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Square Enix Officially Unveils Final Fantasy XII

Posted by simoniker on from the mooglewhack dept.

squareamp writes "According to 1UP's in-person report from the Tokyo unveiling, Square Enix has officially taken the wraps off of the latest Final Fantasy game - Final Fantasy XII. There are new images available of our main characters: Vaan (1), Vaan (2), Ashe (1), Ashe (2) - who are both described as Humes (taking a page from the race system of Final Fantasy XI: Online)." 1UP's coverage of the event also reveals "there won't be any branching-path system in place", possibly making the game more freeform, which could be "a large (and welcome) step away from the very linear scenario design of past Final Fantasies." The creators also indicated the game is 70 percent done, and is currently "due to be released in Japan in summer 2004."

87 comments

  1. Uhhh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Why is she picking her nose??

    1. Re:Uhhh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought the same thing! What a stupid way to ruin great work...

  2. First thing that came to MY mind was... by dagbrown · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is Vann supposed to be a member of Glay or of L'arc~en~ciel?

    1. Re:First thing that came to MY mind was... by devnull17 · · Score: 1

      Hey, if you're going to pick a Japanese band that dresses like RuPaul to make fun of, at least pick one that isn't good. Like Malice Mizer (or just Gackt) or Dir en Grey or pretty much any J-Rock band other than the two you just mentioned. L'Arc and Glay both have great sounds.

      I feel like a complete nerd just for posting this. And I'm on Slashdot, for chrissake!

    2. Re:First thing that came to MY mind was... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Generally, I agree.

      You're also an asshole. Go die somewhere.

    3. Re:First thing that came to MY mind was... by shoptroll · · Score: 1

      That'd be ironic if it was L'arc-en-ciel...

      Didn't they do a track for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within?

      --
      Insert Sig Here
    4. Re:First thing that came to MY mind was... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They can't use Gackt anymore... because he was already used as Squall from FF8. Squall is Gackt

  3. Bah by ElleyKitten · · Score: 3, Funny

    Van looks like he's twelve. And Ashe doesn't know what a skirt supposed to be. And if I hear one more time that this is going to be "the most revolutionary Final Fantasy ever!" while being shown the same cookies from the same mold, I'm going to kill something.

    --
    "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
    1. Re:Bah by Spleener12 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      And if I hear one more time that this is going to be "the most revolutionary Final Fantasy ever!" while being shown the same cookies from the same mold, I'm going to kill something.

      Well, I don't know if it will be revolutionary, but it should turn out to be more different from the rest of the series than any other game aside from possibly FF8, mostly due to the fact that it's being directed by the guy who did Vagrant Story and FF Tactics, as opposed to Sakaguchi, who's done every single other FF, if I recall correctly. So you could say that it's the same mold with different cookies.

      Mmmmmmmmmmm... cookies...

    2. Re:Bah by DrEldarion · · Score: 4, Funny

      Van...he's...

      He? HE? Oh...

      ...

      (zip)

      =(

    3. Re:Bah by dtfinch · · Score: 1

      ewww. Vaan looks too much like a woman.

    4. Re:Bah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gotta hand it to Squaresoft. They've made the first game where you can actually play Michael Jackson (if he were to look like a 12 year-old right now).

    5. Re:Bah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If he were to look like a 12-year-old, he'd still be black.

    6. Re:Bah by bitrott · · Score: 1

      And... this is a problem because you don't like the way women look?

    7. Re:Bah by xSauronx · · Score: 1
      my first thought was "look, a backstreet boy..."

      vaan is about as masculine looking as porcelain doll

      --
      By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth. -- George Carlin
    8. Re:Bah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Visually, however, it could be another direct sequel to Final Fantasy X. (Much in the same way FF5 could have been to 4).
      I was hoping they'd change up the graphical style a bit. It's very much the product of marketting research on teenage lusts and pop-culture icons.

    9. Re:Bah by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1

      My revolutionary comment was a result of seeing too many articles like this. Articles that say the game is nifty and unique but gives nothing solid to be excited about. I love Final Fantasy. I want to be excited. But being excited about the fact that it's on two discs or the game is huge or that they expect people to say "Is this Final Fantasy?" when they play it? I'll pass.

