My own requirements are that I want to use all 12 jobs and get everyone their 3x Swiftness.
So far I've already given Vaan Shikari, Penelo Monk, Balthier Machinist, Fran Archer and Basch Bushi, so those jobs would be harder to switch around.
I don't think there's been a game begging for a remaster for as long as XII has. The fact that it was literally released alongside the PS3 in the West made it instantly dated, even though there was a full 3D open world AAA RPG hidden under the 480i visuals.
I loved it back then, but I think like a lot of people, I was holding my breath for a remaster to play it again. Like I'm pretty sure as far back as 07-08 I was thinking "they'll put it in HD eventually, so I'll wait to replay". And what a wait it was.
I think that's why so many people are rediscovering this game. A lot of us didn't touch it for years because it was hard to go back to in a decade of HD. And now it's back, polished to modern standards, and it kinda looks like one of the best RPGs you can play this gen.
Makes me wish Remasters were a thing back in 2006. The game needed to release on PS2/PS3 simultaneously so bad.
The game's concepts are standard practice nowadays (hunts,open world, Side quests,exploration) ,but there was nothing like that in single player games back then.
But FF hasn't really been able to repeat the sheer scale of this game at all.I wonder if we'll ever get an FF as content rich , massive and just complete as this game ever again.
SE always glaringly cut corners to just ship the games nowadays,despite super lengthy dev times.
My own requirements are that I want to use all 12 jobs and get everyone their 3x Swiftness.
So far I've already given Vaan Shikari, Penelo Monk, Balthier Machinist, Fran Archer and Basch Bushi, so those jobs would be harder to switch around.
Vaan is probably more of a KNI than a SHI since most of his art (XII, RK, Dissidia) shows him using 1H swords, and not daggers. He probably has the most plate actually equiped of any character, too hhhh though that's not saying much giving the general nakedness of the party's clothing.
But if you have a 1 Job rule, then KNI could be argued for Vaan, Basch, or Ashe pretty equally. Ashe could meet her 'sword and shield' preference via TBM + any shield Job. Basch could be KNI or BSH. So you could go with Vaan for KNI for either works.
If you did go SHI for Vaan though, I'd probably try to give him Shemhazai though because the most defining parts of his concept art (especially in RK and Dissidia) are 1H swords and guns (specifically Fomalhaut). So if you do go with SHI over KNI, I'd try sacrifice it from ARC for MCN. It's tricky though because you're basically choosing between lore (giving Vaan access to guns) or gameplay (Fran ARC really needs that extra STR). ARC/RDM would give her access Dragon Mail though, which is regrettable endgame armor but you could have her wear Dragon Helmet +Lordly Robes, and DH is only -2 STR from Magepower Shishak and the -6 DEF may not matter much if she's pretty far back anyhow.
That said, bow damage may not matter much for a ARC/RDM Fran because you'll probably be equipped with a mid-game bow anyhow (Flame Bow) for its P-UP Fire bonus, so she'll probably be wearing Circlet/Lordly Robes and spamming Ardor (+Flame Bow, +Oil) and shooting fire arrows in between.
Penelo as a Monk is interesting because on one hand, it's said she was taught martial arts. But monks in Zodiac Age lore, I think, are basically warrior-pilgrims of the church, notably from Mt. Bur Omisace. That could easily fit Ashe's 2nd Job or even Basch maybe (if he spent time training with monks at Nabudis or whatever).
Balthier with MCN/WHM, it's a great combo, but I never get the lore behind WHM when in XII he's a Sky Pirate and pre-XII he's a
Judge. I would think a Heavy Armor Job,
especially melee-based, would fit him more.
. I'd think WHM would fit numerous characters (who start with Cure or have more a 'Knight/Paladin' background more tied to the churches of the game, whereas Balthier's story could be argued to not be tied to that) more, but it's not a bad place to put it and it is a great gameplay combo.
KNI/FOE is a waste on Ashe. So much overlap and with a 1 Job rule you're wasting critical Adrenaline, Focus, Genji Glove, Heavy Armor, Shield Block 3, and more. I'd much sooner go KNI/TBM or FOE/TBM. Especially when a BSH gets stuck with RDM and could critically use those extra Battle Lores, Adrenaline, Focus, Heavy Armor, Zodiac Escutcheon or Aegis Shield, and Shield Block 3. RDM fits Fran, Ashe, even Penelo or Vaan better probably, and BSH would fit much better with MNK, FOE, or KNI (both in terms of gameplay and Basch's story).
All that said, I mentioned before I think permanent Jobs in Zodiac Age are not really a lore constraint and just a 'for this quest' sort of rule, and that I don't really think any Job breaks lore. They're just Licenses. Balthier could just as easily use Gunner Licenses pre-XII but switch to White Mage Licenses for XII, and I see no reason why that wouldn't fit the lore no more than if he switch from a gun to a sword because that's what the party needed =p At best, I think concept art just shows that weapons they prefer to use but not necessarily what they're trained in because 'training in something' isn't really how the lore of Licenses fit. So, I think Licenses kinda make any Job lore friendly lol the rest is headcanon.
The 2x speed option is so good. I'm sure I'd still be enjoying the game without it but having it there certainly makes combat/exploration more enjoyable.
^Archer are ugly anyhow =p One of my most annoying nitpicks that I would I could get over is how giant the bows are in this game, and how ugly they look floating on the backs of characters haha
Archer is the one job I sacrificed too to get a DPS KNI and a Tank KNI. ARC/RDM (for Flame Bow + Oil + Ardor) is really cool (and perfectly fits Fran because her art uses a bow and in FFTA Viera were RDM) but I just couldn't get it to fit and I was stuck with nowhere to put BLM so BLM/RDM for (Flame Staff + Ardor) works, too.
It cost Ashe her life but with the sudden help of an eager and ready Bash, we were able to take down the optional Demon Wall. Though I don't think there is an awesome prize in this version of the game unlike the vanilla.
I remember I got the game for ps2, and I didn't really enjoy the voices. The game put me off from ever finishing the game.
I got the game and hoping it would be different but it wasn't.. however I did switch to the Japanese voices and I feel like now I can complete the game in its entirety. It feels different in a good way.
Still having a bit of trouble setting up ideal Gambit configurations. Maybe I'm too early to make it do the things I want, but here's an example of the kind of issue I'm having.
Say I want to make it so that Balthier always casts Steal on an enemy after a certain amount of HP has been depleted. Any combination I've tried so far will have him continuously cast Steal, when I really just want him to do it once or twice during a specific window.
So if I set the Gambit to have him Steal when an enemy's HP is less than 50%, then he'll continue to Steal until the enemy dies. If I go reverse and have him Steal when the enemy is over 50% HP, he'll just keep using Steal until it depletes.
If that's how it's supposed to work, then what's the point of having derivatives like >50%, >70% and so on, if the commands will just register the same way?
Or is the idea to have it so that he's stealing when the enemy's at >50%, and then set a Gambit where he attacks when it drops down to >30%?
You know, I wonder how much faster the speedrun of this version will be compared to the ps2 original. Should be interesting to see if it pops up at AGDQ this winter.
Alriiiight GAF, you are all tired of build plans, but how's this:
Barthiel - white mage / machinist
Vaan - Shi / Foebreaker
Penelo - Red Mage / Archer
Ashe - Knight / Time mage
Fran - Black Mage / Monk
Basch - Bushido / Uhlan
The only thing giving me pause is remembering reading that I should not have Barthiel as Machinist. Any suggestions, if so?
Question: Amazon just sent me a preorder DLC code (I think for the original in game soundtrack?), but it is 16 digits, and you can only redeem 12 digit codes on PSN. The instructions in the email just say to redeem it through the PS Store on the PS4, but I only have access to my PC right now. Can anyone tell me how to redeem this? Thanks GAF.
Still having a bit of trouble setting up ideal Gambit configurations. Maybe I'm too early to make it do the things I want, but here's an example of the kind of issue I'm having.
Say I want to make it so that Balthier always casts Steal on an enemy after a certain amount of HP has been depleted. Any combination I've tried so far will have him continuously cast Steal, when I really just want him to do it once or twice during a specific window.
So if I set the Gambit to have him Steal when an enemy's HP is less than 50%, then he'll continue to Steal until the enemy dies. If I go reverse and have him Steal when the enemy is over 50% HP, he'll just keep using Steal until it depletes.
If that's how it's supposed to work, then what's the point of having derivatives like >50%, >70% and so on, if the commands will just register the same way?
Or is the idea to have it so that he's stealing when the enemy's at >50%, and then set a Gambit where he attacks when it drops down to >30%?
Pretty much the latter. You need to restrict the HP range more... <50% isn't meant to restrict it all that much because it's a fairly large range.
Easiest way I do it is Steal = 100% HP, and put Attack = 100% on all other characters. Then, make sure the Stealer is not your controlled character. Usually ends up with 1-3 steal attempts per encounter, which is plenty for leveling.
