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I expect soon there will be swarms of FF12 reviews begining to litter the net, if they havn't allready, stating 'IT SUXX0RS' and 'wHy ca11 it Fanal FaNtasy wen it hav differnt battel sysm?11!!'. Well, opinions are like assholes; everyone has one, so I shall share my thoughts based on the demo.
A propper RPG is made up of 1 part story, 2 parts battle system. A great battle system can make a mediocre story bearable, but often times a good story can do little to save a game with a poor battle system. The first release demo of FF12 has no story, so I cannot offer any details beyond 'metrosexual pirate-wannabe gets caught up in war'. What the demo does have is two simple missions that you can play through using either active or pausing combat.
Your objective, 1 kill things, 2 get key, 3 open door, 4 kill boss.
When you start your mission you are greeted with 3 characters. You control 1 and and computer controls the other 2. Switch on the fly between them, but you quickly learn it does not matter much. Best to stick with someone with a hand to hand weapon...because they are slightly less boring to watch.
The game combat is EXACTLY like FF11, for those who played it. Run arround a open map where you will find no random battles, but instead find free-roaming monsters that fade into view, pacing awkwardly back and forth as they ponder their meaningless existances.
Run up to one, press a button to pop up your command menu, select 'attack', sit back and drink some soda. The computer will take over, doing all the hacking and slashing for you. Just pop open a menu when you want to cast a spell or use an item.
You will quickly see this game's major flaw. Not the battle system but the lackluster heros. In FF11 you could select between a small range of races and classes, but everyone in this game plays like a human Red Mage. The biggest variety comes from selecting if you want a hand to hand fighter or a ranged fighter. Other than that everyone has a few type of magics (white, black, green) and no other skills that set them apart from one another.
If only this game had more colorful characters (ff7/9) each with unique abilites (ff6) and fighting styles, then it could be great. And again, this being a premature demo, may have some of that stuff in the final product.
The only thing the demo had going for it was the summons. For a minute you feel like you have some real power walking beside you. I loved how each step of the Espers made my subwoofer tremble. But once that minute is up, back to blandness.
Unless some major improvements are made, my recomendation would be to rent it and wait for it to hit the 20 dollar bin instead of rushing out to pre-order it.
One last thing I did forget to mention was the graphics, which are beautifully textured and detailed. I pump my ps2 through my high defenition TV card on my pc, and this is one of the few ps2 games that truely looks good in high def.
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Well, I never played ff11 so I love the new battle system. The old style arena fighting without being able to move and select each attack for each character got me turned of from rpg's. I like this battle system way more than X. I just hope they don't make the entire game like the demo as in its all quests. I want a world map.
I never got the summons to work so don't know what they do and you don't get a look at the menu's.
Overall I'm pretty excited about it.
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i seriously doubt there will be a world map
in fact most of what square has produced post ff10 has been non world maps
ff10, X-2, star ocean 3 and i believe there are a few more also in fact kingdom hearts doesent really have one either so.....
but i think thats the way of the newer rpg's at least mostly. I will warn you that on some of the newer rpg's that make you run thru entire areas you start to really want a ship to fly where ever you want but world maps are definately better
Cyrus
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I'm pretty sure I'm not going to play it since I haven't played a Final Fantasy game since 9, or enjoyed one since 6. Looks really pretty though, I will probably watch my girlfriend play it. My only thoughts on the game, is that the main character looks a little to feminine for my taste. Go put some fucking armor on and a cape!!!!
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Didnt like ffx didnt play ffx-2 didnt play ff11 and i doubt I will even bother to glance at this one, unless they go back to the original combat system like ff6 or 7 I am out for good.
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well either do battle wait or something really inovative.
but none of this walk to side to side attack while i go get my coffee crap
whats the point
Cyrus
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Cyrus Wrote:well either do battle wait or something really inovative.
but none of this walk to side to side attack while i go get my coffee crap
whats the point the wave of good RPG's has past, just be happy you were alive to experiance it. with new technology out developers have to stir things up to take advantage of it, if that means we get a couple of crap games along the way so be it...i for one am happy to see the menu selection battle system die! as for the "walk side to side attack while i get my coffe" battle system...are you saying you didnt like Neverwinter Nights, Guild Wars, Baulders Gate, Icewindale, Knights of the Old Republic, ect.?
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in reply to odin
You need to play ff 11 to know what we are talking about. in guild wars you can run around to dodge fireballs and such. On NWN it is done in such a way while it actually works because it is such a indepth game with tons of different things you can do.
