Yes, I did all of those sidequests. I guess it is just the fact that I did not feel fulfilled by any of them in the end that is my biggest gripe. Almost all of them took very little time to beat, and the ones that did take a while were just the same thing over and over again, like the footraces. And at no time in that game did the espers ever prove useful at all. Especially later in the game where they would die in one hit to nearly any of the higher leveled monsters. I really think that the game could have benefitted from a better development process and a more creative writing team. And it isn't that I am not drawn to the political story in this game, I really loved Final Fantasy Tactics and the other games like it. But in those games I was attracted to the characters instead of repulsed as in this game.
The biggest problem I had with the game is the lack of character development. You would think that a game that takes over 40 hours to beat would manage to explain at least 3 of the characters backgrounds, but it really only manages to cover 2 in my opinion. Plot details like why Balthier left his country and father, why Fran left her village 50 years ago are just glazed over and never even addressed. I suppose it adds a little bit of mystique to the characters, but more than anything it just made me wonder what in the hell they were doing in my party. ESPECIALLY Penelo. If there had ever been a more useless character, I have yet to meet one. Hell, even Chu-chu, the little pink toy thing from Xenogears had more of a backstory than Penelo's sorry ass.
The game does look gorgeous though, and that was one of the reasons why I played it all the way through. The music was alright, can't recall anything all the good or bad with it, but a lot of games have that affect on me. You can definitely tell that they spent most of there money in the art just by looking at it, it reminds me a lot of KOTOR for the Xbox just with more detail thrown in.
I also found it annoying how few sidequests or minigames there were in the game. That was something that all the previous games managed to do pretty well, and there were decent rewards for them. In this game all you really have is the Clan Centurio monster hunts for which the reward is the most powerful weapon in the game after you have already beaten the most powerful monster in the game. I just can't help but point out how great Final Fantasy VII was in this aspect. You had a overland map in which you could fight chocobos at specific points on it that you could then catch. After you caught them they got sent to a farm where you could breed them together using knowledge you got through the game or, ahem, "other sources". You would then possibly get a new type of chocobo that would allow you to find new areas on the map to explore. Once you had gotten the highest type of chocobo it allowed you to find the best summon in the game. Oh, and you could also use any of those chocobos to race in a casino type place called the Golden Saucer.
That is what sidequests should be about in my opinion. A thing that has overlapping rewards and can be completed by dedication and a thinking, not just mindless leveling. I found nothing of the sort in Final Fantasy XII. Well, except the fishing minigame, but that thing was just bullshit.
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Yes, I did all of those sidequests. I guess it is just the fact that I did not feel fulfilled by any of them in the end that is my biggest gripe. Almost all of them took very little time to beat, and the ones that did take a while were just the same thing over and over again, like the footraces. And at no time in that game did the espers ever prove useful at all. Especially later in the game where they would die in one hit to nearly any of the higher leveled monsters. I really think that the game could have benefitted from a better development process and a more creative writing team. And it isn't that I am not drawn to the political story in this game, I really loved Final Fantasy Tactics and the other games like it. But in those games I was attracted to the characters instead of repulsed as in this game.
The biggest problem I had with the game is the lack of character development. You would think that a game that takes over 40 hours to beat would manage to explain at least 3 of the characters backgrounds, but it really only manages to cover 2 in my opinion. Plot details like why Balthier left his country and father, why Fran left her village 50 years ago are just glazed over and never even addressed. I suppose it adds a little bit of mystique to the characters, but more than anything it just made me wonder what in the hell they were doing in my party. ESPECIALLY Penelo. If there had ever been a more useless character, I have yet to meet one. Hell, even Chu-chu, the little pink toy thing from Xenogears had more of a backstory than Penelo's sorry ass.
The game does look gorgeous though, and that was one of the reasons why I played it all the way through. The music was alright, can't recall anything all the good or bad with it, but a lot of games have that affect on me. You can definitely tell that they spent most of there money in the art just by looking at it, it reminds me a lot of KOTOR for the Xbox just with more detail thrown in.
I also found it annoying how few sidequests or minigames there were in the game. That was something that all the previous games managed to do pretty well, and there were decent rewards for them. In this game all you really have is the Clan Centurio monster hunts for which the reward is the most powerful weapon in the game after you have already beaten the most powerful monster in the game. I just can't help but point out how great Final Fantasy VII was in this aspect. You had a overland map in which you could fight chocobos at specific points on it that you could then catch. After you caught them they got sent to a farm where you could breed them together using knowledge you got through the game or, ahem, "other sources". You would then possibly get a new type of chocobo that would allow you to find new areas on the map to explore. Once you had gotten the highest type of chocobo it allowed you to find the best summon in the game. Oh, and you could also use any of those chocobos to race in a casino type place called the Golden Saucer.
That is what sidequests should be about in my opinion. A thing that has overlapping rewards and can be completed by dedication and a thinking, not just mindless leveling. I found nothing of the sort in Final Fantasy XII. Well, except the fishing minigame, but that thing was just bullshit.