Final Fantasy XII Review by Teh BPK (Spoilers)

[brianpk80]

Second game review written.  It's very fun to review games. 

-BPK

http://readerreviews.ign.com/rrview/ign/final_fantasy_xii/488222/58076/ 
 
Final Fantasy for Dummies: Polished, Flashy, Formulaic, Hollow

by brianpk80

January 26, 2007 - Think of Final Fantasy as an underground band with a huge following that gets a big-label record deal as the series moves to PS2. At first, fans are cautious and pessimistic, thinking the series will lose all integrity and sell out to the lowest common denominator "grafix! action!" crowd for broadest mass appeal. When FFX comes out, we're pleasantly surprised. Despite all of its glossy elements (which do augment rather than detract from FFX), the installment works as a cohesive whole, has an amazing cast of characters, an inspired and fitting game world, and one of the best stories ever told in the series. It's like a great new album with high-fare production that surprisingly works in satisfying both old fans of the original underground band as well as new ones. Fast forward five years later though and the fans' worst nightmares finally materialize.

You can see hints of the company's target-audience shift beginning with FFX-2 and in its embarrassing jump on the MMORPG bandwagon. No longer is Final Fantasy created to enthrall bright young minds with a passion for great storytelling and respect for RPG's as a creative medium. Instead, Final Fantasy is for "everyone." Well, it shows. What we have here isn't a highbrow or special experience designed to last a lifetime; it's a piece of product made by an increasingly bottom-line oriented megacorporation, starring SquareEnix itself as Shinra.

*Minor Spoilers Below and Throughout*

The gameplay and the game-world are by far the best elements in the mix here. Although the more action-oriented setup signifies yet another mainstreaming of the series, it's functional, different, and largely enjoyable. The game-world itself is splendid, even though upon completion it feels unfinished (with an entire blank continent unpopulated by towns or dungeons or... anything). It's unfortunate that the story and characters are so poorly realized because from the beginning, the environment, actors, and gameplay appear as ingredients with potential to render one of the greatest installments in the series. What follows however is an epic failure of imagination and a dismal miscarriage of the series' defining traits: narrative, plot evolution, characterization.

As many reviewers have noted, neither the hero nor the villain provide any compelling reason to see the story emerge to fruition. For longtime fans, the Final Fantasy name alone provides the sole incentive to force yourself into caring about these vanilla characters and keep trudging through battle after battle, anticipating that surely... eventually... something will happen to reframe the circumstances and reconfigure relationships in some meaningful and memorable manner. Given five years to work on this project, the least a reasonable player could expect would be that the story and characters would somehow maintain the series' cardinal trait of amazing storytelling. But it never delivers and never engages. Instead, a little past the halfway point, you're greeted with 8 tragically long and pointless dungeons in a row, a cookie-cutter final battle, and then the game terminates abruptly. Without spoiling anything directly, the plot "resolution" is a sorry textbook case of deus ex machina, which is to say that it's a bombastic plot device used as a substitute where the writer's own incompetence can't carry a complex story to an appropriate resolution. It feels much more like an elementary schooler's Final Fanfic than anything doing justice to the series' legacy of creative aptitude.

It's no secret that the Final Fantasy XII project was a mess from start to finish, haunted by high expectations, major development setbacks, and ill-timed shifts in personnel. In retrospect, it's not hard to see why the result is an amalgam of rehashed fantasy elements thrown together with no coherent direction or overarching purpose. Still, with a $30 million budget and over five years invested, a storyline at least on par with previous entries should have been a given. Mind you, this isn't a big problem in action or puzzle oriented games but this is Final Fantasy we're talking about. Final Fantasy without a story is like a book with no pages: what would you buy it for, the cover? The story is the series' main draw. To skimp on story is a massive insult to followers that no "innovative combat system" could hope to salvage.

Now by "innovative," this means that the combat system is a bizarre compromise between the company's obvious lust to pocket the bigger action-oriented crowd while at the same time trying not to alienate the brainier people who enjoyed the series since its roots. No cigar there, as they've alienated many fans like me. Plus, if I wanted to play an action game, I think I would prefer something where I actually hit the monsters instead of walking up to them and awkwardly waiting 4 seconds for Vaan to take a swing. While the approach was novel and fun overall, it certainly wasn't worth the sacrifice of story and gives a clear indication where SquareEnix's priorities lie these days.

