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I realize i kinda fell off the FF XII liveblogging, oops!
This will recap the rest of the game as I'm just about to enter Bahamut (final level) and knowing me i have a tendency to forget about games as soon as i've beaten them lol; striking while the iron's hot. i haven't done a run-around the nabaudis deadlans yet so i'll probably do that first too.
* most badass battle moment: Ashle landing the last frantic blow on Trickster (that fucking invisible 'roided out chocobo) when she was on the last 1% of HP and everyone else was dead :D ....... with a lucky "shades of black" extra-effectiveness hit. i think i let out the most feral "WAOOOOOOOOOOPPPP" of victory after that lol
* character i did not expect to love nearly as much as i did: PENELO. consistently cracked me up, was charming without being cringy, surprisingly unflappable with some seriously dark shit around, and i liked the visual of miss adorable mage-y penelo with a gun blasting everybody to smithereens when the only other 'gun coded' character was dr cid/balthier lol.
* party lead i ended up using most of the time: narrow 50/50 split of Fran and Penelo (who were both my white mages). both out of a gameplay reason because i felt like it was easier to keep control of the "battle flow" from their standpoint and let the dudes just whale on the target, and both because i thought they were the most interesting characters. i really liked penelo with a gun ok lol
* obligatory: minor critique: i felt a bit let down at the explosion on pharos....? i feel like if you're hyping up the sun-cryst as idk like a nuclear bomb or some shit that reddas sacrificed himself to disarm, there ought to have been a little more visual emphasis/gravitas immediately after instead of the ship just... pulling away? like i know the game's got the graphical resources to do so, the pacing just feels slightly underbaked in comparison to that massive introductory cutscene. i'd have liked to see the characters mourning reddas and having that connected to nabaudis a bit more (maybe a mandantory shortcut visit to there before the tower).
* favorite unique gameplay aspect: there's a lot of things i can write here; i do love how it feels like a very polished masterpiece of its age in that it's a thouroughly deep but contained romp. a lot of games these days feel intentionally sloppy with the gameplay/story clearly meant to be elaborated on in the DLC but FF12 doesn't need any of that; the trial mode is bundled in, the plot arc feels satisfying for everyone, there's all the hunts and bestarity for the completionists, etc. it never feels too empty (BOTW looking at you) or too chaotic - i really love how some of the npcs in each of the cities can be talked with, and they have different lines depending on what major game shifts had happened. (eg before and after pharos)
also sometimes just sitting there after a long day and seeing pretty numbers go Up in a non sleazy way (like a gacha or some mobile shit), also felt really nice once when ya got a firm grasp on how to conduct a major battle.
* scene that will live in my head for a bit: oh mannnn, vayne's betrayal :3c there were some hot moments there. i also kinda love how vayne always looks a lil sleazy/predatory with larsa, imma have to paw through those fics afterwards.
* favorite level: the walk down to geriguven(?) crystal gave me a real shiver. it genuinely felt like you were walking into the bowls of some deeply Inhuman Shit with the ominousness of it getting darker and darker as you descend to this giant glowing orb, and i'm always a sucker for the idea of this massive ancient city.
i think i'm a touch too much of a fire emblem girlie to get truly obsessed with a FF's story/characters the way i do that series (there's an essay i may or may not do in the future comparing fire emblem vs final fantasy and their different vibes as i think it's kinda cool that both series have like, sixteen plus titles (at minimum) and share a remarkable overlap of fans despite being on different consoles.) but man, i am so glad that i gave this one a chance. thouroughly satisfying game. if i was curating a list of ten or so games for a rando teen to get introduced to, this would go in there.
This will recap the rest of the game as I'm just about to enter Bahamut (final level) and knowing me i have a tendency to forget about games as soon as i've beaten them lol; striking while the iron's hot. i haven't done a run-around the nabaudis deadlans yet so i'll probably do that first too.
* most badass battle moment: Ashle landing the last frantic blow on Trickster (that fucking invisible 'roided out chocobo) when she was on the last 1% of HP and everyone else was dead :D ....... with a lucky "shades of black" extra-effectiveness hit. i think i let out the most feral "WAOOOOOOOOOOPPPP" of victory after that lol
* character i did not expect to love nearly as much as i did: PENELO. consistently cracked me up, was charming without being cringy, surprisingly unflappable with some seriously dark shit around, and i liked the visual of miss adorable mage-y penelo with a gun blasting everybody to smithereens when the only other 'gun coded' character was dr cid/balthier lol.
