Girl On Iron Bird (Final Fantasy)

Girl On Iron Bird (Final Fantasy)

Remembering… Golden Sun

Although it's an established destination for Japanese role-playing games, the Game Boy Advance's opening months were particularly empty when it came to the stat-heavy, time-intensive genre. Save for the occasional port (such as the excellent Breath of Fire) it was up to Nintendo themselves to show how things should be done. Enter Golden Sun, an entirely new property developed by Camelot, creator of the fan-favorite Shining Force series on the Mega Drive, as well as more cutesy offerings like Mario Golf and Mario Tennis.

In some ways, Golden Sun was a very traditional role-playing game, with its standard turn-based battles and predictable cast, namely its silent protagonist whose village is destroyed at the start of the game (yawn) and a cast of brightly colored and floppy haired characters to contend with. What it lacked in imagination, at least in terms of starring line-up, Golden Sun absolutely made up elsewhere. Although it was an overhead, 2D adventure on a handheld, it featured some stunning visuals, with a glossy, rounded CG-styled art style, and battles framed in a dynamic camera that were topped off with some impressive spell effects. And while its characters were pretty ordinary, the quest's set-up was an interesting one, which saw humble villagers Isaac and Garret pursue members of an evil clan attempting to light ancient lighthouses, as well as rescue their childhood friends, who they have held captive.

Two particular elements set it apart from role-playing games of its ilk, notably when it came to skills and exploration. The game world's form of magic, Psynergy, could be used both in battle and in the field to help explore new areas. Abilities such as Whirlwind would sweep away foliage while Frost would create ice towers to fill in cliff gaps, and practically all dungeons used these to create some clever puzzle situations. The other element was Djinn; a fleet of brightly colored, elemental monsters that were collected along the adventure and could be assigned to characters. Equipping one would reap several benefits, such as stat increases, new classes and what Psynergy they could use. It was an element that worked hand-in-hand with exploration, where new Djinn opened up routes in the environment, and that many old areas hid away bonus creatures to go back and find. For a genre where dungeons were designed to hold items and monster encounters, this approach was a breath of fresh air.

It was these elements that made the game unique, and perhaps importantly, added plenty of longevity. Unlike most role-playing games, Golden Sun was unusually short lived. Apparently designed to be one complete game but split into two due to cartridge size constraints, players were tasked with stopping an enemy party from activating four lighthouses, but the campaign only covered two. However, the game's length was extended with ultra-powerful classes to discover with the right Djinn combinations, a hidden bonus dungeon with extra challenges to play through, and the chance for players to pit their parties against one another over system link, which again like many of the game's elements, was something very few RPGs offered.

The sequel Golden Sun: The Lost Age soon finished the story, and offered a far wider larger world to explore, as well a unique twist where players started off as the enemy characters rather than protagonists Isaac and Garret. While it remained a popular franchise that fans hoped would return, last year's DS follow-up Golden Sun: The Dark Age was released with little fanfare from Nintendo, despite being received well by fans and critics alike. While Golden Sun appeared to be a run-of-the-mill RPG franchise, it offered some refreshing and very well-implemented ideas, not to mention one of the best battle themes I've ever encountered. With the tease that Nintendo is planning to revisit GBA titles in its 3DS eShop, I hope this is one of the titles earmarked with the downloadable treatment.

The JRPG Comeback!

This generation has been a huge letdown for JRPG fans, generally speaking. There have been high points – such as Lost Odyssey and Valkyria Chronicles – but overall, the lack of quality JRPGs that really catch people’s attention and imagination (like they have in the past) has dwindled dramatically since the release of our current consoles.

Recently, however, we’ve seen some things happen that give us hope about the future of the genre, especially in the West. But, let’s clear up one thing first – JRPGs are not dead, not by a long shot. They’re still highly popular in Japan, this is why they continue to be produced, both high quality and more budget titles. The majority of Japanese gamers’ “10 Most w\Wanted” games, as detailed in Famitsu every year or so, is almost always filled with these JRPGs, not with Call of Duty, Gears of War, The Elder Scrolls or Uncharted, like it would be over here.

JRPGs are still very important to the industry, and Japanese gamers are still more important to Japanese game developers than any other gamers in the world. Let’s face it, no matter how many self-centered gamers in the West would like to think otherwise, the industry does not revolve around them.  Thus, JRPGs are not dead.