      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
  4. Yawn-Inducingly Bland by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Listen Square-Enix, I'm sure you put lots of time into designing those characters, but really, could you have come up with anything balnder? They look like friggin' dolls. There's nothing special or intersting about them, they just look 'meh'.

    1. Re:Yawn-Inducingly Bland by DrEldarion · · Score: 1

      That may be the point. A lot of RPGs start out with you just being relatively normal people - why should you look like a spiky-headed huge-muscled freak when you're supposed to just be a normal kid?

      I like the fact that they look like real, normal people. It makes them fit the role a lot better.

    2. Re:Yawn-Inducingly Bland by PainKilleR-CE · · Score: 2, Interesting

      why should you look like a spiky-headed huge-muscled freak when you're supposed to just be a normal kid?

      I like the fact that they look like real, normal people. It makes them fit the role a lot better.

      Generally, most of the games don't make any reference to the characters' ages. On the other hand, the only thing that prevents all of the characters from being fairly androgenous is the fact that they tend to make the female characters look like 12 year old girls with the breasts of a 16-18 year old. The males just look like 10-12 year old girls.

      On the other hand, the games are Japanese, and the characters may more accurately reflect older (mid to late teen) Japanese people than Americans.

      Of course, all of the ideas of them looking like normal people go out the window when you have characters like Cloud (FF7) carrying (and using) swords bigger than they are, in both width and height.

      --
      -PainKilleR-[CE]
    3. Re:Yawn-Inducingly Bland by Metal_Demon · · Score: 1

      Final Fantasy is not the right series for those who want to "be" the main character. They throw you into the lives of other characters. Sounds to me like you would prefer games that let you "create" your character by customizing their look and what not.

      --
      Trust Your Technolust
    4. Re:Yawn-Inducingly Bland by Haeleth · · Score: 1

      I like the fact that they look like real, normal people. It makes them fit the role a lot better.

      Er, do "real, normal people" dress like that where you come from?

  5. Welcome? by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you don't like the type of game past Final Fantasy games have been, then please don't pretend that you can say anything objective about them. There is nothing wrong with a linear story line. Many of us enjoy that type of game. If you don't then go play one of the millions of other games out there that don't, and end up being massive slash fests instead.

    Also, in a preemptive response to the inevitable "Final Fantasy games invented the need for a strategy guide" comments: Shut up! Just because you're too dumb to figure out how to do things in the game without the guide, or you're too lazy to take notes while you play so you can actually remember the important details and figure things out on your own doesn't mean the strategy guide is *required*.

    It amazes me that people think like this and then wonder why the adventure genre dried up. /me dons asbestos clothing....

    1. Re:Welcome? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People need guides for Final Fantasy? Those games take you by the hand and walk you through it.

    2. Re:Welcome? by DrEldarion · · Score: 1

      That all depends. If you want to just go through the plot without any of the extras, yes, you can just breeze through without a guide.

      However, if you want to get all the extras, a guide is definitely needed. Take Final Fantasy 7, for instance. If you want the Knights of the Round materia, you have to (if I remember correctly, it's been a looong time):

      Catch a chocobo from a certain spot.
      Race it, getting it to S-Class.
      Catch another chocobo from another certain spot.
      Race it, getting it to S-Class.
      Find the right kind of nut from a certain enemy in a certain spot.
      Breed them repeatedly until you have a green and blue chocobo, feeding them the nut.
      Race both of THOSE, getting them to S-Class.
      Find the right kind of nut from a certain enemy in a certain spot.
      Breed those until you get a black chocobo, feeding them the nut.
      Catch ANOTHER chocobo from ANOTHER certain spot.
      Get ANOTHER kind of nut from ANOTHER certain enemy in ANOTHER certain spot.
      Raice THAT chocobo until it's S-Class.
      Breed those until you get a Gold chocobo, feeding them the nut.
      Figure out what little island to go to to get the materia, and go there with the Chocobo.

      If you can figure that out on your own, you have WAY too much time on your hands.

