[PS2] Final Fantasy 12 - Unappreciated or underwear

Here's a different kind of write up from the usual:

Toastyfrog.com: Compendium of Useless Information : Games - Final Fantasy XII browse

Originally Posted by Talaysen

Personally I found it pretty bad, but believe me, the "majority of fans" don't hate it.

I think that the majority of Final Fantasy fans do indeed have less than joyous feelings on it. At least that's what I always read about on IGN's Final Fantasy board. "The battle system sucks because you're watching the computer play", "the game has no story", "the characters have no development", "I hate random chests", "Fran's voice is horrible", etc. I'd say that FFXII is probably the most love or hate Final Fantasy game since FFVIII.

Even though I absolutely agree with most that the end of the game seemed rushed and that the pacing was noticeably off during the trek to Archades, I liked FFXII a great deal. For me it's easily the best Final Fantasy game since FFVII, and I agree with Kikoha Hater that it has the best Final Fantasy cast since FFVI. I'm one of those who thought that FFX was pretty bad, however, so my taste is not quite the same as that of most Final Fantasy fans. It should also be said that I've always been a fan of Matsuno since the original Ogre Battle. While the characters could've been touched upon a bit more, I didn't mind the emphasis on plot at all, and the storytelling itself was mostly way better than the over the top crap we've been getting from Kitase/Nomura since FFVII. The characters were MUCH more mature and the political story, while perhaps not up to the level of FFT or Tactics Ogre, was definitely a breath of fresh air compared to the cliched anime stories of FFVIII/X.

As for the combat system, I liked it. The License Grid was pretty unremarkable, and I would've liked some way of differentiating your characters a little better, but mostly I had fun. The world was great and hunting marks was certainly much better than the ridiculous minigames from FFX. I'm a gameplay kind of guy and FFXII was mostly good for me in that regard. That being said, maybe the most disappointing thing for me is that there weren't enough new enemy types towards the end. The enemies started getting recycled earlier than I would've liked.

Oh, and I like the soundtrack too. It's not Vagrant Story, but it's still pretty damn good, and definitely one of Sakimoto's best efforts. I disagree with anybody who thinks that Uematsu ever surpassed or matched FFVI with his later Final Fantasy scores anyhow.

Ultimately I thought it was a good fusion of Japanese and Western RPG styles, so I'd probably agree that it's underappreciated, though I'm not sure that I'd consider it a 'great' RPG. 'Very good' isn't a bad place to be though, and I like it way more than FFVIII, FFIX, and FFX.

Originally Posted by Rotorblade

I was especially fond of FF Tactics, though most traditionalists I knew hammered the point home about how none of the storyline characters mattered after their parts had been played.

If by traditionalists you're referring to Final Fantasy or JRPG fans, I've found that most of them like FFT a great deal. In fact, just about every person *that I've run into* who dislikes FFXII happens to like FFT a lot.

I actually agree with that notion however, but only because Tactics Ogre does a better job of reminding you that various party members are still there as the story progresses. As much as people love to heap praise upon FFT's story, it's true that NPC characters like Agrias pretty much disappear from the story once they join your party. FFT is strange in that a couple of moments make you think it'll be a Tactics Ogre kind of affair where you can influence the outcome of events and the direction of the storyline but that aspect was obviously dropped from the final product.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Rotorblade

Just didn't really deter me from enjoying the game's plot. It just wasn't a character driven story, there are stories like that and I appreciate them.

Me neither and me too. Which makes it all the more strange that fans of character driven stories would love FFT and yet dislike FFXII. I guess that it's primarily because of Ramza and Delita. That prologue chapter was a great setup for the story.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Denicalis

Because FFT was a full, robust story, whereas FF XII feels like a little kid running through a big world and some stuff happens, but you can't ever really find out anything about it oh and here's a pretty CG cut scene and Balthier is funny.

That's why.

I don't disagree that FFT probably has the better story, but I really don't think that FFXII's story is so bad. It's simply told through a larger perspective. It really is the story of Dalmasca. I guess that it's alienating for those who are accustomed to having the world revolve around the main character. In FFXII it's more like you're part of a larger whole. FFXII makes you feel smaller in that respect, but I appreciate that as an element of the kind of realism that the game goes for, and I found myself enjoying the NPC interaction. Rather than having things happen constantly to your guys in scripted fashion, FFXII has a lot of moments where it's up to you to make something happen, and that sort of design approach is definitely not for everyone, but I personally don't mind it. Some of my favorite RPGs are like that, and yes, I like FFVI's World of Ruin, which some Final Fantasy fans abhor.

Originally Posted by Rotorblade

I'm sure someone out there could summarize the plot and make it sound strikingly good on paper, Deni.

Definitely. By the same token, it's easy to simplify things and make other Final Fantasy stories sound bad.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by sprouticus

The problem with the whole "world being the main character" argument is the fact that we're talking about a video game. This is not a movie. The world and society as the main focus of a narrative story is all well and good for a movie, but for a video game, it's completely ridiculous. Controlling characters who ulitmately affect something indirectly in the background is wholly unsatisfying. It's the same reason why movies that have flat, unmotivated characters fail - There's no personal connection. Looking for the personal connection with FFXII? Look elsewhere, this game is as distancing as they come.

Ultimately the characters have as much impact as the characters in any other RPG. The journey simply emphasizes your interaction with the world and NPCs more than it does each character's personal issues or ego along the way. Nevertheless, those personal elements are still there, even if they often take a backseat to the larger issue.

And the reason why world and society as a main focus can work in a videogame is because the main form of storytelling in a videogame is exploration and combat. In fact, the larger perspective can be a good thing, as FFX forced me to be closer to Tidus's personal perspective than I would've liked.

I liked the characters in FFXII more than the characters in most RPGs. That they weren't over the top actually made them seem more genuine to me. Vaan and Penelo aren't anything special, but the game does a good job of presenting them as what they are. Two young people who want to defend their home.

Ashe could've been a little less distant, I suppose. But at least she wasn't a do-gooder for goodness sake, which is a step up from most Final Fantasy females.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?