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Why You Shouldn't Overlook Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - Gameinformer
- Thread starter Dreamboum
- Start date
Not really fair to compare PS2 characters with full voice acting and cutscenes to SNES sprites.
But i agree that the cast in XII is strong, my only problem is that they focus too much on by far the weakest characters (Vaan/Penelo). Balthier is one of the best characters in the entire series and they picked Vaan to be the lead? Why??? Ashe would have also made alot more sense as lead because the story revolves around her, and Basch also would have made alot more sense.
Should have started off as a sky pirate sim with Balthier/Fran for the couple of hours, then introduced the political theme, Vaan/Penelo should have been afterthoughts while they focus on the other 4 characters.
Those speed boosters though.
I think what's weird is that they if wanted to have a more marketable main character and didn't want to have an older man like Matsuno originally wanted, they could have just made Ashe the viewpoint character instead and it would have probably worked a lot better because a lot of the story revolves around her anyways.
I definitely think Vaan would get a lot less flak if he was just one of the party members and not someone you spend the first few hours of the game with.
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I think Vaan works well as a way to show the oppression and the annexation of Rabanastre from the Empire. Ashe is a revenge-hungry would-be queen who was ready to wreck havoc just to get what she wants. The character arc of Ashe wouldn't be as impactful had Vaan not been there as a foil.
I think Vaan gets too much crap for no reason. At worst he looks like Alladin, at best he actually does things and shows that he is even more mature than Ashe at a fundamental level of belief and personality even though he doesn't show it superficially. You hardly see this level of introspection and awareness from a main character in FF so he does fill something that wasn't done before (except FFT)
Who the "lead" is doesn't really matter after the first couple of hours.
You start the game from his perspective but after that it's all about Ashe achieving her goal, she's at the center of the plot and the character with the most screen time. Vaan being the lead or not is inconsequential to the way the plot unfolds. You can even bench him the entire game if you want.
My thoughts exactly, thanks for writing this post.
You still going to have to control him inside cities, though.
I kind of agree. I played the game again not long ago and honestly Vaan is not even that annoying, he gets over his resentment of Basch fairly quickly (arguably TOO quickly) and at worst just plays a supporting role.
I think people would have had a more positive opinion of Vaan if he wasn't the player character for the first few hours and was just a party member you got later on. He isn't even an especially bland character honestly, it's just that the story doesn't revolve around him the way it does with most others so it gives people a bad impression.
You can also see a bit of sexism when people complain about Vaan's outfit, despite Ashe having a much more ridiculous outfit
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Yes, there should have been an option to switch characters, maybe even have different dialogues based on who is the lead. But it isn't anymore annoying than having Tidus at all time.
Vaan's outfit is more grating than it would be normally by virtue of having to control him in towns, but Ashe and Fran have way more egregious outfits that are totally out of character for them.
Really wish we could have gotten the more diversely dressed Viera of FFTA. Or an Ashe who took up Rasler's plate armor to lead the Resistance.
It's the bit about "political intrigue" that's turning me off. Those kind of stories never work for me.
Heh, digging the Indian accent on the narrator. Unusual choice in JRPGs, adds an interesting tone.
Not a hot take at all. FF XII, VI, and V are as good as it got for the mainline series.
Love this game! Decided not to double dip on the Switch version and try to go for the Platinum cuz I realized you can kill those super bosses in the horde mode where they're much weaker.
Fast forwarding gameplay makes this game really good. Original release just felt like a chore back then.
I just read on the official site you can now save gambit sets up to 3? That's really great and something I really wanted.
I fully admit that despite being a huge FF fan since I was a kid, I didn't like FFXII the first time I played it. Playing it again in 2018, I realized that I was a moron, and the game was ahead of its time. The ending is still garbage, but up until that point, it's a masterstroke in combat design and art direction.
It's become my favorite modern FF. Pure genius.
I do not agree. The latter half of FFXII original is a cakewalk. Zodiac moves some of the most powerful spells to hard sections of optional dungeons that force you to actually earn them, instead of just buying or happening upon them.
Holy is a simple example, but in FFXII, Holy was purchasable from Balfonheim after a certain part of the story. In Zodiac Age, it's only found in an optional side part of one of the late game dungeons, and cannot be purchased.
It's become my favorite modern FF. Pure genius.
I do not agree. The latter half of FFXII original is a cakewalk. Zodiac moves some of the most powerful spells to hard sections of optional dungeons that force you to actually earn them, instead of just buying or happening upon them.
Holy is a simple example, but in FFXII, Holy was purchasable from Balfonheim after a certain part of the story. In Zodiac Age, it's only found in an optional side part of one of the late game dungeons, and cannot be purchased.
Hmm. Can't wait to play it on the 30th for my Switch. Assuming BestBuy doesn't delay this particular order...
Only played it for 20 hours because I failed at a boss fight for whatever reasons back then. Maybe I should give it another try on the Switch.
