Final Fantasy XII

The radically different approach in combat is one element that makes Final Fantasy XII shine over other RPGs which use turn based or tactical combat. Another major change is the way your characters grow. Each Final Fantasy game has a unique system and XII is no exception. This time players will have to master the license system. Sort of like how you’re thrown onto the sphere grid in Final Fantasy X, you start out with a few slots unlocked on your license board. To learn a new skill, spell or even equip a shiny new sword you’ll need obtain a license. Each character starts off with a few basic licenses like the ability to equip guns for Balflear or the skill to steal in Vaans case. Each character can only unlock adjacent licenses on the square grid. This prevents players from unlocking thundaga before they get basic spells like black magic spells like aero and thunder. Whether it’s for spells or armor you unlock abilities in a set order. There are some changes and a few surprises like how progressing through green “effect magic” can lead to a path unlocking powerful white magic spells, but for the most part you need to have an idea of where to spend your limited LP (license points). Should you get the ability to equip plate mail or is scanning your enemy for weaknesses more useful? On top of spending LP to gain the license you need to spend gil to buy the armor or cure spell. Also hidden on the license grid are skills that expand the amount of gambits you can use, HP bonuses and mist knacks. Mist knacks are FFXII’s limit breaks, but this time you get to choose the limit break you want to use. All you have to do is unlock it on the license grid. Also interesting to note is each character begins really close to each other on the license grid. It’s up to the player to decide which different direction to take each party member.

Because of the demanding amount of LP and gil required for character growth Final Fantasy XII expects players to take on side quests. Pretty much whenever you want to take a break from the main story a side quest is available for you to take on. You can set out to capture special monsters like the Tomato man early or take on the task to search for a unique item. The system in reminiscent of the side quests offered in the Tactics series except that you actually do them with your party. Completing side quests often rewards you with new items and increases the reputation of your party throughout the land of Ivalice. Another alternative instead of side quests is to hunt monsters. Like the games MMORPG inspired roots hunting monsters is a great way to gain LP and dropped items. That’s right monsters drop items like fire stones instead of gil (what’s a flan doing with gil anyway?) that you can sell to your local store in exchange for gil. This is a minor concept that some players might like because it’s realistic and other gamers might find as a nuisance.

Like in all Final Fantasy games since III for the NES, FFXII has summoned monsters. This time they’re called espers, but they take more of a backseat role than they played in X. To befriend an esper first you have to fight it. After you win you assign the esper to a particular character. From that point on only that character can summon the assigned esper. When you summon one the mythical giant replaces your party members. The beast sticks around and can pummel enemies with powerful moves. Before the esper returns to the land of summoned monsters it will perform a flashy final attack in standard FF tradition. Interesting to note that you won’t be seeing traditional summoned monsters like Shiva or Ifrit in XII. Instead you have a whole new army of summoned beasts like Hashmal and Belias.

Clearly Final Fantasy XII is one of the most impressive games on the PS2. While it might not be as technically impressive as some “next-gen” games Final Fantasy XII looks fantastic. The characters are fluidly animated and each area is populated with life, which makes the game feel like a living world. The art direction is also spectacular. New monster designs, re-imagined races and great use of facial expressions puts FFXII at the head of the class in aesthetics. The game also features a number of FMVs, which are the true eye candy of the game. There’s also a balance between the amount of movie watching and game time. FFXII isn’t like other RPGs where you grab a snack and put down the controller. Instead of Nobuo Uematsu taking the lead on composing the score of Final Fantasy XII Hitoshi Sakimoto takes lead. His previous credits include Stelladeus, Vagrant Story and the Final Fantasy Tactics (surprise!). The score has more of a fanfare feel to it than other Final Fantasy games except for the main theme sung by Angela Aki.

Final Fantasy XII is a gem of the Playstation 2 library worthy of the many years the game lingered in development. The evolutions in gameplay show that Square-Enix isn’t afraid to take chances with one of its core franchises to make an excellent and most importantly fun game to play.

Import Friendly? Literacy Level: 5

Forget about the story for a second, if you just want to play this game you’re going to need a working knowledge of kanji. Most of the license descriptions, skills, and gambit details are written in kanji. Also since Final Fantasy XII has many side quests and it isn’t as linear as FFX players can easily find themselves lost.

US Bound?

Square-Enix will release Final Fantasy XII in North America, but no specific date has been announced. As we get close to E3 we’ll have more concrete information.

+ Pros: Final Fantasy XII is probably the most refreshing take on RPG gameplay to date. It successfully blends MMORPG gameplay in a single player PS2 game with a wonderful story and astounding graphics.

- Cons: Some players might find the gambit system confusing at first and the license system requires some blind faith.

Overall: With all the hype surrounding the game, Final Fantasy XII still manages to impress and deliver a fresh experience unlike any other single player RPG.

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