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So I'm decently into this game (spoilers)

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GrapeKiwi

Jul 28, 2012 5:31 pm GMT
And I've got to say this game is just a masssssive grind. I've played almost every FF before and you know, would say there is a lot of battles in them but this is just extreme. The desert of Sandea or whatever felt like I was literally wading through miles of desert, which dragged on for what felt like hours.
This, to me, is probably the best storyline I've ever gotten into (even though I'd never consider putting Vaan or Penelo into my party of 3) I really appreciate the cast (Bash, Vossler, Baltier, Fran, etc.) but I just can't help but feel this game could have been better.

Theres so many slow moments, so much tediousness, Gambits really could have been better, it really isn't as great as reviews make it out to be, and the "Quickening" System is even more of a joke.

Im merely posting to ask if anyone else had issues like i'm having? I really want to beat this game but I cant help but feel like its such a grind. I just want to get through to the story.
Oh, back to my Vaan and Penelo dislike - This game could have been even greater if the main character was someone else besides him/them/ their crew. Their childishness just ruined the game to me. Basch, and the princess so far feel like the real main characters (Which is why they rightfully belong in the starting party) Vaan and Penelo are merely tagging on for the ride, arguing about meaningless things and simply getting in the way.

Just venting a little, I really do like this game, I just cant seem to figure out how to enjoy it really anymore - everytime we get a new objective i'm like "I bet we'll have to travel really really really far to get there " and what do you know, we do.

The license system seems a little pointless also, I've unlocked most of the things that are in reach or the shops are selling, but beyond that I have say 500 points remaning that I just throw into garbage extra gambits or spells that I wont have for another 3/4 of the game, which to me is extremely limiting and makes the first half of the game BORING AS S****.
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Hi guys! I'm an ex HoN semi-pro who streams Dota 2 and PS1/PS2 GAMES: currently streaming FF7/Tales of Phantasia
http://www.justin.tv/kawaiikiwix3
GrapeKiwi

Jul 28, 2012 5:34 pm GMT
Also just got my first Esper, don't recall the name but that should give you a feel of where I am currently. On my way to Garif Village, everyone level 22 and im borreedd.
To give you a feel of my previous FF games, I've beaten:
FF7
FF9
FF10
FF10-2
FF13

I listed those in order of enjoyment. right now I'd throw FF12 near the top, but I really really do like this game, its just I want to get to the story. thats all thats keeping me playing. gameplay = terrible, the characters are good, its just the ones they focus on or started with = terrible, and the music isn't as great as previous titles, like 9, 7, and even newer titles like 13.
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Hi guys! I'm an ex HoN semi-pro who streams Dota 2 and PS1/PS2 GAMES: currently streaming FF7/Tales of Phantasia
http://www.justin.tv/kawaiikiwix3
Mashiyyat

Jul 28, 2012 6:11 pm GMT
You're doing more fighting then I did because I never had enough lp to be ahead of myself as i went through the game
ryudo500

Jul 28, 2012 7:28 pm GMT
it felt unfinished during the mid 20hour stretch.

but ****sucks love the game. they love the slow and broing gambit system/ they love exploring a non-mmo world and just go sightseeing.

the PLOT def had potential, but it wasnt as fleshed out and as "meaty" as it shoul dhave been. but there is no way to d it since the dungeons are an hour long
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squaresoft
LAKERS & SPURS
ryudo500

Jul 28, 2012 7:30 pm GMT
oh and I never gave a **** about people saying the characters arent felshed out and whatnot. I mean, Basch and balthier are fleshed out. that woul dhave been good enough for me. its more of a plot driven game than character. past FF focused on Story and def fleshed out most of their characters.

in FF XII the gameplay really hurts it. I still have no idea how FFXIII is universally hated yet this is praised. atleast FFXIII told a story, tried to flesh out its characters. and the GAMEPLAY in FFXIII was actually more innovating than a MMo type of gameplay that we saw in XII
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squaresoft
LAKERS & SPURS
rpgczar

