Final Fantasy XII

[Quicklet]

10 had Monster Arena... it took awhile.

Doing the same fights over dozens and dozens of times (each with their own transition/loot screens) gets insanely boring though, not to mention it didn't open up til later on in the game.

[Elcura]

10 had the Dark Aeons and Penance in the international version. That was good endgame.

[BarthelloSylph]

10 had Monster Arena... it took awhile.

Doing the same fights over dozens and dozens of times (each with their own transition/loot screens) gets insanely boring though, not to mention it didn't open up til later on in the game.

I'm not saying it wasn't boring, I'm saying it was extensive - you had to visit every place and captured 10 of every mob, then devise strats to beat the bosses.

[BarthelloSylph]

There is a lot to do at the end, I'll give it that. idk I was just pissed because I was getting fed up with a few things. I'm through it and over it now so it's not so bad. I sure as fuck wouldn't do it again, but it's not so bad now. I think more or less I just wasn't playing it right, but I think I did pretty good considering I hadn't used a guide or gotten assistance once up until recently.

The game can be a bit frustrating, and there are some lacking elements to the game - the plot falters when they fired the director (around giruvegan), there's no development of Penelo or Vaan (which is ok in my opinion), Vayne isn't fully fleshed out, etc. It starts off incredible, with TONS of promise, but it definitely limps home a bit, though the ending parts are incredible.

The thing is - despite its flaws - it's a very entertaining game. It's expansive. It's beautiful. There's tons of things to do. The battle system is simple, yet complex. The endgame material is massive. There are epic moments. There are tragic moments. Balthier may be the best character in a long, long time. It's no perfect game (like FF7 LOL!!!) but is it a fun video game? You bet your ass it is.

[Fallso]

Hate management in this game is also pretty fucking sad. There is no provoke of any sort, only a half-shit spell that doesn't even work 50% of the time, and even then it's not guaranteed.

Yeah, I know those provoke spells always came in so handy in older FFs... oh wait, they didn't have it either >_>;

As far as I recall, in FF 1-10 the mobs attacked whoever they felt like with no provoke abilities to speak of. The only exception that comes to mind is the "cover" or "true knight" type of abilities, but even those don't work 100% of the time. It wasn't a problem then, I don't see why it should be a game-breaker now.

FFX had provoke, guard and sentinel.

[Quicklet]

The unfortunate part about having an FF game released in America months after its Japanese release is that the "optimum" strategies are usually already figured out. It's tough to balance a single-player game while keeping it fun, so things like a provoke-type spell/ability which are probably designed to make certain encounters which would otherwise normally be extremely hard manageable end up getting used more than the designers intended. On the other hand, (a) the game is still usually fun and (b) you always have the option to not use these strategies if they make the game "too easy."

I feel like it's easy to say "well, such and such changes weren't fun," but at the same time if RPGs kept recycling the same systems over and over again the gameplay would get stale even if the storylines were outstanding.

As far as FF12 goes, I think most people would agree that the plot is lacking, that some of the characters are uninteresting (Basch and Balthier were awesome if you ask me, I can see the others not really being interesting though), and that the gambit system has some issues that can be annoying (Steal AI, anyone?). Bart's right though, despite its flaws (and every FF has some), it's a very entertaining game and it is designed in a way that gives you a lot of control over how you play the game (including cutscene skips which makes replays so much more appealing).

The part that amazed me was that I spent about 80 hours on my first play through, didn't even do much of the rare game hunting and didn't finish up all the hunts (had maybe 5 left), didn't spend any time hunting for rare equipment, didn't spend any time feeling like I was grinding (I did do some farming runs through several of the more favorable areas for chaining, but it didn't feel boring at any point), and believe it or not a lot of the later fights were challenging because I went into them blind and without relying on the early available endgame weapons (zodiac/masamune/etc.).

Anyways, everyone has their own tastes but this is probably, up with FF9, the most replayable FF for me just because it's so fun to play through (yes, I am one of those people who will spend as much as half an hour on every FF9 boss fight just so I can steal new gear that I'll get soon afterwards in the normal course of the game).

