FFX is Loved. FFXII is Ignored. Why?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ค. 2024
- Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XII are great games with very different legacies, and that fascinates me. This video is what I did about it.
(That's a Final Fantasy 10, Final Fantasy 12, FF10 or FF12 retrospective if you're so inclined, or a pedantic search engine)
Resources • FFX vs FFXII - Resources
Music • FFX vs FFXII - Music
Final Fantasy series sales comparison
vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Final...
FF12 delayed release
www.gamespot.com/articles/fin...
FF12 localisation interview
www.vg247.com/a-voice-for-iva...
Making of FF12 (the impact of Yasumi Matsuno’s departure)
www.polygon.com/features/2017...
Interview with Hitoshi Sakimoto
www.ign.com/articles/2006/10/...
Trial Mode interview with Hiroyuki Ito
gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/...
ATB system patents
worldwide.espacenet.com/inpad...
00:00:00 Intro
00:04:04 Beginnings
00:30:02 Pacing and storytelling philosophy
01:00:26 Characters (pt1: Non-Party)
01:33:45 Characters (pt2: Party)
02:17:48 Hijinks and emotional connection
02:20:02 Worldbuilding
02:33:49 Music
02:37:28 Evolution
02:40:14 Mechanics
02:59:08 Final Thoughts
Discord: / discord - เกม
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For me, X is like a movie, XII is like a book.
X much like a movie is easier to consume and enjoy and does more for you, XII being like a book is slightly harder (though no less enjoyable to consume) but asks you to do some of the work to fully enjoy it.
One isn't better or worse for me, they're just different, and those differences speak to different people for different reasons. I can see X being the more popular because its simpler and makes you feel, but I would argue XII is the better game because it makes you think. X is action-romance, XII is adventure-politics. X treats you like a customer, XII treats you like an adult.
That's actually a really good comparison.
@@blumiu2426 aww thanks :D
Both games are 10/10 for me. X is my favourite FF game and XII is defs top 3 mainline FF for me. Played through both at least 3/4 times each, on og ps2 and ps4 versions.
FFX has my favorite party, story and boss fights in the franchise. And tidus is top 3 MC in FF for me
FFXII has so much content. The hunts. Rare weapon drops and rare enemy spawns in the bestiary. And I didnt mind Vaan as an MC. Like in FFX Tidus is the MC but Yuna feels like the MC. Same with FFXII imo, it feels like Asche, balthier or basche should be mc, but you still spend most of the game with them, just from a different perspective. It adds to the style of storytelling imo.
"The narrator for X is the main character but the narrator for XII is a side character" omg this is the best summarize of their comparison in terms of story
Vaan isn't a side character, he's not even a part of the damn story. You could remove him along with most of everyone else, and the story wouldn't be affected. 12 was awful.
@@darkenkil4416 Vaan also isn't the narrator. Isn't Marquis Ondore?
Furthermore, you go through two more unimportant characters to get to Vaan, in which the only reason Vaan is possibly connected to Ashelia is because his brother was part of the army of Ashelia. Truly, Vaan is there just because, in-game and in general.
@@darkenkil4416 i was not referring to vaan. Also ofc he's a part of the story, but a minor one. Vaan is the regular type guy who got himself in all this. But ofc the story centers more on Ashe
@@darkenkil4416of course Vaan is a side character, the story never evolves around them, there just along for the ride.
Slowly playing FFX with my younger brother was one of my last memorable experiences in gaming.
He would grind when i was not at home, so we could experience story moments and bosses together.
It was an unexpected way of bonding.
Both the story and atmosphere, as well as the real life circunstances made this game something special that i will remember until my last days alive.
I liked 12 more
ff12 couldve benefited from having just random party conversations like the tales games. just to get anything on how the party members interact with each other when the plot isnt throwing things at them
Its funny, playing through FF10 again it actually has this as well. Characters will quip with each other in random battles in a new area. 12 definitely could have benefited a lot from the same thing.
If you're working off of archetypes, that is fine, but having characters talk for the sake of talking is a criticism levied at more anime or archetype cast of characters. They aren't saying much, they are just taking turns stating the obvious, repeating one another or only there for comedic purposes. It would not work for a more serious story when cutscenes served to deliver exposition where needed, not fill the space between to remind you of the cast.
It would be interesting indeed, considering how many sidequests exist in the game.
@@blumiu2426 By this argument all side content would not work, conversations or not.
You can have interesting conversations that reveal more about the characters and their backgrounds/perspectives/relationships when reacting to subplots and locales. Not every line of dialogue needs to drive the main plot forward in a game. Also 12 isn't always so serious and brooding. The game wants you to have fun in the open world and it makes its fields and towns bright and whimsical.
@@lackofavailablenames You're being hyperbolic by not using your brain.
How many games use the method that Tales of does? I can't think of many as it is unique to it. How do other games share exposition? Through cutscenes, dialogue with an NPC or with the characters if they split up around a hub location. People forget that the writing in many JRPGs is for certain age ranges and the exposition shared is seldom that important unless leading to a party member's arc. It's not necessary if the writing knows how to say what's needed during events of different scales.