Plus if you reach an enemy you need to steal an important item from, you can easily use all 3 Gambits (1 per char) to make Nearest Enemy = Steal without having to screw up your other Gambits. Further, you can use the 100% HP = Attack Gambits on the other 2 character for other things... maybe spells or abilities you only want to use once per fight to save MP, e.g. 100 % HP = Shock.
So, weird thing. I just got an email from Amazon with a "preorder bonus" code for this game. Not sure what it's supposed to be, as I don't remember a preorder bonus being detailed, but then I went to enter it and it's not the right character length for PSN. It's 16 characters, not 12. Image of the email below. Anyone got anything like this from Amazon before?
So, weird thing. I just got an email from Amazon with a "preorder bonus" code for this game. Not sure what it's supposed to be, as I don't remember a preorder bonus being detailed, but then I went to enter it and it's not the right character length for PSN. It's 16 characters, not 12. Image of the email below. Anyone got anything like this from Amazon before?
So i got an email from Amazon about my preorder bonus. I didnt even realize it had one but the code they sent me is 16 digits and says to redeem through psn. But psn is 12 digits. WTF is this lol. Looks like i am not alone thats good to hear lol.
You know, I wonder how much faster the speedrun of this version will be compared to the ps2 original. Should be interesting to see if it pops up at AGDQ this winter.
So, weird thing. I just got an email from Amazon with a "preorder bonus" code for this game. Not sure what it's supposed to be, as I don't remember a preorder bonus being detailed, but then I went to enter it and it's not the right character length for PSN. It's 16 characters, not 12. Image of the email below. Anyone got anything like this from Amazon before?
When I enter it via the Account Settings page it says "The code you entered is inactive. Please check terms and conditions." Is this for the original soundtrack add-on? I haven't opened my copy yet so I don't know if that was inside the case.
It cost Ashe her life but with the sudden help of an eager and ready Bash, we were able to take down the optional Demon Wall. Though I don't think there is an awesome prize in this version of the game unlike the vanilla.
I just got here and beat the very first wall on that bridge. Is that the optional one, or is the second one you find the optional one?
Also, I read that whatever it drops, some sword of Demonbreaker sword? Well that it is a random drop from the chest so you should save and reload until that is what you get.
Can anyone confirm that is the case in this version of the game ?
When I enter it via the Account Settings page it says "The code you entered is inactive. Please check terms and conditions." Is this for the original soundtrack add-on? I haven't opened my copy yet so I don't know if that was inside the case.
It's inside the case. If you're just copy/pasting, it's probably cutting off the last 4 characters in the code. I'm heading to bed soon, but will prolly talk to Amazon customer service in the morning if no one has yet.
For anyone interested in what the official guide recommends. Not really sure if this is a good setup compared to some of the other ones posted but here it is.
Vaan: Uhlan and Black Mage.
Penelo: Monk and Foebreaker
Basch: Bushi and TIme Mage
Balthier: White Mage and Archer
Fran: Red Battlemage and Shikari
Ashe: Knight and Machinist
For anyone interested in what the official guide recommends. Not really sure if this is a good setup compared to some of the other ones posted but here it is.
Vaan: Uhlan and Black Mage.
Basch: Bushi and TIme Mage
Balthier: White Mage and Archer
Fran: Red Battlemage and Shikari
Ashe: Knight and Machinist
So, weird thing. I just got an email from Amazon with a "preorder bonus" code for this game. Not sure what it's supposed to be, as I don't remember a preorder bonus being detailed, but then I went to enter it and it's not the right character length for PSN. It's 16 characters, not 12. Image of the email below. Anyone got anything like this from Amazon before?
Fuck that flowering cactoid and its 1.000 needles.
I see I also screwed myself out of a Golden Amulet by not delivering enough clams and phials of Nebralim to Dantro's wife. Ah, the pleasures of hidden quest requisites.
LOL what a joke. Worthless---not even any cool artwork images sprinkled within.
Oh well. I was hoping the code would've been like FF12 character avatars for psn. I would love to rock a Basch or Balthier one and not the chibi WoFF one.
Decided I kind of want this game now. Is it still possible to get the steelbook edition from Amazon or Best Buy? Will it ever come back in stock? Or should I just get it from Gamestop for full price.
I dunno, it could be pretty interesting. You go so fast in 4x speed that control and movement become legitimate issues, there'd have to be routes involved in pathing or you just need blazing fast reflexes. You'd also more or less be forced to rely heavily on Gambits in order to play efficiently in 4x speed, or just have some mad-ass timing skills.
It'd certainly make it a much less slow paced speedrun.
Decided I kind of want this game now. Is it still possible to get the steelbook edition from Amazon or Best Buy? Will it ever come back in stock? Or should I just get it from Gamestop for full price.
