Final Fantasy XII

[Hector]

As to the canopic jar, it increases the chances of finding arcana from nonexistent to frequent (they're kind of like pebbles)

As to Tales, the only problem I had with the characters was that they could have tried for somewhat more mature themes.

As to using Elixers, try fighting the Seer. I only used elixers three times, once in the beginning of the game and twice in the final battle for fun (I decided to hit the final boss with Zodiak and Quickenings to kill him in a few minutes). But the magic jars, dealing with them took six or more.

And if anyone can actually kill a magic jar, I'll be thoroughly impressed. I've done every hunt except the final level eight one and have every summon, but the magic jar seems invincible (I think Zodiark might be able to kill it, but I haven't tried yet).

[sirusd]

12 is par at best. For being in development for 5 years, they should have done something more. When I got to the last dungeon, I was stunned I had already reached it. Without the side quests, the game is 30 or 40 hrs, tops. That's not much longer than FF6. It felt rushed and the storyline was unimpressive.

Suikoden V and Valkyrie Profile 2 were both much better.

[Vivi_Rules_Pie]

And if anyone can actually kill a magic jar, I'll be thoroughly impressed. I've done every hunt except the final level eight one and have every summon, but the magic jar seems invincible (I think Zodiark might be able to kill it, but I haven't tried yet).

Two high chained quickenings in a row does it for me... well sometimes. Emphasis on the high chained part.

[I-n-j-i-n]

I think you are actually supposed to feed an Elixir to the Magic Jar. Do not attack it, but just feed the Elixir first. It's supposed to snap out of its invincibility so you can attack it.

[WesPip]

I think you are actually supposed to feed an Elixir to the Magic Jar. Do not attack it, but just feed the Elixir first. It's supposed to snap out of its invincibility so you can attack it.

Sounds right, 'cause that's how it's been for...a few games now, at least.

[Dj_Vitality]

seconded, Thats how it was in 7 at least...and then we all proceded to break the game with w-item, and get back our elixir

[The Mutericator]

That was the problem I had with ToS: true, it had lots of character interaction, but it was eye-rollingly bad character interaction. I very nearly permanently shut the game off in protest right before the final boss battle after listening to the awful dialogue ("Discrimination is in the heart!") I like for my games to be games, not misguided and poorly executed efforts at social commentary by writers who clearly lack the talent to adequately address the subject matter.

Point, but that was all mostly near the end. The beginning 3/4 of the interactions were interesting, and many were actually well-hidden - wandering around the southern continent in Tethe'Alla, you can get several skits of Presea's crush on Lloyd, which I didn't know about until my third playthrough. The interaction is optional, reallly.

[Blueearth]

You end up getting about as many Arcana as you do Pebbles.

Ie: A whole lot more than you'll EVER NEED.

Yeah, after a few hours hunting with the Jar, I've gotten tons of Arcana.

[Xerol Oplan]

OH GOD THE CHOPS

[Thalzon]

OH GOD THE CHOPS

Pretty easy, actually. Just remember the pairs are always on the same section of the map.

[Citan]

I don't think FFXII is the best, but it's in my top 3 favorite FF games (FFVII is still at the top). I didn't like the general lack of direction in the game. I'm always wondering where I'm supposed to go next, and the license board just doesn't seem very creative. Not being able to see spaces on the license board until you've activated the space next to it makes planning ahead pretty hard.

[Super-Duper Sombrero]

I haven't beaten it, but I feel like I'm pretty close to the end.

Great game, I've spent 70+ hours on it, and my brother over 100...

I love the gambit system, and the new combat to fit. I'm not a big fan of the whole restriction to one spell at a time. Numerous are the times I could have been saved by a Curaga interrupted by Thundara. Even the mass-effect spells cast one at a time. Rather irritating, but a small complaint.

The music is good, but it's all very similar. I kind of miss the variety found in 7 and 8 (sometimes orchestral, rock, electronic. Very diverse).

