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[duckroll]

Okay I'm almost 6 hours in now.....

Without spoiling anything, though, has there been any serious downtime in the story? Ya know, those times when the story suddenly takes a back seat for a few hours. I mean, the presentation and quality of the stuff I've seen thus far seems to good to be true and I can't imagine that they keep the scenes at that level.

Well unless you mean downtime where duckroll gets addicted to a mob hunt or a round of "lets see how long I can pull this Chain" in the desert, no. The cutscenes are getting BETTER and BETTER. I just hit the first "plot twist" and man, it's definitely on the levels of Vagrant Story and FFT.

 

[∀ Narayan]

Amazing cutscenes, even better than the best of Vagrant Story I dare say.

:O HYPERTON!

 

[Red Blaster]

Damn, I hope the US release is well localized and without tepid voice actors.

 

[∀ Narayan]

Damn, I hope the US release is well localized and without tepid voice actors.

As do I, or - at least, I hope they include the Japanese voices.

The chance of that happening is pretty low - I'd imagine.

 

[Yusaku]

Also you guys realize that the intro music (the one that isn't the prelude) is in just about every FF game, right? Although I too most indentify with it as the music you hear in FFIV while leaving Baron for the first time.

 

[silenttwn]

Damn, I hope the US release is well localized and without tepid voice actors.

Most of Square's games recently have had really good voice overs. DQVIII in particular was friggin' great. I think FFX US wasn't all that great because it was their first time doing extensive voice over work.

 

[kaizoku]

Anyone else going for the limited edition OST for this game? The boxset it comes in is STUNNING and at 100 tracks I'm severely tempted. How limited are these sets usually?

One website already says this edition has sold out, although the major retailers still have no such notice and have pre-orders available. Do these things sell out really quick?

 

[silenttwn]

Yeah I preordered it. I'm a huge Sakimoto fan, I couldn't resist.

 

[Altermo]

Man, I wish I can read japanese...

It's a shame we have to wait another 8 fucking months for the US version of FF12.

Anyway, uhm, does FF12 have some kind of minigames?

 

[teiresias]

Last video for the night:
http://www.playsyde.com/leech_2290_1_en.html

This video is a boss battle including before and after cutscenes. While it's not particularly spoilerish and having seen this won't effect the story at all, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE A JUDGE'S FACE, DON'T VIEW.

Also the video was supposed to be a video of a long hard boss fight because when I did the fight before capturing it was long and hard and very satisfying. But when capturing I was like "hey, wait maybe I should try this..." and the battle ends REALLY FAST :\

HAHA!!!! I just watched that video, and it's awesome, but that's not what got me. I'm just watching it, letting the incomprehensible Japanese wash over me, but then at about 00:43, after

Spoiler

(sorry, don't know their names off the top of my head) the girl gets that stone in her hand, the guy that speaks after her talks.

I was just listening and heard "Homosexual." I just burst out laughing in my office and people are looking at me weird. :lol

 

[kaizoku]

I'm tempted to buy the Japanese version of this game just to hear the Japanese voices and play it a few months early. I bet I end up buying it in the next few weeks, I'm so bad at resisting temptation.

 

[Bebpo]

I'm quite anal about audio and such, but I honestly did not notice any such thing. I had the volume quite high on my receiver as well, and I thought it sounded really nice. I haven't noticed any problems, but I will check again.

I think it's only in particular tracks. When you get to the 2nd big city, it's pretty noticable as the audio pops and crackles in the background of the song (that's where my clip is from). There are also a few other tracks where I heard it, especially during cutscenes.

It is possible that somehow my disc is screwed up and the audio tracks are damaged...but I dunno, that seems a bit far fetched.

It's not a huge deal, but I do find it annoying at times when I can hear it.

Without spoiling anything, though, has there been any serious downtime in the story? Ya know, those times when the story suddenly takes a back seat for a few hours. I mean, the presentation and quality of the stuff I've seen thus far seems to good to be true and I can't imagine that they keep the scenes at that level.

