/vr/ - Retro Games

No.

unironically tranny game

It's great for casuals since it looks great and has a ton of content, but if you actually want to be engaged in gameplay or story this is not it.

>>9411471
It's really easy and well try it for a couple hours then imagine spreading that experience for dozens more...

>>9411471
it 100% depends on how much you like tinkering with the AI.
if you want to go all autistic with setting up the perfect list of gambits and then watching it all execute in flawless swiss-clockwork perfection, you will love the game. you'll be able to enjoy the music, scenery and atmosphere as you know your party will be able to handle combat without your attention.
but if you want to take a more active role in combat, you will find yourself getting bogged down in the commands, fighting against the AI, and unable to give any attention to the rest of the game.

>>9411471
>Should I play FF12?

Yes.

>>9411471
>Is FF12 actually good?
Yes.
I can confirm that both anecdotally from personal experience and critically from respectable professionals encouraging experiencing it.

>Combat looks slow
You are remarking about tension, then, not mechanics.
If stress defines your enjoyment of battle, you have more control than you know.

>illusion of an open area
As with all "open areas," there is a boundary. This is no different. You're being attacked by monsters that are already rendered and apparent within the relatively large boundary, unlike previous Final Fantasies where combat occurs in a separate stadium.

>concept of turn-based was never immersion breaking in previous FF
>whereas watching gameplay of FF12 pisses me off
You're creating imaginary appeal if you're discussion "concept" of previous FF and "watching" a few seconds of FF12 battle on YouTube.
Combat in mainline FF is NOT "turn-based" the only exception being FF10. You are given action options and a timer; "turns" are restrictions based strictly on pre-determined, forceful, WAITING. You can act many times before your enemy can, or vice versa, based on a timer... not based on turn.
This remains the case in FF12. You are given the option, and encouraged, to create "gambits" both inside and outside of combat. They do not eliminate the wait, but eliminate the selection of action based on guidelines YOU set. But, if you dislike this strategy element, you do not have to abide by using gambits and can continue to use menu-based action selection once your ATB bar is filled, like previous FF.

-----

The world, music, story, voice acting and graphical display is OUTSTANDING.

>>9411471
FF12 is a mixed bag.
-The story kinda sucks. You keep hearing the tired excuse of fanboys how "FF12 had a much more political story, that's why it's not as liked as the others", when in fact it is not true. The start may look like it, but in the end, it is a princess getting a magic stone from ghosts to fight the evil emperor.
-The other defense is how Vaan and Penelo suck and Basch is the main protagonist. Vaan and Penelo do suck, but Basch is not any more of a protagonist, he is not that interesting. His brother is much more interesting. What sucks about the story and characters, is that anything interesting happens off camera or before the game starts.
+What this game does great, is the world itself. It is very pretty and it is fun to just wonder around and explore shit. Hunts are also fun.
-Gameplay is kinda boring. It is an interesting system, but that doesn't make it fun necessarily.
-Music is not that great. If you've played the other Ivalice games like FFTA 1/2, you are familiar with the OST. Of course they are better quality, but the only memorable song in the game imo is Kiss Me Goodbye and that is a cheesy ballad and the only composition of Uematsu in the game.
-The game is also retarded on mechanical level. It is filled with cryptic bullshit like acquiring the Zodiac spear, but also on a more base level with how Bazaar works. You can't get the best shit off of Bazaar without a guide.

All in all, I'd still say it was worth the play. I've done a playthrough where I did "everything" twice, once on PS2, the other time the PS4 version. The fast forward function makes the game better, which should tell you a lot about the game
It's nowhere near the best FF, but it has some merit to it. I love doing Hunts and fucking around the huge maps. I'd say a solid 7/10

>>9411471
no

The international job version is in English and is the better version of FF12.

>>9411471
>Playing any FF past 9
no

>>9411589
That scene looks so fucking cringe I never want to play a jrpg with more than 8x8 pixel faces again

>>9411471
I never finished it. It was pretty fun setting up the whole auto-bot battle system. But it also felt like it basically automated away the actual game leaving nothing left.

>>9411614
I love you've shared your ideas, and I'm happy you ultimately give a rec.
I'd like to start with your "-" points.
>The story isn't as political as people say
Well, no, FFXII very definitely has a more political plot than other Final Fantasies. By a longshot. The inclusion of "magic" in this fantasy world of Ivalice does not negate that this is a VERRRRRRY politically-centered plot about philosophical rights about governance and its effect on the populace in your region, neighboring regions, and potentially the entire world. Never mind the interaction of the multiple separate races within Ivalice. Again, just because you have access to a sort of Monkey's Paw Crystal of Power from the god-like ruling class Occuria who have practically evolved beyond mortality... doesn't mean it's all venues for political thought and hierarchy to give metaphor to the audience playing the game.

>The characters are boring, and so is the story
Dalmascan princess Ashe the main character in the story of Final Fantasy XII's Ivalice. The others are support. Vaan is simply your mouthpiece to the game. The length of time spent in this adventure is surprisingly short; likely only about a month, if less than that. It's a snapshot into each of the characters lives - all coincidentally running away from their responsibilities because of emotional fear of failure. All of whom overcome this by endgame, thanks to traveling with each other. If you're looking for quips on the battlefield, this isn't it.

