Final Fantasy XII

Wah! I wish I could read Japanese! The battle system of FFXII is so different to previous games that it took ages for me to figure out. It would be so much easier if I could read the instruction booklet.

The intro video is so much better than FFX's was. It's about five minutes long and tells the story of the previous two or so years, everything leading up to the beginning of the game. It really hooks you, too. Not just some people sitting around a campfire looking sad. There is a wedding, a war, and a funeral. The graphics are great! The people at SquareEnix have obviously taken inspiration from both the Star Wars and LOTR movie franchises. There were flying carrier-type vehicles in the opening movie that reminded me of the droid carriers in The Phantom Menace. Then there was a night battle scene which reminded me of Helm's Deep. This is not a bad thing at all. Both of those movies had atmospheres that fit the Final Fantasy series very well.

It still seems very strange to me not to have separate battles. The surprise of random encounters and the victory fanfare when you win a battle is what I have come to expect from FF games. But FFXII plays more like Diablo. (I think: I never actually played Diablo or Diablo II). I'm not quite sure yet if I like the new battle style. Will report on that later.

One thing I know I don't like: the main character Van looks like an idiot. He seriously makes Tidus look like an adult in comparison. And he has funny shiny patches on his cheeks and nose as if he has greased his face. Weird. I only have two people in my party so far. Can't wait until I find more people.