Final Fantasy XII - Collector's Edition
by Square Enix
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Category: Video Games
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Product Summary
Platform: PlayStation2Publisher: Square Enix
Product features:
- Game + Bonus DVD
Video Game Reviews of Final Fantasy XII - Collector's Edition
Customer Review: Final Fantasy XII was just missing that little extra
Summary: 4 Stars
My first final fantasy experience came with the release of final fantasy VII and even then I didn't play it until it came in the playstation greateset hits version. I have played all the final fantasy's up to this one and was left with a feeling that the game was missing something. I enjoyed everything about this game and the story a lot but the lack of a love interest for the main character really left me unconnected to Vaan. So here is my review....
Combat System: I absolutely loved this system as it made the enemy encounters very fun and I was not annoyed to get into fights with everything on the screen. I've played to many "western" rpg's now and the idea of random battles now annoys me. So seeing your enemy on the screen and being able to avoid them if you want is very nice. A lot of the reviews complain about the gambit system in boss battles because of micro-managing. Well, I personally like to take more control over the battles when fighting a boss, I mean lets face it, if I'm fighting a boss and I don't have to do anything then there is no fun in it for me. You can still leave a few gambits active and if you take the time you can set up some that will aid you in your fight so you don't have to worry about them. I kept protectra, shellra, float and float on gambits during the whole game after I acquired them. Also, when you run around in the game you slowly gain your mp back so there is little need for resting and elixers unless you're in a crazy boss battle.
Storyline: I thought the storlyine was a nice change in the mix of things and instead of being a little out there it was a nice subtle story. It comes down to your group of characters stopping an evil force but instead of saving the world its more of them just saving their country. I was dissapointed in the lack of a love story between the main hero and heroine. That detatched me a lot from the main character and made him feel like just another party memeber in the group. My favorite characters were Ashe, Fran and Balthier and I cared very little about Vaan. On the bright side I liked the fact that he wasn't whiny and annoying half the time (Cloud and Squall).
Jobs: Maybe I'm to old school but I really do miss the preset job system of the earlier years. I missed the mages and warrior classes of yesteryear. I did not like final fantasy X's and I don't like final fantasy XII's lack of job system. Truthfully only final fantasy IX's (not using XI because its an mmorpg and you can still make your character do any job) job system has appealed to me since VII. The fact that any character can do any job makes them less important in the group and you can if you want only use three characters to go through the whole game. It makes it very hard to keep leveling up the other characters when you seem to be doing the exact same thing for every character. Yes, in the begining of the game you do focus on who is going to use magic and who is going to be a hitter but halfway through the game that all goes away and any character can now be a warrior or mage which takes out some of the tactical fighting in the game itself.
Characters: Like mentioned before I cared very little for Vaan and also Panelo. I leaned more towards Ashe, Fran and Bashe more than Vaan and Panelo (I don't even think Panelo has a backstory in the game) which is sad because in a game where you're introduced to who will be the main charater is, you want to like that person and have a feeling of some sort of attatchment to them. Without a love story or a really good background on Vaan I thought Ashe was more the main character and Vaan was just another party member.
Side quests: Man, there are a ton of side quests which can make putting in over 100 hours easy in this game. They have a "hunt" quest, which you go to taverns all around the world where people have posted up flyers looking for someone to kill these monsters. Its a good way to get items and money and highly recommended to do so in the game. Some of them are really easy while others are extremely hard. You also get to join a hunter's guild and the more hunts you do the more renown you will get plus after so many the guild leader pays you extra for killing stuff not included in the hunts. Like the first demon wall for example, I didn't know that the leader would know about or care about it but you get some money for killing it. I was an extremely low level when I fought it and spent a whole Saturday just trying to kill it, I could've leveled up and then beat it but it was much more fun and challenging to try to beat it at a level I wasn't supposed to. Like I said there are tons of sidequests in the game to keep you going and most of them are fun.
Bonus Disc: I was very dissapointed in the bonus disc, it seemed like it was just thrown together with little care. The history of the final fantsy series is summed up in less than 15 minutes and the interviews seemed boring to me. I did enjoy the art gallery but I would've liked to have seen more. The metal case was alright but wasn't that big of deal. So if you haven't bought this game and are planning on it, just save the 10 or so extra dollars and buy the regular one.
The game itself is an overall enjoyment to play and with the many side quests keeps you very busy during the whole game. I think the main fault is the lack of story for Vaan who is, and is easily forgotten, the main character in the game. The lack of a love interest and the ending of the game was a grave dissapointment. The graphics and the detailed characters and fun fighting system make this game well worth playing. The bonus disc was a waste but if you want it that bad buy it. I give this final fantasy a 4 out of what should have been an easy 5.
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