>Music is not that great.
Opinion noted and I disagree. Heavily. This matches the world of Ivalice PERFECTLY and the sound, being BGM, is SUBLIME. But, be careful, there are TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT soundtracks, and I mush prefer the original.
I'll agree, it's not Uematsu-level catchy, but I'll try to defend that as not being its focus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjxhG439ng8

>>9411614
>Game mechanics are retarded
It sounds like you're speaking about shops and item discovery, but... it's the same as any Monster Hunter game, my man. Or any D&D, really.
Besides, whenever you express the idea that "a guide solves it," I'm instantly thinking, "so don't go out of your way to spoil yourself!" It's the same concept of people who play stat-based games that:
>Grind
>Follow a guide
>Complain it was all too easy
>Complain there was no sense of adventure
I understand you "want the best equipment" but it becomes almost an Aesop's fable "The Fox and The Grapes" when you're upset by their presence and your failure to reach them.

>>9411653
The scene is designed for a female audience and its not subtle at all about how it's supposed to be viewed comically.
Ashe, the ROYAL PRINCESS of a recently murdered fiancee, is being flirted with by a man a near-equal royal status who is openly happy to the idea of taking her as a wife, despite his obvious narcissism/playboy attitude given his sexy maids and over-the-top interaction...
...and yet she's quietly smitten, enjoying the attention, and the other girls present during this encounter are both jealous and surprised. And the men present all view it as so incomprehensibly stupid. "How could Ashe not be angry at this?"

For the scene to openly display all these social points, it's an obviously comical scene. A wonderful breath of fresh air considering the hours or very stressful adventure and acting that had been occurring before this meeting. It's a wonderfully directed scene that happens at a wonderful point in the game.

>>9411673
>politically-centered plot about philosophical rights about governance and its effect on the populace in your region, neighboring regions, and potentially the entire world
How does it compare to Anabasis?

>>9411614
>bent out of shape over zodiac spear

checklist logic. nobody that played the game even knew the zodiac spear existed and they were able to have a better time than you did because they didn't know

>>9411696
I'm not talking about minmaxing.
I am talking about wanting to sell the unique loot you got from the recent hunt you did, but "oops, you didn't sell the right amount of other shit with it, no it turns into sonethibg else you already got".
If the game itself had recipies it would be fine. Sure, they added like 2 with the bestiary, but c'mon man.

>>9411728
If you're asking my thoughts of comparison to the ancient Greek 7 book story about Cyrus and his mercenary army's adventure to overtake Persia, I have to apologize; I've only read the first book or two and that was quite some time ago in college (I'm 35). I'm not familiar enough with its story to grant you any accuracy.

I'll re-iterate, though; while the "ultimate decision" in Final Fantasy XII's plot, the point where the story builds to, is a fantastic and magical "rule Ivalice with god-like power or rebel against those gods and refuse," the plot remains one about governance between individual and populace.
>Does Princess Ashe agree to become essentially "Dynast Queen" like the "Dynast King Raithwall" from centuries before, using deific powers to control Ivalice, succumbing to the Occuria's demands of worship?
>Does Princess Ashe refuse and separate the mortal beings of Ivalice from this ethereal ruling-class and end this bond of fate?
Which is the better choice? What is control and what is freedom? Is it moral to decide the fate of others? Do all people agree, or does everyone disagree? And Ivalice, a world found in several Final Fantasy games... is NOT the entire world! It's essentially just Arabia and some of its surroundings!! How much more of the world is also taking action? The Occuria are clearly not as omnipotent as they seem to want mortals to think, so does this imply the existence of other beings similar or even greater?

And that's all just a comparably SMALL part of FFXII's plot to consider!

>>9411779
Like basically every video game, you are given the option to replay it.
If you learned about "things you missed," you have the options to "try for them again." But it takes investment. I suppose it's not surprising if you didn't enjoy playing the game, you won't enjoy replaying it. But pointing to "missed weapons" of end-game-tier strength as proof of "bad mechanics" is inherently contrasting with an adventure game about dungeons and dragons.

I can empathize, or even sympathize, that learning you "missed something good" is frustrating.
But reasoning "the game is bad" because of that is petty.

>>9411825
Anabasis is a philosophical epic about bravery, wit, and leaving no mercy for your foes. It should be a mandatory read for everybody even retarded people

>>9411856
That's really dumb.
"Missing something good" is fine. "Missing something good that you just can't get unless you use a walkthrough" is shitty design.

>>9411895
if you don't need those items to enjoy the game then it doesn't matter

>>9411858
I just now realized that Detective Columbo is a disciple of Socrates.
Anyway I'm really liked ffxii and it seems very different from any ff games that came after... but I don't really know since I haven't played 13, 14, or 15 (or 11). I fully admit I have a soft spot for it since it's where I stopped playing new ff games. It was a nice send off.

>>9411589
FF1 does not use a timer in battles, and the distinction between ATB and pure turn-based battle is often small enough that FF4 etc. also may as well not use timers