I just beat FFXII! Here is my review.

What a coincidence that Rulia should post her review the same day I finished the game. On to my review:

1) Story: I must say I'm quite impressed. FF is a series known for good storylines but this one shines above the rest. More mature and finally with decent dialogue (for the most part, there are exceptions). The ending is brilliant and very emotional. Some things should have been expanded upon (such as the Occuria), but it all flows well and the plot is consistent and more grounded in politics than your generic "save the world", which is such a welcome change.

2) Characters

a) Balthier: I know Lisa doesn't like him but Balthier has to go down as one of the most noble and heroic characters ever to grace a video game. The ending proves this. He's also quite fleshed out and has a good backstory that is meaningful to the plot.

b) Basch: On this Lisa and I can agree fully. Basch is a great character, full of honor and kindness.

c) Vaan: Hmm. not too shabby. He develops fairly well and in the end he demonstrates that he's more than a tag along just for the ride, though he could still be fleshed out a bit more.

d) Ashe: A good character. She's not your typical princess always in distress. I like how she showed what kind of person she truly is at Pharos.

e) Penelo: She's the weakest character. She has a good personality but she was underdeveloped.

Villains and other characters

Vayne: I heard someone describing him as Machiavellian and I fully agree. Great villain whose motives trump all over Sephy's and Ultimecia's (she didn't even have a motive). Great villain.

Larsa: Awesome characters. The voice of reason throughout the game and thus added a lot to the storyline.

Dr. Cid: Again, a great character. He somehow reminds me of Hojo, with the whole mad scientist thing.

Al-Cid: Another voice of reason and he too contributed effectively to the plot. Plus, he's a pimp, lol!

The Occuria: They're a great idea, but they should've been expanded upon. They're introduced too suddenly (unless you count the times where they mention the Gods).

Reddas: His actions were determinant in the last part of the game. He showed great courage and his last action was very noble.

Gameplay:

Gameplay-wise FFXII is a bit iffy. That's not to say it isn't fun but it still had some issues. First, I hated the fact that chests were random. The most valuable items should come as rewards for completing a difficult task not because of sheer dumb luck. Farming for some items could be tiresome. And sometimes it felt like the game was playing itself even during the final boss. However the game is quite good because you need to pay attention at all times or you'll get wiped out.

Sidequests: Hunts are a lot of fun and a good distraction from the main game. I haven't tried minigames yet as I'm not interested in them. I'll simply go back to my old file before beating the game and beat Yiazmat, Hell Wyrm and Omega Mk. XII

Music: Some tunes were memorable, others not so much. The final song that plays during the ending is amazing though.

Scenery/Graphics: The graphics were awesome. Although some scenery could get quite repetitive and some monsters were pretty much the same.

Overall, FFXII is an awesome game that deserves to be praised.
 
Well I just beat it. I've had the game since it came out and it took me forever just to get to playing it, and I'd have to say that I'm glad I did. No other game has given me the same feeling of satisfaction inbeating it. XII is special like that.
I know most people comlain about the battle system, but it was unique, which mad it much more interesting for me to use. They actually gave a purpose to some attacks and spells which had very little or no purpose in the other final fantasy games. The quikenings were quite interesting as well, working as limits, but designed so that you can't just use them to start a boss battle. everything in it was designed to force the player to create a stradegy.
I enjoyed the story as well. One thing I did find funny is each of the main characters had a family member play a roll in the story except Panelo(poor girl always talking about her dead parents).It was quite interesting watching the characters develop as they did. some matured as the story progressed while others did it in a second.

from everything that I noticed in playing, I give this game a 9/10.
 
FFXII - All the makings of a great game

FFXII could have been a great game, it was set up so well, with the trailers/tasters thinking that you would be able to connect with the characters and get lost in the story.

For me it totally failed to deliver. But I liked the idea of a small country in trouble, seeking to fend off against a larger, power hungry nation. Yet Basche wasn't hard enough, Vaan too whingy, and the story of Ashe should have moved quicker than it did.

Anyone else agree? or has this been said before?
 
