Final Fantasy XII sucks. Period. Fact.

[TwinBahamut]

Whatever. I still want to play it. I haven't played a game in the series yet that I actively hated.

I didn't either until I played Final Fantasy 12.

I will echo the sentiment that FF12 was a terrible game. Far beyond any system nitpicks, minor gripes, or personal dislikes based on my love of the FFT Ivalice, that I could dish out, the gameplay was simply boring and the plot was bad. Note that when I say plot is bad, I don't mean the story as a whole has some flaws, I mean the bare bones "this is who the characters are and this is what they are doing" is mortally flawed at its core for the game. If you add on the fact that the gameplay is essentially little more than an endless level/money grind in open areas with no interesting structure or plot, then you get a lousy game. It doesn't even rate as a lousy game by Final Fantasy standards (like Final Fantasy 2 or 3), it is just a lousy game.

I honestly can't think of a single redeeming feature of interesting innovation in the game... Well, the Gambit system is an interesting way of controlling AI, but the result of that one is less satisfying then things like Persona 3's ally AI, so I don't like it very much.

The whole thing makes me wish for the days of the superb SNES Final Fantasy games and the fun of FF7 and the creativity of FF8, as well as the awesomeness of Final Fantasy Tactics.

 

[Orius]

Whatever, I'll still try it anyway.

If I've learned anything about the series, it's that there are far more opinions on every entry in the series than number of games in the series. Including spin-offs, sequels and side games. Hell, even including Advent Children just for the hell of it.

I started with the original game, then moved up to FFVII. After that, I started learning about the game from thhe internet, and encountering opinions on the series.

People complained about how bad FFVIII's Junction system and GFs were. I still enjoyed the game.

People complained about how FFIX was too old-school, or the graphics sucked, or they didn't like Zidane or whatever. I still enjoyed the game.

I played FFII and FFIII through emulation, and I enjoyed them.

People complained about Tidus, or blitzball or any other aspect of FFX. I still enjoyed the game.

Peple complained about how FFX-2 was girly, or how it ruined FFX or something else. I still enjoyed the game.

So really, I haven't lost faith in FF's ability to entertain me yet. Maybe FFXII will change that. But I'm willing to learn for myself. I've learned my own experiences with the games are the only way I can judge them for myself.

 

[Bront]

Interesting. Final Fantasy XII: Revanant Wings has been fairly enjoyable so far, and it features Vann and Penelo.

FFVIII turned me off the series, well, that and not having a system that could play it anyway.

 

[Vigilance]

I thought XII was quite enjoyable.

But then, FF X is my favorite of the series, far superior to VII imo (I know, heresy).

 

[WhatGravitas]

But then, FF X is my favorite of the series, far superior to VII imo (I know, heresy).

You're not alone, though VII was much better when it came out - it just aged worse than X.

Cheers, LT.

 

[Gladius Legis]

You act as if any of the characters from Star Wars were original to begin with.

Which makes it even more sad that FFXII had to ripoff Star Wars characters.

One may wonder why you are even playing a FF game considering how much you hate other games from the franchise.

I liked FFVI and FFX and loved FF Tactics. The main man behind FFXII was the same guy behind FF Tactics ... until he took leave of the project. Unfortunately the people who tried to fill in his blanks didn't do a very good job of it.

Sounds like you had some expectations that were unrealistic.

Uh, no. The pre-release info I read about the License Board did read a lot like a more refined Sphere Grid. Except what happened is that it became far more easily and quickly abuseable, with absolutely no character individuality.

 

[John Crichton]

I thought XII was quite enjoyable.

But then, FF X is my favorite of the series, far superior to VII imo (I know, heresy).

There are plenty of folks, myself included, who liked X more than VII. VII is just more iconic than any other FF game.

 

[John Crichton]

Which makes it even more sad that FFXII had to ripoff Star Wars characters.

My point was cloaked, evidently. You say they ripped off Star Wars characters, I say they played to literary type, which happens all the time in games and certainly in the FF series.

Uh, no. The pre-release info I read about the License Board did read a lot like a more refined Sphere Grid. Except what happened is that it became far more easily and quickly abuseable, with absolutely no character individuality.

It sounds like you had some expectations that were attached to another system that you enjoyed. It's not the game's fault that you did that. The FF series rarely has advancement systems that carry over from game to game, especially the last 5 games.

 

[drothgery]

Uh, no. The pre-release info I read about the License Board did read a lot like a more refined Sphere Grid. Except what happened is that it became far more easily and quickly abuseable, with absolutely no character individuality.

I guess you could do that if you wanted, or if you spent a lot of time grinding, but at least for me, there wasn't a huge amount of PC overlap until very late in the game. Early in the game they were very distinct (especially Penelo, who I turned into a dedicated caster upon getting her back because I'd sold off all my extra equipment so she needed decent attacks, and I was a bit underleveled, so I needed her to be effective in the first boss fight after I got her back ...)

 

[John Crichton]

I guess you could do that if you wanted, or if you spent a lot of time grinding, but at least for me, there wasn't a huge amount of PC overlap until very late in the game. Early in the game they were very distinct (especially Penelo, who I turned into a dedicated caster upon getting her back because I'd sold off all my extra equipment so she needed decent attacks, and I was a bit underleveled, so I needed her to be effective in the first boss fight after I got her back ...)

I thought that was a good thing about the system: it allowed you to make each character into whatever the heck you wanted with very little pigeonholing.