Red Scarlet
Member
Well, Amir0x gave me the ok earlier today to do this, so hopefully it'll be satisfactory.
Please try to keep spoilers marked.
Release date: October 31 (Some stores are rumored to be selling it on midnight of the 31st (a Tuesday), so check your local stores to see if they are doing that.
Official site: http://www.finalfantasyxii.com/
Final Fantasy 12 (regular edition) $49.99
Final Fantasy 12 LE $59.99
What's different in the LE: Extra dvd that comes with developer's interviews, History of FF movie, FFXII trailers, FFXII japan trailers, FFXII art gallery (thanks Y2kev).
The game supports 16:9 and 480i. (thanks, duderz)
It may not be known at this time how cutscenes and fmv's are treated, but in the Japanese version, both cutscenes and fmv's were in widescreen mode.
There are also added cutscenes in the US version that were not in the Japanese version (thanks DarknessTear).
-----
Reviews
Electronic Gaming Monthly: 8.5, 9.5, 9.0
Official PlayStation Magazine: 10 out of 10
PLAY: 10/10 (thanks SHOTEH FOCK OP)
Gamesradar: 8/10 (thanks john tv)
IGN:9.5/10 (thanks Holystar)
1up:9.5/10 (thanks jiggle)
Gaming-Age:A- (thanks BuddyC)
Gamespy:5/5 (thanks Dahbomb)
gametrailers.com:8.0/10 (thanks ~Kinggi~)
RPGland:9/10 (thanks May16)
Gamespot:9.0 (thanks ~Kinggi~)
(more to be added as they come out)
-----
Media
There's various pictures around the net, but I can add various ones if people want them.
Here's a random one I still had for use:
kenta supplied me with a gamespot link that has several screenshots of the English version of the game (no idea how spoilery they are):
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/finalfantasy12/screenindex.html
Awhile ago, I made various videos requested by people here and at somethingawful. kenta put them up at google video.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q="red+scarlet"
The first video should just be fighting around in a couple of places without any story spoilers.
The second one has more fighting around, but fights at least one optional boss and shows some of the Mist Knacks/Quickenings you can use in the game.
The third one is the 'teaser intro' from the Japanese version (no text anyway), and using most of the Mist Knacks/Quickenings in the game.
The fourth one, well that's for Super Metroid, so it doesn't have much to do with this game.
The fifth one is a short runaround of the main city Rabanastre.
kenta said he's uploading a few more, so I'll add them to this post when I know about them being up at google video.
ssoass found a youtube version of the English intro FMV (spoilers will be in there):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRX3IXDjgQs
-----
Information
Voice Acting Cast
ezekial45 supplied a list of some of the English VA cast the other day:
Bobby Edner: Vaan
Kari Walgren: Ashe
Cat Taber: Panelo
Gideon Emery: Balthier
Nicole Fantl: Fran
Keith Ferguson: Basch
Most of the game was designed by Yasumi Matsuno, of Tactics Ogre, Vagrant Story, and FF Tactics fame. Supposedly, Kawazu (SaGa series, Final Fantasy 2) took the reigns after Matsuno's departure.
Hitoshi Sakimoto (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, FF Tactics, Gradius 5, Tactics Ogre, Ogre Battle, Vagrant Story, and others) created the music for this game, with a really popular rendition of the main Final Fantasy theme. Here's a long version of it I recorded off the game a long time ago (hopefully it sounds ok): http://redscarlet.paragonsigma.com/FF12-Theme of Final Fantasy (Long Version).mp3
-----
Game Features
Final Fantasy 12 is an adventurous change of course. Many aspects of the series have been altered, so the game is a pretty different experience from what you may expect with another entry into the Final Fantasy series.
The battle system is different from most of the games in the series. Random battles do not exist in this game. For more info about the Gambit System, look below. The party (from 1-3 characters, changeable almost at any time to who you want in the battle party) is displayed as separate characters on field maps and dungeons (not in towns), and enemies are visible. Accompanying these enemies is an aggro meter, taken from FF11.
Enemies and some NPC's have a colored meter over them (and a life bar), representing their aggressiveness. Green means the object is at peace, and will not currently attack you. If you do something that annoys the object (cast a spell or sometimes attack a nearby enemy), you will then warrant that object's attention.
Be careful! There can be some badguys that you do not want to be angered. A red bar means that the enemy will attack you on sight. You can run away and try to escape from enemies until they are a distinct distance away from the originating spot, and they will return to where they first were. Sometimes you can bump into a rare monster.