I think the problem was that even though FFXII had a great plot, it could have been even better. The Occuria should have been expanded upon. Also, it would have been nice if you could have more insight into the Rozarrian Empire. Al-Cid is a great character and I would've loved to learn more abour Rozarria. Fleshing out characters such as Vaan and Penelo would've added so much more to the plot in terms of emotion. With FFXII the plot seems to reside in the beggining and the end. It should be more evenly distributed. Although, the plot is still miles ahead of many other games I know.
 
Well, i enjoyed the new battle system quite abit, it wasn't up to scratch as the other final fantasy games, i like turn based game with deep story which gets you into you favourite characters mood. FFXII did not do this at all because there wasn't much of a story line for Balthier and Fran.
 
-Threads Merged-

Please remember that your review of this particular game goes in this thread. =]
 
Summoner Yuna said:
I think the problem was that even though FFXII had a great plot, it could have been even better. The Occuria should have been expanded upon. Also, it would have been nice if you could have more insight into the Rozarrian Empire. Al-Cid is a great character and I would've loved to learn more abour Rozarria. Fleshing out characters such as Vaan and Penelo would've added so much more to the plot in terms of emotion. With FFXII the plot seems to reside in the beggining and the end. It should be more evenly distributed. Although, the plot is still miles ahead of many other games I know.
Click to expand...

Al-cid did seem like a great character, i agree they should have expanded on him and the Rozarrian Empire. I mean the furtherest West you go is to the valley of the kings isn't it. would have been to have been able to explore that part once you got the airship etc, there could have been more to do once that had happend.

Graphically it was still pretty breathtaking. :neomon: hmmmm
 
Storyline: I think it had a lot of potential..but it just ended up being bogged down by being too politically based, I didn't really feel the characters driving anything. Plus I feel like it ended right when things looked like they might really get moving.

World: Had some great destinations, though the field maps could be annoying.

Character Development: Non-existant. Absolute failure in this section which is dissapointing because for me that's the driving force of FF. I felt like Vaan didn't even have a reason for being there. He really had no point, neither did Penelo and nothing on Penelo/Vaan was ever developed. Balthier was the only character who I found could even be REALLY interesting because the lack of development made everyone very flat. This is the factor that really killed the game for me.

Graphics: They were very good but with a few problems. The big one..the noses..there was something funky going on with the noses, especially Vaan's. FMV's were a huge let down since the majority of them had us looking at yet ANOTHER airship instead of scenes involving the characters which is where I really want to see them.

Music: Very good, as always, with a few memorable pieces.

Overall: 5/10.....the lack of character development was inexcusable for me.
 
Storyline: the political basis never really had my interest due to a personal bias, but this game did nothing to relieve that bias. Slow and poorly paced, the story plodded along without much urgency. The plot was also quite shallow and pointless; the game never really completed a full journey. It felt like I was thrown into the middle of the story without being given the time or chance to understand the beginning and then have no real ending. I remember sitting and staring at the screen after the game was over and thinking... "And?", and sadly never given any sense of closure.

Characters: there was such promise. Glimpses of the characters were offered and from what little I was able to see, I was intrigued. But those glimpses never really went anywhere. None of the characters were able to break out of the stereo-typical roles in which they were cast and actually grew to any noticeable extent. There was hardly any developement and this created an intense sense of detachment from the characters and thus the story.

Music: the music was pathetic. I say pathetic because, of the Final Fantasy Series, music is the one thing that had always been constant. Until this game, I thought it was impossible that SE could make a bland and unassuming Final Fantasy soundtrack. This is the only Final Fantasy soundtrack that I cannot point to at least one song and praise it. In fact only one song even stood out and that was because it was a blatant rip-off of Star Wars (the sandsea).

Graphics: the one area in which FFXII actually suceeded and even shined. Details were astounding and the city vistas were breath-taking. Aside from Vaan's wierd abs, the graphics were supreme and flawless. The cutscenes were gorgeous and actually had me impressed, especially the scene with Ghis and his fleet.

