This game has some of the longest dungeons I have ever seen in a game, (especially the later ones) so I would recommend stocking up on lots of healing items whenever you get the chance. The game is pretty generous with money the further you go, and there is usually at least one shop in each dungeon where you can restock your supplies, so I would typically buy as many healing and resurrection items as I could hold at any given time.

The dungeons in the second half of the game are so long that it will probably take several sessions to get through them (depending on how long you like to play). Luckily there are frequent save points, so completing them in segments is convenient, although it can be unsatisfying to play for a whole hour and still not have seen any plot progression when you turn the game off.

Most of the enemies you encounter in the dungeons and throughout the planets are not very powerful and can be dispatched fairly easily, particularly once you have unlocked your more powerful special abilities. The exception to this however is the mimic, watch out for these guys. The mimics unleash powerful attacks which can catch you off guard and wipe out your whole party in seconds. When you get a Game Over screen, any leveling or progress you have made since your last save will be lost; so always make sure your party's HP is in good shape before opening a treasure chest.

The same is true of the bosses, most of the time you can wear them down and heal when necessary; but occasionally they will perform very powerful attacks which can kill everyone in your party simultaneously. These attacks are usually dodge-able, so you will have to make sure that at least one party member survives the attack so they can heal or resurrect the others.

Finally, a lot of the level design in this game is extremely repetitive, which combined with the unusual length of the dungeons, results in a game that can be frustratingly monotonous at times. Fortunately, the developers included a variety of interesting (albeit not always very rewarding) mini-games and side quests which offer a refreshing break from the dungeons when needed.

The North American release of Rogue Galaxy is on a dual-layered DVD, which some PS2s have difficulty reading. Someone in another thread mentioned that cleaning the laser lens helped solve the problem, that may be worth a try.

It sounds like you are talking about the ribbon cable that connects the buttons to the motherboard, in which case soldering is probably not a good option. I would recommend either trying to repair your ribbon cable or ordering a new one.

The ribbon is held in the connector by pressure on the blue plastic shim. If you can super glue the shim back on the end of the ribbon where it was, you should be able to wedge it securely back in place in the connector.

If this isn't possible, you can order a replacement ribbon cable online; the downside to this is they are overpriced and you will have to pay shipping.

PS2 Replacement Parts

It's not the best implementation of an action-oriented combat system IMO, but it's a step in the right direction. The gambit system would work much better if there were evasion options. I'd also like to be able to avoid attacks my simply moving rather than depending on my evasion stat.King9999

I don't think the intention was to implement an action oriented battle system for XII, but rather to maintain the strategy oriented combat of previous FF titles without the random encounters and screen breaks which can disrupt the games flow. This is why even though the player has freedom of movement there are no dodge maneuvers. The enemy hit rate intentionally relies on character stats and equipment rather than player coordination.

Depending on how the plastic broke, you could try reattaching it with super glue. If that isn't possible you can order replacement ribbon cables online.

PS2 Replacement Parts

Snake is totally Kurt Russell, no make-up required.