If it is anything like ff11's battle system all im going to say is it will have the worst battle system.
Where you stand there and watch your guy punch this other guy for 10 minutes and click the potion button while your butt grows bigger on the couch.
NWN works because you have so many different classes spells and so forth. ff12 will not have near the capabilites to make it work.
It's one of those things you would have to experiance yourself to really understand but i have played FF11 and NWN and NWN's system is fun FF11's sucks bad.
Hopefully they have made a much bigger difference in ff12's system then has been stated but i wouldn't hold my breath
on that note maybe i will buy a 360 for rpg's after all
Cyrus
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The way I see it, is if you are going to inject action into RPG's then do it all the way, not half assed. What needs to be done is to make more ARPG's have responsive, fast combat systems. A Jump button would almost be an orgasm in a fully 3D World map RPG. I just think game developers are lazy. The loss of the traversable world map is BS, since now you could actually have a whole world to run around in. With the technology advancing like it is, there should be little problem with storing than much info on a disc, and rendering in real time. I like a good turn based RPG, it is a style of game play. If you don't like that kind of game play, then look for something else. This weak attempt at a change, and the fact that they use an MMO battle system in a standard game is just crappy.
Also, I'm sick of Bishonen. Gay-wanabe pretty boys. Just come out of your closet already, and get the hell out of my RPG!!! Or stay, just don’t pretend you like women and dress like you do. Seriously, I'm sick of this. Where are the Man's Man Leads? Why do all the main characters have to weak spined wussies that get thrown into the position of leader? Why can’t they make him strong willed and take charge. Some one that would, you know, actually lead the other characters, rather than all the other charters be like, “We all trust you because we are friends and we want to make you the leader.” And then the main character being like, “ Um, well okay.” I just hate that.
Aruon was probably the best character out of any FF I can remember, and he was dead. Funny how the fact that he wasn't alive represents how bad their characters are now. I can remember when ever Yuna would talk, I'd be like, "Shut the hell up Martha Stewart." They are just awful, and shallow as a dollar bill.
So all around, I think I’m gonna hate 12. I will try it, but I’m certainly not stupid enough to buy it right out.
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"OMFG, let me rush onto my NOAHS ARC!" by JunkieJoe
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What other FF games are like that? You basically just described squall. By the end of the game he starts to take charge but they do put an odd pressure on him to be the leader. But it also makes a little bit of sense when considering the alternatives. The only person that woulda made a good leader other than him is quistis and she has self esteem probs and doesn't wanna do it.
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i have no problem with a character who has lots of problems overcoming their short commings and becomming leader when they actually progress and overcome them. like Cloud for instance has lots of problems but he becomes leader because he has to not cus everyone is like come on. Im ok with that. Now these guys that are like well hey why not this could be fun........ GOD I HATE THAT. if they are like 12 ok good childhood amazement and adventure spirit ok fine some guy who knows what the world is like it's like what are you freaking stupid or manic. You know your going to go thru hell but your like eh why not......
i agree that turn based is alright and full action is alright even strategic is alright too.
Cyrus
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Cyrus Wrote:i have no problem with a character who has lots of problems overcoming their short commings and becomming leader when they actually progress and overcome them. like Cloud for instance has lots of problems but he becomes leader because he has to not cus everyone is like come on. Im ok with that. Now these guys that are like well hey why not this could be fun........ GOD I HATE THAT. if they are like 12 ok good childhood amazement and adventure spirit ok fine some guy who knows what the world is like it's like what are you freaking stupid or manic. You know your going to go thru hell but your like eh why not......
i agree that turn based is alright and full action is alright even strategic is alright too.
thats still better then Crono Triger, when they just follow the person with absolutly no personality and who says nothing throughout the entire game (not to say i dont like Crono Triger, infact it its my favorite RPG)
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Chrono Trigger rocks. It was alright back then, but games like suikoden 4 irritate me a little bit. Having the main character not talk even when theyre introducing spoken text is a little wierd...
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Just traded in a million things for DQ8. I have to say the final fantasy demo is better than I expected. Without the awesome intro it pushes me to buy it sooner. With the insanely awesome intro it just convinced me to buy it at day 1.
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So you like the new battle system? (I do but I'm a minority on that subject).
And how's DQ8? I have it but I don't want to play 2 rpg's at the same time and I'm kinda waiting for Rogue Galaxy to be my next rpg.
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