"Wouldn't you prefer to see for yourself? ;3"
When FFXII was first announced, I couldn't be more excited for it. Not only was it a new FF game AWAY from the emo hair fest that is Nomura, but it was being made by the team that crafted two of my favorite games of all time (FFT and Vagrant Story). Even when they announced the new battle system I was skeptical but still curious.
And then it got delayed a dozen times or so, and I forgot about it, and stopped caring for a while.
And then it actually came out, and suddenly all I kept hearing was either how AWESOME or how BLASPHEMOUS it was. So I got it :D
I'm only 7 hours in so far, so there's still a loooooong way to go, but what I've played I've really liked. Here are my thoughts, split up:
Battle System - Gambits
Might as well get the controversial stuff out of the way.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the new battle system, and to be honest it did take me a while to adjust to. I play so many action games that the thought of not pressing the X button each time to swing the sword was really frustrating for a time (keeping in mind, I don't play MMPORPG, on which the system is based). By now I'm used to it, and still working out the best way to approach the gambit system. I've never trusted ally AI, and though the game uses it very well, I do get annoyed when they can't cast cure on me as quickly as I want them to.
Overall, though, I haven't been put off by the change, and hopefully I'll like it even better once I'm better at it.
Liscence Grid
Now this, I don't understand why people complain about. It's a little weird at first that you can't just put on the clothing you buy, but combined with your other skills it feels like an effective system of customization. I'm still deciding on how to develop my guys. Whatever VG cats says, it does make sense to expect a character to need more experience with a sword before they can use a bigger, stronger sword. And I like that, since there are so few characters, you can model them almost any way you want. Right now Vaan has a spear and I like him that way!
Plus I love applying points to things. It reminds me of the sphere grid, which I also liked.
Graphics
It's hard to judge, because for the last couple weeks I've been playing Colossus and Okami (which are both very stylized) and watching Next Gen footage, so except for the panoramas the graphics haven't dazzled me. Some of the textures on the characters models look a little scratchy or just odd (like...Van's painted on six-pack XD). But overall the game is very pretty and very well done. The environments are almost too huge (I keep getting lost!) and the character designs remind me a lot of Vagrant Story. If only Balthier had the assless chaps...
Sound
I've always loved Sakimoto (the composer) and I still do. The themes themselves don't always stand out, but the music always fits the mood and is suitably heroic. The voice acting is pretty good, too. It's a little odd at times that there seem to be a lot of different accents between characters supposedly from the same country, but everyone's well matched and the acting so far is as good as I'd hoped. Vaan was the only one I wasn't sure of, but he quickly grew on me.
Characters and Story
I'm still fairly early on in the game, so it's hard to judge the overall story (just outside the mines for anyone who knows what that means). As it's been pointed out...it has a distinctly Star Wars feel in sections (the young, naive hero, the dashing rouge and his trusted animal sidekick, the haughty princess...!? Evil-doer in a big black helmet!?). But the opening was heart-breaking and the story's moving just fast enough to keep me interested in what happens next. I like all the characters so far.
Especially Balthier. He has the biggest penis in the world :O
In fact, Balthier is so awesome that within the mere seven hours that I've played, I've developed a strong desire to kill his puppy in front of him.
(It's one of those "you hurt the ones you love" things. I want him to lose his cool and/or suffer near fatal wounds. And then have hot furry sex with Fran. That's just how it works).
Oh, and Lord Rasler looked a lot like a teenage girl in a rebellious phase.
That's all I can think of so far.
Except...there are some strange choices of technology in Ivalice. What was up with Vaan's mini deam-sequence scene? The room and the flowers? STRANGE. VERY STRANGE.
Okay, this time I'm done.
Anyone else on my F-list have it? :D
And then it got delayed a dozen times or so, and I forgot about it, and stopped caring for a while.
And then it actually came out, and suddenly all I kept hearing was either how AWESOME or how BLASPHEMOUS it was. So I got it :D
I'm only 7 hours in so far, so there's still a loooooong way to go, but what I've played I've really liked. Here are my thoughts, split up:
Battle System - Gambits
Might as well get the controversial stuff out of the way.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the new battle system, and to be honest it did take me a while to adjust to. I play so many action games that the thought of not pressing the X button each time to swing the sword was really frustrating for a time (keeping in mind, I don't play MMPORPG, on which the system is based). By now I'm used to it, and still working out the best way to approach the gambit system. I've never trusted ally AI, and though the game uses it very well, I do get annoyed when they can't cast cure on me as quickly as I want them to.
Overall, though, I haven't been put off by the change, and hopefully I'll like it even better once I'm better at it.
Liscence Grid
Now this, I don't understand why people complain about. It's a little weird at first that you can't just put on the clothing you buy, but combined with your other skills it feels like an effective system of customization. I'm still deciding on how to develop my guys. Whatever VG cats says, it does make sense to expect a character to need more experience with a sword before they can use a bigger, stronger sword. And I like that, since there are so few characters, you can model them almost any way you want. Right now Vaan has a spear and I like him that way!
Plus I love applying points to things. It reminds me of the sphere grid, which I also liked.
Graphics
It's hard to judge, because for the last couple weeks I've been playing Colossus and Okami (which are both very stylized) and watching Next Gen footage, so except for the panoramas the graphics haven't dazzled me. Some of the textures on the characters models look a little scratchy or just odd (like...Van's painted on six-pack XD). But overall the game is very pretty and very well done. The environments are almost too huge (I keep getting lost!) and the character designs remind me a lot of Vagrant Story. If only Balthier had the assless chaps...
Sound
I've always loved Sakimoto (the composer) and I still do. The themes themselves don't always stand out, but the music always fits the mood and is suitably heroic. The voice acting is pretty good, too. It's a little odd at times that there seem to be a lot of different accents between characters supposedly from the same country, but everyone's well matched and the acting so far is as good as I'd hoped. Vaan was the only one I wasn't sure of, but he quickly grew on me.
Characters and Story
I'm still fairly early on in the game, so it's hard to judge the overall story (just outside the mines for anyone who knows what that means). As it's been pointed out...it has a distinctly Star Wars feel in sections (the young, naive hero, the dashing rouge and his trusted animal sidekick, the haughty princess...!? Evil-doer in a big black helmet!?). But the opening was heart-breaking and the story's moving just fast enough to keep me interested in what happens next. I like all the characters so far.
Especially Balthier. He has the biggest penis in the world :O
In fact, Balthier is so awesome that within the mere seven hours that I've played, I've developed a strong desire to kill his puppy in front of him.
(It's one of those "you hurt the ones you love" things. I want him to lose his cool and/or suffer near fatal wounds. And then have hot furry sex with Fran. That's just how it works).
Oh, and Lord Rasler looked a lot like a teenage girl in a rebellious phase.
That's all I can think of so far.
Except...there are some strange choices of technology in Ivalice. What was up with Vaan's mini deam-sequence scene? The room and the flowers? STRANGE. VERY STRANGE.
Okay, this time I'm done.
Anyone else on my F-list have it? :D