Another new addition to the series is the Chain System. Enemies usually drop items when defeated, and the player is rewarded with larger quantities of items and more types of items if a chain is kept. There are 4 levels of chains, with each one giving more items and other helpful little bonuses. The amount of kills in a row to upgrade a change, as far as I know, is random. There does not seem to be an exact amount, or even range. As long as you kill the same type of monster without killing a different type, do not use a Save Crystal, nor go to a town, you can build up big chains. Chains do not seem to affect experience nor LP. Building up big chains nets the player a lot more items to sell. The items you get are useful to sell for money and get special deals at shops to buy.
You can choose between Active and Wait modes for battles. Active mode is faster, but the game keeps going (enemies and allies) while you are selecting the actions. Wait mode is less hectic, but a bit easier as well. You can also adjust the battle speed to have actions happen faster between the party and enemies.
Abilities and being able to equip new weapons and armor are learned via the License Board. Looking like a gigantic checker board, this is where you get the ability to equip new weapons, armor, accessories, learn new spells and skills (buyable from shops), and get some status boosts and innate abilities.
The way the License Board works is pretty simple. You unlock a 'square' on the board with License Points (gained from killing enemies), and the neighboring squares become buyable. This is how you open up more of the board. The boards are the same for every character, the path they go is decided upon by the player.
In order to equip a new weapon, you must have the weapon in your possession and have the square unlocked on the License Board to be able to equip it. Once you buy a square, you know exactly what it does. Beforehand, you are given a clue as to what kind of square it is (new weapon, new spell, etc), but after buying it you know exactly what you can now do.
The Gambit System is a new approach at acting in battles. It is completely optional to use them. The way it works is you get some slots (more are buyable on the License Board), and you can put some 'if, then' statements for the characters to follow automatically. To get more statements and results, you can buy them at Gambit Shops in towns and also find some in pots/barrels/chests scattered throughout the game (the contents are pretty random it seems, except for some special cases).
Early on, your options are limited (such as 'HP < 30%'), but as you progress in the game you can set more intricate Gambits (such as 'enemy weak against fire'). This makes battles flow faster with less time to input commands. You can interrupt a gambit at any time (before an action begins to happen) and tell any character in the battle party to do something else. You can switch from the party leader to another character in the party without going into a menu screen.
A very large sidequest to the game are the many mob hunts in the game. The way they work is not complicated, but some of the mobs can be tricky to find. Bars and a special building offer new bounties to look for throughout the game. You look at the poster, accept it, then find the NPC that wants the monster dead. Find and defeat the monster, then return to the NPC to get various prizes, such as gil, items, and equipment. There are some really nice rewards for doing some of the bounties, and fans of earlier games in the series will see some familiar foes. Bounties are completely optional and give good reasons to explore the many areas of the game thoroughly.
Speaking of which, the game doesn't have an 'overworld map' in the typical sense of the word. Towns, fields, dungeons, etc are all expansive 'zones' taking up several smaller areas that can take 20 minutes to explore fully. If you enjoy exploring, you will likely enjoy the large areas that make up the 'overworld'. The randomized locations and contents (for the majority) of pots sprinkled in zones adds to the desire to explore and see just what goodies are hidden inside. Just pay attention to your clock if you have to go at a certain time, it can be easy to get lost and let hours pass by unknowingly.
Another feature of the zones are that some experience physical changes (usually by a change in the weather). Sometimes its dry, other times the same zone can have a torrential rainstorm going on, which changes that zone's appearance (and enemies there). You can also do different things in the different version of some zones, including new parts of the zone only accessible during that different weather period.
Most zones have multiple places they lead to, so there are different ways to get to different parts of neighboring zones. Shortcuts can be found from different areas to other areas. This also lets you try to tempt the fates and go to some zones early and fight the monsters there. Save your game first, though. If areas seem too large to go through again, most of the zones have an orange Save Crystal called a Teleport Crystal. You can warp from a Teleport Crystal to another one you've already been to, so if you have to go back to an area way far away, you do not need to trek all the way back to that area.
For those looking for this game's "Omnislash", super attacks are called Mist Knacks/Quickenings. The way they work are as a particular square on the board, you can unlock them (up to 3 per character). Once a character unlocks a Mist Knack/Quickening square on the board, no one else can unlock it. You can chain them between characters that have them, giving a strong attack (plus a bonus elemental hit afterward). There is more to these than said above.
Along with these are summons, which work quite differently from previous games in the series with them.
Lastly, a feature that was added from (and expanded upon) FFX-2 is the ability to skip cutscenes and FMV's. So yes, if you want to know, you can do so at any time from a cutscene or FMV.
Alright, I guess I'm about done for the initial post. More info will be added as it trickles in, and I hope this post was informative. I hope y'all have a lot of fun with this game when you guys get your hands on it! Thanks to all the people that provided info (kenta/kev/Error/above mentioned) and Amir0x for letting me make this post. Now we are even for DQ8.