Needless to say, the graphics are very impressive for the PS2 and the game-world itself is gorgeous and cohesive. It's influenced by the eastern Mediterranean in its architecture, character and place names, and even the dialogue font. The environs are pretty varied, featuring a flying city, treetop villages, various enclaves, and a dark jungle among others. There's also a great quantity of content packaged here with many different weapons, monsters, high production values, and a series (literally) of hunt sidequests that, even while segregated entirely from the main plot and having no actual purpose aside from leveling, may provide an occasional fun diversion.

Unfortunately, Ivalice itself is so intriguing that it only serves to amplify the disappointment that it lacks a great episode or dramatic interpersonal conflict, like all of FFXII's predecessors, to accompany it. And much as the game fails to capitalize on that resource, it also squanders another of its greatest assets, the summons known as Espers. Each of the game's twelve Espers are new to the series and by and large are extremely impressive in design and flavor. The probelm is how poorly they are integrated into the game. You spend the first 40% of the game without one, then 20% with only one, another 35% with only two, and three more tossed at you in the very final stages of the game. The other seven are entirely optional. I like optional content as much as anyone else, but given the vitality and sheer awe-factor Espers add to the experience, more of them should have been included in the main quest and spread out more evenly. Although their combat abilities are weak compared to the price you pay for summoning them (MP and temporarily sacrificing the use of two party members), they have entertaining backstories and the game would have benefited greatly from a fuller development of their presence.

In fact, just about every non-technical aspect of the game is likewise undeveloped, including the beautiful gameworld, the Empire's capital, the plot, the characters, and even the monsters and hunt targets are just multiple carbon-copies of others in the game. What probably began as the most ambitious project in the genre ended up leaving far too much to be desired. All of the early and mid-game precipitates an expected climax in the City of Archades and some sort of plot shift or resolution on the continent of the third major political entity, Rozarria. Instead, Archades is insipid, small, and uneventful and Rozarria doesn't even exist. That's correct, in a plot based on a small province wedged between two large warring kingdoms, you have no contact with the second kingdom at all, save for a two very brief cutscenes with one of its representives. I'm left with the impression that Rozarria was initially intended to be the closing finale of the game but with all of the delays and developmental difficulties, the powers that be issued a directive to "slap an ending on that thing and just get it out the door before the fiscal year ends." Or worse yet, "make them buy the sequel/spin-off if they want to see the proper conclusion." No thanks.

So there it is in a nutshell. Final Fantasy XII is a clumsy combination of high production, action, MMORPG-like gameplay, and a hollow pretense of story. If you want action, there are dozens of better action-specific games for your fix, especially if you enjoy actually hitting the enemies. If you like leveling up ad nauseum, it's a lot more purposeful to do it in World of Warcraft or another multiplayer game. If you want a killer story and don't mind less cutting edge graphics, Suikoden V or Shadow Hearts sound like good bets. Final Fantasy XII tries to assemble elements from all of the above, but ultimately, as many other reviewers have noted, you just find yourself with jaw dropped in disappointment as it fumbles towards an abrupt ending, leaving you wondering "What on earth was the point of that?"

Approach overly positive reviews with caution in addition to some well-meaning fans who are willfully in denial that the series has reached a creative nadir. It's hard to discern whether its glowing applause in high profile media outlets is the result of honest appraisal or targeted commercial pressure. Underneath that veneer however, there is a deep well of discontent among longtime fans and the more thoughtful segment of its audience. You know something's wrong when IGN's PS2 RPG of 2006 can't even win its Best Story award, and that's a definitely well-deserved slight.

Buy it if you're curious about the beautifully rendered environments and the beginning which is well-done. But after 15-20 hours, when it becomes empty and boring, don't feel pressured to continue. You have every reason to think it will get better, but it really never does. The Emperor is just plain naked.

Reader's Ratings for Final Fantasy XII

5.0  Presentation
Story is embarrassingly trite and unimaginative. 
10.0  Graphics
Best graphics on the PS2, probably irrefutable. Game-world is stellar and gorgeous although incomplete. If only great graphics made a great game... 
8.0  Sound
Excellent voice acting, adequate sound effects, mediocre music. 
8.0  Gameplay
Fun and exciting at first, maintains good quality for a while, and then becomes repetitive and pointless. 
6.0  Lasting Appeal
Best when unopened or in early stages. If you like the brilliant storylines and unforgettable characters Final Fantasy is known for, this game becomes increasingly bitter in retrospect. 