I lost interest in my PS2 playthrough way back in the day, and never really revisited it. I've been replaying old Final Fantasy games with a friend (though just one per year), so I'll bump back into it eventually. I do wonder if it's worth busting out the old PS2 for it, or to just make use the Zodiac Age edition. Are the Zodiac Age changes mostly aesthetic or mechanical, or does it alter the pacing and dungeon layouts as well? I recall those were the elements that made me drop it.
The last truly great Final Fantasy, imo. 14 is a great MMO, and 15 was okay, but man 12 is really something special. Can't wait to play it in handheld mode
I did play the Zodiac version... But the game doesn't click with me. It has potential and does some great things, but the gameplay bores me, some end-game areas are not that great (the Great Crystal, namely), and it has some serious ending fatigue.
I don't want to replay until I find a mod that allows me to use four party members at all times. But I know I'm going to cave and end up playing.
It's extremely worth it to get the Zodiac Age version. Graphics are improved, the job system was added, game was rebalanced, major QOL features added such as seamless 2x/4x fastforward (which eliminates any pacing issues).
With this newest release on Switch/XB1, there are even more QOL additions, such as the ability to change jobs (they were permanent choices in the PS4 Zodiac Age).
i've heard so much good stuff about this and i always loved the look and style of the game. will pick up the switch version in a few months.
I was having an amazing time with the game until I hit a massive wall in some desert area. I was underlevelled and was an hour and a half through some torturous grinding when I just said fuck it and never went back to it. I am definitely tempted to pick this up after I finish PSIV
Even in the face of the existence of truly horrible garbage like Time & Eternity?
Octopath Traveler is the worst mainstream JRPG of the 2010s. Zodiac Age is outstanding.
Yes, I absolutely adore this game. I'm not the biggest Final Fantasy fan, but the Ivalice world is just amazing in ways we rarely see in games. That reminds me: is Revenant Wings worth playing?
To be fair, I have not played those games. I doubt I'd hate Octopath, though. I'm fine with the likes of Saga Frontier, Paladin's Quest and Tecmo Secret of the Stars.
I haven't played Hoshi wo Miru Hito either.
FFXII was always one of my favorites, but pre-TZA, I wondered if I'd been looking at the game with nostalgia tinted glasses... but upon replay with TZA, FFXII truly impressed me more than the first time I played. The game holds up beautifully, from gameplay, to character models/animation, diverse locations to explore and outstanding art direction - plus the GOAT localization. (The quality of life additions to TZA also help!) I also think the re-recorded version of the soundtrack does Sakimoto's beautiful soundtrack more justice. There were so many pieces of music that stood out to me more in TZA that I'd missed in the original.
Absolutely this, and talking about Vaan's personal introspection is such a great point. Even though I'm always a bit grumpy that Vaan is the more advertised protagonist over Ashe (this seems to have changed a bit with TZA), I've become a bit of a Vaan defender, because he absolutely plays such an important role as a foil to Ashe. If it wasn't for Vaan, FFXII would have had a much darker ending for Ashe - and could have potentially become a villain's origin's story for her.
I tried the remaster and also couldn't get into it.
The first playable character/protagonist gave me a bad impression and I didn't like him even a bit. I also don't like "war stories" or stories that put you into it where it's "this country against that country." The minutes long introduction cinematic was also too convoluted for my taste. Also non-voiced NPCs is a huge turn-off (I got used to them since 2000...), and the running/walking animations really show their age as well. Add a pretty long playtime on top of all. Nope, I think this game isn't for me. Turned it off after an hour.
I think the only FF premise, and especially the exposition, I liked so far was of FFIX. X started strong, too, but the JRPG tropes drove me away and after twenty hours and decided that I will never finish it and uninstalled it. I think the FF franchise, maybe even JRPGs in general? aren't for me.
Time & Eternity is... "special". I never thought I'd say this, but I can even sort-of get why people like FF XIII (a game I truly, deeply, detest) after having played it, because it's just that bad. The art's pretty and the music is OK, but the MC is a reprehensible pervert (the first conversation in the game has him make sexual passes at his fiancée's friends IN FRONT OF HER), the gameplay is lame and it's technically just a step above Ride to Hell.
It's a game I really enjoy and I've put over 150 hours into The Zodiac Age on the PS4 (so I won't be paying the disgusting £44.99 for the Switch version). But for me FFXII will never be a top tier game because for two reasons.
1. It's too easy and 90% of the time there is pretty much no player input required by the player as you steam roll your way through enemies, this is even worse in ZA as the changes make the game even easier.
2. The story is sporadic and extremely poorly paced in places, combined with point 1 this makes the game somewhat of a slog for long periods.
I've found an old post I made which gives examples of what I mean:
1. It's too easy and 90% of the time there is pretty much no player input required by the player as you steam roll your way through enemies, this is even worse in ZA as the changes make the game even easier.
2. The story is sporadic and extremely poorly paced in places, combined with point 1 this makes the game somewhat of a slog for long periods.
I've found an old post I made which gives examples of what I mean: