imprimis2's Full Review: Final Fantasy XII for PlayStation 2
[Introduction and Storyline]
A title near and dear to many hardcore gamers and casual players alike, Final Fantasy has been rolling with the gaming world punches since its first incantation on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and, arguably, continues to set a precedent for the rest of the RPG world even in 2008.
Square Enix, in its latest installment of the acclaimed series, sets players out in a vast world, known as Ivalice, in the midst of a raging war between the Rozarrian and Archadian Empires. Between these two Empires lies a smaller territory known as Dalmasca. There, you and a band of friends, along with a conspiratorially dead princess, join forces in a valiant attempt to arrest the war-mongering empires to the southwest and northeast.
[Main Characters]
Our youthful main character, Vaan, dreams of becoming a sky-pirate during his residence in his war-torn homeland of Rabanastre. Being in his middle to late teen years, Vaan is at least described as being naive and emotionally underdeveloped. However, this is justified by the fact that at the beginning of the story, we learn that his brother, Reks, was killed in an act of treason at the beginning of the interempirean war.
Penelo, his female sidekick and friend, doesn't always agree with Vaan's actions or logic, but knows his intentions are true, so she sets out on a journey with him to aid him in his dreams. Penelo is a cute younger girl with a charming personality, and a redeeming sense of honesty and faithfulness.
Balthier, who we encounter a bit later on in the story, is a type of person Vaan most likely models himself after. A sky-pirate at heart and profession, Balthier is a clean-cut, cool-tongued man with short brown hair, in his early 20's.
Fran is a grey-haired female who has parted with the ways and customs of her Viera tribe. Vierans live in the thick forests near the Golmore Jungle in Ivalice, shrouded by a thick Mist. Vierans are known to speak to "The Wood," a deity that apparently gives them signs about the state of the world in which they live. Vierans live alone and do not step outside of their village---if they do, they instantly become outcasts and are forbidden any type of allegiance to their peoples or culture if they attempt to return. This being said, Fran is one of the few Viera who has turned her back on The Wood, and instead is a partner to Balthier as a sky-pirate.
Basch, a man in his middle 30's, at the beginning of the story, is thought to have been the main traitor who killed King Raminas. Captain of the Order of Knights, Basch is a man who continually pleas for mercy and vehemently denies any association with the King's assasination. Throughout the progression of events in FFXII, you'll learn whether or not he is guilty.
There's a point in the game where you'll have to play a sort of sidequest that actually advances the main storyline. Vaan will act like he's captain Basch to get the attention of all those townsfolk in Bhujerba, stirring up a huge ruckus. "Hey, I'm Captain Basch!" No, you're not Vaan....shutup already.
Finally, Princess Ashe, aged in her late teens, is the daughter of King Raminas. However, her husband, Lord Rasler, has been recently murdered, also like Vaan's brother Reks, at the beginning of the interempirean war. Devastated by this news, it is a widespread rumor that she took her own life----or did she? A thick veil of mystery will soon unravel.
[Side Characters]
Other characters also make an appearance in the game, and some of these characters play a crucial part in the development of this saga. Some of these characters are also temporarily usable in your team's main fighting party, and they will show in your menu as a Guest Character.
Vossler, like Basch, is also a captain of the Order of Knights in Ivalice, and is the main protector of the princess. Through certain points in the game, Vossler will aid you in your quests, as he will become a character in your team's fighting party.
Larsa Solidor is one of several sons of the royal lineage of the Archadian empire, but unlike at least one of his brothers, Larsa, like Princess Ashe, also seeks to find a path to peace, and will do anything in his power to end the onslaught of war. Larsa is a Guest Character as well.
Vayne Solidor is one of the older brothers in the royal lineage of the Archadian empire, however, all of his intentions are cleverly hidden, especially at the start of the game. A man of unquenchable anger, revenge, and an unmistakable sense of tyranny, Vayne Solidor is hellbent on his complete rule over Ivalice.
Other characters will make their presence known throughout Final Fantasy 12, but we wouldn't want to tell you all the details, or we'd spoil the fun of the story! So get out there and get started already. You've been armed with a great deal of information.
[Main Gameplay Facets]
Clocking in at a completion time of almost 90 hours by playing through the storyline alone, Final Fantasy 12 is a uniquely overstuffed pinata, filled with numerous sidequests, a licensing system, a battle-centered fighting technique similar to Limit Breaks known as "Quickenings," numerous summonable Espers, a new Gambit system, and hidden areas just waiting to be discovered. If players wish to complete ALL of the additional sidequests, the game could take anywhere from 150 to 200 hours for 100% completion. Anyone who is interested in RPGs, or video games for that matter, in any form or fashion, would simply be foolish to ignore FFXII.
