014 4 I really needed the book in some kind of ways . I like to fill up all my duties and complete everythin to 100% in the game so i dont just play to finish but to have a good review at the end . I needed the book and it did helped me . Sometimes it just didnt make any difference but hey they wont write what u have to do step by step ! its still a stategy game . Very fast delivery
040 4 The book arrived very shortly after it was ordered and it was in great condition . Almost new . Great service .
067 4 The book was delivered very quickly and in new condition . I was very pleased . I would definitely buy more from this seller in the future !
096 4 I am very pleased with my purchase . This was my first internet purchase ever and I couldnt be more pleased . I came in great time and in perfect condition .
106 4 You'd be better off using the internet to figure the game out . The guide feels super cluttered , it's almost hard to read and it doesn't tell you everything at the right time . I think it feels cluttered because there's too many pictures in it . Every page has at least 7 or 8 images on it . The best thing about the guide is the production value but I didn't buy for that .
038 4 I have purchased and used several other guides . Walk through gets the job done but the extras are not as easy to find as some others . Have taken to using post-it notes to seperate Beastiary , Espers , and Hunts . Some other guides have had these sections easier to find with different colored page borders . Also when going to a new area , must take time to read through ENTIRE section first , warnings about don't skip this or don't open this yet are not up front and often find them after turning the next page . Not too helpful on the second or third page , no where near the maps .
083 4 Still working through the walkthrough . Can go forever completing the game . But very good description and helpful hints and tactics .
052 4 Wether or not it's all the detailed complexities in the way that RPG games are designed nowadays that warrants the reason why we sometimes have to buy game guides in order to complete them , or wether or not game designers just wanna make more money from us so they create these ( sometimes very good , sometimes very lame ) game guides for us to use . I don't know . But , for me personally , I don't like to read guides when I play a game .
The reason why I don't like using a guide while playing games is that guides actually take me AWAY from PLAYING the game itself when i'd rather just play through it and figure things out on my own , and then , because I constantly have to refrence a guide during play time , I loose focus on the game's story , and RPG's are notorious for making me have read a guide in order to figure out which equipment is best to use , how to level up , where to find a treasure , which way is it to the bathroom , blah blah blah , yada yada yada , oink oink oink , etc etc etc . I moreover wanted to get involved in the story of Final Fantasy 12 and the characters , but I found myself constantly having to look at the guide to figure things out too much , as everyone out there reading this small review who has ever played an RPG game know what i'm talking about .
The guide itself is good , and it did helped me get through the game as I tried very hard not to read it until I either got stuck or frustrated . It's very detailed , and in some areas the FONT is WAY TOO SMALL . In addition to wearing my glasses , I had to get a magnifying glass to read the section about the Notice Board Hunts and Bestiary . ( C'mon Brady Games . For the money I paid to get the book , would it have KILLED you to make the font a litle BIGGER ! ? ) Some of fetch quests were annoying , and some of the puzzles were difficult . . . no . . . IM-POSSIBLE to figure out on my own . So the guide was a great help in figuring out these things as it should have been because . . . well , it's a guide . And that's what its supposed to do .
It's a good book . And you won't go wrong for using it . But sometimes I think that RPG game designers have a very clever way of designing games that are nearly impossible to complete without using a guide , which for me personally , takes away some of the surprises that games have to offer and the fun of completing and figuring things out on my own . I wish that RPG game designers could make their games balanced enough to play without the use of a guide . But , due to the nature of RPG games and what's involved in playing them , this will never happen . The book is a decent seeing eye dog . So break out your little white stick with the red tip on it , grab this dog , and play the game . You're gonna need it for seeing many things you definately won't see when you play the game . Highly reccomended .
045 4 I generally liked this guide , but the Hunt section was ridiculous . The type was extremely small , and the black on tan color scheme only made it worse . For the life of me I can't understand why the Brady folks would come up with this design scheme .
Although other reviewers have complained about flimsy binding , mine was fine . However , the first KH2 Brady guide ( deluxe version ) I bought had most of the pages falling out during the first week , the second one ( regular version and used ) I bought was sturdy . C'mon , Brady folks , get the quality control together .
3.5 rating if I could .
068 4 the information in this book is top notch , but has the flaw of the of the side quest sections are very hard to read ; really really small black text ( 8pt or so ) on a deep warm brown or purple background color . the best way to describe it is trying to read over the counter medication instructions at night with the lights out . now , don't get me wrong , this book is jam packed all sorts of useful information making this book an invaluable reference . just keep in mind hard to read at times . . . you may want to keep a bright flashlight and magnifying glass on hand .
059 4 The guide is very helpful for what I've done in the game so far . It has very good maps for where to get things and this is very helpful also . The guide also has detailed pictures of all the weapons in the game .
065 4 Its is a great guide to ff 12 . i dont like the layout of it though . i have to spend a lot of time looking for the information i want to know that isnt on the walk through section . i have also found a couple discrepencies with what the book says , like a couple missing treasure chests and items mechants sell .
024 4 It arrived right in the middle of the expected time frame and was definitely in ' like new ' condition . Even the poster that came with it to hang on the wall was still attached with he serrated edging still done .
055 4 Fantastic was exactly what my son wanted and very speedy delivery right to my door .
071 4 Final Fantasy XII is an incredible experience . There are tons of secrets and easter eggs to find . I'd love to tell you that this guide will you help you completely master Final Fantasy XII , but that's only half true . While it'll get you through the main game , there is a lot of information that just isn't here . For a guide as thick as this , it shouldn't miss anything . . . but it does .
The guide begins in standard fare , by giving you a little intro and telling you about the characters . Within this section they'll also tell you about character relationships toward one another . Unless you play through the game you wouldn't understand most of it .
After all the intro stuff the guide then talks about all the unique systems that Final Fantasy XII has to offer . It begins with the license board , showing you where all the license on the board are located . This is extremely helpful since within the game they don't show you . It makes it so you don't have to guess . It's also nice that they talk about each section and show it to you separately as well , since the full board is a little hard on the eyes .
They don't tell you much about Gambits . They give you a basic rundown and show you an example of how they work , but aside from that they give you no tips whatsoever . Such as examples of how a party might set them up . In the long run this isn't troublesome in the slightest . For the novice who doesn't understand the complex Gambit system . . . it's a pain .
There's a huge rundown of the battle system . Complete with tips and everything . From the basic of basic , to the complexities and giving you tips on how to restore you HP and MP . If the battle system is confusing you , this guide will surely help you . In addition , you'll also learn about espers and quickenings . Again , pretty basic fun down .
The walkthrough can best be described as decent . It's helpful , but only moderately so . They give you a basic step by step overview of each section while giving some call outs . The maps aren't bad , but they aren't exactly detailed . They give the location of items and point out shops and whatnot , and that's good , but for the most part you won't need them . A lot of the info isn't bad , but they never really get to the point of where to go and how to go about it . There are also spoilers found within the walkthrough . The boss strategies are also pretty standard . They keep constantly telling you to use quickenings and that's about it . Nothing about what attacks to look out for , or what spells you might want to consider using . At best the walkthrough can best be summed as a walkthrough that gets you through the game and that's it . Every now and then they call out sidequests , but for the most part , they don't let you know when there's a chance to do a sidequest too often . Here and there , but not always . With the number of secrets in Final Fantasy XII , it would've been nice if they could've called out all of them , rather than picking and choosing .
Speaking of sidequests , that's where we get to next after the walkthrough and this is where the guide just isn't useful anymore . They begin with the hunts , which is a nice section that tells you where to find them , but sometimes the info given to you is either downright wrong or misleading . They show you where the monster is supposed to be in each dungeon via a tiny map . Except sometimes the location of the monster is wrong , or sometimes there's no map and the text doesn't help . It makes going on the hunts a taxing task .
That's not even the worst part . When you really get deep into the sidequests section , you'll find that there are plenty of quests that either get a little mention or they don't tell you about at all . And when they do tell you about them , there's just not enough info . What enemies will you find in an optional dungeon ? There are also no maps for many of the optional areas . Any area that has more to explore for when you return to later ( such as the Subterra in the Pharos or the Great Crystal ) have no map at all , and as such , will tell you nothing about the enemies you'll encounter or the items that can be gathered . In terms of secrets , there are a ton missing or that the guide doesn't do much to help you out with . If you're looking to master Final Fantasy XII in its entirety , this guide isn't going to help .
There's plenty of info in the appendices though . All the weapons , armor , accessories etc . are here . This is also pretty standard fare for an RPG guide . The bestiary , however , isn't very appealing . It tells you all the basic stuff without a fuss , it's just not very well presented . It's organized by the enemies number rather than in alphabetical order .
Lastly , there's a double sided poster . On one side is the license board . Something you'll already find readily available in the guide .
BradyGAMES hasn't made a horrible guide ( it's certainly a long way from being as bad their Final Fantasy IX guide ) , but they've made one that has much to be desired . It's good for getting you through the main quests , but there's a lot of stuff that just isn't included . If you just want to do all the basic stuff , this guide is useful . If you want to completely master Final Fantasy XII , the BradyGAMES guide isn't going to help you do that .
001 4 Brady Games is notorious for putting together somewhat haphazard game guides , and the FF12 guide is no exception . What we have here is a colossal guide for FF12 , featuring almost all of the information that any player needs to complete the game . It includes lists of all of the loot drops in the game , strategies on how to beat all of the optional bosses , and advice on how to build your party so that the license board does not completely perplex you . However , the guide has many inherent flaws , which make it a little less than lovable .
To begin , the guide is chock full of spoiler information . Nowhere in the guide can you go and get the quick and simple advice that you might be seeking for a part of the game . Instead , the writers have chosen to fill almost every part of the walk through up with unnecessary information on the storyline scenes and spoilers that which makes playing the game a little boring . The guide could easily have had 50 + pages taken out of it if the writers had avoided spoiling most of the game's storyline . Instead however , it seems that they have ( with Square-Enix ' blessing ) filled every part of the walk through up with spoiler content in order to add weight to the guide when the weight is superfluous .
Another hindrance on the guide are it's strange typographical errors . Throughout the guide the reader will find instances where references to other pages are turned to question marks . For example , when going over a side quest , the guide says to look to page ( ? ? ? ) for more information . This is rather troublesome and it leaves the reader wondering if that page is even in the guide .
The guide also suffers from bad organization . The maps of the dungeons are small and cumbersome , and while playing through an area , players will have to continuously flip back to the page with the map and squint their eyes to find out where the treasure chest they want is located . The guide also fails to mention where some of the good treasure drops are in each dungeon and the player will have to refer to the exhaustive bestiary section to find out where the monster they want is located and if they are capable of killing it .
Another lack of organization is the lack of an index . The guide is set up in such a way that in order to know everything , the player will have to start using it when they start the game . If they begin to read it during any other point , they will have to flip back and scrounge around before they might be able to find a piece of information that otherwise could have been found by using an index .
