Originally Posted by Craze

Oops, sorry Effloresce, I forgot to reply your question earlier.

The pictures of the final boss was posted on March 17, about a day after the release (but they probably got hold of the game earlier).

And now the FMVs of the ending are already posted a day later (March 18).

Originally Posted by Inhert

screen vibration? what is this thing?

Originally Posted by Metal Sphere

Maybe when the character you're controlling gets hit the screen shakes a bit? I've seen other games that have a similar setup, though without an option to turn it off.

Originally Posted by Andrew Alfonso, Gamespy

In this world that we live in, things are constantly changing, but there are always some universal constants. One, a man will always try his hardest not to look back when a stunning woman passes by him. Secondly, someone, somewhere, is falling for the "pull my finger" joke. Thirdly, whenever a new Final Fantasy game is released, citizens of the world rush out as soon as possible to pick it up, and then call in sick for the next three days, just to finish it. Well, the last part is an exaggeration, but it's not that much of a stretch, to be honest.

Yesterday was March 16, 2006, also known as the day that Final Fantasy returned to the land of Japan. Hyped up with a huge marketing campaign and movie trailers dotting every part of Japan, Square Enix and FFXII directors Hiroyuki Ito, Hiroshi Minagawa and Yasumi Matsuno are hoping that the game turns out to be the biggest and best Final Fantasy game ever.

As if they needed to point out how epic this game is going to be, the first half hour of the game neatly sets the course for the rest of the game. The world of Ivalice (yes, the same one from Final Fantasy Tactics) is teeming with life, and not only of the humanoid variety. Viera, Bangaas and Moogles are all present in the world, and they co-exist with the Hume race. The story begins in the small country of Dalmasca, where trouble begins to stir, as the neighboring countries of Archadia and Rosaria are at war. Unlike other Final Fantasy games, where the premise is about saving the world, FFXII's story is based more on politics and government than an actual evil force.

The relationships between friends and foes act as catalysts in the story. Dare I say it? The series has been taken down a path where the humanization of the cast is more evident than in other installments. During the first hour of the game, you'll start in a tutorial explaining battles and exploration in the game. Leading you through the tutorial are Basch, and Lex, a mere underling in the ongoing war. This particular part of the game is also an important part of the story, believe it or not.

The entrancing opening video is complemented by what's possibly the best graphics engine on the PS2. The motion blurring and depth of field effects are used often and with amazing results. What really stands out about this game, compared to other RPGs, is the sheer size of the locations you'll visit. Let's start with the city of Ranbanstre, which is populated by dozens of characters on the screen at once, which is a far cry from the handful of denizens you would've seen in entire worlds. The citizens of Ranbanstre won't stand there lifelessly either; they'll have conversations with each other while you walk around town, and they go about their business as any ordinary person would.

Whoever made the decision to base the game in the world of Ivalice deserves a pat on the back, because the game really benefits from the varied character designs interacting with each other, rather than being segregated into their different tribes. There are little details in the game that you might miss too. Hair realistically sways in the wind, and weapons actually change your characters appearance, much like in other RPGs. It's a nice little touch that may go unnoticed by some, however. If you've played Final Fantasy XI, you'll be right at home with the combat in this game. Rather than being transferred to a separate screen for battles, you'll be able to see enemies scurrying around, which allows you to either fight or avoid them. Step into their line of sight however, and you'll find yourself in the midst of battle quickly. Unlike the Active Time Battles (ATB) of previous installments, FFXII uses the Active Dimension Battle system (ADB), which allows you to position yourself strategically to avoid attacks or deal more damage. For example, you can set one party member away from the battle to pepper the area with arrows, while another character rushes in to use a melee attack. While the traditional commands are still at your disposal (Fight, Item, Magic, Summon), FFXII introduces a new command called Gambit into the fray.

Gambits are pre-determined actions that you can give a character, and at their core are used to help the player better control battles. By first choosing a condition or target (for example, if a character's HP is less than 30 percent), you can then decide on a specific action to perform. One simple Gambit is to have a character use a Potion on any character that is close to death. As you progress in the game, you can purchase more Gambit items that will allow you to fully customize your party. Simply put, the Gambit system has two purposes; first, it allows you to streamline your party so that you don't have to manage every facet of combat. Secondly, it allows gamers who are used to the relatively simple systems of previous Final Fantasy games to ease their way into the game, which is admittedly a little overwhelming to begin with.