    3. Re:Welcome? by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      I'm so glad you used that as an example.

      Everything you needed to do to get the gold Chocobo and the Nights of the Round materia was dictated to you by a guy in the mountains... (It's been a long time for me too) You just ahd to write down what he said each time you visited, and after about 25 or so visits you had full instructions on how to get your gold chocobo. No guide, and no trial and error required.

      This is the case for all the extras in the Final Fantasy games. You need to be observant, and you need to take notes, but you don't need a guide.

    4. Re:Welcome? by pmz · · Score: 0, Troll

      wonder why the adventure genre dried up.

      It's interesting how the popularity of classic adventure games seems inversely proportional to the popularity of Microsoft software...

      --
      Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
    5. Re:Welcome? by Ieshan · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      If you don't like the type of game past Final Fantasy games have been, then please don't pretend that you can say anything objective about them.

      You win most ridiculous, arrogant, and ignorant statement ever posted on Slashdot. Here, let me reword that for you:

      If you don't like something, you're unable to offer an objective opinion of it's faults.

      In other words, you are either:
      Convinced that everything you do is correct.
      Lacking in grade-school logic.
      Still in grade-school.

    6. Re:Welcome? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And you just HAD to mention Microsoft. God!

    7. Re:Welcome? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      God, you're right. It's been so long since I've played that game, I completely forgot.

    8. Re:Welcome? by pmz · · Score: 1


      This thread didn't seem to have enough trolling. I"m just keeping up the quota.

      --
      Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
    9. Re:Welcome? by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      Can I give you a stupidity award?

      Here, let me reword that for you:

      Sure, go ahead and boil my statement down into something it doesn't say. If you don't like a particular type of thing, then you are ill equipped to offer an objective opinion on something of that type relative to other things of the same type. End of story.

      Next time you want to go rewording somebody's statements you should first make sure you have a firm grasp on comprehension. Once you have that down we can talk about interpreting subtlty in the context of a discussion (this particular discussion spans years and forums). Soon there after maybe we can have you reading at a sixth grade level.

      Let's see if I can spell this out for you so I don't go off thinking you were right dispite me returning your obnoxious insults...

      The post contained the phrase: a large (and welcome) step away from [...] past Final Fantasies. This means said poster was not talking about the "faults" of "something" (your words), but of the relative difference between the game he was discussing and others in the series. He was also exposing his bias in an historically long running argument over this particular game style and its merits. This is the implied knowledge derived from the context of my statement. Now, in my statement the subject at the end: don't pretend that you can say anything objective about them , refers to the class of object I was referencing at the beginning of the sentence, not the object itself as you changed it to in your (mis-)rewording.

    10. Re:Welcome? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You failed.

    11. Re:Welcome? by Tofino · · Score: 1
      Or you could just go to the traveller guy in the second town (no, I'm NOT looking it up, www.gamefaqs.com) and get the gold chocobo that way, but I'm not masochistic...

      Wait, yes I am -- I did it both ways :|.

    12. Re:Welcome? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, this is true. Furthermore, the people at the Chocobo Ranch even tells you of this guy's existance, in case you want to go out and find him. You don't even have to write down what he says, as the little girl at the ranch does that for you!

      And racing chocobos to S-class isn't necessary to breed a gold chocobo... A-class should be good enough in most cases, but you can only get the "racing gift" after winning so many S-class races (and yes, I *am* replaying FF7 right now).

  6. More screenshots by Antisthenes · · Score: 2, Informative
    See also here for some more screenshots.

    (Thanks be to Tycho for the link.)

  7. no branching path == extremely linear by chrismcdirty · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Am I the only one who interpreted "no branching path system in place" as "extremely linear gameplay with one ending".

    The way I see it, a branching path system involves different results to your actions... something I don't recall any FF game having.

    It just seems to me that they're trying to pretty up the same old game using new-fangled wording.

    --
    It's like sex, except I'm having it!
    1. Re:no branching path == extremely linear by moronga · · Score: 4, Informative
      Am I the only one who interpreted "no branching path system in place" as "extremely linear gameplay with one ending".