Please try to keep spoilers marked.
Release date: October 31 (Some stores are rumored to be selling it on midnight of the 31st (a Tuesday), so check your local stores to see if they are doing that.
Official site: http://www.finalfantasyxii.com/
Final Fantasy 12 (regular edition) $49.99
Final Fantasy 12 LE $59.99
What's different in the LE: Extra dvd that comes with developer's interviews, History of FF movie, FFXII trailers, FFXII japan trailers, FFXII art gallery (thanks Y2kev).
The game supports 16:9 and 480i. (thanks, duderz)
It may not be known at this time how cutscenes and fmv's are treated, but in the Japanese version, both cutscenes and fmv's were in widescreen mode.
There are also added cutscenes in the US version that were not in the Japanese version (thanks DarknessTear).
-----
Reviews
Electronic Gaming Monthly: 8.5, 9.5, 9.0
Official PlayStation Magazine: 10 out of 10
PLAY: 10/10 (thanks SHOTEH FOCK OP)
Gamesradar: 8/10 (thanks john tv)
IGN:9.5/10 (thanks Holystar)
1up:9.5/10 (thanks jiggle)
Gaming-Age:A- (thanks BuddyC)
Gamespy:5/5 (thanks Dahbomb)
gametrailers.com:8.0/10 (thanks ~Kinggi~)
RPGland:9/10 (thanks May16)
Gamespot:9.0 (thanks ~Kinggi~)
(more to be added as they come out)
-----
Media
There's various pictures around the net, but I can add various ones if people want them.
Here's a random one I still had for use:
kenta supplied me with a gamespot link that has several screenshots of the English version of the game (no idea how spoilery they are):
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/finalfantasy12/screenindex.html
Awhile ago, I made various videos requested by people here and at somethingawful. kenta put them up at google video.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q="red+scarlet"
The first video should just be fighting around in a couple of places without any story spoilers.
The second one has more fighting around, but fights at least one optional boss and shows some of the Mist Knacks/Quickenings you can use in the game.
The third one is the 'teaser intro' from the Japanese version (no text anyway), and using most of the Mist Knacks/Quickenings in the game.
The fourth one, well that's for Super Metroid, so it doesn't have much to do with this game.
The fifth one is a short runaround of the main city Rabanastre.
kenta said he's uploading a few more, so I'll add them to this post when I know about them being up at google video.
ssoass found a youtube version of the English intro FMV (spoilers will be in there):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRX3IXDjgQs
-----
Information
Voice Acting Cast
ezekial45 supplied a list of some of the English VA cast the other day:
Bobby Edner: Vaan
Kari Walgren: Ashe
Cat Taber: Panelo
Gideon Emery: Balthier
Nicole Fantl: Fran
Keith Ferguson: Basch
Most of the game was designed by Yasumi Matsuno, of Tactics Ogre, Vagrant Story, and FF Tactics fame. Supposedly, Kawazu (SaGa series, Final Fantasy 2) took the reigns after Matsuno's departure.
Hitoshi Sakimoto (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, FF Tactics, Gradius 5, Tactics Ogre, Ogre Battle, Vagrant Story, and others) created the music for this game, with a really popular rendition of the main Final Fantasy theme. Here's a long version of it I recorded off the game a long time ago (hopefully it sounds ok): http://redscarlet.paragonsigma.com/FF12-Theme of Final Fantasy (Long Version).mp3
-----
Game Features
Final Fantasy 12 is an adventurous change of course. Many aspects of the series have been altered, so the game is a pretty different experience from what you may expect with another entry into the Final Fantasy series.
The battle system is different from most of the games in the series. Random battles do not exist in this game. For more info about the Gambit System, look below. The party (from 1-3 characters, changeable almost at any time to who you want in the battle party) is displayed as separate characters on field maps and dungeons (not in towns), and enemies are visible. Accompanying these enemies is an aggro meter, taken from FF11.
Enemies and some NPC's have a colored meter over them (and a life bar), representing their aggressiveness. Green means the object is at peace, and will not currently attack you. If you do something that annoys the object (cast a spell or sometimes attack a nearby enemy), you will then warrant that object's attention.
Be careful! There can be some badguys that you do not want to be angered. A red bar means that the enemy will attack you on sight. You can run away and try to escape from enemies until they are a distinct distance away from the originating spot, and they will return to where they first were. Sometimes you can bump into a rare monster.