Jul 29, 2012 12:09 am GMT
ryudo500 posted...
oh and I never gave a **** about people saying the characters arent felshed out and whatnot. I mean, Basch and balthier are fleshed out. that woul dhave been good enough for me. its more of a plot driven game than character. past FF focused on Story and def fleshed out most of their characters.

in FF XII the gameplay really hurts it. I still have no idea how FFXIII is universally hated yet this is praised. atleast FFXIII told a story, tried to flesh out its characters. and the GAMEPLAY in FFXIII was actually more innovating than a MMo type of gameplay that we saw in XII

agree i actually beat 13 12 felt like a dungeon crawler and focused too much on its boring gameplay
Machines_Of_Dog

Jul 29, 2012 3:29 am GMT
you're just a little wet behind the ears

speedrun is under 9 hours (less than other main titles)

gambits are unnecessary (except for certain challenges) and completely optional

try harder or come back when you have a legitimate criticism
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"No-one tries to kill me and gets away with it..."~ Kliamgroq
Machines_Of_Dog

Jul 29, 2012 3:32 am GMT
BTW, opinions about the story are not legitimate criticism

personal taste can't be accounted for by game developers
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"No-one tries to kill me and gets away with it..."~ Kliamgroq
ShinGouken

Jul 29, 2012 4:49 am GMT
I almost, almost gave consideration in replying to your post genuinly and constructively. Then i realized your the same troll who was trashing FFXII on the FFXIII board.

If you like your games to be interactive movies with little to no choices and f*** all actual gameplay, go play FFXIII and stop trolling this board with your generic hate bull****. Unless you actually have some constructive critism and are prepared to listen and discuss this game fairly, why the f*** are you even here? To troll. Take a hike troll, we've got enough of them pestering this board already, we don't need one more
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FFXII Perfect game Inventory at 2000+ Hours - http://youtu.be/d3UY3T3pThc
verylatebloomer

Jul 29, 2012 6:13 am GMT
heh. i was gonna guess it was yet another of sawplo's identities!
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GrapeKiwi

Jul 29, 2012 12:51 pm GMT
ShinGouken posted...
I almost, almost gave consideration in replying to your post genuinly and constructively. Then i realized your the same troll who was trashing FFXII on the FFXIII board.

If you like your games to be interactive movies with little to no choices and f*** all actual gameplay, go play FFXIII and stop trolling this board with your generic hate bull****. Unless you actually have some constructive critism and are prepared to listen and discuss this game fairly, why the f*** are you even here? To troll. Take a hike troll, we've got enough of them pestering this board already, we don't need one more

wait, what? I never trashed FF12 on the FF13 Board
.I trashed FF13 on the FF13 board

I asked why the made two remakes of what I consider the worst FF I've played.
I prefer FF12 over 13, I have both a ps3 and a ps2 and obviously I'd rather play this if I'm here discussing it with you guys. I gave constructive criticism, the story is great but everything else is a mess in this game. if they actually worked a little harder, this game really did have d**** good potential.
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Hi guys! I'm an ex HoN semi-pro who streams Dota 2 and PS1/PS2 GAMES: currently streaming FF7/Tales of Phantasia
http://www.justin.tv/kawaiikiwix3
GrapeKiwi

Jul 29, 2012 12:52 pm GMT
Machines_Of_Dog posted...
you're just a little wet behind the ears

speedrun is under 9 hours (less than other main titles)

gambits are unnecessary (except for certain challenges) and completely optional

try harder or come back when you have a legitimate criticism

I stopped using gambits because it made the game boring and they really didn't work well unless you controlled everyone partially, which just made me think, why not just play everyone instead lol. So I have a few gambits set but typically I switch around.
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Hi guys! I'm an ex HoN semi-pro who streams Dota 2 and PS1/PS2 GAMES: currently streaming FF7/Tales of Phantasia
http://www.justin.tv/kawaiikiwix3
GrapeKiwi