Of course it has levity to an extent, you have to decompress from a serious plot. However, it is not the same as what more typical JRPGs do. It is what set games like Final Fantasy apart as the series matured. You can't do so much it breaks immersion, but have to be selective about it. Something like Tales of or Trails of don't need to worry about this as their audience is younger than what XII was aiming for.
Final Fantasy X changed me as a person when I played it first, but FFXII kept me awake til 4am most nights in 2009 and was so addictive and fun. Both games are brilliant
yes
Are you me? Cause I've had the same experience with both games respectively
agreed dude they are both good. if you want games to criticize there is always 13-16
I wish Matsuno would have been able to see out his vision. 12 is under rated imo and the world was so expansive. To this day it’s my favourite to traverse because it’s huge.
Too bad I am tired of all these final fantasy games having mail I'm pretty much will never play any of them 10 or until they make a female lead in 10 part two does not count because it's still about wanting to find Titus
@@MidniteMoogle make leads do you mean? Did you play 13 then?
@@MidniteMoogle what are you whining about?? FFXIII exists and that trilogy nearly killed the series.
@@blumiu2426 yes Final Fantasy 13 then Final Fantasy 13 part two and then Final Fantasy 13 part three you'll have to look up the parts of it like lightning returns or something but yeah it's a trilogy
@@MidniteMoogleIt must feel weird being done with Final Fantasy while having a Final Fantasy username still.
1:04:00 This scene actually show one issue with FFXII, the lore of the game is incredible, but sometime it fail to convey the important stuff for the story, like of the dialog between Vayne and his father here relate to event that happened before the story, that the player can learn by talking to NPC and reading the lore pages of the bestiary, but the main cutscene barely mentionned it, like here how it goes:
-"You show no hesitation to solve matter with blood" : This line reference the past when Vayne catch his 2 older brothers that were comploting to take down the senate and take control of the empire, and he had them execute but....
-"The sword of House Solidor cannot be left to rust in doubt. It was you, Excellency, who tempered that sword." : This line from Vayne remind, that it was actually his father that request him to arrest and execute his brothers.
-"My hands are stained with blood. I see little to stay them now." : And this also in reference to that story, and for the situation now, he already went as far as killing his own blood, so killing his own father now is not something he will not be able to do.
-"Is this your idea of vengeance ?" : Is his father acknowledging that in a way, Vayne resent his father for having made him kill his brothers.
I stopped there, but when you have full context this scene gives so much more context to Vayne, from his actions in the game if there is one character he genuinly love it's his brother Larsa, before the Bahamut sequence, he actually listen to Larsa in examining if Ashe is really lust for revenge and if she would destroy the empire with nethecite (he's seemingly convince that Ashe would do anything for revenge during that discussion), even when Larsa step up for himself he isn't mad at him at all and even compliment him for taking his own position, but also looks clearly sad when he realize that he lost Larsa so much, that Larsa would rather protect Gabranth than stay with him.
So Vayne has a clear love for his family, which we can imagine put him in a pretty rough situation the day his father ask him to deal with his brothers, and we can imagine how much this has impacted Vayne's point of view and attitude, and also he still at least respect his father, given how old and sick his father is during the event of the game, I don't think Vayne would have had any trouble with disposing of him long ago if he truly wanted, and in this dialog to me they just both agreed that in order to protect Larsa Vayne has to take his father's place, and his father also sees it as his punishment for what he makes Vayne do in the past, and basically at least partially responsible for what Vayne has become.
So don't get me wrong Vayne is still a power hungry vilain at the end of the day, but just this little bit of context would have contextualize his actions and personnality so much more, and it's a real shame that that context is not given in the main story directly, but through side content and therefore is missable, if you only watch the main cutscene, you only have one mentionned during a conversation between the Judges of Vayne having killing his brothers in the past, you however don't have the info that it was his father that asked him to do it which is a crucial info that change the perspective a lot in regard to Vayne's character and his relation with his family.
This is a great analysis of Vayne. There's a fair bit to be said about how Vayne is a victim of the Archadian Empire too, but unlike Larsa, he chose to fall in line with the oppressive regime and continue the cycle. Very Gabranth-esque of him ;)
It's things like this that make me wish they actually showed off these characters. They had so much to work with and chose not to.
@@Kazmord Honnestly I think as an all FFXII is a case of game victim from it's ambition and at the same time a game that came out to soon, the game was extremely ambitious and I think in the way to much for the PS2, they mentionned several times in interview how the challenge was working with the limitation of the PS2, which they push very far and to be honnest on a pure technical stand point this game is a masterpiece the fact they were able to pull a game that huge on a PS2, on only 1 DVD (cause multiple Disc were still a thing back then) and best of all with no major glitchs, slowdown or any noticeable technical issue is an incerdible feat by itself, but at the cost they had to leave out some ideas, and at some point they mentionned that even if they wanted to do some major changes they couldn't cause that would have implied restructuring the game immensly and they couldn't do that.
