FFXII News

Super Shy Guy · #21

It also that stupid moogle summon thing that cost money.

Rattan · #22

How bout FF1?

PenguinMan · #23

OK, any FF game since FF3.

Rattan · #24

I don't remember seeing any in...uh...FFX

Daos · #25

^
There were none.

Perrin Aybara · #26

There had to be moogles in FFX...where were they.............dang. Maybe you're right. They had to at least have a cameo.

Wait, maybe one of Lulu's dolls was a Moogle. Yeahhhhhhh. That's it.-jay

PenguinMan · #27

FFX-2 doesn't count though. It's not a 'real' FF game. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Sim Kid · #28

^Because it is a charlie's angels spoof. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

supperdish · #29

KKKKKKKKKKKUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Banned from VGF · #30

Originally posted by Douglas of the 7 Winds:
^Because it is a charlie's angels spoof. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Because Tidus is the guy inside the voicebox!

Rattan · #31

Nobuo Uematsu, the noted composer for the Final Fantasy series, recently discussed his current musical projects in an interview with Dengeki Online. He revealed a few interesting pieces of news regarding upcoming Square Enix projects, namely Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

Presently, Uematsu's busy schedule has him working on the Final Fantasy XII soundtrack, a joint project with Hitoshi Sakimoto. He is also the mastermind behind the soundtrack of Square Enix's upcoming movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. According to Uematsu, the soundtrack will include three different styles of music: rock, classical, and folk. He is also considering reusing some song material from Final Fantasy VII, specifically the overworld theme, Aeris's theme, and One Winged Angel. In addition, Uematsu is working on the music for an unannounced Square Enix game. He also mentioned that another Black Mages album will be released sometime this summer or fall.

Because Tidus is the guy inside the voicebox!

Wouldn't it be great if he was physically stuffed inside the voice box?

Sim Kid · #32

I would LOVE it if he did that. Anything to be rid of that (Edited for your sanity) moron.

Rattan · #33

http://www.gametrailers.com/gt_vault/t_ ... asy_12.wmv

Trailer...thing. Enjoy...I guess.

Sim Kid · #34

The hero's head kinda reminds me of Marche and Ramza.

Rattan · #35

The latest issue of V-Jump has offered us some of the first new Final Fantasy XII information in quite a while. Featured is a large scan introducing us to the fifth and newest character, Pannero. Pannero is known for her love of singing and dancing, and she is also a close friend of Vaan's... close enough to be a potential romantic interest, even. Not much else is known about this energetic 16-year-old.
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New details have emerged regarding Pannero, Final Fantasy XII's newly announced playable character. The 16 year old lives in the same area as the main character, Vann, and is in fact very close to him. She lost her parents in a war, and works in a bazaar to make a living. Her philosophy is that as long as you never give up, things will get better down the road.

Pannero excels in both singing and dancing, and her dance is like a martial art. She has never had to fight, but it is believed that she learned how to do so from her older brother, who was in the army. We'll be looking to find out more about her and the rest of the Final Fantasy XII cast at this coming E3, so stay tuned until then.

Rattan · #36

CHRIS PRIVITERE
E3 CORRESPONDENT

Ah...Final Fantasy. The game we all want to check out. And what a doozy it is. I picked up the controller and began running around. And then I saw that the enemies are just out on the field waiting for you to slaughter them. But as I tried to press X to do so, I found that this installments battle system is very different.

Basically, what we have here is a MMORPG's battle system in a single player RPG. You assign each players attacks (with a very much appreciated “All Attack” option for the lazy), and watch as they sit there and smack the monster every so often. That's right, it's a Final Fantasy game that you can't just pound on X or O the whole game. Wild, no?

Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to see any cutscenes (something I plan to fix), so I don't really see much story yet. But the trailer I saw suggested a very FF9ish set up of the thief who wants an airship and the princess and the traitorous knight and all that. It just happens to be in Ivalice this time and looks to be more mature.