Jul 29, 2012 1:03 pm GMT
I get you guys like this game, cool, but enough with this wet behind the ears bull**** and troll this, and that.
Face the damn facts.
the gameplay is straight from the trash, the story could have been 10x better if it didn't focus on Vaan and Penelo, the music is repetitive, the objectives are so diverse that it feels like im grinding through the same mobs for over an hour, most of the time getting worthless loot which doesn't even make me WANT to fight any of the monsters.

the only thing 13 did good was visuals, music, and (this part is opinion) the story was pretty decent in my opinion. the rest isn't opinion, its pretty much consensus, same with my FF12 statements.
Most people dislike the gameplay
most people dislike the story ( I for one, love this story and think its the best part of the game)
most people are pretty neutral on the characters/ development (haven't really heard a lot of complaints on this one, this is more my opinion because I really dont like Vaan or Penelo, to me, they're totally out of place in this story.)
music same as characters (haven't seen many complaints but its nothing special. i'm not "enjoying" the music like I did in 7, 9, and 13. its just sort of there. Most of the time i'd rather listen to ipod music to get me pumped for some gambit fun.)

I've made posts on this board before, this is the first one where I've just given some statements and opinions of what I liked and didn't like in the game. thats it. You don't have to get all mad and defensive, cool you enjoy things I dont, congratulations.

@Machine Dog

to be fair, reviewing your post yes, this is my first run in this game and yes, It did take me a bit to get the hang of things because I didn't read any guides or anything, didn't know the feel of things until a few hours in (but that made it more fun/ rewarding).
but that doesn't really factor in to my judgement of the game, in which I find most of it pretty dry and boring, aside from the storyline.

I just got done in the Sandsea/ Kings tomb area and my god, that was probably the worst gameplay of anything I've ever waded through in my life. the place was dry, repetitive, and boring - the same mobs everywhere - random dungeons scattered there too, mostlikely optional, but even so.

And boss fights are even more of a joke then the gameplay - just drop a quickening or two and the fights done. Thats pretty much all I do these days...
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Hi guys! I'm an ex HoN semi-pro who streams Dota 2 and PS1/PS2 GAMES: currently streaming FF7/Tales of Phantasia
http://www.justin.tv/kawaiikiwix3
ryudo500

Jul 29, 2012 3:07 pm GMT
as I said again and again.

The PLOT was actually good and could have been told far better and much more frequently.

The first TEN hours of the game, we see a good plot/gameplay progression rate. its just that once you hif the sandsea and from then on. its like you are trecking through the game JUST for environments with story scenes few and far between until 35hours in
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squaresoft
LAKERS & SPURS
GrapeKiwi

Jul 29, 2012 7:47 pm GMT
ryudo500 posted...
as I said again and again.

The PLOT was actually good and could have been told far better and much more frequently.

The first TEN hours of the game, we see a good plot/gameplay progression rate. its just that once you hif the sandsea and from then on. its like you are trecking through the game JUST for environments with story scenes few and far between until 35hours in

THIS THIS THIS
x10
I just noticed in a few threads people mentioned this game changed staff and whatnot midway through?
anyone have a link or anything i can read more about that at? I'd like to know who left/why and when.
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Hi guys! I'm an ex HoN semi-pro who streams Dota 2 and PS1/PS2 GAMES: currently streaming FF7/Tales of Phantasia
http://www.justin.tv/kawaiikiwix3
ShinGouken

Jul 29, 2012 10:56 pm GMT
GrapeKiwi posted...
Face the damn facts.

The only fact here is that your opinion is worthless.

the gameplay is straight from the trash, the story could have been 10x better if it didn't focus on Vaan and Penelo, the music is repetitive, the objectives are so diverse that it feels like im grinding through the same mobs for over an hour

Those are some lovely opinions.

Most people dislike the gameplay
most people dislike the story ( I for one, love this story and think its the best part of the game)
most people are pretty neutral on the characters/ development (haven't really heard a lot of complaints on this one, this is more my opinion because I really dont like Vaan or Penelo, to me, they're totally out of place in this story.)
music same as characters (haven't seen many complaints but its nothing special. i'm not "enjoying" the music like I did in 7, 9, and 13. its just sort of there. Most of the time i'd rather listen to ipod music to get me pumped for some gambit fun.)