We'll start out with the first new feature to the Final Fantasy Series, known as the Licensing System.
/Licensing System\
Unlike other Final Fantasy games, where a character simply earned a weapon, armor, or accessory and was instantly able to equip it, Final Fantasy 12 now comes with a unique Licensing System where players must earn License Points to unlock hidden squares on the License Board. Players accrue License Points by defeating enemies on the battlefield. Each defeated enemy is normally worth 1 LP, but other special enemies may be worth more to the party. Later on in the game, characters will also be able to equip special accessories that can double the amount of LP normally earned. Since the license board is so large, it may take a character a considerable amount of time to unlock or reveal each and every square on the board, so be sure to try and specialize all of your characters in different areas. This can be a bit difficult since most of the squares on the board are hidden at the start of the game.
The License Board, as mentioned previously, is where your characters will upgrade their stats, weapons, and armor. The License Board is broken down into several different areas and is actually split off into two large regions.
Upper Half
The Upper Half of the License Board is for the upgrading of several types of Magicks, Technicks (we'll discuss that later,) attack power, swiftness, Magic Points, Hit Points, strength, and numerous other character-specific parameters. As a word of advice, you will want your characters to start working on white magick spells, especially at the beginning of the game, since you will need to heal often. Do not use all of your License Points, however, to spend freely in the upper half, since the bottom half is also a crucial area to focus on.
Lower Half
The Lower Half of the License board is where characters will earn the licenses for all of the armor and weapons that are used throughout the game. Numerous types of weapons and armor are included here, and only a few of them are Heavy Armor, Light Armor, Mystic Armor, Guns, Poles, Bows, Crossbows, Swords, Katanas, Measures, and Hand-Bombs. The Lower Half of the License Board is critical, since as a player progresses through the game, the weapons will increase in attack power, and most, if not all of these weapons are inaccessible on the License Board at the start of play.
License Board Strategy
A great strategy to use when expending your License Points on a particular character is to try and split up his or her earned License Points to 50 % Upper Half and 50% Lower Half. Also, each character should try to take on a particular role. One character should be a main healer and magick caster, while the other focuses on straightforward melee fighting. The worst strategy you could implement is to have a group of six characters who focus solely on short-ranged weapons with absolutely no magic abilities. The best strategy is to implement each character with a different type of weapon, and to be sure to have at least two characters who can use ranged weapons like bows or crossbows, since several enemies in the course of the game have the ability to fly, and in these situations, close-range weapons like swords and poles have absolutely no effect on them. Mix it up a little bit, and try to keep a few License Points on reserve in case you need to open up a particular License Square right before a tough boss battle.
In order to open up the entire License Board, characters will need at least 13,000 License Points. While this does not have to happen for you to have strong enough characters to win the game, it could pose a much longer game for you if you are unable to begin the game with a clever strategy to maneuver the board with. So plan ahead!!
/The Gambit System\
The Gambit System is a wonderful revolutionary phase for the Final Fantasy Series. In previous installments of Final Fantasy, you would manually need to input commands in the battle menu to tell your characters what to do. However, all of this has changed in Final Fantasy XII. Now, when a character is faced with a certain situation, such as having less than 50% of his or her maximum HP, you can set a gambit to have that character automatically cast a healing spell. While the Gambit System may take some time to get used to, in the long run, you will be praising it for its ability to get your characters out of dangerous situations in tough boss battles, or even in normal random encounters on the battlefield, since enemies now tend to gang up on you with little to no notice.
Gambits are not immediately available at the beginning of the game, but will become available for use within the first six to seven hours of gameplay, perhaps a bit earlier if you happen to play through quicker. Characters start out with a default of two gambit slots, but can earn more by purchasing them on the Upper Half of the License Board. By the end of the game, most of your characters will have at least 6 or 7 different gambit slots. My strongest character, Balthier, had 9.
Different bosses throughout Final Fantasy XII will force you to change around your gambit strategies as well, since many of them cast status ailments on your party that would take ages to recover manually. Most bosses, especially through the middle to latter stages of the game, will inflict up to seven different status problems, so prioritizing gambits is an essential strategy to winning. While doing this can be very unpredictable throughout the course of the game, the best way to overcome the obstacle is by going through a boss battle once unprepared and taking notice of the status ailments you are hammered with, and then going back after you lose the game and reshuffling the gambit list to prevent them from happening, or lessening the amount of time they have an affect on your party.