The final blow to the FF12 guide however is the complete lack of explanation of how the treasure chest system works . There are tables however , that break down the frequencies of finding an item , but it requires trial and error before the player will find out exactly how to use the table . A thorough explanation should have been in order to explain this critical aspect of the game .
Despite these numerous errors , the guide still offers much to players who are in need of help for completing the game . It offers great advice on how to defeat all of the bosses ( and the previously mentioned optional bosses ) , it gives the location of every single item , and it has a very pretty presentation , chock full of screen shots and artwork . If a player is seeking this guide , the best advice would be to locate the limited edition version of it , as it comes in a hard cover case and has an extra art book that comes with it .
* Update * Another serious flaw with the guide that I didn't realize until I got towards the end of the game was the lousy advise the game guide gives on one of the last dungeons . While this dungeon is indeed optional , it features a few of the best items in the game as well as some of the hardest fights , so boo on Brady Games for not taking the time to explain this dungeon in better detail .
004 4 I want to start off and say that the guide indeed includes all information you would want . Side quests , hunts , loot , bazaar , walkthrough , bestiary , secrets , etc . Where this guide fails miserably is organizing everything and cluttering the guide with spoilers and useless screenshots . The presentation kind of looks pretty at first , but when you realize there's a bunch of junk you have to sift for information you quickly change your opinion about the guide .
The walkthrough is probably the biggest failure of the guide . It's loaded with spoilers and useless spoiler screenshots that could've been replaced with larger maps or screenshots that help you find where to go . In addition , it fails to tell you when you should do the sidequests . The chance to do some of the sidequests are lost because you're at a point in the game you can't go back . The walkthrough is written in a roundabout way giving more story spoilers than what to do . I found myself having to go back to do something , missing sidequests I can't go back to , spending more time finding what to do because the walkthrough doesn't describe it well . The walkthrough is strictly for you to get through the story and it gives you spoilers . It gets the job done , but it's filled with holes .
The sidequests are all included in the back , so you'll constantly be flipping pages to see if you can do any sidequests yet or so you won't miss any . The sidequest section itself is poorly organized as well . You have sidequests that open up earlier in the game put at the end of the section while the latter sidequests put in the middle of the section . Another irritating thing about it is that in some places the text is extra small requiring you to squint while reading what to do . The guide has the information , but you'll be spending some time looking for it .
Parts of the guide have you referring pages to ? ? ? . I'm not sure if it's a print error or the page doesn't exist .
The limited edition of the guide is exactly the same only with an artbook . It's not really a hardcover . If you've seen FFX - 2 ' s limited edition guide or Kingdom Hearts 2 limited edition guide , then you know how this limited edition guide looks . The artwork is pretty neat , but nothing spectacular . A lot of blown up shots of the same kind of artwork you'd see in the regular guide .
Should you buy the guide ? If you are a collector of Final Fantasy games and guides , then this guide should be a pick up . It's not that bad compared to FFIX's ridiculously horrible guide . It doesn't compare to FFVIII's strategy guide , which in my opinion is the best one so far . If you are the average guide seeker , the guide is still worth the pick up for all the information you want like license board , loot list , weapon , armor , and items list , hunt list and so on .
006 4 Here is an excerpt of a letter i wrote to brady games about this book . I thought it would be helpful here .
I bought your strategy guide for Final Fantasy Nine , and I was highly dissapointed . I was expecting a strategy guide that had all everything that I'd need to know to complete 100 percent of the game . Instead i've been going through let down after let down when it comes to this book . I'll list my gripes that i have with this book .
1 . Not all maps are provided . the most egregious omission is the map of Lusu Mines site three and site 11 and their treasure charts . also missing are maps of the Great Crystal upper level and it's treasure charts .
2 . Incomplete listings on how you can obtain weapons and armor . while playing through the game and looking throught the beastiary I frequently find that not all the ways of getting an item are listed under it's listing in the weapons / armor section of the book . this is highly annoying .
3 . Where's the loot ? I see you've made a rather expansive addition to the loot section of the book [ they have a rather pathetic update page on the bradygames website where you can download what i hope is the completed loot list ] , why is it that you only list the location of highlighted loot ? i want a complete chart . .
4 . When's [ insert item here ] availible in the shops ? there is no indication of what magicks / weapons / techniks etc . are availible in what shops at what time in the game timeline . Is this not important information ?
5 . My book fell apart . After a couple weeks of use i'm losing lots of pages .
the book is 20 bucks . Can't get a quality binding for that price eh ?
6 . Side quest vagueness . Not only is the listing of sidequest out of order chronologically , you have clauses like the following example from the patient in the desert side quest . See the ferryman Missing quest on page ( ? ? ? ) . Are you kidding ? page ( ? ? ? )
7 . Rare monster conditions . Ok , you give the conditions for 30 of the rare monsters in the hunt club sidequest . what about the conditions for running into the other 50 ? I only see they're locations .
8 . I think theon concurrences is wrong . I think they're more related to aggregate mist charges spent than the type of number of types of quickinings used . and christ , the example you used to explain concurrences . . . .
Those are the major issues I have with your book . I have minor issues with crossreferencing issues ( you list the monsters in each area in the walkthough , why don't you just put the same info as the beastiary in the back ? what monster has the most experience to gain , most licence points to gain ? where is the best place to level up ? )
serioulsy though , this is the worst guide i've ever come across , you know i'm not just flaming all the reasons listed above are valid , and should have been caught somewhere in you QA process .
Thanks Much
Drew .
As a previous reviewer mentioned . since you're going to have to google things anyway you're better off saving the twenty bucks and googling half the stuff . They have a lot of information in the book , and you can use it to finish the game . but the book itself seems unfinished . perhaps this is what happens when you have no competitors .
007 4 Forgivable mistakes :
Shoddy editing such as see page ( ? ? ? )
Spoilers ( I guess they don't bother me as much as other people )
Unforgivable mistakes :
My book started falling apart on the second day . Loose pages constantly fall out .
Tiny fonts on low contrast backgrounds , especially in the Clan Hunt section . I had to use a magnifying glass .
No index .
Incomplete . For example , there is no map of the side quest part of the Great Crystal , and no directions to the treasure chest that has Excalibur in it . You'll need to google that . You may as well save yourself $20 and google everything else , too .
008 4 After seeing so many positive reviews about this guide , I ordered it , received it , used it , and became utterly disappointed with it . The few great things about this book that other reviewers have already mentioned aren't enough to make up for the many , many , many little things , and some major things , that ruin this book . This is a long , negative review . If you don't want to read it all then skip to the last paragraph .
Final Fantasy XII is a huge game , so it goes without saying that it deserves a huge guide . So is it a huge guide ?
Well , uh , the book is thick ? No . It LOOKS thick . In fact that was the first thing I noticed when it first arrived at my doorstep . Held up spine-to-spine next to Bradygames ' Final Fantasy X - 2 guide , it's about 50% thicker , yet they both contain EXACTLY the same number of pages . But I'm just being stupid . It's not about the number of pages a book has .
Content is much more important . I'll start with the walkthrough . With the exception of the boss strategies , I've come to the conclusion that the walkthrough is mostly completely useless . More than half the walkthrough is pure spoilers - - exposition on what you can expect to see during the games many cut-scenes . I mean , honestly , if I'm playing the game , I'm going to see what's happening , so it's really all just a waste of ink .
As for the boss strategies , they're really not all that spectacular . Some are certainly good . But many are little more than a list of attacks the boss might use . And several are so bad that they can be paraphrased into one simple sentence : Hang in there . How helpful .
The one good thing about the walkthrough is that it adequately prepares you for obtaining the Zodiac Spear ( the strongest weapon in the game ) , by pointing out the treasure chests you should NOT open AS you get to them . This is something I know many people get frustrated over late in the game , so . . . Good job , Bradygames , for that .
And , I must say , the maps are outstanding ( despite the fact that some of them contain minor incompletions ) . They're clear , and they show the locations and potential contents ( they can change ) for every single treasure chest in the game . ( Although . . . The map for the Zertinan Caverns seems to be missing . . . )
But enough of the walkthrough . FFXII is side-quest heavy , so what of the side-quest section of the guide ? There's room for improvement .
Mark hunting is the biggest side-quest in the game , so it naturally deserves , and did receive , more text than any other side-quest . And the strategies for defeating them are mostly good . The problem is that - - and this is a surprisingly HUGE problem - - the text is SO SMALL you can hardly read it ! Seven pages of size 6 ( at the most ! ) font , and even worse , black ink on a brown background . I don't know about other gamers , but after spending even a couple minutes staring at a TV screen , I don't appreciate having to readjust my eyes to that extreme to be able to read something . WHY they would do something like that is beyond my understanding . If they wanted to save space , they could've cut back on the plot exposition in the walkthrough . If they HAD the plot exposition because they wanted to stretch the number of pages , then they could've used bigger font here to add several MORE pages . It just doesn't make any sense .
As for the rest of the side-quests , they're pretty good . Except for one , which would have been nice if they had mentioned IN the walkthrough that you have to complete half of it at a certain point in the game , otherwise miss it entirely . But that's just one slip-up for an otherwise nice section of the book .
Then there's the item lists . Not bad , but it fails to tell you where you can find most of the Loot , so you have to search through the Bestiary beast-by-beast to find what you're looking for .
So that's it for the content . But really , all that nitpicking I just did doesn't hold a candle to the book's more serious problem : construction . Aside from the ink that smears from just the slightest moisture on your fingertips . . . I've only had the book a month and already the pages are falling out . I've had Bradygames ' FFX guide for about five years now - - the pages are torn , wrinkled , stained , and the cover's half faded , yet not one single page has ever fallen out . I've had the FFXII guide for a mere month , I've handled it with the utmost care , and it STILL fell apart on me .
I know this is a ridiculously long and negative review , but . . . Bear in mind that the things mentioned within the many 5 - star reviews here are absolutely right , but these are the things they missed , which all add up to a waste of money .
Incredibly poor construction , a walkthrough that's mostly plot exposition , and you can find most of the information in this book , and much more , in various online FAQs and whatnot . But if you get the book , all this information is somewhat organized into a nice , pretty package . And the maps are outstandingly helpful . 2 stars , because it's just not worth $16.49 ( the current price ) . If it drops to closer to $10 , then I might bump it up to 3 stars .
009 4 It's possible to win Final Fantasy XII in something less than 80 hours . And it's also possible to spend well over 200 hours . The difference is how far you get into the side quests and the various extras that the designers put into the game . The only problem , of course , is that the game itself gives you only the vaguest hints of what is there . It can take forever to push a character's licenses to the point that you discover that there is a special weapon , and then you have to figure out how to get it . If it takes some weird combination of sales to The Bazaar , for instance , then you may never see that weapon .
To put it brazenly , without a guide you may never see half of the game . I have to admit that Square Enix definitely let greed guide them in setting up the game so that it will sell a lot of guides . If the guide had been completely worth it this would irk me less . But the truth is , for all the glorious illustrations and charts , this guide leaves a bit too much out . And many is the time I found what I was looking for way to late to use the information . For all the hype , the Brady guide is very much just another pretty face . It's not bad , but I feel compelled to rate it three stars just because they forced me to buy it .