However, the gaming community as a whole in the West has fallen out of love with them for a good while, especially the early part of this generation. How are they making a comeback? Let’s take a look at some things that are happening right now to give fans of the genre in Western regions a bit of hope.

 First of all, the PS3 is (once again) THE console to own for RPG fans. Many PS3 owners (like myself) bought the console early on in hopes that it would be inundated with RPGs like its predecessor. This, sadly, was not the case. For the longest time Valkyria Chronicles was the only PS3 game I owned, and I actually switched to relying on my Xbox 360 as my primary console, which saw great games like Lost Odyssey, Tales of Vesperia, Magna Carta II, Star Ocean: The Last Hope (exclusively for a year) and others.

Now that is changing. PS3 owners are finally getting what they paid for if they are JRPG fans, thanks in no small part to some great localization studios like NIS America. The last couple years have seen a huge increase in the amount of JRPGs that have come to Sony’s console – from new IPs like Resonance of Fate to niche titles like the Atelier franchise. We’ve seen White Knight Chronicles (1 and 2), Final Fantasy XIII, Disgaea 4, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny, Hyperdimension Neptunia and Ar Tonelico Qoga. All of these are great games in their own right, some selling into the millions worldwide.

In the next year we have Final Fantasy XIII-2, Atelier Totori, Ni No Kuni and Tales of Graces F to keep us busy until we end up with Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Tales of Xillia, Hyperdimension Neptunia MK-2, Atelier Meruru and others that are likely to be localized for the West.  The floodgates have opened and I can only see things improving for JRPG lovers who own a PS3.

 The other thing that gives me hope is the renewed interest many publishers and developers have in releasing their titles in the Western markets. For example, we see a huge tri-fecta of RPGs coming to the Wii in Europe – Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower.

As I mentioned earlier, Level 5 opened a new studio in California for Western development, which means titles like Ni No Kuni are poised to come our way. And like a little kid in a candy store, all of the Tales fans had to change their diapers when Namco Bandai finally announced that not one, but two Tales games were being re-released in the West – one for the first time (Tales of Graces F) and one remade in 3D (Tales of the Abyss 3DS).

Localization studios like Atlus USA, NIS America, XSEED and Aksys Games give us hope by taking risks on such titles as Catherine, Hyperdimension Neptunia, the Ys franchise remakes and Fate/EXTRA, opening up new titles to the Western audience that likely wouldn’t have even made it over here a couple years ago.

Then, of course, we have the recent Persona news – three new titles for the franchise confirmed, all most likely coming West (because that’s just what Atlus DOES). I think more Japanese developers need to be like that. Start to make it something you just DO to release JRPGs in the West once they’re released in Japan. I have no doubt we’ll see Persona 4: The Golden and Persona 5 announced for the West in the next year or so.

There were even hints – as crazy as it may sound – of Namco Bandai not sitting on their bums for three years before localizing Tales of Xillia for the West. After all, it’s probably one of Japan’s most critically acclaimed games in recent memory – across all genres, mind you – and could quite possibly sell over a million copies in that country by the end of the year.

 And don’t forget about the PS Vita!  With the PSP, Sony started off promising a lot from their Western developers, but in the end it was the RPGs that won the day and kept the system alive for so long. The PSP is an RPG lover’s dream handheld, by far. It seems RPG developers aren’t taking a back seat to the system’s follow-up device, either. Persona 4: The Golden, Disgaea 3 Return, Ruin, Tales of Innocence R and a Final Fantasy X upgrade are all in the works, as well as new RPGs from Square-Enix, Level 5, Ignition, Gust and others.

 There are actually some interesting-looking RPGs in the works for the 3DS as well. Regardless of your feelings on Nintendo or the hardware, we have titles like Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy and Beyond the Labyrinth. I doubt the 3DS – or Nintendo hardware, in general – is anyone’s go-to RPG platform, but these third-party endeavors should certainly not be forgotten.

 In the end, let’s be honest with ourselves – there’s no way in the world that JRPGs are going to outsell the likes of Skyrim or Mass Effect anytime soon. That isn’t the point, nor should it be the focus of what localization studios are trying to accomplish. Do you think NIS America thinks Atelier Totori is going to oust Skyrim as best RPG of the season? That never crossed their mind – not once – I can guarantee it.

No, instead, they work for the fans; they bring these titles over here for the fans, not to compete with anything else. And you know what? Fans eat them up by the hundreds and these companies turn a profit. That is what larger publishers like Namco Bandai should be looking at – serving the fans, not trying to beat every popular RPG out there. They shouldn’t even be competing with their own genre. Don’t try to beat the five million plus copies of FFXIII that Square Enix sold – it will never happen.

