Final Fantasy XII

[Mr C]

Two days to go to the release and I won't be able to afford it for the next six weeks. Arsegikes.

[Bolt-01]

I've not played since 9. Crack, that's what they are! PURE. CRACK!

Bolt-01

[JTurner]

Bolt - Neither have I. 100 hours of FF plus a full time job equals a bad combination. I havn't played a Final Fantasy game properly since college.

[Tanky]

Duly ordered. I just hope the aging PS2 can cope...

[ThryllSeekyr]

I played Final Fantacy Seven and got as far as the submarine. ( Yes, that means I had gotten most of the way through this game.) I couldn't pass the under water boss monster here.

Final Fantacy Eight. I think got about a third of the through this game, bits of which I remember. Going to a island. Preparing for huge invasion battle and going back to base. There was also a huge fight on a train carriage and then I got stuck. On the island where the soldiers are based. It would appear that I have exhausted all avenues of going any further with this one.

Final Fantacy Nine. I completed it. Very Superb. But perhaps alittle too sugary ( They all were.)for my own tastes. The basic story line, what was really happening, what was going on. All the metaphysical stuff was cool in this one and in Final Fantacy Seven.

I have played bits and peices of Final Fantacy Ten. But since I don't own a copy of the game, ( Which I had played in a computer cafe, and when it was on display in a store.)  I haven't really gotten anywhere with this one.

I wouldn't mind playing th final fantacy version of 'The Three Musketeers' or even a 'Star Wars' variation on the Final Fancy theme.

Force powers replacing Materia or Magic. Tha would have been cool.

Link: http://au.media.ps3.ign.com/media/826/826843/vids_1.html" target="_blank">So this is FFXIII

[The Monarch]

I played Final Fantacy Seven and got as far as the submarine. ( Yes, that means I had gotten most of the way through this game.) I couldn't pass the under water boss monster here.

Oh my god please tell me you didn't try to fight Emerald weapon thats an optional boss you don't need to fight it

Final Fantacy Eight. I think got about a third of the through this game, bits of which I remember. Going to a island. Preparing for huge invasion battle and going back to base. There was also a huge fight on a train carriage and then I got stuck. On the island where the soldiers are based. It would appear that I have exhausted all avenues of going any further with this one.

Great game this well worth ploughing through it. I take that the part you got to before quiting was The countdown to the assasination attempt? If so that would put you near the end of the first disc.

Final Fantacy Nine. I completed it. Very Superb. But perhaps alittle too sugary ( They all were.)for my own tastes. The basic story line, what was really happening, what was going on. All the metaphysical stuff was cool in this one and in Final Fantacy Seven.

Still loved it despite the whole "final boss came out of nowwhere" thing

I have played bits and peices of Final Fantacy Ten. But since I don't own a copy of the game, ( Which I had played in a computer cafe, and when it was on display in a store.) I haven't really gotten anywhere with this one.

utter shite as is its sequal

I wouldn't mind playing th final fantacy version of 'The Three Musketeers' or even a 'Star Wars' variation on the Final Fancy theme.

Force powers replacing Materia or Magic. Tha would have been cool.

look no further to ff4 as it is a thinly veiled star wars story with different characters

[The Monarch]

I played Final Fantacy Seven and got as far as the submarine. ( Yes, that means I had gotten most of the way through this game.) I couldn't pass the under water boss monster here.

Oh my god please tell me you didn't try to fight Emerald weapon thats an optional boss you don't need to fight it

Final Fantacy Eight. I think got about a third of the through this game, bits of which I remember. Going to a island. Preparing for huge invasion battle and going back to base. There was also a huge fight on a train carriage and then I got stuck. On the island where the soldiers are based. It would appear that I have exhausted all avenues of going any further with this one.

Great game this well worth ploughing through it. I take that the part you got to before quiting was The countdown to the assasination attempt? If so that would put you near the end of the first disc.

