regardless, though, it still somehow IS epic.

it could have been better, sure (the gambit system is a bit limited, buying the gambits also doesn’t make much sense), but i can honestly say this is my favorite final fantasy (maybe not the best, objectively, though). 4 stars for evermore and 2 stars for FFXII is just wrong, to me. where are we out on that?

I’ve not played Final Fantasy XII, but from my understanding it seems like XII follows in the same footsteps, although the main character is even more detached. Vaan is essentially a rather normal person caught up in rather supernatural events. More than that, being caught up in these supernatural events does not magically make him supernatural: this is pretty important to note. As a result, characters who are able to handle these rather vicious circumstances step up, and Vaan steps to the side. I don’t think there’s really anything wrong in telling the story from the perspective of a character who can’t comprehend it all; in fact, I applaud it. It’s a different way of looking at storytelling and isn’t nearly as presumptuous about any one person’s importance. The grand scheme of things such as politics and people around shady organizations should logically dwarf the influence of any single person or even small group. As such, I think the argument that it’s bad or doesn’t come off right is somewhat unfounded. Rather, I think that the game’s entire intention was to bring modern thought into gaming; a single person is a drop in a sea of people, so to speak.

Except combat in Zelda has no strategy, does not involve a combat party, or class/ability management. Plus, modern Zelda games are crappy.

I agree completely, which is why I am completely baffled by the fact that your critical review is based almost entirely around the faulty assumption that Vaan is the main character. He isn’t. If Final Fantasy XII does have a main character or a protagonist (and it is my contention that it does not) it’s Ashe, or possibly Balthier. Vaan is just the guy you show up as in towns. Condemning what is otherwise a superbly-wrought story for a minor character’s lack of depth seems foolish to me.

I’m going to strongly advise you play Final Fantasy VI, another Final Fantasy (and one widely-lauded as one of the best in the series) that lacks a single main character. It and XII tend noticeably towards ensemble casts, and both stand in marked contravention to your claim that all Final Fantasies “force you to spend the bulk of your time with one central character”. That most games in the series conflate the protagonist with the player’s avatar doesn’t mean doing so is an integral part of Final Fantasy.

If you want mini-bosses, just do the Hunts. You will miss out on a big part of the game by skipping them just to beat the game. The weak enemies that get in your way do tend to be little more than annoyances, which I guess is a turn-off for a lot of players, but from the meta-game standpoint, I have fun seeing my party’s Gambits in action. I don’t think the game would be better by eliminating the lower level enemies — it would be just as desolate as Shadow of the Colossus. I find that with Gambits, dealing with those enemies creates a background rhythm to the game.

I also have fun doing stuff like getting the Ribbon in the dungeon with the swarming enemies because it is a challenge. It’s also totally optional, and I choose to do it because I dislike the puzzles in the game’s main plotline as much as I did the ones in FFX. The game is so vast that you should just pick and choose what parts to do, rather than forcing yourself to do parts that aren’t fun. Even though I’ve played the hell out of this game since it came out, I haven’t bothered to do a lot of stuff. That’s fine with me, because I’m the one playing the game, not the other way around.

I prefer the Sphere Grid system to the License Board. FF XII International’s License Board changes sound good, bummer that they didn’t just do that in the first place. But the License Board is just another example of the freedom the game gives you to do what you want with it. It’s not like it forces you to use all your characters the same way.

I find that I don’t mind the relative anonymity of the characters in relation to the world. That they can save the world without being the sole, heroic force that must save the world because everybody else is helpless or evil is a nice change of pace.