Needless to remind that the game release far after what release date Square initially envisioned, so clearly they had to give up on a lot of ideas, and the story and characters is what suffer the most from it, and the later half of the game is the clear victim, character like Gabranth, Larsa or even Cid and Balthier feel like they lack a part of their arc, Reddas is a great character but he appears to late in the story, showing the event of Nabudis would have been great for him, alas they never shown this, Cid's death is nice with him subtly tell Balthier to not mourn him as he made his own choice and live the way he wants, and tell Balthier to go on live his own life like he did, but there was just not enough interaction or show of their past lives as a family to make this death as beautiful as it could have been.
There is also so much areas that are mentionned but we never got into, and given how important they are in the narrative or character's individual story, like it baffle me that we never go to Rozarria during the entire game despite how important Rozarria is to the world, also a miss opportunity that we never go to Basch and Noah/Gabranth's country like as far as we know Landis still exist it's just occupied by the empire but it's not as if it was destroy like Nabudis.
Anyway I could go on, the thing is despite all of that FFXII is still one of my favorite game ever, I still like the story even if it clearly didn't/couldn't reach it's full potential, the world-building is top notch and I'd argue that if you really dive into the lore just from what FFXII alone give you (not counting the other Ivalice title) it's the most flesh out world a FF games ever had been to this day (outside maybe of FFXIV I don't play MMO so haven't play that one), and I always enjoy exploring the world, just on the gameplay stand point FFXII truly capture that feeling on going into a great adventure, and really how I love this game I would have killed to see what this game could have been if the could have meet all it's anbition.
As for comparaison with X.... honnestly to me the game have always been polar opposites, and I honnestly end up thinking that comparing the 2 is like comparing an Apple and an Orange, they both FF but they don't have the same taste and weither you like one or the other is entirely up to the player.
Btw X is clearly a game that was made for his story before anything else and this translate into it's gameplay, for the storyline the game is perfectly balance (especially if you play Standard Sphere Grid and each character have their own "job"), however if you do all the postgame content X is a weird case of a game where the gameplay destroy itself and sometime even turn some of his best feature into an annoyance :
-Sphere Grid ? Neat idea..... until you reach the postgame and realize you have to basically go through the entire grid destroying every nodes and putting better one, to me this is dumb it's like in a traditionnal Leveling you had to reach LV60 then go all the way down to LV10 to get back up to LV99.
-Character roles with each character being good against some type of ennemies ? Nope they're all the exact same now bare their overdrives.
-Equipment Customization ? Forget it for weapons, you have Celestial Weapons and since they ignore defense they're by virtue better than any weapon you could customize and it's not even close, and they're already customize for you, some abilities are just way to good to pass (who's not gonna use Auto-Haste for instance).
-The Elemental and Statut Effect game is entirely shutdown once you reach the postgame, there's pretty much no more elemental weakness, and all the major bosses are immune to everything, and as a result every ability or customize graviting around element and statut effect becomes entirely useless.
-Magic become so bad in the postgame due to the Celestial Weapon clearly favoring physical attack and magic scaling being very badly compare to strength (it's actually funny cause when you look at the stat of the ennemies, they actually hide that they screw this up in the story by simply giving most monster and bosses only 1 Magic Defense).
All that and as a result FFX which is a game that have a gameplay that has so much potential and in the postgame where the game should push it's mechanic to their best.... the game just become "Spam Quick Hit with your celestial weapon" with some occasionnal overdrives here and there, how disappointing, it also funny when you look at the AI and realize that the post-game bosses have actually less complex AI overall than the main story bosses, basically the postgame bosses are nothing more than stat banks that's disappointing, but thankfully for FFX this is the postgame not the main story, so people that just look for the story will not be affected by that, I personnaly still considere it flaws, cause personnaly when I experience a story.... well that's it the story will not be different when I replay the game so on replay and just won't care as much as I did, and thankfully there is the Expert Sphere Grid to have some fun and be able to replay with more freedom on character build right from the get go, cause if it was just the Standard Sphere Grid the game would pretty much play the same way everytime.
This is one of the best qualities of XII. The dialogue and overall story is extremely well-written and packed with subtext, unspoken themes, and subtlety.
@@OdiousCoprophagus Yep dialogue is top notch, and I argue the best of the series so far.
@@nesoukkefka1741 same in my case, as I get older and read more literatures, and watch more obscure movies and epics, FFXII feels like it benefits from our knowledge.
I prefered FFX, but I really liked FFXII. I think it says more about how good FFX is, rather than 12 being bad.
Yeah, as wacky as X gets, the whole package is just so much more enjoyable.
I'd say that XII technically better game, but it lacks so, so much in the flair department. The game finds itself in an awkward middle point, having dropped the cartoony shenanigans, but lacking the power and focus to portray more impactful character acting. Balthier's "oh, I guess father is dead, welp" face being the prime example.