My only real complaints are with the voice acting. Vaan's lines always seem rushed, like he's frantically scrambling to fit ten lines into a one line timeslot. This may be true, but still... And he sounds angry. Fran's speech is supposed to sound forced and difficult (I think), but it's very unnerving to listen to her. Balthier and Basch had great acting, and Ashe was sort of mediocre.

I like how there's no real main character, but Vaan's purpose quickly fades, and he's just sort of tagging along.

The story is good. All of the characters talk about everything else in the world, not just where you're going next or what happened thousands of years ago. It really brings the impact of crisis to the player.

I would have liked some sort of character build system, and the license board doesn't really make much logical sense. Of instance, learning how to use a pole for tens of hours ought not to qualify the use of a high-level crossbow after a few spent LP. I'm not saying I want defined classes for the character a la FFIX, but some diversity would be nice. All my characters turned into greatsword-wielding berserker-mages... ? Yes, even Penelo.

In a summary: FFXII = good. Dialog = maybe not so much.

[I-n-j-i-n]

I don't think FFXII is the best, but it's in my top 3 favorite FF games (FFVII is still at the top). I didn't like the general lack of direction in the game. I'm always wondering where I'm supposed to go next, and the license board just doesn't seem very creative. Not being able to see spaces on the license board until you've activated the space next to it makes planning ahead pretty hard.

Lack of a coherent story hurt a lot with FFXII as I see it. Things just happen and it's hard to connect with the situation since so little of it is explained. And the license board thing was a bit silly since lot of it simply increased the grind and the game wasn't any more or less customizable with the characters as they leveled up. It may as well have been the traditional "level up then get your spells and benefits" deal and it would've played out similarly to having the license board there.

I love the gambit system, and the new combat to fit. I'm not a big fan of the whole restriction to one spell at a time. Numerous are the times I could have been saved by a Curaga interrupted by Thundara. Even the mass-effect spells cast one at a time. Rather irritating, but a small complaint.

I'm pretty sure it's because the game engine can't handle it. It's funny when enemies are wailing on me and my characters are standing around like statues for their spells to load up. If there's more than two spells going off for some reason, the game lags noticeably.

The story is good. All of the characters talk about everything else in the world, not just where you're going next or what happened thousands of years ago. It really brings the impact of crisis to the player.

The problem is that there are almost no twists in the story to speak of, no real personal input for the majority of the game in terms of dialogue and insight. Even FF4's cornball story had way more insight and back story for its characters.

[Dj_Vitality]

Yeah, although that stupid impersonator one was annoying...and you need to get ALL the chops in ALL the areas to access The Terrace area so you can get those hunt thingys done too

[Blueearth]

Lack of a coherent story hurt a lot with FFXII as I see it. Things just happen and it's hard to connect with the situation since so little of it is explained. And the license board thing was a bit silly since lot of it simply increased the grind and the game wasn't any more or less customizable with the characters as they leveled up. It may as well have been the traditional "level up then get your spells and benefits" deal and it would've played out similarly to having the license board there.

I'm pretty sure it's because the game engine can't handle it. It's funny when enemies are wailing on me and my characters are standing around like statues for their spells to load up. If there's more than two spells going off for some reason, the game lags noticeably.

The problem is that there are almost no twists in the story to speak of, no real personal input for the majority of the game in terms of dialogue and insight. Even FF4's cornball story had way more insight and back story for its characters.

My understanding is that multiple spells go off at once if you have it on Active Battle mode instead of Wait. Can anyone confirm/deny?

[Brycepops]

My understanding is that multiple spells go off at once if you have it on Active Battle mode instead of Wait. Can anyone confirm/deny?

I think that's true, seeing as how I've had healing go off at about the same time I was getting blasted by high level magic.

[Reaif]

I was under the impression that there were certain spells, mainly the later ones that they don't give you till the very end, that just won't go off until they are the "star" of the show, meaning that it is the only majorly graphical thing going on at the time. And if there is another spell in the process, it is more than willing to wait until the stage is free. I know for a fact that I've done multiple -ara and -aga spells while I've had to wait forever while on the other hand my guys take turns being wasted and trying to cast flare. it was really depressing to me that you couldn't just mass flare and all those other mean spells.

