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It starts out very slow at first then progressivley plays smoother as you level up and get through certain parts of the game.Well worth the $20 is cost now. This is onle of the longest games I have ever played for the PS2, I am also supprised the game can hold all this on 1 Disc. This game was long and hard, The way games are meant to be. Got me thinking of why Grandia III uses 2 Disc for such a short game. Recommened for any RPG fan.
I truly love this game. (wish I had more time to play)but sometimes I wish there were cheats lol.
Parallel Arrows for the Killer Bow and Silencing shot for the Capella.(Onion Shot and Onion Arrows are for sale outside the entrance to Nalbina Fortress).The Marquis kinda reminds me of Christopher Lambert.Time to pace myself and get some work done, before returning to the Westersands. Once I smashed all the undead skeletons and defenders, I hit the R2 to Flee three screens and then Flee back to regenerate the skeletons. The highest Mist chain I managed was 11-hits, the bonus attack was Torrent.The Lhusu Mine is a great place to level up. Good Morning.
Vaan is at level 25Basch at 26. Playing as Fran is an interesting view, too.(This game is true 3d, you can swivel the camera to look up).This time through the game, I was hoping to mix-up the Mist attacks to see the characters in new graphics. Is it morning all ready.We're traipsing through the Westersand deserts looking for Lord Wyvern and Lord Wraith's Tomb.So far,all my party members have 3 Mist attacks each. Alas, a-none good nurse. I chained 123 skeletons.The treasure urn as your coming around the corner where the mine forks, 3 times out of 4 gave me Gil, but, then it offered up a Killer Bow.
I wanted to see Basch do the 'whip-attack' kick thing. But, no matter which LP tile I activated, it defaulted to the character's original Mist Attack. I love Basch - for a game character he has charisma. I had Fran and Balthier at the same tile, the mist tile name changed with the character. I sold a bunch of Loot and the ammunition appeared under BaZaar.
The gameplay is fun, the battles challenging, 150+ hours of play guaranteed. The CG scenes are breathtaking, as is expected of Square. The environments are very detailed, every city has a distinct personality and architecture, as do the temples and dungeons. Don't forget to buy the guide along with the game. The gambit system(the AI that you set up for your party characters) is fairly intuitive and once you understand, it makes leveling up and fighting in general very enjoyable. I highly recommend that you buy the guide along with the game.Now, onto the graphics. The voice acting is so much better than FFX's, it's in sync with the lip movement, and the actors are quite good, particularly Balthier (a sky pirate who I must say is probably the coolest FF character in a loooooong time). In other words, if you're an RPG fan, this game is a must buy.
Another plus is the voice acting and dialogue, with are top notch. The new battle system is very smooth, I certainly didn't the random encounters. But the plot is actually quite mature, with political intrigue, clever dialogue, an interesting history as well as mythology, and a lot of detail about the different world cultures given by all the NPCs in the different locations of the world. Now the plot, which is a very important part of an RPG.
As far as setting goes, FF fans should feel right at ease as moogles, airships and chocobos are once again present. Five stars, despite its few faults. Gamers who enjoy side quests will certainly love this game, as there is well over 100 hours' worth of side optional stuff to complete including some very challenging bosses (some of the most challenging in the history of the series) and a pretty fun mini-game (fishing). While I do think some things could have been developped further and that the characters' backgrounds could have been elaborated on more (Vaan who serves as main character is not as central to the main plotline as some of the other characters of the cast), but I think the plot is the most mature yet in a FF game and I hope they continue in this direction.To sum it up, this game is one of the best game in the series, previous fans of Final Fantasy will find many elements to make them feel at ease in the environment, and new players to the series will probably have an easier time adapting to this than FFX or previous installements (mostly due to the disappearance of the random encounter system). Before going on with the review, I'd like to say that I've been a fan of the Final Fantasy series since Final Fantasy VI came out, I've played and finished every FF from FF4 to FF10 and based on the reviews I had read about FFXII, I was kind of scared when I received the game from amazon and put in my PS2.
But it is something you get used to and it doesn't take any enjoyment out of the game. A minor set back is the loading time on black magic spells, which make them less efficient than physical attacks, except when dealing with multiple foes. Let me tell you, the fear dissipated very fast.Let's start with gameplay. I know it feels like a rip off, but it is well worth it to fully enjoy one of the best RPGs available. I read many reviews of people who were disappointed by the story and the character development. Another problem is the camera angles, which can be realy hard to adjust to and when battling big bosses (and there's some really big ones) or big beasts, it is near impossible to find an angle to see the monster properly. The storyline is complex and mature, the graphics are better than any other in the series. The game, esthetically, is simply gorgeous.
Now it is true that the core of the game is not a love story as it was in FFVIII and FFX (something I am personally thankful for) and it wasn't as much a story of 'save the world from total absolute annihilation.' as it was in FFVII. The ending sequences were probably the best of the series, in my opinion anyway. One drawback, which I think is a bit shameful of Square, is that some of the side quests will be near impossible (if not impossible period) to complete without the strategy guide, particularly regarding some of the best weapons in the game. For the first time in the history of FF, the dialogue is actually interesting. A good step forward in FF evolution.
This is probably in my opinion one of the better Action/RPG games on PS2. The story line is great, the characters are great and the action is endless.
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