You know, I have to agree with FFVIII holding that certain enduring charisma to it's characters. There was something about the personal struggles with Squall and the gang that I really appreciated, much more than the level I am with any of the characters, despite their serious natured backgrounds, in this current Final Fantasy installment.

I will never understand you kids and your FF VIII love. It has one of the most contrived, god awful story lines I've ever seen in my life. Be it movie, book, game or lymeric scrawled in a bathroom stall. The same orphanage? Space? One of them remembers the orphanage but doesn't say anything because LOL? And Squall isn't fucking worthy of being redeemed. He never does a damn thing but mope and cry. And about what? That he's mopey and unfit for command? Abso-fucking-lutely he is. And that never changes. Irvine is a coward and so one-dimensional it hurts, Selphie is a joke and not worth talking about, Quistis is practically tacked into the story, Rinoa is godawful as a love interest, Zell is at least amusing, but that's all he is, a joke character. The charisma of the characters? Jesus fucking christ, people. You must be the people who watch Smallville and call it "brilliant." They have no charisma. They're thoroughly unlikeable. I'd rather watch a Gorilla rape my grandmother than sit through VIII again. The music is top notch, and the battle system has its perks, to be sure... but it is the single worst story I've ever seen in my life. Rinoa is so convenient. And Edea at the orphanage? COME ON. I mean, how can you possibly defend this shit? What possible reason?

I feel that I just had to respond to your post, Spatula. I never thought I'd find someone else who had the same feelings for FFVIII that I had. I loved the way the characters interacted with each other. I, for one, never understood why people were claiming Squall was a turd/ass/whathaveyou. I personally thought he was a fairly deep character, and the way he matures throughout the game looked darn believable to me. In my personal opinion, no other FF game (FFXII included) has made me feel deeply connected with the characters. Squall and the gang could have easily existed in our world as normal people. I could identify with them all. Laguna especially seemed like he'd make a great dad to have. Bah, I can't explain these things well : /

It's the characters personally that makes the game stand out, Denicalis, being more believable than characters in other games, and the fact the game revolved around them more than the main plot. I don't expect everyone to understand why we love FFVIII.

Well, I'm probably going off topic since this is supposed to be about FFXII

Deep? DEEP?!

Why, because he has a horribly lame inner-monologue? Or maybe it's the way he's shallow and acts like a cardboard cut-out through the whole game? You'd get more depth out of a Terry Goodkind novel.

But they didn't HAVE personality, that's the problem. They were so two-dimensional it hurt. Have you never had a real narrative? Have you never seen what an actual characterization can be? Because, Christ, Freelance... VIII is an atrocity. It's the holocaust of video games.

Lame? His speech during the Garden Battle was great. His words to the mayor of Fisherman's Horizon is inspiring. He may have some faults, but hey, nobody's perfect.

I personally loved his dialogue. He's my favourite VG character.

I won't debate that here (but that sounds like a journal entry challenge for another day), but I will speak up to those of you saying it's hard to continue after x amount of hours; play it in shorter bursts. I really think a game like this was made to be taken slowly in order to appreciate all the little details and side missions you can do, instead of plowing through the main story as fast as you can. It's worked for me; I've taken extended breaks and ended up needing more before the day is done.

I just entered the Esterlands again after the Mimic Queen fight (this has some of the best boss deaths I've ever seen), and my playtime is 7 hours, so I'm not sure if I'm going too slow or just about right. If it turns out I'm barely 5% done, though, then I'll be very happy.

And you're probably really into sappy, insipid bullshit in the rest of your life, too. If you think VIII had any depth to it, you have no idea what depth really is. His words to the mayor were hackneyed, and they were forced. "Oh he's brave and good now." And you swallowed it. And his speech during the garden battle comes out of nowhere. He's just suddenly a commander in chief. HORSESHIT. Not since a 12 year old kid trains for 2 weeks and suddenly is able to kill an all powerful ice queen have I been so annoyed with fantasy bullshit. Read a goddamn book. A REAL book and get back to me about how fucking great Squall is.

FFVIII is my least favorite of the PSX FFs but it has it moments. The plot is an utter mess and the battle system a royal turd but I liked the characters and most of the music.

As for FFXII, I'm about twenty hours into it and it's pretty enjoyable. I am surprised how boring the plot is though. I'm trying to make myself care about all the things going on but right now, it's basically amounting to one big fetch quest. Go get this item, go meet this person, go to this place, kill the wildlife. Character development went on hiatus about ten hours in and hasn't returned.

