FFXII Demo
So I go the FFXII demo today. Played through it a couple of times. A lot of people are upset about the sweeping changes implemented in the battle system. The battle system has been likened to FFXI, only single-player. Having played FFXI, that just isn't the case.
Similarities to FFXI:
- Real-time
- You see the monsters on the field, and there's no transition to a battle screen, battles take place on the field.
- You only control one character
Differences from FFXI:
- It's actually fun
- It's fast-paced, especially in active mode
- You have a party of up to 3, and you can change which character you're controlling on the fly
- You can set the other members to an automatic mode. In the demo, you can't dictate how they behave in this mode, but in the final version you will be able to set their behavior patterns. What exactly this entails, I don't know, but it could potentially be pretty awesome.
The visuals are absolutely stunning. Square has really outdone themselves on this one. But of course, nobody was expecting any less. The graphics whores will be especially happy about that. The demo doesn't have much in the way of story. There is an opening sequence, but it's one I've seen before, and others probably have too. After the opening sequence, you get to pick one of two scenarios. One is active mode, and the other is wait mode. Personally, wait mode was too slow-paced for me, but beginners would probably enjoy it.
The wait mode one has you at level 1 on a beach hunting three horse-like enemies. Upon defeating them, a T-Rex attacks you. The best part of this scenario is if you perform the summon that's available to you, it will use a skill called "Roxxor." I shit you not. And it does, indeed "Roxxor." When you perform a summon, the other party members vanish and are replaced by the summon for a set time period. Once the time period is up, the summon disappears. However, should the summon lose all its HP before the time period is up, it performs a devastating final attack.
The active mode has you at level 20 in a dungeon hunting an Adamantoise for a key to the boss. Not too much to note, except that the dungeon looked the same no matter where you were in it, which I guess is to be expected. The boss was fucking tough though, because for some reason, you're not allowed to use a summon against him. Flares were absolutely essential.
So yeah, I can't wait for it to come out after the PS3. That's just ridiculous. Too long of a wait, I say. BTW, if anybody wants to play the demo between now and Friday, let me know.
Similarities to FFXI:
- Real-time
- You see the monsters on the field, and there's no transition to a battle screen, battles take place on the field.
- You only control one character
Differences from FFXI:
- It's actually fun
- It's fast-paced, especially in active mode
- You have a party of up to 3, and you can change which character you're controlling on the fly
- You can set the other members to an automatic mode. In the demo, you can't dictate how they behave in this mode, but in the final version you will be able to set their behavior patterns. What exactly this entails, I don't know, but it could potentially be pretty awesome.
The visuals are absolutely stunning. Square has really outdone themselves on this one. But of course, nobody was expecting any less. The graphics whores will be especially happy about that. The demo doesn't have much in the way of story. There is an opening sequence, but it's one I've seen before, and others probably have too. After the opening sequence, you get to pick one of two scenarios. One is active mode, and the other is wait mode. Personally, wait mode was too slow-paced for me, but beginners would probably enjoy it.
The wait mode one has you at level 1 on a beach hunting three horse-like enemies. Upon defeating them, a T-Rex attacks you. The best part of this scenario is if you perform the summon that's available to you, it will use a skill called "Roxxor." I shit you not. And it does, indeed "Roxxor." When you perform a summon, the other party members vanish and are replaced by the summon for a set time period. Once the time period is up, the summon disappears. However, should the summon lose all its HP before the time period is up, it performs a devastating final attack.
The active mode has you at level 20 in a dungeon hunting an Adamantoise for a key to the boss. Not too much to note, except that the dungeon looked the same no matter where you were in it, which I guess is to be expected. The boss was fucking tough though, because for some reason, you're not allowed to use a summon against him. Flares were absolutely essential.
So yeah, I can't wait for it to come out after the PS3. That's just ridiculous. Too long of a wait, I say. BTW, if anybody wants to play the demo between now and Friday, let me know.