While the Gambit system may at first seem like a complete squandering of the strategy of the older fighting system in previous versions of Final Fantasy, you will soon come to learn that this game is not easy, and a thorough mastery of the gambit system will prove your ultimate strength as a fighter.
/Quickenings\
Most Final Fantasy games have a special move that is available to your characters during the heat of battle. In FFVII, it was the Limit Break, in FFX it was the Overdrive. In FFXII, it is the Quickening.
Quickenings work like the Overdrives did in Final Fantasy X, however, you will only need to press one button at a time in order to activate a particular Quickening. The Quickening effects are activated by pressing X on the controller during any particular battle, going to the menu, and selecting Mist in your command screen. Once you do this, select Quickening, and the Quickening mode will commence. However, it should be noted that the character who initially activates the Quickening Chain must have a completely full Magic Points Gauge to begin the sequence. When this special move begins, be sure to watch the bottom of the screen for buttons corresponding to your controller. When they pop up, press that particular button to have one of your characters unleash a Quickening attack. If no buttons become available, press the R2 button to reshuffle. You will need to be precise and quick, however, as the Quickening Mode only gives you a couple of seconds to input your selections. When you run out of time, the Quickening chain is broken. Occasionally, a button will pop up that corresponds to your particular character's Quickening move, but instead of listing the name of the move, the words "Mist Charge" will appear. If this occurs, you may opt to select this one as it increases your character's chances of hitting upon another Quickening attack, plus it gives you additional time on the clock. Furthermore, if you are able to unleash enough hits in a Quickening Chain, a special larger attack will take place at the end of your normal chain. These attacks encompass a much larger area, and if there are numerous enemies in the battlefield that are at any distance from the main enemy you are targeting, those enemies will also sustain damage. Some of the types of special ranged Quickening attacks are the "Inferno," "Torrent," "Windburst" and "Ark Blast."
Quickening Strategy
I would recommend balancing the particular Quickenings to each of your characters. While any particular character can have up to three Quickening abilities, it is best to have all of your characters equipped with at least one Quickening ability before upgrading another character to two of them. Essentially, if your party is composed of three characters, and one of them has three Quickenings, but the other two don't have any, what happens if your character with three Quickenings gets KO'ed? You'll be stuck with little to no chance of winning a tough boss fight. So again, practice the use of balance--it is absolutely imperative!!
/Espers\
Most Final Fantasy games have given players the ability to special Summon a stronger monster that aids your main characters in a tough battle. Final Fantasy 12 is no exception. Although they're not technically called Aeons, Espers are essentially the same in design and combat scheme. As you progress through the game, Espers will be available for you to summon. Again, a completely full MP gauge is needed to summon an Esper. While older versions of Final Fantasy games took your other main characters away and simply had the Aeon or summoned beast pitted against the enemy, in Final Fantasy 12, not only does the summoned Esper fight, but the person who summoned it will also remain on the battlefield. This makes the game a bit tougher, because while your Esper is much stronger than your human characters, if your human character sustains too much damage and gets KO'ed after a summon, the Esper will be dismissed, and you will not be able to use it until your human character regains a full MP gauge again. It is critical that you keep you and your Esper fully healed if you wish to keep it on the frontline of an attack. Espers have their own HP and MP as well, so you must keep a close eye on both you and your Espers HP if you wish to maximize the amount of time it stays on the field.
Numerous Espers are given to you after you defeat them in a normal boss battle, but several other Espers in the game are hidden, and are unlocked when and only when you find them and defeat them in special hidden areas.
[Side Quests]
As with many RPGs, Final Fantasy XII is not alone in its share of extra missions and places to explore. One of the extra features of this game is known as a Hunt. Hunts are side missions that allow you to take down a particularly nasty enemy, also known as a Mark that someone or perhaps a group of people ask you to take down for a bounty. In order to activate a particular Hunt, you must pay close attention to the towns you visit. In some locations, a special Hunt Board will be posted where you can review the bills for particular marks. If you choose to accept them, you must then travel to the person who posted the bill, speak with them to inquire about the Mark's whereabouts, and then go in search of it. Once you are able to slay the Mark, return back to the person who posted the bill to collect your bounty. Occasionally you will receive rare items, loot, and gil for your efforts.
There are a total of 45 regular hunts in the game, and there are also special Hunts known as Elite Marks that are only available to you by speaking with Montblanc the Moogle in Rabanastre in the Clan Centurio Hall. The Clan Centurio Hall is on the North End of Rabanastre.
**NOTE** Be sure to speak to Montblanc every so often, as you will earn gil and items for defeating certain bosses, obtaining a preset number of Espers and accomplishing other hidden tasks.