Another new addition to the series is the Chain System. Enemies usually drop items when defeated, and the player is rewarded with larger quantities of items and more types of items if a chain is kept. There are 4 levels of chains, with each one giving more items and other helpful little bonuses. The amount of kills in a row to upgrade a change, as far as I know, is random. There does not seem to be an exact amount, or even range. As long as you kill the same type of monster without killing a different type, do not use a Save Crystal, nor go to a town, you can build up big chains. Chains do not seem to affect experience nor LP. Building up big chains nets the player a lot more items to sell. The items you get are useful to sell for money and get special deals at shops to buy.
You can choose between Active and Wait modes for battles. Active mode is faster, but the game keeps going (enemies and allies) while you are selecting the actions. Wait mode is less hectic, but a bit easier as well. You can also adjust the battle speed to have actions happen faster between the party and enemies.
Abilities and being able to equip new weapons and armor are learned via the License Board. Looking like a gigantic checker board, this is where you get the ability to equip new weapons, armor, accessories, learn new spells and skills (buyable from shops), and get some status boosts and innate abilities.
The way the License Board works is pretty simple. You unlock a 'square' on the board with License Points (gained from killing enemies), and the neighboring squares become buyable. This is how you open up more of the board. The boards are the same for every character, the path they go is decided upon by the player.
In order to equip a new weapon, you must have the weapon in your possession and have the square unlocked on the License Board to be able to equip it. Once you buy a square, you know exactly what it does. Beforehand, you are given a clue as to what kind of square it is (new weapon, new spell, etc), but after buying it you know exactly what you can now do.
The Gambit System is a new approach at acting in battles. It is completely optional to use them. The way it works is you get some slots (more are buyable on the License Board), and you can put some 'if, then' statements for the characters to follow automatically. To get more statements and results, you can buy them at Gambit Shops in towns and also find some in pots/barrels/chests scattered throughout the game (the contents are pretty random it seems, except for some special cases).
Early on, your options are limited (such as 'HP < 30%'), but as you progress in the game you can set more intricate Gambits (such as 'enemy weak against fire'). This makes battles flow faster with less time to input commands. You can interrupt a gambit at any time (before an action begins to happen) and tell any character in the battle party to do something else. You can switch from the party leader to another character in the party without going into a menu screen.
A very large sidequest to the game are the many mob hunts in the game. The way they work is not complicated, but some of the mobs can be tricky to find. Bars and a special building offer new bounties to look for throughout the game. You look at the poster, accept it, then find the NPC that wants the monster dead. Find and defeat the monster, then return to the NPC to get various prizes, such as gil, items, and equipment. There are some really nice rewards for doing some of the bounties, and fans of earlier games in the series will see some familiar foes. Bounties are completely optional and give good reasons to explore the many areas of the game thoroughly.
Speaking of which, the game doesn't have an 'overworld map' in the typical sense of the word. Towns, fields, dungeons, etc are all expansive 'zones' taking up several smaller areas that can take 20 minutes to explore fully. If you enjoy exploring, you will likely enjoy the large areas that make up the 'overworld'. The randomized locations and contents (for the majority) of pots sprinkled in zones adds to the desire to explore and see just what goodies are hidden inside. Just pay attention to your clock if you have to go at a certain time, it can be easy to get lost and let hours pass by unknowingly.
Another feature of the zones are that some experience physical changes (usually by a change in the weather). Sometimes its dry, other times the same zone can have a torrential rainstorm going on, which changes that zone's appearance (and enemies there). You can also do different things in the different version of some zones, including new parts of the zone only accessible during that different weather period.
Most zones have multiple places they lead to, so there are different ways to get to different parts of neighboring zones. Shortcuts can be found from different areas to other areas. This also lets you try to tempt the fates and go to some zones early and fight the monsters there. Save your game first, though. If areas seem too large to go through again, most of the zones have an orange Save Crystal called a Teleport Crystal. You can warp from a Teleport Crystal to another one you've already been to, so if you have to go back to an area way far away, you do not need to trek all the way back to that area.
For those looking for this game's "Omnislash", super attacks are called Mist Knacks/Quickenings. The way they work are as a particular square on the board, you can unlock them (up to 3 per character). Once a character unlocks a Mist Knack/Quickening square on the board, no one else can unlock it. You can chain them between characters that have them, giving a strong attack (plus a bonus elemental hit afterward). There is more to these than said above.
Along with these are summons, which work quite differently from previous games in the series with them.
Lastly, a feature that was added from (and expanded upon) FFX-2 is the ability to skip cutscenes and FMV's. So yes, if you want to know, you can do so at any time from a cutscene or FMV.
Alright, I guess I'm about done for the initial post. More info will be added as it trickles in, and I hope this post was informative. I hope y'all have a lot of fun with this game when you guys get your hands on it! Thanks to all the people that provided info (kenta/kev/Error/above mentioned) and Amir0x for letting me make this post. Now we are even for DQ8.
