Final Fantasy XII

[Rocket Punch]

Half-time.

I suppose you can say he looks "gay".

But they way I figure it, he's just another metrosexual who doesn't mind paying $200 for haircuts and likes to take care of his skin.

My daily regimen:

Lancome Exfoliance Clarte Gel (Exfoliating Gel)

Lancome Clarifiance (Oil-Free Gel Cleanser)

Lancome Pure Empreinte Masque (Purifying Mineral Mask with White Clay)

Lancome Tonique Douceur (Alcohol-Free Toner)

Lancome Bienfait Total UV (Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 15)

Chicks dig the smooth skin.

But I'd never pay $200 for a haircut. That sh1t's just ridiculous; I just shave my head with a No. 3 clip with my trusty Wahl.

[JB0]

Yeah I gotta agree with Sumdumgai, I mean whats really good with all these happy persony looking male characters anyway?

Because it sells.

I still like the FF7 and 8 though

Thanks for making my point.

FF8...

*shudders*

as Sephiroth is the most coolest looking FF baddie in the whole franchise.

Which doesn't exactly say a lot.

Final Fagasy

Wow. I am in awe of your amazing wit.

I am interested in FF12. Which is something I hadn't expected to ever say about an FF game.

Squeenix is trying something new for a change, and it looks like it should be fun.

[Radd]

I don't believe it was that Square decided not to use Amano so much as Amano decided he wanted to do other things instead. He still did Japanese promotional materials for 7, and Amano is so popular that they told everyone he did the character designs for 9 (despite the fact that character illustrations were already floating around the net before Square was able to get Mr. Amano).

[Skull Leader]

God, I feel gayer for just LOOKING at those pics... I don't know why I keep torturing myself hoping these new FF games will be good, the FF Franchise died after FFVI. I make exceptions for FF-Tactics and FFXI because by their very nature they're a lot different.

Excuse me while I go rape 100 women just to reaffirm my manhood now.

Edited May 3, 2006 by Skull Leader

[Skull Leader]

LOL

396142[/snapback]

Watch it. It's posts like this that will come back to bite you in the ass.

[wolfx]

A few friends who played the jap version of the game said these comments:

1.) Feels like FF XI with a single player campaign

2.) The story is crap. The main character barely speaks and lacks any presence in the game. (well....most classic rpgs had the main character as dumb and mute anyway )

[Seven]

I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story so I'm pleased with how this game is turning out considering the same team produced it.

I'm glad that Uematsu, Sakaguchi and Nomura aren't working on this one. Seriously who wants the same thing over and over again? I thought FF was getting stale in their hands. I especially hated Uematsu's music that always had this synth feel to it, while the music in FFT (even back in 1996) and FF12 sound orchestral.

As for the battle system, I'm glad someone mixed it up and innovated for once. I always thought it was really stupid for a fight to go down like a damn square dance. Cmon, think about it... you have the enemies on one side and the heroes on the other each taking turns doing crap and a square dance conductor (you) yelling out instructions like dosie doe and promenade or occasionally, Run Away!!!

Yeah, Vaan does look too effeminate for my taste. Thats probably for the main reason of appealing to the female Japanese gamers though.

[Twoducks]

Soooo when some of you people played Lara Croft or other female leading character did you feel gay or less manly or something?

And Amano's male designs don't look like the embodiment of macho either and people didn't complain about gay looking sprites back then (I guess then that deformed sprites made androgynous character designs manly).

Now your manhood and the quality of a game depends on what some stupid fantasy videogame character "wears"...

[Rocket Punch]

LOL

396142[/snapback]

Watch it. It's posts like this that will come back to bite you in the ass.

396285[/snapback]

Meh.

edit: had to uncensor post.

Uncensoring what a mod did. Not very smart.

Edited May 4, 2006 by Dangard Ace

[Rocket Punch]

Soooo when some of you people played Lara Croft or other female leading character did you feel gay or less manly or something?

Now your manhood and the quality of a game depends on what some stupid fantasy videogame character "wears"...

396353[/snapback]

Thank you.

[Sumdumgai]

If I'm going to spend a long time playing a game and staring at a character, I would rather look at an attractive female character (attractive versus over sexed and slurm-ized) over an effeminate built-for-yaoi male character. Well, I prefer to stare at a female character over male characters anyway.