/Technicks\
Technicks are not really new to the Final Fantasy franchise, but they're finally given a just title they deserve in this game. Technicks are special attacks that can be executed on an enemy that usually do not require the use of HP or MP, so they're free (with the exception of the cost you'll have to pay to buy them at a Technick Shop)! Several technicks are available in the game, and each of them performs a different type of action on yourself or an enemy. For example, at the beginning of the game, a good Technick to purchase on the License Board and begin using immediately is known as "Charge." Charge allows your characters to partially refill their MP gauges if they get low. Since you'll be encountering hoardes of enemies, you may want to use Charge in the game, especially when you just escape a battle and encounter a lull in activity. This will allow you to gain MP and perhaps cast a few more healing spells before going back into more dueling. Also, Charge is extremely beneficial to your party, since Ethers (which are items that restore your MP) are fairly rare in the game overall.
[The Battle System]
Previous incantations of Final Fantasy pitted your characters against a single enemy or a bunch of enemies that you could not see on the map. You would just walk across a deserted landscape, and if you happened to walk far enough, before long, you'd enter into battle.
With Final Fantasy 12, enemies are now visible to you from the outset. A new mini-map in the upper right hand corner of the screen will show you where enemies are, as they are denoted by small red circles. Once you get close enough, you'll be able to see the enemies, whether they're Wolves, wild Marlboros, Golems, Hyenas, Elementals, or Mandragoras. New blue and red attack lines also show up as part of the new battle system. When an enemy spots you, he will most likely attack you--but before he does, a red line will be drawn from the aggressive enemy to your main character, meaning you must prepare for battle. Once you either manually select to attack, or have your gambits set up to automatically attack an enemy, once your character engages in combat, a blue line will be drawn from your character towards the enemy.
Some enemies in the game actually do not choose to attack when you pass by, and are non-aggressive. These enemies will have a green HP gauge over their heads, signaling to you that they will not attack unless provoked. Enemies with red HP gauges over their heads will attack as soon as they spot you. Certain enemies will also initially appear to be non-aggressive and run in packs, but if you attack one of the non-aggressive enemies in a group, it is possible that all of them will then instantly turn on you. This is especially true of the Wild Onions that roam the snow-covered Paramina Rift area, so be careful!
All battles are done in real time, but the action will pause momentarily while you select commands (outside of Gambits) in your Battle Menu. You can choose to continue normal fighting even while you're selecting commands, if you wish, by going to the configuration menu in the game and changing it.
Back to the Gambits for a moment. The entire reason that gambits are crucial to your success in Final Fantasy XII is that without them, you simply would not measure up. With attacks occurring at a nearly real-time basis, you would not have enough time to manually input your commands before being decimated by a pack of enemies. Since gambits work automatically, they take out much of the legwork of trying to fight off a large cluster of baddies. Use your gambits as soon as they're available in the game, and give yourself time to master how they work. It will save you a lot of headache.
Finally, another new feature that has been added to the new battle system is the Battle Chain. A Battle Chain is a simple way of keeping track of how many enemies of a particular type you have defeated in a row. Say for instance you defeat 13 Wolves or 9 Cactoids in succession. Each time you increase your battle chain, the level will increase, and so does the chances of obtaining rare items from loot enemies will drop. After a chain of 10, 20 and 30, the probability of obtaining a rare item go up based on a predetermined percentage structure. You can then take the loot that's been dropped from flaying your foes and turn it into hard-earned gil at a vendor or a shop.
/Shops and Vendors\
Shops are available in Final Fantasy 12, and they work in the same fashion as other versions of the game. In any given area, town, or even perhaps a few isolated areas, such as the Dalmasca Estersand, you will find shops or traveling merchants. To purchase an item, you only need enough gil to obtain it. However, since Gambits and Technicks have been introduced, there are new shops designed especially for them. Other shops are available where you can buy Armor, Weapons, and Items. As I made reference to earlier, when you purchase an Armor set or a particular weapon, it cannot be used until your character has purchased the license for it, so don't buy a weapon or armor unless you already have sufficient License Points to do so, or you've already obtained it.
In addition to the routine buying and selling of items in the shops is a new feature called the Bazaar.
The Bazaar is a selling reward system designed to give you special items that can be earned, based on how much you sell to a vendor. Once enough of a certain type of item is sold, a notice will pop up telling you "New Bazaar Items are Available!" Scrolling through this list may net you new armor, weapons, items, loot, or other items like Ethers and Phoenix Downs.
Also, not only can you acquire gil for selling items, you will obtain loot from defeated enemies. Each time you defeat an enemy, check to see if an item pouch drops to the ground. Inside you will find an item that may be loot, which can then be sold to vendors for extra gil.