7.4  OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)


Edited thread title to reflect spoilers.  -DA

[M.Solymossy]

I think that is a grossly innacurate description of a great game with a GREAT story.   So it doesn't have a main love story to it?   It's a story about politics, which never really shows who the real bad guy is until late.

[Vegeta2711]

To be fair, no FF has had a worse story than 8,9, and X-2, which I lump them together for being completely god-awful to rationally thinking human beings. I actually thought this was a decent attempt, especially for a series which has seen only 1 good story in the past 5 episodes. That being said, I agree completely that there were many points in the story which could've been expanded upon and for much of the game after the first 3-4 hours your left wandering with little progress in the story.

I see from your reviews, you've played Suikoden, so you already know that a couple of other RPG series are the way to go for harder and more in-depth stuff. 

[Roxas]

I think 7.4 / 10 is a fair assessment for this game. While I give FFXII's "big picture"-centric storyline more credit than you would, it's still just an above-average RPG rather than the cream of the crop as previous games in the franchise were.

Suikoden V is indeed still the best RPG to be released in the recent past.

[Klep]

I don't think we played the same FFXII.  The one I played was much better than what was described here.

[Demonic Attorney]

I respectfully disagree.  I think the thematic motif of power versus self-determination was writ large in the story, from the introduction of Ashe's character in the early stages of the game.  Committed to her late husband's cause and to avenging her kingdom, she couldn't take advantage of the chance to live out her life quietly and peacefully despite Marquis Ondore's best efforts.  Instead Ashe is forced to chase after the power needed to restore her kingdom.  This dilemma of self-determination becomes more grandiose in scope when she acquires Nethicite and must face for the first time the choice to use her newfound power to reduce Archadia to another Nabudis in the name of restoring Dalmasca's sovereignty, or whether to risk the kingdom's future in her search for another way.  This theme becomes clearer still, and encompasses more than just Ashe, when the Occurians are introduced and it's revealed that human history and the balance of power between kingdoms is little more than the end product of the designs of engimatic godlike beings who dole out the power to rule and the power to destroy to their willing servants who are seduced into serving their agenda by the promise of power. 

The figure of Venat is in many ways the most powerfully ironic illustration of this theme in the game.  An Occurian itself, Venat seemingly defies the machinations of its peers and is ousted from Giruvegan and condemned as a heretic.  In aligning itself with Vayne, Venat resorts to the very same manipulative tactics as the other Occurians; it directs the future of a kingdom by dangling a carrot on a stick in front of someone easily influenced by power.  However, in the end it's revealed that while Venat's means may have been similar, its ends were completely different.  On the deck of the Bahamut, Venat shows its goal all along was to destroy the source of Nethicite, restore the balance of power, and place the reins of history back in the hands of man. 

The last bitter irony of this intricate plan is of course that mankind was manipulated into freedom by the same creatures and the same methods as those used to control human history all along.  Does mankind deserve its freedom, having needed an Occurian to manipulate it into freedom, and having done only what the Occurians intended all along?  Is humanity even truly free at this point?  Since it has shown itself to be so easily controlled, who is to say whether or not this was all part of an even greater plan by the Occurians, involving Venat's cooperation?

Other characters face similar choices of self-determination.  Balthier abandoned a life of glory and a position of power as an imperial judge to pursue his own freedom, even at the risk of his life.  Fran defied the law of her people in order to pursue what she felt was her purpose in life, although doing meant ostracism from her home and her kind.  However, this theme is made even more explicit in the character of Vaan, who pursues revenge against the Empire almost mindlessly, never having an answer when asked throughout the story "What are you going to do, Vaan?"  His undirected ambition to become a sky pirate combines his lust for power and his desire for self-determination, but until these goals are divorced and one is chosen over the other, Vann appears to have little control over his own life, thoughtlessly chasing after power and opportunity.

The story, while undeveloped and somewhat secondary to other considerations in the development of FFXII, was nevertheless impressively clever and strikingly sophisticated.  I thoroughly enjoyed the game.

[Vegeta2711]

Damn Chris, that may of just boosted my ideal of the story. You should really write a plot analysis for one of the FF games if you ever had a few spare boredom hours to kill. 