But hey, if the target audience is women then whatever. If you enjoy the game and like the characters, don't let me hold you up or anything with my opinions. I'm just sumdumgai.

[Radd]

I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story so I'm pleased with how this game is turning out considering the same team produced it.

I'm glad that Uematsu, Sakaguchi and Nomura aren't working on this one.  Seriously who wants the same thing over and over again?  I thought FF was getting stale in their hands.  I especially hated Uematsu's music that always had this synth feel to it, while the music in FFT (even back in 1996) and FF12 sound orchestral.

I think a big part of the problem is how quickly Square, now Square-Enix, pumps these games out. How do you expect them to explore new directions if they're already working on the next game before the current one in developement is even finished?

On the music, FF7 had a very synth feel to its music because as an early PSX game, they were trying to curb load times whenever and wherever possible. FF8 and all subsequent games in the series had significantly less midi-quality to the music. Tactics doesn't exactly have live orchestra quality music to it.

[SpacePirateNeko]

I don't believe it was that Square decided not to use Amano so much as Amano decided he wanted to do other things instead. He still did Japanese promotional materials for 7, and Amano is so popular that they told everyone he did the character designs for 9 (despite the fact that character illustrations were already floating around the net before Square was able to get Mr. Amano).

396261[/snapback]

Nah not at all, Sakaguchi said himself during the making of FF7 that they decided to use an artist whos work was more material and could be better translated to polygons now that they moved to 3d. He also stated that amanos work was too complicated to make into 3d characters on the current generations hardware.

Well that was then.....this is now and amanos still not involved in character design. I think the series kind of lost its magic for me when

a.) They dropped Amano

b.) Uematsu decided that in order to make good music you now had to use full blown arrangements using every faux instrument and sample you could think of instead of just making great melodies and music.

Of course B.) can be said about most video game music these days, i know when i get into game design im gonna try and get myself into the music department too and im gonna make sure to first severely limit myself to what i can use to make music with . Then once i have an amnazing piece of music .... ill arrange it.

As for amanos current ff contributions since 6...im sure thats based more on friendship and a reliable paycheck then anything else. Everything artwise is already done before he steps in and adds anything ( yes even 9 )which is mostly used for advertisement only and for the title icon. Im a huge amano fan and hes mentioned a few times before how he would gladly like to work on FF again.

[JB0]

On the music, FF7 had a very synth feel to its music because as an early PSX game, they were trying to curb load times whenever and wherever possible. FF8 and all subsequent games in the series had significantly less midi-quality to the music. Tactics doesn't exactly have live orchestra quality music to it.

396410[/snapback]

They all use the same basic technique.

They load a bunch of samples into the PS sound hardware, and then load some "sheet music." Same premise as the SNES and later MIDI hardware(sample-based MIDI first hit the PC with the Gravis UltraSound and Creative AWE boards, if anyone remembers the DOS days).

Uematsu's FF compositions all have a "synth" feel because they're all based on the original FF1 music, which was ... NOT sample-based. All his recent FF work is trying to rehash NES music while "punching it up" with more instruments(or instruments period).

And the funny thing is... that music sounded pretty good on the NES. It's only stale when you try and fit it to a paradigm it was never designed for. It's a lot like playing techno music with a classical orchestra. *

As for what he can do when he's free of that legacy... he contributed part of the Chrono Trigger soundtrack, but without knowing which tunes specifically, it's hard to say. I don't know of anything post-NES that I can point to and say "Uematsu did this."

*This has been one of my long-running complaints with the series. They simply refused to adapt for a very long time, so they were selling a game designed around the constraints of the NES through to the end of the PS1's life.

FFX was the beginning of the end of that, and FF12 seems to have blown it entirely away(or 11, if you count it. It's certainly a new take on things).

[Duke Togo]

The Ogre team can do no wrong in my eyes. I have no doubt that this game will be nothing short of amazing.

[Beltane70]

I've been playing the Japanese version for about 80 hours now and have been enjoying it quite a bit. There are a few things that I don't like, but they're few and far between enough to not bother me too much.

[Dangard Ace]

LOL

396142[/snapback]

Watch it. It's posts like this that will come back to bite you in the ass.

396285[/snapback]

Meh.

It's all good, right?

396354[/snapback]

No. Tone down the attitude or you will find your stay here short.