If publishers start thinking like this – which they seem to be willing to do considering all the recent announcements – then there is always hope for JRPG fans, and that the genre can indeed once again become prominent in Western regions. That isn’t going to hurt anyone, but will ultimately improve the gaming landscape as a whole – because there’s always room for more choices, a bigger variety and publishers who look out for their fans’ interests above their own profits.

Azure Dreams for GBC

Well, since my last post was all about the PSOne version of Azure Dreams, I figure that the follow-up should focus on the little known Gameboy Color version!

While Azure Dreams for the PlayStation wasn't exactly a hot seller, Konami still decided to port it to the Gameboy Color, possibly to cash-in on the Poke’mon craze. While still having the same premise and plot as Azure Dreams, the downsized version has a number of changes.

The graphics were now all 2D (obviously) with all the characters turned into squat little blobs. The art style for the characters is a bit different also. There are a total of 116 monsters (called "Tameons" here) to collect rather than the 50 from the PSOne game. Also, there is the option to exchange monsters with a friend (which furthers the Poke’mon connection). The plot is a bit involving, as you meet some of Guy's old companions, who will chat a bit and give you items. You also fight a stronger Ghosh in the upper levels, as well as a few boss battles. After beating the game, you unlock a 99 floor dungeon that hides a second ending. The music and sounds have been reproduced pretty faithfully, but still aren't amazing or really catchy.

Unfortunately, a lot of aspects have been dumbed down or cut entirely. The relationship building aspects of the PSOne game have been ditched. Because of this, Vivian, Cherral, Mia, and Patty are nowhere to be found. Fur is still here, but she no longer gets a character portrait. Also gone are all of the town construction elements. You can only upgrade your house and monster hut, and you can donate money to Nico in order to beautify Monsbaiya, but you can no longer build and place individual buildings. While both features were mostly useless, they were fun things to do outside of the Tower and I missed them when they were gone.

Strangely, many people claim that the game mechanics in the GBC version are better than the PlayStation version. I have to disagree. Sure, the monsters aren't nearly as aggressive, nor do they do as much damage, so it's not as immediately intimidating. And monster fusing is also a bit more in-depth. However, combat is even clunkier since you can no longer move or attack diagonally. It's hard to see Koh's attacks, and the view occasionally changes into a Poke’mon-style combat view, which slows down the pacing. There's still a map, but you have to go through the menu to get it, slowing the game down as it’s fairly easy to get lost. Items are far more plentiful, and for no reason whatsoever, all the items and spells were renamed, despite the translation otherwise being pretty similar to the PSOne game.

Overall, the GBC version is a bit of a letdown. The two features that made the first game feel unique were taken out (along with some of the characters), the game feels much slower than before, and the whole ordeal is just a bit too easy.  I guess those are the sacrifices that had to be made in order to translate such a huge PSOne title into a tiny Gameboy cartridge back in the late 1990s.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I love Christmas, and I love Shenmue!  For some strange reason, I always play at least 30 minutes of Shenmue each year at Christmastime.  I don’t really know why, but it has been a holiday tradition for me ever since winter 2001 (the year I first found Suzuki’s magnum opus under the tree).  All I know is that both things make me happy and fill me with holiday cheer!

Fun Shenmue Christmas Fact: If you set your Sega Dreamcast clock to 25 December, Santa will randomly appear in Yamanose and start walking around. If you speak with him, he’ll wish you a merry Christmas and suggest that you buy flowers from the local store. What a nice chap!

A Rambling Overview of My First Dungeon Crawler

Not everyone likes dungeon crawlers. Some are put off by the tedious gameplay. Others lament the lack of story or character development. Others are put off by the claustrophobic feeling of only having a single town or single dungeon. Add into that randomly-generated dungeons and many people simply won't touch the genre. That's how I ended up with my copy of Azure Dreams back in 1998; my friend who had it hated random dungeons. But I've always been a fan of them because they often are a more complex game than what's on the surface. Konami's Azure Dreams (on PSOne) may not have all of the stat-management and equipment lists of other dungeon crawlers, but it's an easy game to pick up and play, and I love it for that.