Accompanying the Gambit system is a new experience called the License board. If you will, think of this as an evolved version of FFX's Sphere system. Whereas the Sphere system allows you to open up linear paths, the License system gives you a lot of free reign over how you want to improve your character. Each character starts off with two boards to use, and by defeating enemies, you'll earn License Points. You can use these points to unlock more squares on the board, which improve your statistics. The system is a little more difficult to deal with, because the results of each decision are unknown, whereas in FFX, you knew where each path eventually led.

The world of Ivalice has given composer Hitoshi Sakimoto a lot of material to work with, and the man hasn't disappointed his fans. The soundtrack rivals anything that colleague Nobou Uematsu has put out, and not only that, but the voice acting is spot-on. I have to give a lot of kudos to Hiroaki Hirata (Balfear) in particular, as he has put on an excellent performance in this game.

Although the game is not due until November in America, if the import version is any indication, Square Enix has yet another guaranteed million-seller on their hands. Despite the rather tumultuous development of the game (which lead to the departure of director Matsuno), things have turned out well. Look for more updates on the game soon!


Source: http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2.../696759p1.html

Originally Posted by CuteChocobo

Without spoiling too much izzit? :D
Well I guess you could say that its Hume vs Hume kinda story where most politicials has their own ideal world they wanted to create, typical FF theme.

Evil person controls the most powerful person -> Powerful person did bad things -> bad things lead to war -> war makes ppl sad and angry -> Sadness and anger fused revenge -> Add some touchy feely bits in it and some surprising elements -> FFXII in a nutshell

Originally Posted by B4-Hunter

Probable when something explodes or ground is shaking screen is shaking to. Didn't tested it yet.

Nope it's not shaking when hit. I'm plying right now and even when T-Rex hit you it's not shaking.

Originally Posted by Effloresce

Does having a good idea of who the final boss is take away from the story in your opinion?

Seems like a lot of other things happen...

Why do you people spoil the story for yourselves? I don't get it!

Originally Posted by Effloresce

But what I'm SAYING is, I think I have a good idea of who the final boss is. Knowing this ahead of time, before playing... do you think, in your opinion, it would ruin the game for me. :(

Originally Posted by Effloresce

What sucks is, when I first heard who it was, it was from a 2chan thread that has been more or less proven to be false based on some people I've been talking to.

But when I first posted here a couple days ago, I didn't know that to be true for sure; I thought it was true, however. So I clicked on Craze's spoiler a couple pages back for further confirmation, and he says something completely different. :\ As soon as I could tell I quickly looked away, but I saw a key word, and when reading about FFXII characters on Wikipedia later on... it clicked. So I think I know who the boss is and how they are related to the story/characters. I don't know specific details, or how anything unravels, but I'm pretty confident I figured out who the final boss is.

This kind of pisses me off. Well, in fact, it is driving me nuts. FFXII seems like a standout title, one that is different from all of the other stories. For quite a while it has been my most anticipated game. All I know is that I hope there's a lot more to this game's story that will hold my interest. :(

I'm not giving Craze a hard time here; he didn't know. I should have just went with my gut instinct that turned out to be right and never posted anything pertaining to the final boss because what I "knew" was untrue. Now I think know this for sure... and possibly in the worst way. :(

Craze, please tell me you didn't see these pics yourself and you are just going off of 2chan chatter. :(

Originally Posted by Craze

Hmm, sorry Effloresce but I think I didn't reveal too much? Which spoilers I posted are you referring to now? Cause I think all I did say was

Originally Posted by Effloresce

Not reading that :D

As for your question, I dunno, look a couple pages back. I didn't read the whole thing as soon as I saw you talk about something I was totally not expecting. But I saw a couple words as I glanced that may have given something away.

And when were you "through" with the FMV's? :p

I guess you hate FF? It has to suck playing the game if you know everything that happens.

Originally Posted by Simo

I've been avoiding all the plot spoilers but checking out the various impressions over at GAF which have all been overly positive about the game so far. One thing I'm glad about is how diverse the locations and landscapes sound like which is relief considering most of the screenshots released by Square show mainly nothing but desert plains.

I guess the real time weather effects/change actually managed to stay in the game despite early word of the feature being cut. :)