Nah, the story doesn't seem to have any downtime unless you go off and do side stuff. If you really want to take down a hard hunt, you'll be out of the story for a few hours, but otherwise it maintains that great FF feels where even in dungeons, you get a cutscene every few screens. That's what I've always liked about FF. It's not just "cutscene cutscene -> 2-3 hour dungeon crawl -> cutscene cutscene", it's more of "cutscene -> gameplay -> cutscene -> gameplay" with a good mix that keeps the story interesting and always moving while giving plenty of gameplay time.

Also I'm incredibly surprised by the amount of CG FMVS in the game, since its only a dvd-5, and since the CG FMVs don't show ANY low-bitrate problems that FFX's did, I was expecting very few FMVs due to space issues. But I'd say there are as many as FFX if not more at this point and they all look a heck of a lot better in terms of tech and art detail.

Also you guys realize that the intro music (the one that isn't the prelude) is in just about every FF game, right? Although I too most indentify with it as the music you hear in FFIV while leaving Baron for the first time.

Yeah, I've always assumed it was the FFIV theme (and the best song in FFIV) that went on to become the main FF theme down the line. Then again I never played FII/FFIII, so does anyone know what game that song started with? I sure as heck don't remember it being in FFI.

 

[DSN2K]

OMG the game looks so amazing, really quite upset by the fact I may have to wait like a year play it. ((

 

[teiresias]

I thought that theme originated in FFIV, but I could be wrong.

 

[cvkpaladin]

"Yeah, I've always assumed it was the FFIV theme (and the best song in FFIV) that went on to become the main FF theme down the line. Then again I never played FII/FFIII, so does anyone know what game that song started with? I sure as heck don't remember it being in FFI."

Wasn't the song in FF1? I thought it played after you walked over the bridge at the beginning of the game (after defeating Garland). It was during the text scroll IIRC. Ofcourse, I haven't played the game in over a decade now and my memory of that scene can be fuzzy.

 

[RaijinFY]

I thought that theme originated in FFIV, but I could be wrong.

No it's the Final Fantasy Main Theme since the first one. You can hear it in almost every FF game except in X, X-2 and XI. Usually it is used in the end credits (in FFIV it is at the beginning of the game).

But the one Sakimoto arranged here is the one from FFIV, no doubt.

BTW Bepbo, as a huge fan of Sakimoto myself, how's the music so far?

I mean, did you hear a lot of different tunes already?

 

[Diagol]

Yeah, I've always assumed it was the FFIV theme (and the best song in FFIV) that went on to become the main FF theme down the line. Then again I never played FII/FFIII, so does anyone know what game that song started with? I sure as heck don't remember it being in FFI.

Final Fantasy 1 when you cross the bridge for the first time near the beginning.

 

[duckroll]

Joke thread is running its course, time to post these pics officially here.

 

[winston_pr]

I just spent 2 hours with the game - as I got it today on my way home from work (including the iTunes card).

First of all, I haven't played FF to any extent since FF7(!) - but have of course followed the series developments in general. I am totally blown away by this game. It is HUGE but still very welcoming, not so difficult to get into, despite what some reviewers have suggested (not on GAF but elsewhere). The License system is very nice. The music is top notch, and graphics as well. I only wish they will re-release it on PS3 with better anti-aliasing... Story is very involving and I can't wait to spend more time with it. Ususally cut-scenes can be annoying - but so far the story makes it extremely enjoyable.

For you who have just started playing the game as well.

Spoiler

Although I have stayed away from MMORPG - afraid of getting hooked, would you agree the original Online plans are extremely apparent ? I was suprised at the way battles, missions etc seems structured...totally in accordance with my image for an MMORPG, should we expect an Online version someday?