[Elcura]

(yes, I am one of those people who will spend as much as half an hour on every FF9 boss fight just so I can steal new gear that I'll get soon afterwards in the normal course of the game).

Lol, I knew I wasn't the only one who did that I also spent ages on FFVIII drawing 99 of every new spell I found so that it wasn't worthless when I junctioned it.

Even though I hate FFVIII, I still did that...

[BarthelloSylph]

(yes, I am one of those people who will spend as much as half an hour on every FF9 boss fight just so I can steal new gear that I'll get soon afterwards in the normal course of the game).

Lol, I knew I wasn't the only one who did that I also spent ages on FFVIII drawing 99 of every new spell I found so that it wasn't worthless when I junctioned it.

The last two posts showed me that I am not alone in this world, are either of you two female, if so, marry me?

And yes, you nailed my point. Sure with a bit more character development, esp of Vaan/Penelo, a little work on the end of the plot (continue it from its early greatness), and FIX FUCKING STEAL, XII would have been hands down the best FF ever in every imaginable way.

It's not. But it's still really good. And that's ok.

[Exoduso]

FF9 4tw. That is all.

[Carbon]

(yes, I am one of those people who will spend as much as half an hour on every FF9 boss fight just so I can steal new gear that I'll get soon afterwards in the normal course of the game).

Lol, I knew I wasn't the only one who did that I also spent ages on FFVIII drawing 100 of every new spell I found so that it wasn't worthless when I junctioned it.

Even though I hate FFVIII, I still did that...

Fixed.

[Jeryhn]

(yes, I am one of those people who will spend as much as half an hour on every FF9 boss fight just so I can steal new gear that I'll get soon afterwards in the normal course of the game).

[quote:8fe58]Lol, I knew I wasn't the only one who did that I also spent ages on FFVIII drawing 99 of every new spell I found so that it wasn't worthless when I junctioned it.

[/quote:8fe58]

Guilty as charged on both.

Also, not female.

[Exoduso]

Yeah, FF8 was weird with the whole 100 thing... I believe it's the only FF game that actually goes over 99 with stuff?

[layoneil]

The last two posts showed me that I am not alone in this world, are either of you two female, if so, marry me?

they're both manthras, so you can marry them in game, but than again they both quit.

[Quicklet]

they're both manthras, so you can marry them in game, but than again they both quit.

Disgusting. For the record I only picked Mithra because I (lol bradygames guide) assumed that race was going to make a difference for playing Thief (lol bradygames guide). Fuck single-sex races. Also, fuck SE if they add male Mithras as playable characters in the future. That is all.

Edit: Fuck video game marriages too unless you're actually married or dating in real life.

[Elcura]

they're both manthras, so you can marry them in game, but than again they both quit.

Disgusting. For the record I only picked Mithra because I (lol bradygames guide) assumed that race was going to make a difference for playing Thief (lol bradygames guide). Fuck single-sex races. Also, fuck SE if they add male Mithras as playable characters in the future. That is all.

Edit: Fuck video game marriages too unless you're actually married or dating in real life.

I don't have a good excuse like Quicklet, I just like cat girls

[Janeru]

sorry for the semi? necro bumb...

i want to play through this game again without doing the hunts etc, for my peace of mind. Maybe it's that FFXI has made me more patient when it comes to length of playtime, but it took me 200 hours to finish every hunt and basically max out the game ; ; (this includes time I left my ps2 on for days auto exping >.>)

So I want to know how long did it take others to beat it, and I'd like to do it at the lowest level possible to beat the game. am curious as to what that is

[Elcura]

about 40+ hours to beat the storyline straight. Maybe less since you know what you're doing, as for levels, I think level 50+ is about where you should be by the time you get to bahamut.

[Janeru]

that sounds a bit more normal ._.

[Elcura]

Oh I just noticed you said lowest level you can beat it at. I think 40-45, possibly 35-40 if you're good. Lowest I beat it at was 48, could've done lower, I find Pharos harder than Bahamut...

[Exoduso]

Final Boss fight (3rd form) is pretty damn annoying... other than that the boss fights on the Bahamut are pretty easy.