* party lead i ended up using most of the time: narrow 50/50 split of Fran and Penelo (who were both my white mages). both out of a gameplay reason because i felt like it was easier to keep control of the "battle flow" from their standpoint and let the dudes just whale on the target, and both because i thought they were the most interesting characters. i really liked penelo with a gun ok lol
* obligatory: minor critique: i felt a bit let down at the explosion on pharos....? i feel like if you're hyping up the sun-cryst as idk like a nuclear bomb or some shit that reddas sacrificed himself to disarm, there ought to have been a little more visual emphasis/gravitas immediately after instead of the ship just... pulling away? like i know the game's got the graphical resources to do so, the pacing just feels slightly underbaked in comparison to that massive introductory cutscene. i'd have liked to see the characters mourning reddas and having that connected to nabaudis a bit more (maybe a mandantory shortcut visit to there before the tower).
* favorite unique gameplay aspect: there's a lot of things i can write here; i do love how it feels like a very polished masterpiece of its age in that it's a thouroughly deep but contained romp. a lot of games these days feel intentionally sloppy with the gameplay/story clearly meant to be elaborated on in the DLC but FF12 doesn't need any of that; the trial mode is bundled in, the plot arc feels satisfying for everyone, there's all the hunts and bestarity for the completionists, etc. it never feels too empty (BOTW looking at you) or too chaotic - i really love how some of the npcs in each of the cities can be talked with, and they have different lines depending on what major game shifts had happened. (eg before and after pharos)
also sometimes just sitting there after a long day and seeing pretty numbers go Up in a non sleazy way (like a gacha or some mobile shit), also felt really nice once when ya got a firm grasp on how to conduct a major battle.
* scene that will live in my head for a bit: oh mannnn, vayne's betrayal :3c there were some hot moments there. i also kinda love how vayne always looks a lil sleazy/predatory with larsa, imma have to paw through those fics afterwards.
* favorite level: the walk down to geriguven(?) crystal gave me a real shiver. it genuinely felt like you were walking into the bowls of some deeply Inhuman Shit with the ominousness of it getting darker and darker as you descend to this giant glowing orb, and i'm always a sucker for the idea of this massive ancient city.
i think i'm a touch too much of a fire emblem girlie to get truly obsessed with a FF's story/characters the way i do that series (there's an essay i may or may not do in the future comparing fire emblem vs final fantasy and their different vibes as i think it's kinda cool that both series have like, sixteen plus titles (at minimum) and share a remarkable overlap of fans despite being on different consoles.) but man, i am so glad that i gave this one a chance. thouroughly satisfying game. if i was curating a list of ten or so games for a rando teen to get introduced to, this would go in there.
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Honestly I'm the same re: Reddas, there are a few pirates in Balfonheim who have things to say about his death, but it's really sad that we don't see any more of its impact!! I love that scene so much as a culmination of his storyline and then the bits of Gabranth and Basch we see up there too, as well as Ashe's parts, ugh too many feels! Can't hold all these feels!!
Trickster is SUCH a little bitch oh my godddd. There are other memorable hunts for various reasons, but Trickster is such a good one for being invisible (!!!) and also an absolute fucker!
If you go to the Nabreus Deadlands, try and make a visit to the Necrohol of Nabudis while you're nearby! It's really worth it for being a creepy-ass place as well as the small amount of lore you can get!
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and oh my god gabranth and basch ;a; i REALLY was feeling for basch right there considering how ruthless gabranth was needling him about no honor ... (man, i also wonder how basch also feels about balthier being an ex-judge too; it's kind of morbidly funny that there's two ex-judges in the party about that time too.)
Necrohol's next on my list! :D kinda want to try at least ooooone more area before storming through the finale and think the level will work there - i saw how it was one of your favorite environs and you've got such good taste. jungle + undead vibes really can't go wrong haha.
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That sort of level is perfect for the Necrohol for sure! Make sure you have float or at least libra, there's a lot of traps in that place hehe.