[Measuring Up---The Final Fantasy XII Experience]
With all that said, what were my impressions of the game? Let's get to it.
Graphics
The graphics in FFXII are nothing short of amazing. Like you'd come to expect from any other game in the series, revolutionary architectural styles are showcased here, from the sprawling industrial city of Archades, to the quaint villages of the Jahara peoples, each place has its own personality and quirk. Also, gone are the days of NPCs who simply stand in one place and don't move anymore. Instead, each particular place you visit will be inhabited by any number of individuals you can talk to. While these characters don't always have a particular affect on the outcome of the game, it is especially nice to be able to walk through a city or village where life feels real. When you first start out in Rabanastre, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of NPCs who exist in the background. There's groups of Bangaa and Seeq (who are simply different types of ethnicity and race you'll encounter) who roam the city streets. You'll find groups of children running and playing, and you can even talk to most of these characters.
When you go into shops, you don't simply have a clerk at the front desk, you have intricately designed hutches and china cases that show off rare jewelry, armor, and gambits, so you feel like you really are where you're supposed to be. NPCs are found even in the shops, and you'll frequently find that many of them are looking for books or gambits they can't find.
If you happen to go into an old dilapidated town or village, such as Old Archades, you'll notice most of the NPCs as town residents who slumber about on the steps, sit and talk amongst each other in groups of two or three, and others are drunkarks who are passed out flat on their backs. The scope and nature of human life and personality in this game is the best I've ever seen showecased in the series, and perhaps the best I've noticed in a video game altogether. Simply fantastic.
Score 10 out of 10
[Sound]
Sound effects in this game are true to life as well, as you'll hear the clanking and ringing of your character's armor as he or she is running, you'll also happen to hear the footsteps and how they sound, depending upon what type of terrain you're crossing, whether it's sand, snow, tiled floor, or wooden bridges. Other sound effects, like swords clashing against enemies, and the opening of doors also sound very accurate and crisp.
The only portion of the game that I was not as thrilled about was the musical score. Although the music is of good quality, it can get a bit repetitive at times, and I think less time was spent here than on other areas. None of the music is what I would call annoying, but it is definitely not the best I've heard in the series.
Score---9 out of 10.
Controls
The controls in Final Fantasy 12 work well, also. The camera is designed so that you can zoom in or out on your character or party, in a 360 degree range. This is especially useful, since if you happen to be out on the battlefield, and enemy can sometimes randomly appear out of the blue and stab you in the back. It pays to be able to take in all of your surroundings, and the wonderfully designed camera system here doesn't hinder that ability.
I never had a problem with the game controller during the playing of FFXII either, and that speaks very highly of the game, because I always notice them if they happen to me during the course of a game.
Well, I take that back. There are, on some occasions, where you will run up to an item, such as a treasure chest, where the little Exclamation Points will appear over your character's head. If you don't happen to be right next to it, sometimes the exclamation marks will disappear and you'll have to run back or around to get them to pop up again, before you can press X to open it. This also happened to me a couple of times when I attempted to activate a Way Stone (which is something you'll find later on in the game.)
Overall, though, the gripe above is fairly minor, and it doesn't detract from the overall playing of the game.
Score 9.5 out of 10.
[Atmosphere / Environment]
As stated before in the graphics category (ooh la la, it looks like someone might have been right about this after all,) the atmosphere and environment in Final Fantasy XII is as good as or better than other Final Fantasy games. When you go into a town, you'll be greeted by scores of people, so you don't feel as though you're wandering through a deserted town. Numerous NPCs fill areas that used to be simply rendered backgrounds with paths to walk on. These characters serve to bide you some time while you're running around trying to accomplish a main mission, and the whole time you're playing the game, you feel as though you're in great company. Architecture fits very well with each area you visit, and I can't instantly think of anything that feels out of place in the game at all. Everything in the environment meshes together very well.
Score 10 out of 10.
[Final Rating]
Final Fantasy 12 may arguably be the best game ever to come to the series, but it has quite a bit going for it, and those who praise it that highly have quite a bit at their disposal for backup---a new Gambit system, Quickenings, a revamped and improved battle sequence, the Bazaar, numerous sidequests and hunts, and a fairly engaging storyline that keeps us longing for more suspense to drive us to the edge. With all that the game has to offer, you're truly missing out on one of the best games of the year, and quite possibly, one of the best games of the decade. Own Final Fantasy 12, so you can enjoy what the rest of the world has already discovered about this breathtaking series.
Final Score ---9.6 of 10
Review Copyright 2008 Aaron Coffey
I hope this review has helped you make a purchasing decision.
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