Why all the hate on Final fantasy XII?

[IamSofaKingRaw]

Personally I think this one was the most fun out of all the FF games. I've played through this game about 4x and found new aresas, espers etc each playthrough. (Did this over about 2 years). Sure many say that combat is repetitive but those same people praise FFXIII's. If you want repetitive gameplay play FFXIII. I found FFXII combat more engaeing because if you're lke me you would have ignored the gambit tutorials and manually controlled all the characters. Due to the fact that the comba is realtime you have to constantly switch between characters which makes the game more challenging. Click on spoiler for more

Spoiler

The Espers
Square Enix did an exceptional job with this titles espers. As the characters they are partnered with get stronger, the espers get stronger as well. They're also useful in battle (unlike the ones in FFXIII, did I mention how much I hate FFIII?). They also don't give away the summons (except I think 3/12) and you'll need to do a lot of side questing to find them. This gives the game interesting worthwhie things to do.

The Story and chracters
I found that this story in the FF series is the only one (apart from VI which I'm still playing) which makes sense with its setting. A small country under imperial rule tries to rebel and a group of six people band togetther to lead the charge.Its reall not that confusing and people that critisize it are just used to the melodramatic characters from previous FF games that are overly optimistic even though they have no idea what they are doin. I also found that the lack of a love story tied in made the story refreshing.

However good FFVII may be (it was...meh for me) if you really think about it, how were these characters fitting in with the rest of society when they are so different and much more powerful? Cloud is a SOLDIER operative that eems to be a cut above the rest making everyone else no match for him, Barret has a machine gun wielded to his arm, Red XII is well a talking animal thing, and Vincent is a mysterious character that can transform into a monster. The only people that seem normal compared to the rest of the world are Tifa, Yuffie, Cid, and Cait Sith. Even then we aren't told how they came to know how to fight seeing they have non violent backgrounds. FFXII didn't try to revolve the story around one or two characters bit instead gave each character an equally important role in the game. Also all the characters in the story could be seen as just above average people. Two peasants (Vaan and Penelo), Two Sky Pirates (Fran and Balthier), A former judge (Basch), and the princess (Ashe).

All in all this was a really log post and if you actually read this far I hope you undrstand my reasoning.

What are your thoughts?

 

[sephiroth1991]

I can't make a judgment i played up until i had to go after a guy named Cid and i just lost intrest. I think people like Final Fantasy 12 more than 13. I like the exploration but hated the story.

 

[Durxom]

Personally, I loved it. The characters were ok, but the story was good, I liked all the customization, I liked the MMO feel of it, the world was huge! and it was simply breathtaking on the PS2 when it was released.

But I'm pretty sure most hate it because of Vaan, and this..

 

[Matt_LRR]

I loved final fantasy 12, and also can't understand why so many people hated it. Even with a full compliment of Gambits, I was still entering commands frequently, the levelling system was excellent, the hunts were amazing, the story great, and the characters uniformly interesting (if not all likable).

The storytelling was perhaps a little unorthadox, since you're playing a sidekick character, rather than the main driving force of the story, but I liked that, too.

As far as I'm concerned the people who didn't like it simply missed the point or didn't give it a fair shake, but to each their own, I guess.

-m

 

[jerrrry]

I thoroughly enjoyed FF12 and am very much enjoying FF13 as well, which I am currently playing. I've played and loved every American-released FF game since 2(although I didn't like 8 that much, but it was alright). However, people are purists and they like to complain. The recent FF games have been very different in structure than the older Final Fantasy games and this upsets some fans of the series. I believe Final Fantasy 13 would have been a very popular game(as it was) and received about 1/10th the amount of hatred thrown at it if it were called something else. However, as I said people like to complain, so when a new game in a series isn't exactly what every old fan expects, this is what you get.

 

[-Seraph-]

I have yet to play the game so I reserve all judgment on it, but I have heard some complaints from people that I should take seriously.

