Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Close to perfect, 28 Mar 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Every Final Fantasy game of the Playstation era inevitably gets compared to the legendary Final Fantasy VII, and this is the first one that really comes close to matching that legacy, although in fact so much has changed now that it's very hard to make a meaningful comparison. Both are superb games, but whereas VII told a tight, intense story, XII is a more of a sprawling, drawn-out epic that takes something like twice as long to complete and will sometimes see you exploring absolutely massive environments for hours on end between plot scenes.
The combat has been changed to do away with random battles, so that the gameplay has become a lot more fluid. The balance between direct and automated control, and between combat and exploration, has been tweaked very carefully, with the result that the game is a lot of fun to play, and very deep to boot. It's just as well that it's so good, because the game world is physically absolutely massive (we're talking MMORPG massive here), and you'll still find that you have to plough through endless hordes of monsters to progress, though now at least now you feel like you have some control over engaging them.
Graphically it's simply stunning. The individual character designs are awesome, and the environments you explore are astonishing. Each landscape is broken down into a series of `rooms' which you pass through loading screens to transition between, but you can always see beyond the area you're in, which means you can see geographical features that are miles away in game terms. The game must physically be something like 10-20 times as large as FFX, say, and the scale means that you'll no longer miss the world map.
The story. On the one hand it's much more daunting than previous Final Fantasies. On the other hand it's much more mature, better written, and beautifully translated. FFXII requires you to keep track of dozens of characters and the internal politics of at least three warring kingdoms. The difference is that in previous games, the player would learn what was happening as the characters did. This time the characters are intimately involved in the labyrinthine plot, and it's sometimes frustrating to feel that they understand a lot more about what's going on than you do. Occasionally the game will send you out to retrieve an artefact without any very clear idea of why you're doing it or what you're trying to accomplish. But it doesn't really matter, because the plot and dialogue are so good, and the characters so deeply engaging, that it keeps you playing. FFXII is much more subtle than the previous games, much more westernised, and almost completely devoid of Japanese quirkiness. Some people will love this, others will be alienated by it. This game is not going to please everyone. But it is a great return to form for the series.
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93 of 102 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Final Fantasy Gone Off Track, 20 Dec 2006
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
I recently finished FFXII after 80+ hours of enjoyable gameplay. When I first got this game I was surprised.
The first thing that struck me as odd was the battle system - there is no random encounters! A good thing this may seem, however, I was sceptical at first as the battle system is completely (almost) computer controlled. There is a pecuilar blend of time based action and real play, making it at some times chaotic and confusing. You are able to pre-program your characters actions using the Gambit system (you can buy gambits in shops and the like). This can be useful to save time when in a heated battle, however, to a degree it does take away some of the player involvement.
However, that said, the battle system began to grow on me. It is different but enjoyable and there is some satisfaction in watching your characters perform just as you ordered them!
The skills/magic system is comparable to FFX's Sphere Grid system. It is known as the License board - bascically you need a license to use or wear anything (so if you bought say a amulet you would first need the license to wear it). You gain license points by killing enemies which you can then spend to unlock licenses on the chess like board. I found this good as you could basically assign ANY roles to your characters as each have similiar stats (for instance you may want one to be black mage and one to specialise in great swords/katanas).
The story was one part where the game let itself down. Gone are all philosophical realisations and ponderings, to be replaced by a massive political debate that seems to span the entire world. Although this is a change, I feel that Square made it too complicated for it's own good and could have possibly focused more on character relationships and backgrounds as well as it did in it's previous titles. I also feel there is a disinct Star Wars feel to the story and graphics, making it more of a sc-fi than a fantasy. However, that being said, there are plenty of sidequests to flesh out the main storyline, giving a broader perspective of what is going on.
All in all FFXII is a magnificant game, perhaps not living up to it's predecessors, but nevertheless, a great RPG. The graphics are perhaps the best to be seen yet and the absolutely massive world can take many good hours to explore.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!!!, 22 Mar 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
FFXII is by far the most time consuming FF ever. The world (Ivalice) is huge, with many different types of environment and terrain, even the weather changes, affecting which types of monsters inhabit an area.
With such a huge world in which to run around in it can seem somewhat overwhelming. Large areas can harbour some seriously handy treasures but with the new "probability" system the treasure may only stand a 20% chance of being a useful item and maybe only a 60% chance of appearing at all. This can lead to hours of going away and coming back again, hoping to have re-spawned the treasure into something you need.
Monsters can be a serious pain, especially if they gang up on you. You can avoid a lot of battles by simply fleeing past them, because unlike other FF titles FFXII allows you to see monsters roaming arround so you can avoid tough battles. Sometimes fleeing seems like a great idea but you need to idealy spend hours and hours fighting them and "leveling up" otherwise you will stand no chance of completing the game.
There are 21 optional side quests, some of which you will have to complete to find hidden bonuses and bosses throughout the game.
Magicks, Weapons, Armour, Shields, Tecknics and Augments can be bought for the usuall transfer of GIL at traders, but (and this is a very big but) you will need to unlock the corresponding liscence on the liscence board using points you have gained from defeating monsters. For instance, you have bought a sword but need to unlock the liscence square for 25 LP (licence points) you will need to defeat 25 wolf type creatures, most of which only award 1 LP. when you have done this simply unlock the tile on the liscence board and slash away. Its exactly the same with everything else.
Thats the basics of the game really but i could go on and on, if i did this review would take up several pages. Its a brilliant game and well worth the wait. I hope you enjoy it as much as i have.
If there is one piece of advise i could give, i would suggest you buy the strategy guide when you buy the game. You can complete the game by not having it but you will find it very difficult to find the juicy bonuses throughout the game with out it.
Happy Gaming.
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