Bought my copy last saturday (yep, before release date). I am not a Final Fantasy fan at all, being too disgusted at having my Final Fantasy 1 saved game erased when I was a kid, so I hated the game since then. Failing to peer pressure telling me that it was the best thing for a roleplaying gamer since sliced bread, I tried and liked FF7, and loved Tactics. Didn't play any other, especially not the "lets play dress-up" FFX-2.
Why pick 12 then? The combat system. Seriously, random encounters (aka meeting a 30 feet mammoth which you couldn't see coming) is boring. Now, you have a nice tactical map and you can avoid enemies. And the Gambit system is great... It's complicated to learn however when you start (and you'll have to play for a couple of hours before accessing it). Not having to smash a hundred commands each turn to your party, and instead "code" the AI is fantastic. The characters are interresting, and the story, while complicated at the start, becomes actually good. If you like character building, that game is great. The skill system (licenses) allows for a great customization, and like in mxo, you can't really regret your choices because you can just fight a bit and regain points to build the skills you really want. You are allowed to free roam and do what you want, something I hate about most console rpg with a forced pathway. This is still not Fallout or Oblivion, but I know I can work on other things than the main quest.
Oh. Bad points too. I hate androgynous blond boys in shiny too-much skin revealing armors. And why fight with iron swords and armors when you look in the sky and see starfighters dogfighting à la Star Wars? (that's not much of a spoiler, this is from the intro animation).
A good game finally! Once I closed my eyes on the not enough hard-edged setting for my tastes, I enjoyed the game mechanics and the story, making FF12 a good RPG experience.
Why pick 12 then? The combat system. Seriously, random encounters (aka meeting a 30 feet mammoth which you couldn't see coming) is boring. Now, you have a nice tactical map and you can avoid enemies. And the Gambit system is great... It's complicated to learn however when you start (and you'll have to play for a couple of hours before accessing it). Not having to smash a hundred commands each turn to your party, and instead "code" the AI is fantastic. The characters are interresting, and the story, while complicated at the start, becomes actually good. If you like character building, that game is great. The skill system (licenses) allows for a great customization, and like in mxo, you can't really regret your choices because you can just fight a bit and regain points to build the skills you really want. You are allowed to free roam and do what you want, something I hate about most console rpg with a forced pathway. This is still not Fallout or Oblivion, but I know I can work on other things than the main quest.
Oh. Bad points too. I hate androgynous blond boys in shiny too-much skin revealing armors. And why fight with iron swords and armors when you look in the sky and see starfighters dogfighting à la Star Wars? (that's not much of a spoiler, this is from the intro animation).
A good game finally! Once I closed my eyes on the not enough hard-edged setting for my tastes, I enjoyed the game mechanics and the story, making FF12 a good RPG experience.
