I fell on a doorknob...I echo the sentiments of many other FFXII owners by saying that while i've dumped hours into the game and continue to play it, I dont actually like it and I am under the impression that IT doesnt like ME.
I've said much of this before here on this forum, but my opinion just hasnt changed. FFXII treats me to an RPG with a story, setting, and cast that is so groundbreaking in terms of quality. However it also treats me to one of the most borked battle 'systems' ive ever had the displeasure of using. If I am not fighting the gambit system to get people to do what I want, im turning it off to keep a character from chasing a mob in retreat into another group of mobs. That's really just the tip of the damn iceburg and I could elaborate but I think I will just ask that you check out this thread:
Yeahhh..I still dont like the FFXII battle system. http://www.evilbore.com/forum/index.php?topic=1941.0That about covers everything I have to say on that issue. I am about 11 hours in and the story has been pretty good. I still think im not actually PLAYING the game that much aside from my woeful encounters with Rat-Maze like dungeons full of boring enemies. When im not in a dungeon im in a big town full of useless people that dont say anything interesting except stupid shit thats supposed to build atmosphere when in reality it just makes me angry I stopped to talk to someone with so little to say. The map for each town is helpful at least and basically if im not in town shops buying stuff im making Vaan go from Point A to Point B in a Rat-Maze like city. GET THAT CHEESE.
The characters are fun at least, and admirable. Ashe isnt some stupid waif girl that cant defend herself, the main character isnt brooding, and there arent stupid forced love triangles that 'tug at the heartstrings'
Its pretty clear to me that when it comes to the Final Fantasy Series vs Review Scores, a reckoning will occur at 13. I mean you have 12, a game that has most fans admitting a love/hate relationship but it still gets 9.0's and up. FF13 will be a complete cash cow milking of the series. if they dont step up the gameplay and provide an ALL AROUND awesome experience, I think there's going to be some major problems.
I spose I can just wait for Valkyrie Profile 3
Bow and Arrow FTW?First off, my early impressions are here:
So did anyone get CHILDREN OF MANA!?! COME ON! http://www.evilbore.com/forum/index.php?topic=1893.0I would like to add to all of that a few more impressions:
The bosses are easy. The first boss is hard because unless you attack from below him, attacking from any other angle will probably allow him to land a hit just cause he's so big. The bosses afterwards have just been really easy.
This doesn't spell doom for the title, far from it. The dungeon crawl formula is fun even 12 hours in, and as you level up the number and size of gems you can use at once to augment your powers to godlike status only improves. Gems are clearly the focus of the game, however, as they cost the most to invest into. Weapons types offer up a very linear progression depending on your class type, so again, gems are what its all about.
Of the four weapons you get the Bow is easily the most AWESOME. Range shot, auto-aim (to a degree) and the string strum stun (say that three times fast lolz) can put an enemy on their ass long enough to unleash the mighty powar of SWORD! Of the various spirits I think the Dark/Shade spirit whatever his name is my favorte. The darkness explosion is potent enough, but the defense version of the spirits power allows you to become invisible, which gives the player a major edge against the enemies.
The number of enemies on screen steadily increases as you progress and some of the missions you can get are downright hard. Sometimes cutting your way through a mob of enemies has a dynasty warriors type feel as they fly from your sword in all directions
The game retails at 30 dollars flat right now so its a pretty good buy, especially since aside from pokemon mystery dungeon (pmd), there isnt another really good dungeon crawler on the DS. Also, this game is WAY prettier than PMD and has more variety.
LOAD TIMES NOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!A quick link to a previous thread discussing load times and Powerstone Collection on the PSP:
http://www.evilbore.com/forum/index.php?topic=1907.0ANYWAY, It's not a bad port, but it IS just that, a port. While the load times for the original Powerstone are cry worthy I still prefer it to the sequel. I think even way back when I played the sequel on the Dreamcast I thought the new characters were pretty lame. I never really liked most of the stages in the sequal either as they had a bizzare smash brothers feel which IMO wasn't as suitable as the stage set of the original.
Controls are great, analog nub works as it should. 60 FPS, visuals are sharp and clear, sound is reproduced faithfully. Really it just comes down to the load time of the original game. WHY is it longer. PS2 LOADS MORE PER MATCH, WHY IS THE ORIGINAL SO SLOW.
It just comes down to a quick and dirty port, but again, I can see the game for what it is, and thats Powerstone on the go, in a complete package, for 30 dollars.
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