 

[RaijinFY]

Edit, EDIT, EDIT plz!!!! >_<


EDIT: Thx! ^^

 

[duckroll]

For you who have just started playing the game as well.

Spoiler

Although I have stayed away from MMORPG - afraid of getting hooked, would you agree the original Online plans are extremely apparent ? I was suprised at the way battles, missions etc seems structured...totally in accordance with my image for an MMORPG, should we expect an Online version someday?

The online version has been out for several years now. It's called FFXI.

 

[Bebpo]

BTW Bebpo, as a huge fan of Sakimoto myself, how's the music so far?

I mean, did you hear a lot of different tunes already?

There are lots of tunes and the music is all very high quality and good. I like his music but I don't 'love' Sakimoto music. I mean I think all his music is good, but I've never felt he has much range and all his stuff in every game often sounds a bit similar and he's basically the guy everyone goes to for medieval military/war music. The only soundtrack of his that's an exception and I listen to in my car once in a while is the BoFV soundtrack, which I think is his best and most diverse work by far. Then again, in BoFV Mitsuda oversaw the entire soundtrack production and basically worked together as a team with Sakimoto which I think influenced him in a very, very good way.

That being said, while I don't think FFXII's ost out does BoFV's ost so far, it's definitely his second best album I've heard and the best of his military march tunes. Anyone that's a Sakimoto fan will love it.

Personally I'm really looking forward to hearing the non-Sakimoto symphonic tracks and Uematsu's song I <3 Uematsu music.

 

[dark10x]

as a huge fan of Sakimoto myself, how's the music so far?

I'm also a huge fan, and I've really enjoyed it thus far. It is quite similar to his work on Tactics and Vagrant Story, rather than some of his other more recent works. Dragon Quarter remains one of my very favorites and it would take a lot to top it, but this is still quite excellent. The recording quality seems to be higher quality than the PSX games, but once again, it isn't as rich sounding as Dragon Quarter.

I do feel that it fits the game much better than anything Uematsu would have done. His music is classic, but the setting fits Sakimoto better and Uematsu had been "out of it" for the past few years.

 

[Bebpo]

I do feel that it fits the game much better than anything Uematsu would have done. His music is classic, but the setting fits Sakimoto better and Uematsu had been "out of it" for the past few years.

I agree and disagree.

I agree that for a medieval political war story, Sakimoto's music does fit better than the type of music Uematsu would have most likely delivered.

But I don't agree that Uematsu has been out of it at all. His tracks on the FFXI ost are amazing and just as good as the best of his FF soundtracks. I also really enjoyed his tracks on FFX, though I wasn't too big on the other two composers in that game. I think the man still has a lot of talent, and I'm hoping he can produce tunes at the quality of FF music for his Mistwalker games and hopefully he'll be back with FFXIII. My only wish is that if he does FFXIII he does it all by himself, as I want 4 cds of his music, not 1.5 cds and 2.5 of two other guys who aren't as good.

 

[RaijinFY]

I thought Uematsu's song was again meh... :/

If they could scraped out those songs, It would be great. >_<

 

[dark10x]

His tracks on the FFXI ost are amazing and just as good as the best of his FF soundtracks. I also really enjoyed his tracks on FFX, though I wasn't too big on the other two composers in that game.

Well, the opening track for FFXI (which is truly outstanding) was indeed composed by Uematsu...but it was actually arranged by someone else. THAT was part of his problem; his arrangements were always of low quality and sounded as if they were using samples from the late 90s.

I also disagree with FFX. I liked his tracks (much better than FFIX), but felt the other two bested him easily. ESPECIALLY Hamauzu, which happens to be one of my favorite composers. He REALLY needs to be put on a big project, as Square always sticks him on horrible games. Unlimited SaGa and Musashiden II, for example, have truly awesome soundtracks...but the games are shit. It's a real shame.

 

[DarknessTear]

I agree and disagree.

I agree that for a medieval political war story, Sakimoto's music does fit better than the type of music Uematsu would have most likely delivered.

