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Final Fantasy XII: Best in the series?

**PLEASE NOTE: I am playing through the game right now, I'd appreciate people refraining from posting spoilers**

What do you all think?

It feels like a classic, old school FF game, but it's played out on a grandiose scale the size of the Star Wars universe.

The graphic styling of this game, in fact, remind of what it would look like if the CGI from the prequel SW films had been applied to something to which it was relevant.

I'm only about 10 hours in - but I'm absolutely enamored with how deep it is.

Anyone else here enjoy it?

SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE

I'm gonna have to take the opposite side on this discussion rjt... this game downright pissed me off. Maybe it's my fault because I am a champion at constructing the perfect gambit system or something, but I was basically doing nothing for at least 95% of the battles. You are basically running around while the AI that you constructed for your players does the rest of the work... totally fucking retarded. I hate it. This game didn't have shit on any of the other PS2 rpgs I have played over the past 12 months such as Valkyrie Profile 2, Grandia 3, and Xenosaga 3.

I never got around to finishing the game because I just couldn't stand it anymore.. I believe I was around level 72 and I had about 6 more marks to take care of. (I could have faced the final boss but I usually want to complete all the sidequests for most games) I also had a strong dislike for FFX as well. My favorites are FF IV, VII, and VI and will probably be forever if Square keeps making piles of shit like this.

I played FF7 again after beating FF12 and was still blown away by it. The characters may be a bit blocky by today's standards, but the game is still by far the best in the series.

I just finished FF XII a while ago and am currently doing some of the side quests I haven't finished yet, and making three of my characters 99, the rest of them are at the top level already.
It's a fun game and all, but I didn't get "the Final Fantasy" feeling out of it, which have happened in most of the games in the serie, it just felt so different. And the Zodiac Spear just pissed me off, those who know about it knows what I mean.

But all in all, it's a game worth playing. I just hope the next one feels more FF like to me, although I feel a bit scared after seeing some trailers/teasers/whatever of the next one...

Edit: And got to agree with Capitalizt, VII For Teh Win!

Yeah, I'm gonna have to side with the haters on this one... the battle system felt much too "hands-off", and the fact is, most of the regular battles don't require you to use any strategy beyond attack/heal when HP is low... the environments were too massive with almost zero interesting loot to find... plot took a nosedive after the first 10 hours, and there is barely any characterization, one of the most important elements of modern FF games. I liked FFXII at the start, too, but I think the game really loses its luster, the producer for the game, Yasumi Matsuno, left the team halfway through the game (some cite illness as to the reason), and so the game really feels like its missing something.

FF3-7 are my personal favorites of the series, with 5 being the best... the Job system... <3

I don't really think there is any less characterization in ff12, it's just a much longer game, so the ratio of story:gameplay is lower. Regardless, I enjoyed the hell out of it. Gambits I wasn't super-obsessed with, I made them workable, didn't need anything genius. I just really liked that it took the tediousness out of grinding. Back in FF7/8, all I did was attack, heal, maybe toss an elemental spell in. And regardless of what you say about gambits, it's not a completely flawless system, you do have to modify the actions. I just think the older games gave you the feeling that you were doing something, when you really weren't.

quote:

Originally posted by Ghost Raver It's a fun game and all, but I didn't get "the Final Fantasy" feeling out of it,

b/c Hironobu Sakaguchi, the founder of the series and the main producer for FF1-FFX, got canned a few years ago b/c of the failure of the FF motion picture.

When Square lost Sakaguchi, FF lost it's heart and soul.



personally, i started playing it, killed a tomatoe and got bored and went back to playing WoW.

I would rank it pretty low, if not at the bottom, among the games in the series personally. I enjoyed it a lot at first, but as the game went on I found the content increasingly repetitive and less engaging, largely due to the gambit system providing me with an increasingly hands-off approach to combat and lending itself to very predictable battles, but also as a result of a few other factors which are hard to explain without giving spoilers.