      Yes. Those of us who RTFA saw the rest of that paragraph:

      ...rather, the scenario has been designed such that the players have a wide breadth of possibilities within the scenario, giving them the opportunity to choose their focus within the wider scope of the story. If true, this would be a large (and welcome) step away from the very linear scenario design of past Final Fantasies.
      :)
    2. Re:no branching path == extremely linear by Spleener12 · · Score: 1
      RTFA, though it's partially the poster's fault for quoting it like that. Here's the whole paragraph:

      That's all we know about the gameplay so far, but Matsuno did have one more thing to say: Final Fantasy XII is not a movie, he stressed. It's an interactive game, and hence "the wishes and preconceptions of the player will affect what they find out of the story." There won't be any branching-path system in place; rather, the scenario has been designed such that the players have a wide breadth of possibilities within the scenario, giving them the opportunity to choose their focus within the wider scope of the story. If true, this would be a large (and welcome) step away from the very linear scenario design of past Final Fantasies.

    3. Re:no branching path == extremely linear by falcon5768 · · Score: 1

      Actually FF X-2 has multiple endings as did FF 6.

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

    4. Re:no branching path == extremely linear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FF6 had no multiple endings. The end of the game would show you the lives of those characters you had bothered to pick up during the latter half of the game, but the plot and story were exactly the same.
      If you didn't get all of your characters on the second half of the game, and then beat the final boss, it wouldn't tell you what happened to those you missed and would continue along the same ending animation.

      I'd hardly call that multiple endings, if that's what you were referring to.

    5. Re:no branching path == extremely linear by Daetrin · · Score: 1
      "giving them the opportunity to choose their focuse within the wider scope of the story"?

      Does that actually mean that it won't be linear? Or is that just corporate speak for "it's linear, but we don't want people to think that it's linear"?

      --
      This Space Intentionally Left Blank
    6. Re:no branching path == extremely linear by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1

      This is what I don't like about this hype stuff. They tell us stuff that either doesn't make sense, or just doesn't mean anything. Show us videos, explain how the battle system works, or just be quiet, but don't tell us junk.

      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
  8. Official Site by moronga · · Score: 1

    www.ff12.com (Flash site)

    The images linked in the submission are taken from the Characters section.

  9. Perverted (yet serious) observation by Spleener12 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    You know, I don't think that the pictures of Ashe are really of the same person. this one not only has blonde hair as opposed to brown, but she also has significantly smaller breasts than this one.

    Could be a trick of the light, though. Or something.

    1. Re:Perverted (yet serious) observation by davidhan · · Score: 1

      Maybe plastic surgery is one of the character skills in the game.

    2. Re:Perverted (yet serious) observation by Mechanik · · Score: 1

      You know, I don't think that the pictures of Ashe are really of the same person. this one not only has blonde hair as opposed to brown, but she also has significantly smaller breasts than this one.

      Well, we all know that the PS2 hardware is starting to show its age. They probably realized half-way through development that the hardware wasn't up to the task so they had to reduce the Boobygon (TM) count :-)


      Mechanik

  10. Older FF games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I miss the open party system of the first few NES FF games and the Gameboy FF legend series. An entire party of warriors or mutants. Having either a creature or robot that could change dynamically during play.

    1. Re:Older FF games by pmz · · Score: 1

      I miss the open party system of the first few NES FF games and the Gameboy FF legend series.

      Me too. I remember going through the first FF multiple times with different party combinations. Getting to the point where they transformed to "master" status was a big motivator, too.

      That is one thing about later FF games, where they played out sort of like a Disney adventure. Character A starts out, meets Character B on the road between Town A and Town B, they team up and eventually meet Character C in Cave D, etc., they fight stuff and defeat a witch or something. Actually, it is exactly like the Wizard of Oz, only done by Square.

      --
      Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
    2. Re:Older FF games by kosamae · · Score: 1

      ... they played out sort of like a Disney adventure.

      umm, or maybe just any epic or pseudo-epic type story. I mean, when you take things down to the lowest level, almost every fantasy type story is the exact same story, and maybe that's just what I like about the Final Fantasy games- they all retell what's basically the same story in a different way, and sometimes that story even seems a little bit like your own story...

    3. Re:Older FF games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree, the older games were better in their party customization.

      However Final Fantasy Legend series is part of the Romancing Saga series, so really can't be compared to this I don't think.

  11. Corny, but... by JeffTL · · Score: 1

    Square Enix? Shouldn't you see an andrologist for that?