But you still need a guide to get your money's worth . I wound up using this guide , several on line walkthroughs and even a bulletin board before I honestly felt I had done everything there was to do . This is a big game , and anything that enhances the play experience is worth looking at . This would be a great thing to talk a friend into buying . Then you both will know what not to do to get the Zodiac Spear .
010 4 The guide presents nice maps , and the license board poster is very helpful . However , as other buyers said , the guide is a mess when you talk about organization ! Besides flipping pages back and forward to find stuff , I realized there are some hunts details missing , and some nice side quests as well ! So if you love playing FF series by completing it 100% getting all the items available , secrets and stuff , this guide is not recommended for you . I only used it to check license boards , and check treasure chests table .
There are many free guides in internet available that you can follow to complete this game 100% . Unlike this guide , they tell you WHEN you can already get some nice hunts , a lot better battle strategies , list of spells , armors , weapons and items you can have , how to make nice gil and level up . They tell you WHEN and WHICH side quests are already available . When I tried to follow this official strategy guide I got lost like hey they dont talk about hunts at all , no side quests no nothing , then I had to GUESS what hunts and quests were available and keep turning pages to check hunt guide at the end of the book , plus when I wanted information about rare monsters , it was faster goin to Google than keep searching this guide bestiary ! So hard to find them .
Well , in the end I played the whole game with a free strategy guide , and using the pictures and license board map from this guide , then i could finally play it smooth to reach 100% and i had lots of fun = )
013 4 I've been playing final fantasty games for a long time and I was getting a little worried - because each release was getting worse and worse after FF7 .
FF12 is freakin ' beatiful . Great battle play , great graphics , and great acting . You can play this over and over again and not get tired of it .
017 4 Brady's Guide usually have certain standards . Although there were disappointments like the Baten Kaitos guide , they are more quality assured than the Prima counterparts . So what about the latest addition to the FF series ? Well , it is ok , not outstanding but ok .
The guide is quite comprehensive on what you need to do and provides a lot of basic information about the game . However , there are still some short comings . For example , the part on Quickening is not that easy to understand and you ended up required to do a trial and error to figure out what it is talking about . I think a step by step approach with appropriate screen shots will make the work easier . Also the complete License Board is a tear off attachment , which is a nuisance because if you don't want to tear it off and lose it you can't really use it . They should have included it inside the main guide even as fold out sections instead of a tear off section . I finally resort to use the online guides for the License Board cos I don't want to tear something off and lose it .
Dungeon maps are usually clear but when it comes to secret areas it is more text based than actually showing you . This is a bit difficult as you can just barely find out the bearings with the text description . You know where to go e.g . northwest of a particularly area , but then once you are there , you have to force your characters through the invisible walls to find that out . Also the non-inclusion of Chocobo tracks on the maps is a minus as sometimes you really need to ride a Chocobo to find out where they lead to - it could be a secret area or just a short cut on the same map .
The hunts are quite good in description but Brady's Brady's you really need to have better colour coordinations - the prints are already small with many hunts cramped on to one page , how could you expect people to read when it is black fonts on a dark brown box ? Many times I need to put the walkthrough under my reading lights to actually read the contents . The contents are well written but it is a waste if you can't actually read them !
For items selling by the shops , I think it will be better if Brady's include when certain items will be available . This is because then we know where to go and when without revisiting shops hoping for things to open up .
The Bestiary is a bit funny though , with monsters arranged by areas instead of alphabetical order . I remember it was much easier to look through the list in the older guides because they were organised in alphabetical order with the area where the monster show up as part of the description . It's just easier for me as I got used to that kind of system with the previous guides .
Another issue is the binding . A walkthrough for an RPG has to have good binding . Pages starting to fall off after a while and I've been very careful in using it already - never force the book flat cos it is the collector's edition with a delicate package ! I'm so disappointed that after all the TLC when using the book , pages still fall off !
However , one thing I like praise about this book is that for areas that has no map in the game , Brady's did a great job to let you know what to do and where to go , though finding rare monster in those area is a tricky case.I'm quite impressed in the way they deal with these areas .
In all , this is a decent guide and Brady's did do a comprehensive jobs in most aspect of the walkthrough . I'll still recommend it to people who want to get the most of the game .
020 4 I know it is often said and in saying what I am about to say I will likely discredit everything that follows , but despite that I have to dish out the ever popular . I don't think I'll buy another Brady Games guide . This guide was sort of the straw that broke the camel's back . This isn't the worse guide I've ever owned actually far from it . That honor belongs to actually another Final Fantasy guide FFIX and I almost hope that they fired the guy responsible for that horrible piece of crap as it can hardly be described as anything but without drifting into the too vulgar to print catergory . Getting back on topic though let's take a look at my problems with the guide in question .
1 . ) Price - It's $20 and at the time this review is up so is the game . That is a lot of money considering you are paying for guidance for the same price that you are paying for the experience of playing the game . For that sort of price I want my guide to provide me with 100% of the information I need to provide me with maximum fun . . . or at the very least highlights of the biggest secrets . I'll elaborate more on this below
2 . ) Disorganized - The information that is there has to be cross-referenced ( without notation to do so ) constantly . Nothing seems to work sequentially it's like a puzzle the group wants you to put together and I didn't pay $20 for Brady Games to give me another mini-game to figure out . Why are there 2 sections on Espers with only one being useful ? That of course being the one in the back of the book and not the trap they want you to fall into in the first few pages .
3 . ) They highlight worthless information and completely disregard the important - I saw an entire section of page telling me of all the things I can do to complete a quest that would reward me with utter crap like a single elixir and a knot of rust . I saw no information regarding the crystal upper levels or even a mention of Pharos's basement . The latter of which holds some of the most powerful and important items in the game . Anyone who has played this game knows how awful status effects are in it and the fact that they don't tell you how you get a ribbon in the game ( when there are 5 ! ! ! ) is just wrong . Ribbon is probably the most important accessory in the game . They should have a whole section explaining how you get them and the best weapons
The only thing they did right by me in the guide is that atleast helped you get the Zodiac Spear as they should have they plaster information on it all over the place constantly , but that wouldn't have been necessary had they not been so wordy and I think the print quality looks great and I don't hate the binding job like others , but they made a big book about a 3rd of it being redundant or useless . I could have made a book half this size and given more information . I had to go to online peer guides to find everything I needed and in the future I think I'll just do that and save myself the headache and $20
021 4 This guide is a very unfortunate mix of good and bad ( I am reviewing this several months after making heavy use of the guide , so this is by memory ) .
First the good :
* Very beautiful to look at , many great pictures
* Lots of useful info on how to use the License board , espers , and other new features of FFXII
* When the maps are correct ( more later ) they offer detailed info on where treasures are
* Treasure tables are great !
Now the bad :
* A ridiculous amount of spelling errors
* Many typographical errors ( other reviewers have mentioned this ; things like telling you to reference page ? ? ? ? )
* Many map errors : Maps will be for the incorrect area , or will be mislabeled
* Not enough information on the Hunts . You're better off looking online for help ( though the little mini-maps provided are useful . . . but sometimes it is hard to locate the exact area you need to go to since the map is so small )
* OMISSIONS . This was by the WORST thing in this book . There is pretty much NOTHING that annoyed me more than whats NOT in this book . Almost ALL of the optional dungeons are missing . No maps , no treasure tables , nothing . And sadly , that is what you really need a guide for . The main quest is pretty self-explanatory , and while there are some things you might miss , its not as essential . However , the side dungeons are much more complicated . . . and there is almost NOTHING on them . What little there is is scattered around the book , and is of almost no use . In addition , there is no guide on how to craft the really valuable and hard to get bazaar items . Looking online on what I should've done to get some of the harder ones , I realized I could've saved HOURS if the guide had given some tips ( for example , saying DON'T sell such and such loot ) . Also , information on how to make the rare game monsters spawn would've been nice , because thats another thing that you likely won't be able to find out on your own - some of the conditions are very strange / hard . In addition , some tricks ( like easy leveling ) aren't in the guide .
Conclusion :
Overall , I'm still happy I bought the guide . The maps in the guide were useful ( and almost necessary to get some rare items ) , and the treasure tables were great . Unfortunately , the guide was missing so much that for the latter part of the game I rarely used it , instead looking online for information . This is unfortunate because , beyond the maps and treasure tables , there is really nothing here that you can't get free online . And the OMISSIONS pretty much guarantee you'll have to look online if you want to get everything in the game .
P.S . I've never found guides very useful for things like boss fights , or normal fights , or any of that - the strategies you need to use are usually pretty obvious . What I do use guides for are finding things that I would probably never find on my own ( without spending a ridiculous amount of time in the game ) . There are a lot of these impossible to find things in FFXII , and unfortunately many of them aren't in this guide . . . . which left me wondering why did I even buy this . . . . Also , I haven't had any of the binding problems mentioned yet , and I have heavily used this guide ( I have 250 + hours of playtime on the game ) . Maybe I got lucky in that regard .
022 4 I've never seen a licensed guide that is as full of errors , omissions , and stupidity as this . Not to mention that it falls apart . Instead of a delux edition they should have offered it spiral bound . The downright errors are too numerous to list - - from typos to bad advice to printing the wrong maps in certain places . The layout is ridiculous - - what should be the most valuable section of the book is written in type that is not only tiny ( I'm guessing 4 point - - seriously ) , but printed black on brown ! I'm really shocked that Square would allow their name to be associated with this shoddy , lazy book that doesn't live up to the excellent game or the venerable tradition of FF .
025 4 Final Fantasy XII is a very huge game , and it's also got many secrets hidden away here and there throughout the gameplay . Although there are plenty of hints , tips , and walkthroughs available online , I purchased this book for the following reasons :
- It contains tons of lavish artwork from the game , beautifully reproduced
- It organizes all of the information in clear categories that are easy to reference
- There are interesting extra notes that most online resources won't bother to mention , such as a chart showing all the political alliances and interests of all the game's major characters and how they interconnect
- There is a fold-out chart that lists the entire License ( skill ) table , with information that is normally hidden within the game until you travel the skill tree to get near it .
This last is probably the most useful : it allows you to plan ahead with your character development instead of having to travel down a skill tree you might not need in the end .
It's clear the authors have gone to painstaking detail in capturing every possible piece of information , and even more importantly they have organized the flow of the walkthrough to make sure you don't miss anything . If an action taken early in the story will influence an event or treasure drop later in the game , you are told in advance , before you reach the decision point .
Unfortunately , this book is not perfect , and it can cause you a few problems . For example , the Bestiary might tell you not to attack elementals , because they are insanely strong and will kill you very dead . . . only to have the Loot section tell you that you can get some of the best loot from killing elementals . The Walkthrough tells you that Demon Wall #2 can be defeated using tactics a , b , and c , but Demon Wall #1 - - which you need to defeat if you want to discover a secret item - - well , just hit it a lot and hope to do enough damage before it crushes you , and good luck to you ! Some of the tactics I've been given to use haven't worked - - the creature in question either continually resists what I'm trying to do or is natually immune . The weakest part of the guide is the Hunts section , as material listed there sometimes contradicts information you are given in the walkthrough .