But I don't agree that Uematsu has been out of it at all. His tracks on the FFXI ost are amazing and just as good as the best of his FF soundtracks. I also really enjoyed his tracks on FFX, though I wasn't too big on the other two composers in that game. I think the man still has a lot of talent, and I'm hoping he can produce tunes at the quality of FF music for his Mistwalker games and hopefully he'll be back with FFXIII. My only wish is that if he does FFXIII he does it all by himself, as I want 4 cds of his music, not 1.5 cds and 2.5 of two other guys who aren't as good.

You have too much hope for Uematsu. You're going to set yourself up for dissapointment.

Well, either that or I'm just going to be totally wrong.

 

[RaijinFY]

Well, the opening track for FFXI (which is truly outstanding) was indeed composed by Uematsu...but it was actually arranged by someone else. THAT was part of his problem; his arrangements were always of low quality and sounded as if they were using samples from the late 90s.

I also disagree with FFX. I liked his tracks (much better than FFIX), but felt the other two bested him easily. ESPECIALLY Hamauzu, which happens to be one of my favorite composers. He REALLY needs to be put on a big project, as Square always sticks him on horrible games. Unlimited SaGa and Musashiden II, for example, have truly awesome soundtracks...but the games are shit. It's a real shame.

Holy shit dark10x, It seems we share the same tastes in game music, I love too Hamauzu being my second favourite composer!

 

[Bebpo]

Well, the opening track for FFXI (which is truly outstanding) was indeed composed by Uematsu...but it was actually arranged by someone else. THAT was part of his problem; his arrangements were always of low quality and sounded as if they were using samples from the late 90s.

I also disagree with FFX. I liked his tracks (much better than FFIX), but felt the other two bested him easily. ESPECIALLY Hamauzu, which happens to be one of my favorite composers. He REALLY needs to be put on a big project, as Square always sticks him on horrible games. Unlimited SaGa and Musashiden II, for example, have truly awesome soundtracks...but the games are shit. It's a real shame.

On the first part I can see where you're coming from. Personally I think the 16-bit samples he tends to stick with give his music a special style and feel that you can't get from anywhere else. Did you mean FFXII though? Because I'm pretty sure Uematsu did about 1/3rd the songs on the FFXI ost and not just the opening.

Well my main issue with FFX was that there was two kinds of music:

1. Scene specific, full orchestra music that was made to fit and support the CG fmv scenes.

2. Game music that would loop and often used those 16-bit type samples you talk about.

The music that's like #1 works well in the game, but honestly I can't listen to that stuff while in my car or just at home relaxing to music. It's to built around the scene and isn't very memorable. The other type of music like town themes, battle themes, character themes is the stuff I remember and it felt like on FFX the majority of that came from Uematsu.

For example, the opening title theme for FFX when you start a new game and Tidus and everyone look sad and serious and then and then this sad sullen piano track starts to play as Tidus walks up to a hill and the starts narrating and the title comes up. That track is incredible and moved me so much, it was and still is the most amazing opening I've ever seen in a game primarily because of that song. I also loved Suteki Da Ne, which I'm pretty sure he Uematsu composed. FFX was definitely a mixed soundtrack with some incredible tunes and some that were not so memorable, and I'll agree that FFXII seems more solid that FFX so far in music...but I don't think that says anything about Uematsu and his abilities.

Actually to be honest, in an Uematsu soundtrack if there's 4 cds of music, maybe one cd worth of it is AAA and 3 cds range from good to average. But I always feel that those handful of AAA tracks on each FF he does are so incredible that they make his soundtracks worth it. I can't remember much of FFIX music and I do agree it was a pretty weak showing, but I still remember that track "you are not alone" that played when Zidane was struggling on forward getting his teamates as he goes on like disc3 or something. That track was so incredibly powerful that in an instant it made up for everything weak on that soundtrack. So yea that's why I <3 Uematsu.

