Final Fantasy XII: First Impressions

Vokes

Has the World Map returned ?

Plus eurogamer gave the US release 10 / 10, comparing the story threads characterization to BSG / Lost / Star Wars. An ensemble piece. Sounds interesting.

Retr0gamer

Not really. All the areas are interconnected with large Dungeon type areas in between them. You can however teleport easily between places.

Kenny_D

Lads whats the best site to get an american ps2 off? Had a look on ebay but would rather get the ps2 and game from the same site and have it arrive together

Vokes

Id be interested in this info too.

I don't want to wait till April, tbh

Kenny_D

I had a look on videogamesplus.ca and you can get a slim ps2 and ff12 for about €145 excl shipping + import taxes. Is there a cheaper way I can get my hands on this game before its PAL release?

Retr0gamer

You could chip your PS2, use the HD exploit (and patch FFXII which didn't work for me), or use a swap disk. Much cheaper than a whole new PS2.

FFXII definitely isn't worth 145 euros and customs charges. It's not exactly Panzer Dragoon Saga.

Vokes

Is the Swap Disk method any good?

Kenny_D

I have the magic swap disc/card. My ps2 is a PAL ps2 though. Does the swap disc method also allow me to play games from a different region? What about some kind of action replay card? Do any of them allow you to play games from another region?

I know its not worth 145 but for future use I could just buy games from america that are released early over there, or some games that never make a PAL release so it wouldnt just be 145 for ff12 alone

Retr0gamer

GStormcrow wrote:

I have the magic swap disc/card. My ps2 is a PAL ps2 though. Does the swap disc method also allow me to play games from a different region? What about some kind of action replay card? Do any of them allow you to play games from another region?

It will allow you to play games of different regions. Disk Swapping works for most games. It is however a pain in the arse. I'd get it chipped for convenience but then again I'm a bit lazy.

Kenny_D

Ah thats excellent so. Thanks for letting me know. I'll order it later. Again where's the best place to order this from?

Headshot

i rather if they left the ememies as they are ie you can see them but when your going to fight them instead go back to the old way of a traditional rpg when fighting

Fiach Dubh

My copy is winging it's way to me now If you want to import it I'd recommend Play-Asia.com. They are fast, reliable and good value. P&P on one PS2 game is about 3 euro, you'll get it in a week, you can pay more for faster shipping.

You also get vouchers you can use on your next purchase. Just make sure your PS2 can play imports, you'll need to get it chipped or use a swapdisk. Chipping is best.

Kenny_D

Got it for €46.59 from Play-Asia. Had another 360 game delivered from them yesterday with another code in it so got $5 off.

Anima

Disk swapping is a pain alright but you can always just not turn your PS2 off

Retr0gamer

Is the American box art as awful as every other american FF game?

Cunning Alias

GStormcrow wrote:

Lads whats the best site to get an american ps2 off? Had a look on ebay but would rather get the ps2 and game from the same site and have it arrive together

I got mine from videogamesplus.ca. Got a PS2 and 4 games and it only took 4 days to arrive! The exchange rate is fantastic, you will be saving between 20-30%. You will need a power convertor (not available from this site) and your tv has to be NTSC compatible (99% of all modern ones are).

Kenny_D

Yeah I was looking on VGP but I didnt realise my swap disc would let me play import games so no need now to buy an american ps2. Went with Play-Asia because I had a voucher for them so it worked out cheaper getting it from play

grimloch

Retr0gamer wrote:

Is the American box art as awful as every other american FF game?

Not quite, but close:

Retr0gamer

i'll be waiting for the PAL release then with it's beautiful simplictic artwork. American version is a sight better than the FFVIII and IX box art.

Cina

Well, looks like i'll be waiting til febuary to play this then. I got ****ed over by a company I ordered a certain magic swapping device from! doh!

Kenny_D

What was the company? Just so others know not to order from them

Cina

gamezonedirect.com . Haven't heard from them since I ordered almost 2 weeks ago, and I've sent numerous emails. I think they WERE legit but forgot to shut down their site when they went dead, and they've left their paypal up meaning I just sent 25 quid to them for free!

Retr0gamer

You can claim the money back from paypal.

Cina

Cool. Any recommendations on where to buy this perfectly legal device from? Preferably using paypal!

Anima

I got mine off a guy on boards for E30 + free game but I'm just after checking his account and he was banned .

Nice man though, very professional.

Kenny_D

My copy of the game just arrived. Gonna give it a go later once I dig out the playstation swap disc. Anyone finish it yet? How many gameplay hours roughly?

Kenny_D

I'm about 2 hours in now. Someone please tell me theres a way of changing the crappy inverted controls on the right analog stick. Other than that its very impressive. Lots of fmv's so far and all look great (cant believe these graphics are coming out of my ps2. lol)

Anima

Don't think you can invert the stick but it feels natural to me. Just get used to it

Kenny_D

Anima wrote:

Don't think you can invert the stick but it feels natural to me. Just get used to it

Yup I've got no choice really. Its only a little niggle but I'll prob forget about it after a while. I dont understand inverted controls at all. If you want to go left you should move the stick left.... simple..... lol:p

weemcd

Had the game for a few hours now, thought I'd give my feelings on it. I am at the Lhuzu Mines section of the game, went to face the guys in the cave at the end of the old railroad section and got pwnt, spent a fair time since then leveling up around that area - the endless skeletons making this a good place to do so.

Overall I'm finding it enjoyable, while frustrating in places, certainly feels more open ended than X, even though i do feel overwhelmed and lost at times. I'm 50/50 on the battle system at the minute, as some people have stated the Gambit system really can take control and make you feel like someone watching a game, not actually playing it, turning the system off leaves everything very cumbersome and time consuming. I'm hoping as I aquire more Gambits this should lead to more variation because at the point I am (10 hours - possibly spent about 2 hours leveling up.) I don't think I could face any form of difficult foes.

I don't enjoy the new checker board system as much as I did X's sphere grid, seems like a step backwards acquiring a weapon or piece of amour, then not being able to use it until you have the points and license for the piece. Admittedly I am a beginner when it comes to rpg's (played X and X-2 for a short time, got tired of X-2 VERY quickly ) but i felt i wouldn't be bogged down with a system so close to the sphere grid. Anyone any good tips or even a decent guide that runs through the licenses? I seem to have plenty of licenses that are of no use to me, and any useful ones I do have each member of my party has them - no variation between my players atm

All in all it's a good game that has already brought a smile to my face several times (the saurian chasing the wolf's when you first enter estersand being one of them.) The only other thing annoying me is trying to play the game in a house with a shared tv, haven't got nearly as much time as I'd want playing it.;)