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Post by Sorien on Apr 3, 2008 0:13:41 GMT -5
I still stand solid on that man, about the story, part of it that I didn't like was that it was so political. As for the battle system, you know about what I think about it, it's quite good. I actually never used quickenings very much to be honest, only in the really big fights. That was one thing I did like about it too, although things were very much based on level, it took a LONG time to get to level 80 even, let alone 100. I had my own cheeky way of getting there, but for the ones who didn't do it the way I did, could spend a long time grinding on creatures. As for the creatures, I agree. I liked the way they did that, but I never had one of those bunnies heal me Maybe because I was always at full health anyways XD. It seems they took a book from the WoW manual for that one (about passive and aggressive monsters). Lastly, yeah, some stuff about 9 has been said, you might want to take a look XD. Dunno about 6 though.
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Post by Kiri on Apr 3, 2008 12:53:57 GMT -5
I really liked XII, though I haven't finished it yet. Who knows if I ever will. *glares at PS2 hog and school* Maybe this summer.
But yeah. I'm kind of a sucker for political stuff (I loved Gundam Wing XD), even if I suck at writing it.
Anyway. Gotta run to school. XD Will edit post later to make it better.
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Post by SeraphMazrakiel on Apr 16, 2008 16:12:03 GMT -5
Lol. YOOHOO, GO SORIEN. My all-round opinion on this game is that... well, yeah, it wasn't very impressive; forgettable at best. The graphics were nice, that's a given. I have to be one of the few that thought the battle system was more flawed than playable. Anyone playing this game seriously needs to play it in real-time (apart from the difficult boss battles, in which setting the game to Wait for your commands is a good thing, trust me!)... it's just too boring otherwise. The problem I had with it was that it just, wasn't engaging enough. Your battle time simply amounted to how much time you put into the Gambit Menu - most of the battles were FOUGHT ON THIS MENU, because once your gambits were set up... all you did was run into your opponents (slowly) and watch your party massacre them. You wouldn't need to heal your party - you'd have already taken care of that in your gambits. There were very few button presses... you just ran your little men into the waiting monsters, slaughter them without effort, run your little men over the bag icon, pick up an item... and then ran towards the next waiting monster. What little intervention there was in your battles amounted to Quickenings - which were a pretty cool idea, in my opinion. The only exceptions to the sucky battle system were the far and few 'Destined Battle" fights.... more on those later. But then of course.... setting up your gambits made playing the game redundant. Why teach the PlayStation how to play the game for you? It was so unengaging, I found myself trying to fight back falling asleep at times - all that kept me awake was knowing that I had to move my thumb to keep the PlayStation doing my dirty work for me. The music lacked emotion. It's nice, don't get me wrong... but it doesn't grip you the way previous installments have done. It's (sorta) good to see them going for a fully orchestrated sound most of the time, but... To be honest, I found it annoying sometimes. While running through the Garamsythe Waterway or Mt Bur-Omisace, the music would just drone on and on... I don't even REMEMBER any of the music from the game actually. There wasn't a single theme that stuck out, I couldn't hum a FFXII tune to save my life. lol. My biggest problem with the game was actually that I spent so much time sidequesting that I'd completely forgotten what the story was about. The game took me a VERY long time to complete because - like most people I know who've played it - they'd hunt marks as they appeared throughout the story, under the notion that "If I can beat the marks, I can beat the bosses that come my way". The only problem with that was, the difficulty of the marks FAR AND AWAY ECLIPSED the difficulty of ANY boss you EVER fought. I spent my time levelling to take on the marks, which in the end, for normal gameplay purposes, turned out to be unnecessary. It takes far too long if you're levelling your WHOLE party - seriously, it's a major feat getting all your characters to level 70. At one point in my game, I spent TEN HOURS away from the story before resuming it; by the time I'd gotten back to it, I'd COMPLETELY forgotten what was going on. In the end, I just gave up entirely on three of my characters, created a main party and stuck with them the whole way through: yeah, when it was too late to do so anyway 'cos I was close to the end of the story. I think the story had a lot more potential, too. I'm all for a political story, but... I think the story was just, less focused on the characters. In fact, there was very little focus ANWHERE in the story... I'd say it was the least memorable story I've ever heard. "So you meet Ashe, and you see Larsa from time to time, and... stuff happens." Huh. lol. Oh, and let's not even TALK about why Fran and Penelo are in the game. There was very little character development.... very little reason for some of the characters to even exist. The game does have its moments though. For all the battle system's flaws... there were some truly epic battles - the aforementioned Destined Battles, which is what I like to call them at least XD - that took place in the game. The problem is that these battles were mainly, well.... sidequests. The battle against the Fafnir mark was epic - one of the first (and only) creatures you fight with HP over 1,000,000. Behemoth King, Hell Wyrm... all truly engaging battles. I loved these few parts of the game. I'm still trying to take on Yiazmat, but I don't think I can be bothered - Penance took long enough for me, I can't be bothered doing something simiilar a second time, which will take twice as long and be half as fun. I don't think I have too much more to say about Final Fantasy XII. As mentioned, the only word I could use to accurately sum up the game is 'forgettable'. Music, story, characters... and in most cases, even gameplay. The game had a few shining moments, but not really enough to redeem it. I can't see myself playing it again anytime soon - in contrast to its single-player predecessor, Final Fantasy X, which I sunk several 100+ hour playthroughs into. I give Final Fantasy XII a fairly forgiving 4.9/10. I have to add... At around about the halfway point of Final Fantasy XII, I ended up getting God of War.... and that was a much better game - I played that more often than I did Final Fantasy XII, really gripping right to the very end. I suppose that doesn't really help my opinion on FFXII.... but then again, that may - more than anything - REALLY show how Final Fantasy XII fared in my game library. ----- Edit: On the subject of opinions about previous installments of Final Fantasy.... I'll admit Final Fantasy VII is probably one of the most overhyped games in the series. However, even in the face of this overhype... I'd say it still is one of the best games in the series. The story was surprisingly strong, the gameplay was fairly good and easy to come to grips with, and it was a fun game all-round. I'd say the reason for it's success, though, was its timing. Its presentation on the PlayStation seriously brought the console - and video gaming - to life like few other games before it.
Final Fantasy VI was pretty good though. I played that a long time ago, and while I don't remember too much about it... yeah, that was a good game.
And I never played Final Fantasy IX. To be honest, I don't even remember why I never asked for it. I think I was just unlucky enough to never hear about it, never see it in stores.... anything, it was quite a low-key release over here. Given the opportunity I'd love to, though. Maybe if I find time to go scour the stores, and if I decide I'll have enough time to play through it.... maybe I will. XD
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Post by Kiri on Apr 29, 2008 16:37:15 GMT -5
Okay. Time for Kiri to (finally) make a proper post now that she's actually played several Final Fantasy games and knows what the crap she's talking about (and isn't too lazy to actually do so). BEHOLD THE RUN-ON SENTENCE OF DOOM.
First of all, I've played FFX and FFX-2 all the way through, most of FFXII, and started out FFVII and FFVIII.
FFX is definitely my favorite out of them. It had its weaknesses, and I know that a lot of die-hard FF fans really didn't like it (I had a guy actually complain to me that they didn't like it because the characters TALKED. Oh em gee, the inhumanity), but I couldn't help loving it. The characters were likable, the plot was interesting, and I thought it was paced really well. Plus, being a girl... well. Sucker for... you know (fluff).
On that same note, I remember being kind of disappointed with the ending... even though I'd seen it before I ever played the game thanks to Strange. XD But in his defense, at the time I didn't own a PS2 and didn't really play video games at all.
Uhh. Final Fantasy X-2 I could rant about, but most of it has already been said. Overall, I thought it was fun... although being the perfectionist that I am... I spent forever leveling the dress spheres and getting all the abilities. Not the best game to go for if you want an interesting or deep plot, but enjoyable nonetheless.
FFVII. Maybe it would be better if I didn't say anything, since it seems I'm one of the few people who really hated it. A friend of mine got it for me for my birthday several years ago because I'd heard, "hey! this game rocks!" and I went, "Alright, maybe I should try it." I don't think I even played it 2 hours. I got extremely bored early on with the slow-moving, convoluted, extremely vague story, and the battle system annoyed the heck out of me. Who knows. Maybe if I had stuck it out and given it more of a chance, I would have liked it... but I doubt it.
FFVIII... I didn't get to play enough of it to really say anything.
And now on to FFXII.
Okay. I like this game. Let me just throw that out there. I like the characters (though I don't feel as attatched to most of them as I did with the FFX characters), and I think the story is interesting (like I said before, though... sucker for political themes). It's not the most original thing under the sun, but it's still relatively entertaining.
Yeah, there are a lot of sidequests. It didn't really interfere with the story for me, though, because I have a habit of just waiting until I'm almost done with the game to do sidequests. This has turned out to be a big mistake, since I'm struggling to finish marks and rare game... and there is a LOT of it (it doesn't help I never get to play the PS2 these days), so I can see where that would be a problem. But for the most part, I think they were either trying to give it some replay value, or at least give the player a lot of options for when they needed a break from the storyline. Obviously no one is holding a gun to your head saying "DO THESE SIDEQUESTS," but for those of us obsessed with getting high completion, it is a slight problem.
Huuuhhhh what else.
Oh yeah, gambits.
Gambits were... alright. They were kind of useless for me (to a degree), half because I'm such a control freak that I didn't like leaving everything to the computer. However... they were definitely useful, especially when it came to resurrecting and healing. Usually I set two of my party members to run gambits, and then set the party leader not to use them. In that way, I satisfied my need to be constantly controlling everything, but I didn't make myself crazy trying to keep track of 3 different characters at once.
All in all... I liked this game. I wouldn't call it boring, though I would definitely say it is long and a little bit ... what's the word? Tedious, maybe, at times.
Now if only I didn't have to share the PS2 with 9 teenage boys, maybe I'd actually get to see the ending.
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Apr 29, 2008 18:43:37 GMT -5
I'm one of those who liked the gambit system, actually. One thing that's always annoyed me about RPGs, as much as I love them, is how tedious grinding can get when you're fighting random battles. With Gambits, the gameplay flows much better and you forget how much time you're spending fighting as you explore the map. I was originally worried about using gambits, fearing the typical "dumb computer" syndrome, but I'm happy to say I was wrong on that count. To me, the Gambit system feels natural. It's comfortable. And it's fun to sit back and watch my characters mercilessly slaughter any monster that gets in their way. XD
As for actually setting up the gambits, yeah, that can get a little tedious (one thing particularly bothered me: your cursor would go back up to the top every time you switched characters; so it makes quickly turning certain gambits on and off if you use the same setup for multiple characters like I do), but all in all, the strategy involved makes it more fun. Prioritizing actions, deciding who should do what to whom when... it's actually pretty fun thinking up different scenarios and tailoring your gambits to match.
Sure, the story itself is a little more vague - lots of political intrigue, running around back and forth without a clear and concise focus much of the time, etc. I have to admit it took me a few hours to get into the game at all. But I personally find this refreshing. How many RPGs are about saving the world? A good majority, I'd presume from what I've seen. With many of them, you know from the beginning you're saving the world. Not that saving the world is a worthless pursuit, but it's nice to see a twist on the typical "beat the big bad evil king/queen and save the world". I've noticed, too, that after playing through part of the game, when I went back and watched the story scenes again, it was much more engaging - so the replay value for this game in terms of story alone seems very promising.
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Post by SeraphMazrakiel on Apr 30, 2008 23:53:29 GMT -5
I don't want to replay this game again... XD WHAT A CHORE THAT WOULD BE.
VII does have a slow start, actually. I never really thought about it like that. lol.
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Post by Kiri on May 3, 2008 16:09:35 GMT -5
Yeah. I watched my brother play a bit more of FFVII... and I still couldn't get into it. The story just didn't interest me at all. >_>;
And I know what you mean about what a chore replaying FFXII would be. XD It makes me tired just thinking about it, and I haven't even been able to finish it yet.
And you have a good point there, K-sama. I liked trying to figure out which gambits to use.
Oh yeah, one other thing that bothered me. The game did NOT explain Quickenings at ALL. I went through like 25% of the game not even knowing they existed, wondering why I had such a hard time defeating bosses. I would spend hours level grinding and still be unable to win, and it wasn't until Strange asked me, puzzled, "Don't you just use Quickenings?"
Me? "WHAT IS A QUICKENING?"
Of course, maybe if I'd read the little guide book that comes with the game... XD BUT WHO READS THOSE? REALLY? IT'S LIKE MEN READING DIRECTIONS! IT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN!
Blah blah blah. XD
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Post by Sorien on May 3, 2008 18:03:21 GMT -5
Yeah, they didn't explain them at all huh? I didn't have the option of reading a manual XP. But the reason I didn't use them, was I didn't know how many of the quickening licences were going to be in total, and (say, in my mind if there were 3 on the board in total) I didn't know whether to give them to one, two or three people. In the end, I just decided to take a leap of faith.
I noticed I never said anything about summons. Who used summons here? Normally, you pull a summon out, when you have a horde of enemies you need to dispatch quickly. Summon an esper. Within 10 seconds it's DEAD. How puny is that. As a result, I think I used summons about...3 times, never in any boss fights as well. Even after attaining some of the really difficult espers too. Bleeeeh.
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on May 3, 2008 22:19:38 GMT -5
They're useful for certain things, but employing them takes a lot more strategy than the old mentality of "In a jam? Whip out a summon and bulldoze the path ahead!" There's actually a guide on using Espers, as a matter of fact. Some of the uses include damage absorption (if you see a boss about to unleash a final attack, pull out an Esper so your party doesn't die!) or status prevention (since Espers are immune to status effects), as well as elemental strategies. I mostly think they're fun to get, though. And every now and then I'll just randomly use quickenings for the sole reason of watching the shiny effects. XD
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Post by Kiri on May 5, 2008 16:27:23 GMT -5
Yeah. I have them... I don't use them much, though.
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Post by SeraphMazrakiel on May 6, 2008 6:22:54 GMT -5
BRUTE FORCE 12, STRATEGY 0.
lol.
In Final Fantasy games, you eventually get to a stage where all a summon becomes is boss food; basically, your characters are so powerful they can stand up to all but a superboss grand attack (Omega Weapon, Nemesis/Penance)... at which point you summon poor Ifrit to the table and he gets eaten in place of your characters. You continue to battle, dealing 2 million HP worth of damage before the boss unleashes the attack again, in which case you throw Shiva to the lions too. This continues on until either the boss carks it, or you run out of Bahamut steaks.
...Mmm, Bahamut steaks.
I think I'm at the pont of the game (yeah, I know, the final mark, lol) where summons can finally be used to some effect (read, WABOKU TRAP CARD)... but in all cases, there's never a foe your characters can't take on. And in this particular game, Espers are far too weak to stand up to anything they SHOULD be able to handle.
Three characters with Greatswords - one of them Tournesol - destroys all enemies before Zodiark blinks.
Quickenings are good. I have two parties - my main party, all level 99 (or close to it)... and my Blitzkreig party, all used SOLELY for their Quickenings. Once their MP is exhausted, I swap them back for the main party again. Level 50s cannot survive Yiazmat's fury.
Neither can Level 99s, though. XD
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Post by Sorien on May 19, 2008 19:10:18 GMT -5
On a completely different topic... lol...
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Post by Kiri on May 26, 2008 15:56:40 GMT -5
O___o I hope that's FFXI and not WoW... I can't really tell the difference 'cause I haven't played either... but if it's WoW... I'm reportin j00! XD
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Post by SeraphMazrakiel on May 30, 2008 1:08:26 GMT -5
lol.
SORIEN'S A PHOENIX DOWN.
Shoulda used him instead. CLOUD'S SUCH A SUCKER.
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Jun 4, 2008 20:28:53 GMT -5
Please either size that image down or put it behind a link. Oversized images stretch the page. ^^;;;
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