Gamer Chicks- Episode 14: Final Fantasy XII

I’m one of the biggest fans of “Star Wars” I’ve ever encountered (and am acutely aware of the awkwardness of that phrase), even though I’ve only discovered the story a few years ago.

At least Old Ben had the Dune Sea excuse for his ignorance.

But once fully immersed in the brilliant Force ideology, the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker and the majesty of the space-age samurai (erm, Jedi), I was so hooked that even death sticks would have been a minor distraction.

See how well I know this universe?

Now, this is precisely why I so favor “Final Fantasy XII. شراء يانصيب اون لاين ” The tale unfolds as follows:

It seems that an evil empire defeated various kingdoms – one of which it destroyed – and hope only lives in the forms of a young orphan and a princess in charge of a rebellion.

An armor-clad antagonist happens to be the twin brother of one of the heroes (not father, but close enough), a former general of the pre-empire days.

Aiding the young adventurers are two sky pirates, one of whom is not human.

Oh, glorious copyright infringement – this happens to be one of my favorites. Please infringe, square, infringe.

On to the actual story; this is told through the eyes of Vaan, a war orphan. He and best friend Penelo live in the desert-surrounded (that’s right) city of Rabanastre, running errands for a local shop-keeper and stealing from the occasional Imperial to survive.

Vaan, however, has epic dreams of escaping this dusty terrain and sailing the skies of freedom.

One day, Vaan decides to sneak into the palace treasury to “take back what’s his” and is subsequently caught, whereupon he, along with the dashing Balthier and Fran (the aforementioned sky pirates) find Captain Basch Fon Ronsenberg, who was supposed to have been long dead.

Upon escaping, they meet Princess Ashe and then the permanent party is formed, and they soon find themselves traveling across an expansive desert, occupied by its own brand of Tusken Raiders – but they have a different name, since SquareEnix isn’t in the habit of looking for lawsuits.

Just to reiterate, I love this game. Yoda’s presence would have been nice, but you can’t have everything. لعبة عجلة النقود There’s a strange and knowledgeable man named Old Dalan hanging out in Rabanastre’s Low Town, perpetually giving Vaan advice that’s only seldom useful. Maybe him? Yoda was much cuter, though – bigger ears and speech impediment and all.

Without providing excessive spoilers, the storyline does diverge from “Star Wars” eventually, though it certainly continues to retain that cantina-infused cyberpunk flavor, which would normally be awkward for something as inherently wholesome and cutesy as Final Fantasy, but it works here, as it did with the legendary seventh installment.

The gameplay is incredibly similar to “Final Fantasy XI,” for those who have played it; instead of randomly encountering battles on the world map, these enemies are actually seen prancing around their respective landscapes. While this often makes them easy enough to avoid, it’s still a good idea to engage in as many battles as possible, since they do consistently increase in level with a change in terrain.

Also, instead of the famed limit breaks, party members now have “quickenings.” These are all accessible though a license grid, as are the abilities to equip armor, accessories, weapons, learn spells, techniks and augments. This is closest to the system utilized in “Final Fantasy IX,” where a character would have to wear an article of clothing or weapon for a designated amount of time until he or she has earned enough points to learn its attached ability. The difference with this game is that each time an enemy is defeated; the party earns license points that can be applied on the grid to learn a desired skill. Each playable character has three quickenings, all of which are learned the same way.

And it’s imperative to do this as quickly as possible, since they are not only powerful, but absolutely necessary to defeat certain enemies. كيفية لعب بوكر

Summoning is also handled somewhat differently. The twelve Espers (I like that more than Eight’s uncreative “Guardian Forces”) are all rebellious spirits of old, the souls of whom are now trapped in crystals. Once defeated, they fall under the control of their new conqueror. Encountering some is an essential part of the storyline, while others are optional.

They tend to be utterly useless late in the game, however; but a fun challenge, nonetheless.

Finally, each Final Fantasy has its incredibly difficult optional bosses, right? Well, Twelve’s kicked it up a notch by introducing dozens. An important, though optional, subplot deals with “Clan Centurio,” a clandestine bounty hunter community for which you have the opportunity to score some incredibly tough marks that lead to even better loot.

As far as I’m concerned, “Final Fantasy XII” has it all – the tight plot, the fun battles, the oodles of sidequests – and finally, all the “Star Wars” touches that my nerdy little heart can possibly desire.

Maybe “Final Fantasy XIV” will feature a hotshot Viper jock, a noble admiral and a sexy villain in a devilish red dress. One can only hope.