[brianpk80]

*Spoilers*

I think that is a grossly innacurate description of a great game with a GREAT story.   So it doesn't have a main love story to it?   It's a story about politics, which never really shows who the real bad guy is until late.

I don't think I mentioned the lack of a love story so that doesn't reflect any of the problems I found with the game.  In fact, FFXII has at minimum two love stories although neither is quite well-developed.  The game begins with a wedding after all.  But I don't believe a great political story needs any romance factor to prop it up and never implied that.  The problem here is that I wouldn't call FFXII a "great" political story by any means.  It has all of the ingredients but lacks a recipe. 

To be fair, no FF has had a worse story than 8,9, and X-2, which I lump them together for being completely god-awful to rationally thinking human beings.

I think that is correct when considered in pure story terms.  FFX-2 is a bizarre and freakish nightmare of a game, right from the get-go with Priestess Yuna dressed up as Britney Spears for a trash pop concert, Former Al-Bhed officer Rikku's uncharacteristically soft-porn displays, and their butch admirer Paine thrown in for good measure.  Though some parts of it were fun and I like the gameworld to begin with, I can't defend the game cause it's a huge disservice to FFX. 

FFVIII as I see it wasn't about a great spinning story so much as it was about character growth and human bonds.  That approach doesn't sit well with everybody, but I found it pretty well done for what it was.  It had a few turns that were unpredictable and unique, most notably the orphanage episode.  The raw plot sequence itself was nothing like the twisted road of FFVII, but I don't think that was a failure of narrative so much as it was an intentional decision to simply hone in on character growth, love, insecurity, and psyche (ie Squall).  It seems to be the largest and most ambitious entry in the series to date and is very thorough, complete, and charismatic overall.         

FFIX also doesn't carry any pretense of a great story.  It was a straightforward coda and point of reflection for the series.  Some games push the envelope, and then others fill it in.  FFIX fell into the latter category for sure.  I can't fault it for having a run-of-the-mill storyline (which I actually found more colorful and original than FFXII's, with the Lifa Tree, ridiculous Queen Braham, and Kuja as an above average villain) because its purpose was only to celebrate Final Fantasy's history. 

So in sum, I agree with you that neither of the above have mind-blowing stories, but of those three, I would only consider FFX-2 to be a real failure. 

I see from your reviews, you've played Suikoden, so you already know that a couple of other RPG series are the way to go for harder and more in-depth stuff.   

Yes, and after 2006 Suikoden has officially replaced Final Fantasy as my favorite console RPG series. 

While I give FFXII's "big picture"-centric storyline more credit than you would, it's still just an above-average RPG rather than the cream of the crop as previous games in the franchise were.

Suikoden V is indeed still the best RPG to be released in the recent past.

Well said.  And I agree that Suikoden V is definitely the best RPG I've played in many years.  Now there is a great political story.  Incidentally, Suikoden V is the title that won IGN's Best PS2 Story of 2006 over its Best PS2 RPG, Final Fantasy XII.  Certainly the right call; the comparison is unequivocably lopsided in Suikoden's favor. 

I don't think we played the same FFXII.  The one I played was much better than what was described here.

Feel free to elaborate.

I respectfully disagree.  I think the thematic motif of power versus self-determination was writ large in the story, from the introduction of Ashe's character in the early stages of the game.  Committed to her late husband's cause and to avenging her kingdom, she couldn't take advantage of the chance to live out her life quietly and peacefully despite Marquis Ondore's best efforts.  Instead Ashe is forced to chase after the power needed to restore her kingdom.  This dilemma of self-determination becomes more grandiose in scope when she acquires Nethicite and must face for the first time the choice to use her newfound power to reduce Archadia to another Nabudis in the name of restoring Dalmasca's sovereignty, or whether to risk the kingdom's future in her search for another way.  This theme becomes clearer still, and encompasses more than just Ashe, when the Occurians are introduced and it's revealed that human history and the balance of power between kingdoms is little more than the end product of the designs of engimatic godlike beings who dole out the power to rule and the power to destroy to their willing servants who are seduced into serving their agenda by the promise of power. 