Most people? I love unprovable claims such as this.

I've made posts on this board before, this is the first one where I've just given some statements and opinions of what I liked and didn't like in the game. thats it. You don't have to get all mad and defensive, cool you enjoy things I dont, congratulations.

Calling the game trash and claiming it as fact by using ridiclous statements like "most people think" is going to cause hostility. What did you think was going to happen? You havn't given any reasons for your hate except for "I didn't like "X" character", "I didn't like the music" and "the gameplay is straight from the trash". Perhaps you could detail exactly what is it about the gameplay that makes it trash, and no, saying "i didn't enjoy it" doesn't make it trash, it makes it not your preference.

I find most of it pretty dry and boring, aside from the storyline.

This game is what you make it. The level of choice you are given allows for you to tweak the game to your own preferences. If Gambits are taking away too much of the fun, use fewer gambits or remove them from some characters entirely. Battles too repetitive? Assign your characters job roles. Dungeons take too long to explore? Don't explore them and increase the pace for the story progression. Your complaints all come from not apreciating or even understanding what this game tried to achieve. You control the pace, you control the difficulty, you control your character progression and you control how much you actually want to be involved in the game.
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FFXII Perfect game Inventory at 2000+ Hours - http://youtu.be/d3UY3T3pThc
ShinGouken

Jul 29, 2012 10:55 pm GMT
I just got done in the Sandsea/ Kings tomb area and my god, that was probably the worst gameplay of anything I've ever waded through in my life. the place was dry, repetitive, and boring - the same mobs everywhere - random dungeons scattered there too, mostlikely optional, but even so.

And boss fights are even more of a joke then the gameplay - just drop a quickening or two and the fights done. Thats pretty much all I do these days...

If dungeons get too stale, move them along a bit faster. Usually you won't miss much by not fully exploring them. The occasional treasure perhaps and a rare game for your bestiary, but that's it. If you're not having fun or getting a challenge out of it then swiftly move on to the next one.

As for bosses, most storyline bosses won't cause you too much trouble, especially if you go out of your way to eran EXP, LP and rare equipment. But high level Marks, optional bosses and Espers will give you a run for your money. Maybe save your b****ing until after you've beaten the game?
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FFXII Perfect game Inventory at 2000+ Hours - http://youtu.be/d3UY3T3pThc
GrapeKiwi

Jul 29, 2012 11:28 pm GMT

Calling the game trash and claiming it as fact by using ridiclous statements like "most people think" is going to cause hostility. What did you think was going to happen? You havn't given any reasons for your hate except for "I didn't like "X" character", "I didn't like the music" and "the gameplay is straight from the trash". Perhaps you could detail exactly what is it about the gameplay that makes it trash, and no, saying "i didn't enjoy it" doesn't make it trash, it makes it not your preference.

The music is repetitive because you explore the same areas over and over, and they rarely change instrumentals, unlike 7 which had a wide variety of techonish beats mixed with orchestral themed midi's that actually sounded pleasing, as well as 9 which had really nice mixtures aswell.
Vaan and Penelo were just on for the ride, I don't need to beat the game to know that they are so far relatively worthless to the group and to the story.
I did not enjoy this, BUT NEITHER DOES ANYONE I KNOW, thats why I used statements like " most people " etc., everyone I know disliked this game because the battle system is weak, and the wide expansive worlds just make it take forever to get from place to place, and no you can't "pace" the game any way you want considering if you skipped monsters you'd just get facerolled by bosses. The game is set in a way that demands battling or grinding or stealing 24/7 or you'll be broke and underleveled.

If dungeons get too stale, move them along a bit faster. Usually you won't miss much by not fully exploring them. The occasional treasure perhaps and a rare game for your bestiary, but that's it. If you're not having fun or getting a challenge out of it then swiftly move on to the next one.