[Rocket Punch]

Tone down just my attitude? Or does your post also apply to the homophobes here? Because that was the point of my post.

[Mog]

Personally, I like Uematsu's works, especially the stuff for VI, VII, and even VIII. (BTW, if I'm wrong and he wasn't the main guy composing the themes for these games, someone can smack me upside the head.)

Call me a sucker for the themes/leit motiffs(sp?), but some of his stuff is pretty impressive, considering it's for freakin' video games.

Yes, some of the in-game music does sound "synth-like." But if you've ever heard the piano or orchestral versions of some of the themes, I can guarantee you that "synth" would be the last thing to come to mind.

Heck, I'd put some of Uematsu's stuff on par with John William's work on the original Star Wars Trilogy.

[Dangard Ace]

Tone down just my attitude?  Or does your post also apply to the homophobes here?  Because that was the point of my post.

396471[/snapback]

You have a problem with the way a topic or a post you ask a mod to take a look at it. An admin and a moderator will look at it then and talk to the offending party. You do not take the matter and escalate it with more inflammatory remarks.

As for the homophobic remarks, you guys watch what you say.

And a reminder for all.

Section III: Never Allowed

#1. No religious or political debates.

If you want to talk politics go to the proper outside forum. Not everyone shares your beliefs. Nothing starts more arguments then these kinds of debates. They have value but they have no value here.

#2. No vulgar text or pictures.

Vulgar language and images will be edited or deleted. A moderator will consider what is vulgar.

#3 No threats of violence or death.

Especially against a fellow poster or a specific person.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=142

[Seven]

It comes down to a matter of personal taste in my case. I guess I just like game music that sounds more like movie music than game music. For example, I do like Uematsu's Liberi Fatali from the opening movie of FF8 and his themes from FF7. But I find myself loving the less synth less gamey sounds of Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 11, and now Final Fantasy 12. I could not stand the battle music for FF8 and FF10, but liked it in FF7. I think I can sum up my tastes in that I tend to like the Ogre team's composer's music in every case, while I only like Uematsu's stuff here and there.

If you get to listen to the FF12 soundtrack, check out track 58, that is some kickass battle music.

[Rocket Punch]

Talking to my friend about the character designs and she replied:

When you play thru a little, the character and costume design starts to make sense. In fact it's genius.

I can't wait!

[yellowlightman]

Calling anything from Square "genius" is a bit of a stretch.

I watched my friend play through a bit of the Japanese version and was wholey unimpressed. The CG was nice I guess (although games really need to stop using pre-rendered CG) and the character designs were as flamboyant as possible.

I'll be waiting for the US released of Ryu ga Gotoku, thanks.

[Akilae]

Still working through my import, and so far I'm liking it. FFXII really gives off Vagrant Story and FFT vibes, little hints everywhere that reminds you which team was in charge of production, from the costume designs to the way some phrases and poems are worded in the game. Character designs aside, so far nobody has exhibited the angst that seemed so prevalent in VII, VIII, and X, which is a good thing IMHO.

For those complaining about character designs, just remember that this was designed by a Japanese game company, geared towards Japanese tastes, and unfortunately for the Western audience, that means characters that might not be so pleasing to the eye.

[Rocket Punch]

Calling anything from Square "genius" is a bit of a stretch.

I watched my friend play through a bit of the Japanese version and was wholey unimpressed. The CG was nice I guess (although games really need to stop using pre-rendered CG) and the character designs were as flamboyant as possible.

I'll be waiting for the US released of Ryu ga Gotoku, thanks.

396854[/snapback]

Considering the fact that my friend happens to be a world-famous artist/toy designer, I'll just have to take her word for it.

But yeah, I can't wait for Yakuza. September release I heard. Birthday present for me!!!

[yellowlightman]

396901[/snapback]

As always, your contribution to this thread has been worthless. Thank you for stopping by.

[Phalanx]

Well don't get me wrong Yellowlightman and no disrespect to you but I was just being funny honestly. I didn't mean it hence the smiley. I knew it was pretty much pointless to a degree and a complete waste of time to post in here you understand right?

Edited May 5, 2006 by Phalanx

[Dangard Ace]

Read my previous post.

NOT SMART reposting something a mod deleted.

[Phalanx]

Oh, my fault. I had no idea it got deleted for it's vulgarity sorry about that

[JB0]

396901[/snapback]

As always, your contribution to this thread has been worthless. Thank you for stopping by.

