Final Fantasy XII Comments by Luke Albiges

No, I think the reviewer is saying that the materia system is unrivalled from a customization standpoint, not gameplay wise.

Machetazo: Ifrit and Shiva are in there, but they're not what you're expecting.

absolutezero: No shouting out of move names, but the characters do have a few catchphrases for when they are performing Mist Knacks.

And the point had better have been knocked off because it's not in English, otherwise this review fails. :)

Good grief, how many typing errors can I possibly make...

I've not played a Final Fantasy game through to the finish since VIII, IX slipped off my radar due to my misguided obsession with the then-next-gen (a mistake I'm not repeating this time, the best games come out at the end of a console's life!). X just seemed to be aimed too squarely at overly-angsty pretentious teen poets, and bored me to tears. So, I didn't bother with X-2.

After reading this review I'll give XII a go though; I think the complaints about this being an import review are groundless. Nobody could argue that the site isn't Euro-focused, unless you were trying to claim it's too UK-focused to be called Eurogamer. but that's a different can of worms. Given that this game WILL get a PAL release, and the conversion will probably be of Square-Enix's recent standards (i.e. far from perfect, but better than they used to be), I'd rather hear about this now. It'd be absurd to keep previewing a finished game for a year 'til it's released over here.

Lastly, a few comments here seem to have presumed the reviewer doesn't understand Japanese.

Is the sphere-grid from FFX in this game? I thought that was a really impressive way of mixing up the whole leveling up thing, and also allowed you to dictate what your characters were like to a certain degree.

Gimme! Now!

"Also, how is the music? That's always been one of the strongest parts of any FF game"

The soundtrack is by Hitoshi Sakimoto for the most part so pretty damned good:-) Basically have a listen to Vagrant Story and that should give you a good idea...

No, I think the reviewer is saying that the materia system is unrivalled from a customization standpoint, not gameplay wise.

And FFV shits all over FFVII as far as that's concerned.

Argh. Why does everyone hate VIII. :(

I didn't hate VIII, I just found it a big disappointment after VII and IX*. I didn't really like the characters (Squall wasn't a patch on Cloud, and ditto Rinoa/Aeris, Zell/Barret, not to mention Sephiroth/Ultimacea); I thought the "junctioning" magic system was flawed and led to far too much emphasis on summoning; there were a couple of hideously unfair difficulty spikes (the battle where Rinoa gets taken hostage for example); and the whole final section where you get stripped of all your hard won abilities and have to win them back is possibly the worst game-design crime ever committed. imho, natch...

Then again, I still played it through to completion with a good 60 hours on the clock, so I can't really say it was a waste of money. Being (imho) the weakest game in a very strong series, isn't necessarily me saying it was crap. :)

* Just to explain that one: I was a bit late getting into the series which meant I played IX straight after VII and then went back to VIII.

For a very balanced review highlighting the negatives as well as positives from FFXII, I'd recommend this one: http://www.gamebrink.com/viewitem.php?id=432&review=178

I'm currently 80 hours in and, while I'm utterly absorbed as usual in a FF, this is definitely going to be a harder game to swallow for the more casual players of the series. If you play FF for the story rather than the gameplay, it might be one to avoid, as this one is VERY gameplay heavy, and the story's not quite as emotionally involving. You can go for hours without any exposition at all.

I really respect what the game has done for the series though. It's changed things some really fundamental aspects. Some of these changes will doubtless piss off a lot of people, but personally I welcome them and hope Square builds on what they've done here with the PS3 FFs.

It doesn't matter which Final Fantasy shits over which other version...

Final Fantasy 12 is by the same chaps that gave us Vagrant Story. Hell, what more d'you need? If it has even a fraction of Vagrant Story's art direction and atmosphere it'll be well worth the wait for the european version.

Thanks for the clarification, Ilmaestro.
Also, biru, what you say about things being changed up (or down, dependant on taste :P) from other episodes certainly spurs my interest in this, but it's still very early days, as far as the Euro release is concerned, I'll keep a watch for more text updates.

FFXII's likely to launch this year?...Well, that's at least something. :)
What with Zelda (+ Phantom Hourglass), and DDS, I doubt the wait'll seem so long.

Why oh why do we have to wait for sooo long?
It's not like they could translate and record everything for the english versions simultaneously with the japanese version. I mean, it's not like square has the budget for that. It's not like Final Fantasy is the most loved series of games there is.