Gameplay: at first I was intrigued, but it quickly grew tiresome and boring. Eventually I was groaning with each battle because of the stiff mechanics and uselessness of magic and summons. The only bright point to the battle system were the quickenings. Fun and visually exciting, the only part of battle I looked foward to. But SE dearly needs to return to FFX or FFX-2's systems or look to Crisis core or other franchises such as the Tales series to see revamp the horrid real time battles in this game.

Sidequests/Misc.: while hunting was a challenge and sometimes fun, it nor any of the other sidequests fed back into the main story to any noticeable effect. Unlike FFX, FFX-2, and FFVII, none of the sidequests delved deeper into the plot, the history, or the characters. It was more of a diversion than anything else.

Overall I was thoroughly dissapointed in Final Fantasy XII the first time I beat it. Now deep into another replay of it, that dissapointment is far closer to disgust than I ever thought a Final Fantasy could take me. I cannot understand the love this game gets from some people because the game just isn't that good.

4/10
 
Just finished FF XII. I think it was a very good game, although there were times when you just wanted to stop playing, every time you got through those moments and then it became interesting again.

For me it was kinda great that I was able to complete the game with only leveling 3 characters(Vaan, Balthier and Fran, othes I didn't really touch) and I only spent something like 55hrs to complete it(with the 3 chars at lvl58). I just kept those three strong through the whole game and got every boss down on first try( the double LP and double exp accessories were great ;) ).

The world was awesomely made and I kinda liked the new combat system more than the old one, made it less frustrating to grind levels and such.

The cutscenes were very nicely made and the base graphics were okay so the game was nice to watch through the whole story. The music, on the other hand, was not so great to be honest, I chose to listen to something else instead of the gamemusic. (only took my headphones off to listen to the cinematics)

The license system was okay, although they could've made it a bit more individual for each character, all my 3 characters ended up with pretty much same armor/accessory licenses, each their own weap licenses and all had pretty much every augment and spell there was...(spells that I was able to buy that is) So all my character were able to heal, do phys dmg and spell dmg and had all the buffs and stuff. Also the fact that I was able to get 3 quickenings to all the 3 characters pretty early in the game made most of the bosses way too easy.

All in all though FF XII was the first ps2 game I bothered to play through in a long time. Eventhough there were dark times it usually was able to keep me interested. I'd give the game 8/10 or 9/10, some little fixes and it could've been a 10/10 game.

And the ending song sucked hard :S It kinda ruined the ending cinematic for me atleast :P
 
AN HONEST REVIEW OF FF12

Story

Overall an epic storyline with some fabulous and believable scenes, i feel it could have been done better and felt that the nethicite was badly implemented in a lot of places, the way the cut scenes flow and the interesting character dialog (some of the most interesting in ages) does keep you interested when a cut scene comes on, so overall a very good story line executed to above average level, don't let it spoil the game though because alot of the elements are great, even memorable!

7/10

Characters

to this end i felt the characters were slightly disappointed in terms of there development as a whole, but lets not forget we only feel this when we compare it to other final fantasy game we love, I feel the characters, stripped of alot of flesh and bone suited the fast moving and political storyline, don't get me wrong, i hated penelo, but I really enjoyed balthier, fran with her past, and ashes believable and not overdone struggle!!
so, certainly not the best characters to appear in our beloved FF,
but certainly not the worst!!

7/10

World Setting


from the moment i stepped into the world of ivalice, i knew i was in for something special, this is a statement to next gen designers of all games, okay so now bump mapping, diffuse lighting or advanced shaders.
who cares! this game more then makes up for it with an endless barrage of jaw dropping scenery and exquisitely executed art direction from the same guys that brought us vagrant story.
every new place that i came across i was walking around just to look at the stunning texture detail and attention poured into ever ounce of these atmospheric levels. The scope really impressed me and i commend square enix for crating an original, believable and breathtaking world!!

9.5/10

Gameplay

okay so first off let me say this, apart from a few instances i never really used the gambits, made me feel too detached form the action, takes control away from the user which i didn't like at all.

i was really into the battle system here though, I loved the enemy designs and love how i could see them on the miles of vast terrain.
I fought almost every battle and loved how i could pause the game too strategies and take my time, without having too switch to another area too battle(which i don't really mind its just nice).
For veterans theres not much new here, but is that a bad thing, NO, not imo.You have your classic magic and attacking and what not, i didnt really use the mist moves as i felt they were somewhat lacking in power.
but a solid system that flows and lends nicely to quick fire action and real time combat!!

