This is my absolute favorite part of the game. It seems weird to me that someone could enjoy the game in a general sense but hate the stretch where the game actually lets you play it.
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Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age |OT| You Had One Job!
- Thread starter FlutterPuffs
- Start date
sotojuan
Member
I have to say I am sadly not feeling this game that much. I like it and will finish the story and perhaps all hunts, but something about it doesn't click with me. The story and characters are fine, the game looks great, but the gameplay just isn't for me. MMO-style, gambits, no battle screen transition sound cool on paper, but I guess I prefer traditional turn based JRPGs.
Like I said, I'll still beat it and I am almost 25 hours in, but probably not going to go back to it very often.
Like I said, I'll still beat it and I am almost 25 hours in, but probably not going to go back to it very often.
I'm the total opposite. I can't go back to traditional turn based combat wit screen transitions. It takes too long. This is seamless and faster. Still feels fresh after all these years.
sotojuan
Member
To each their own then, glad you are enjoying this so much. I think it's a well made game with very interesting mechanics - they're just not the ones I prefer the most.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Will try this after work, thanks.
Nachtfalke
Member
You can buy Curaja in Balfonheim. For Hastega it will take some effort to get it in the Great Crystal. Try to find a good map for that area, or it will be a huge pain in the ass.
Megalosaro
Banned
There is a lot of stuff in this I did not notice before. Lowtown is pretty interesting
Got the platinum last night, around 80 hours of playtime. I regret buying the Prima guide, it's trash. So much info is absent, poorly explained, or just wrong.
Now trying my hand at New Game-, and it's very tough early on (in the Barheim Passage now)... can't imagine how hard it's gonna get later in the game.
Now trying my hand at New Game-, and it's very tough early on (in the Barheim Passage now)... can't imagine how hard it's gonna get later in the game.
AmethystEnd
Member
I haven't looked at the trophies at all. I would've assumed Weak Mode would've been required for the platinum.
So you can get the plat in a single playthrough?
sotojuan
Member
The guide is even worse in digital form. I thought I was going to get a PDF but I have to access it from a website and it sometimes never loads. Also it's not very searchable. At least it was $5.
Yeah it can be done entirely in one.
I don't think anything is missable either, though I might be wrong on that. If you're gonna go for the plat, be ready for a slog. Stuff like filling out the bestiary is very time consuming.
Nachtfalke
Member
I'm only missing the bestiary trophy. Tracking down all foes is indeed time consuming.
Prima guides are almost always trash. It's a shame, they we didn't get a new one from Piggyback. Their old one for the Vanilla game is still fantastic.
Yes. The only real challenges are the last trial fights. But even they have good and working strategies to beat them. You just have to find them out.
But you can make it a bit harder for yourself if you just ignore any grind for items and stuff or avoid unnecessary battles. Not my prefered playstyle, but you shouldn't overlevel so quickly. Also do the hunts as soon as possible.
TitanNut88
Member
Guys, I have just finished
and have configured my party as follows:
Basch: Hunter/Breaker
Vaan: Samurai/Knight
Balthier: Uhlan/Time Mage
Ashe: Black Mage/Monk
Penelo: Red Mage/Archer
Fran: Machinist/White Mage
I normally use the following trios (swapping between them when they level up):
Vaan or Bash (leader) + Balthier + Fran
Vaan or Bash (leader) + Ashe + Penelo
I felt confident doing that in the standard edition of the game but, with the jobs I chose, I am not sure I am doing it right in Zodiac version. Are there any better combinations? What gambits should I use to optimize my trios?
Thanks!
Tomb of Raithwall
Basch: Hunter/Breaker
Vaan: Samurai/Knight
Balthier: Uhlan/Time Mage
Ashe: Black Mage/Monk
Penelo: Red Mage/Archer
Fran: Machinist/White Mage
I normally use the following trios (swapping between them when they level up):
Vaan or Bash (leader) + Balthier + Fran
Vaan or Bash (leader) + Ashe + Penelo
I felt confident doing that in the standard edition of the game but, with the jobs I chose, I am not sure I am doing it right in Zodiac version. Are there any better combinations? What gambits should I use to optimize my trios?