Eventually, I even put the game down and moved on to another game (Xenosaga Ep. 3). I don't believe that I ever took such a break from a previous game from the final fantasy series as I was playing through it. I did get back to it later on, and it seemed "better" after taking some time off from it and I was able to finish the game. But overall, I'd say the signal:noise ratio of the game is fairly poor, by which I mean the time I spent doing things that I find "fun": watching the story progress and overcoming difficult battles or obstacles, as opposed to things I find less fun, or not fun at all, such as running from place to place, clearing through many unchallenging battles, navigating menus, gathering gold or other resources or grinding out experience.

First let me say I really, really appreciate you guys taking the time to address the thread seriously and without spoiling any of the story for me, and I'm actually really happy to see so many opinions in disagreement with my initial appraisal.

I'm about 25 hours in now, and I'm very much beginning to see some of the criticisms you all have, the games story does seem to progress much more slowly and somewhat randomly - telling me to go to one place, but stopping me when I'm halfway there and telling me to go the opposite direction hardly seems intuitive.

However, I am still really enjoying playing. I like the majority of the characters (other than Vaan and Penelo), I find the story in general to be very compelling (reminds me of Star Wars and I'm a gimp for Star Wars), and I like the Gambit system. Battles have always been my least favorite part of the series, in general I play these games much for the same reason I watch a movie - so in that aspect, being able to set up the gambit system is really nice for me.

Thanks again for all the responses guys - will keep you updated on my opinion as I keep plugging along.

haven't played it but heard good things from... well, rjt. still, without actually playing it, i'm gonna have to go with FFVI as the best FF, mainly for nostalgia purposes.

"best ff debate thread" #100291238030734598101234213.12312

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was definately a refreshing change from the previous installments of FF. Don't get me wrong, those games are timeless classics of the highest calibre (well... most of them), but after 10 installments it was time to shake things up a bit.

My only real gripe with the game is that they completely fucked the story at the end. You basically learn who's really pulling the strings from behind the scenes and why, and it presents a facinating moral dilemma. And then, instead of expanding on this and having the characters try and come to terms with it, the game just completely ignores it and gives you a nice little bowtie 'where are they now' ending. So much fucking potential, just tossed away.

At first I thought it was the greatest FF ever. But it's not. Don't get me wrong: it is a very nice game. But why did my mind constantly wander of to Final Fantasy X while I was playing it?


More story, better story, more atmosphere.

There, I've said it.

For me has to be Final Fantasy VII for best in the series.

for me FFXII just feels like a game i have to force myself to play. I love the series to death but this one feels and looks so much different... It resembles FFXI too much which i stayed away from

It has the best intro i have ever seen in a game. But it gets boring after that. The battle system is amazing but most of the characters are crap.

Good game that's all. Best in the series? lol

There needs to be a doctrine that states, whenever people talk about a single FF game on a message board, the thread will always devolve into people listing off their favorites in the series :P (P.S. 4-7 are the best!)

quote:

Originally posted by Mr Game+Watch There needs to be a doctrine that states, whenever people talk about a single FF game on a message board, the thread will always devolve into people listing off their favorites in the series :P (P.S. 4-7 are the best!)

I believe 7-7 are the best.

I'm such a farking nerd for that game..

Fran is so frigging hot.

quote:

Originally posted by Masonious Fran is so frigging hot.

+1!!

One of the best things in the whole game

FF8 was amazing I liked 7 but when 10 came out it was like a quantum leap from them I was just blown away by everything but when it comes to RPG's nothing beats Chrono Trigger on SNES.

quote:

Originally posted by inconspicuous SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE

I LOL'd so hard at this

quote:

Originally posted by ASoT1 FF8 was amazing I liked 7 but when 10 came out it was like a quantum leap from them I was just blown away by everything but when it comes to RPG's nothing beats Chrono Trigger on SNES.

gaaah i still need to play chrono trigger. once i finish chrono cross again that is

Quick question: I'm about 30 hours in and I haven't leveled Penelo even once. Is that going to be a problem?

I hate her.

quote:

Originally posted by RJT Quick question: I'm about 30 hours in and I haven't leveled Penelo even once. Is that going to be a problem? I hate her.

No, I only stuck with 3 characters and rarely had to use any of the others. Hence further proving how shit this game is.

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