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[Majmun]

By that logic Duke Nukem Forever will be the greatest game of all eternity.

Square really took its time to develop FFXII. And it shows. The game looks awesome. I've never seen a game with so much detail. The art design looks top-notch. High production values all over the place.

Square has something to live up to when it comes to Final Fantasy. It's one of their biggest franchises. They can't afford to mess it up, and they won't...

I personally think that FFXII is going to be one of the best RPG's ever. The demo promised a lot. I just hope that FFXII development cycle isn't an indication for the next-gen Final Fantasies. I just can't wait that long. ;(

 

[Diablos]

A lack of save points sucks, it either means this is a long game and Square doesn't care that some people don't have the time to devote 3+ hours to a game every day, OR it means that the game is extremely easy.

 

[madara]

They really need start suprising the gamer in good way and having you controlling the game under 2mins on startup. Sporadic story setup throught out the opening as it juggles back and forth. Some of best games do this, Beyond Good and Evil, Super Metriod etc. I know quite few folks that loved rpgs before ps era but cant get into them now as they just feel like movies and take too long for them to get into them. Games really can be at their worst when they try emulate movies but 17mins straight is not too bad considering its Square, whose wanted to be a movie publisher for ages now.

 

[Solo]

Since Duke Nukem games aren't that good in the first place, it does indeed defy any logic. FF games however are amazing. And the amazing quality of each of the games from FFVIII to FFX, which were all released in the span of 3 years just shows that Square can make fucking spectacular FF's. And those were made annually. Imagine what the quality would be like if they worked on an FF for almost 5 years? You get my drift?

Oh no you didnt! Duke 3D was the best of the Doom/Build engine splurge of shooters. And I would throw a "some" before "FF games are amazing". Some are also utter shit. I also love how you conviently dropped FFVII from your argument. Hater!

 

[Gattsu25]

Oh no you didnt! Duke 3D was the best of the Doom/Build engine splurge of shooters. And I would throw a "some" before "FF games are amazing". Some are also utter shit. I also love how you conviently dropped FFVII from your argument. Hater!

I'd actually say Duke3D and Blood are on the same level. Blood would probably get the edge because you can tell *just by playing the game* that the devs not only had a lot of fun developing the game, but they are also big fans of the subject matter.

Shadow Warrior was good, but not as good as the above...Redneck Rampage outside of the level music in the asylum was a waste. Hexen and the Dooms (Ultimate Doom, Doom 2, and the Lost Levels (fuck Final Doom)) were awesome games as well. I'd have to seperate the Build/Doom games into seperate categories unless you want a five way tie for first...which is why I don't really like lists anyway.

ANYWAY

LameDuke was more fun than FFVII

 

[methodman]

Hhahah. Duke 3d was fucking awesome himuro, maybe you've never played it?

Question for everyone: Zelda:TP or FFXII will be Better (after such a long wait)? or do you guys feel that you can't compare the two?

 

[speedpop]

Newsflash, FFVII was not worth the time!

 

[Solo]

I'd actually say Duke3D and Blood are on the same level.

Fair enough. For what its worth, Blood is actually my #2 of that breed behind Duke. Both are highlights of the genre. The difference being where Duke is mostly action movie parody, Blood is dark comedy mixed with the macabre. Both were the best at what they did.

 

[Scott]

A lack of save points sucks, it either means this is a long game and Square doesn't care that some people don't have the time to devote 3+ hours to a game every day, OR it means that the game is extremely easy.

OR maybe it simply means that the game simply operates differently from your typical series entry?

I don't know why people have to always assume the worst, but there have been many games that have featured different save systems than the "Save point at beginning of dungeon. Save point midway through. Save point before boss." set-up, and they've worked just fine.

Maybe, just maybe, they're taking more from Final Fantasy XI than anybody previously thought, and there will be a similar Homepoint system (ie: if your entire party dies, you get sent back to where you set your homepoint, be it in town or the beginning of a dungeon/zone/area, or what-not)... Maybe it's tweaked a little so you can save at these spots, as well, and they'll possibly give you items/spells to warp back to them. Or maybe it'll work similarly to most dungeon crawlers or Dragon Quest, where you can only save back in town/church, and again they'll provide you with quick/convenient means of getting back in a hurry.