Back to the battle system, it seems everyone is customizable with magic. I saw white magic, black magic, and green magic. Where green would be enhancing spells like shell and protect. So it seems you really do play like an MMORPG where you cast your “buffs” and go slaughter stuff for a while. But just with a full storyline and FMV and all that. Looking good so far, assuming the battle system's very active approach doesn't get boring.

CORTNEY STONE
E3 CORRESPONDENT

Many of the demos at E3 forced me to start playing in the middle of nowhere. I have to give Square Enix credit for doing a great job in setting up the Final Fantasy XII demo. Players could walk up and choose from different starting points in the first part of the game: from the introduction, to Vaan's adventures in the desert, to the daring escape from prison with Balthier and Fran. Square Enix also deserves kudos for putting creative limits on the demo. For example, the shopkeeper refuses to sell you anything, saying that it's just the demo. One NPC also says he can't tell you anything now, but he promises to be more useful in the actual game.

Upon leaving the prison
I chose to begin in the prison. I met Balthier, watched some great cutscenes, and royally screwed up a mini-game. After talking to more people and watching more cutscenes, I actually got to fight.

Battles are alarmingly different in FFXII. As a Final Fantasy veteran, I was completely blindsided. After targeting the enemy, I had to bring up a menu and select an attack. When battling alongside Fran and Balthier, I had to bring up the menu, scroll to the side, and select their attacks as well. Otherwise, they would stand there and do nothing. Once I selected "attack" they would continue attacking until the enemy was dead or until I gave them a command to use magic or an ability. Once they defeated their target, I had to give them new targets and commands. The battle system certainly kept my fingers moving; unlike some other titles, it was not a matter of pressing the confirm button over and over again.

Enemies are encountered and fought in real time; random battles, apparently, are becoming a thing of the past. Some enemies aggressively charged me, some teamed up with their friends, and some ran away in fear.

After tinkering with the menus and fighting enemies, I kept thinking that FFXII is so much like another game I play far too often -- Final Fantasy XI. Apparently, I was not too far off; at one point, I looked over to see another player fighting a Mandragora. It was the same monster model Square Enix used in FFXI.

Similarities aside, Final Fantasy XII already looks great. The battle system is terribly awkward at first, but it becomes a little more tolerable over time. I can't help but feel conflicted. The battle system is almost too much of a departure, but the change is refreshing for the series.

Take most everything you know about the Final Fantasy series and forget it. Square Enix, for the most part, took the idea of the standard Final Fantasy battle system and tossed it in the garbage. Everything in the game is now in real time, with the exception of brining up menus to do things like selecting which enemies you'd like to attack or using items/magic. All of the enemies are seen on screen, and instead of switching to a separate battle screen, you just battle them wherever they may stand. I imagine this sounds bad to most people, but after experiencing it I feel that Square Enix pulled it off in a very fun filled fashion.

Also, they have completely revamped all of the camera angles. Now you have complete control over the camera. So for the most part it's like Skies of Arcadia, only you can also move the camera up and down. Being as how it is by SquareEnix, the graphics in this game are superb. However, it doesn't seem to be that much different/better than X or XI. Overall though, I really enjoyed playing the over two hour demo they had available, and can't wait for it to come out.

Sim Kid · #37

No random battles? YAAAAAYY!!

Wyborn · #38

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2004/20040517l.jpg

Erdawn Il Deus · #39

Not being a fan of MMORPGS in general, the battle system, to me, is a little bit of a dissapointment. FFXII still looks quite good though, and I wonder what the villain will be like.

FYI, I still think Vaan is a f@g... ish character. In appearance.

Erdawn Il Deus · #40

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm really hoping Square manages to pull their head out their asses and piece together something epic this time. And I certainly hope Vaan turns out to be a good hero.

This may put me apart, but I am seriously missing seeing Squaresoft shimmer silently into being during the opening credits of a videogame...