Final Fantasy 12

thefinalstage

I bought this game yesterday and it is really taking ages to load even for a ps2.

I took the disk out and saw some rings around the disc. I know that these could cause the disc be fecked but I want to know what could cause this and what can I do about it considering its a new game...

4Xcut

unless you bought it over the net, just bring it back to the shop.

Headshot

thelastangryman wrote:

I bought this game yesterday and it is really taking ages to load even for a ps2.

I took the disk out and saw some rings around the disc. I know that these could cause the disc be fecked but I want to know what could cause this and what can I do about it considering its a new game...

your not missing much to be honest

AceCard Jones

Not missing much?Speak for yourself, I am seriously enjoying this game, it's a big change from all the previous final fantasies, but it's still brilliant.

And thelastangryman, loading times are quite long sometimes in this game, although nothing that bothered me, if you think this problem is related to the scratches on the disc (Which shouldn't have been there in the first place) just bring it back and get it replaced.It's a great game.

thefinalstage

Yeah screw this! Exchange ahoy! I bought it in Game so I may be in for a fight.

RE*AC*TOR

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote:

your not missing much to be honest

I think that's a bit dismissive, it was in most top 10's of the year, and it was a lot of people's game of the year.

AceCard Jones

I'm still deciding between this, Kingdom hearts II, and Zelda:TP as my game of the year.The start of last year was piss poor, but by the end everything was picking up, then XII came out which is great, and the PS3 in March, if it were not for the BC issues everything would be sweet right now.

Retr0gamer

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

I think that's a bit dismissive, it was in most top 10's of the year, and it was a lot of people's game of the year.

You should play it. It'll put you to sleep quicker than overdosing with horse tranquilisers.

RE*AC*TOR

Retr0gamer wrote:

You should play it. It'll put you to sleep quicker than overdosing with horse tranquilisers.

maybe, i probably will play it at some stage. have too big a pile to play at the moment as it is.

it might not be for everybody, but enough reliable reviewers have come in behind it - to tell me its excellent.

never actually played a FF game beyond about an hour.

CodeMonkey

Retr0gamer wrote:

You should play it. It'll put you to sleep quicker than overdosing with horse tranquilisers.

FFS, what's the anti ff12 crusade? You personally don't like it, I think we get it. Your opinion is on all ff12 related threads.

AceCard Jones

Reactor, if you didn't like any of the other FF games then don't hold your expectations too high for this, although the new battle system could be the thing that will make you like it.

I really cannot see where all Retr0gamer's negativity towards this game comes from.I was a bit skeptical when I first played it at the battle system, but as you keep playing you break into it and grow to like it.As strategy becomes a bigger and bigger part of it and you come to grips with attacking, using magic, and items etc, it all runs like clock-work, just like it did in all the previous FF's.

How far did you play in Retr0gamer?Out of curiosity, because the story does take a little while to get going, Where I am now things are really getting interesting, and it's really bringing back that great feeling IX gave me.
To be honest, if you didn't play too far in, I can't even slightly think your opinion is justified.

Retr0gamer

Played about 20 hours and realised I had better RPGs to play such as Dragon Quest.

AceCard Jones

Not a very open minded perspective...
I have a broad taste for RPG's and always make the effort to finish a game before judging it.Unless it is truly abysmal.I can predict what you're going to say to that so you don't have to waste your time posting it.:)
I like this game a lot and I recommend it to all.

Crucifix

To be honest the game just sounds hit and miss with people, like a love it or hate it thing.
I've got it, but I've a good 20-30 hours of Okami left before I'll get round to it.

AceCard Jones

No, it's a hit and miss with a very small minority of people, according to reports this is selling better than any of the previous Final Fantasies did at this point in their lives.

funky penguin

Its grand to be honest. Gorgeous setting, licence system is easy to get to grips with, just the right amount of characters. My only gripe would be the battle system.

Fair play to square for trying something new, but despite the fact its 'real time', it just seems a bit ridiculous that the characters are right infront of a monster 'waiting' to hit it. I never liked that system in KOTOR, and i still don't like it.

Saying that, I completed both KOTOR's, and I'll see this FF to the end.

Good, but not ground breaking.

AceCard Jones

Didn't they all stand in a straight line opposite the monsters in all the previous games?This isn't really real time, the game stops when you're choosing actions, and the charge bar for all your actions is basically just a replacement for the time bar in the older games.

When I first played a battle, I was getting annoyed at it, even when I ran away a monsters attack still hit me, or when I attempted to flee the enemies would follow and still hit you.But when you think about it, that's what all the other titles were like too, apart from X I believe, when you ran in the other games, you didn't always get away straight away, and the monsters would sometimes get a few hits in on you.