...meh, I haven't played any of the PS1-FFs (I'll play 7 & 9 this summer, promise) so I should probably keep my mouth shut.

Hurry up Sqaure - i want this game more than anything else (even more than the revolution!)

They've been recording scince at least March, maybe before. I could be dependant on how much there is to translate *shrug*.

a shame we won't see it in the european format before the PS3...

"Argh. Why does everyone hate VIII"

I don't hate FF8. I just think it's the low point in the series. As a game, it's very very good, with a sound plot and nice game mechanics. But, in comparison to other titles, it lacked the depth and character that I had gotten used to in #7. The mechanics were alright, but the plot made me want to puke.

And in agreement with Daryoon, I loved FF7 and I did like the materia system, but without strengths/weaknesses to match it wasn't the best of systems to use.

People really need to move on from FFVII. No wonder Square is whoring it for all it's worth, because it seems people want nothing else. Sigh.

One thing I'm curious about...
Final Fantasies VI and VII were arguably the best when it came to giving the ensemble cast something greater to do. In both of those games it felt like each character was there for a reason and at some point, be it a part of the main game or a side quest, everybody got to take centre stage (well maybe not everyone on VI but there were too many characters in that game) at some point. One of the problems I found with VIII was that it was all about Squall and the rest of your party was made up of stereotypes who existed purely for the purpose of battles. IX and X fixed the problem to a certain extent but both of those games felt like somebody had decided to tighten the plot and get rid of the character diversions that make up much of VII - the minor characters have moments or in Quina's case they have mini-games but compared to, say, the materia-less Wutai quest they don't really get to do much. Similarly in the horribly linear X (not too bad a game but I hated that everything took place on rigid paths) everybody's motivations linked entirely to the main quest.
So anyway what I want to know is whether this is another protagonist driven game or if they've given the rest of the characters any status. I see that the character count is down on X so I don't hold much hope but to be honest I figure one of the things that makes VII stand out to this day is the fact that every character stood out and had something to do outside of the actual mission.

Oh yes, all of the characters are at least very good and tied right into the story in some way (although I'm not a massive fan of Panelo, she is possibly the odd one out for large parts). Va'an is superb, much different to what I expected and Balflear... well he simply steals the show. Even the 'side' characters (notably the Judge Masters) are a significant presence.

biru: I can't get that review. Is that the right address?

Damn, this is starting to feel like I may have to buy that PS2 after all.

Eurogamer reviews tend to be a little too long. This was perhaps a little too short, but on the average you're doing a ghood job compared to the competition. Never ever go over two pages, please.

As to VIII vs. others: FFVIII was a grave disappointment after VII. The characters are all uninteresting. The world is bland. I still played it to almost completion, but the flawed (cumbersome, needlessly repetitive) junction system and summonings finally got the better of me.

But Vagrant Story is up there among the very best videogames of all time, so...

"And since we're laying into FFX-2, I suppose I should say I enjoyed it more than VIII but not as much as X, IX or VII. So there you go. :)"

I just want to say, if you haven't played VI I'd really recommend it. If you can look past the graphics what you have is one of the best FF games, with a very good central cast (there are about 4-5 'main' characters, as oppose to a single standout one. I really liked that) and an excellent villian.

I've also got IV and V to play, I really ought to get round to them soon.

"In both of those games it felt like each character was there for a reason and at some point, be it a part of the main game or a side quest, everybody got to take centre stage (well maybe not everyone on VI but there were too many characters in that game) at some point."

Not everyone likes the cheesy 'every character gets a dance in the spotlight' thing of those games. It suited FFVI because of the whole format of the game - i.e. it didn't really have a character you could call 'main', but they all came together for a common cause. In FFVII however, where it was quite clearly all about Cloud and Sephiroth, it felt extremely forced the way they tried give every single character their own little tragic past. It's a very paint-by-numbers approach to storytelling, and not in the least bit subtle.

That's what Square sought to change with FFVIII - they kept the key characters of Squall, Rinoa, Seifer and Laguna - at the forefront, with the rest of the characters playing a more supporting role. Nevertheless, a character does not need a unique past to make them a good character. Good characterisation comes through a well-written script, their reaction to events, and their interaction with one another. FFVIII had that in spades in my opinion.

And, I should point out, that nothing has changed with FFXII in that regard. Just as in FFVIII and FFX, the game flows organically to allow characters to come to the forefront when it is right for them to do so. There's no silly sidequests, no unique tragic pasts.

