[PS2] Final Fantasy XII

Wait, didn't Smith do the localization for Vagrant Story?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Hot stuff then, we should expect something decent at least. Of course, I'd rather he get it right then get it to us early.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

...Or a better example would be Final Fantasy Tactics. Sakimoto really knows how to make some damn good music. Honestly, this game (to me anyways) comes across as FFT without the movement grid.

If you consider gameplay features spoilers, then I suggest you don't highlight these. Anyway, here's some info from duckroll over on GAF. He just got the World Preview book.

Spoiler:

License Categories

Weapons Type, Armor Type, Accessories Type, Magic Type, Skill Type, Special Skill Type (Including summons), Gambit Type, Option Type.


The "special skill type" or "deathblow" category are completely specific to summons. They're just the "ultimate attack" for each summon.

Spoiler:

FF12 will include what's called the Gran Report, similar to Durai Report of the Final Fantasy Tactics game. You can get updates to your progress by this in game text.


No, no, no! It's CLAN REPORT. Nothing to do with Durai. It's a bunch of flavor text and categorized listings specifically for monster types and where you can find each one. Including what mobs you have hunted for quests and what outstanding mobs you have on quests.

Spoiler:

There will be many new types of monster.
You won't receive Gil for most of your battles, you will usually have to sell the items you receive for Gil.


Actually it says you won't receive Gil from killing monsters at ALL. Instead you will get items some of which are special tradable items for stores.

Spoiler:

what is a options license


Option Licenses are passive skill licenses. Stuff that are not related to anything you can equip or buy but instead licenses that improve that character instantly when it's acquired.

Examples: HP+100, Martial Arts Up, Potion Knowledge 1, Potion Knowledge 2, Defense Up When Critical.

Here's a nice scan of some Airships:

http://ranobe.sakuratan.com/up/src/up91618.jpg

And some information on what's on that page:

Spoiler:

The old summons are now airships. Atomos from FF9, Ifrit, and Leviathan are on the front page, from top to bottom. Atmos is a small sized fighter with low attacking abilities. Ifrit is the main attack ship for the empire, found in all parts of the world. Leviathan is a high performance battleship.

The new El Cid, has already been described above. He's the dude at the bottom of the page - Sphere

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

Thanks Jagged, I forgot to put up duck's description of him, since what I quoted was srider's overview of that scan.

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

Here's some more scans, courtesy of JeuxFrance.

http://www.jeux-france.com/images0_4_14799.html

http://www.jeux-france.com/images1_4_14799.html

http://www.jeux-france.com/images2_4_14799.html

http://www.jeux-france.com/images3_4_14799.html

http://www.jeux-france.com/images4_4_14799.html

http://www.jeux-france.com/images5_4_14799.html

http://www.jeux-france.com/images6_4_14799.html

http://www.jeux-france.com/images7_4_14799.html

http://www.jeux-france.com/images8_4_14799.html

http://www.jeux-france.com/images12_4_14799.html

I was speaking idiomatically.

None... though if it was one or the other, it'd probably be 16:9 support over 480p. I'd rather it be unstretched on my set than progressive.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

This is just bullshit. They've had plenty of time (and then some) to implement both progressive scan and widescreen in their game. The only reason they don't have either is laziness. Dragon Quest VIII has widescreen, and looks beautiful because of it.

Ouch man, though you have a point. FF, on average, reaches far more gamers than DQ so why not put in the extra effort? The game's already oozing with it, and it's plain to see it's not another thrown together mess like FFX-2 or FFXI.

But like I said before, if we get any kind of "bonuses" (however unlikely that may be) over the Japanese one, it'll probably be widescreen support.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

I'm not positive myself, but I'm told the japanese DQVIII didn't have widescreen support. So maybe there's still hope for the US after all.

Hmm, so there may be hope after all. Sounds good, and hopefully I can find more folks to verify and confirm this.

Quote:

I don't want to get into a thing on defending FFX-2, but I will fight you tooth and nail over FFXI. I've been playing it since 2004, and it's probably the only game where I make sure to get on every single day. It bugs me whenever sites call FFXII the last "true" FF since FFX (though that is partly true) while failing to mention that FFXI has some of the best writing ever seen in the series.