396906[/snapback]

Someone should put that in their sig.

[KingNor]

Calling anything from Square "genius" is a bit of a stretch.

I watched my friend play through a bit of the Japanese version and was wholey unimpressed. The CG was nice I guess (although games really need to stop using pre-rendered CG) and the character designs were as flamboyant as possible.

I'll be waiting for the US released of Ryu ga Gotoku, thanks.

396854[/snapback]

Considering the fact that my friend happens to be a world-famous artist/toy designer, I'll just have to take her word for it.

But yeah, I can't wait for Yakuza. September release I heard. Birthday present for me!!!

396896[/snapback]

I'm not really sure where you're going with this. I don't like the designs, the anonymous opinions of a supposedly famous artist/designer dont' really sway me.

After all, a Square Enix artist designed the costume, and Square is considered a pretty big name in fantasy gameing, and i still hate the costume "Raiden" there is wearing.

Just because your famous friend likes some poo doesn't mean it smells any better.

[Rocket Punch]

Calling anything from Square "genius" is a bit of a stretch.

I watched my friend play through a bit of the Japanese version and was wholey unimpressed. The CG was nice I guess (although games really need to stop using pre-rendered CG) and the character designs were as flamboyant as possible.

I'll be waiting for the US released of Ryu ga Gotoku, thanks.

396854[/snapback]

Considering the fact that my friend happens to be a world-famous artist/toy designer, I'll just have to take her word for it.

But yeah, I can't wait for Yakuza. September release I heard. Birthday present for me!!!

396896[/snapback]

I'm not really sure where you're going with this. I don't like the designs, the anonymous opinions of a supposedly famous artist/designer dont' really sway me.

After all, a Square Enix artist designed the costume, and Square is considered a pretty big name in fantasy gameing, and i still hate the costume "Raiden" there is wearing.

Just because your famous friend likes some poo doesn't mean it smells any better.

396933[/snapback]

Not going anywhere with anything, bro. Not trying to sway you or anybody. Hell, I don't even know you. I was just pointing out that she's got a background in that kind stuff and that "I" (notice the emphasis on the "I" as in "Rocket Punch", not "KingNor") will just have to take her word for it because, honestly, most of that stuff is over my head.

[Sundown]

Not going anywhere with anything, bro.  Not trying to sway you or anybody.  Hell, I don't even know you.  I was just pointing out that she's got a background in that kind stuff and that "I" (notice the emphasis on the "I" as in "Rocket Punch", not "KingNor") will just have to take her word for it because, honestly, most of that stuff is over my head.

397028[/snapback]

Heh, taste is (almost) entirely subjective... someone who has an art background might see things in a design they appreciate, or be better at vocalizing these things, but that doesn't make that design any better in an objective sort of way. Even if their opinions are more informed and more carefully made, their sentiments aren't any more valid that someone who's less trained or renowned.

The supposed brilliance of a design might be lost on the rest of us but if it is, then design's failed its job if its target audience was the rest of us. Not saying your friend's wrong, and her observations are valuable, but the real test is still "does this look like arse to you?"

[uminoken]

It comes down to a matter of personal taste in my case.  I guess I just like game music that sounds more like movie music than game music.  For example, I do like Uematsu's Liberi Fatali from the opening movie of FF8 and his themes from FF7.  But I find myself loving the less synth less gamey sounds of Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 11, and now Final Fantasy 12.  I could not stand the battle music for FF8 and FF10, but liked it in FF7.  I think I can sum up my tastes in that I tend to like the Ogre team's composer's music in every case, while I only like Uematsu's stuff here and there.

If you get to listen to the FF12 soundtrack, check out track 58, that is some kickass battle music.

396635[/snapback]

I thought FFVIII's '"Fithos Lusec" orch cd had the most movie-like soundtrack out of all of them. The Ending Theme still gives me shivers. I haven't heard the full FFXII OST yet, but I got ahold of the XII Symphonic Poem and I like the classical violin style of the score. Sounds a bit like arrangements from the 'Grande Finale' orch VI cd and that's a good thing!

[Sumdumgai]

I never liked the arrangement of Grand Finale, it didn't have any "life" to it, everything sounded muted and dead. I also plain old never liked the way some instruments were arranged. Oh well.