This is a great tip. I might try this. I've been exploring every little area to make sure I don't miss anything, so maybe this'll help.

Maybe save your b****ing until after you've beaten the game?

If I ever do.

Battles too repetitive? Assign your characters job roles.

I have.
Fran = Archer/ Caster
Asche = 2H Katana/Sword user
Basch = controlled by me 100%, I switch to the others occassionally.

Is there a recommended battle system setting? like wait or active? I usually play active, I was wondering what wait was like. maybe ill give that a try. active makes it fast and fun, idk. Maybe I've been spoiled by great FF's and this one just isn't for me. I really think this is my favorite story ( minus Vaan ) out of any game ff i've played yet, just bothers me I can't enjoy the gameplay..

Also, the license system to me, really is pretty limiting. I have like 500 LP and the weapons I have access too are rather junky at best, and Im not sure whether I should keep spilling my points on magics and bonuses because I feel like my equipment is so far behind, even though I've been upgrading them every time possible. Idk, to me this game is lacking in a lot of areas, which just makes it collectively really difficult to get into. :\
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Hi guys! I'm an ex HoN semi-pro who streams Dota 2 and PS1/PS2 GAMES: currently streaming FF7/Tales of Phantasia
http://www.justin.tv/kawaiikiwix3
ShinGouken

Jul 30, 2012 2:34 am GMT
GrapeKiwi posted...
Vaan and Penelo were just on for the ride, I don't need to beat the game to know that they are so far relatively worthless to the group and to the story.

They are your perspective. Your eyes and ears. But they do play an importance to the main plot but only in the same way Fran, Balthier and Basch do. Ashe is the only main character. Seriously, people just hate Vaan because he's not the same level of cool as Basch and Balthier and people would rather focus more on them.

and no you can't "pace" the game any way you want considering if you skipped monsters you'd just get facerolled by bosses. The game is set in a way that demands battling or grinding or stealing 24/7 or you'll be broke and underleveled.

So first you complain that the story bosses are too easy, now you're complaining they'd be too hard. Ploughing through the dungeons really quickly would give the game more challenge which it sounds like would help you to enjoy it.

I have.
Fran = Archer/ Caster
Asche = 2H Katana/Sword user
Basch = controlled by me 100%, I switch to the others occassionally.

Is there a recommended battle system setting? like wait or active? I usually play active, I was wondering what wait was like. maybe ill give that a try. active makes it fast and fun, idk. Maybe I've been spoiled by great FF's and this one just isn't for me. I really think this is my favorite story ( minus Vaan ) out of any game ff i've played yet, just bothers me I can't enjoy the gameplay..

Use only basic gambits for attack and heal so you have plenty to do in battle. When you have access to more spells and techniks later there will be more room for strategy.

Also, the license system to me, really is pretty limiting. I have like 500 LP and the weapons I have access too are rather junky at best, and Im not sure whether I should keep spilling my points on magics and bonuses because I feel like my equipment is so far behind, even though I've been upgrading them every time possible. Idk, to me this game is lacking in a lot of areas, which just makes it collectively really difficult to get into. :\

The License board is designed to encourage levelling characters differently. Concentrate on Augments and only buy weapons and spells when necessary. They usually open up progressively so for example, 1-handed swords are grouped together and and better swords are further along behind older swords. So long as each character is heading in a different direction, there shoud be more variety in your party. Also, read the weapons mechanics FAQ
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FFXII Perfect game Inventory at 2000+ Hours - http://youtu.be/d3UY3T3pThc
Machines_Of_Dog

Jul 30, 2012 6:52 am GMT
@ TC

sounds like you really don't like the game

but like i said you have no legit criticism

all generalizations are incorrect

i recommend Arthillnus' power walkthrough in the faqs section

you might want to have a look at some of the speed guide here:

http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=159080&rid=147324

zero has a speed run final save of 6:45 o_0
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"No-one tries to kill me and gets away with it..."~ Kliamgroq