And as for fighting, when you were waiting for your time bar to fill up so as you could make your move in the older games, the monsters would get hits in, and you were still standing still, in a straight line, directly opposite them while waiting to attack, it's all the same, this is more like Final Fantasy than people think, it hasn't changed that much.

Retr0gamer

AceCard Jones wrote:

Not a very open minded perspective...
I have a broad taste for RPG's and always make the effort to finish a game before judging it.Unless it is truly abysmal.I can predict what you're going to say to that so you don't have to waste your time posting it.:)
I like this game a lot and I recommend it to all.

I've played a load JRPGs. Don't go telling me the game gets better after 20 hours, the game should be good from the start and definitely shouldn't take 20 hours to kick into gear. I've played some great games and some really poor RPGs to completion. FFXII definitely isn't the worst and it's not exactly a bad game. I just find it really boring. The main offender is the pathetic battle system, really dull with no strategy and frustrating because of difficulty spikes that require you to do soul destroying level grinding (I've major beef with game that require archaic level grinding). The game looks decent and the story is good but you have to trudge through a lot of crap to get to the next bit. I'll finish it and probably get back to it this weekend as long as I don't get sidetracked by the far superior Okami.

evad_lhorg

i have thisbut also very bored with it. Okami, we love katamari, god of war and street fighter alpha 3 are getting my attention.

Never played much of my ps2 but its finally gettin a good play

funky penguin

AceCard Jones wrote:

Didn't they all stand in a straight line opposite the monsters in all the previous games?This isn't really real time, the game stops when you're choosing actions, and the charge bar for all your actions is basically just a replacement for the time bar in the older games.

When I first played a battle, I was getting annoyed at it, even when I ran away a monsters attack still hit me, or when I attempted to flee the enemies would follow and still hit you.But when you think about it, that's what all the other titles were like too, apart from X I believe, when you ran in the other games, you didn't always get away straight away, and the monsters would sometimes get a few hits in on you.

And as for fighting, when you were waiting for your time bar to fill up so as you could make your move in the older games, the monsters would get hits in, and you were still standing still, in a straight line, directly opposite them while waiting to attack, it's all the same, this is more like Final Fantasy than people think, it hasn't changed that much.

Oh, I agree with you, it's not realtime (hence the inverted commas I used).

I think what annoys me is that they package it up as a new system of battling, when, as you said, its basically the same.

Meh. I'm still playing it anyway. I just miss Rikku.

Gullwings! GOOOOOOOO!!

AceCard Jones

I keep forgetting you don't like training, I love doing that.I can spend hours just making my party a beast.And devouring any enemy that comes my way.
Well I guess we should just agree to disagree.

Retr0gamer

AceCard Jones wrote:

Well I guess we should just agree to disagree.

I think we came to that conclusion last time as well

As for:

I just miss Rikku.

Gullwings! GOOOOOOOO!!

I miss her as well. From FFX. FFX-2 never happened.

steviec

I'm still kind of unsure of the game myself.

I am enjoying it for the most part, but there's some annoying things. The new battle system is great in some ways, but at the same time it feels kind of chaotic, maybe I just haven't got to grips with it yet.

And the license board is a bit too much, I like being able to customise character development but it gets confusing when you have this much gil, this many license points, and your running up and down between shops wondering if you should buy this piece of armour or this weapon or this technik and comparing them to where you can get on your license board. Not to mention the fact that it's impossible to plan ahead with all the distant squares being hidden, I'm pretty much progressing my characters randomly by learning things depending on what shops I come to happen to have in stock and what I can afford.

Most of all I'm disappointed in the music though. It's acceptable, but Final Fantasy soundtracks shouldn't be acceptable. There's not one memorable piece so far, apart from those lifted from previous games.

That said I'm not really all that far in, because I've been dying a heck of a lot which normally never happens in Final Fantasy, think I've a long way to go getting to grips with the combat system.

Vokes

steviec wrote:

Most of all I'm disappointed in the music though. It's acceptable, but Final Fantasy soundtracks shouldn't be acceptable. There's not one memorable piece so far, apart from those lifted from previous games.

Damn, that's not a good sign

AceCard Jones

Only memorable track so far was the remixed prelude.
But I don't think it's bad.So far all the tracks have suited the places, a lot of the songs just seem very similar.I have a lot of game to go so there may be some great songs further in.

Retr0gamer

Actually I'm really disappointed with the music in FFXII as well. I expected much better from Hitoshi Sakimoto since his soundtracks, including Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics, Radiant Silvergun and Gradius V, are some of the best ever and among my favourites. It just seems in the background and there's nothing powerful that really grabs you. I think we just miss the consistant quality of Nobuo Uematsu's soundtracks. He always has at least a few stand out tracks.

