Final Fantasy XII dated

Vokes

Final Fantasy XII is due out in Europe on 23rd February, Square Enix has announced.

Nice one - I had thought it had fallen back to March / April.

But still a bit wary of this MMORG-type system i've being hearing about.

Retr0gamer

A comment on eurogamer says the PAL conversion is a pile of wankery. Looks like they have gone back to their old ways after the the decent conversion of KH2.

The Free Man

finally!


now wheres my ps2....

Crucifix

Article about the conversion here

Skiesonfire19

I cant WAIT!!!!

Skies

super_furry

Can't wait, it looks like being the first good FF game since IX.

Mitch Connor

same days as crackdown for the 360. Expensive day.

Fingers crossed this will eb better then FFX, which i did NOT like!

Haven't rad much about this to be honest, well, nothing really. What have the reviews been like - i did hear something about the battle system, and it being kinda poopy....

Vokes

super_furry wrote:

Can't wait, it looks like being the first good FF game since IX.

Then you must've forgotten to play X

grimloch

SofaKing wrote:

Then you must've forgotten to play X

And X-2.

I'm not sold on this game to be honest, I'll be waiting until I see it sticking out of the second hand bin or until I can find it online at a reasonable price.

Retr0gamer

Tauren wrote:

same days as crackdown for the 360. Expensive day.

Fingers crossed this will eb better then FFX, which i did NOT like!

Haven't rad much about this to be honest, well, nothing really. What have the reviews been like - i did hear something about the battle system, and it being kinda poopy....

The reviews have all been very positive. I however am finding it a load of ****. The battle system is disgraceful, it forces you to level up too often and the towns are too big and boring. The story is good but you have to shovel through a lot of crap to get to the next bit.

grimloch

Retr0gamer wrote:

The reviews have all been very positive. I however am finding it a load of ****. The battle system is disgraceful, it forces you to level up too often and the towns are too big and boring. The story is good but you have to shovel through a lot of crap to get to the next bit.

That sounds a bit wankery alright. I'd much rather have a game with good gameplay and an average story* instead of a game with a good story and gameplay that just a huge load of bollix. And XII seems to be leaning towards the latter.


*EG: X-2

Anima

Average? Not even. Absolutely terrible.

FFXII is pretty good but theres too much messing about with leveling and general boring ****e that could have been left out.

I like the battling system, I guess, but if you set up the gambit system well enough you can just play with the directional keys. Then when ever an enemy appears in range, your players attack till he dies and they heal each other if they're low on health. Doesn't make for an exciting game.

The story is good but I still feel like I'm waiting for the game to start properly. It seems ages between each story arc aswell but maybe I'm just not playing often enough. Still I don't want to have to play through 3 sessions of grinding just so I can continue the story. I'm finding myself having to grind up about 3-4 levels before each boss and its getting annoying.

Retr0gamer

The battle system feels like Diablo or a poor mans KotOR. There's very little input from the player except during boss fights were you are constantly throwing pheonix downs and healing potions around because each boss has at least on stupidly powerful move that is capable of killing a character outright or completely messing up your whole party if you aren't levelling up (which is usually required before even having a chance of defeating them).

evad_lhorg

I have had the pal version for the last week. cant say im liking the battle system though. everywhere has said its amazing but I just dont get it. very frustrating have to constantly hit x all the time to open up your menu to select who to attack instead of just having your attack bar build up and you choose who to attack by just moving to the enemy you choose.

Looks amazing though

johnny_ultimate

This thread features the most use of the word **** I have seen outside of PI. Keep it up.

For some reason Im very cautious about this game. Im a big fan of the series, but the likes of Okami and others seem to be more deserving of my money this February season.

bluto63

I'm not looking forward to this game. I feel that the FF series has gone completely downhill after 8.
The battle system doesn't look enticing but I do like the idea of a good story. X and X-2 had stories that were ****(had to join in;) ). A good story is important.

Vokes

Tis out tomorrow. So, who's getting it ?

Myself - I'm moving flats soon, so im gonna hold out for the moment (you would never have heard me say this about a new FF release in years gone by which sort've show how much the series has waned for me)

seraphimvc

where is my FFXII???where is my FFXII???

play.com told me that they sent it on 20th...:rolleyes: cant wait to get it!!:D

Retr0gamer

To anyone who has waited for the European release, prepare to be disappointed.

grimloch

Too poor, I require money for pints.

Crucifix

Retr0gamer wrote:

To anyone who has waited for the European release, prepare to be disappointed.