Or...

See where I'm going with this? Less save points doesn't need to mean that the game is going to be short, easy, or "only for obsessive people who can play for hours" -- it just means they're taking a different approach. Let's just see how it turns out before complaining about it, ok? Not everything is negative until proven positive, after all.

 

[Diablos]

OR maybe it simply means that the game simply operates differently from your typical series entry?

I don't know why people have to always assume the worst, but there have been many games that have featured different save systems than the "Save point at beginning of dungeon. Save point midway through. Save point before boss." set-up, and they've worked just fine.

Maybe, just maybe, they're taking more from Final Fantasy XI than anybody previously thought, and there will be a similar Homepoint system (ie: if your entire party dies, you get sent back to where you set your homepoint, be it in town or the beginning of a dungeon/zone/area, or what-not)... Maybe it's tweaked a little so you can save at these spots, as well, and they'll possibly give you items/spells to warp back to them. Or maybe it'll work similarly to most dungeon crawlers or Dragon Quest, where you can only save back in town/church, and again they'll provide you with quick/convenient means of getting back in a hurry.

Or...

See where I'm going with this? Less save points doesn't need to mean that the game is going to be short, easy, or "only for obsessive people who can play for hours" -- it just means they're taking a different approach. Let's just see how it turns out before complaining about it, ok? Not everything is negative until proven positive, after all.

Don't jump on me when there's tons of other negative commentary going around overall.

When casual and hardcore FF fans alike have to wait over 5 years for the next full single player game in the series, expect lots of complaining.

The fact that you typed out a bunch of possibilities as to how the save system works because we STILL barely know ANYTHING about how this game actually plays is ridiculous. Threads like this should've stopped existing a couple years ago at LEAST. We're still talking about this game like it was just announced and details are extremely limited, because they are. As previously stated by various others in likely multiple threads, I don't think I've ever seen such a popular and well-respected game series be treated so poorly on the hype front. Final Fantasy deserves better.

If this is to be the expected wait in between FF's now, I don't know what to say. If FF12 came out when it was supposed to, we'd all be waiting for either another single-player PS2 FF, or another single-player PS3 FF right now. I highly doubt either will be a reality in the next two years, at least. So you see, this five year gap in between FFX and FFXII may very well go a long, long way -- much longer than originally expected -- if it totally screws with the FF release schedule for future games. And now that Square and Enix have to work on the same release schedule, that's another factor. This is what we should be speculating about right now. Instead we're still trying to get details on the save system, opening FMV length and what's beyond basic gameplay elements of this game. It's still 2003 in Squareland.

 

[MoxManiac]

Duke 3d was incredible. It even came with it's own level editor.

 

[Cloudy]

The opening FMV is a freaking 17 minutes one. You can't skip it, nor any other FMV in the game.

Awesome

 

[Reilly]

When FFXII comes out in America, will it really have been 5 years since FFX? Holy fucking shit...

A US release date hasen't been annonced yet. @_@

 

[LAMBO]

When are we going to be able to control FMV?!?!!!? I really hate not being able to pause and rewind. Nothing is more annoying then when there's some great FMV going on, and you get a phone call, or someone's at the door, etc.

The worst is when you can skip FMV, and you drop the contoller or press a button by mistake, totally skipping it, and never being able to see it again unless you play from your last save to the point the fmv starts.

 

[Diablos]

Yeah, it totally sucks when you beat the game and you cannot pause it or anything... endings tend to be long... YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

 

[Reilly]

Yeah, it totally sucks when you beat the game and you cannot pause it or anything... endings tend to be long... YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

I remember I was playing MGS2 and I was at the end which has about an hour of cutscenes. I had to leave, but I couldn't pause them. :lol

 

[Lakitu]

Yeah I can't believe a pause during a scene feature hasn't been implemented in a game yet.

 

[Scott]

Don't jump on me when there's tons of other negative commentary going around overall.

I wasn't "jumping on you," I was just using your post as a springboard for mine, as you combined most everybody's complaints into one neat, easily quotable sentence. So really, I didn't intend to single you out with my comments, and I'm sorry if it seemed like that.

