Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (2017, PS4 Remaster)

[Himu]

Thanks Scar. It just feels different. Maybe it's the speed up messing me up.

At Garsmythe Waterways and just unlocked gambits. Finally, the game proper may begin!

Thoughts on my job choices?

Vaan - shikari/time battle mage
Penelo - white mage/monk
Balthier - knight/red battle mage
Fran - archer/black mage
Ashe - black mage/bushi
Basch - knight/foebreaker

[Bulleta©™®]

You shouldn't need 2 Black Mages. 1 may be too many (I went with 1 of each class). Red Mages are imo the best Black and White mages. If you want to use the Zodiac Spear, you need an Uhlan. I would highly suggest having someone as a Machinist, as they are the main class that uses guns (Shikari can but not until near the end of the game).

White Mage + Monk is a pretty good duo, since Monk can learn lots of White Magic spells but needs summons to do so, and having a WM will bypass that. I would swap one of the knights or black mages with a Machinist, but that's me.  My usual setup with one job per character was Shikari/Knight/Red Mage/Machinist/White or Time Mage/Samurai (Bushi thing) or (Foe)Breaker.

Shikari is the single best class in the game imo, Red Mage is ace, Knight is good for the Blood Sword A (forget what its called now) and Excalibur late-game. Samurai can equip the Blood Sword A too but with a summon bridge.  Foebreaker will make stuff like Yiazmat and Omega easier, but isn't required to win.

And once you get to Rabanastre with Basch in the party, all gambits become buyable in gambit shops.

[Himu]

I actually put balthier as machinist but upon research I just wasn't sure.

[Positive Touch]

And once you get to Rabanastre with Basch in the party, all gambits become buyable in gambit shops.

yessssssssss

having gambits slowly doled out was the most annoying thing about the original

[Bulleta©™®]

I actually put balthier as machinist but upon research I just wasn't sure.

Not that it really matters, but people complain about making Balthier a Machinist and Fran an Archer because their animations for those weapons are actually slower than anyone else. But it really shouldn't matter, same with who you make what class in a level 1/2/2/3/3/3 game. It's completely negligible.

[AdmiralViscen]

I need to play this

[Himu]

Really liking the remastered OST differences. Would love to own it.

[Positive Touch]

I thought my game was messed up when I switched to the original bc the transition is so smooth. could only tell after I realized the instruments all sounded flat and cheap lol. it sounds so much better with a real orchestra tho; really helps the melodies stand out more.

[Bulleta©™®]

Kinda dumb how it's an option that does nothing if you don't have a code for the original soundtrack.

[Positive Touch]

nah it'll still switch between them. the dlc adds a third option that plays the cd version of the original soundtrack, which apparently sounds clearer and has a few adjustments. i dunno, i couldn't tell the difference between the original and the dlc.

[Bulleta©™®]

It doesn't change anything for me, maybe I have to check updates on the game. Not that I'd use the original since I can just play the PS2 version if I want that.

[Himu]

I thought my game was messed up when I switched to the original bc the transition is so smooth. could only tell after I realized the instruments all sounded flat and cheap lol. it sounds so much better with a real orchestra tho; really helps the melodies stand out more.

Huh?

[Bulleta©™®]

I didn't like the CD versions of the songs.

[Himu]

FFXII Int. Job guide.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pRNoNgG65Pk7sGQFlM3-g591q57Qvu46BU2oaV8p7qY/edit

[Bulleta©™®]

Yep, just go with whatever job for whichever character.

[Positive Touch]

I thought my game was messed up when I switched to the original bc the transition is so smooth. could only tell after I realized the instruments all sounded flat and cheap lol. it sounds so much better with a real orchestra tho; really helps the melodies stand out more.

Huh?

go into the options and try switching between the soundtracks

[Himu]

Bully I've got an extra dlc code.

[Himu]

Forgot how cute FF12 moogles are!