The fact that I played them both to completion and I remember almost everything from 10 and nothing from 12, should say it all.
exactly the same for me. I know ffx by heart, the plot the dialogue just it made a huge impact. fxii I just barely remember anything. Fran/balthier/vaan could’ve been a cool trio. I definitely don’t remember the overall plot. I might like it more as an adult but it made no impact on me as a young teen
Haven't finished the video yet but i remember the ending feeling incomplete.
Ff12 has so much to do in the game and the world is crazy how big it is. To the point that ff14 has had alot of content connect to ff12 and I believe even the world of ff14 takes place in the same world of ff12 which is cool, an Fran even makes an appearance!
Ivalice is absolutely massive and has existed at least since FF Tactics on PS1.
FFXIV's setting is not Ivalice. It's an MMO, so it will collaborate and make references as part of marketing, promotions and events. In fact, Matsuno did a FFT event for the game. Garo appears in it, Nier does. None of it is canon, just cross-promotion or paying homage as they did with older FF games.
@blumiu2426 oh I just checked I guess the ivalice in 14 is different but same name lol confusing, bozja an things make more references so makes sense why I thought they were tied some how
@@20marzboy It's a little confusing because Tactics and 12 exist on the same timeline, one is just centuries in the past.
21:25 "Enjoy this scene because it's half of the character development Penelo ever gets"
I AM STILL SAD ABOUT THIS, SO MANY YEARS LATER!
FF12 was my first JRPG, let alone my first FF game so it holds a special place in my heart (my mom couldn't afford a PS3 when it was new so I had this and Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2) and I've played the Switch version of the Zodiac Age as well. Between the two consoles I think I have 2000+ hours in the game, most of those spent aimlessly and suboptimally farming over and over on the PS2 as a kid, but even WAY back then, I always felt like Penelo got sadly shafted by just being.... gone for most of the game's runtime. Even worse that she loses out on levels by being *in* the party, then removed instead of never being in the party to begin with and just being a guest in the early game - which also would've been bad for gameplay mechanic teaching.
Her level when she's back in the party reflects her story progress, but unfortunately her story is about done as far as the plot seemed to know what to do with her.
The worst part is according to the devs, before the story was rewritten, Penelo was apparently many of the developers favorite character. Makes me wonder what could have been. At least she gets a lot more to do in the weird DS sequel.
Man remember his login details
Since you talked about how immersive the world and npcs feel i think you should try the Trails series, where almost every minor npc random citizen gets their own name and story(not that a lot are meaningful, but the details are still there) and you get a lot of character interactions between the main cast and lots, lots of worldbuilding. It is a very long series, but you should at list try the first arc and see if it rings with you, it would be awesome to watch an analysis as deep as this one.
Incredible video, thanks.
FFXII although it has a lot of great characters, it don't have enough character appeal power that leaves memorability. The story is really great but it don't give enough bite size memorable thing that you can remember it by. Like the ost isn't also that memorable enough that can send people into nostalgia trip on a highlight in the game.
Like you got to talk about xii in a macro scale just to explain how good it is making it hard to casually bring that up in random conversations. Other FF has bite size moments that can surface level encaspsulate the peak of experience of those titles. Aerith's death, FFx pond scene, ffxv brotherhood.
12 is probably my favorite FF, but I can only seem to play it now days with the Struggle For Freedom mod installed to increase the challenges.
The side characters were all so much cooler than the main characters in FF12 that I just refused to continue.
I just don't see how that's a problem. It's not like you even have to control vaan or make any decisions. What does it matter?
That's a really shallow and stupid reason to stop playing a game
So basically every Persona game ever
@@bryansuminski7543 Man so I’m gonna challenge that and say it’s not really that shallow or stupid it’s the same reason people walk out of a movie. If you can’t make your audience care about the characters they’re spending most of the time with then why wouldn’t they just walk away at any point.
@lipittysplit8722 he said he couldn't continue because all of the other character were more interesting than the "main" character, not that none of them were interesting at all.
Ffx is a deep personal story with tragic events and a personal vendetta against the main antagonists. Ffxii is a game that the main villain ask you who are you when you face him.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I wouldn't call corrupted church + daddy issues "deep personal story with tragic events and a personal vendetta against the main antagonists" XD
Okay, 3 hours, 1.9k views but 3.27k subs??? What the hell, with this many clips, use of music and solid scripting, pacing and editing - not to mention good audio from the mic without overt issues balancing leves or anything? Goddamn, this is criminal, and have the well earned subscription! God I hope you get more traction and continue making things you clearly care about
FF10 just feels like it had that quintessential Final Fantasy soul. I love FF12 (especially after TZA) but it's so frustrating that it came SO close to achieving the same level of greatness. So, so close.
I would love more lengthy Final Fantasy videos, this one was awesome to watch.
the iron grip hironobu sakaguchi had on early ff cannot be understated
just think if Matsuno didn't leave production of 12, it's political drama and backstabbing would have been even crazier, knowing his other works
E: ok since you like dive into characters and motivations, try Tactics Ogre: Reborn. it goes deeper.
