If you're one of those annoying kids that give "10s" because something looks cool and shiny, stop reading this. FF12 has blown up into this huge game with high-production values and serious CGI that makes some of the movies of today look like crap. The game makes you wish you could just watch FF12 straight through. The game opens up with one of the most impressive introductions I have ever seen in an RPG. As the game progresses, you kind of feel a little dissapointed that the cutscenes are about to transition into gameplay mode and for some reason you just want to see the pretty cutscenes. ..But since we are talking about games here, I will reserve my movie reviews at rottentomatoes. I have collected and played all of the FF games spanning several platforms (including their japanese versions) since 1990. So FF12 is a a huge departure from the series. What's this stupid map doing in the middle of my battle? What the hell are these curvy lines? So many traditions are broken or twisted in such a new way that it may turn-off many hardcore FF players who have gotten used to the side-by-side random combat or the the fixed cameras and lush backgrounds since FF7. FF12's combat feels partly-MMORPG mostly because of the 3rd person perspective and the non-existance of the random encounter of enemies. If it weren't for the menu system, the 10 minute drawn-out spell animations, and the familiar music, this battle system would be World of Warcraft. This is both good and bad depending on what kind of gamer you are. Fortunately, the designers of FF12 have made exploration alot of fun to look at but sometimes it can break the pacing of the game when you've just finished drooling over the last shiny cutscene. Some hardcore FF guys (like myself) kind of miss the old ways but you can tell the designers of FF12 came worked on all kinds of games and decided to do something completely different with this franchise.
The Graphics, Music, etc.
What for? There are so many of gamespot's screenshots and movies. =)
The Battle System
A part of me wants to keep the system similar and familiar to what I've seen in previous FF games but another part of me likes what they've done to the game. I like how the party has their own A.I. and that part was definitely a page taken from the Mana series (i.e. Secret of Mana, etc.) such as assigning actions for each of the party members. I'm also impressed on how the enemy reacts when it is outnumbered or when it is attacked mostly by magic. There are many strategic aspects of this game that make the battles intense and interesting which blend well with their gambit/license system. I was hoping that this battle system would make real use of the free positioning in battles. Maybe they can make the characters hold hands and do special attacks. Then again, I haven't really played far enough to know if that feature already exists. Another minor complaint is how the license system can be setup to max any character to attack the same way. Oh well, that's what the next version of FF is for. FF12 is a treat. It comes in two flavors: the regular and the collector's edition. I strongly urge FF hardcore players to buy the collector's version. It has a DVD narrating the full history of FF and the platforms/versions they appeared in and some nifty artwork for you to checkout.
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