Uematsu is working with Mistwalker now. What I've heard of the soundtrack in Lost Odyssey is absolutely stunning and the Blue Dragon soundtrack isn't half bad either. Can't wait for them two games to give us some proper old school FF gameplay.

funky penguin

Retr0gamer wrote:

I miss her as well. From FFX. FFX-2 never happened.

Lets leave this alone.


Music wise, I'm going to have to disagree. Probably just personal taste, but there are some gorgeous harmonies at work in XII. Its all very minimalist, and reminds me of a Philip Glass Symphony. Stand out piece is the Boss music.

Again, personal taste really.

thefinalstage

" An even with Philip Glass, just an evening? Voices of the elderly, pooor mmmm."

Some of the music has a calming effect when I'm after getting my ass kicked by a moster that looks like a throw off from Silent Hill.

Garret

your PS2 is kinda on its way out

you can get it fixed for about 50 notes id say

what is happening is that something (i dont know what) is going too close too the disk when reading the bottom layers of the DVD, and thus scratching the surface layers

id be surprised if anyone takes it back

happened to me with GTA:SA

thefinalstage

You are very wrong there Garret. I have tested the console thoroughly using many of my discs and none had a single scratch on them. I shook the console, I opened it while it was spinning. None of them had a single scratch. Just seems to be that disc....When people say that its a console on the way out obviously it would do it to more than one disc? I had it examined by a Sony Tech guy too and he said it was in perfect working order. Unfortunately Games view is that it was my console and that that and to be honest its hard to argue with the pattern of scratching so...Screw it!

AceCard Jones

So you didn't get a replacement?
I do agree that if it were the console, it would be more likely the case with more than one disc, but that doesn't rule it out completely.I would keep trying to get a replacement and just insist that it was like that when you got it, it was wasn't it?

CodeMonkey

steviec wrote:

I am enjoying it for the most part, but there's some annoying things. The new battle system is great in some ways, but at the same time it feels kind of chaotic, maybe I just haven't got to grips with it yet.

That said I'm not really all that far in, because I've been dying a heck of a lot which normally never happens in Final Fantasy, think I've a long way to go getting to grips with the combat system.

Just started playing this over the weekend as I only finished Okami last week.

I'm 8 hrs in and about to leave the first city and I haven't have to do any excessive leveling to kill any of the bosses so far (this includes killing the Wraith at level 9). I think I get the battle system so let me try to explain. Some minor spoilers ahead.

The battle system seems to be a mix of the old FF games and the mmorpg. You'll probably get to grips with it a lot quicker if you have played mmorpgs like ff11 before.

All I did was explore every inch of the map to pick up all the treasures, kill off all monsters I see along the way and proceed to the end of the dungeons. The first real boss I remember was Firemane and that kicked my ass when I walked into it. My party was all level 6 at the time (could've been 5) and they were all close to level so I went out, killed 3-4 monsters and leveled and tried again.

Fight wasn't so hard, you just have to have one tank and the rest have gambits to heal when allies are low on hp and you occasionally help out with manual healing.

To tank a monster (if you don't know) is to get the monsters attention with a single character who is usually with the best armour and highest hp. The others just deals damage. I am using Vaan as the tank and at this early level all I have to do is walk up to the monster so it targets Vaan and start stealing and attacking. My party also only attacks what the party leader is targeting so they never get in first hit.

The monster will attack other members if they do excessive damage. In a mmorpg other skills like cure will give the character more hate/aggro too so the monster will attack them. The monsters ability to dynamically change target is one of the differences to the old FF systems.

If that happens you will just need to get the monsters attention again. Vaan does a lot of damage with his attacks in my party so that doesn't seem to be a problem and the healing gambits keeps everyone alive. Didn't even have to use a pheonix down in this fight cause I was paying attention to the HP.

The other boss fights weren't that memorable, I just remembered I didn't have to do the excessive leveling people were complaining about. The only other boss that give me problems was the Wraith cause I was trying to solo him at level 9. When I got my party back and was about to leave the city I tried again and took him down after 1 party wipe. That party wipe was cause of that doom spell

And even though I haven't done this yet, some mmorpg tactics and strategies for fighting some bosses will def work with the ff12 battle system such as kiting. Should be very easy to kite a tough monster in an open area. What you'd do is get the monsters attention with a range attack, make it chase you, run around in circles, tell the other party member to attack monster. When it chases the other member, control him/her and continue to kite.

Other tips: action bar charging. If the monster you are fighting is fast and your action meter is slow, you can just run off when you're recharging and make the monster chase you. The monster can only hit you when you are close.

Anyway, I quite like the battle system. There's a lot more room for strategy instead of just standing still and trading blows and micro manage actions.

thefinalstage

No replacement, no discussion. Feck it I'll get the disc re coated and see if that helps. Its to much bother dealing with Game.