DA,

Your extraction of the story is clearly well processed and plausible.  However, I am not convinced the game itself supports such a profound or deferential interpretation.  While there are empirical elements and themes in Final Fantasy XII that may serve as springboards for more cosmic or philosophical lines of questioning as you raise, the same can be said of just about every game in the genre and beyond.  A bright imagination can construct symbolism or links to broader concepts that bestow greater meaning upon any work of fiction that may or may not be justified by the creator's efforts.  Despite the game's scattered tethers of a self-determination premise and its abrasive diversion of the storyline to "w00t! War of the deities!" (more below) I don't find the raw material worthy of the romanticized reading you've given it.  In essence, that you are able to depict Final Fantasy XII so thoughtfully is more a testament to your own talent than anything the writers themselves have actually produced. 

The figure of Venat is in many ways the most powerfully ironic illustration of this theme in the game.  An Occurian itself, Venat seemingly defies the machinations of its peers and is ousted from Giruvegan and condemned as a heretic.  In aligning itself with Vayne, Venat resorts to the very same manipulative tactics as the other Occurians; it directs the future of a kingdom by dangling a carrot on a stick in front of someone easily influenced by power.  However, in the end it's revealed that while Venat's means may have been similar, its ends were completely different.  On the deck of the Bahamut, Venat shows its goal all along was to destroy the source of Nethicite, restore the balance of power, and place the reins of history back in the hands of man. 

This segment of the storyline is exactly what called to mind for me the concept of deus ex machina that I mentioned in the initial review.  In fact, its definition is so painfully spot-on, I'll paste it here for emphasis. 

http://www.webster.com/dictionary/deus%20ex%20machina
Main Entry: de·us ex ma·chi·na 
Pronunciation: 'dA-&s-"eks-'mä-ki-n&, -'ma-, -"nä; -m&-'shE-n&
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, a god from a machine, translation of Greek theos ek mEchanEs
1 : a god introduced by means of a crane in ancient Greek and Roman drama to decide the final outcome
2 : a person or thing (as in fiction or drama) that appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty

Following Giruvegan, we have several powerful dangling plot threads that could easily provide the basis for a remarkable and unforgettable freefall of conflicts, revelations, and major personal/political realignments. 

Among others, we have:

-Young widow Ashe's "dilemma"
-A yet (and unfortunately never realized) unintroduced political body and continent of Rozarria
-Ondore's curious repositioning as an open opponent of the Empire and hints of predilection towards Rozarria
-Likewise, Ondore's arguably occluded motivations, unexplained connection to Reddas, and role as narrator (what isn't he telling us?)
-A looming confrontation between Basch and his apparently nefarous and vengeful identical twin
-A maniacal loose force in Dr. Cid, incidentally Balthier's father, whose interests appear more grandiose than the Empire he serves
-Larsa as an inexplicably benevolent and optimistic inside ally of Dalmasca, ditto for Al-Cid
-Lingering remnants of a disbanded Senate, an executed judge (Drace), an assassinated Emperor and his first two sons
-An unexplored Necrohol of Nabudis and mystery enshrouding the true nature and purpose of its destruction
-The (ultimately forgotten once raised) suggestion that Rasler viewed his marriage to Ashe as a sterile political arrangement while she (more vulnerably) construed it as personal in nature 
-Unresolved tension among the motley cast of the main group, notably Fran's jealous tinge of Ashe, whose ring Balthier still holds after its callous seizure
-A vague relationship among Mist, Jagd, Occuria, and the unusually sensitive Viera
-Several intriguing characters scattered about Ivalice, any of whom might have logically enjoyed a second run in the plot's limelight (Jote, Dalan, Migelo, Reddas' band, presumed dead Judges, a new regime in Mt. Bur-Omisace, etc.)
-12 fallen godlike insurgents clearly linked to the Occuria as evinced by Belias unsealing the door to Giruvegan
 
This is an extremely fertile conjugation of circumstances for storycraft.  Needless to say, right there we have the basis for a truly spectacular unfolding of the latter half of the game, but instead the following sequence occurs:

Main party is immediately sent to the emptiest and longest gosh-darn dungeon outside of Might & Magic VII.  Gabranth makes a weak attempt to taunt Ashe, the ensuing exchange feeling like lost dialogue from an unaired low-budget made-for-TV fantasy skit.  Ashe decides to use "good sword" over "evil sword," spawning a sudden soap opera moment from Reddas who in one fell swoop confesses he was the judge that destroyed Nabudis and sacrifices his life to shelter everyone and everything from the "big nasty exploding Crystal."  Vaan laments this loss of a man he barely knew by unconvincingly exclaiming, "Reddas!"  Then a large airship, endearingly named in honor of Bahamut, is summoned from beyond and the main party is directed to fly into it to defeat a one-dimensionally power-hungry Vayne Solidor, who gets on his villain soapbox for the standard final monoluge.  Blithely unaffected by family ties or an aristocratic upbringing, prepubescent Larsa asserts, "No, you are wrong brother!" and helps the party defeat Vayne, who turns into Super-Foozle-Demon "Vayne Novus" (meaning Vayne augmented by the supernatural Venat) for the Final final battle.  At some point the estranged identical twins kiss and make up, but not before the dying twin confesses his hatred for the other stemmed from envy, misunderstanding, and admiration.  Very touching.  Credits roll, Penelo has a trendy new haircut, Balthier and Fran are alive and well, Basch is Larsa's protector, Ashe has moved on; everyone is happy.

The overarching explanation and resolution of all the above intricate circumstances is that the political/military firestorm was just a big predetermination of the Gods, everyone else is a pawn, but the renegade God Venat wants to "free" mankind from the shackles of divine agenda, and appears to succeed.  To this, I say simply, "deus ex machina" and wonder why I spent 90 hours on the game.   
 
Naturally, because the series has typically succeeded in accomplishing ambitious objectives, I find myself believing that the original intent was to resolve the storyline in a much denser and much lengthier manner.  Hence, it's not hard to see why I envison the final result as the unfinished product of what I outlined earlier, "The stockholders are getting anxious so please wrap it up.  If you're that concerned with the integrity of the storyline, save it for a sequel."   

I mean, can anyone honestly believe that, right off the bat, the intent was to conjure a framework about a small kingdom wedged between two larger entities, and omit the second entity entirely?  "Thank you for playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms.  Our artistic vision guided us to systemically exclude the Sun clan from this installment without exception.  We hope you enjoy."  It's difficult to imagine the project was conceived like that.  I am much more ready to infer that FFXII is simply incomplete, rather than poorly planned from its inception. 

Likewise, the City of Archades is a wholesale let-down.  The quantity and yes, quality, of screen time devoted to the intriguing political landscape there does nothing but kindle a legitimate expectation that it will harbor some climactic expansion and major evolution of the storyline.  This is especially true considering you trek through five mammoth world maps just to reach the destination with only a lone Phon Coast cutscene to sustain the journey's narrative focus.  Arriving there, the last thing I expected after going through its slums was that I would have to gossip for Pine Chops (!!?) so that Balthier could fly us into Metroid.dungeon where almost nothing happens... "almost" meaning that there is in fact an unmoving megalomaniac-father and rebellious-son reunion and the introduction of Reddas.  The Senate we heard so much about in the early game has been conveniently exterminated and Dr. Cid pulls a "catch me if you can!" presumably flying to the Feywood that originally drove him mad.  So much for Archades.   

That said, I do see your point about a common thread of self-determination in several of the main characters, but that concept is broad enough that it can be inferred from just about any scenario involving a personal change of position.  There is also a definite tie-in (however tenuous) between the character's individual self-determinations and Venat's aspirations of enabling a free-willed mankind, but if that were the crowning jewel of the tale, it would certainly benefit from more explicit emphasis and philosophical development. 

Additionally, the instances of self-determination in FFXII are far from innovative and aren't implemented with any particularly inspired or non-hackneyed context.  We have the ambivalent princess torn between revenge and the good of humanity (isn't the "right" answer rather obvious?).  Then there's the forest creature who leaves the comfort of her village to confront the outside world on her own two-feet (or ears  ).  Balthier (and I'm in accordance with you that he's a great character) is a fallen noble who forsaked his privileges for the freedoms of sky-piracy. We also have two orphans, one of whom dreams of becoming a sky ninja and another whose self-determination, if one could even call it that, consists of fastening herself by the side of the other.  Then I suppose one could construct an argument that Basch somehow exemplifies some facet of self-determination but it would then be just that, a construction.  Perhaps Final Fantasy XII could be plausibly construed as a rough foray into the idea of self-determination.  But for me and I suspect many others, a few loose connections to a concept as ubiquitous as that does not make for a great story.  And even if exploring that ideal were the primary goal of the writing team, I don't find it was implemented with much artistic proficiency or advanced well enough to leave a lasting impression.  Given the series' legacy of success in quasi-philosophical narrative and the five year break after the benchmark FFX, yes, I consider it disappointing.