I agree Biru, as I personally thought think FFVIII is one of the best Final Fantasies. It was released as the sequel to one of the biggest video games of all time, and in many ways I think Sqaure made the right decision by not trying to do a "FFVII 2", like FFIX tries, and fails miserably, to be. FFVIII is more gritty, it's more realistic (you know what I mean!) and the characters all felt like real people rather than a bunch of one dimensional stereotypes.

The battle system is much better than FFVII's. I agree with the poster at the top of the page who said that materia is over-rated. It is! Considering that the characters in FFVII are fairly typical (Aeris is a healer, Barrat the hard-hitting tank) it's strange that they implimented a skill system that means you can make any character good at anything. FFVIII had a far deeper summoning system and the limits weren't simply "uber damage" attacks but had interactivity and varying effects. I'll agree that the junctioning system, while interesting, wasn't pulled off as well as it should have been. The fact that using the magic you had accumulated from monsters weakened your character if it was junctioned was a little annoying.

I'm a big FFVIII fan, it's one of the few sequels to "big" videogames that I wasn't disappointed in. I was actually much more disappointed in FFIX (with it's dumbed down battle and character development systems) and FFX (because of it's sheer linearity and annoying characters). IMHO the series took a dip in quality after FFVIII, which is every bit as good as FFVII but in different ways.

It looks like FFXII is a step back to what made the old games great, and the new battle system sounds excelent. I'm excited about FF again!

"Good characterisation comes through a well-written script, their reaction to events, and their interaction with one another. FFVIII had that in spades in my opinion."

That's precisely why I didn't like Squall - he was moody and unfriendly and just... fundamentally unlikeable!

I also think it's strange to say FFVIII doesn't have cliches. You've got the lone wolf (Squall), the rival (Seifer), the love interest (Rinoa), the loud one (Zell), the ditzy girl (Selphie) and the ladies' man (Irvine), among others. My main beef with the game was that I just didn't like any of them. Too much teen angst.

"That's precisely why I didn't like Squall - he was moody and unfriendly and just... fundamentally unlikeable!"

Not even close to being true. Apart from a couple of times in the game, he was only unfriendly if you chose unfriendly responses.

This review upset me purely because it reminded me how long we'll have to wait until it gets a European release.

Sqaure made the right decision by not trying to do a "FFVII 2", like FFIX tries, and fails miserably, to be.

Huh??? FF9 was a throw-back to the pre-7 games most people are unaware even exist...

Well, the leads are both short and blond...

I can't really remember much about FFVIII's "junctioning" system, but i seem to remember liking it even if it was overly complicated.

"It looks like FFXII is a step back to what made the old games great, and the new battle system sounds excelent. I'm excited about FF again!"

Me too. It all kind of went downhill after VIII or IX... X had irritating characters and was a little too linear, X-2 was just... X-2, and then they went all MMORPG on us. XII will be the first FF game i've looked forward to in 7 or 8 years (wow, has it really been that long?).

"This review upset me purely because it reminded me how long we'll have to wait until it gets a European release."

To hell with that, i'm getting the US version as soon as it's released. Though that'll still be bloody ages :/

Well Asundai, you won't be winning too much with importing FFXII from the US. It has been confirmed that the US and Europe release are almost at the same time in November. So even Europe will see this before next year.

If were complainin about FF, can we please all start on Advent Children..grr Advent Children!

Im not gonna get worked up until a us review, the voice actin and overall story can really be a thorn in the side of some RPG's

Also..i liked the random battles

*Runs away*

i know it's an old argument BUT while it might be a great game, it still has the most horrible character design ever! sorry, but i can't stand these semi-gay main sissie and the metrosexual harrison ford pirate. whenever i see these artworks i am not able to *beep* my girlfriend for two days... so, buying this would spoil my relationship and my bathroom - due to puking...

" Well Asundai, you won't be winning too much with importing FFXII from the US. It has been confirmed that the US and Europe release are almost at the same time in November. So even Europe will see this before next year.
ignor"

Really? Nice.

oneshotgame: err, yeah, okaaay...

But seriously, play the game. Vaan is really cool, and I'm not really sure what your problem with Balflear's design is.

"whenever i see these artworks i am not able to *beep* my girlfriend for two days... "

Whenever I see the artworks I wish I had a girlfriend just like Va'an!

Should have been a 10!