There's a more general drawback to using Strategy Guides that can also happen to you in Final Fantasy XII . Games like Final Fantasy assume that as you travel through the storyline , you're going to spend some time wandering around looking for the next step - - random encounters along the way are designed to level you up , beefing up your party for the next challenge . If you step through the walkthrough as you go , making a beeline for the end , chances are you'll hit a serious roadblock one or more times in the game . You'll get to the next part , only to find that your party is too weak to handle it . I made this mistake with an early part of the story and had to spend a lot of extra monotonous time hanging around near a save crystal slogging through a couple hundred battles to get everyone leveled up for the next part . As a result I prefer to use the walkthrough after I've completed a section , to go back and see how I did or if I missed anything worth going back for . This also cuts down on spoilers , which are unabashedly dropped into every section of the walkthrough .
If you are new to RPGs in general , or Final Fantasy in particular , this guidebook for Final Fantasy XII makes a very helpful accessory , provided you take its advice with a grain of salt . If you're familiar with the series but find Final Fantasy XII a bit overwhelming , this book does enhance the experience . If you're a fan of the series and just want to collect the whole package , consider this guide a useful and entertaining part of that : you'll enjoy the artwork , the reference poster , and the bits that add to the story .
032 4 This guide is a must for FF12 , there is so much , and you can not just find it all with trial and error , I highly suggest getting this guide .
035 4 This is the least promising game since FFVIII , but it's still a barrel o ' fun , especially the bouny hunting , which leads you up to the largest , most powerful FF battle to date . . . About eight hours to kill it , in case you're wondering . Buy it , play it , try to pay attention to the story ( which was tedious for me ) .
036 4 This review is from :
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
This stategy guide is well written and easy to follow . It really helped when I trully got stuck during gameplay . The only problem I have with the Strategy Guide for FF XII is the maps section for the area in the game called THE GREAT CRYSTAL . There is a straight-forward map for going straight through the Crystal maze structure , however that only covers something like maybe ten percent of the whole crystal . They should have included a side quest map strictly for those players who wanted explore every inch of the crystal . All in all , the guide did deliver optimizable options for each characters a must for any FF game . This guide is definently an A + for the beginner and intermidiate players to the FF world . For the expert level FF players , well you really do not need a guide do you except to pad your collection of all things FF related .
042 4 I'm adding a positive review here as a special educator for parents whose children play video games . Buying game guides for your kids is a good way for them to spend time reading and analyzing information . Buying guides is also a way for you to see what your children are playing . This game and the guide have some very educationally advanced concepts that you can take advantage of , if your child happens to want to play this game .
Final Fantasy XII has a nomenclature that is based on many cultures around the world , and many languages . You will find culture and words that are Japanese , Irish , German , Sanskrit , Arabic and English . These can be found in names of characters , the espers ( big monsters that help the game characters attack ) , maps and locations in the game , magic attacks , even weapons . All of these have names and descriptions that are based in many cultures around the world . Explore these with your child !
Have your child describe to you what is happening in the game and explore the guide to get more depth . When your child revisits a location in the game , have them go around and talk to the people in that location . What are the people saying ? For example , as the empire begins to amass for the war against Dalmasca , what are different townspeople saying ? What are their interests ?
Doing the reading of the speech in the game and interpreting it by speaking aloud to you are ways to improve language use , expressive language skills . Reading improves receptive language . This guide has a lot of world history in it that can lead to many kinds of discussions , without you needing to actually play the game .
There is nothing offensive in this game , and everything to be gained by reading the guide and discussing the languages and cultural historical details the game developers have written in .
One good activity to explore with the help of the guide is the Bestiary , which is a list of the monsters in the game . The list actually contains pages of stories and myths . So , as your child captures various monsters , they will get a page about that monster , but also more pages that contain unrelated mythical stories . These stories are worth collecting and reading . You won't find these in the guide , just the list of the monsters . You have to catch the monsters to get the pages of stories . One of the best stories is the one you get by defeating the Garif hunter in the Greensnake area of the Ozmone Plain .
On top of this , your child will likely play the game longer and get more time in , making the game purchase a good money buy . Eventually you can resell the game along with the guide , which adds value to a game resale .
Everything to recommend ! I have a child with a speech and language disorder and games with their guides have really improved his ability to process language . He is an honor student now , and good play like this has added to his reading .
044 4 This is a thank you to all that took the time to submit a review . I have been reading them as I ordered this guide directly from Brady Games . I have never received it and am considering reordering from Amazon . It seems like closing the barn door after the horse is gone , as I have 400 Hrs . plus in the game and character levels ranging from 58 - 63 , but that crystal thing has some secrets and I would like to have a map . I know that there are at least 20 way stones in that thing and I want to check things out . I've already done what needs to be done there . I think the Excaliber sword is in there somewhere , although I may have missed the boat
on that . Again , thanks for the reviews , they have been helpful . Charlie S .
046 4 Final Fantasy XII is not a self-guiding game . Even experienced gamers will miss things and make significant errors unless they have outside guidance that warns them what's ahead .
You need a guide - and this is a very good one .
Without spoiling the main story , the guide provides detailed directions , maps , beast statistics , locations of treasure and other key landmarks . The illustrations are breathtakingly beautiful . Using this book was almost as fun as playing the game .
True , all this information is also available online . However , I have found much of that information scattered among numerous documents , many of which were humongous plain text files . For me , the online resources were much better used as a supplement for specific questions rather than as a primary means to take me through the whole game .
The guide is not without shortcomings . The guide does not include location information for the Rare Game . The Hunt Club is supposed to be missing one beast ( Biding Mantis ) ; however , I have not yet verified that to be true . There are supposed to be errors in the Quickening requirements ( p . 59 ) , but this has not affected my ability to play the game . The book also lacks information about two major optional areas in the game : Zertinan Caverns and Pharos Subterra .
The book is badly bound . I have owned three copies , and pages began to fall out after just a week's use .
I am giving this item five stars because the information in it has proven so valuable . Many hours of enjoyable gaming I owe to this book .
Highly recommended .
048 4 Final Fantasy XII is typically a game for which you need a walkthrough , be it online or hardcopy , if you have the intention to play it to the full , as some specific sidequests are almost impossible to solve without one ( Zodiac Spear anyone ? ) . Maybe it's a very clever way for Squenix to sell more guides and earn more money as it has been suggested elsewhere , but the fact remains that you do need one .
This guide comes in two versions , this one which is the regular edition , and the
FINAL FANTASY XII 12 Collector's Limited Edition Strategy Guide 2 Books
, with the same guide but also an nice extra artbook with a random 1 out of 6 cover featuring the art of one of the main characters , together fitting in a collector cardboard case . A great point about the guide itself is that it is definitively well illustrated with plenty of pics from the game , and lovely illustrations ; I particularly enjoyed the large ones of the different summons . The fold-out poster with the enlarged licence board is also a clever addition .
The first part detailing the principles of the game is pretty solid , and the walkthrough itself does a good job to help you through the main story , although one can regret that the author felt necessary to detail at the same time all the main turning points of story ; I know some suggest to skip these passages but frankly it is annoying , especially since it would have been very easy to leave those bits out of the text altogether , something they had done perfectly well in prior guides in this series . Maps may feel a little cramped , but they were still pretty clear to me : my only complain in that regard is that it's sometimes hard to find the one you're looking for if you don't stick to the main story ( and the whole point of this FF is precisely to explore at leisure ) as they are scattered all over the guide and there is no index or reference list to help you find them . But that's minor stuff .
More annoying is the fact that one or two maps are missing altogether , along with other informations both the Japanese and the European guides managed to cram in . Ok , so comparing it with the Ultimania , with its two volumes and 1000 - something pages in all , isn't completely fair . And for sure , the great level of details provided by the Ultimania isn't always needed , and it's definitely not as easy on the eye . However , I find it odd that some of the information that made its way into the European version , which is pretty similar size-wise , didn't make it in the American one ; notably , the lists provided just about everywhere are missing quite a few informations that would definitely come in handy . Probably the most obvious is the fact that there is NO information whatsoever given about the Loots which are such an important part of the game ; only a list of names is available . If you're trying to find one Loot in particular , tough ! All you can do is go to the huge bestiary ( probably the only truely comprehensive list of this guide ) and browse through the couple hundreds entries . Also , there is absolutely no key items list AT ALL ! The other lists are missing details compared to the other versions as well , but you probably won't miss those informations too much .
However , another serious complain is that there are just too many mistakes , most of them luckily purged from the later European version . All lists have them , but the most troubling are probably found in the sidequests explanations and in the Bazaar Packages lists , where quite a few packages ' required items listings are erroneous . It's really disappointing because , while I've always found a few mistakes in previous guides from this publisher , they were few and mostly on minor stuff . Here it feels really as if they didn't have much time to check twice what they were writing
I've hesitated a lot between 2 and 3 stars , but the guide IS nice , especially the collector's edition ( if only some of the pages weren't starting to fall apart already . . . . ) , so I did go for 3 in the end , although that's more of a 2.5 really . Unnecessary spoilers , numerous mistakes and missing information makes this , however , one less than perfect guide , although not without its merits
049 4 This review is from :
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
I don't generally buy strategy guides as I usually use gamefaqs.com . In this case though , my wife brought FFXII home the day it was released and no faqs were available yet . If you like to get everything in a game , like we do , this guide will almost get you there . I don't remember what it was but I did have to look something up elsewhere ( I think it had to do with getting some rare monsters to show up ) and the organisation is a bit odd . All in all though , a good guide that will help you get the most out of this game .
050 4 I don't generally buy strategy guides as I usually use gamefaqs.com . In this case though , my wife brought FFXII home the day it was released and no faqs were available yet . If you like to get everything in a game , like we do , this guide will almost get you there . I don't remember what it was but I did have to look something up elsewhere ( I think it had to do with getting some rare monsters to show up ) and the organisation is a bit odd . All in all though , a good guide that will help you get the most out of this game .
051 4 Let me start out with this : If you own a copy of Final Fantasy XII , you'll need some sort of walkthrough or strategy guide to help you . Where you get your source is up to you , but allow me to recommend the Signature Series Guide by Bradygames . Surprisingly thorough main-quest coverage , information on every side quest in the game ( including Hunts , Sky Pirates Den and optional bosses and Espers ) , a GREAT primer on the battle systems , and a License Board pullout make this guide essential to unlocking the game to its full potential .
