Of course this is my review, my opinion.  This game pisses me off because it's obviously high regarded and loved by all, yet I cant find out why.  Gamespot gave it a 9.5. I can't seem to figure out what I'm missing. Just sheer size, mass and freedom of a game does not make it fun to play (to me). You will walk around this huge world and encounter only a handful of enemies, all very weak.  The enemies difficulties do not seem to change depending on where you are on the map either.  You can investigate caves, but there are only a few weak enemies in them, very little treasure, and nothing exciting happens, ever!  The battle controls are clunky, he seems to swing the sword so slow and delayed.  You can heal but it doesn't seem to do anything.  And gaining experience depends on using the skills that you attribute in the beginning of the game, not fighting enemies like traditional RPG's. Yes you can steal and virtual do anything you want, but that gets old after a while.  The fact that you can travel from virtually any point in the map automatically, takes away from the game big time, traveling is a huge part of RPG's for me. Also, If the action gets too tough for you just go into the menu and slide the difficulty meter to easy, WTF is that?!?
Having played about 20 hours, it just wasn't fun for me (needless to say).  I am not a deviant, usually when games have such ridiculously positive ratings like this one, I end up loving them like everyone else, which is why I'm so vexed!
The graphics are indeed very good with a real-time environment,the sun sets and the moon comes out etc, and all the NPC's do their own thing. This game does not play out like a typical RPG for me, it seemed more like a virtual reality game, a Sims game.
I love the FF series, exploring caves, fighting monsters, buying and selling weapons and armor, which is all in this game, although a huge problem for me is that it lacks incentive.
Of course this is my review, my opinion. This game pisses me off because it's obviously high regarded and loved by all, yet I cant find out why. Gamespot gave it a 9. 5. I can't seem to figure out what I'm missing. Just sheer size, mass and freedom of a game does not make it fun to play (to me). You will walk around this huge world and encounter only a handful of enemies, all very weak. The enemies difficulties do not seem to change depending on where you are on the map either. You can investigate caves, but there are only a few weak enemies in them, very little treasure, and nothing exciting happens, ever! The battle controls are clunky, he seems to swing the sword so slow and delayed. You can heal but it doesn't seem to do anything. And gaining experience depends on using the skills that you attribute in the beginning of the game, not fighting enemies like traditional RPG's. Yes you can steal and virtual do anything you want, but that gets old after a while. The fact that you can travel from virtually any point in the map automatically, takes away from the game big time, traveling is a huge part of RPG's for me. Also, If the action gets too tough for you just go into the menu and slide the difficulty meter to easy, WTF is that?! ? Having played about 20 hours, it just wasn't fun for me (needless to say). I am not a deviant, usually when games have such ridiculously positive ratings like this one, I end up loving them like everyone else, which is why I'm so vexed! The graphics are indeed very good with a real-time environment,the sun sets and the moon comes out etc, and all the NPC's do their own thing. This game does not play out like a typical RPG for me, it seemed more like a virtual reality game, a Sims game. I love the FF series, exploring caves, fighting monsters, buying and selling weapons and armor, which is all in this game, although a huge problem for me is that it lacks incentive.