 

[Guns N' Poops]

Can someone of you take pictures of the summons or make a list with their names in a spoiler tag? Thanks in advance.

 

[RaijinFY]

Bebpo> I think It's a matter of taste, but I really REALLY hate the FFX song to the point I dont want to hear another one anymore... >_<

btw what about the summons? Are they spectacular?

 

[tebiro boy]

Well, the opening track for FFXI (which is truly outstanding) was indeed composed by Uematsu...but it was actually arranged by someone else. THAT was part of his problem; his arrangements were always of low quality and sounded as if they were using samples from the late 90s.

Be careful not to confuse bad sampling with what was in a lot of cases simply stylistic choice. While the sample quality in FFVII wasn't brilliant, things were much improved in FFVIII for the most part, and for the tracks that sounded electronic, they were mostly meant to sound electronic. I for one will be rather upset if that more distinctive side of FF soundtracks is lost if Uematsu is gone for good. While Sakimoto's style is great in its own right, and certainly suits Matsuno's more classical storytelling style, there's definitely room for some other styles with the Kitase FFs.

I guess if Uematsu isn't there, Hamauzu is at least somewhat varied... but still, I'll really miss Uematsu's involvement in the series.

 

[dark10x]

Because I'm pretty sure Uematsu did about 1/3rd the songs on the FFXI ost and not just the opening.

Nope. He only handled like 3-4 tracks. He really didn't play a big role in the creation of FFXI's soundtrack.

it felt like on FFX the majority of that came from Uematsu

I dunno about that, a LOT of the music used during gameplay was not done by Uematsu. I'll have to dig up a track list for some examples later...

 

[maskrider]

I don't like the battle system before I play the game, but after around 10 hours of gameplay, I think the battle system is pretty good, I thought I prefer the old turn base battles and would not like the way it is (like FF XI), I was wrong.

 

[duckroll]

Okay I just had a REALLY satisfying boss fight!

(I'm about 7+ hours in)

Spoiler

Holy shit the boss fight with Judge Ghis was awesome. First Judge Master boss battle and everything they say about the Judges are true! If you're not prepared he can be a real pain in the ass but once you have healing gambits planned out well and take out the soldiers first, he's just a matter of not letting your guard down. The weapon and armor design for this game is really amazing. I'm loving every bit of it!

About the battle system: I find that Active Mode is excellent for most of the game, especially on dungeon and field maps. But for certain overwhelming battles or boss fights, turning to Wait Mode does wonders to show how the game can be played even MORE strategically. I'm glad they left both options in with on-the-fly swapping. The more I play the more I like the battles and I liked them to begin with. ^_^

 

[Reilly]

I don't want spoilers, but can somoene clarify if the game is split up into missions like the demo was?

 

[duckroll]

I don't want spoilers, but can somoene clarify if the game is split up into missions like the demo was?

It's not.

 

[Bebpo]

I don't want spoilers, but can somoene clarify if the game is split up into missions like the demo was?

No.

 

[Y2Kev]

My stepdad lived in Japan for five years like twenty years ago. I'm considering importing it and requiring him to sit alongside and play with me.

 

[Reilly]

It's not.

No.

 

[acidviper]

searched final fantasy and 480p. Is it 480p or widescreen?
if so does it look any better?

 

[dark10x]

searched final fantasy and 480p. Is it 480p or widescreen?
if so does it look any better?

No it doesn't and I don't think it would make a big difference even if it did. Unless your TV has a shitty scaler, it should look fine.

 

[Guns N' Poops]

Is there any kind of a big minigame in FFXII? Trilple Triad like?

 

[duckroll]

No it doesn't and I don't think it would make a big difference even if it did. Unless your TV has a shitty scaler, it should look fine.

Yeah honestly. With component in on the TV, most PS2 games look awesome as it is. FFXII looks extra awesome, but I think it's mostly the superb textures and the modeling. Oh and the art style.

