Final Fantasy XII

The Good
There's a lot to write here...

The best thing is the battle system. I'm used to play online games, and this is very similar. This is a Japanese game, but the battles are like in an American game. I haven't completed another Final Fantasy game, but this one is really perfect for my taste. You can see the enemies on the screen. You shouldn't go into a "battle screen", everything happens just in the same world. And the battles are quick! No waiting for the turns.

The enemies are also smarter than usually, they will cast oil on you, and then another enemy will cast fire magic to make three times more damage! They also like casting haste, protect, and other buff on themselves.

There are some cool details in battles. Like those Mimeos who pretend to be treasure chests. Or fake save crystals who attack you when you touch them.

The graphics. They made it really well. Especially the monsters. I liked how they designed the bosses. Sometimes I even had pity for a boss after we killed him... There are also great animations. There was a fight against a big turtle, so after the fight he ran into the stone, just like a real turtle. And of course, Balthier has great animations. There are actually many handsome men in the game, like Balthier, Basch, and Gabranth. Basch looks especially handsome when he cut his hair. Looks a lot like my husband.

Some of the animations and the expressions of the characters were absolutely like real people. I had the feeling I was watching a movie, experiencing something from the real life.

The women in the game all have personality. All the three most important ones, Ashe, Penelo, and Fran. They are cute but still have their own personalities. Different men can like difference things about them. And they all looked sexy and beautiful.

The bad guys of the game are also very interesting. When I defeated them, I felt pity. This means that I had some sort of a connection to those people, even though they were bad.

In the beginning of the game there were a lot of surprises in the story. After that there was some time without much story, but the final part was great. Like a real movie, like something very realistic, taken from our world.

Even though the story is about politics, it's not a love story or something like that, there were still many touching and emotional moments.

The music was very good, there was some music that sounded like its was from American games, but also some music that I heard was from old Final Fantasies. This music was great, it's nice that they have such a long tradition.

I also like those special Final Fantasy animals. The chocobos are really cute, and also those little guys who say "kupo".

The Bad
Some of the bosses were very difficult, my husband lost (we were playing together, but he always took care of the bosses), and then he shouted at me. This was not good...

Bad things in this game? I don't think so, really. I think they made it perfectly.

The Bottom Line
The Japanese took some great ideas from Western RPGs and put them into their game. But there is still the typically Japanese story and many emotions, and this is a great combination. You really feel it is a "final fantasy" - a fantastic game.