The story, while undeveloped and somewhat secondary to other considerations in the development of FFXII, was nevertheless impressively clever and strikingly sophisticated.  I thoroughly enjoyed the game.

Except for the part about it being clever and sophisticated, I think you hit the nail on the head.  Anyway, I hope the above helps to clarify why I find the Final Fantasy XII storyline so unimpressive.  Thanks to everyone for the input.

-BPK

[Edit: Format Error]

[dicemanx]

Some spoilers below, so beware.

There is no doubt that the storyline for FFXII was unimpressive compared to some of the FF titles in the past.

However, I think this is one of the best FF games I have played. The amount of things to do is staggering, and the combat never got old - this is a vast step up from previous titles, where grinding or even merely revisiting certain areas could get pretty tedious. Of course, there are some downsides to the gameplay and mechanics: 

1) random treasure chests - spending 3 hours to get a powerful item because the chest refuses to appear or cough it up is pretty annoying

2) certain "secrets" that are virtually impossible to determine outside of a strategy guide. For example, you almost assuredly cannot get a Tournesol, without outside assistance - you cannot even "luck" your way into one. Let's not even get started on the Zodiac Spear. It would have been better if there were enough clues in the game itself to unearth those secrets with a little brainpower. Instead, we're pretty much forced to follow a guide for certain things if we want to find nearly everything that the game has to offer.

3) The Espers and Mist combos - they only have a brief window of opportunity, and quickly become obsolete once your regular weapons start dealing around 3000+ damage (which is around mid way through the game).

Despite these flaws, the game remains just as fun and exciting. This FF brings to the table some unique and very interesting ideas, and to criticize it for its shortcomings ignores just how many amazing features the game does have and how many things it does so well:

1) The 3D real time combat system is a massive step up from previous games. Combat is the heart of any FF game - not the storyline. You could have the best story in the world, but if the combat isn't very fun or if it gets boring after a while, then who would want to play through 30-40+ hours just to see the story unfold.

2) The gambit system - a great idea, that allows for plenty of customizability and allows for very lengthy battles without getting dragged down by the mechanics. You can actually enjoy watching the battle unfold instead of focusing too much attention on tediously inputting battle commands. Still, not many fights are completely autopilot (not the challenging ones anyways), so there's still a good deal of interaction.

3) Open world, non-linear gameplay - Granted, there is a main plot to follow, and that plot is fairly linear, but you can divert your attention away at any point and try many sidequests, hunts, or explore most of the world that's pretty much open to you. The fact that you can have access to sites like the Necrohol very early makes it fun to sidetrack yourself and explore, and there is always uncertainty if a certain area will have monsters that will be very difficult to deal with. This is a huge departure from previous titles, where for the most part the game world only opened up towards the end of the game; I think this change was a very good thing.

4) The story is solid, and given that the visuals/graphics/cutscenes are a cut above previous titles, it makes it all the more enjoyable. Nice visuals communicate so much more than 2D sprites and little is left to the imagination as far as what's going on (a good thing in my opinion). I don't think character development was entirely lacking as some suggest, and the lack of major plot twists was hardly detrimental. Sometimes FF titles can overdo it - for instance, I was trying to figure out WTF was going on through many parts of FFVII - I think the story got a little too confusing and unrealistic at times.


I'm still playing on, even after beating the game a while ago. I finally felled what I'd consider the "true" final boss of the game, Yiazmat, on my first attempt in under 3 hours on the strength of those vicious Yagyu Darkblades - I had two prepared just for this fight. I don't understand why people are using other weapons like Masamune or Tournesol - Tournesol doesn't remotely combo as much as the Darkblade, and Masamune forces you to wear specific armor + accessory for it to be useful; perhaps some people are hesitant to spend the time to get the Darkblades, but given the amount of time you need to invest to bring yourself to a point where you can face Yiazmat and have any chance, spending another 1 hour to get a couple of Darkblades seems like a relatively small amount of time.

Just Omega left to go, and all of the major bosses in the game will be dead.