And the bitching about not knowing how a game plays? Is anybody else absolutely fucking sick of knowing the ins and outs of a game before it even comes out? I'm about ready to hand out massive Kudos to Square Enix for being hush-hush about this title's gameplay mechanics, and everybody else is ready to don their torches and pitchforks... Guess it just means I'm alone in that, eh? Oh well.

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

- Within the game the movies can go up to 17 mins long. (ZOMG ASCII ART)

alternate translation: "There is a 17-minute movie within the game" (the fact that Japanese doesn't require singular/plural distinctions is always a source of ambiguity)

I think the "within the..." part strongly implies that it's somewhere in the middle, not at the beginning or the end.

Anyway, this information comes from a supposed insider on a fansite so it might not be true.

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

And the bitching about not knowing how a game plays? Is anybody else absolutely fucking sick of knowing the ins and outs of a game before it even comes out? I'm about ready to hand out massive Kudos to Square Enix for being hush-hush about this title's gameplay mechanics, and everybody else is ready to don their torches and pitchforks...

Apparently they'll be revealing further information on game mechanics, including the ability-development system, at an event on March 3rd. 580 yen to get in though.

 

[Zilch]

Apparently they'll be revealing further information on game mechanics, including the ability-development system, at an event on March 3rd. 580 yen to get in though.

Nice.

 

[duckroll]

Apparently they'll be revealing further information on game mechanics, including the ability-development system, at an event on March 3rd. 580 yen to get in though.

Its not an event. Its a magazine book. Much like every FF before it, there's a "preview" mag coming out just before the release with "juicy" news on all the systems, world places, art works, etc.

 

[Diablos]

Apparently they'll be revealing further information on game mechanics, including the ability-development system, at an event on March 3rd. 580 yen to get in though.

Of course you have to pay.

"Thanks for your patience! Give us money!"

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

OK, that makes a lot more sense, guess I should read more carefully.

 

[Deadly Monk]

Mmm, 17 minute, Matsuno directed opening! The opening takes place 2 (maybe 3, don't remember) years before the main story begins with Vaan. It is all about the takeover of Ivalice and the murder of the king. Should be one of the most entertaining openings ever. Just look at Vagrant Story.

I love you Matsuno.

 

[duckroll]

No one can fucking read in this thread. I swear. They just read the first post, and reply ignoring everything else.

Firstly, NO ONE SAYS THE OPENING IS 17 MINUTES LONG. It says the movies in the game can run UP TO 17 MINUTES LONG.

Secondly, it's an "insider" report, which could very well be false. But it's from a not-so-dodgy source so it should be good.

I hate misinformation, but what I hate more are people who don't give a shit that misinformation has been corrected (several times now) and just continue to spit that shit out of their mouths.

Fuck you all okay?

 

[dark10x]

I don't know how they managed that mis-translation as the actual text says NOTHING about the introduction.

I really hope this information is true, however. I'd love to finally play this come March, but I'm not holding my breath until it's in my hands...

 

[Zilch]

Himuro should do the right thing and edit in the corrections/warnings to his original post.

 

[Scott]

Fuck you all okay?

:lol

I can relate...

 

[duckroll]

I don't know how they managed that mis-translation as the actual text says NOTHING about the introduction.

There's a comment reply that speculates it's the opening. This was probably translated over at the ffxii.net forums where it's half translation half discussion half debate, resulting in a mess of shit. I dunno, I don't care, I just know it's WRONG! ARGH!

Edit: Where's Archie's avatar? I need it NOW!

 

[Diablos]

No one can fucking read in this thread. I swear. They just read the first post, and reply ignoring everything else.

Firstly, NO ONE SAYS THE OPENING IS 17 MINUTES LONG. It says the movies in the game can run UP TO 17 MINUTES LONG.

Secondly, it's an "insider" report, which could very well be false. But it's from a not-so-dodgy source so it should be good.

I hate misinformation, but what I hate more are people who don't give a shit that misinformation has been corrected (several times now) and just continue to spit that shit out of their mouths.

Fuck you all okay?

Again, these threads really shouldn't exist right now. If we had more info like we did with all of the previous FF's, that would've killed the potential for possible faux "insider" reports.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

No one can fucking read in this thread. I swear. They just read the first post, and reply ignoring everything else.