Also gambits - Unicorn overlord kinda does this too. solve their "gambits" and you've solved combat, for the most part (still a great game even though the story is kinda...blah)
Thanks for the recs. I've heard rumblings of Unicorn Overlord, it sounds intriguing.
Dragon Age Origins also has a gambit like system. The developers said it was heavily influenced by FF12. I love all 3 (FF12,DAO and Unicorn) and wish these combat systems were used more. Amazing replayability.
@@Kazmord I want a deep dive like this but for the last remnant, basically they solved the gambit problem. instead of letting you program the gambits each character comes preloaded and to keep you in your toes instead of 3 characters you are controlling an active party of 18
is a shame SE threw a fit you can't buy the PC version anymore but there is a Russian version floating around ;) it is only 4gb but it uses Russian magic to to contain the whole game.
also a pro tip, there is a mechanic called time shift, in a casual play through you use it to control your difficulty by pulling as many or as few enemies into battle as you are comfortable with, however if you stay on the easier side the enemies may outgrowth you and you will soft lock, so try to get in difficult battles often.
FFXII has the GREATEST combat system objectively for modern evolution
Fact
thank you, ive been looking for long vids like this that talk about my fav games, so i can listen while i work,, great video btw
banger, 11/10, entirely worth the wait. enlightened me truly. now where are the proud mode streams?
also? lethal company mentioned 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Appreciate it my dude.
Proud mode? Never heard of it :))))
Would also love to mention you highlighting the deathbringer sword and how you get it super early and farm it is amazing lol it's a pilgrimage everytime I play 12 to do this as well as get the double license points item for everyone way early by doing that one hunt so you can cross the river in a boat an cheaply run to a vendor with those bracelets. Such cool level design in 12, really feel like it's under appreciated for game play aspects alone. FF 10 is my second favorite story behind FF14 (which is really amazing) and then in 3rd is FF12, I haven't played 6 before but kefka is one of my favorite raids in FF14 atleast lol
Great analysis of both games! I played both at launch and you've brought things to light I never thought of. Nice job!
I think it's hard to really compare these games because they're both doing such different things and your preference will just fall on which of thse things you prefer. I love both for the very same (different) reasons you articulated here, although I'll go to bat for XII first (if only because I feel fewer people will). They're both great games that accomplish what they set out to do.
Of the two, XII is the one I would sooner go back to-- that sense of exploration drags me into the world so thoroughly, I can just wander for hours.
I've played both and while both are enjoyable I come back to 12 more often to try out different builds and weapons. Honestly you can't go wrong with either though
I rather play X though due to the battle system.. XII battle system got too boring too quick for me so would have preferred a more original turn-based for it since i loved the world etc
@@666Wolborg understandable since 12's battle system doesn't hit full swing until you unlock enough gambit slots and actions. X requires tutorials for each character to sit through but nothing stops you after that
This was delictful recommend for me. Lot of forgotten knowledge of both games yet still glimces of memories enjoying both of these games in my youth.
Thanks :3
ok. i barely ever comment on things. you gained a sub. so far, very great pacing and allusions/connections to each game creating amazing segues between the 2, and the editing and even one off jokes are dope, whether done with a visual gag or audio (just mentioning that because it's extremely easy to be cringe). awesome clear narration written and structured well. i'm bout 25 mins in & this is one of the best media comparative retrospectives ive seen in a LONG time. ur a legend for this. shared it to a few people who i know will def enjoy this. finna go thru your backlog of videos after this as well, keep it up.
Well you gain a new subscriber, good work my dude
Dude I usually don't watch long videos like this from newer creators but dude this video is actually really fantastic!
I put Kimahri down Rikku's path since it was the only part of the original grid not covered. He passed Rikku by the time she joined and made her useless.
He then becomes as fast as Rikku, but stronger and most of his lances can break heavy armour. Plus he can use Al Bhed potions.
Done this way hes the most powerful character in the game.
Great video about two of my favorite FF games 🥹 Was about throw hands when you talked about X’s OST and didn’t mention Hamauzu (but then included it in the small note). 12 was definitely a game I appreciated more on a second play through, and once I was older. As a notoriously lazy gamer, I spent ages on the side quests in 12, they’re so gripping, funny or sad alike. My favorite was rounding up all the cockatrices, their dialogue and the way they all spoke with different accents was hilarious, another point for a fantastic localization.
Thanks! Yeah Hamauzu is an unsung hero of FFX for sure.
Soon 5k Subs!
More than deserved, such a good big video deserves way more!
i can only imagine how much work goes into videos like these but i have been enjoying these long form videos i hope the algorithm helps push more of your videos out. your video is really well made ill defiantly be watching more
Love this content so much. Need you to do more of the series!!