Azure Dreams takes place in the desert town of Monsbaiya. A remote frontier town, it’s located next to the Monster Tower, a mysterious structure brimming with both fantastic treasure and vicious monsters. Fortune-seekers from all over come to Monsbaiya in the hopes of striking it rich by collecting Monster Eggs from the tower and selling them for big cash. You play as Koh, a boy living in Monsbaiya, who has slightly more noble desires - he simply wants to help is struggling family.





Most of the action takes place in the Monster Tower, but what sets Azure Dreams apart from the standard Mysterious Dungeon-type gameplay are all of the things you can do in town, like build new houses or win over the numerous girls that live in town. These dating and simulation elements add a significant layer of depth to the dungeon crawling.





If you're familiar with any of Chunsoft's Mysterious Dungeon games (a few were released in America, including Square's Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2 and Torneko: The Last Hope), you'll be quite at home with Azure Dreams. The majority of the game is spent in the Monster Tower. Once inside, your goal is simple: get to the top. All you have to do is find the elevator on the floor, while collecting items and fighting the other monsters you encounter on your way. Each floor is randomly generated, although a few are constant. All the action is semi-real time, meaning that for every move you make, the enemy makes one move as well.

You can take up to five items when entering, although your familiar counts as an item. Your familiars will be controlled by the AI, but you can change their attack settings or control then directly if you want. It makes the game move pretty quickly, as there are no random encounters and you can clearly see enemies as they approach. You also have an auto-map in the corner of your screen, and you can full-size it and continue to walk around at the same time.





A special note should be made of the traps in the game. While some are harmless, there are times when a trap can completely ruin your day. Some of the more malicious ones are Go Up, which sends you to the next floor. Not bad, unless your familiar steps on it and you're about to fight a tough monster. Chaos, which muddles your familiar and makes him attack you, and Monster Den, where suddenly monsters flood the room you're in. All traps are invisible until you either use an item that shows where they are, or walk over them. They definitely add a bit of suspense to the game and keep you on your toes.





Every time you leave the Tower, Koh drops back down to level 1. However, your familiar retains whatever level it was at before you left. So basically you'll be tackling the Tower bit by bit, leveling your familiar and pushing up as high as you can, then exiting. Later on, you'll find a collar that allows you to control two familiars, either simultaneously or one at a time. But there is a catch - your familiar's MP will slowly decrease over time, which you need to restore with items like a Pita Fruit or herbs. If their MP hits zero, they'll become immobile. Fortunately, if they die, you won't lose them permanently. However, if Koh dies, it's a completely different story. You'll lose all of the items in your inventory (except for familiars and their levels) and end up back home. It's not a "Game Over", but it'll penalize you. The only way to safely leave the Tower is with the Wind Crystal, but you'll have to find one first. Like all items, their appearances are randomly generated, so you can really only leave the Tower when the game decides to let you.





Koh himself is somewhat helpless. Due to the fact that his level resets, you'll rely a lot on your familiars. He can equip a wand or a sword, as well as a shield, which can be strengthened with rare items, but he won't do much damage himself. Most of the time, you'll be supporting your familiar by healing it, using spell-casting items, or simply throwing crappy items at the enemy for small amounts of damage. There are quite a few items, such as orbs that cast magic, scrolls and bells that do a variety of effects, and seeds to strengthen/weaken monsters. It gets pretty interesting if you have a variety of items, because it's possible for you to take down some strong enemies with some clever thinking.

Other than training your familiar, the second most important goal is finding more Monster Eggs. You can hatch them inside the tower for a temporary ally, but can't take them back with you. If you do bring them home, you can then sell the egg for cash, or keep it, either to have a second familiar to build up, or to fuse it with another of your familiars. Monsters come in with wind/water/fire attributes, with a rocks/paper/scissors effect triangle. Fusing them can change the element of the monster, give it special abilities, new magic, and more strength. However, fusing two monsters just change stats around and won't create any unique monsters doing this, unlike the Megami Tensei games. While not required, it can make the game easier by fusing monsters to get desired traits and magic. Also, some monsters evolve after hitting a specific level.





When you're not questing in the Monster Tower, you can attempt to earn the affections of any of the girls around town, each of which is won through a different method. The goal is to pimp it up and get all of the ladies to like you, so there's no fear to jilting one in favor of another. Some, like Nico and Selfi are rather easy to woo, but other girls like Vivian and Cherral are a little more difficult. They're fun sub quests, but you don't really get anything much out of it. With your money you can also build new buildings or make some improvements to existing ones. You can expand your monster hut to allow for more monster storage, or simply construct a bigger house for your family. However, most of the others, like the gym, arcade, and pool are just dumb minigames. A neat touch is that as you progress through the Tower and build more buildings, people's attitudes towards you (except Ghosh's) will become more respectful.





