in VII when you leave midgar, or VIII when you become a seed and go to timber, or IX when you leave the forest, or X when you travel to luca.) Before I realised that I was a fair bit through the game and it felt like nothing much had happened.

However I think I need to give it a another try, as I don't think I found IX all that great first time through, and I'm in the middle of replaying that (one day I will finish it when work isn't so busy) and I've really enjoyed it, and the story much more. Maybe on a second playthrough of XII I will connect with the characters a bit more and take in the plot, and appreciate the wonderful parts of the game more.

So for now I think I'm on the fence until I play through it again!