This is great! When I played through FF series for the first time last year for some reason 12 stuck with me more than 10 and I think you hit the nail on the head as to why! Love your editing too
Holy shit it’s finally here
Having the FFT composer do the music for FF12 makes sense considering T, TA, TA2 and 12 (+12-2 obviously) all take place in Ivalice. So it creates a bit of a universe for musical themes as well when the games take place in the same setting at different time periods
Waiter! Waiter! More Final Fantasy videos please!! For real though, great work. I was planning on having the video play in the background, but the editing was too silly and fun to miss out on. Would love to see you cover the other games from the series too.
Great video! I haven't subbed so fast in my life. Keep up the great work!
A direct quote from one of 12's writing staff: "My favorite things about Penelo all ended up on the cutting room floor."
Some of it would come back in Revenant Wings, the DS sequel that did more for Prnelo and the orphans than 12 did for most of the cast, arguably.
Two of my favorite games! Great summary. Well done!
Bro you're great at this. I'm surpirsed your channel isnt bigger. Either way this almost feels like a video made for me as a massive FFX and FF12 fan. I never thought to compare them in this way and you present this brilliantly. Hope to see more from you! Enjoy the like and subscribe.
Amazing video, loved the editing and how insightful your analysis was. Just wanted to ramble a little bit and leave my thoughts, since this video's helped me organise my own thoughts on FF12, which is a game that I've long been unsure how to feel about.
When I first played FF12, I basically ignored its story for the first 10 hours or so - it was a lot of proper nouns and meaningless names I had no context for, paced awkwardly, interspersed with random action sequences whose stakes I didn't really feel investment in. But the more of it I played, the more I felt drawn into the game, and I think you summed up exactly why - FF12 is a game that has so much potential, and you can really feel the adventurousness of the team who created it. All that unrealised potential makes it a fascinating game to think about and analyse, unlike FF10, which is already such a well-oiled game that delivers on pretty much all of its promise and so there's not that much to say about it. I got genuinely excited when I saw you rolling background footage of that scene with Drace, Zargabath, and Gabranth as in the background, because I've often used that as an example of just how good FF12's storytelling is at its peak, because of the phenomenal script and the fact that it's just amazing how much characterisation and worldbuilding is conveyed in a 3-minute conversation between a bunch of side-characters who you might not even see again for another 20 hours if you're doing the side-content. But I think that's a big issue for the game; you can't have a tightly-paced but open-world political thriller story with an ensemble cast, because a first time player's likely to forget half the ensemble's motivations and beliefs while they're dicking around in the Estersand trying to find a Cactus so they can unlock Zalera, especially when some of the ensemble is absolute filler that never goes anywhere, like Rozzaria and Al-Cid. There's no real way for the first-time player to distinguish the stuff that's brief because it's quick, efficient set-up for later pay-offs, like Drace and her eventual execution, from the stuff that's brief because it's just never really going to be relevant to the story and you don't need to pay it much mind as a result. To be fully effective, the game's best moments demand the player pay significant attention to what's being put in front of them (remembering the judges' motivations during Drace's death; the change in voice-actor for Basch and "Basch" during the opening, etc), but the game then sometimes completely fails to reward the player for being so attentive, like with the dead end of the Rozzaria stuff, which makes the game feel uneven and bumpy.
Al-Cid's hot though, so like, 7/10?
I made it 28 minutes before buying both games. Going to play through and return for the rest of the video. Thank you!
you having so little subscribers is a crime! I put your video to fall asleep and ended up watching most of it in one sitting. Good retrospective I'm hoping for more 🤞🏾
One kino thing about FFX is the weird symbol Tidus and Jecht have on their body and clothes. It can be seen as either a J for Jecht, or as a T for Tidus.
this video is six days old and i've fallen asleep to it on 4.. great storytelling and wonderful pacing ✨💖
Sakimoto being in charge of the music on the main series dip into Ivalice was a genius decision. Ivalice's identity is also tied to its music and having the same guy definitely helped keep the setting consistent and he built on what he did before to make Ivalice's places like the Giza Plains really shine.
I'm glad I've played both of these games because this would be one very confusing video to a newcomer hahaha.
Excellent work!
What would you say to a person whos fave Finals Fantasy games are 6 8 and 13 trilogy ? Tho to be honest 12 is the one I havent played myself... seen others played it tho.
Great video! You're very funny and the editing is great. Subbed ❤️ can't wait to see more!
Into my game respective playlist this goes! Great work!
Amazing video man. And your comedy timing is excellent, couldn’t stop laughing throughout. Here’s my sub, keep them coming pls 🫡
Outstanding long-form video. I loved every bit of this. The genuine analysis, the meme-ing, the subjective mixed with objective
I have to say, Final Fantasy XII became WAY more enjoyable for me when I went out of my way to do as much side content as possible before progressing the main story, rather than just mostly doing story stuff. I had 3 party members dedicated to main story and the other 3 dedicated to side quests. They all ended up roughly the same level so I could swap in equally powerful party members at any point rather than hoping my level 20 penelo throws a phoenix down in time lmao
just began seeing the video and around 11 minutes when you discuss about how both games handle their intro i will just say one thing.
its the end of the generation, the previous game already did something and they dont want to repeat it but most importantly the INTRO is something 100% of any player who tries game WILL play throught. so thats why giving a big impression from the get go is always a must on AAA since the early ps2 era (ps1 was still half assed game design). the tonal shift fits for both games due to how you explained it sets stuff you will only understand HOURS later and also REWARDS REPLAYS!!! of the game because the first you learn what you are seeing, and the second you UNDERSTAND what you are playing, which a lot of jrps does both for foreshadowing and or to simply reward people who pay attention to the most minimal details of things.
