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Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age [Switch + XB1] |OT| Guess Who's Basch?
- Thread starter Dancrane212
- Start date
- OT
$15 PS4 vs $40 Switch. It's a tough call.
I've never played XII before. Portability aside, do the Switch-specific features justify the extra cost? License board resets and Gambit sets sound like handy features to have, but are they really?
I've never played XII before. Portability aside, do the Switch-specific features justify the extra cost? License board resets and Gambit sets sound like handy features to have, but are they really?
The new features are nice, but hardly necessary. You'd just need to be a bit more careful about your jobs, but the game is basically designed around being beatable with any combination. Unless you get silly and have a party full of only white mages.
The job reset feature is a godsend. Keeps everything fresh for your entire playthrough. I'm around 8 hours in and have done 3-4 resets for Vaan already.
But I can walk into any shop and get it on disk for PS4. I can on switch too. But for some reason, the Xbox doesn't have a retail release...? Why?
It seems you are right, there is no Xbox version at any store (including the Square Enix store). Square Enix decided not to ship any of the Xbox version to the UK I guess. Perhaps they thought it wasn't worth the cost, I'm not sure.
I went back and checked the PS4 version, and I was surprised to realize that it's indeed like the Switch version - you can only use d-pad for menus on PS4. (I had legitimately forgot.) As Wilsongt says, I think it's the placement of the d-pad on the Dualshock that makes it work for PS4. Having to use the d-pad on the Joy-Cons would definitely be more intrusive.
Bought this earlier today on the eShop. I've been wanting to pick up an RPG for Switch and couldn't decide what to go with but this seemed like a good one. It's going to be my first Final Fantasy game and my second jrpg ever (played maybe half of Chrono Trigger). I'm about 2 hours in and I'm feeling it.
The answer is yes for the reset licence board and no for the gambits. Licence Board resetting will allow you to create specific job set ups for every boss in the game, only when you need them, rather than making the decision at the start of the game and needing to get the balance right. It will allow you to have multiple of single jobs to destroy enemies.
In saying all that, Zodiac Age is incredibly easy and no matter what combination you choose you can and will destroy everything in the main game. Some of the later trials are a bit different but other than that you can breeze through the main game no matter what setup you choose. The reset just lets you have more freedom and fun with it.
Bought Dragon's Dogma because I wanted something meaty to play while on the go and found it kind of a pain in the ass to play in portable because of the small text and cluttered UI. Really happy that the brighter color palette of FF XII and the way subtitles are handled make this much more enjoyable to play in portable mode.
Looking forward to finally playing. I have been a bit cool on FF games post-VII, (except for XI and XIV, but MMOs are different,) but I've always been intrigued by XII, maybe because I like Square MMOs and this apparently plays like one.
The idea of quality FF worldbuilding and storytelling with gameplay that is more my jam is exciting. Plus I can now play it the way I like to play all RPGs: in bed with a pint of ice cream next to me.
The idea of quality FF worldbuilding and storytelling with gameplay that is more my jam is exciting. Plus I can now play it the way I like to play all RPGs: in bed with a pint of ice cream next to me.
Portability is good. 60fps and 4K is good too
Depends if you enjoy grinding while in the toilet or on your couch
someone on Gamefaqs mention you can speed up the game play on Xbone 2x and 4x by just pressing the LB and using the directional pad
it's present in all zodiac age versions though, not an Xbox One exclusive feature.
I picked time mage, I used my LP points to unlock time magick 1, i go into battle and go to use my magic but have no magic?
Playing this game again reinforces several opinions I had when the game released and then seeing FF 13:
1.) They screwed up thinking they needed to have some Gakt teen as the lead partway through production(as the story could have been even better if they stuck to the original core idea of Basch as the lead)
2.)The Ivalice setting really was the sweet spot between the older fantasy and newer sci-fi push of the series and the more political, adult, grounded story telling of this entry was the direction the franchise should have gone.
3.) Barring that, S/E really dropped the ball in not finding some way to at least off-shoot this type of setting and story-telling into it's own franchise. Preferably even going into the M territory. Ivalice is really where they could merry a sort of GoT, FF, Witcher style series that plays much better with audience tastes than what S/E has been chasing recently in the mainline series.
1.) They screwed up thinking they needed to have some Gakt teen as the lead partway through production(as the story could have been even better if they stuck to the original core idea of Basch as the lead)
2.)The Ivalice setting really was the sweet spot between the older fantasy and newer sci-fi push of the series and the more political, adult, grounded story telling of this entry was the direction the franchise should have gone.
3.) Barring that, S/E really dropped the ball in not finding some way to at least off-shoot this type of setting and story-telling into it's own franchise. Preferably even going into the M territory. Ivalice is really where they could merry a sort of GoT, FF, Witcher style series that plays much better with audience tastes than what S/E has been chasing recently in the mainline series.
So I just found out today that the game will totally let you do a Trial Mode run as Reks [!!], the guy from the prologue. I was stupidly delighted when it actually let me in. Even managed to clear stage #2 (Thextera + Alpha Wolf + Alpha Hyena) with him.
Now I want to beat the regular game so I can go New Game+ and see how far in Trial Mode I can get with a level 90 Reks, lol. I'm sure someone's tried it...
EDIT: yep, someone has! Even managed to defeat Belias with some very clever usage of Bubble/Balance motes. (Also I had no clue Sap worked on him)
Now I want to beat the regular game so I can go New Game+ and see how far in Trial Mode I can get with a level 90 Reks, lol. I'm sure someone's tried it...