The guide opens up with character / story introductions and a character relationship flowchart . If it's your first time playing - skip this section immediately . Then , an introduction on the License Board follows , including a complete breakdown of it's two halves . The author elaborates on the types of magicks , technicks and armors available to unlock and points out the essential spells you'll need . Next comes a study on the Gambit system . The author provides a sample gambit list for a character and explains the necessity and usefulness of each . Following that , is an introduction to the new Battle System . The basics are covered here , but there are many elements covered in this section that the manual doesn't include , so it's wise to read everything here . Information on Espers ( Or summons for you FFX veterans ) and Quickenings follow .
Then - the main walkthrough ! It's extremely well detailed and lavishly illustrated with maps , screenshots , helpful advice and art . The author doesn't hold your hand every second of the way , which allows for some exploration of the games detailed levels . Take note , however ! ! This guide is never lacking spoilers ! Unfortunately , the reviewers here are making too big a deal of this . It's quite easy to spot them and skip them if you know the key words to look for . ( . . . trigger an event in which . . . is the most frequently used ) . Boss fights are also discussed in detail .
Next , a giant side quest section covers EVERY single sidequest and optional event in the game . It starts out with a great section on the Hunts ( Though , the print is VERY small . . . the visually impaired - take note ! ) . followed by information on Clan Centurio ( If you're new , don't worry ; You'll find out what it is in-game ) and info on the acquisition of the optional Espers . A run-through of the sidequests follows . However - there are a good number of typos and misprints that may confuse the reader . For instance , the infamous page ? ? ? misprints . The reviewers here also ballooning this problem to a much bigger state than it should be . It's not hard to figure out the page the authors are referring to . In addition , these typos are addressed at the Bradygames website .
An extremely detailed section on weapons , equipment , accessories and spells / technicks follow . Details on their acquisition , their stats and more can be found here . Then , a list of items , loot , bazaar packages and the many shops follow . The guide ends with a comprehensive bestiary , including information like the monsters ' strengths , weaknesses , dropped / stealable loot , and stats . Unfortunately , it doesn't specify where to find them , which can cause some frustration occasionally . I also agree with some of the reviewers here who demand an Index , as it would most certainly be helpful . Also , an Atlas section would be great , as some of the maps are scattered throughout the sidequest / walkthrough section , and some maps aren't even shown !
Nevertheless , this guide never fails to help the player explore the world of Ivalice and unlock it's many secrets . A well-rounded explanation of the game systems , a comprehensive walkthrough on the main game , and coverage on the optional stuff really make this guide special . Not to mention , it looks great ! The binding could be better ( A few pages at the beginning of the book are beginning to fall out ) but it's a minor flaw to consider .
The Good
+ Beautiful illustrations , maps , screenshots accompany . . .
+ . . . all-encompassing walkthroughhs and data tables .
+ Excellent coverage on the game systems , including Espers , Quickenings and the all-new Gambit system .
+ A license board pullout helps the player plan character advancement .
+ A nicely detailed Bestiary
The Bad
- Poor binding
- A good number of typos / misprints
- Spoilers in the main-walkthrough , though easily avoidable .
- Lack of an index can make things confusing and hectic
- Many missing maps
053 4 Let's face it , Final Fantasy games are great . They are so rich and there is so much extra stuff to do besides the main quest that getting a Strategy Guide is the best way to get the most out of it .
The guide is great for :
1 ) Having a map handy without having to periodically pause the game by hitting ' Select ' and using the in-game map . It's also good to know where regions connect .
2 ) A resource for weapons , armor , and item statistics . It makes shopping at merchants so much more convenient as you can check out and compare equipment statistics and optimize per each character's strengths ; to see what's really worth the gil .
3 ) Secrets and side quests ! One of my only complaints about FF12 is the difficulty in obtaining the Zodiac Spear , one of the most powerful weapons in the game . This weapon can only be obtained if you do NOT open certain treasure chests , but nothing in the game ever tells you that ! ! Similarly , there are a bunch of side quests and hidden espers ( summonable monsters ) that you might only know about if you read the Extras chapter .
4 ) Licenses . The fold out poster shows the whole license board which takes the pain out of character development . You don't have to explore the license board in the dark !
5 ) Hunt listing . It's handy to have all the hunts listed and their HP so you can decide when your characters are developed enough to break from the main quest and do some hunting . Not to mention save some time on where the heck they are !
Relying on a Strategy Guide too much may take the fun out to some , but it's up to you how much you use it . Enjoy .
054 4 If you're looking for a guide that will tell you everything you need to know about FFXII , it's not here . If you're looking for decent maps ( except for the great crystal ) , a good general walkthrough and some side quest information , this is your guide . There is a lot of information on items , weapons , etc . that is left out and the see page ? ? ? ? thing just makes it appear to have been rushed to publication without being proofread very well . Is it worth the price ? Probably , but expect to look online for in-depth information .
056 4 The game guide for FFXII is informative and well done . Most useful is the inventory descriptions for weapons , armor , and such since the license system doesn't really tell you anything about what you are getting accept a name . It's also very beautiful and fun to use .
063 4 Absolutely brilliant . I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't like this game .
It is in the true tradition of any of the FF games . Fabulous graphics and great game play !
070 4 Though this guide has gotten alot of bad reputation lately I have to dissagree with most of the ranting against it . Though , yes , it does lack a simple to follow methodology , it does have a comprehensive guide to the game . There is a complete licence board including information on each aspect of the licencing system . The guide includes the Epers ( Summons ) , where to get them , and what they do .
The guide includes weapons , side quests , and hidden infomration about the game . Though parts of the guide lack detail in the information , almost everything you could ask for is in there . For anyone like myself that wants the most out of thier gaming experience you should definetly pick the book up .
079 4 This guide was exactly what I had expected from a Brady Games guide .
The information isn't 100% on the game . Not all areas are defined . However , the walkthrough proves incredibly accurate and informative without giving away the in depth storyline at play later in the game . The spoils in the guide aren't unexpected ( you're reading an entire guide to every facet of the game ) and aren't unlike the spoils found in the manual to the game ( the manual spoiled the entire news about the Strahl and the members that would be in my party before I ever encountered them ) .
The side quests are accurate , except for the fact that some of the timing is incorrect . For instance , they report a quest requiring use of the leisure craft as being available LONG before the leisure craft is available for use .
If anyone is having trouble with the game or wants to unlock and find all the best of the best in the game , I would highly recommend this book . The organization is iffy at best , but detailed instructions on completing every hunt and obtaining every esper is accurate and incredibly organized in comparison to the rest of the guide . An index would come in handy all too often , but the poster does come in handy as a bookmark ( it's not too handy otherwise )
081 4 This is one guide with game that is a MUST ! ! Alone , no matter the expert gamer , no one could possibly find all the side quests and hunts and oh so many many things to do ! This game is without a doubt my all time favorite and I am an ' oldie ' and I love RPG games . The guide is totally helpful , more than any guide I've ever owned .
Without the guide this game would be only one fourth of what it should be !
084 4 This Strategy Guide was as useful as any . I very much enjoyed the game and this certainly helped . It is definitely not necessary if you are playing FFXII just to beat it , but if you want to get the Zodiac Spear or defeat all of the marks , then this guide is very useful . The writters are usually as specific as necessary , not getting too tedious ( as walkthrough's go ) but sometimes the leave too much open to interpretation , leaving most walkthrough-using players confused . What bothered me most was the fact that in order to get the Zodiac Spear , you have to go through the entire walkthrough page by page so that you don't miss a text box telling you not to pick up a certain chest , plus you have to start using the guide as you start the game because one of those chests is available as soon as Dalmasca's slums are open to you after Vayne's ceremony . That's not how I usually use strat . guides .
They include the basic story and characters , the full license board , an overview of gambits , how to use quickenings and espers , the walkthrough , hunts , side quests ( including how to find and defeat all of the espers ) , other secrets , weapons , armour , accessories , magicks , technicks , itens , the bazaar ( including ingredient lists and a loot listing that does not necessarily list where to find all necessary loot ) , a list of merchant shops and what you can get at each ( though it doesn't tell you at what point in the game most of the merchants actually begin selling these wares , I was bothered by the fact that you can't get four or five higher-level spells until after the second to last boss in the game ) , and a useful bestiary .
085 4 I bought the guide to go with my other guides ( collect them with every FF ) . This is one of the guides that are so incredibly horrible that I wish I hadn't looked at a single page . Final Fantasy XII has an amazing story . Too bad you can read the whole thing on page one .
Every time you look up a boss strategy , the next page has the description of what happens afterward in big , bold text .
If you want to experience the game , don't buy this , or if you do , save it for the second run through the game .
092 4 When you think of console RPGs the first two words that spring to mind will always be Final Fantasy . Their games have always been consistently better than any other titles ( even VIII ! ) That said , any hardcore gamer knows that you must play a Final Fantasy a minimum of twice : The first time with no help so that you can experience the game and a second time with a full strategy guide so that you can find all the goodies .
That's why I do not recommend buying this game until after you've already played the game through . Seriously . Enjoy the wonder of FFXII for what it is ( the guide has a few plot spoilers and it might ruin it for some of us hardcore players ) . AFTERWARDS , it's time to knuckle down , hit New Game and start to find everything ! All the great weapons , all the hidden bosses ( some that you can summon later ! ) and cool hidden scenes that weren't part of the main plot .
It's a really good idea to read through the whole guide before playing because if you skip ahead you might make some early mistakes that can make obtaining certain items impossible later .
Alone , FFXII is good for a solid 60 - 80 hours of fun . Throw in this guide and you'll more than double that ! It's worth the price .
- Ferret
093 4 Sometimes I just want the author to shut up and tell me what to do next , but instead he's regugitating the story . Hello , I just saw that ! I don't need to read about it again . I love books and I love reading , but having to wade through this guy's shmarmy narrative takes a lot of the joy out of the game .
Needless to say , with so much plot being gone over , spoilers abound . It's so fun walking around for hours with a guest in your party while trying to forget that the person is actually a villian you'll have to fight in the next series of events . Would it have killed to just have a silhoutte with a big question mark instead of a shiny picture ? At least for me , it's pretty hard to avoid the spoilers by not reading ahead , because you have to . . . read . . . ahead . It's only at the end of most of the tasks that he explains what magic and items you should have bought to fight certain monsters and what have you .
The book is also terribly disorganized and it's really hard to decide when you should do sidequests . I seriously can't read most of the hunt section anyway . The black on brown 4 pt font is impossible for me .
Unfortunately , this is the only show in town unless you have a better set up at home for browsing gamefaqs as you play .
The pull-out of the license board is nice .
Most of the maps are complete ( but tiny again ! ) and are helpful when you haven't puchased a map or found a particular urn .
Most of the boss strategies have worked perfectly ( hint : just blast it with your quickenings and viola ! ) .
So , what has been working for me as of late is to just use those features while playing and avoid the blah-blah-blah . The game itself is pretty linear , so it would be hard to get too off track if you skip the authors verbal flagellation . You decide if these features are worth the price .
094 4 There are many things that in my mind make this guide absolutely worthless .
1 ) It's full of spoilers . If you accidentally look ahead , it will give away parts of the plot . Why they chose to document the entire story in this guide , I have no idea .