 

[Remedy]

Just a question about summons:

Anyone got any yet? What are they like/how do they work?

Cheers.

 

[Blimblim]

Yeah honestly. With component in on the TV, most PS2 games look awesome as it is. FFXII looks extra awesome, but I think it's mostly the superb textures and the modeling. Oh and the art style.

FFXII is a 30 fps game so it should ok even without a good scaler. 60 fps are much more of a problem for scalers.

 

[Ponn]

No it doesn't and I don't think it would make a big difference even if it did. Unless your TV has a shitty scaler, it should look fine.

Widescreen makes a difference on my widescreen TV. Hopefully they at least do that for the NA release like they did for DQVIII.

 

[dark10x]

Widescreen makes a difference on my widescreen TV. Hopefully they at least do that for the NA release like they did for DQVIII.

I agree, 16:9 support would have been fantastic. Having those black bars on the side really makes it seem as if your view is being cut. It would have really helped out with the sense of scale.

FFXII is a 30 fps game so it should ok even without a good scaler. 60 fps are much more of a problem for scalers.

Well, the first HDTV I had (Panny) used a horrible scaler and 480i content was just awful looking. The colors were messed up, there was a strange line down the center of the screen (which appeared as interference), and the edges became both more pixelated AND blurrier. It was awful. My Sony CRT and Toshiba plasma both scale 480i beautifully...to the point where there is little difference between 480i and 480p (unless, as you said, you are talking high motion, 60 fps content).

 

[KyanMehwulfe]

Though it's hard to believe considering my love for Matsuno's work and his titles Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics, I'm even more excited for Final Fantasy XII now that it has been released in Japan. More details about the gameplay are being revealed and without getting into them, it's clear that in traditional Matsuno design, FF XII will offer a lot of character customization which will lead to strong replay value, and the combat gameplay captures the strategic trait that can make you feel like a war commander yet still remain very personal and streamlined just like in FF Tactics. It's a fairly hard thing to accomplish because by its nature, putting you in a strategic commander role makes you feel third-person to the action, so to capture that while still remaining very personal to the battle is a rare thing.

Beyond the gameplay is the cast and I've been praising their design for over a year now. I'm very happy to hear folks in Japan are loving the character Balflear so much. I've been saying it for ages: His appearance absolutely screams a cool slyness. A real classic cool, not a Pop culture cool. He reminds me of Locke Cole from FF VI but with a much more serious facial visage. He makes FF IX's Zidane look like Steiner. Basically the ultimate Final Fantasy Rogue. One notable Japanese editor already demands that he is given his own game. Despite that praise, Balflear is not even the character(s) I'm most excited by (which is saying a lot).

The Judges are the next Sephiroth in my opinion.

In that they will leave you staring in awe at their actions or left wholly intrigued by their mystery. Remember walking out of the Shin-ra Headquarter's jail cells in Final Fantasy 7 to be greeted by blood-spattered hallways and the incredibly atmospheric events that followed? Coming up the seventy food Midgar Zolom serpent literally impaled on a husk of a massive tree and left gored?

Sephiroth delivered some of the most powerful scenes in gaming fiction and they've rarely been rivaled. Metal Gear Solid was one of the few with the hallway slaughter scene. It's that emotion, which grips you and makes you forget about everything except the game story unfolding before you, that I expect from The Judges in Final Fantasy XII. Whether it be through the pure mystery that shrouds that armor-clad stature or committed horrors and atrocities that their namesake suggests -- Matsuno has never been one to shy away from war crimes and the terrors of war.

 

[DeathbyVolcano]

Yeah, I totally agree with you on the Judges. I mean, I have not played a lick of XII yet (save for teh demo), but these judges really seem to be the next evil in the Final Fantasy series. It's a shame that fanboys will probably disregard them and still circle jerk Sephy still, but whatever.