8/10

Sound

Nobuo Uematsu is gone!! WHAT!! then why is this music so damn good!
I'll tell you why because in uematsu sans stead comes a throughly talented composer, mister SAKIMOTO.
A brilliant score that shows a very dynamic and multi talented composer(again, from vagrant story) tunes such as OZMONE PLAIN, GIZA PLAINS AND PARAMINA RIFT, really brought these places too life, and there are some truly wonderous piano rifts in there along with some sweeping orchestral majesty that lifts the situation on a constant basis.
In my opinion this is one of the greatet FF soundtracks and apart form a few tunes goes down as one of my favorites!!!
(credit to uematsu for a wonderfull vocal score) in the end!!

9/10

8/10 A fabulous effort form square, theres someitng here for all final fans and as usual, the main thing is, this game is fabulous escapism, fun, happiness, sadness, and especially, artistry!!! bravo!
 
well it got a 40/40 score

but what did i think of it?
well in some of the cutscenes i didnt have a clue was going on!
the best part were the hunts and sidequests
overall i liked it and im currently replaying it (even though im still fighting yiazmat)
 
The best thing about FFXII is that it hangs it's balls straight out there. It just goes hard as phuck, unlike most other FF's that have a more modest edge.
 
I find thats final fantasy XII is the best ff , even better then xiii , and the main reason would be the battle system , also the story line is good , and the graphics were awesome .

here are my reviews :
Levels :
Van: 81
Bash : 85
Ash : 74
Balthier : 64
Penelo : 42
Fanfier : 21

Finished the game on 92 h and 20 minute ... my play time until now is 134 hour , i finished 92 % of the hunts and also beaten God or devil hunt .
Aquired all Spells and summons and unlocked all license and gambits .

I only wich there would be FFXII 2 on ps3

 
I just beat FFXII a bit ago. I really didn't care about the story or characters at all so I can't say anything about that. Sorry.

I was quite frustrated with the game at first, didn't get the License Board or the Battle System at all. I actually didn't I'd be able to beat the game. I got through the frustrating parts though, and was able to beat it after all. I even took down Yiazmat (which took 6-7 hours. :rage: I'm not doing that again!).

For the most part, I'm just happy I was able to beat the game and beat the hardest boss I have ever fought in an RPG. :)
 
Venat's Review


Final Fantasy XII Review



Storyline: 9.5/10
It was truly exceptional, but the ending was a little too abrupt. I was satisfied with the ending however.

World Setting: 9/10
Ivalice was one of the biggest and most alive places i've been in a video game.
However I was really looking forward to exploring the Rozzaria Empire and was disappointed that it wasn't included.

Sidequests: 9.5/10
I can't picture the game without all the sidequests and hunts you could do. I really needed them to rack up Gil and Weapons. And they were quite challenging.

Character Development: 10/10
Many people say that characters didn't develop enough, but since this was the first FF game I played, I didn't have the expectations of the rest of the series. Having said that, I loved the characters. The only one I didn't think was fleshed out enough was Penelo. Half the time, I didn't know her motivations for staying with the team or fighting against Vayne. But other than that, the characters were perfect.

Graphics: 10/10
For it's time, the graphics give you nothing to complain about. The in game graphics were immersive and the cut-scenes were flawless.

Replayability: 10/10
This is one of the longest games you'll ever play. Despite that (or maybe because of that) you'll want to play it again the second it's done.

Gameplay: 10/10
I couldn't get enough of walking around strategizing through either wild battles or story line fights. It sounds repetitive and truthfully it is somewhat. But the stuff you can do in this game is so fun you won't care. From the vast amount of commands you can use, to the incredible Gambits system that ties them all together, you'll be hooked to it from start to finish. However the game play is very different from other FF games you may love, so you may not like the changes made.


Final Score/Average: 9.7/10 Nearly Flawless

This game is a must have for anyone that enjoys games, period.
 