For specific Euro-reasons? Or just cos it's pants?

Retr0gamer

Because it's pants.

Matthewthebig

I like it...

evad_lhorg

Retr0gamer wrote:

Because it's pants.

how is it pantss? seems fine.

sme

i'm only about 5 hours in, but i'm getting used to the battle system. i can see why they did what they have done i.e. people got pissed off with random battles (a part of the game which i love.) Its almost like a free flowing rpg now like baldurs gate or such but without the button mashing.

also the graphics are savage, but the voice acting is cat. why are all the soldiers from the east end of london? bizzare.

its no vii or X but its ok sofar.

carter001

Not sure to buy this or God of War 2,last FF game I bought was FFX and to be honest while the graphics were good the voice overs were sh**e and the story wasnt much to write home about either.Had a look on youtube and saw the graphics for FFXII ,especially the espers and quickenings and thought they looked pretty badass.

I agree with an earlier post square really lost the mark after FF VIII imo,decisions ,decisions,to buy or not to buy that is the question :-(

grimloch

They lost it after VI if I was to be consulted about matters, although they have belted out a few gems in the meantime, IX and X-2 to be specific.

I'll wait until this comes out on the cheap, if at all. I might just swipe it from my friends house next time I'm in the locale.

Memnoch

carter001 wrote:

Not sure to buy this or God of War 2,last FF game I bought was FFX and to be honest while the graphics were good the voice overs were sh**e and the story wasnt much to write home about either.Had a look on youtube and saw the graphics for FFXII ,especially the espers and quickenings and thought they looked pretty badass.

I agree with an earlier post square really lost the mark after FF VIII imo,decisions ,decisions,to buy or not to buy that is the question :-(

You've got to be joking. I agree the voice overs in X were lame but as far as story goes, it probably has one of the best story lines around that you will find in any mmorpg. It had everything you could ask for in a good story.

I find it ironic that someone who liked ff8 where the story line was actually pants, critices ffx. I mean what was 8 about anyway? Out of nowhere this ultimecia villain turns up with no charecter to her. Maybe you don't like complex story lines that actually have some depth to them.

I'm going to be getting xii and looking forward to playing it soon.

After vii, X is probably the best FF game, at least as far as story line is concerned. People who say otherwise probably didn't get what was really going on.

carter001

Memnoch wrote:

You've got to be joking. I agree the voice overs in X were lame but as far as story goes, it probably has one of the best story lines around that you will find in any mmorpg. It had everything you could ask for in a good story.

I find it ironic that someone who liked ff8 where the story line was actually pants, critices ffx. I mean what was 8 about anyway? Out of nowhere this ultimecia villain turns up with no charecter to her. Maybe you don't like complex story lines that actually have some depth to them.

I'm going to be getting xii and looking forward to playing it soon.

After vii, X is probably the best FF game, at least as far as story line is concerned. People who say otherwise probably didn't get what was really going on.

Sticks and stones,why attack my intelligence just because I like one game over the other?

Everyones entitled to their opinion,I didnt like FFX mainly due to the fact that tidus spent most of his time whining,then theres FFX's lack of a True World Map,barely any side quests,far too many cutscenes,but there were many positives to FFX as well.I mentioned nothing about the storyline of FFVIII ,there were many aspects of that game which I liked for its time period,the card game,seed rank,the fact that you had to accumulate items in order to upgrade weapons,the sub quests,the world map.

grimloch

Apart from the love story die of things, X did had a fairly solid story. Plenty of character development thrown in there to boot. I'd say the story is superior to VII, if for no other reason than it was told in a much better and clearer fashion.

Memnoch

Originally Posted by carter001
Not sure to buy this or God of War 2,last FF game I bought was FFX and to be honest while the graphics were good the voice overs were sh**e and the story wasnt much to write home about either.Had a look on youtube and saw the graphics for FFXII ,especially the espers and quickenings and thought they looked pretty badass.

So you criticised the story as one of the reasons you didn't like FFX, then you complain when I call you out on it?

I do agree about those aspects of FF8 which were a lot of fun, the card game etc, were pretty cool and it was a fun game though having to extract magic was a pain in the but.

But X had a lot of cool stuff in it, blitzball was great as was the monster arena, dark aeons etc. But the story and graphics is where X really stands out, so many breathtaking locations, most of the charecters were cool and had depth to them.