This was an amazing video. Glad I found this channel.
The backstory for Yuna's adventure in 10-2 is that Rikku found and showed Yuna a sphere depicting a guy that looked exactly like Tidus, starts to think he might be out there somewhere, and goes on a quest to find him, hunting down spheres along the way".
The game has multiple endings, one where she gets him back and it feels earned, and one where she makes peace with knowing she won't see him again. Events in between basically alternate between hijinks and serious moments, and a fair bit of narm.
Mechanically, the outfits are essentially a variation of the job class systems from 3 and 5 (along with bringing back the ATB system), and encourages you to use different ones over the course of the battle since the summons are effectively replaced with special jobs that turn one of the party members into basically a controllable boss. As for the magical girl-esque fanservice, that is a lot more subjective so I'll refrain from talking about it further.
Yuna is my favorite female character ever, And can you guess my favorite male character ever, Hint Tidus.
i love ff10 a lot, but last 3 years ive yet to recomplete a playthrough ive started. ff12 however i did 2 challenge runs back to back in the last month full completion, and whats wild is i just now for the first time thought about it having a speed run scene.
Tbh when 12 first came out I bounced off of it pretty hard since I didn't understand the full scope of the gear system, I would just hit optimize and wonder why everyone kept doing 20 damage with axes. Now that I'm older (and love the job system of the Zodiac releases) it's now probably my fave mainline entry (sudden ending aside). Now I kinda wish there was a modern release of the original version so I can figure out the boards again
Great comparison!
Thank you for this huge nostalgia trip
Really makes me want to replay both with this kind of retrospective
I didn't know there was an affection mechanic in 10! I ended up with Lulu on the snowmobile and just assumed that was an intended cutscene.
Fantastic video my man! You earned a subscriber. I work 12hr shift work and am able to have an earbud in and this was perfect.
X is my favorite game of all time, but I LOVE XII. And that’s funny because normally especially with RPGs I need a great story and characters and while I do like the cast of XII, its story is definitely a mixed bag and its characters are a lot of lost potential. However, the game is unique for me because I just adore the world, art direction, and lore of it all. It’s a rare thing for me. Like I’ve never been able to get into fallout or elder scrolls but but XII just has vibes for days. I’ve always said and will stand by that XII has the best world in the series
Matsuno, Yoshida and Sakimoto have always worked together since Tactics. They are their own trio whenever Matsuno creates a game and make up the atmosphere of Ivalice.
MY only problem with XII was that it was too short. Wish there were some more big boss battles that are woven into the story.
I think if they would've made the hunts have a more cohesive story, it would've helped a lot in that department
That was your only problem? I can think of about a hundred more things wrong with that game.
@Alvun416 personally besides the length its a 10/10 game for me so idk what other problems you are talkin about
idk how you play FF12 but it takes me easily 2x or 3x as long to finish compared to FF10. There's like 30+ optional bosses you can fight and most of them are pretty challenging if you take them on as soon as possible. I think I have FF12 saves with like 80h at the lighthouse.
If anything, the game might be too long.
@robertmarlow6674 I don't consider side content as meaningful content. FF10 has nearly all content woven into the main story. There is side content which also beefs up the hours, but every minute in FF10 is more meaningful to me.
I like both, I adore both the Archadian Empire and Yevon as the villain faction but I never noticed until you pointed it out none of the FFXII main characters (other than Fran and Balthier) have strong bonds with each other.
I love your take on Vayne waking up choosing Violence and Drace, even now I still feel bad for her death and you're right about Dr.Cid he did steal the scenes whenever he appeared. I also loved all the Airships in the Archadian Empire there some of my favourite designs in the Series.
Ff12 was the first final fantasy I ever beat and it's always held a special place in my heart, x was the first one I ever bought myself. Both of these games were integral to me growing up. I'm so happy just to hear someone talking about 12! Replaying it in modern day with the 4x speed function actually helped a lot with the flow of the story ironically enough.
Also you earned my sub :) thanks for this video
Amazing video dude!!! ✨🤘🏾 can you someday make one of crisis core (original)?
Personally , that’s my holy trinity 🖤 FF X, XII & CC
I remember playing FF12, going through several hunts, getting lost exploring castles and forests, then BAM! The characters suddenly started talking? Turns out I ran into the main plot. I had forgot the game even had one.
Recently, my sister asked for a final fantasy recommendation - and she wanted to choose between one of these. (We had both as a kid, she never played them but I did.) I had a hard time picking between the two, I thought 10 would be the better beginner game, and it has a love story, but she also loves Shakespeare and might have vibed with the political story. I’ll have to ask her which one she chose and what she thought of it!