Final Fantacy Nine. I completed it. Very Superb. But perhaps alittle too sugary ( They all were.)for my own tastes. The basic story line, what was really happening, what was going on. All the metaphysical stuff was cool in this one and in Final Fantacy Seven.

Still loved it despite the whole "final boss came out of nowwhere" thing

I have played bits and peices of Final Fantacy Ten. But since I don't own a copy of the game, ( Which I had played in a computer cafe, and when it was on display in a store.) I haven't really gotten anywhere with this one.

utter shite as is its sequal

I wouldn't mind playing th final fantacy version of 'The Three Musketeers' or even a 'Star Wars' variation on the Final Fancy theme.

Force powers replacing Materia or Magic. Tha would have been cool.

look no further to ff4 as it is a thinly veiled star wars story with different characters

[ThryllSeekyr]

There's another Square Enix game called Vagrant Story. I had been halfway or part of the way through this game and I couldn't proceed any further past a certain point because I had the wrong key. Neither could I go back to the original areas to look for it. It was that type of game.

I'm not sure of the name, of the game. Though It has one of the best starting cinamatics that almost seemlessly melds with the game play. Where the hero Ashly Riot, who is a part of this guerrilla army network ( A RiskBreaker for the Valiendra Knights of Peace.) is infiltrating a castle in a fictional place alot like northern Europe. I looks like the dark ages of Franch and Italy.

The game play is free roaming with in these zone areas ( Sections of a city or inside castle or dungeon.) until you run into the enemy which then becomes turn by turn attack rounds. While not being quite same as Final Fantacy here, but still very similar in game play.  Ashley Riot has all sort of weapon attacks, could chain a number of  speical attacks together and could use magic as well.

[The Monarch]

That perticular game was created by the creator of final fantasy tactics which is also who created ff12

[Tanky]

Well, the hamster-powered, bus-pass toting console is so far holding up nicely, so it must be REVIEW TIME!

So far, so very, very good. This game is so non-linear, I've already been sidetracked by a side quest. This is a good thing as the old battle system has been replaced by a hybrid of Kingdom Hearts and Tales of Symphonia and takes a bit of practice. Seeing as I've done about 4hours of mucking about and have barely touched the plot, I don't think practice is going to be thin on the ground! Most notably, there's no more 'screen shattering' causing breaks in play and that really does make FFXII a different animal.
Leveling up is done on the License Board - a bit like the sphere grid with a lot more options. In fact I think this may be the first step in creating completely individual characters. The downside is that I'm loath to spend any points on it until I know what I want my little guys to be doing. Plus, If I hadn't played the early titles, I'd be drowning in information by now.
In fact, the game bears most resemblance to FF - FFVI. Summons are back to being called Espers, Magicite is everywhere, as are all those little white magic spells that only cure one status, warp abilities,etc, etc
There's also an odd... bunny ...theme. Not a clue.

Before I naff off and switch the console on for a hard day off, I have to mention the strategy guide. Get the limited edition hardback - it's a work of art in itself and I own smaller and less comprehensive textbooks! Amazon are doing the game and the spangly book together for the princely sum of £37.39

Nice thread,Mr C! Have a new moogle!http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/lara_13/ffxiimoogle.jpg">

[Mr C]

More funds than I thought this month so I got it yesterday.

Blimey, it's a bit good, innit?

Out with personal discovery and wrenching soul searches, in with explosions and massive battles.

And what a combat system!

[Richmond Clements]

I got sent a review copy which was nice. Very very good game so far... I can feel my life slipping away already...

[The Monarch]

Its so good...I know I should be working on my submission but its hypnotic...

[ThryllSeekyr]

I know this game may not exactly be Final Fantacy. The cel shaded 3-d characters, however simply drawn are still visually impressive immediatly reminded me of having a certain Final Fantacy quality to them. There is also a certain comic book feel to these characters as well.

This world that they inhabit is either governed by the forces of nature or techology. A land now ruined and blighted by some dark sorcecery. In some ways this game could very well be another Final Fantacy game, but it's not.