The story also tackled a lot of contemporary themes such as Dogma, the hypocrisy of religion, faith, determination etc. at a much more mature level than most video games. The layers of the story were in themselves more complex and interesting to learn about, along with the strong irony in it's message.

To me RPGs are all about the story, it's the reason why I stopped playing the latest Dragon Quest game half way in, because the story was pants and going no where.

It's also the reason Breath of Fire 3 is such an amazing game.
FF7 also had a pretty kick butt story once you explored all of it, despite my love for 7, maybe x's story was a bit better, I dunno.

But as far as pure gameplay goes, nothing compares to 7. The materia and ATB system were the best, and provided for so much fun, exploration and combination. THe minigames and gold saucer were great. The use of chocobo's and their importance to the game added a lot to the game. The battle arena was also fun and the limit breaks were just kick ass.

I mean the first time you got omni slash and used it, was just too cool for words.

Definately 7 is one of the most complete games in terms of depth, fun, originality and gameplay and that's why it was the runaway success it was, I don't know if square enix can ever make a game that can draw me in like that again, but FFX came close.

I'm looking forward to starting XII next week. Supposedly XIII goes back to an ATB system which to me is very good news. I really wish they would make another game with the materia system some day.

Cina

Cannot believe all the criticism you guys are giving this game. I'm loving it so far and I'm about 10 hours in. At first I really didn't like the MMORPG style battle system, but once you get a full group of characters and gambits and more abilities etc, it gets great.
It looks beautiful for a PS2 game, they've really drilled everything out of the console and of course, the FMV sequences are stunning. The story seems good so far, hard to figure out who is who at first because they just constantly introduce new characters for the first while but it seems to be coming together nicely now. Oh and I doubt anyone can argue that the voice acting is of a far, far better standard than the woeful voice acting in FFX!

super_furry

I think it's the best FF game I've played since VII and is a stunning return to form. It's got an excellant politically charged plot and a battle system that really shakes up the conventions of Japanese RPGs. After the major let downs of FFX and FFX-2, it's exactly the kick up the arse that the stale series needed.

kawaii

Is there a world map? That was one of the reasons for my discontent with FFX. FF - World map = .0001

And are the characters any good? Must be better than X anyway...

Retr0gamer

Not exactly a world map but it isn't linear. Each area is separated by big expanses of combat areas.

As for characters they are alright. Not as interesting as the characters in FFX for me and there is too much angsty teenager going on in a few of them but there are some really good ones.

kawaii

once it's not linear like X I'm sure it's good.

I actually hated most characters in X (Except Rikku and maybe Lulu.). Once there are no Tidus' again. He was the worst character ever.

What about antagonists? On a scale of Seymour to Sephiroth where does this one come?

Retr0gamer

kawaii wrote:

once it's not linear like X I'm sure it's good.

I actually hated most characters in X (Except Rikku and maybe Lulu.). Once there are no Tidus' again. He was the worst character ever.

What about antagonists? On a scale of Seymour to Sephiroth where does this one come?

Vann wears a vest that is as camp as a row of tents and is a little annoying like tidus. Bad guys are decent. They are more realistic and most are politicians. It's very like Suikoden were there is no clear bad guy and nobody is entirely evil which is much more believable. However there's nothing there to challenge Suikoden 2's Luka Blight. They are however much better than the one dimensional moaner Sephiroth.

carter001

I bought it,and I'm fairly near the end,so far I'm very impressed.ATB was a great system for it's time but in the case where you made an incorrect decision it could cost you a battle,Active Dimension Battle however allows the player to input special commands and magic at any time(ie)you can change your mind ...althought some may argue that both systems still require a time metre to fill in order to perform an action,which may ultimately lead to death if the enemy gets a devastating attack in before you do,I still prefer the latter...

Just a few observations,the quickenings are really cool when you watch them the first few times but the fact that you have to sit throught the animations can be a pain in the arse,I wish they included a default setting like on FFX(if I'm not mistaken)where by you can cut down on the animation and just show the damage inflicted later...on a plus the Characters may string together Quickenings into large combo attacks, called Mist Chains

The gambit system is extremely well thought out,it took me an hour or so to get to grips with it but once I did it really added to the whole battle experience,it's nice to be to able to assign one character to heal your other characters if their health drops below < 60 % without having to constantly check their health,you can assign lots of actions for each character using the gambit system..

story is intriguing so far and some of the locations are breathtaking.

I can definitely see why square spent so much time producing this game and it really paid off,here's to FFXIII :-)