Firstly, NO ONE SAYS THE OPENING IS 17 MINUTES LONG. It says the movies in the game can run UP TO 17 MINUTES LONG.

Secondly, it's an "insider" report, which could very well be false. But it's from a not-so-dodgy source so it should be good.

I hate misinformation, but what I hate more are people who don't give a shit that misinformation has been corrected (several times now) and just continue to spit that shit out of their mouths.

Fuck you all okay?

 

[Scott]

I think the biggest benefit to Square Enix revealing the gameplay systems is that the droves of absolute fucking retards wouldn't be going around mindlessly bashing the demo without understanding how it plays. And don't tell me differently. I can count up all the people on this board who have understood it's play mechanics, without running out of fingers doing so.

I fucking swear, if it's not written in triplicate, stapled to their foreheads, and then read aloud to them as they play, then they just aren't going to get it.

I fear the impression threads for this game...

 

[duckroll]

I think the biggest benefit to Square Enix revealing the gameplay systems is that the droves of absolute fucking retards wouldn't be going around mindlessly bashing the demo without understanding how it plays. And don't tell me differently. I can count up all the people on this board who have understood it's play mechanics, without running out of fingers doing so.

I don't get it though, didn't the demo come with it's own manual?

I fear the impression threads for this game...

Don't worry, I'm sure those people won't be the ones playing the import come March.

 

[Scott]

I don't get it though, didn't the demo come with it's own manual?

It did, but I haven't even looked at it, to be honest.

I'm assuming it wasn't very detailed, though (I don't have it with me right now, or I'd look..), as even the demo thread here was full of misinformation and confusion. It's what prompted me to post my mini-FAQ on it, but I'm not even sure if it helped anybody in the long run...

Still, I remember when people actually played a game to figure out it's mechanics. Now, if they're not detailed in this point-by-point run-down, years prior to the game's release, out come the torches and pitchforks! I guess nobody gives a shit to figure things out for themselves, anymore.

Don't worry, I'm sure those people won't be the ones playing the import come March.

Yeah, I'll be reading the import impressions threads, but the ones I'll be able to contribute in? Full of the droves, as I'm waiting for the US release...

 

[speedpop]

The majority of time, it takes less than 10-15 mins into a game to understand it's mechanics for me without a manual.

edit: I'll be in the same position as Scott, there is no way on earth that I will read any domestic FFXII impressions.

 

[DarknessTear]

What, people actually read manuals? :lol

I've never read one in my life. And the only time not reading a manual messed me up in a game is FFT! But I figured out how to learn skills/change jobs in the next chapter. :lol

 

[Amir0x]

i take a look at the bigger manuals when i'm taking a shit sometimes

if that was too much info, good!

 

[SnakeXs]

i take a look at the bigger manuals when i'm taking a shit sometimes

*joins the club*

I sometimes peek in them and look for any decent pictures and stuff, and read them, word for word, during trips when nature calls.

 

[Deadly Monk]

No one can fucking read in this thread. I swear. They just read the first post, and reply ignoring everything else.

Firstly, NO ONE SAYS THE OPENING IS 17 MINUTES LONG. It says the movies in the game can run UP TO 17 MINUTES LONG.

Secondly, it's an "insider" report, which could very well be false. But it's from a not-so-dodgy source so it should be good.

I hate misinformation, but what I hate more are people who don't give a shit that misinformation has been corrected (several times now) and just continue to spit that shit out of their mouths.

Fuck you all okay?

Fine, sorry!

*ducks*

...i'm sorry. BUT....I still love Matsuno. That is all.

 

[duckroll]

i take a look at the bigger manuals when i'm taking a shit sometimes

if that was too much info, good!

Hey I love reading manuals with tons of flavor text in the toilet. It just makes pooping that much easier when I'm also learning obscure backstory in Warcraft or Starcraft or Diablo! Yeah you heard it, Blizzard manuals make bad shits more tolerable! WOO HOO!

 

[speedpop]

I agree with duckroll's Blizzard statement 110%! ! !

