Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2015-03-18 08:21 pm
rionaleonhart) wrote2015-03-18 08:21 pm
Entry tags:
Like Proper Kidnappers.
I seem to be replaying every Final Fantasy game I own in an attempt to distract myself from the fact that Final Fantasy Type-0 is finally coming out in the West, finally, after three and a half years, and I can't play it because I don't have a PS4. Today I'm talking about Final Fantasy XII!
I've never really been able to grasp the plot of Final Fantasy XII - I often feel I'm just drifting from place to place, not really knowing what our goal is - and I've always sort of assumed that the plot is just incomprehensible. It's only now, on my third playthrough, that I realise the thing that kicks everything off - 'Ashe wants to depose Vayne, but first needs proof that she's the heir to the throne if she wants to be accepted as ruler afterwards' - is actually perfectly straightforward. I've just missed vast swathes of the plot on account of only paying attention to Balthier. There are significant cutscenes I have absolutely no memory of.
Balthier, I love you, but you have severely impaired my understanding of this game.
Ashe, in all her anger and pride, has caught my attention this time around in a way she didn't on my previous playthroughs. Which is good, because Ashe is at the centre of the plot, so paying attention to her should actually help me understand this game, unlike some charming but distracting characters I could mention.
More than any other game in the series, Final Fantasy XII creates a sense of a huge, real, intricate world. There are always multiple routes to take. There are optional areas all over the place. You cover a huge amount of ground, but you're always aware that the huge expanse you've crossed is only a small part of the world; there's so much out there you never see.
It works extremely well, but I wonder whether it's part of the reason I always feel slightly detached from this game. The areas are so vast and complicated that I never bother to learn my way around; I'm always checking the map. Drop me into the world of Final Fantasy VIII, and I'll be able to find my way to the nearest hotel (unless you're an arsehole and drop me in Centra or the ocean). I, er, won't be able to check myself in, because I'm not a SeeD and I have no gil, but I'll be able to get there.
Ivalice is vast and beautiful, but I only ever feel like a tourist there; I've never really come to know it. In Spira or the unnamed world of Final Fantasy VIII, I'm at home.
I've never really been able to grasp the plot of Final Fantasy XII - I often feel I'm just drifting from place to place, not really knowing what our goal is - and I've always sort of assumed that the plot is just incomprehensible. It's only now, on my third playthrough, that I realise the thing that kicks everything off - 'Ashe wants to depose Vayne, but first needs proof that she's the heir to the throne if she wants to be accepted as ruler afterwards' - is actually perfectly straightforward. I've just missed vast swathes of the plot on account of only paying attention to Balthier. There are significant cutscenes I have absolutely no memory of.
Balthier, I love you, but you have severely impaired my understanding of this game.
Ashe, in all her anger and pride, has caught my attention this time around in a way she didn't on my previous playthroughs. Which is good, because Ashe is at the centre of the plot, so paying attention to her should actually help me understand this game, unlike some charming but distracting characters I could mention.
More than any other game in the series, Final Fantasy XII creates a sense of a huge, real, intricate world. There are always multiple routes to take. There are optional areas all over the place. You cover a huge amount of ground, but you're always aware that the huge expanse you've crossed is only a small part of the world; there's so much out there you never see.
It works extremely well, but I wonder whether it's part of the reason I always feel slightly detached from this game. The areas are so vast and complicated that I never bother to learn my way around; I'm always checking the map. Drop me into the world of Final Fantasy VIII, and I'll be able to find my way to the nearest hotel (unless you're an arsehole and drop me in Centra or the ocean). I, er, won't be able to check myself in, because I'm not a SeeD and I have no gil, but I'll be able to get there.
Ivalice is vast and beautiful, but I only ever feel like a tourist there; I've never really come to know it. In Spira or the unnamed world of Final Fantasy VIII, I'm at home.
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Youtube "let's play" ahoy!
I'm glad you're having an awesome retro time!
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