In regards to gameplay, it seems like a mistake to unlock gambits as you progress because it just feels arbitrary and stupid. You should have a full list of tactics at your disposal from the get go. And I have heard the complaint that the game can play itself if you set up the gambits right, well that's less the games fault and more the player being an exploitative and lazy asshole who can't be bothered to play the game properly. The job system I heard wasn't as good either for various reasons, but I heard in the international edition, they fixed the job board system by making ti so each character can only be a single job instead of a mish mash.

Story wise, it's ultimately the pacing that kills it from what I understand. Half way through the game the pacing gets fucked up, and of course the shoehorning in or Vaan and Panello. from what I gathered it was due to a change of directors halfway through the games development which can seriously hurt the game in question. Basche and Ashe were supposed to be the leads but from what I hear they didn't think it was appealing enough so to please fans (god knows what fans they have been paying attention to) they threw in Vaan.

These are the two major complaints I hear uttered over and over by many fans and even though I have not played the game yet, I feel that these are rather legitimate complaints that I should take into consideration.

I really do doubt it's as bad as many claim it to be, I mean...you can't get as bad as Mystic Quest and FF8, that's a very beat feat. Although I guess the biggest complaint for some is that it just doesn't feel like Final Fantasy....and that's really a complaint I never really got.

Anyways I'm rambling, just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

 

[Proteus214]

I did play some of it, but honestly it just didn't "hook" me. The characters weren't that interesting, the combat wasn't very engaging, and the story really didn't jump out at me in any way. I know that saying that and also that I REALLY liked FF13 in the same breath may seem hypocritical, but the level of en medias res that FF13 had really grabbed me right away.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

I didn't like it much. When I first played it, I was like "It's FFXI single player! Woo!" And after a while I thought "Wait a second, this is FFXI, single player..." And then I decided to hate on the limit break system.

 

[Platypus3224]

I don't like it how the games take forever to beat. I got bored after the first part.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I thought the characters were very boring and the story was a little to complicated, but other than that it was really good.

 

[DuplicateValue]

I loved it, the world in it was really detailed and fun to explore.

I have no idea why it got all the hat - even the characters weren't that bad; I loved Ashe, Larsa, and Balthier of course.

And the combat system was good in my opinion - better than waiting around fro the opponent to make a move.

 

[wooty]

I lost track of it and never got very far in to it (maybe 7-8 hours) due to other things happening around me at the time. I'll probably try and find it in the future after I finish playing through VII, VIII and IX again.

Controversial/Satirical P.S.
Maybe there are a few people who dont like it because its not a mindless FPS

 

[Fayathon]

I haven't noticed the hate, but that's because I don't read anything on a game I haven't played (save a few reviews). I recently borrowed XII from a buddy and it's easily becoming my favorite Final Fantasy title to date.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

The combat was boring, the story was boring, the characters where not well rounded, the music was shite and it was trying to be an MMO.
Phantasy star universE was better then it people!
And that had this as its theme song.
THE CHEESYNESS! IT BURNS!

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

I think most of the hate is on some of the character's you play as rather than the parts you play. I've tackled several of XII's missions throughout the story and they work rather well but having to play them as Vaan? Why? Who thought he was worthy of a main character slot when all he does is faff about and whine about wanting to be a Sky Pirate.

 

[wkrepelin]

I loved Final Fantasy XII. If the haters don't like it then tough.

The only thing that I agree with is that Vaan and Penelo were not needed characters as he was a bit annoying and the story is really about Basch and Ash but even then it have that Hidden Fortress or Star Wars vibe where you experience the epic story from the perspective of the inconsequential side characters.

I loved it, poo on them.

 

[Dracomorph]

I found almost every aspect of the gameplay just incredibly annoying.

The license grid was a bad idea, poorly implemented, as its main purpose seems to be forcing you to pay twice for every piece of equipment, spell and ability. Want to equip that new spear you just found? Oh, sorry, you have to go earn enough license points first. We wouldn't want you to be able to just USE the things you find or buy, now would we?

