FF12

[Vindication]

Just replayed FF12 b/c I have nothing better to do QQ

Decided to do all that secret stuff I never did the first time around. Did every single hunt up to Yiazmat so far, havent attempted him yet (5+ hour fight on a console LOL WTF).

After going through ff12 doing all of the extra content I have to say I am impressed with the amount of stuff there is to do despite the lack of sustenance in the storyline. The gambit system is also pretty awsome, I've always liked that. It has a MMO feel even though it's an offline game. I also liked how you had to defeat the espers to use them, though they were rarely ever practical to use

Thing is after doing all that extra stuff, the storyline bosses are a gigantic joke. The story isnt good enough for me to want to finish the game sadly, so I'll end up killing Yiazmat and calling that the end of the game lol.


I think ff10 is next on my list.

FF15 should have gambits + action rpg + MATERIA SYSTEMMMMMMMM!

[Nauren]

fuck.....gambits.....

If I want a game to play itself.....

hate them so very much.

With that said...FFXIII has gambits of sorts...and it has an item/weapon junction materia type system. Basically you collect items to enhance your weapons.

FFXIII Versus will be an action RPG.

[plague]

I kinda like Gambits, it does make it feel like you are playing online a little, but they aren't as refined as they could be imo, its hard to make them work the way you want them to, but I think it's a nice idea. And yea the hunts were SOOOOOOOOOOOO much fucking harder than the regular bosses, I don't really get it.

As far as the story, ever since FFVII I pretty much had to force myself to beat the rest of the games, none of them had a "great" story, it was more like meh....

All I know is that the stories of the first FF's were much better and kinda "sucked" me into the game, that hasn't happened since FFVII for me.

I also wish they stopped experimenting with different systems all the time as far as getting your skills are concerned. FFXII is total fail with that stupid system, I didn't like X's either. I say fuck those systems and just level up oldschool style, X level = unlock x ability.

[Vindication]

Yeah that's why I liked gambits, if you set them up right it does feel like someone else is playing those chars. Plus when you get into the tough fights that require rez chains and super quick healing they're pretty much mandatory unless you want it to take 10x longer bc of using the wait system/interface >< There is usually a LOT of stuff to cast just to buff up and stay buffed, but the healing can easily be micromanaged.

I dont like the level up and auto gain abilities Unless you're talking about the materia system. Finding the secret spells/abilities in ff12 was fun, and progressing the story to find new spells was fun too. I also liked having to fight the espers to learn them! I didnt like the license board though... it made char development too sandboxy. I like defined roles for each char

[Markus]

Agreed. I am looking forward to really intense story lines and excellent voice acting in the future!

I didn't enjoy FF12 Gambits but Dragon Age has something similar and dare I say... They did a better job at it.

[plague]

Nov 13, 2009 15:11:45 GMT -5 Markus said:

Agreed. I am looking forward to really intense story lines and excellent voice acting in the future!

I didn't enjoy FF12 Gambits but Dragon Age has something similar and dare I say... They did a better job at it.

You know why DAO did better at it? Because the characters actually use all their abilities on their own, in XII the only use the ones you set. Anyway I still can't get myself to finish this lame ass game. I must be 75% done with it and I just can't get myself to play it anymore. Hell I can't even remember the freaking story line because I enjoyed hunts more lol. LAMEST FF EVER!! (Well maybe X2 was a bit lamer, but not by much.)

[Markus]

It's amazing because it's an FF game. It has that FF style and sparkly shine to it... But when you look closer it's kind of a turd.

I stopped playing mine as well lol.... BRING ON XIII!!

DAO gambits are definitely > FFXII gambits.

[Sosa]

I'm actually replaying through the game right now, myself. It's been awhile since I picked it up last, but I think I'm at the point after your first encounter with Cid. I appreciated the more mature, politically oriented story. It wasn't exactly FFT/FF6 material, but it was substantially better than the last few entries in the franchise, imo.

I completely agree with the previous statements on game balance - and it's not just those issues, either. Entire classes of items are useless, non buff/healing magic has a strong tendency to be pretty useless, or at best, very situational. It was impossible to make any kind of educated purchasing decision on the license board or steer characters towards one playing style or another, and it didn't matter because everyone ended up learning every ability in the game anyway.

In the end, with the exception of ultimate weapons like the Zodiac Spear, you were best off just putting a sword, shield and heavy armor on everyone and having them all auto cast haste, regen, bubble, and attack party target. Throw a block-rate increasing accessory on your party leader and have him cast decoy on himself automatically for bonus points.

You can literally put play the game with nothing but the analogue stick to point your party in the general direction of monsters.

To be fair though, DAO's tactics system was virtually identical, with the exception of being able to change "stances," which affected their general behavior. If you want them to use a specific ability, you still need to set it, just like in FFXII.

[plague]

To be fair though, DAO's tactics system was virtually identical, with the exception of being able to change "stances," which affected their general behavior. If you want them to use a specific ability, you still need to set it, just like in FFXII.

Actually Sig, I have to disagree with that. In DOA they will cast spells not set by you. Example, Wynn will group heal right after a fight if everyone's hp is low. Allistair uses his tank abilities on his own (like shout/that aoe taunt and w/e). Morrigan uses all her attack spells(not the support ones thou I noticed, since I had her as "attacker"). If you set someone up as a "tank" they will use all their abilities for "tanking" weather you set em or not.

DAO AI is 100x smarter than FFXII, but to be fair it is also a much more modern game, I mean XII is from 2006. No matter, I never played a game before 12 were you can have these "gambits" so it was innovative in it's time, at least for me.

[Sosa]

My experience with the game's AI was radically different. From what I recall, the pre-defined "roles" come with some common abilities bundled in. If you're set to tank, you will probably be using a shield - so it will use shield bash.

DA:O is a game where, especially on higher difficulties, using the right ability at the right time is crucial. If an ogre picks up someone squishy and you don't have shield bash or a similar ability - they're going to die. In my experience, these types of tactical decisions were the rule rather than the exception, so autocasting anything other than a basic DPS ability or "toggle" ability was an exercise in frustration. DPS and healing is a little simpler to automate, but some of the triggers simply don't seem to work.

Ironically, when setting Alastair to DPS, for example, he would never turn on or use any of his abilities that I didn't expressly tell him to. I built him as a 2H DPS, and had to make a tactic for every ability (active or passive) that he used or he wouldn't use it.

Chalk it up to different game versions/difficulties, perhaps.