 

[Jonnyram]

Has it been announced how many discs this game will come on yet?
There was a rumour a long time ago that it would span two discs and that it would be one of the biggest FFs ever. Certainly with the mention of long FMVs, I can imagine the former being true. It doesn't say anything on the website though.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

Has it been announced how many discs this game will come on yet?
There was a rumour a long time ago that it would span two discs and that it would be one of the biggest FFs ever. Certainly with the mention of long FMVs, I can imagine the former being true. It doesn't say anything on the website though.

According to the translation the entire game will be crammed into a memory card. You play as the white dot and your team members are yellow dots. All the enemies are red dots and npc's are green dots. The part I hate is that they made all the save points blue triangles.

Fuck You Square!

 

[Logan Cano]

I just hope the game doesn´t look as terrible as in the demo. The beach setting was mediocre, but the temple really was worthy of dissapointment tears...I´ve already gotten used to the idea of unimpressive magic due largerly to a horrific camera, but the whole game looking as bad as it did in the demo would be heart breaking.

 

[speedpop]

I think the junior is serious.

Jump the ship!

 

[belgurdo]

Death to juniors

 

[Diablos]

Are you serious....

Well, to be fair, I would have to say PS2's biggest weakness technically is its texturing abilities, as many predicted even pre-launch. It's not as bad as people *cough*Deadmeat*cough* said, but regardless, PS2 would have definitely been better off if it had 8 or 16MB of VRAM, but it was too expensive because it used super-fast memory for the time.

A slightly different architecture where the EE and GS didn't necessarily need a complex bus in between them and a more unified approach to memory usage would have helped I suppose, but regardless, amazing things have been done with the PS2 texturewise. That being said, in large environments that are typical of games with really big areas like RPG's is where the PS2 struggles. Couple that with the fact that PS2, Xbox and GameCube are all outdated graphically, and it isn't surprising to see people let down by the graphics.

I personally think that art done right (especially by elite devs) > uber l33t hardware, but there will always be some things that could still look better if only you had some more texture memory and bandwidth. For example, characters' clothing close-up in FFXII; it is artistically impressive, but still a bit blurred because the detail has to be turned down in order to compensate for everything else that needs textured.

 

[Logan Cano]

Are you serious....

Yeah I am. I was pretty excited about the game, you know, 5 years without a proper FF can hurt pretty badly. The first setting I tried was the beach one, and I have to say I was somewhat underwhelmed. Going from MGS3, DMC3, Burnout 3 to it was pretty difficult. Still, the beach setting was amazing when compared to the temple one. Boxy environments, a single tiled texture repeated ad nauseum was....let´s just say it was very dissapointing.

I tried some magic, and it looked pretty bad as well. I reckon that is most likely due to the camera position, but it´s still not easy to go from FFX´s screen sized spells to FFXII´s, that occupy a tiny portion of the screen and don´t ammount to anything more than a colorfull blip. However, the cutscene screenshots look amazing, so there is hope I imagine- I just wish there is more consistency in this game, having a very detailed, 5000 poly Tidus talking to a 300 poly Auron was distracting at times.

BTW, I don´t mind the junior tag, it´s an interesting way of proving everyone in the forums I can think and reason despite not being known.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

I just hope the game doesn´t look as terrible as in the demo. The beach setting was mediocre, but the temple really was worthy of dissapointment tears...I´ve already gotten used to the idea of unimpressive magic due largerly to a horrific camera, but the whole game looking as bad as it did in the demo would be heart breaking.

In an attempt to stop the mutiny, I "sort of" understand what you are complaining about.
I didn't like the camera system in the demo, I was also unimpressed by the temple, and why do my main characters have no fingers?

However, the effects used on certian things were amazing to me.
I loved those bombs, man that effect used to make them glow looked fucking sweet, the summons looked CGesque, and the art direction, coupled with the music, at the beach was wonderful. Some of the magic spells they show off after you complete both quests reminded me of JE mixed with FFXI.

I have yet to understand why some people, not you, complain of jaggies and shimmer. On my set it was barely noticeable. No more so than any other console game and certianly not as bad as something like KOTOR.

IMO, based on the demo I played, Square needs to...
A. Fix the camera
B. Tighten up the graphics on level 3
C. Release the game

*edit*
You know what the real problem is?

They should have stuck with the FFX/-2 battle screens where the camera and characters were fixed. It highlighted the special effects and made it easy for you to know what was happening on screen.