SILVERFALL. Which has the very normal standard of fantacy races. Where you can make up charater thats either Human, Elf, Troll and Goblin as well. I chose a Goblin and then a Elf. The Elves rendered this way have a inner glow which suits then down to the ground.

Though, this game isn't nearly as 'cute and fluffy' as any of the Final Fancy games. I still think that many devotees of the latter may find this just as entertaining for similer reasons.

You start off in a ruined city or a small town. That isn't much more than a campsite where the few survivng merchants, warriors, and naturalists have set up some tents to display their wares despite some terrible castastrophe that has ultimately reduced these few survivors ( And once great city.) to roughing it up.

Where your character comes in is the day
after, the city suddenly destroyed dissappaered, sunk into the ground. I'm not sure which or if any of these things happend. Only that your character is standing in the middle of a small tent city at a cross roads ( A small dirt path.) near some ruined columns ( Past architechture.) some still standing. Marking out the place where the cross roads converge in a campsite on a large green hillock surrounded by marshes and bogs and in some further places desert.

It's hard to imagine so much damage happened so quickly. The four paths leading out of the campsite go right into the swamp lands where you will find a assortment of well-rendered Zombies and Ghouls.

The first person you run into recounts the recent atrocities and then asks of you to clear the surrounding swamp lands of these foul undead.  You only have to destroy ten of them before you receive any further quests from that that very same person.

If you go for stroll around town before leaving for your first misson. You will meet the local goblin Treasurer, who will also try to sell you life insurance which allows you to be resurrected with all your belongings still on you. When ever you get killed. Rather than just reappearing back where you started, wearing just loin cloth. Fortunately you only lose the stuff your wearing or have had equipped. The other stuff in your inventory stays with you regardless of paying this goblin a fee that goes from 300 to 2000+ gold pieces. Otherwise you just have to go on a corspe run to retreive all
your previously eqipped belongings. ( I remember doing stuff like this in Everquest.) You will find a Tombstone instead of your dead gobbledanger self.  Of course, the goblin won't provide this service unless you find a his spiecal money locker out in the swamplands and bring it back for him.

 A black smith that sells weapons, armour. Will send you on a quest to install some sort of pump extractor apparatus that harness's the natural gas power of the swamp at a specific location out there somewhere. If you agree, this is your step down the road of techology and the recovering of lost civlisation. Which will put you in favor of the goblins that run a cloud city out in the desert and out of the favour with the nature loving Beastman of the south.

His assistant will send you on a misson to find some old fossilised bones that can be cannibalised for making effective weaponry.

There is also a Alchemist, who sells potions. He will send you out to find some Water-Spider eggs that are a important ingrediant for a potion of toughtness.

There is a Elven activist that wants you to stop some hunters from culling all the natural wildlife that supports the equalibrium of the balance of nature. Another words, they are causing the land to die through all their
horrible poaching. Accepting this mssion is first step down the path of the Naturalist and so on and recovering lost civilisation that is more in balance with nature.

There is a elven healer that wants you to find some speical bark from a monster called a Tree Dragon. Which looks more dangerous than it actualley is, after killing one. The bark is useful in healing the surviving town inhabitants
 of a taint brought on by the presence of all the undead in the surrounding environs. This will also be a major step in rebuilding the town in general. She can also heal a local troll warrior of suffering violent trauma induced amnesia, if you retreive the mushrooms located in the swamp for the potion.

This troll will become your travelling companion
 and follow you around using Ice magic and is also provide you with a good meat sheild that your character will no doubt benefit from if only you weren't being tripped  up all the time as she ( Troll is female.) will follow you around way too closely. So you will be tempted to order her to 'Stay where she is' among the other oders that you can give her like 'Heal me', 'Heal me while I fight' and 'Use offencive magic on enemy while I am fighting.'

This game is like a huge larger than life clone of 'Diablo'. More 'Diablo Two'. Because both games have impressive skill trees. Skills come in three
categories.

