Nostaljaded
i wanted to ask if the ps2 fan-translation of final fantasy 12: the job system edition is mostly the same as the upcoming ps4 port? from what i've read the ps4 port only adds:
- fast-foward button (which the ps2 emulator has as well)
- a new "Trials" mode which seems like something I would have no interest in
- the obviously upgraded art assets (which ps2 emulator would feature as well with its increased resolution and anti-aliasing)
i was just thinking of starting a playthrough of the fan-translated ff12 ps2 .iso but wanted to make absolutely sure first that the upcoming ps4 port was just a double-dip.
It's technically not a fan translation, the game uses the English voices as they are among the best you'll ever hear in a game, so you just run a patch that rips the dialogue from an English ROM to the IZJS for its translation. There are like 2 or 3 instances where you'll see Japanese characters early in the game, but they're completely irrelevant to solving anything, as the directions are in English text.
One of the main complaints of the PS2 version was highly compressed audio files that caused some butthurt regarding sound quality, which the ps4 has addressed, and sounds much crisper. The soundtrack is also completely redone in Orchestrated form and sounds absolutely wonderful. In terms of actual gameplay, as Great Deceiver mentioned, the PS4 edition allows for each character to choose a 2nd job, which increases class variation by quite a bit. Having 2 classes also makes Esper allocation more interesting, as they will appear on both boards of the character you chose to give it to. This can be bypassed if you download the FF12 trainer for the IZJS iso, but it feels kinda cheap doing it this way. There is also map overlay that you can use while walking around, instead of having to hit Start and pause the game to bring up the map, which saves loads of time. There are some minor rebalances. In the original release Cure / Fire / Blizzard / Thunder were single target, and changed to AoE for IZJS. They have been reverted to single target for Zodiac Age, which makes the early game a bit more challenging.
Trial Mode was present in IZJS, but the big game changer is that loot you find in trial mode can be transferred to your main save in the Zodiac Age. This can be exploited for cash and gear early on, but is no biggie as you can just skip it 'till later. I recommend not skipping it as it's a pretty hefty challenge in the late stages after you complete everything else. Stage 100 is absolute Hell.
The Zodiac Age auto-saves at every screen change, which you can use to your advantage for farming enemies that are difficult to respawn. Some quests / sidequests have been made easier. The shitty 'chop' sidequest now only requires like 3 Pinewood Chops to access the cab in Archades, completing the Sun Stone now automatically takes you back to the Giza Plains Village, and a couple of other instances similar to the latter, saving some pointless travel time.
RNG exploitation is still around, so Cerobi Steppe chest farming is as easy as ever.
I misassigned a late game Esper which really fucked over my Penelo. I went into an Autistic Rage and started over, so I'm still not even done with the game yet. :D