Gameplay: 5/10

Could have been so much better... it reminds me of runescape and if i play too long i tend to fall asleep since the gambit system did all the work i just had to run around. When i fought the final mark i was too low level though so it literally took a week but i could fall asleep and wake up the next morning and still be fighting him.

Story line: 10/10

I loved the story. I got hooked on it from the beginning. the twists and turns it has are few but great.

Graphics: 8/10

The cutscenes were amazing but the gameplay graphics could have been better.

World: 10/10

One of my favorites. I love all the side places able to be explored and everything. I'm a sucker for ruins and ancient history.

Characters: 7/10

I loved all of them but Vaan and Penelo could have been better. They seem more like a little brother and sister tagging along no matter how many times you tell them to go home.

Difficult: 7/10

While i may not have the same skill as all you people that beat the final boss first try, it took me several tries and a lot of places i had to leave and train before i could get any farther. So it was pretty difficult but not too difficult.

Side quests: 10/10

They were all pretty engaging and i loved how some you had to do something special to get some of them appear.

also as a side comment i love how difficult it is to get some of the weapons and stuff... took me 3 years to figure out what i was doing wrong in trying to get the Zodiac spear.

General rating: 9/10
 
currently replaying

Game play

Music: 9.5/10
It has some awesome tracks in it, pretty much all of them are awesome

Graphics: 9.5/10
They are amazing for ps2 standards

World 10/10
Its massive and the places are huge

Side quests 10/10
There's hundreds of hours worth...

Difficulty 7.5/10
It can get really tough at times and you have to grind for hours but its still a great game.

Characters 8/10
Some are great but the main character vaan barely contributes to the storyline... Basch is awesome

Linearity: 0/10
Literally, its not linear at all, you can do side quests anytime, the maps are huge... Lower score is better for this, but its so awesome.

New battle system 10/10
It was a new innovation, and a great one.

General score 10/10
 
First of all I personally enjoyed this game a lot. It was so freaking huge, completing the bounty hunts and fighting the espers were the absolute best parts for me personally.

I do understand that many people did not enjoy the political theme within the game, but I think that it is because final fantasy 12 is set within the world of Ivalice. I think it’s actually so simple; that if a final fantasy game takes place within Ivalice it has a tendency to have a very political plotline. Vagrant story and final fantasy tactics are both placed within this fictional world where politics play a huge role.

I personally found the license board to be very intriguing, thinking of what kind of gun I could/should get for Balthier next and how the gamit system could truly mix and match a cool an efficient setup for your characters.

I really think what they managed to do really well with this game was the level design and the overall looks, the world just felt so huge!

When it comes to the characters I personally found myself enjoying everyone expect for Vaan and Penelo, and as such I simply didn’t use them, switched them out with Ache, Bach and Balthier. In my opinion Balthier is probably one of the funniest and coolest characters they have managed to come up with and the voice acting for him was utter brilliant.
What I loved most about this game were the many extra bosses from the 13 zodiacs to King Behemoth, Gilgamesh, Omega and the very long boss battle with Yiasmat.

Now what I personally didn’t enjoy about the game is that the quickening’s were not a stand alone attack that had its own energy meter but took away all your manna if you potentially wanted to try to get a high combo, and even then it might not be worth it because you lost all your mana. I also diden’t like that I could only create one Tournsoul although I actually gathered all the materials for it twice, hoping to recompensate for not being able to acquire the Zodiark Spear. I also didn’t enjoy the concept of having 16 random chests you could not open and if you were to actually open one of these 16 chests you can no longer acquire the best weapon in the game.

The espers were entertaining and challenging boss battles, but failed to deliver as personal summons.

The story was for me interesting and yet a little rambling at times. The lore and the world were huge and they influenced the story in so many ways that you got many parts thrown at you in a hurry. In my opinion I feel that if they had taken more time with connecting the story, the politics and the lore it could shine much more and be more understanding. I for my own part wish they would spoon feed some parts a little more thoroughly then how I felt they did it.

Overall an enjoyable good game, and for me personally it was a strong 8 out of 10.
 
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