  12. hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does it seem that Vaan in the first picture on the magic box site looks just like Michael Jackson?

  13. Argh Nooo!!! by kabocox · · Score: 0

    I thought Tidus died. I so hoped that he stayed dead. But no they are reincarating him as Vaan. I hated Tidus!

    Why can't Cid, Biggs, Watts, or any given random inn keeper be the main line character for a change?

    I have not liked any of the "heros" lately. I didn't really like Spira. I wanted Sin to destory them, or atleast their entire social structure. I related the best to the Albed, and I didn't really care for how they were shown. The only folks that liked machines wore dorks and CID. CID , they, they made him bald! They really really need to do honor for the CID name better than that last CID.

    One day we might finally be able to play a chocobo as a playable character... Nah, no chance at all unless they may it a stupid minigame that we have to spend 2 or 3 weeks playing to get some rather worthless items. I really really shouldn't buy that next FF, but you know that I will.

    1. Re:Argh Nooo!!! by Metal_Demon · · Score: 1

      Tidus dead? No, but not because he is reincarnated as Vaan. Rather, because there is a sequel to FFX. FFX-2 came out today as a matter of fact. Also if you want to be a chocobo so badly, in more than just a minigame. There are actually chocobo based games. Also FF Tactics lets you play as chocobos.

      --
      Trust Your Technolust
    2. Re:Argh Nooo!!! by brkello · · Score: 1

      Try FF Tactic on the PS. You can get chocobos in your party and either fight with them individually or ride them in battle. I would hardly say the item you get from breeding and racing chocobos was worthless...I think you should go back and try again:P

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    3. Re:Argh Nooo!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those of us who believe in good storytelling refuse to acknowledge the existence of FFX-2.

      Have a nice day.

  14. This game could be very different by dancingmad · · Score: 1

    I haven't been a huge fan of the PSX/2 Final Fantasy incarnations, but I can't believe the attitude (pervading this comments) that this one is going to be like all the previous games; I think there's a lot of hope for innovation. People working on the game (and who exactly escapes me at the moment) have said that people won't know this is Final Fantasy and the fact that a lot of staff from FFTA is working on this game is a good sign. Also, as mentioned on FFXII is supposed tot take place in Ivalice, the same place as FFTA. There is a huge opportunity for this being a very different FF game, despite the conjecture here that says otherwise.

    --
    "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
  15. Two heroines by Palshife · · Score: 1

    Man, Square-Enix does it again. They've taken the male hero model and turned it on it's head by having two young ladies take the spotlight and save the world.

    Damn Square-Enix, you just don't know when to stop innovating, do you?

    --
    Attention deficit disorder is a complicated issue, spanning several major... HEY LET'S GO RIDE BIKES!
    1. Re:Two heroines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      you know, i think there are two problems related to this issue of androgyny. the main one is that there appears to be a huge cultural gap here. in the west, the preferred type of male is the "macho" one. if he's not, then he's uncool, weak, feminine, what-have-you. but in japan (and the orient in general), it's perfectly acceptable for men to be beautiful. in fact, the most beautiful guys i've seen are more beautiful than girls could be. to me, neither tidus nor vaan look like women. if you think they do, you ain't seen androgyny yet. ^_~

      the other problem is that most of you aren't girls. you'd be surprised how many girls like beautiful men. ^_~ and they're straight too (both the aforementioned girls and men).

    2. Re:Two heroines by Palshife · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I guess I'm bitching 'cause they all look the same now. I took one look at XII and was pretty sure I was looking at X.

      Personal preference I guess. I wish they'd go back to the surreal style ala VII and IX.

      --
      Attention deficit disorder is a complicated issue, spanning several major... HEY LET'S GO RIDE BIKES!
  16. Take notes? by Funk_dat69 · · Score: 1

    HAHAHAHAHAHA.... ...take notes...

    hahahhaha

    whew...thats was a good one.

    --
    FUNK!
    1. Re:Take notes? by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      It's obvious that some of us have a different idea of fun than others.... You don't see me laughing at what you like to do though... Then again, I don't know what types of games you like. Perhaps I would laugh.