I don't know, it's an MMORPG, that's why. FFs are typically known for being epic JRPGs that have some recurring themes and elements (Cid, Chocobos, Moogles, Summons, etc) that are single player. If it's as good as you say, maybe all it needed was to be offline to be considered a "true" FF.

Quote:

Double Post:
Oh, and has it been mentioned if the music has improved in quality since the demo, or how many songs are orchestral? The demo music was good, of course, but after orchestral masterpieces like DQVIII and Shadow of the Colossus, I long for the day when SE drops the midi track and gives the FF series the fully orchestral treatment. DQVIII alone proved that an orchestral soundtrack can work smoothly in an RPG, despite the constant excuses Square gives.

You know what? While DQVIII's soundtrack was nice, it suffered quite a bit in places where synthesized instruments or what not could've been used to drive home the scene. The boss themes were an example of this, and how they lacked the oomph they were so close in reaching.

FFT's music was damn nice, and if FFXII even comes close to that, I'll be happy (orchestral or not).

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Kairi Li

Frankly from the way the battle systems works, I doubt this is the next FFVII.... I'm sure the story is great, along with graphics, and music. Whethere not its engaging enough to get people to keep playing and actually have fun remains to be seen. The demo has me thinking that this game will be less engaging since with gambit your characters can simply do things themselves and you can just sit and watch, hell attacking no longer requires you pressing the buttons.

Gambits are AI scripts that you put on your characters so that when they fulfill the condition of said gambit, they automatically perform the function on it. For example Cura if HP < 30% coupled with another one could keep the others alive and let you focus on the enemy.

Wait mode is essentially your regular old FF battle system, except that you can move around and set attacks for your current and next turn. Active mode on the other hand is for folks that don't want to enemies to simply "stop" like the old ones. Maybe you've grown out of the old system?

Quote:

Then again there are those that regard story and graphics higher than gameplay, so maybe this game will suit them.

Theres barely any hype of promotion going in Japan though, its a rather quiet release compared to KH2. As much as I'm curious about whether or not it has live up to expectations (mind you this was a frigging long wait), this is probably the first FF I will not import, especially since the price has gone up. Defintly more expensive than FFX was for me.

However, if anyone here is gonna import, do tell us what its like, as I may get the NA release if its good enough.

And on another note, considering that SE are now making games to be more cinematic, its shocking that they still have not have their games with widescreen, progressive scan options. Get with the program Square!

FF is already pretty big in Japan, and all they'd need would be a few commercials (as they've done) some clever advertising (FFXII Potion anyone?) and Famitsu praising the game. Why waste money when the anticipation is likely fever pitch.

The lack of 16:9 and progressive scan support sucks though, but you're giving the game flogging it doesn't deserve (not as of yet). If we'd done the same to DQVIII, we would have ignored a perfectly good game based on a bad demo.

FFXII's title screen:



Jam it back in, in the dark.

Yes, that's what I noticed too. The background behind the logo seems like it was probably moving behind it. Looks like duckroll just abandoned the FFXII thread after the title thread was shown.

Oh, BTW, I fixed the original shot since it was too dark. What you see above is the edited one. Now comes the task of avoiding story spoilers until the NA launch.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

No, no, he abandoned the thread BECAUSE he's off to play the game. Someone posting the title screen simply let him know that there were folks out there with the game. I think him and Bebpo live in Japan, so I can see why he'd be so anxious to start playing.

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

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if the options are asked of you either right after you select new game or they're present in-game. What exactly did Basch do, exactly? I remember hearing that he killed the king because he had sold out his country in exchange for his safety.

How ya doing, buddy?

I know,

Spoiler:

but he also fought alongside Ashe's husband against the enemy, the one her father sold his kingdom out to. Surely this gets covered in the game, and it'll definitely be a contentious point between him and the rest of the party.

