First Impressions/Opinions (SPOILER FREE)

[Georg Prime]

Here i am designing a thread for any current owners/players of FF XII to what your opinion on the game. I realize that everyone is in different spots and i doubt anyone will be done with the game for some time, but i'm talking initial responses, opinions to game, etc. Do you think it lives up to the hype thus far?

Here's my two cents:
Honestly, i feel like this game is the best thing to happen to series in 10 years. From the gorgeous opening cut scene i have been in awe in what a amazing game this truely is. The certainly starts off slow and i'm really not even that much into the game as of now, but i am completely hooked. Everything from the incredible graphics, to the seamless and extremely fun battle system which makes battles quick,easy, and not so repetitive, to a great soundtrack (had a huge smile on my face when i heard the title theme was the infamous prologue theme heard in many past titles) and enduring cast of characters (Vaan really is manlier than you think). They have truely created a magical world with this game, the city Rabanastre is literally HUGE, filled with such detail and breathing with life at every corner. It almost reminds me a weird mix between lord of the rings and star wars. Walking around the town for some reason reminded me of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The voice acting is extremely well done adapting scottish and british accents. I definitely liked the change, not to say that X's voice acting was bad, but i was truely annoyed by some of the character's voices like Tidus's.

Basically in short, i feel like finally the series finally has managed to completely reinvent itself in so many ways yet still manage to deliver everything fans of the series can count on. I feel like the storyline is going to be great..like the kind of twists and betrayal see in FF Tactics. I just wonder how much this Ivalice has in common with the ones from those games..i read on Wikipedia that this takes place years after FF Tactics, in the world that FFTA Ivalice was based on. Also it says that Valendia, the country from Vagrant Story, is adjacent to Ivalice. Very interesting..

Honestly, i'd much rather have the series been taken over by this team. Maybe just give Nomura the boot and have him stick to Kingdom Hearts instead. Though we all know that won't happen..i hope someday we will see the return of this team to make a new FF game though.

[El Wray]

The first thing I noticed was the difficulty. Not that far into the game, and I have already died. Mainly it was because I have been using Licensing poorly, learning everything low level and not being cohesive and making characters with strengths.

I still dont like the Battle System. During my last boss battle, I just set my party leader to Attack and watched. Our guest kept healing, and my two party members were set to attack, so I couldnt really lose.

The characters are great, but Basch and Vayne feel rehashed. Fran too.

This feels like the game to take the series in a new direction. VIII tried, but they went back to the basics with IX. XII just feels so much different.

[maxpower]

I got Final Fantasy XII yesterday and played it far more than I should have on a Tuesday in the middle of a school week. However it is just too great to put down. It seems like this game has a more equal amount of cut screens and play time (one of my pet peeves with FFX was that there was not enough play time.) The graphics are amazing I found myself wanting to cheer out loud after the opening scene (it is drop your jaw gorgeous.) I have now been playing for about five hours and the game just keeps getting better. I love the new ways you gain skills, the gambit feature which lets you control how each character reacts in a fight, and the new fighting method. In short go and get this game as soon as you can!

[Georg Prime]

Haha yeah i've died too, the first time i died was on that second hunt fighting..uhh..i cant think what its called, that big wolf thing. It wasn't even the wolf itself, but man that thing had a posse of wolves, it's hard taking on 3 enemies at once with Vaan. I actually like the difficulty, especially after playing X, which seemed way too easy. The enemies in the game are annoyingly smart sometimes, and they are relentless if you try to run away, they'll hunt you down.

Yeah you're right about Vayne and Baasch though, they are somewhat stereotypical. I like peleno though, i thought she would be another rikku or selphie, but she's not like that at all. Even though she's the same age as Vaan she's always there to watch over him and keep him out of trouble. Balthier is great as well, probably my favorite character thus far. Him and Fran make a quite the duo

I am just amazed at everything changed from X to XII. I feel like X was short, easy, extremely linear and geared more for a new younger generation of players. I feel like XII has more of the hardcore player in mind, having a long quest, more open ended, with a dark story, and most of all it provides some challenge.

Honestly, as much as i'm a avid old schooler, I love the changes that the XII has done. It feels like a completely new experience, unlike any FF game. X tried to reinvent the series in some respects, but XII goes above and beyond anything X did in my opinion.

The game certainly has some flaws though, no game is perfect. I think you are able to overlook them to look at the overall package though. This game could easily be in my top 3 FF Games once i am done with it

[Bryan]

My first reaction was just "Woah". After that, I had to get a feel for the world that I was playing in (I'm still getting used to it). Everything is so massive and fancy. It really stands out from the other Final Fantasy games.

I was a bit worried about the License Board at first, but now it's all really easy. It's just something new. It's really alot like the sphere grid, only much more detailed. It really gives you a chance to customize your characters from top to bottom.