Combat: With something like skills that are
'Normal attack with one-handed weapon'
'Attacking twice with One-handed weapon'
'Attacking five times with fists or single hand weapons in each hand.'
'Attacking with a two-handed weapon'

Magic
'Elemental'
'Fire'
'Ice'
'Lightening'
Other

Which referes to powers based on wether you aree naturalist or techno-dependant.

With Naturalist you can can summon earth elementals, choose lycanthropy and alot of other Druidic themed magic as well.

For the Techo-savants, there is summon robot servant, cyber implants to improve strength, agility, intelligence and co-ordination as well as your general toughness. Technos also like using guns and steam powered upgrades.

As you advance up the he various skill trees, you can further upgrade these skills if you pick them and receive more exotic variants further down the line.

On top of these skill categories are another two levels beyond the first that are of the Combat, Magic, skill trees also.

For Combat these involve Missle Weapons, and then Running, Defence, Parrying.

For Magic there are Healing spells, and then Shadow magic which is sort of like the 'Dark Side'.

This is were you can truly custumised your character in thsi game.

Troll Berserkers with Bionic implants or lycanthropi.

Elven speicalist healers, or a out right Pyromancer, Ice wizard or Air wizard with Lightening.

Goblin with mech implants carrying steam power rifles in each hand.

A human marksman just carrying their customised
magically enhanced long bow.

The  only gripes  I do have with this game. Which can be derived from predecessors like Diablo is the all too typical Point and click control system. It's so tedious and at times alittle too clumsy. Personally, I would much preferr using the keyboard for forwards and backwards movement and the mouse for turning and attack. Though this just me being personal and there probably alot of gamers that like this P&C control system.

The camera could be better.
It doesnant allow you to look at the sky or at the top of tall objects like towers, mountains, trees and statues.

This game also demands a graphic card more powerful than my Radeon 9550 and few other things like more video memory and hard drive space.

This one reason why console games are much better. You don't have to upgrade consoles not nearly as much as a computer. You just have buy the next console.

This game is a resource hog and the demo would barely run with all the graphic options turned down or completly switched off. As it is, I may have to uninstall the demo. ( Which I haven't quite fully completed.) As my machine kept crashing this demo to the desktop and then switching itself off. Not a good sign.

Link: http://www.silverfall-game.com/en/news.php" target="_blank">Not just another Diablo Clone.

http://www.silverfall-game.com/img/screeshots/b/03.jpg">

[monty--]

My take on Final Fantasy XII.
 
Overated.

I love RPG's. To this day, nothing has surpassed the greatness of FF VII. I still play it regularly. VIII was good too.

Then came IX, and the magic started to falter. Great FMV and Steiner was a hoot, but overall? Nah. Not as good as the previous two.

Then came Final Fantasy Beckham. Astounding graphics for it's time, but poor characters and plot made Monty a very sad boy.

It's sequal, Final Fantasy Barbie was atrocious. I stopped playing half way through. Only some 9 year old girl could relate to it, I suppose.

After nearly a year of delays, along comes XII. I await with baited breath. Could this be the game that could re-energise the series?
I pop it in my PS2 and start to play.

One hour in...
The move character-watch scene, move character-watch scene is beginning to become tedious. Was it really this bad with FF X or Metal Gear Solid? It can't be, because I wasn't getting annoyed when playing those games. At least the 'mature' story is very refreshing. And the new battle system?

Confusing. And difficult. After my umpteenth death I have come to the conclusion that A) I'm doing something wrong or B)this game is far more difficult than the others.

There's no tutorial, you're just battling away trying to learn how to defeat enemies.

The licence board? Ok, I've saved up some points and bougt some magic. Still can't use it. Why? Because I have to find the damn magic shop! So what's the bloody point in putting it on the bloody board for?

This is no renaissance of FF like certain journo's are trying to work it out to be. It's just ok, at best.