2 ) They use a microscopic font on some of the pages that can only be read with a magnifying glass . I'm far sighted so it is especially difficult for me .
3 ) The organization is very poor . They have a section at the end called 100 Secrets of FFXII . To read through it though , you have to wade through a bunch of spoilers . None of these secrets are referenced as you go through the walkthrough either , so you will have to read them all at once if you want to know what they are .
Take some lessons from how they did the Dragon Quest VIII guide , Brady . No spoilers ! All we need are maps , hidden stuff , and sidequests .
Terrible guides can ruin a great game . Don't use this one and you will enjoy the game a lot more .
099 4 For the most part , this is a good guide . It includes maps of almost every level ( though sometimes the treasure chest markers skew the map appearance ) , tells you where to go and what to do to trigger the various events , covers all the side quests , and includes tons of other important info . Unfortunately , BradyGames also decided to completely spoil the story in this walkthrough . They describe every scene , within the text , making it hard to avoid having the upcoming story ruined before you get there . It is very possible to write a spoilerless walkthrough , but unfortunately this isn't one of them .
So if you don't want the awesome story ruined , I'd suggest looking for an online walkthrough . I just wish I'd been warned before I wasted my $20 on this guide .
103 4 Games and DVDs in terms of product are easy to rate ; they're all 10s because the quality of a DVD build is not the question .
The software on the DVD is another story . This is a good FF game , but doesn't stack up to FFVII or FFX . The story was very weak and the build that it's a more grown-up , political based story is hogwash . The story is as basic as one can get with predictible outcomes . They should look at FFVII & FFX especially to see the build of a great storyline .
Other than the playboy bunny the voice acting was great , and the graphics are the best on the PS2 .
The new battle system takes a little while to adapt too , but it's actually superior than anything I've seen before in turn based RPGs . The gambit system makes this game more enjoyable as your party kills the weak beasts without you having to give the orders .
The LP ( learning points to power up your players ) is weak overall in design . All my characters were maxed out after 15 or 20 hours of gameplay with nothing else to build on . It's better than the Barbie system in FFXII , but not as good as FFX's board .
With a few changes it would have been perfect , but it is still a solid FF game .
082 4 My fiancee is a big fan of Final Fantasy games , and especially of digging through every last little bit of content in each game . In the past she has used online guides to help her find everthing , and I had hoped that a hard copy strategy guide would come in handy . It has do a degree , however , there are plenty of problems with the book . For one , the pages fall out easily , which is something less than convenient . She has mentioned quite a few times that inforation was inaccurate . In one case , a side quest stated to look at map some name which I forget > on page ? ? ? ? ? ? . Yes , the question marks were part of the actual text instead of the page number . And it turned out that the name of map was something totally different . The book could have used a lot more proofreading / editing .
All of the information in the book which is actually useful can be found online . . . not much point in buying this book if you have a computer with a net connection .
012 4 This guide is pretty informative . Lists all the secrets , side quests , armor , weapons , monsters , and all the stuff a strategy guide should cover .
My only complaint is I wish they would integrate more of the secrets into the gameplay section , because I feel like I am missing some of the secret stuff and have to go back later and get it .
Other than that , it is good .
018 4 The book is extensive , but is it not comprehensive . My brother and I have been playing the game for months and require online research to fill the gaps . I am annoyed with how they filled the pages with the story . If they wanted to adapt a novel based upon the game , they should have did that instead of selling it as a strategy guide .
031 4 The strategy guide is full of information , but it is difficult to find it because of the format . It would be better if it was organized properly . Also , after about 3 weeks the the pages of the guide started to fall out ( I mean like 10 - 15 pages ! ) . . . at least I was able to beat the game before then .
034 4 quite simply . . . . buy it . . . . this guide makes the game so much easier , in a challenging way . . . . it gives you the information you need to get through , but you still have to put in the hard yards . . . . . i love this guide and would recommend it to everyone
043 4 The book contains a lot of information but most of it seems to be poorly organized as compared to earlier books by the same company . Mapping is almost useless as it requires you to flip back and forth several pages to follow along . Too much plot can be revealed accidentally by reading ahead , since the descriptions of an area seem to be filled with plot details instead of area details . Print color combinations are a bit hard to read in some spots as well .
Negatives aside , the book does contain all the pertinent information that one needs for the game and expects from the past experience with similar books by this publisher .
047 4 This is a pretty good guide , but there's a few things lacking . For example , on one part of the guide it says to refer to the numbers on the map , but there are no numbers on the map ! Also , it's pretty detailed , but there's parts of it where they could have elaborated a bit more . Some of their maps have symbols , but no legends . Good , but could use a new version .
076 4 This book clearly and accurately guides the player through the games main storyline and through the many aspects of the this fun game . From tips on setting up gambits , side quests , hidden espers , bestiary , navigating the license board to full detailed maps of every area , this book has it all .
089 4 As far as RPG / Strategy Guides go , this one is one of the biggest , most informative published to date . There are charts , maps , etc . . all sorts of details for just about everything in the game . I give it a 4 out of 5 because it covers just about everything - but not everything . The Great Crystal at the end of the game received almost no coverage in this guide - a couple of very small , undetailed maps , almost no stategy besides a walkthrough of storyline , not of the great items and other stuff to find there . Also there are a few errors as to the labeling of chests , but only an insignificant few . All in all , I wouldn't recommend playing the game without this guide .
087 4 If you need some help or want to finish your game with stars , you should buy it .
105 4 muy bueno lastima q se me estropeo un poco en el viaje pero es excelente
088 4 The guide is very well done , when one considers merely tthe graphics . Clear and presice , it's easy to navigate and find your way through it .
The guide is helpful not only tot he beginners , barely startign their adventure with the Final Fantasy world , but also to the more advanced gamers , that think they know all the quirks . Sometimes we all miss something .
Thick , filled with colorful images and good advice on the enemies , weapons and growing of the characters , this guide is pretty neat if you're willing to pay the price .
023 4 This review is from :
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
It arrived right in the middle of the expected time frame and was definitely in ' like new ' condition . Even the poster that came with it to hang on the wall was still attached with he serrated edging still done .
026 4 This review is from :
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
Guide was in very good condition and shipping was so fast that i didnt expect it for a few more days so i was happy .
027 4 Guide was in very good condition and shipping was so fast that i didnt expect it for a few more days so i was happy .
061 4 Judging by the time my adult son has spent playing this game which I gave him for Christmas , I would say it's a hit . Getting the accompanying book made the gameplay much easier . He's been playing the Final Fantasy series since he was a very young boy . Time and technology has certainly brought this game a long way !
073 4 A MUST read if you have the game . It definitely helps you understand the game and you probably won't get through the game if you don't purchase this item . Also , a great buy and great price in comparison ! [ [ Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ] ]
074 4 This review is from :
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
If you want to enjoy your Final Fantasy experience you must get this book . Otherwise you have a long road ahead of you .
075 4 If you want to enjoy your Final Fantasy experience you must get this book . Otherwise you have a long road ahead of you .
086 4 This review is from :
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
If you need some help or want to finish your game with stars , you should buy it .
091 4 The word I use to describe this guide is overwhelming . overwhelming because of the amount of info contained in this guide . When I first opened up my box in the mail i was surprised at how large it was . However this guide is highly organized and it helps to stave off the feeling you might get from glancing at it . For all its organization i still have trouble navigating it to try to find the section about the summonings or whatnot . As you might expect it has all of the necessary lists of weapons , items , armor ect and has a great Beastiary . It is an overwhelming and exalted guide which is indeed necessary for an equally exalted and overwhelming game . Get this guide it is a great companion to the game .
033 4 The guide was brand new and in great condition . I could always say that it needs to be cheaper especially since it's a PS2 game but hey , I got exactly what I wanted .
039 4 Thank you so much . I've been looking for this guide for awhile . It is exactly what I was looking for ! !
058 4 This guide is very thorogh but it has a very major flaw . Most of the type is in a font so small I can barely read it in the best of lighting conditions . Seriously , it's something close to a size 4 font . To top it off , the backgrounds in the text boxes come in a wide variety of colors , making it even harder to read the font .
060 4 This guide is thorough and fun to look at . It's better than studying school books any day . This was well written and accurate to an amazing game ! ^ - ^
095 4 I bought this for my husband . . . it took him a day or two to get into it , but now he is addicted .
098 4 Coming in at over 300 pages , this guide is simply massive . It has room for a very finely crafted walkthrough that fills in all the blanks for the stumped gamer . The opening descriptions of gambits , the license board , etc . can get the reader accustomed to the new functions of the game before ever picking up the controller . The bestiary is monstrous , although a little strangely configured . As someone who likes to explore all options , I particularly appreciate the depth in which they cover side quests , which arguably set the Final Fantasy series a notch above the rest . It's a beautiful guide too , filled with gorgeous full-page pictures and lined with vibrant color . For this price , how can you go wrong ?
100 4 Couldn't be happier with my purchase , it was exactly what I expected it to be .
107 4 Join the desert commoner-turned-hero Luke Skywalker on his adventure ! Obtain hunt marks at Tatooine's Cantina - filled with many strange and wonderful creatures ! Play and party up with sky pirate Han Solo and his quiet , but wise companion Chewbaca as they break out the Death Star prison with the grizzled warrior Obi-wan Kenobi , once a noble hero , but now traitor to the evil Empire ! Rescue the lovely princess Leia and restore balance to her kingdom ! Travel to wild and wonderous locales in Han Solo's Millenium Falcon ! But don't forget about the useful-but-in-no-way-contributes-to-the-story party companion R2 - D2 ! Flee or battle with Imperial Stormtroopers ! Escape from Imperial starships ! Or engage them in WWII-style intense dogfighting ! Fight evil judges in their Darth Vader masks ! But don't give into the Dark Side - choose mercy over the hateful execution of your foes ! You have the power to save or destroy the galaxy ! Lead the underdog Rebellion against the unstoppable Imperial armada !
USE THE FORCE !
077 4 This review is from :
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
This guide is great , except the ESPER's part . The clues to find the 。úchulainn ( The Impure ) and Ultima ( Walker of the Wheel ) espers are incomplete.Even if you follow the hints to meet them , you will be lost , because there are missing informations.The rest is fine .
FFXII BATTLE ULTIMANIA & SCENARIO ULTIMANIA . I give the two Japanese guides 5 stars due to their complete data tables for monsters , items , equipment tables and most efficient boss strategies . The US Bradygames guide however , I give 4 stars due to not 100% complete as the Japanese guides . The US Bradygames version is lacking the most efficient strategies in certain boss fight , for example the US version says use QUICKENING ( it works for most kind of bosses if player is skillful , so no need to mention everytime in the strategy guide ) , and the Japanese version actually teaches you to cast certain magic and Gambit combination to against certain boss that player has to defeat it within a time limit ( Use ZAP + VIRUS combination , where ZAP can lower the HP continuously ( Numerator ) and VIRUS is to lower the maximum possible HP ( Denominator ) of the boss , this combination guarantees the HP of the boss can never be increased nor restored to the initial max . E.g . HP = 50000 / 50000 can be lowered to HP = 200 / 200 ) . There are so many different ways to defeat a boss in FFXII , but QUICKENING is just not the most efficient way against certain boss unless the player is very skillful .
