It felt like an MMO. For good reason I imagine, since I believe the team that made 11 was tasked with making 12. Something like that. Yeah though, it definitely felt like an mmo. Lots of gear to get, monsters to beat, and points to earn. Carrots were dangled left and right; it was just like an MMO. I didn't mind that because, well, I like MMOs. That sort of collect-a-thon, incemental reward gameplay appeals to me, for whatever reason. True to form, I got all the licenses, the best gear, beat Yiazmat (something I don't recommend doing >_< ), etc. I put quite a bit of time into the game, really. So in that sense, the game was successful. I played, I enjoyed. . .whoo.

On the other hand, it felt NOTHING like a final fantasy. Final Fantasies, to me, have three primary positive qualities.

1) An epic storyline of good vs evil, underdog vs overwhelming menace. It's cliche, and I understand people wanting FF to branch out, but it's a cliche for a reason. A lot of us really like it. 12's storyline though. . .who cared? A bunch of boring political maneuverings. In the worst case scenario, if you were utterly defeated, power would have shifted in a few countries. There was no sense of urgency, impending doom, importance...none of it. Heck, most of the bosses were judges. Random, humanoid assassins. I want my demonic angels, giant whale monsters, undead dragons, and steampunk craziness back.

2) A vibrant, colorful world, full of quirks and mysteries. 12 was pretty in some areas, but for the most part it was drab, and overly textured. It didn't have that mystical simplicity of the other games. And the quirkiness? None. Listen to this: 12 made me dislike moogles. MOOGLES. I hate it for that alone. Really though, in the other games, the next town was likely to lead you inside a summoners temple, or a sorceress' lair, or a cavern with a mysterious wind, or. . .I don't know, but I've always been excited to go new places in FF games. 12? Not so much. Relatively uniform city, desert, and cave. That's all you got.

3) Characters to care about. FF characters have always been likeable. Some have been annoying, and there are people who can't get past that, but for the most part they've been unique, entertaining, and just plain good. I can find you a dozen people who love Tidus in five minutes, in spite of how irritating he sometimes was. I don't know that I've EVER come across someone who loved Vaan. Think about FFX. An otherworldly star of an underwater sport, a suicidal sorceress, a blue wolf-unicorn, etc. Unique, interesting, weird, you name it. And 12? Two street urchins. A soldier. a princess. There are some unusual things (fran, for one) but for the most part, they were regular people doing regular things for regular reasons. Final Fantasy is not about regular people doing regular things for regular reasons.

TLDR: FFXII had satisfying gameplay, but lacked any sort of emotional or sensory engagement. I tried to define it in solid terms above, but the easiest way to say it is just that 12 lacked the spark, the magic, the wonder, of Final Fantasy. I liked playing in the world, but I didn't CARE about any of it. And that's really what FF is all about.

Last complaint: I want to kill whatever designer let the "pause for a half second to take out/ put away your swords before/after battle" thing. I swear that had me about ripping my hair out by the time I was done with the game. I understand that it could be there to mask some background technical stuff, but that's just no excuse. I found it incredibly frustrating.