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Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest VIII: battle systems?
Æthelred
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Quick question for anyone who can help me out: which of these two games has the better battle system? I picked up both on the cheap recently and am deliberating as to which to play first. I've decided that I'm not that bothered, so I'd rather play the game with the worst battle system first; it's awful going from a quick intuitive system to a more cumbersome one.
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...damn, when I word it like that, it makes both sound shitty. XD
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Is the next FF going to have a similar system?
They're not general. The orders are very exact. So exact, in fact, that there's no way to account for every situation.
Though, by the end of the game, I was able to get Penelo, my "black mage" character (I never really went the "make everyone good at everything" route), a full array of "if the enemy is weak against this element, use the best version of that spell on them", along with a command to use Syphon if she went below a certain % MP. I never actually used that setup, though, as I generally had her as my controlled character.
And I've got to use the most common argument for FF12's system, that being you don't have to use gambits at all. Like I mentioned with the character building, the game gives you the option to make it much easier for yourself than many people seem to enjoy, but you don't have to take that option. For tanking characters, though, when you were basically going to cast some buffing spells on them and have them repeatedly attack anyway, I found the gambit system to be a nice bit of streamlining.
attack attack attack attack
that's fukken boring.
in FF12 you're are ACTUALLY a strategist. Gambits automate the "select attack" boringness and let you really direct the ebb and flow of the combat. I'm tired of battles that happen outside the world, too, I like it how 1) FF12 got rid of random fights and also you fight in the "normal" map.
Really, think of DQ8 as a refinement of the classic battle system, with elements that can be considered archaic by today's standards, while FFXII basically tries to eliminate everything tedious and frustrating that is typically associated with JRPG combat. Many people enjoy the traditional systems, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I personally think XII's battle system is a breath of fresh air that other developers should start to mimic. XII is not without its flaws, but the battle system is so good that I actually value the gameplay as much as the story; the last time that happened with a JRPG was in Chrono Trigger. I haven't actually finished it yet, but it's on the fast track to becoming my favorite Final Fantasy.
I'm looking forward to Lost Odyssey at the end of the month, but goddamn it's going to be tough going back to that battle system.
The story is bare bones tough and the game is too long for it's own good.
Lies and half truths. The story for FFXII is a bit more difficult to follow than the past games, but is every bit as good imo. If you don't do any hunts/sidequests/extra stuff, the game can be finished quite quickly. But the fun of the game is doing the hunts and challenging yourself to go the extra mile. I'm 80 hours in as of today, and I show no signs of slowing down. I can't get the Zodiac Spear or the Tournesol because of some idiot mistakes I made earlier in the game, but that's not stopping me. I just got the Ragnarok. I'm getting all of the Espers, considering they're not all tied into the story, etc. The extras make the game a long, fantastic experience.
DQVIII bored the hell out of me, honestly. As someone above me said, the battle system seems sluggish.
imho, play DQVIII first and then savor FFXII later.
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What I enjoyed about DQVIII is that battles are actually pretty tough, and you have to think them through. It's also very basic, but I found that refreshing with the slew of JRPGs using really weird, clunky mechanics.
Same here. I picked DQ8 up a couple weeks ago on a whim, and I love it. It's just simple, JRPG bliss. It reminds me of the RPGs I used to play as a kid on the NES/SNES.
Erm, not to nitpick but I've played WoW and various DS games at the same time. Neither FF12 nor WoW require vast amounts of concentration in many scenarios. :P
Yeah, I agree. I wouldn't say it's barebones in any sense of the word, it's just more down to earth and more concerned with political conflict than the lifestream, giant mutant meteors, the power of love, time travel or your father being a gigantic monster for no reason. Much like the gameplay, I find the story to be very refreshing; granted, I haven't finished the game yet, but the world is probably the most fleshed out in the series' history. There's tons of lore in there, almost rivaling something like Elder Scrolls or Mass Effect in sheer volume. It's pretty awesome, and it is the first time in a decade that a Final Fantasy story has actually made a lick of fucking sense.
What?
DQ8 is more like "attack, heal, buff, debuff, tension, OH CRAP HEAL HEAL whew, magic, buff..."
Every Final Fantasy story has made sense. They're internally consistent and follow the rules of the world they make. Just cause they aren't the same rules as our world dosn't mean that they don't make sense.
FFT also does political conflict much better. Especially with the new translation.
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But hey. Earthbound did that too. Than again Earthbound also had an archaic Battle System at the time of it's release. Weird.
Seriously though, out of the two DQVIII has the much better story and FFXII kind of felt like a less charming Skies of Arcadia (which despite sounding insulting, I think being compared to that game is a huge compliment, if we're being honest here). FFXII's battle system however, is absolute gaming bliss.