I found the gambit system frustrating, too. I was consistently low on cash, and far prefer maintaining some measure of actual control over the characters, so I mostly left it alone. When I started using it more, I noticed that almost every action had a significant delay even after the ATB gauge filled. When one of the highest priorities I set is to heal badly injured characters, I believe I'm justified in finding that more than a little bit frustrating.

It's playable, I guess, just... everything felt like the designers got it a little bit wrong. Or thought that extra grind somehow translated to extra enjoyment.

I guess I can't speak to the characters or plot so much, since it's been so long and I just don't remember them that well. But if I'm not enjoying actually playing the game, even phenomenal characters and plot might not save it for me.

 

[Akihiko]

I don't hate it, as hate is such a strong word. It just didn't rub me up the right way. It felt like an MMORPG without the MMO, if you get what I mean by that. I suppose I for one value some linearity in that respect. Especially if you have to traverse 6 different equally gigantic areas just to get to the next cutscene, I don't particularly find that very fun. The story was good, up until they introduced that those entitys into the picture fairly late on into the game(Forget their name, Cid was being manipulated by one though). However, the characters were lacking. Vann and Penelo were just a waste of space. The other ones were interesting, however the lack of character development was disappointing.

Admittedly, I did enjoy XIII. If you're going to complain about repetative combat, then you're playing the wrong genre. The majority of RPGs, other than the bosses, end up requiring largely the same actions. However, with all of them, you can spice it up if you wish, a lot of people don't seem to realise that.

 

[Amnestic]

Wasn't a fan of Vaan. Apparently Basch was meant to be the main character but they switched that around to Vaan for demographic appeal. Still reckon we should've played as Balthier though >.>

Once you got you got into your midgame, you had enough gambits to put most boss battles on autoplay, with only the occasional need to take control if you took an unlucky hit. Didn't work for some of the hunts, but for the most part once you had enough gambits, you were free and clear from having to do any work beyond moving your characters from fight to fight.

That said, it was still a good game. Liked the License Grid (even if it is a bit silly at times, as VG Cats [http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=215] can tell you). Liked the world which was enormous. Liked how many sidequests there were. Not a huge fan of the Esper system but it worked well enough. Liked the chain attacks you could pull off with your Mist charges. Liked the Bazaar system, though if you want all the best stuff you really need a guide.

It was nice how the characters weren't entirely pidgeonholed, though I wouldn't have minded a bit more individuality between each one. FFX did that well with the sphere grid, where you all started off in one place but you could then branch out into different specialisations (Rikku as a Black Mage or whatever). Felt a little too easy to switch Balthier from his gunslinging self into a sword+board tank, and I think that was a bit of a downer actually.

On the whole though? Worthy addition to the Final Fantasy series, and one which recieves far too much flak.

Now FFVIII on the other hand, that's a game worthy of my hate

 

[IamSofaKingRaw]

I'm currently borrowing FFXIII from a friend (who has no problem letting me keep it this long, around 2 months by the way) and I honestly find it hard to play this game for more than half an hour at a time. I hate how you don't really level up and havwe to try to upgrade your weapons. This makes the game more about getting items to sell to get money rather than training your characters to get stronger. The game is TOOOOOOOO linear for my tastes and although people say that its gets more open later I can't see myself lasting that long with trhis game. I don't feel a sense of strength even with upgraded weapons. I made a point of ONLY upgrading Lightnings weapons so that shre cold be like a God compared to everyone else then in comes Fang and her level 6-8 staff is equal in strength to Lightning's level 22 sword.

FFXII onthe otherhand the first ime I played through I made Balthiwer, Basch and Vaan levl 90 near the end of the game and all the ladies were lvl 27 (lol) and you can obviously see the difference when you neglect certain party members. I haven't let Sazh see a single minute of action since I got the choice to control this and After playing 3 hours without him, I found that he's still up to par with everyone else!

All I want is a extrmemly strong character that I can count on to get me through tough battles like Cloud from FFVII, Zidane FFIX, Auron from FFX and Basch/Vaan/Balthier (interchangable) rom FFXII. From my playthrough so far, all the characters are equally shitty in battle no matter how much effort you put into making one of them a cut above the rest.