In defense of Penelo! (Doubt you hear that very often lol) Her presence in the party I think was to represent the common people of Rabanastre. Sure, she still doesn't get much focus (none at all in the late game save for the ending lol) but she's almost the bridge between the Empire and the Kingdom. Both showing the player what she lost in a more mature way than Vaan, as well as expressing to Larsa her fear of Vayne. They definitely could've expanded on this, as they could have with any character interactions as you said, but I think she does matter.
Amazing analysis tho! +1 sub! 😀
2:39:17 being a fan of the Trails of games, I find this line funny. They've had a speed up function since 2014 and it's near universally praised.
I'm not a native English speaker, so i didn't understand anything about both ffx and ffxii, but because of that very fact ffxii caught me a lot more because there was a lot of fun to be had with the world, while X was just a mystery to me 'cause i couldn't understand.
Your jokes land so well and I genuinely find you hilarious and informative.
I feel so represented with my niche interest ❤❤❤
FFX-2 and FFXII were my first ever FF ganes. So I am HELLA biased to XII haha
It's because FF XII is an RNG mess. Someone should fix it, by eliminating respawning chests (each chest drops a single item, get rid of the diamond bangle or use it to increase monster loot), increase monster loots, make the bazaar work better, extend the license board with minor but expensive stat boosts that keep it relevant the entire game (it's usually done by the half-way to two thirds mark)
Still a great foundation that was abandoned for no reason…should have been the basis for combat going forward
glad to hear im not the only one randomly busting out Hymn of the Faith lmao!
I needed this video for last 18 years. Thank you, you are the GOAT.
Amazing video. Excellently done.
I love FF12, played through multiple times, only played FF10 once.
This is one of the best FF video essays I've ever listened to. Well done.
It's absolutely poggers how technically ambitious these games are. They have so much content and story with terrific visuals to match
Damn this is an absolutely amazing video essay good job damn I'm shocked this is so good got my sub papas
bro how did i only NOW realise, that the first sword you get, that belonged to Jecht, IS THE LETTER "J" ON A SWORD HILT
I can't imagine the time to edit this, I like it an all. But am just hearing this while I drive or do some work.
I love both. 11 and 14 are the only ones I never got into. Love all the others.
I like the style/format of this video.
For the first half of this game I didn't set up gambits correctly and just played the game like KOTOR or DA Origins and paused to pick everyone's abilities and watched them in real time, complete. Was way more into the game when I figured it out more 👌
I super agree with the part about the pacing and storytelling philosophies and it's something too few people talk about, even though it's super important in this medium.
FF10's strength is in its structure and focus. Everything revolves around the characters and story, their presentation and the cinematography, and it's easily the single most well-paced game in the series and one of the most well-told stories in the medium as a result. They went all out with it and you can really see it in all the little details and how every story battle is treated like a set piece of its own. To this day no other turn-based RPG has ever been able to match it.
Plus, there's never any dead air and you're never asked to do weird videogamey shit or anything like that just because they thought it was cool or they needed filler. They reserve all of that for the end and post-game.
That's why it's such a monumental, memorable game.
FF12 is different. It has a great story, fantastic writing and cool characters. But it's a lot more RPG-ish. It lets those narrative elements take the backseat to the gameplay a lot of the time. And it serves a purpose other than it being fun too. It allows you to take in the gorgeous world, atmosphere and music. FF10's world is big, but FF12's world is absolutely massive. It's a game that wants you to just vibe and immerse yourself in it, to feel like you're exploring this vast, beautiful world with a party of friends. And thanks to Gambits, your friends can even be very smart in combat. Well, as long as you do it smart.
Both games are absolute masterpieces in their own ways, as both games and experiences. I had such incredible fun with FF12 and I don't think I've ever been that immersed in a world since. FF10 is still one of the most powerful emotional journeys in the medium.
And I mean, it really helps that they both have some of the most fun gameplay systems in the genre and are absolutely packed with content.
I do have to disagree about the one point about the rearranged music. FF10 HD's new soundtrack really is pretty bad with only few exceptions. It often sounds at best like an arranged album that they decided to reuse tracks from. Then again, with some tracks that's exactly what happened.
For FF12 they did something really cool and unique though, because not only did they give it a beautiful, faithfully rearranged soundtrack and put the original soundtrack in, they even went to the effort to get the soundtrack as it was on PS2 in there.
Also, the track at 2:35:57 is in fact an Uematsu track! But yes, Hamauzu is a phenomenal composer, and so are Nakano and Sakimoto for that matter!
This was way more entertaining than i thought it would be. Creative comparison. Thanks man.
Balthier is the greatest character in FF history. Witty, charming, smooth personality. Nothing seems to get at him. Love that character.
I want to know how people would rework Penelo. Clearly, A direction, ANY direction is needed, I'm just not sure how to change her in a way that complements the party dynamics.