I'm assuming most of my complaints have already been discussed (by myself at least), but I'll just type them out anyway since I'm bored.

1. Buying gambits. Why should you promote your new revolutionary AI customization system as one of the main selling points of FF12, and then seal most of it off for 75% of the game?

2. License grid. Probably the worst secondary FF level-up system I've seen so far. Frustrating for several reasons: working blind halfway necessitates a guide, every single little thing has to be unlocked in order to be used which defies comprehension, and is boring and easy to fill completely once you find a good grinding spot. Speaking of...

3. Grinding. Why go so far to automate the process - and attaching several gameplay tricks to it - when you could either cut it down or eliminate it altogether? I find several things enjoyable in an RPG - busywork isn't one of them. Not even hands-free busywork.

4. The characters. With the exception of Balthier, Venat and a few others, the characters just didn't do it for me. And Vaan managed to supplant Tidus as the retard king of the FF universe, which is saying something.

5. The Story. It's kinda hard to put into words, but to me it seems that the story of FF12 had most of the elements a good story needs, but ultimately became less than the sum of its parts.

6. The feel - for most of the time, FF12 felt like a piss-easy MMORPG without the social aspect. Which is bad.

I can't really rag on anyone who appreciates that Venat is awesome, if only because anyone who appreciates Venat probably got the point of the story.

Yeah well, unlike some people here, I'm not saying that FF12 is an abomination to game(r)kind - I don't sink 100+ hours into horrible games.

The thread is asking about FF12's shortcomings, which carries a certain tendency to incite all kinds of crap. Then again, every discussion involving the game tends to do that.

So I decided to give FF12 another chance. Most of the things that annoyed me before are still annoying me, but at least leveling up isn't a thankless one-level-an-hour chore thanks to the Dustia trick (which I certainly would never have figured out without guides, I might add). I will concede that the game is not, in fact, as horrible as I thought at first. It's still incredibly obtuse and way too reliant on equipment to determine your capabilities, but it's not entirely out to get the player after all. It is, however, remarkably tedious and boring to level-grind. But this is true of pretty much every RPG ever, so I can't fairly blame FF12 for that.

To sum it up, FF12 isn't that bad. It's not great, and it's definitely not my favorite FF, but it's at least better than it would seem at first glance. Just don't play the game without a guide, or you will get shafted repeatedly.

What in the world is the Dustia trick?

Stop grinding! You should not be grinding for levels! Loot, maybe, for equipment, but not levels!

Grinding for levels simply means that he didn't manage good Gambits on his characters.

Seriously, I took on that giant beast's hunting quest in the snow mountains without even touching the controller once (OK... maybe moving Vaan a bit), and I was at a seriously low level and still managed to complete it... in around an hour and a half though! =P

I never played very far in it, and that's exactly what was wrong with it, for me. It just didn't grab me. At all. Once I put it down I felt no motivation whatsoever to ever pick it up again.

The Dustia trick is where you keep tossing Phoenix Downs on the Dustia in the Westersand and leaving before the Exp/LP notice pops up to keep it respawning. The reason I'm doing that is because your party's initial levels are determined by Vaan's level. Ergo if he's level 40 before the rest of the party joins up, they'll all be level 41 and 42 when they join up. And getting to level 40 against Dustia doesn't really take much; probably all of 10 hours gameplay overall if you're also doing other things, which is still 4 times faster than I was expecting. And I've managed to collect a fair few decent weapons in the process too, and most of the Forbidden Grimoires.

Holy Hell.

I can honestly say that I never had to grind that way. When it took me a while to level, it meant I was strong enough to move into the next area. Which was better for me anyway, because it meant bettter loot.

Spending that much time leveling up Vaan will take away the need to level up later, sure, but it also robs the game of all challenge, is hideously repetitive, and breaks the flow of the game considerably. I just can't figure out why you would do it.

it was a final fantasy game released after number 2 on snes, meaning it was passed by rpgs on every platform, and obviously dated, easy to play, paint by numbers gameplay crap :)

(just my opinion, dont hate me)