Graphically, the game isn't so hot. The floors inside the Tower itself are a bunch of rooms hanging in space connected by pathways, with different textures slapped on every few floors or so. The character models look like someone took simple 3D models and slapped pixelated paint all over them - not so pretty. The artwork itself is very nice, and when you talk to NPCs such as the various girls they have a character portrait with small animations. They also have multiple pictures which change depending on their relationship with you. The music is also unremarkable. Each girl has their own theme but unless you sit next to them, it'll be brief. The Tower and town music, while nothing terrible, is forgettable and will just be in the back of your head as you play.

The Japanese and American games are pretty much the same deal. There are several rumors regarding Azure Dreams that have been floating around for years upon years. You can't marry any of the girls in the Japanese version, and you can't get Ghosh as a boyfriend. The marriage rumor is understandable, as the description of the ring in Fur's shop implies that you can propose, but you can't. As for Ghosh, when you go to the save screen, along the bottom the head of each girl that you've successfully wooed appears. The rumor was Ghosh was the last spot rather than Kewne, but he's not. The only difference is that the girls in the Japanese version have audio voices. Otherwise, it's the same game.





When it comes down to it, Azure Dreams is like many of the other dungeon crawlers out there, albeit with a few unique additions. While it's nice to get the girls and build new places, nothing really comes of it all. In fact, many of the buildings you make will only be to unlock the various girls. It would have really been a cool feature if maybe getting a girl would give you a bonus, or even if you could bring one into the Tower and assign them their own familiar. Still, it's something fun to do other than grind in the Tower. The music and graphics don't really stand out (especially in this day and age), and the plot is rather tame (although refreshingly low-key and drama free) but the game is good at what it does. While it can be difficult if you go for a long stretch without finding a Wind Crystal, if you like these types of games, then it's worth checking out. If you don't already, this nichy title probably won't convince you otherwise.

Getting Started on SRPGS

Strategy Role-Playing Games… It's an intimidating genre, what with all the grids and customization and names like Tactics Ogre. People are worried that they won't understand what's going on. That it'll be hard. That it'll be boring. So if you've made it past all those fears and you're ready to take the plunge, congratulations. You're a lot stronger than I was while contemplating Final Fantasy Tactics a decade ago. But where to start?

The short answer? Probably not with Final Fantasy Tactics. Not unless you're extremely patient, willing to put up with a lot of frustration and able to do the homework required to get a handle on the job system. Some people have in fact gotten their start with Final Fantasy Tactics. Personally though, I find the original intimidating. And it moves a bit more slowly than others to boot.

My long answer is that I technically got my start with Fire Emblem, but not before I dipped a toe into the water with Advance Wars. No, it's not technically a SPRG. But it does have strong SRPG elements, starting with that scary grid. It's also a bit more direct than most SRPGs, with character customization and leveling being exchanged for generic units.

Basically, once you've got the rock-paper-scissor power relation between the units down, the actual game is a breeze. Just drive a unit up near another unit, and open fire. Went a long way toward getting me comfortable with Fire Emblem, which seemed a lot of like Advance Wars with levels, characters and equipment. Nothing I couldn't handle. As a bonus, Advance Wars is really a lot of fun. Especially Days of Ruin, which took a back-to-basics approach to the franchise and consequently feels less complicated than other entries in the series. It's definitely not an SRPG though. Think of it as a toe in the water.

Really though, I think it's mostly an issue of mentality. Mostly, you just have to be willing to be patient. SRPGs are slower than a lot of games in other genres. They're like chess matches. The ultimate payoff is seeing your characters use hard-earned abilities to decimate the enemy, however that may happen. It's easier in some SRPGs than others to get to that point (particularly Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume). Thanks to the fact that it only allows four characters on the field its more action-oriented combat, Covenant is naturally more fast-paced than your average Nippon Ichi SRPG. In that at least, it's easier for newcomers to embrace, even if they aren't nearly as quirky.

There's also Valkyria Chronicles. Not only is it gorgeous, but the third-person perspective occasionally makes it feel a bit like a cel-shaded Gears of War. No space marines here, but maybe that's a good thing. Mostly, it's just a great way to break into SRPGs.

So for those who are interested in SRPGs and are wondering where to start, the best I can say is to take it slowly and be patient. Valkyria Chronicles and Covenant of the Plume make for great introductions, but there are plenty of other ways to get started. All you need to do is give it all a chance.

