My thoughts on the game:

Solid game so far, but I'm not digging the characters at all, Vaan is just ugh, and the battle system doesn't seem to flow as well as I'd like.

I'm baffled as to why Square has abandoned making heroes badasses. I miss the days of Cecil, Kain, Cloud, hell even Celes was badass, as a female character.

The battles aren't as fun as they could be, because I'm just not eager to fight with a character like Vaan.

Still a good game though, but I miss the old character types...

Alright, I'm in Giza plains looking for some dude named, well, I can't remember, but something about this that has captivated me, is that this actually feels like an adventure and I'm doing some exploring. There is a essence of danger, as I'm always keeping an eye on my radar and hope some unforeseen monsters sneak up on me.

Also, is any one else keeping track of how many steps they've taken? (bottom bar when you go to camp mode), I'm at 12000 steps and about 3 hours into the game.

I dunno. Basch seems pretty badass.

Edit: SHIT-DAMN, I just got killed by a werewolf! And I didn't save! Oh well, I only lost about ten minutes of progress.

Jesus I finally managed to go pick up my game after hours of throwing hints and waving my receipt around. I need to learn how to drive.

When the clerk handed me the LE guide, I nearly smashed my fingers under it. That'll teach me to underestimate the weight of two books in a bulky but sexy cover. But those illustrations in the beginning of the artbook made my night. That and I got the Penelo cover, which just makes me super happy because her character intrigues me the most. I had just decked out my myspace with Penelo last night, too, haha, what luck.

Well, it's late and people are wanting to sleep but I don't care. It's time to pop the game in and play, woooo.

The voice acting is incredibly awesome. No flaws. I especially like the Scottish and Irish voice acting, and Fran's voice acting is just astounding. I'm about 15 hours into the game now and still have the impression that I'm just at the beginning ;)

Very good game, I was worried a bit because it could have been the hype of the century, but fortunately, I was wrong.

Yeah so no surprise where I've been. :biggrin:

I don't really have much time before work but a few things: CE case is damn sexy! I actually like how the case has that rough texture to it rather than just your usual shiny tin cases.

As for the game? I spent a few hours with it last night but not enough that I wanted due to Halloween and having do hand out candy. I did manage to make it to the waterways before calling it a night and so far I'm LOVING it! The moment you're in Rabanastre the game just sucks you in and whole city seems like a fully realised populated area.

I've managed to complete 2 hunts but you sure have to be careful because the difficulty can jump quite abit from one hunt to another especially if you're just in control of Vaan which is why I tackled the 2nd hunt, after many failures, when I had Penelo in my party. Hopefully I can put in alot more hours tonight.

Oh I did try the bonus DVD too and there seems like it's got a few nice featurettes on it. The Art Gallery also seems to exactly the same as the book included with the LE guide except it actually has more artwork than the book...

Damn Spatula! I didn't know you was buying both versions of the game.

That's a pleasant suprise. I didn't know of them to be using accents from those regions.

Well, at least some of the voices sound Scottish and Irish... Maybe I'm wrong, too.

got my copy yesterday, had only 1 hour to try it out, for now I can't say much XD but I love the tin case! XD really happy that I got the CE just for that XD and they still didn't receive the LE guide but they say if I return in less then 2 week with my receipt i could get a 20% off it ^^ so I'll probably go get it (even if I'm short on money XD)

Since I already finished FF XII in Japanese I playing it again in USE version. Have like 30h on time counter and having great fun doing every single sub quest and understanding what, where and when =D

Actually it is the opposite for me. I have trouble hearing the voices. Maybe it isjust the TV or the settings. : /

I managed to make it through the waterways last night. What a unique experience!

I'm playing the game through surround sound and I haven't had any problems with the VO. I know that the opening and ending videos were mastered in Dolby Pro-Logic II so perhaps that efect the audio when played through stereo. I have no idea.

As for the VO, it IS really well done. The accents add a good aumbiance to the world because since theigh are neighbouring countries they should have similar, but different accents, which is where the Scottish & Irish come in. Also Fran's voice is quite different from the Jap version, but in my opinion the Eng one is better then the Jap actor.

Can anybody tell me how to block? Or is it just random?

Your chance of blocking with a shield is decided by the Evade stat.

It was totally Star Wars... down to the dog fights and parade. I'm like.. Naboo? Then it was Aladdin street rat style. The voice acting is good, but the sound seems kind of off sometimes. Also Lord Rasler (the prince's) voice did not suit him at all. Thought it was funny because he looked like a boy and this sexy man voice was coming out of him, haha.

I'd have to agree with that. I was quite suprised by his voice as well.

Europeen players can't get this game until February right?

Yup, you can always import or download ^^

LOL, this was why Ashe had the hots for him.

DAMN I LOVE THIS GAME SO FAR! I about to sneak into the Palace, and just preparing whatever technicks and magicks so far. I have cure and fire - both the spell and the licences, and I've done 2 hunts so far.

I'm just sad that I couldn't get the LE guide as of yet.

Simo, I'll probably return the edition, but I have until January 11, 2007, since I said was an X mas gift for my friend, so I have time to decide if I really want to return it, or keep it as another "memento", sealed up forever. LOL.

can anyone help me with a rare mob?

Exactly. It'll take a while still before you can beat that enemy =p

Doesn't Europe use PAL system or something?
And US use NTSC or something... Can I like order from a store in the US and still play it here in Europe?
I want to play it now too, especially now that everybody in here are saying so much good stuff about this game :(

Where in Europe do you live? (you might want to change the flag) Apart from France and Finland, pretty much all of Europe uses either PAL or PAL/SECAM.

To do that you will need an NTSC compatible TV and a modified PS2 (either chipped or some slide-card solution).

*cough*

That's something I noticed as well. If you're unlucky and run into some area you're not supposed to run into yet, you suddenly face enemies that kill your party with one hit. Happened to me in Giza Plains when I decided to fuck with some more or less unidentifiable monsters there.


Oh, by the way, good job keeping this thread updated, Simo :)

Dang. I guess I'll have to wait... :(