Thanks!
Thanks, I might play IZJS instead then. Still ordered the game to show support obviously ;-)
Nachtfalke
Member
Wouldn't do that to be honest. All versions of XII are fairly easy. They just made the game a bit more easier with the remaster, mostly due QoL-Improvements. But it's still the best version to play.
YankeeDonB
Member
Time for trek to Archadia. But first, lots of hunts calling me.... Also, hidden espers. My crew is about level 30, so I figure I should be good on a lot of this optional stuff.
On the other hand, I am enjoying the movement of the plot, and know that going off on all these side quests is going to derail things even more than the coming travel slog.
Decisions, decisions.
On the other hand, I am enjoying the movement of the plot, and know that going off on all these side quests is going to derail things even more than the coming travel slog.
Decisions, decisions.
The trophies are basically identical to the old Sky Pirate's Den rewards.
The trophy icons even correspond to the character you would have unlocked in the Den, as best I can tell.
Seriously, it has been around 20 hours since I've made any story progress on my way to archaedes. Spent a good amount of time in the necrohol of nabudis yesterday, only doable thanks to penelo nuking the hell out of everything.
They stack, but the returns on it diminish over time.
After about 6 uses or so it stops being beneficial, but I don't think they run out either.
MegaSackman
Member
I used to have Fran as leader in OG but now I find myself swapping characters all the time so they level up equally, Fran, Basch and Ashe are mostly my leaders.
Jobs:
Fran: Uhlan/Black Mage (same as original)
Vaan: Shikari/Time Battlemage
Ashe: Knight/Red Battlemage
Basch: Foebreaker/Monk
Penelo: White Mage/Archer
Balthier: Machinist/Bushi
Pretty confident with my choices so far, I'll see how it goes later on.
Jobs:
Fran: Uhlan/Black Mage (same as original)
Vaan: Shikari/Time Battlemage
Ashe: Knight/Red Battlemage
Basch: Foebreaker/Monk
Penelo: White Mage/Archer
Balthier: Machinist/Bushi
Pretty confident with my choices so far, I'll see how it goes later on.
Guess I'll use them a couple more times on some things. Time to completely neuter some bosses, especially when I get Wither and that other one
I never finished this game before, but I'm surprised at how not total crap the back half of the game's story is.
- there's actually a really good foundation here. Granted, some stuff-
feels rushed or doesn't work, and the Zodiac Age is definitely smoothing out the period of the game where you do like 5 zones in a row without any story on fast forward, but this is not the trainwreck I was expecting and, in the end, I think FFXII still stands as one of FF's best narratives given its super strong beginning.
Ashe's conflict over the user of nuclear weapons, Vayne's slightly less evil depiction as a man believing he's taking on the burden of sinner in order to wrest control back, the almost benevolent nature of Venat
Gabranth's arc in particular
badcrumble
Member
Yeah,
Venat is a really interesting Prometheus/Lucifer figure - especially the way he voluntarily merges with Vayne at the end almost as an apology for using him and making him into a monster, and out of a sense of solidarity among people choosing to go down in history as the bad guys
decoyplatypus
Member
I'm getting psyched up to write my "actually, the first half of FF12's story is bad too" take. Oven mitts required.
decoyplatypus
Member
Haha I stumbled into that room a few days ago. They dropped my active party, so I took the reserves and bailed out fast.
TheChillyAcademic
Member
Jesus christ the optional esper battles are too much for level 29! Sheesh!
Nachtfalke
Member
This pretty much. I never got all the blame for the second half of the game. As you mentioned, there is some wasted potential here and there, but it's still very interesting and entertaining. In retrospect I enjoyed the plot much more than any other Final Fantasy. Granted, that is highly subjective. But just compare the writing alone to something like XIII or XV or even X before, one of my personal favorites aswell - what a dramatic difference.
I just killed amdrammelech at lv 33 with phon coast gear, and only by spamming quickenings, was impossible to keep anyone alive for more than 5 seconds
I'm in the same situation, heck I even struggled with finishing Tales of Berseria. I think I'm done with RPGs that has screen transitions when entering battles.
sotojuan
Member
For me it's a lot better when the transition is quick. FFX on PS4 there's barely a second of waiting for the battle to start - very fast paced. Older JRPGs I can make a coffee while the battle loads (FFIX...).