The Bradygames monster table is a lot simpler compare to the Japanese Ultimania . For example , the US version shows the monsters ' weakness and strengths but does not show what kind of magics are effective against or Null to them . Morever , the Japanese guides has a collection of monster data with certain probability of dropping or able to be stolen different items , while the US version just lists them out without the degree of rareness .
Apart from those differences , I still think that the US guide is good enough and I highly recommend people to get the collector's edition due to the extra BEAUTIFUL ART BOOK ! ! Worth every single penny ! Exclusive in EB Games / Gamestop .
- - Updated on 11 - 03 - 2006 - -
I think the US version is needed to be a little bit more organized and add more important detail data . For example , if I need to find a map for a certain area , I must need to flip to the page at which the story has that particular section of the map . There is no index table for me to find the maps either . Moreover , I just figured one of the mistakes that the Accessories section for the Diamond Amulet , which improves the probability of rare items apperarence , has only listed one location : Dalmasca Esterland ! ! ! But there are several other locations where you can obtain it too ! ! ! They are : The Tchita Uplands , and from Bestiary # 169 : Mom Bomb with low chance for dropping the item . The locations to obtain this Diamond Amulet is summarized very clearly in the Japanese Ultamania Guides , but this information is scattered around in the Bradygames guide . It is kind of dissapointing to me .
002 4 Final Fantasy XII is a very complex game with all treasure box items being random and rare monster appearance . A complete strategy guide is highly recommended . A good example is that one single mistake at the beginning of the game might change the entire probability of occurance down from 100% to 0.1% for certain powerful items , such as the Zodiac Spear . There are also near 400 different monsters , bosses , and enemies data that player should know their strong and weakness in order to defeat them at ease and obtain rare items .
Moreover the maps in FFXII are HUGE , very similar to MMORPG scale , while contains many hidden paths that are NOT shown by pressing SELECT button for the in game maps . A printed collection of maps are very convenient .
The US version FFXII strategy guide is actually a translated and reorganized version from the two Japanese guides : FFXII BATTLE ULTIMANIA & SCENARIO ULTIMANIA . I give the two Japanese guides 5 stars due to their complete data tables for monsters , items , equipment tables and most efficient boss strategies . The US Bradygames guide however , I give 4 stars due to not 100% complete as the Japanese guides . The US Bradygames version is lacking the most efficient strategies in certain boss fight , for example the US version says use QUICKENING ( it works for most kind of bosses if player is skillful , so no need to mention everytime in the strategy guide ) , and the Japanese version actually teaches you to cast certain magic and Gambit combination to against certain boss that player has to defeat it within a time limit ( Use ZAP + VIRUS combination , where ZAP can lower the HP continuously ( Numerator ) and VIRUS is to lower the maximum possible HP ( Denominator ) of the boss , this combination guarantees the HP of the boss can never be increased nor restored to the initial max . E.g . HP = 50000 / 50000 can be lowered to HP = 200 / 200 ) . There are so many different ways to defeat a boss in FFXII , but QUICKENING is just not the most efficient way against certain boss unless the player is very skillful .
The Bradygames monster table is a lot simpler compare to the Japanese Ultimania . For example , the US version shows the monsters ' weakness and strengths but does not show what kind of magics are effective against or Null to them . Morever , the Japanese guides has a collection of monster data with certain probability of dropping or able to be stolen different items , while the US version just lists them out without the degree of rareness .
Apart from those differences , I still think that the US guide is good enough and I highly recommend people to get the collector's edition due to the extra BEAUTIFUL ART BOOK ! ! Worth every single penny ! Exclusive in EB Games / Gamestop .
- - Updated on 11 - 03 - 2006 - -
I think the US version is needed to be a little bit more organized and add more important detail data . For example , if I need to find a map for a certain area , I must need to flip to the page at which the story has that particular section of the map . There is no index table for me to find the maps either . Moreover , I just figured one of the mistakes that the Accessories section for the Diamond Amulet , which improves the probability of rare items apperarence , has only listed one location : Dalmasca Esterland ! ! ! But there are several other locations where you can obtain it too ! ! ! They are : The Tchita Uplands , and from Bestiary # 169 : Mom Bomb with low chance for dropping the item . The locations to obtain this Diamond Amulet is summarized very clearly in the Japanese Ultamania Guides , but this information is scattered around in the Bradygames guide . It is kind of dissapointing to me .
003 4 First of all , I must say that this guide is absolutely gorgeous . If nothing else , it is worthwhile for the collectability and the beautiful artwork .
Second , BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO BUY THIS GUIDE be advised that there is a special edition version of this guide . The special edition is more expensive but it includes an artbook ( VERY beautiful and detailed ) , the guide , and a folder to keep them in . The special edition guide has one of six covers featuring a character from the game , but the artbook contains all of the images - so no worries if you don't get the one you want . However , the inside contents of the two guides are EXACTLY THE SAME . Just be aware of that before you decide to buy .
The guide contents themselves pretty standard - the guide first includes a story , character profiles , and even a relationship flowchart . There is a full explanation of the License Board system including a chart that shows how each character can access the complete board . Other sections include Gambits , Espers & Quickenings , a complete Walkthrough , Hunts , Side Quests , & Secrets , Weapons , Armor , & Accessories , Magicks & Techniques , Items & Sundries , The Bazaar , Marchant Shops , and last but not least , a Bestiary . This guide is great for getting everything in the game , and as I said before , if you're a collector , this is a must have .
005 4 As near as I can recall , this is the most worthless strategy guide I have ever used . In virtually every instance , I have found it easier and less time consuming to figure out the problem without the guide . For instance , last night I fought a tough fight against one of the hidden espers . But I couldn't find the esper because I didn't know it was an esper . Since the word next to the health meter said BOSS , I therefore looked for a BOSS and couldn't find it . While I was fighting the guy ( whose name sounds like a sneeze to me ) my girlfriend took up the task of finding the guy . She eventually figured out the guy was an esper , but by then I had already figured out what worked and didn't work , so it was moot .
Yes , this guide is chock full of ( probably ) every piece of information you could possibly need . However , the guide is poorly organized and finding the information you're looking for is often a more daunting task then trying to solve whatever the issue is in the game .
The worst of it comes from BradyGames being too lazy and sloppy to bother with page headers . Instead , the reader is forced to scan through each and every page of a given section looking for sub-section changes .
For instance , the bestiary is organized by the appropriate section in the game , and the order of those sections seems to be either random , or loosely based on the game time line . While this may seem a perfectly natural method of organization to people making the game ( as well as to lazy writers of strategy guides ) , it is cumbersome and aggravating at times to look for a particular monster in the absence of page headers .
If the book were designed for USERS and not the WRITERS , the bestiary would have been organized ALPHABETICALLY . You see the monster's name in the game , and flip to the page . Quick and easy , right ? But alas , that would require more work in writing the book . Okay , fine . So they're too lazy ( or too stupid ) to alphabetize . Fine . Then the order of the area sections should be alphabetized so you could at least easily flip to the right section before you have to start scanning the page . Nope . No luck there either . Okay , then at there should at least be headers on each page to show you wich area is represented on the particular page . You know , like in a dictionary ! Right ? Well , no , again . You have to scan every page looking for new section names . It's ridiculous ! The whole book is organized like this .
The main walkthrough is fine , provided you are the type to follow the guide all the way through the game ( how boring is that ? ) . If you aren't , then you will have problems similar to those described above . Scanning every page looking for a new section . What makes this more difficult is that many of the area names are not easy words that flow off the tongue ( maybe it's just me , but names like Bur-Omirsace , Bhujerba , and Tchita don't stand out like , oh , I dunno , say East East Franklin ) , which is fine , but many people may forget the names of the sections they are looking for and have to keep checking to game ( or use a notepad ) . It's very tedious . But at least the main walkthrough is linear so you have some guidance there .
Such is not the case with the side-quests section . Same as above : no useful organization and no page headers .
Also , throughout the book , the writers cross reference related sections on other pages , but were too lazy to fill in the number . As a result , the references say : ( see Page ? ? ? ? ) . That is incredibly sloppy and unprofessional . Gee thanks for the help guys .
Most of these problems could be manageable if not for another problem , which is this :
NO INDEX !
. . . and with only the most rudimentarily table of contents , the only way to make effective use of this guide is to turn off the game and read the book for a couple hours ( probably making use of several dozen sticky tabs and spoiling the ENTIRE PLOT in the process ) .
In short , this guide is not a guide at all but dump of information bound together with a $20 price tag . The writers seemed interested in only two things : ( i ) putting in lots of pretty pictures ; and ( ii ) being able to say oh look at how much information is in here . Of no concern to them is the ability to make use of the book . Since that is the primary purpose of any GUIDE , this one fails to serve its purpose and is therefore WORTHLESS .
011 4 Final Fantasy XII is my favorite game of all time . For a great game , there must also be a great guide .
This game guide contains pretty much everything you need to complete everything in the game without trying to find it all yourself . The guide does give some hints and such for going through the main storyline , but , frankly , the hardest part of the newer Final Fantasy games ( both X and XII ) is not the main story ; it is the optional bosses you can fight right before the final battle of the game . This guide can help you know what to do in certain boss fights , but the real value of the game is the secrets it reveals . Want to know what and how much of an item you need to sell to get the seller to offer a rare bazaar good ? Want to know where and how to get a rare game creature to show up ? Want to know how to find some of the optional bosses and Espers ? Want to know where to find some of the most powerful weapons , armor , and items ? Then this is what you need .
The book does have a few problems . First ( and most importantly ) , as other reviewers have stated , the book does have spoilers scattered throughout the guide . So I would strongly recommend playing this game all the way through without using the guide . Then , play through the game again , this time using the guide and taking advantage of all its secrets . I had the benefit of playing through the game all the way before I even saw this guide on sale , so I didn't have to worry about it . By the way , if you are a fan of RPGs , this game is WORTH PLAYING TWICE or more ; I have beaten it five times now and I plan on playing through it once a year for many years in the future .
The second problem is nothing major . Although the guide lists how and where the 30 Trophy rare game creatures show up , it doesn't for the other 50 non - Trophy rare game . It tells where the creature shows up , but not how to get it to show up . However , like I said , this is no big deal ( you can go online and find this info in many places ; I used the Final Fantasy Wiki ) . It would have been nice to have it in the book , but oh well .
Overall , if you love Final Fantasy XII , and you are a completist like me , this guide is a must-have .
019 4 Okies . Ive been buying final fantasy prima guides for years now ( FF 7 , 8 , 10 , 10 - 2 , tactics ) but avoided them for any other game . They might miss a few things in the final fantasy games , but for the most part , ive always found it to be a worthwhile investment .