In summary, I don't think it matters too much whether you are in active or wait mode, but that it's the type of spells you cast that determine that crazy wait time.

[Blueearth]

I was under the impression that there were certain spells, mainly the later ones that they don't give you till the very end, that just won't go off until they are the "star" of the show, meaning that it is the only majorly graphical thing going on at the time. And if there is another spell in the process, it is more than willing to wait until the stage is free. I know for a fact that I've done multiple -ara and -aga spells while I've had to wait forever while on the other hand my guys take turns being wasted and trying to cast flare. it was really depressing to me that you couldn't just mass flare and all those other mean spells.

In summary, I don't think it matters too much whether you are in active or wait mode, but that it's the type of spells you cast that determine that crazy wait time.

Well I think it is all about the active vs. wait. Check on the Game Mechanics FAQ.

[Hector]

Are you forgetting about Sandstorm? everytime it was cast, the game halt action for a few seconds so that the spell could go off. Even attacks were delayed.

[Xerol Oplan]

What really pisses me off is that there's no multi-hit water spell available to humans.

And thinking about it, Blue Magic wouldn't've been too hard to implement:

1) Add a technick called "Capture" or something like that, that allows you to perform a Poach-like action on critically injured foes. Capturing a foe would give you a chance of acquiring a licence for a specific Blue Magic.

2) Add a section of the board for the appropriate skills.

AND REALLY, SQUARE, WOULD IT HAVE KILLED YOU TO PUT WATERGA ON THE LICENCE BOARD?

[WesPip]

Are you forgetting about Sandstorm? everytime it was cast, the game halt action for a few seconds so that the spell could go off. Even attacks were delayed.

I don't think actual ATTACKS are delayed during Sandstorm/Ice Break/Pyromania. Everything else, including technicks, is.

Sometimes I'm about to use a technick, then see the aforementioned stuff going off, so I change to a quick attack so I don't have to wait.

This is on active, mind you. I dunno about wait.

e:

Oh yes, and I'm finding a lot of the last hunts to be such a hassle. King Behemoth and Pylraser are just unfriendly. Mind you, my strategy generally consists of hacking at shit 'til it dies, so that could be part of it...

[Hector]

For Pyraser, just pour oil on it (I used oil bombs) and spam it with firaga. Also, use a bubble-good shield-lure combo to handle his damage (I recommend a pre-buffed party). (this is the giant T-Rex, right?)

For the Behemoth King, I recommend warp spells to take care of the preconditions for the fight. After that its just a matter of how good your healing gambits are and whether you are capable of dealing damage by both magic and physical. I relied on glacial staffs and blizzaga for magic damage (I find high-powered spells wasteful); and a hasted, berserked, genji-wearing, masamune wielding Vaan for physical. And to maintain your spellcaster's mana, I recommend using the Syphon spell on party-members. I actually found the Behemoth King much easier than Fafnir.

[Petara]

What really pisses me off is that there's no multi-hit water spell available to humans.

And thinking about it, Blue Magic wouldn't've been too hard to implement:

1) Add a technick called "Capture" or something like that, that allows you to perform a Poach-like action on critically injured foes. Capturing a foe would give you a chance of acquiring a licence for a specific Blue Magic.

2) Add a section of the board for the appropriate skills.

AND REALLY, SQUARE, WOULD IT HAVE KILLED YOU TO PUT WATERGA ON THE LICENCE BOARD?

Hammer. Nail. Direct hit. I was like:

Fire? Check

Ice? Check

Wind? Check

Earth? Check

Black? Check

White? Check

Water? ok, but where's ga?

Waterga? ....? You've gotta be kidding me

Seriously, just excluding it is mind boggling, but having enemies use it against you on top of that... wtf?

[Xerol Oplan]

Earth? Check

Wait, what? We didn't get any earth magic either, unless Gravity counts, and I don't think it does.

[Petara]

Wait, what? We didn't get any earth magic either, unless Gravity counts, and I don't think it does.

Oh, God... You're right. To think I spent 103 hrs on that game and can't remember what elemental spells I actually used. I remember seeing the symbol for sure when fiends used it against me. Damnit anyway.