Wow, it has been over 25 hours of game play since my last Final Fantasy XII article and a lot has transpired on the continent of Ivalice since then. For this article I am going to give the hunting side quest a more in depth look and discuss one flaw I have with the game. So grab your potions, maybe a phoenix down or two, and join me as I continue my adventure across the vast continent of Ivalice.

Hunting

In my last article I briefly explained the hunting system, but I would like to take some time now to explore it a bit further. As I mentioned earlier, there are various bills scattered throughout the world that contain information on marks, or monsters to be hunted. There are several steps involved in the hunting process. The first step is to locate and read the bill. The bill contains a brief description about the hunt, but more importantly it contains the name and whereabouts of the person who posted the bill. The next step is to locate the person who posted the bill. To ease this process, the location of the person is marked on the map. The person who posts the bill contains vital information on the mark to be hunted and information on its whereabouts, however the detail of this information varies from hunt to hunt. The next step is the most fun, the actual hunting of the mark. The monsters vary in difficulty and are gauged by a rank system, ranging from one to eight. As of this writing the most difficult monster I have hunted was a rank four, and it was a tough fight. The final step takes place after defeating the mark, return to the person who posted the bill and reap your reward!

This side quest does what any good side quest should do; distract the player from the main quest. When I’m low on cash, looking to level build or if I just want a break from the main quest, I can always go hunting. By participating in the hunting side quest the player is taken all over the continent of Ivalice, even back to locations where s/he has already been. This gives the player the chance to chat with forgotten NPC’s, discover new areas and locate treasure. I feel that by re-exploring already explored areas, it gives the player a better sense of the world of Ivalice and how it changes throughout the course of the game. But the one of the best things about the hunting side quest is how they flesh out the stories surrounding the individual hunts. For example, there is one bill posted by a Garif high chief. Now the Garif are tribe of warriors, capable of felling this rank 2 mark quite easily. So why did they post the bill? The player eventually learns the answer, but I’m not about to give it away here. While serving as a motivation for the players, the back-stories also further develop the complex world of Ivalice.

Treasure Chests and Money Management

Despite all of the praise I have been giving this game, it still has its faults. One of the staples to any Final Fantasy game, or any RPG for that matter, is finding treasure chests scattered throughout the towns, world map and dungeons. Now you can discover treasure chests in Final Fantasy XII, but the problem I have with them is that they are randomly placed and contain random items. So one player exploring the Giza Plains may discover a treasure chest containing a powerful sword while another player may only find a few pieces of gil. This makes finding unique and powerful items almost impossible. With random treasure chests players can no longer share information on the whereabouts of powerful items.

In general, I found that most of the treasure chests that I have discovered contain petty items. I find myself having to buy all of the powerful items and weapons. However, this doesn’t necessarily have a negative effect. A lot more emphasis needs to be placed on money management, so the player needs to make decisions about whose armor to upgrade or what spells to buy. This is in contrast to other role-playing games, where the player is over saturated with money and can buy anything s/he desires. While not a major detriment to the game, I would have liked to see treasure chests in definite locations with definite contents but I am pleased with the money distribution. Well, I just read a bill for a level 4 mark wreaking havoc on the Paramina Rift so I need to take care of it before another hunter does! So join me next time for an in-depth look at the Quickening system and a look at Final Fantasy XII’s version of summon spells – espers.