    2. Re:Take notes? by Funk_dat69 · · Score: 1

      ah..hehe.... ..sorry man, didn't mean that to sound like a diss, it's just that I never heard the arguement of 'taking notes' when trying to describe how fun something is.

      different strokes(notes) for different folks!

      BTW - I dig Final Fantasy - although I havn't played any of the 3D ones.

      --
      FUNK!
  17. Big negative for me by Mukaikubo · · Score: 1

    "In keeping with the general "new" approach to the franchise, longtime series composer Nobuo Uematsu will only be involved in creating the key theme song this time. The rest of the music will be composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, who worked with Matsuno on (say it with us) Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics."

    Say WHAT?

    Uematsu's works have always been some of my favorite, and I'm a video game music freak. I can prove it, I even donated to GamingFM... The removal of Uematsu is, IMHO, a bad thing, because his works have always been so stellar.

    1. Re:Big negative for me by spitefulcrow · · Score: 1

      Huh? No more Uematsu soundtracks? Dammit. I agree, removing him was a bad thing. I didn't like it when they installed those other guys as additional composers for X, and this will probably just get worse.

      --
      Sorry, my karma just ran over your dogma.
    2. Re:Big negative for me by SleazyC · · Score: 1

      Well, this is a negative to the series, but I am sure that Square-Enix would not leave ol' Nobuo out of the loop and I am positive Sakimoto will be getting input from him. Then again Sakimoto is not to shabby himself. His work includes Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics, and my personal favorite, Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter. With this being said, I'm only a bit worried about the outcome of the music in this game. I'm sure Square-Enix wouldn't let their game music fans down.

    3. Re:Big negative for me by Mukaikubo · · Score: 1

      He's not, I know: I've heard varying reports that Nobuo is doing either the main title music or "The music in the background during one very important scene", to quote... they're all running together, um... Gamespot.

      And nothing against the new guy, but I've heard his stuff, and it's not on the same plane as Uematsu.

    4. Re:Big negative for me by SleazyC · · Score: 1

      Of course it isnt, Uematsu can be considered as a game music god, only second to Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Xenogears) IMO. And he is only concentrating on the main theme of the game, but I hope that he will give input to Sakimoto. Even so I like Sakimoto's style so it should be decent at the worst...

  18. FF XII !?!? I'm still waiting for... by wickedj · · Score: 1

    FFVII to be ported to my console...

  19. For the non-Japanese gamers... by MMaestro · · Score: 1
    '"due to be released in Japan in summer 2004."'

    So... thats what for the USA? Spring 2005 shortly before the announcement of FFXII-2?

  20. Amazing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I did not know they made games for paedophiles. But then I have never played any of the FF games.

    1. Re:Amazing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wha...?

      You should be modded up for making the least amount of sense on the forum.

      If you think there's anything pedophelic about the images in this game, then you haven't seen most Japanese games! Sorry pal, youth is beautiful, can't do much to change the preferences of a bazillion-some-odd human beings around the globe.

    2. Re:Amazing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because the female is small breasted means the game is targetting pedophiles? Sorry but that's the *only* connection I could make.

      Does that mean anyone who prefers small breasted women is a pedophile?

    3. Re:Amazing by xalres · · Score: 1

      I think he's commenting on the fact that the "male" character looks like an 11 year old girl. The female looks like an 11 year old girl too, she just has the boobs of an 18 year old.

      --
      If whales learn how to use weapons we're all screwed!
  21. Gold Chocobo by infragilis · · Score: 1
    "Also, in a preemptive response to the inevitable "Final Fantasy games invented the need for a strategy guide" comments: Shut up! Just because you're too dumb to figure out how to do things in the game without the guide, or you're too lazy to take notes while you play so you can actually remember the important details and figure things out on your own doesn't mean the strategy guide is *required*."

    In some cases, I would concur - there -are- games which do not need a strategy guide in order to be played and enjoyed. However, there are some things in the Final Fantasy series which are damn near impossible to figure out without one - I'd refer specifically to Final Fantasy VII as the trendsetter for this. I played the game through, and not once do I recall ever hearing in game about how to find the absurdly over-powered Knights of the Round materia.