[Positive Touch]

they're the worst ones! crystal chronicles had the best:

[Himu]

No ff12 moogles are adorable! 14 has the worst moogles. Worst moogle design of all time is mog in 13-2 tho

CC moogles are pretty bad.

[TakingBackSunday]

CC's fat moogles are by far the best

[Positive Touch]

No ff12 moogles are adorable! 14 has the worst moogles. Worst moogle design of all time is mog in 13-2 tho

CC moogles are pretty bad.

youre pretty bad what the hell

[Himu]

Being surrounded by people with no taste





Kawaii~

Those little wittle shorts!

[Himu]

Seriously though, the speed up feature is AMAZING for a working adult. Holy God of mercy. I went through Barheim like *that* and it fucking rocked. Still feels too easy to me though. Can't put my finger on it but Barheim was usually harder than that. It's been years tho so maybe it's all in my head. Fuck, I love that dungeon so much.

Also all gambits at the store.

I'm really gonna experiment with gambits this time. I never really did in the past and kept it limited. This time I'm loving the micromanagement feel.

I love this game so much. Can't wait to explore Rabanestre after buying my stuff and checking in on my fave npcs. FFXII has the best npcs in the series. It even somehow topped FFVIII in that regard. Well, almost.

Can't believe how much the job system adds to this game. I used to give my chars roles and it's amazing not having to skip around the board to do that anymore. Can't wait to get my girl Ashe, my fave.

Westersand theme





I could chain monsters forever. Hnnnnng.

This games gameplay is like wine. The GOAT FF returneth. Can't wait for weak mode!

[Positive Touch]

five hours in and i just unlocked gambits. theres too many npcs lol

[Bulleta©™®]

I've been saying this version was better for almost 10 years, Himu. Way to not believe me in anything. 

[Himu]

I believed you. But I couldn't play it because my computer was never good enough to emulate, I didn't know Japanese at the time, or didn't have the ability to play it on my ps2. I kept waiting and waiting for this in HD. It got to a point where I was just going to get a swap magic and import the jp version and play that since I could play it in Japanese but by that point FFX HD was already out and I didn't want to pop my cherry when I could just wait for the HD version. Worth it in the end. Blame SE.

[bluemax]

Speed up feature is pretty ace, but even it can't make grinding chest spawns fun.

[Himu]

Speaking of which, can I still get fomahaults at raithwall? Hmm. It won't matter because I don't have a machinist..and I'm not sure if shikari has it.

[thisismyusername]

I've been saying this version was better for almost 10 years, Himu. Way to not believe me in anything. 

I've been holding out for the PC version, but yeah. All the stuff they added is pretty solid. The frame-skipping/fast-forward feature is the only thing I'm leery about.

[Positive Touch]

The frame-skipping/fast-forward feature is the only thing I'm leery about.

.............

[recursivelyenumerable]

I thought my game was messed up when I switched to the original bc the transition is so smooth. could only tell after I realized the instruments all sounded flat and cheap lol. it sounds so much better with a real orchestra tho; really helps the melodies stand out more.

it isn't a real orchestra though, it's mostly sample libraries mixed with live recordings of some key instrumental parts

[Positive Touch]

o

well it sounds good still

[Joe Molotov]

I thought my game was messed up when I switched to the original bc the transition is so smooth. could only tell after I realized the instruments all sounded flat and cheap lol. it sounds so much better with a real orchestra tho; really helps the melodies stand out more.

it isn't a real orchestra though, it's mostly sample libraries mixed with live recordings of some key instrumental parts

Oh, and I suppose Hatsune Miku isn't a real singer either, you luddite swine.

[bluemax]

Got the second jobs, my Gambit setup went from minimal to a lot more fleshed out. As a programmer I  understand why the system is limited, but I wish it provided more ability to combine things.

[Positive Touch]

lmaooo its prolly still downloading. if not then just restart your ps4

[Himu]

Is it just me or is the sound really low in this game?

[thisismyusername]

The frame-skipping/fast-forward feature is the only thing I'm leery about.

.............

I don't mind running around in the game. I never had issues with the travel times and going between places.

