I just started my way through Final Fantasy 12 over the past few weeks. I had previously played about 6 hours into the game and had gotten completely sidetracked, stopping all together. I'm having a lot more fun this time, but there is one thing that is driving me insane: the Zodiac Spear. If you are not already familiar with the spear, it is one of the most powerful weapons in the game, if not the most. Now that's all fine and dandy, but the trouble arises when one discovers the method of acquiring this weapon. There are 4 chests/groups of chests that you cannot open. You simply cannot touch them. What the hell is this about? There are no hints or clues or anything that would indicate to the player not to open these chests. Stuff like this really pisses me off, and it bothers me that the only way I found out about it was by looking at the guide. I typically don't look at guides while going through a game, but the only other option is to play through the entire game, only to realize you've wasted a lot of your time.

And who could forget the Final Fantasy 9 fiasco? To acquire Steiner's ultimate weapon you must complete the game in under 12 hours. Absolutely ridiculous. I want to enjoy a game while I play through it, not feel rushed. Not to mention the average player will miss most of the other items while racing through the game. My guess is that square intended this task to be completed on a second play through, however that still does not sit well with me. Both Matt and I thoroughly enjoy absolutely destroying games, getting the best weapons and armor and defeating all the optional bosses. Not being able to reasonably accomplish this, I quickly lost interest in the game.

If you can't tell yet I despise when games do this. I hope Square Enix and others realize that many other gamers share my opinion, and do away with items like this all together.