[QUOTE="TheMysticHorse"][QUOTE="yoshi_64"][QUOTE="TheMysticHorse"]Still, Vaan's brother died because of the Empire, and the fact they tried muscling into Dalmasca. He's certainly going to feel biiter towards them, because had they not been so lustful for power, his brother wouldn't have been killed in the process, no matter who killed him. It's blatantly obvious from the start of the game that he dislikes the empire, so he naturally was going to fight for his brother against the empire. It doesn't really matter that he doesn't know if Basch/Gabranth did it from the start, what he knows is that it would not have happened had the empire not been trying to invade. Penelo did lack development, which is probably why they dedicated the ending to her.
yoshi_64
True,, about the last part for Penelo. I kind of felt they did that for her because she had no development.As for Vaan, I pretty much know he's fighting for his brother and in the beginning he wanted to accomplish his dreams of becoming a sky pirate (which fits for the RW game on DS) however I guess my disappointment was, they had me try and care for this character who pretty much ended being one of a few. By that I mean, I kind of was thinking he'd be the hero of the game, the leader of sorts, and the man who'd rise up, grow through these trials, and become more than a street rat out for vengenances of sorts.
I'm not saying he was bad or terrible, but I guess the problem XII had for me was that it didn't feel like anyone was ever taking control of the story... yet that was how VI was so why do I feel this way? I don't really know... but VI's characters were very well told, likeable, and had great backstory and development to make them feel unique and special.
XII's story was great for its mature storyline and its adult themes in my opinion. Yes the characters lacked development, but the plot surrounding them was still great imo and I think XII emphasized one thing: war isn't about just one person, it's about many people. That meant that the individual characters in XII perhaps weren't as detailed because the plot was supposed to affect many many people. Sure it didn't do it as well as VI. But then I'd say XII's gameplay was better than VI's was, even though I prefer VI overall.Ture, I don't have any problems with XII's storyline. It was wonderfully told, and a much needed break IMO from the usual fantasy power-lord trying to rule over the world and a group of heroes try and stop the force. XII showed even some important NPCs and the lifestyle of many affected cities because of this war.
Gameplay wise, I'd say I honestly still prefer VI's. Part of the reason is, while I love the quasi real-time battle system (sure you could move around, but attacks still happened in a turned-based system a la KOTOR) and no more random encounters either. However, the problem I had with XII's gameplay mechanic overall was the weapon system and character definition.
Anyone could wield any weapon, wear the same armor, and the like if you so choosed. The liscene board was setup so anyone could go any path, and for the first few 20 some hours in the beginning of the game... it was no problem. I chose different paths and made some different people, but once you complete the License board, everyone feels the same... and it was pretty easy to complete the thing too.
Sure VI had a system where everyone could learn all the same magic and use the same summons, but each character had a unique fighting style and it was fun to really explore them and use them for different enemies or ust swap around. Mainly, for XII, the benefit I only saw for different weapons from Swords, Staves, Hammers, etc was ... well it was really marginal if you ask me. I had Bash wield an Axe for the whole way through, Fran, Balthier and Vaan for the longest time held staves, guns I found useless as it was hard to obtain good enough ammo and even guns for that matter. Swords were standard fare too, Penelo, Ashe, and Vaan began being my sword wielers.
Magic mostly was something I rarely had to worry about... sure I set the appropiate gambits to heal my ailments, or use on the enemies, but summoning I found so broken and useless. You lose 2 people for one Esper, whom would either die easily on a boss, or the summoner would die on the boss, making the esper have to leave... I rarely saw any of the Esper's strongest attacks and they really didn't provide much benefits, because you'd lose a ton of MP on summons or all MP on the highest ones, that it left you defenseless and wasting ethers.
If you ever get a chance, try out the International Version, it fixes most of your complaints. I still liked the License board because it gave me the freedom to design my characters how I want, rather than being forced to follow a stereotype stat upgrades all though the game. But at the same time, it did generalize characters too much.Still, I think the gambits added a whole new dimension to the combat, two methods of battling, gambits and manual input. Meant you had to plan ahead of battle while combining manual commands with gambits for the best effects. I loved it personally. So much strategic depth I found in it.
Log in to comment