[Bulleta©™®]

Speaking of which, can I still get fomahaults at raithwall? Hmm. It won't matter because I don't have a machinist..and I'm not sure if shikari has it.

You could get the Demonsbane sword at Raithwall, not Fomalhauts. You could get them at the Lhusu Mine in the Antlion's room. But not anymore. The first Fomalhaut appears at the Cerobi Steppe.

[Himu]

The frame-skipping/fast-forward feature is the only thing I'm leery about.

.............

I don't mind running around in the game. I never had issues with the travel times and going between places.

Try it. I was skeptical too and have it on 2x speed most of the time. It brings lots of convenience.

[Himu]

You guys don't play FF games on fast battle speed? First thing I do almost every FF is immediately put it on active, fastest speed setting.

[demi]

Nope

[AdmiralViscen]

Who should get what classes himu

[Himu]

Check the guide I posted last page

[Bulleta©™®]

Or just go with whatever. The stat differences won't matter. Take it from someone that's gone through weak mode a number of times.

Also, only the animation gameplay is faster, the timer stays normal, music and sound effects don't speed up. It's not like frameskip in emulators where everything gets sped up and unplayable.

[thisismyusername]

Who should get what classes himu

Doesn't really matter, IIRC. They're all viable, just animation speeds on different characters make them faster/slower.

You guys don't play FF games on fast battle speed? First thing I do almost every FF is immediately put it on active, fastest speed setting.

Outside of FF9 (which I still have yet to finish despite starting it like 4-6 times) I've never had a problem with ATB speed in any of the Final Fantasies.

[Positive Touch]

just finished that looong linear section at the start so now the game can finally begin! i stocked up on gambits already woooo. although is it just me or is there like no ability spaces anymore? i'm looking around everyone's boards and there's only a handful on each. now, i haven't started any mages yet so maybe that's the issue but i swear there was a fuckload of things to do beyond "attack" in the original.

also, i just found out the sky pirates's den is gone for good and wtffff i loved that thing! r.i.p. my little trophy room.

[Bulleta©™®]

The abilities/techs are split up between jobs. Archer gets them all pretty much, otherwise it's only certain jobs get certain techs. Some via mist/summon bridges to those 'islands' on the boards.

[Positive Touch]

just feels like it'll be a long time before i start getting real abilities

[bluemax]

just feels like it'll be a long time before i start getting real abilities

Yeah for non mage classes there's not a lot of interesting stuff for awhile.

[Positive Touch]

-up to the westersands, the worst part of the game hands down. might just use fast-forward to blow through some of the shittier maps.
-this game is hell for those of us that must talk to every townsperson after every event lol
-this game has a lot more story than i remembered. i thought of it as being extremely light, kind of like how 15 is, but nope theres story all over the place. maybe it was just the second half that had less cutscenes or something? i dunno

[Himu]

It's the middle and second half. There's a period where you go from the snow place to the empire and there's like two cutscenes total.

What npcs do you talk to?

[Bulleta©™®]

They changed it so you only need 3 of those chop things at Archades instead of 9. Less annoyance.

[Positive Touch]

ALL OF THEM. never know who's gonna have updated dialog.

[Himu]

Always been big on a few specific npcs. Notably the viera in rabanastre who just left the wood as well as the kids in low town.

[Bulleta©™®]

I'm so used to mashing O to get through talking stuff in this game I forget half the time I don't know what almost any of them have ever said. Too habitual.

[Positive Touch]

but what if you miss lore or minor character building

[Bulleta©™®]

I did read all those chop story things. But I more often than not mash through conversations in it. Some sidequests I've never done because of that.

I am trying to decide if I want to go for that Order of Ambrosia thing to just buy Reverse Motes, or farm them at the exact point in the game I am in with the best pot to farm then in the game. I've never done the hunt troop thing because the rewards are crap, but maybe I can get that trophy thing for completing the bestiary.

[Himu]

ASHE

[Bulleta©™®]

Penelo is main character.