Don't get me wrong, the game is entertaining but it's not captivating me nearly as much as TotA did.

The leviathan wasn't that hard for me at all


Only boss I had a problem with was the grassy one in the forest near the vierra village but thats only becuase I was unprepared and ready to shut off the game. Thats basicly the only way I ever died in the game, when my party are completely drained.


Honestly now, your trying to convince people how bad FFVIII is becuase of how much you hated it. I could honestly say how I hate XII but that doesn't make it a bad game to everyone.

Elder Dragon?

So far the difficulty is just alright for me, except for some mob hunts where they could smash your party in one blow. Or perhaps I haven't played enough (on my way to Ozmose Plains)

Y'know, I probably am underlevelled. I haven't done much with the License board, just getting new weapons here and there. I don't even have any Quickenings yet, which I hear is just great for the boss in the Leviathan. I've got some catching up to do later today :D

P.S. I wasn't intending to start a war with FFVIII :( Glad the discussion's stopped now. I didn't want to be the sole person responsible for derailing the thread, although unfortunately it was started by me. Sorry. Oh well, back to FFXII, people!

P.P.S. Damn, no merchant on Leviathan until AFTER I beat the 6 soldiers? Gahh...luckily I saved to a different slot.

P.P.P.S. No save point before boss? Arrrgh!

Update: Did anyone else besides me thought of Backgammon when we were introduced to B'Gamnon(sp?)

Ah shit, I got chased the fuck out when I was in the mines in the sky city. There are two paths to take.



Also, if I have a guest character, I make Vaan steal while the rest attack, this way it's pretty good chances I'll get something. I think I stole about 25 bone fragments, bat wings, and all the like.

You can actually get a hunt in the mines somewhere at that point but its in a far greater level. In fact I got so many hunts on my list that are far too strong so be catious of that

Okay, I'll just continue on and not opt for the hunt then. My guys are about level 12. I just want to clean that place up and explore 100% of the map, as well as keep sealing bone fragments, since they're worth quite a lot when I sell it back.

Also, what is that thing from the Bazaar for 18,000 gil? Whatever it is, that's a lot of cash.

You mean when shops offer you Bazaar? They're basically like "pack" choices where one bazaar can be like a set of 2 Phoenix Downs that save you 100gil or something to the like.

I know, I've bought qutie a few items from said Bazaar, since I basically sell all my loot to them. But there's one item that they have selling for 18,000 gil, and I don't know what it does. Just checking if anyone else had gotten it before, and so, if they have bought it.

Giving us the name of the item would help, you know ;)

But knowing only the price, I'd say it's a key item that enables you to steal superior loot from a certain type of enemy. There are several of these to be bought from the Bazaar.

Yes, I have a terrible memory, even with a name flashed across the screen, I still call places "sky city" or "the mines". It's only after a while that I've been in a place that I can remember the name, ie, Rabanastre, Estersand, Westersand, Giza Plains etc. I'll just start up the game and continue on. I should be getting the LE guide in a hour or so, when I get my car back and can make a special trip to the mall, all just for a guidebook :mad:.

you mean Buujerba and the Lhusu Mines. Notice how I mispelled them =D
The 18000gil bazaar item is probably some weapons, maybe a bow. I have am Item waiting for me at 25000gil, still havn't bought it since I wanna buy weapons and magic. You have to spend your money wisely cause I noticed I havn't bought any magic for hours and techniks are pretty much useless to me unless its libra. I bought a few of those during the first 4 hours and then never got any again. All I really needed was white and green magic.

Yeah, I went into the Lhusu Mines a second time, I usually get Vaan to steal. Steal as many bone fragments and bat fangs as possible, while the other 2 characters attack. You can walk out with a bounty of about 6000-7000 gil, with about 10 bat fangs and 25 bone fragments, and then some other loot. It seems this place is basically closed off, since there's gates that are blocking the main arteries of most of the paths here.

I just looked at some character models from the ultiminia book and I don't understand why they gave recks such femenine stance ^^

I could have sworn I was staring at ashe for a second

I think Larsa is a cutie boy, and quite knowledgable for his age, being that of twelve years young. I know sound like a VG, god damn that's gross. I honestly thought he was a she, when I first saw the picture. Now when I see Vayne, I think of Seymour from FFX - must be the hair - must be.

No, mate, I was arguing narrative and character development, something you can academically look at. Anyone who's done any reading beyong MySpace and R.L. Stein can spot bullshit when they see it.