I’m Also Excited For… Dragon Quest X

Another 2012 title that I am anxious to get my hands on is the rather unorthodox Dragon Quest X!  More than any other game slated for release next year, the next Dragon Quest title intrigues me in terms of how it (seemingly) is striving to be a Wii and Wii U connected MMO on a console.  But this game doesn’t just pique my interest in terms of how it will actually function.  It also gets me thinking about the online potential of the fabled Wii U as a whole.

Sure, Nintendo’s next console will have a slew of familiar favorites: Mario, Zelda, and Smash Bros, among others.  But will it be more than just a platform for great Nintendo games?  That’s what I hope Dragon Quest X will prove.  Dragon Quest IX got plenty of my otherwise non-DQ-loving friends to tote around their DSes and go on epic quests with me.  But while I don’t expect anyone in the U.S. to buy a Wii U solely on the power of this RPG franchise, it might be able to show off the resources available to third-party developers and Wii U’s potential as an online gaming machine.

C’mon Nintendo!  C’mon Square!  Prove to me that Dragon Quest can evolve and prove to me that it can be a Final Fantasy-level success here in North America.  I desperately want a next-gen Dragon Quest title and I desperately want to share my online adventures with my friends on Wii U!

Final Thoughts on FF XII

Final Fantasy XII is a sprawling game, one that demands your full attention as well as a large chunk of free time lest you miss out on the full experience. I discovered as much when I tried to take the whirlwind tour, ignoring the hunts and the exploration in favor of sticking to the beaten path. It wasn't until I finally relented and started hitting those hunts with a vengeance that the world began to open up.

Now, after having finally finished the game, I feel like I can more fully appreciate the way in which FFXII allowed me to set my own pace, ensuring that I always had something to do outside of the main quest. In fact, it wasn't uncommon for me to spend whole days just running back and forth across Ivalice, grabbing this or killing that in an effort to continue powering up my characters. Whenever I got bored, I knew that the narrative would be there to get things moving.

So when I hear that people found FFXII boring, I'm honestly puzzled. Star Ocean: Til the End of Time was boring, dropping you on one non-descript medieval planet after another, with little in the way of anything interesting to do. FFXII, meanwhile, almost suffers from the opposite problem, offering so much in the way of content that I honestly felt overwhelmed at points. It was one thing to move at my own pace, but staring at the mile long marks list (longer, after I abruptly realized I hadn't yet visited the clan hall), I couldn't help feeling a bit dizzy. It was at those times that I looked at FFXII as a whole, and wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into.

It really doesn't help that the overall pacing is, shall I say, deliberate. Not dull or overly slow, just, you know, deliberate. I think the combat in particular contributes to this overall feeling, even though it's technically faster than what you would find in previous games. Mostly, I just found it repetitive to watch my characters automatically dispatch the baddies using the same methods again and again, even though that should technically make it no different than any other RPG. I think part of the problem was that encounters felt far more numerous, though it wasn't as noticeable thanks to a lack of a transition. I also could have sworn that the enemies took a lot longer to take down, thanks mostly in part to the fact that all I did was hack and slash at them.

I wish I could say that there was more to it than that, but unless I was tangling with a mark or a boss, there really wasn't.  It's not that I didn't like Final Fantasy XII's new and unique take on combat, it's just that when it comes right down to it, I prefer the speed and variety of Persona 3. Or heck, Final Fantasy X.

But for all of that, I can't write off FFXII. I don't think I would ever call it my "favorite" Final Fantasy game, but I appreciate the bold risks that were taken in the design. Repetiveness of the overall grind aside, the combat really is a joy when it’s at its very best. Similarly, while I certainly believe that the execution could have used a bit more work in place, I genuinely enjoyed what I saw of the story. Truly, I think FFXII lays the foundation for what should be the best RPG ever, which makes its flaws just that much more disappointing. I just can't help thinking, "If only they had gotten the espers right" or "If only the combat were more balanced in general."

In the end though, I suppose that complaints like these come part and parcel with experimental RPGs in general. While there are aspects of it that just don't particularly appeal to me (I guess I'm just not cut out for MMOs), I appreciate it for the risks that it takes, and I can certainly see why some people would call it their favorite Final Fantasy game, even if I personally don't agree with them. You know me though; I'll always love crazy old Final Fantasy IX. I guess there's just not enough room in my heart for two.