    My second point of contention would be that some people - myself included - play games as escapism from the real world. I'm a philosophy major in his third year at college - do you honestly think I want to have to take notes while I try playing through Final Fantasy X?

    1. Re:Gold Chocobo by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      However, there are some things in the Final Fantasy series which are damn near impossible to figure out without one - I'd refer specifically to Final Fantasy VII as the trendsetter for this.

      Bull. Final Fantasy VII in particular went out of the way to make sure you could do every little thing with in-game info only. There were multiple clues in the game about how to find and how to get Knights of the Round. It stopped short only of spelling it out for you. Perhaps you weren't able to put the pieces together, but it was possible. What fun is it if the answers are handed to you with no deduction required? Besides, you said yourself that it's absurdly over powered. Don't you think that it's fitting that you have to gather an absurd number of informational tidbits from many characters throughout the game in order to put the pieces together and figure it out?

      do you honestly think I want to have to take notes while I try playing through Final Fantasy X?

      Then play the game and enjoy the plot. You only need to do the extra work to get the extras in the game. I don't see how pushing buttons in the order it says in the strategy guide makes the game more of a fun escape from the real world. It takes away all feeling of acomplishment. If I want to follow step-by-step instructions, I'd go get a manufacturing job and get paid for it. If you really can't handle it, then go pick another game type... Don't go encourage changes in a game type that millions of people actually enjoy as it is.

    2. Re:Gold Chocobo by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1

      I don't think the Knights of the Round is a good example of somehting you couldn't figure out without a strategy guide. You got the gold Chocobo after spending way too much time and effort breeding and racing, and then once you get it, it's kinda logical to go to the only place you couldn't get to on the airship. I never got it because I didn't like the chocobo breeding.

      One thing I never got how you were supposed to figure out the ultimate weapons in FFX by yourself. I found all these crests and sigils, but until I went to GameFaqs, I had no clue what to do with them. Also, many of them were hidden in stupid spots that I'm just not sure how people found them in the first place. (Lulu's Onion Knight comes to mind.) If anyone knows how normal people would figure them out, tell me. =)

      Another thing I can't figure out is why Yuna doesn't know Al-Bhed by X-2, but that's another story.

      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
  22. ^_~ Look at this funny face! ^_~ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Man ^_~ that's ^_~ obnoxious. ^_~^_~^_~ ^_~

  23. More excited about Advent Children... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I'd say that FFVII Advent Children gives much more to be excited about at the moment. Sure, it's "only" a movie, but judging from the teaser/trailer it's going to be a damn cool movie:

    http://cmu.purpleferret.net/ff7_ac_teaser.mpeg

    It's got Sephiroth. It's got sweet, sweet swordfighty goodness. Its entire soundtrack is being done by Uematsu Nobuo. What more could matter? Admit it, you always wanted them to eliminate all that pesky gameplay anyway...

  24. Us growing up, them not by Txurlo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think the main thing here is that we've played FF7 five years ago, and we expect something a little more 'adult' (not dirty, just more grown up) than these 'new' games looks to be.
    So, they don't appeal to us as much as the old ones did, necessarily because we're inching away from the target audience year by year...

    --
    Txurlo
  25. I think we're all forgetting something... by kosamae · · Score: 1

    Everyone's having a pretty good time bashing Vaan for looking really excessively girly, and bashing FF12 for that. And yeah, he does look pretty bad, but if you remember the concept art for FF6 (or FF3 US), generally considered one of the best of the series, Locke was pretty girly looking. And Zidane from FF9 just looked stupid, but that ended up being a great game too.
    I guess my point is that you can't make judgments about the game based on some poor character designs.

  26. Hmm by Kelz · · Score: 1

    seems like square is pandering to yaoi fans. yech.

    1. Re:Hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think you know what you're talking about.

      1. Yaoi deals with gay male characters, and is not necessarily just for gay guys. (It's actually very popular with women.) Yaoi is all about the storyline, and nothing's been said about Vaan being gay.

      2. Just because Vaan looks like a prettyboy doesn't mean Square is marketing to yaoi fans. After all, he has a hot little chick to deal with, and Square has already mentioned the romantic relationship between them. They are more likely just targeting women who like the prettyboy look. Besides, boys in their early teens aren't always the most masculine specimens in the world.