This time , im not feeling like it was worth it . Missing maps ( and thus missing loot tables ) , no table of contents to SEND you where you might want to go ( assuming its even in the guide ) , guide tells you to go to page ? ? ? in a number of spots ( yes literally ? ? ? ) , RIDICULOUSLY picture heavy ( which is fine in limited quantities or necessities , but its a guide guys , not a picture book , ill buy a freaken art book if I want it ) . . . .
Anyway , Can honestly say its the worst final fantasy guide ive gotten to date . I guess the fact they were releasing a limited edition guide version as well as the normal one should have been a clue that it was more hype than help .
WHEN it actually has the information im looking for , then yeah its pretty damn good ( still has errors of course , but I expect those and can overcome them ) . Its probably a pretty good walkthrough to get thru the primary game , but as far as the extras ? Its incomplete . Very incomplete .
I wont be preordering the next one . Ill wait to see what peeps have to say about it .
028 4 This review is from :
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
I have been playing FF series since it was on Nintendo . I am not a AVID gamer where I get the FF games as soon as they come out and I have to finish it within the first 96 hours when getting it home . I work a full time job , I have a life and I don't get paid to play unfortunately , lol .
So for those evening or weekends when I feel like playing , I pull out this book and play my game . There are some very useful / helpful guides , maps , enemy descriptions , how to use the license screen ( thank gawd b / c I was so lost b4 getting the book ) , what to open and what not to and when ( playing w / o the book , about 14 hours in and I found out after getting the book I opened up chests that will not allow me to get a great weapon later on ! : ( UGH ! So I started over ! ) and everything else you can ask for . So far , not done with the game yet , I don't feel their are any spoilers . I only use the walk through up to the point I am at . It is tempting to read ahead but I don't want to ruin any surprises !
This may not be THEE book for the hard core gamer but if you are a gamer like me who could use some tips and help , this is perfect ! A must have ! : )
029 4 I have been playing FF series since it was on Nintendo . I am not a AVID gamer where I get the FF games as soon as they come out and I have to finish it within the first 96 hours when getting it home . I work a full time job , I have a life and I don't get paid to play unfortunately , lol .
So for those evening or weekends when I feel like playing , I pull out this book and play my game . There are some very useful / helpful guides , maps , enemy descriptions , how to use the license screen ( thank gawd b / c I was so lost b4 getting the book ) , what to open and what not to and when ( playing w / o the book , about 14 hours in and I found out after getting the book I opened up chests that will not allow me to get a great weapon later on ! : ( UGH ! So I started over ! ) and everything else you can ask for . So far , not done with the game yet , I don't feel their are any spoilers . I only use the walk through up to the point I am at . It is tempting to read ahead but I don't want to ruin any surprises !
This may not be THEE book for the hard core gamer but if you are a gamer like me who could use some tips and help , this is perfect ! A must have ! : )
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
I'm adding a positive review here as a special educator for parents whose children play video games . Buying game guides for your kids is a good way for them to spend time reading and analyzing information . Buying guides is also a way for you to see what your children are playing . This game and the guide have some very educationally advanced concepts that you can take advantage of , if your child happens to want to play this game .
Final Fantasy XII has a nomenclature that is based on many cultures around the world , and many languages . You will find culture and words that are Japanese , Irish , German , Sanskrit , Arabic and English . These can be found in names of characters , the espers ( big monsters that help the game characters attack ) , maps and locations in the game , magic attacks , even weapons . All of these have names and descriptions that are based in many cultures around the world . Explore these with your child !
Have your child describe to you what is happening in the game and explore the guide to get more depth . When your child revisits a location in the game , have them go around and talk to the people in that location . What are the people saying ? For example , as the empire begins to amass for the war against Dalmasca , what are different townspeople saying ? What are their interests ?
Doing the reading of the speech in the game and interpreting it by speaking aloud to you are ways to improve language use , expressive language skills . Reading improves receptive language . This guide has a lot of world history in it that can lead to many kinds of discussions , without you needing to actually play the game .
There is nothing offensive in this game , and everything to be gained by reading the guide and discussing the languages and cultural historical details the game developers have written in .
One good activity to explore with the help of the guide is the Bestiary , which is a list of the monsters in the game . The list actually contains pages of stories and myths . So , as your child captures various monsters , they will get a page about that monster , but also more pages that contain unrelated mythical stories . These stories are worth collecting and reading . You won't find these in the guide , just the list of the monsters . You have to catch the monsters to get the pages of stories . One of the best stories is the one you get by defeating the Garif hunter in the Greensnake area of the Ozmone Plain .
On top of this , your child will likely play the game longer and get more time in , making the game purchase a good money buy . Eventually you can resell the game along with the guide , which adds value to a game resale .
Everything to recommend ! I have a child with a speech and language disorder and games with their guides have really improved his ability to process language . He is an honor student now , and good play like this has added to his reading .
015 4 OK , I'm about to enter the Mosphorian Highwaste . I'm going to need the map of that . I know it's here somewhere . . . hmm . . . yep , here it is , right under by pillow .
Maybe I should go out on a hunt . I'll need the guide to mark 27 . Where's that now . . . hold on . . . ah , under my chair .
You know , as I'm using this guide , I'm really finding it convenient that the publisher saw fit to lend it only a temporary binding . Now as I use it in the privacy of my own home , I can reorder the sections of it as I find convenient . . . just in case I don't find it intuitive that guides to the weapons and items are listed AFTER the actual walkthrough . Of course , I really haven't been able to keep them ordered as the various pages find their way into remote locations throughout my abode . . . just like the important pieces of information in the book lie in wait scribed in six point font like minute treasures amongst beautiful but unnecessary artwork and redundant information on sidequests that yield virtually nothing .
Speaking of inconspicuous pieces of really important information , I seem to have misplaced my monograph guide . Now in the book it was after the item lists , given a tiny paragraph to itself with an nondescript header with a tiny announcement that monographs are , in fact , the single most important item in which to invest early on . I'm glad I found that out after reaching level 40 and already having spent 1,000,000 gil by selling items that would have taken less then half the time to collect with the monographs in my possession . So where is it again . . . ah yes , under my TV .
You know , it might have been easier to just send me all the important pages in a manila folder rather than choosing this book-like format in which to bind them just long enough to survive the shipment to my door . After all , book-style guides are ancient history . Removable rearrangeable pages . . . that's where the future of guides lies . .
041 4 This review is from :
Final Fantasy XII Signature Series Guide ( Paperback )
I'm adding a positive review here as a special educator for parents whose children play video games . Buying game guides for your kids is a good way for them to spend time reading and analyzing information . Buying guides is also a way for you to see what your children are playing . This game and the guide have some very educationally advanced concepts that you can take advantage of , if your child happens to want to play this game .
Final Fantasy XII has a nomenclature that is based on many cultures around the world , and many languages . You will find culture and words that are Japanese , Irish , German , Sanskrit , Arabic and English . These can be found in names of characters , the espers ( big monsters that help the game characters attack ) , maps and locations in the game , magic attacks , even weapons . All of these have names and descriptions that are based in many cultures around the world . Explore these with your child !
Have your child describe to you what is happening in the game and explore the guide to get more depth . When your child revisits a location in the game , have them go around and talk to the people in that location . What are the people saying ? For example , as the empire begins to amass for the war against Dalmasca , what are different townspeople saying ? What are their interests ?
Doing the reading of the speech in the game and interpreting it by speaking aloud to you are ways to improve language use , expressive language skills . Reading improves receptive language . This guide has a lot of world history in it that can lead to many kinds of discussions , without you needing to actually play the game .
There is nothing offensive in this game , and everything to be gained by reading the guide and discussing the languages and cultural historical details the game developers have written in .
One good activity to explore with the help of the guide is the Bestiary , which is a list of the monsters in the game . The list actually contains pages of stories and myths . So , as your child captures various monsters , they will get a page about that monster , but also more pages that contain unrelated mythical stories . These stories are worth collecting and reading . You won't find these in the guide , just the list of the monsters . You have to catch the monsters to get the pages of stories . One of the best stories is the one you get by defeating the Garif hunter in the Greensnake area of the Ozmone Plain .
On top of this , your child will likely play the game longer and get more time in , making the game purchase a good money buy . Eventually you can resell the game along with the guide , which adds value to a game resale .
Everything to recommend ! I have a child with a speech and language disorder and games with their guides have really improved his ability to process language . He is an honor student now , and good play like this has added to his reading .
057 4 This is the only real guide you can find for Final Fantasy XII , but it is very extensive . I really like BradyGames guides . They provide very good pictures and lots of explanations . This guide will help you get the most out of FFXII .
072 4 I really thought this guide was a pain to use - - even though I bought it I ended up using online guides as much if not more . Some reasons why . .
- I could care less about artwork , I just want accurate information in a well organized format . The organization in this guide was just poor . Why were things like the merchant shops and the monsters arranged by area ? Totally useless .
- The guide is 349 pages long yet has no index .
- No mention of when different spells or equipments would become available in the shops .
- The guide often doesn't mention when a rare item or equipment is accessible during the walkthrough
- For the largest side quest in the game , the Hunts , information on each hunt , which could each probably fill a page if it was properly covered , was given a paragraph or 2 at most , written in microscopic print . I really hated this .
- Tiny or nonexistent maps for several optional areas in the game .
- One day after I had bought the guide , it started falling apart
The one really useful thing about this guide was the pull out license board . Still , this is the last time I'm buying one of their guides .
080 4 Brady Games has always been known to be pretty thorough when writing walkthroughs . Take this book as no exception - but only on the walkthrough part . The book covers everything you need to know to finish the game but leaves out large chunks of maps , ( Zertinian Caverns , for instance ) , and leaves many sidequests up to you . The rare monster guide is complete , but lacks the triggers for all monsters , which can leave you wandering around for hours trying to figure out how to find them . Also , the Guide contains many errors - it appears as though they published the book without finishing in page numbers for many Sidequests ( see page ? ? ? , for instance ) . Overall , a good buy if you are looking for guidance from Point A to Point B , but you'll have to turn to the internet for help if you ultimately want to get the most out of the game .
101 4 The book is fine and gets you through all of the quests / subquests and general game , however the book construction is crap . Nearly every page of that book has fallen out just from flipping back and forth .
104 4 this thing has everything you need if your a cheater who doesn't like to play the game for themselves first . walkthroughs , cheats , bestiary , weapons , shops , etc . good product .
109 4 I read most of the reviews and have decided to not buy the guide . I have also had guides made by the same company and they really missed out a whole lot . It seems to be a treand with this company . Somehow people still buy these books so the company may not really care to make an effort of improving their guides . Don't buy it if you don't want to be dissapointed . However , the last guide from this company that I bought was for FFX - 2 which was a disaster indeed but had it's uses . Therefore , you can still buy this guide for other uses like which spells are strong , which enemies are strong etc . but don't expect it to guide you through 100% of the game . I personally won't purchase it though . Hope this was useful .