EDIT: yep, someone has! Even managed to defeat Belias with some very clever usage of Bubble/Balance motes. (Also I had no clue Sap worked on him)
So the Switch version is good despite being compressed to 12GB?
I'm just about to sell my PS4 version.
I'm just about to sell my PS4 version.
That's fun trivia. I'd always wished Vaan had looked like (or been) Reks instead.
It's really good, yeah. Everything looks nice and sharp, and the voices don't sound any more compressed than they do on PS4/PC.
Okay, yeah so I just booted up and tested the PS4 version.
Definitely control the menus with the Dpad.
However, what makes the Switch port so uncomfortable after playing the PS2/PS4 version for so long is definitely the way the Joycons are designed. They are a terrible design for a game where you're actively switching between the Analog stick and the Dpad on the fly during battles. That is definitely a negative in the Switch's court.
Definitely control the menus with the Dpad.
However, what makes the Switch port so uncomfortable after playing the PS2/PS4 version for so long is definitely the way the Joycons are designed. They are a terrible design for a game where you're actively switching between the Analog stick and the Dpad on the fly during battles. That is definitely a negative in the Switch's court.
That's a minor miracle, wow. Maybe I'll buy the Switch version when I get to this even though I have the PS4 version already.
Actually really surprised with how well the Switch version looks and runs. Switch ports are always a bit hit or miss but this port is about as good as I could have possibly hoped. Really top-notch stuff.
I'm amazed that they pulled it off. Switch it is then. Thanks!
Vaan is no Gackt teen though. You don't know Gackt if you think Vaan resembles him in anyway XD
The "midway change" was overblown by people who dislike Vaan and the game. It was probably early in the pre production stage that they decided on Vaan being the main character.
They once tried making a mature Final Fantasy on psp but it was a mess :^S
Even after three play-throughs, I still don't see the hate for Vaan.
His scenes with Ashe are some of the best in the game.
Though it certainly helps that the remake fixes his fucked-up skeletor abs.
His scenes with Ashe are some of the best in the game.
Though it certainly helps that the remake fixes his fucked-up skeletor abs.
For what it's worth, there's at least one mod for the PC version that does just that. Reks looks pretty good with nonstandard equipment:
Part of it stems from the fact that people keep thinking he's the game's main character, which drives me up the wall sometimes.
The technique is rarely used in storytelling, but Vaan is a peripheral narrator; we see the story through his eyes even though the overarching plot of the game is about Ashe proving her royal birthright (and, to a lesser extent, Basch clearing his name). Everyone else is, relatively speaking, just along for the ride, as they get swept up in the political machinations of house Solidor, the Archadian Empire, and the Occuria. It's kind of silly that Vaan is used in spinoff games as XII's representative, as he becomes only occasionally relevant once the party is fully assembled and the plot really kicks into gear.
This person gets it.
I've been wanting Ashe to be the XII representative in spinoff games forever.
I enjoy Vaan as a character, but yeah, I mainly just wish he were wearing something else. If he just had his Revenant Wings shirt on under the vest, he'd be a lot more palatable as the player-controlled character.
Though Fran's "design" is... quite bad as well. FFXII's Viera should have hewed closer to FFTA's — specifically the less fan servicey designs like Assassin or Sniper:
I enjoy Vaan as a character, but yeah, I mainly just wish he were wearing something else. If he just had his Revenant Wings shirt on under the vest, he'd be a lot more palatable as the player-controlled character.
Though Fran's "design" is... quite bad as well. FFXII's Viera should have hewed closer to FFTA's — specifically the less fan servicey designs like Assassin or Sniper:
Yeah considering how Balthier is so dapper. You would think that she wants to dress like differently as a Viera who's no longer part of her world.
Speaking of controls, the analog stick and dpad positions really makes it hard to get used to. I could use the pro controller but that'll defeat the advantage of being portable.
The Aladdin vest doesn't bother me at all. It's just that the look clearly meant to reflect his "street rat" status is a little too inspired by Disney's Aladdin.
I mean, Vaan could've been so...so much worse...
It's a known issue with the PS4 version, at least. I've heard that it's less pronounced on the PC version, but I'm not able to test it for myself. I did some informal testing with a high speed camera and found that the input latency was 50% more pronounced (200 ±5ms vs 133 ±5ms on my particular display device) in FFXII:TZA played on a base PS4 as compared to the original PS2 game when moving the camera around within the world.
I notified Square Enix about my findings, as well as the fact that this seems to be a known issue, and they were receptive, but ultimately provided no solution.
Really enjoying my first time with this game. TBH, I am a little nervous about the license board(s) and not sure if I need to be smart about what I pick or just go for it and not worry?
I'm early on still so not much damage done I imagine. Any advice for early game builds for first timers and should I just unlock often and not worry about where it takes me?
I looked at that guide link mentioned early in this thread, but I am a bit overwhelmed I guess. Lol.
I'm early on still so not much damage done I imagine. Any advice for early game builds for first timers and should I just unlock often and not worry about where it takes me?
I looked at that guide link mentioned early in this thread, but I am a bit overwhelmed I guess. Lol.
You can change jobs shortly into the game, like an hour plus or so if I don't remember wrongly. So no need to worry.
Unless you're playing the PS4 or PC version.