As far as I know, they last indefinitely and can be stacked up to 6 times.
Finally got access to the second license board, gone with:
Vann - Bushi/Shikari
Balthier - Machinist/White Mage
Fran - Archer/Red Battlemage
Basch - Foebreaker/Uhlan
Ashe - Knight/Time Battlemage
Penelo - Monk/Black Mage
Figured out which Quickenings and Espers I need for each character so now it's just a matter of getting all that delicious LP! Not sure who to put in each party though, I need at least 1 stealer in each but apart from that no idea!
Vann - Bushi/Shikari
Balthier - Machinist/White Mage
Fran - Archer/Red Battlemage
Basch - Foebreaker/Uhlan
Ashe - Knight/Time Battlemage
Penelo - Monk/Black Mage
Figured out which Quickenings and Espers I need for each character so now it's just a matter of getting all that delicious LP! Not sure who to put in each party though, I need at least 1 stealer in each but apart from that no idea!
I'm planning on this exact combo and I don't think said character will have a moment outside Berserk status.
Boring I suppose, but it's a great combo.
MegaSackman
Member
Managed to cut half his life with my party at lvl 22 ^^
... and then I got completely obliterated and after that I could barely cut a fifth of his life. Also, it was a nightmare to get out the place, had no healing items other than regular potions, no phoenix downs, and no healer with Raise alive. Just three characters managed to escape the place.
I arrived to Jahara and got new equipment and licenses, I'll try again around 25 and 30.
No wonder it's considered so OP, that's some interesting balancing.
neoism
Member
yea lol it was a little harder in the og game beacuse the base speed was the fastest the game could go 😂 i couldnt play it now that slow....
Megawarrior
Member
The old guide was mediocre too. A lot of info was missing but it helped me when I was lost and didn't have internet.
Holy shit, Fran is the MVP as Black Mage in the Necrohol of Nabudis.
Just tearing through enemies.
This is my favourite place in the game. I remember stumbling upon it by accident on the PS2 release 11 years ago, I didn't have a strategy guide and the cutscene of Basch warning we should turn back spooked me out.
Just tearing through enemies.
This is my favourite place in the game. I remember stumbling upon it by accident on the PS2 release 11 years ago, I didn't have a strategy guide and the cutscene of Basch warning we should turn back spooked me out.
BakedTanooki
Member
Started today with the game, still at the very beginning, killed that tomatoe enemy and already see myself going to love this game.
Wasn't this one "controversial" back then on PS2, because it was so different? I'm getting more of an "ahead of it's time" vibe from the game.
I absolutely love Xenoblade and the fighting mechanics in Final Fantasy 12 are a little bit similar (MMO-like, real time). I heard that your party can become like an automated, overpowered killing squad, which sounds cool to me.
Production value seems pretty crazy for a PS2 game. Still feels great enough to me in HD.
Wasn't this one "controversial" back then on PS2, because it was so different? I'm getting more of an "ahead of it's time" vibe from the game.
I absolutely love Xenoblade and the fighting mechanics in Final Fantasy 12 are a little bit similar (MMO-like, real time). I heard that your party can become like an automated, overpowered killing squad, which sounds cool to me.
Production value seems pretty crazy for a PS2 game. Still feels great enough to me in HD.
KyanMehwulfe
Member
It's sort of an equalizing factor I guess... A lot of the big tank-sized-HP bosses you'd use it on also have ways of negating your stats.
So, they get Null-Evasion which makes your Main Gauche and all your shield evasion useless; so, you get Expose to make their DEF useless ;p
Adrammelech really shouldn't be that hard after you get Blizzara. Just Disable the undead, cast Slow on Adra and spam Blizzara. The key really is to spam Slow on him as otherwise his critical health Thundaja spam might be too much.
Slow in general is a good spell because it seems to work against like 99% of bosses. And it has good base accuracy.
Slow in general is a good spell because it seems to work against like 99% of bosses. And it has good base accuracy.