[Andromeda]

I'm losing sleep over the game. ^^; My first impressions was that I was in love with the game from the start. I've played FFXI already and I love that game. Then I get dropped into this one with the same style of combat that is improved upon and some other things that I really enjoyed. From there I was glad, though surprised how long the city was and how much traveling I had to do. The entire world is massive, it will take hours to run through the entire continent.

The license grid is a lot of fun, it makes things interesting when it comes to equipment. I was not expecting to have to use the grid for armor and I sort of forget about that a lot since I want really good abilities and stats. But armor does not require as much attention since it is more or less things that you will only need every couple hours.

If I was not so sucked in with the story, I would be leveling all the time probably. I love fighting just as much as I do playing the game. And the gambit system works nicely with this style of combat to allow for some really detailed fighting without you needing to do everything.

[Overdriven]

Point of fact: I have a huge tv propped up on a computer desk on five dictionaries, so my old schoo big PS2 can fit beneath it, and I can set my laptop in front of them both. That way I can continue playing while doing all the things I have to online.

Yeah, it's that good to me.

Right away I was pulled in. The opening cutscene blew me away, and it was gorgeous. There is no other worse for it. Gorgeous. And right away I loved the battle system. Some people complain that boss battles go fast, or that they can't sit there and have full control of their characters, but that's what I like. I hate spending all my time waiting for a random battle to load, and then waiting to tell my guys what to do, and waiting for them to attack. You get the idea, right?

That was why I loved Tactics. You had full control, but it MATTERED. Same here. If you wanted you could turn off Gambits and choose every action you wanted. But why bother? I can sit here and type on my computer as I send Vaan, Balthier, and Basch ahead to fight Gigantoads and level up. Don't even have to touch the controlled. ^_^

And the story, I find the story very intriguing and appealing. It goes at just the right pace it seems, with exploration, cutscenes, and storyline. Even the supporting characters are very deep, with a good deal of story for each of them.

And for ONCE, I get the feeling that the story doesn't revolved entirely around the main character. In fact, Vaan almost seems underplayed. He seems to be only a side character! I'm sure as time goes on this will change, however.

I don't think Basche and Fran are shallow or rehashed though. Basche strikes me as a duty sworn knight, but there's more to it than that. And Fran, well, I think we'll see what's really up with her far later in the story. She is my Dragoon bwaha.

Well that's my opinion on the matter, for now.

[Hildegarde]

My first impression?
"Ooh I'm going to get lost all the time".

I haven't spoken with everyone available on Rabanastre, yet, there's so many people there!.
I love the underground area, it looks like a middle eastern old town, or for that matter any big old city market.

I do wish that the stores would be better marked, I hate having to push X on the signs or the doors when looking for each one of them.

The License Board reminds me a lot of the Sphere Grid, which I liked, and the game, when outside of the cities, reminds me of FFX as well, not sure if it is good or bad, but it is to be expected.
What I'm not too happy with is the need to learn the points, apply them to the board as well as having to buy the spells, attributes, etc.
The extra step of buying the stuff seems pointless to me.

I haven't gotten that much into the story, but it seems already more seriously told than X or IX and I'm soo happy that there isn't a love story in sight!...

[Georg Prime]

Yeah i have to agree that the city did seem overwhelming at first but with a little bit of time you'll know where everything is without even looking. I'm horrible with directions but you spend so much time in the city that you can't help but learn where everything is eventually. Just takes a litle time. The beginning of the game itself does take awhile to get really going, which is good in a way because it helps people to get used to everything. Just takes a little more patience than what gamers are used to.

I think you'll like the story once you get into it more..it certainly is very engaging. I'm also relieved that there is no love story in sight as well.

[Cloud_Strife17]

WOW!!! This Game is amazing. I think its just great, it seems harder then X and thats a good thing. I think the battle system is great and the License system is pretty neat I dont own it I rented it but im sure to buy it. I dont even know why Im online at this time I should be playing.

[Zedian]

Still awaiting to get it...I have figured that by working as much as I do I won't have the time to play it anyways so I'm waiting until perhaps the Thanksgiving break to give it a go.

So how are the characters, are they more likable than FFXs'?

[Georg Prime]

Well for me personally, i think the characters are much more likable.

Depends on your preference though, i'm sure a lot of people might disagree with me. I just felt like the characters in X catered to a teeny bopper crowd, a younger generation of gamers. I mean Tidus was 17 i think right? Same age as Vaan. To me though, Tidus looked like he was more like 18 or 19, but acted like he was 15. Vaan may not be the most mature, but he certainly acts his age, a typical 17 year old. He certainly comes off as a lot manlier and tougher than Tidus, probably because he's been through real problems unlike Tidus who cries about every little thing. The characters in XII seem a lot more real, and have a sense of maturity that a lot of the characters in X lack.

Not only that but i feel like a lot of the characters in X were tag alongs, and Tidus and Yuna were the only ones who drove the story. In XII, nobody comes off as the true main character, everyone is connected in some way and has been affected by the tragedies of war. It really feels like they are truely all in it together.

At times some may come off as a bit sterotypical, but all together i think it has a great cast of characters and you really feel for everyone of them