Didn't he kill Vaan's brother after killing the King? Again, everything's a bit fuzzy, but I remember that for sure.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Thanks for letting me now SOLDIER, I just assumed everyone knew Basch's backstory. It's definitely missing a lot of details that the game will fill us in on, but that's the gist of it I think. IMO, he's redeemed himself in her eyes especially if he's able to explain why he did what he did (Delita greater good deal) as well as fighting alongside her SO.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Guys, what the fuck are you guys cheering about? Square-Enix is made of nothing but moneybags, which is exactly what they shipped to Famistu in exchange for that BS score. [/hater]

Damn, a perfect 10 from Fammy and 95/100 from Dengeki? GAF must be shitting Potion turds right about now. Anyway, this is just going to make staying away from spoilers that much harder now that this is out there.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Simo

Heh. Of course Famitsu's scores are garbage but it's hard not to smile at the thought of it getting a perfect score and joining the few Famitsu has awarded perfect scores in the past.

Yeah, GAF dropped potion turds and then some.

Still, maybe a few moneybags were passed around since this was wholly unexpected. I was thinking maybe a 32 or 35, not an perfect score. Damn, I can see myself now, running around several maps in the most profitable loop, tearing enemies open and picking up trade items to get ridiculous sums of gil.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Simo

I don't think the moneybags flow that often to Famitsu anymore especially after their Dirge of Cerberus score.

I never expected a perfect score either to be honest. I figured 39 tops on par with DQVIII & KH2 but not 40/40. The wait is going to be unbearable...

Well, apparently SE was a bitch and sent the review copy of Dirge quite a while after it went to retail and the hilariously shitty 7 x 4 score they gave the game must've been their revenge.

Still there's questions that I'd like to get answered, like how long does it take for enemies to respawn, or do you just leave the area and come back and how exactly do you move across the map.

Is there an artbook of any kind available for this? From what I've managed to scrape up, there seems like a ton of material for one.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, I said maybe because IIRC, they also gave Vagrant Story 40/40 and Matsuno and Sakimoto were behind that one too, no?

BTW, in bad news, apparently Matsuno no longer works at Square-Enix thanks to his sickness that knocked him out of production for a good bit and pissed off his bosses in the process. Man, this could be the last Matsuno FF.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Rydia

I'm interested in hearing the "Prelude" again. I actually missed hearing it since the latest Final Fantasy installments didn't include the song. I also wasn't sure what to expect from the soundtrack, but since it's going to have 120-30 tracks, I hope there's a lot of variation in the songs.

Well, Rydia, one of the points was that he wanted to "express contrasts" in game via the music, so I guess you can rest easy knowing that bit. Personally, I'm glad that came up, because as happy as I was when I found out that DQVIII's OST was orchestral, I realized that much of it would end up sounding the same. One of my pals over AIM lamented the lack of boss music that carries the oomph necessary to get your blood pumping.

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

Originally Posted by Hiiragi

Am I the only one that thinks Vaan looks like a total fag?

This has been beat to death so many times, heck even the people that do think that are tired of this conversation. Vaan was based on the Final Fantasy Tactics monk artwork, and he's a scrawny street urchin.

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

Yeah,the Bangaa/Seeq/Viera/Nu Mou and Moogles all have their own languages or something, add their dialogue is bracketed or something as well as being a different color.

Then throw in that there are 4 different types of Bangaa, 2 different types of Viera and a who knows about the other races. That's why it infuriates me to see that there might not be any playable characters from other races.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Nope, but FFXII.net or whatever it's called has an extensive list. Most of them are FFT Zodiac monsters and others are Totema from FFTA.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

These tracks alone trump what was in the demo, and from what I heard there's 120-130 tracks in the game, 10-13 of them ended up being arranged (anyone care to clarify what this means?).

Personally, I'm happy they didn't go orchestral ala DQVIII since the tracks all have this grating similarity to one another that Sakimoto has mentioned he wants to avoid (creating contrast between areas and music).

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Hello_Kitty

I think it means that 10 or 13 tracks were recorded with a real orchestra, the others are just sythethised sounds

It may also mean that Sakimoto was alone for most of the tracks but for 10~13 tracks, a big team was working on them.

If you listen to all the mp3 posted on yousendit, they're all recorded with synthethisers but still they sound great !

Ah, thanks for filling me in on this. I always wondered what it meant.

What's that hot saying going around? Oh yeah, The More You Know.

Quote:

And they really sound like FFT music, it's incredible!

Well, what do you expect, it's Sakimoto.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Why the hell are people freaking out? It's probably not Elixer's given that the same shot was posted over on GAF not too long ago.

Jam it back in, in the dark.