Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	9
Sound:	10
FunFactor:	8
PlasmaFactor:	10
Overall:	9.2

Final Fantasy XII Review
July 23, 2007 by Tiffany Wiggins

Welcome to a world living in the ever growing shadow of an insatiable empire. Welcome to Ivalice. Ivalice is a living, breathing world of Magicks and monsters, of treachery and bravery, and of course adventure and love. Final Fantasy XII has finally arrived! After a bit of a wait the next console Final Fantasy has arrived and its come out with its Magicks blazing.

Characters and Story

Final Fantasy XII is critical to the series being as it is the first to be released after its online sister Final Fantasy XI and the highly acclaimed Final Fantasy X. So of course this game has a lot to prove. The character design in this installment of the series is a very nice shift in style from what had been seen in the last installment. Its good to see the characters and just overall design vary from its older sisters. Storywise, Square has taken new leaps with creating new races and having them play such a large role in the overall game. With what started as the Al Bhed race in FFX has now evolved to the Viera, Bangaa, and Seeq races in addition to the nicely titled Hume race. The moogles are more life like now but they still haven’t lost their cuteness! There are many similarities between FFX and FFXII but this game is no copycat. The storytelling aspect of the game is appropriate and it plays out like a perfectly scripted dramatic play, with a hint of tragedy. The plot is engaging and each character has their own personalities and experiences as well as their own agendas. Another great thing about the main characters is that they all have some elements of a unfortunate and traumatic past. This game is set up with an all star cast of overall misfits. There are two orphans, a fight happy princess, a traitor and a sky pirate that ‘travels’ with a weapons expert of another species. Their personal and sometimes not so personal, relationships are deep and complex and the overall plot takes on many twists and turns. There are also other characters that appear quite frequently and are designed just as intricate. Even filler characters are full of life and personality. Their side stories are often worth checking up on from time to time. There are literally TONS of things to do at different points in the game. Luckily, the replay value of FFXII is very high. There is the option to hunt marks, special enemies, for a rank and for special items. There are over 40 so getting bored is unlikely. There are tons of side quests and secrets things to unlock here and there.
At best however, even with the new elements brought into this game there are often parts that I find that are lacking. As far as character development, the most interesting people who make a change are minor characters that come along in the story. I often found myself pondering their fates and back stories just a little bit more than some of the main party. Of the main characters there are about two or three who are dynamic and overall well rounded (in the end). Also, the story is good. REALLY good, however unless a person were to go through ALL of the game, (side quests, clan primer etc…) they wouldn’t be able to feel the full impact of this story. Indeed, in this game there has been great consideration and attention to detail in many of the literary and historical aspects. Its very easy to get a sense of life and history of Ivalice. The story takes place all across just two continents and an island. Even though each separate town/village/city/temple is different, you don’t get to trek around the world in like the previous games. There is mention of countries that you don’t even get to visit. But its still pleasant nevertheless.

The Battle System

 

Finding enemies is no longer the luck of the draw and now you can see your opponents before engaging them. For those who like to play in Wait/turn based mode, the target system is a great help. Blue lines indicate attacks toward your selected target and red indicates which member of your party is being targeted. Magick, (great spelling right?) is now broken up into different categories such as Green, White, Black and Arcane. The Technicks feature often is a life saver when in a fight. Theses are abilities learned that help cut corners so that the items and MP supply doesn’t go down.. Gambits are the life essence of this battle system. Gambits can truly be life savers in sticky situations. Gambits allow characters to automatically take certain actions depending on whether it’s for attacking supporting or defending. For example; Gambit command: Attack, Enemy HP > 50%. That means that the selected character will attack an enemy with more than 50 % health, after the enemy’s life reaches past that point, the character will stop. At first glance its seems that the player wont really have to pay attention to the battle because the Gambits do all the work. Not true. Depending on the level of the enemy faced even some of the best gambits can’t keep a party from getting ‘GAME OVER’. Sometimes Gambits are a double edged sword and can hurt characters when they are placed in different strategic battle situations. Even so, there are many tricks to use when fighting and this system gives a lot more leeway to be sneaky and keep the characters alive. Occasionally there will be ‘guest party members’ who can be healed and can fight along with the heroes. Even though their actions cant be controlled, they are really valuable and a cheap way to keep the enemy’s attention off of you for a little. The License system is an interesting setup that allows characters to learn abilities, attributes, weapons and magic’s by acquiring points. Some things come along later in the game and even if the license has been learnt, it still has to be purchased from a merchant.

One problem is leveling up. It takes forever and a day to level up characters. It will be VERY easy to spend 100 hours on the game and end up only at level 65 or so. (If you don’t know from the beginning how to cut corners). Now, as smart and as fitting to the storyline the License System is, its painful to deal with. The problem seems to be that there is no variation. Everyone can learn EVERYTHING that the other knows. Obviously Penelo and Balthier are not going to have the same strength when equipped with the same sword but it takes the joy out of the fight and it gives people an excuse to bench characters that they don’t like. On top of that, honestly, do the characters really need a license to wear a hat? Some weapons such as the Scales are almost always useless. And speaking of useless, let’s talk about those Espers. Of all the things that the category of battling covers, it seems like they are the most disappointing in them. It’s wonderful that they come out and fight by the characters side but once certain events happen and the characters move up, the Espers become troublesome and inconvenient. They don’t get stronger along with the characters, if they do its not a very good improvement, and once the story takes you into harder areas, they’ll die fast and take you along with them.

 

Graphics and Soundtrack

The visual style is likened to a mix between Final Fantasy X and Star Wars. When watching the trailer that was the first impression but when playing the actual game, it has Star Wars like elements but it maintains its on unique flare. The landscapes are lush and full of details. For example; there are plains that are dry and dessert like but after a couple of hours or ‘days’ this same area turns into a beautiful wetland area. Each stage is different from the last and the cut scenes are breathtaking. The score is classic. It fits the time setting and the range of moods is very well.

Funfactor

All the small things. Reading the Clan Primer is cool. As geeky as it sounds, this little section is chock full of fun little tid-bits into the world of Ivalice. There’s a great and rich history there and it can also be helpful. Also, mark hunting is a great way to take a quick or long, break from the main story.

Plasmafactor

Mist Abilities are heaven sent! Quickenings help out so much! It helps with the reflexes. They look great and each reflect the distinct personalities each character. Also, depending on the specific combination of peoples Quickenings, after the time runs out there is the culmination of these attacks into a great finale. The downside is that because there are different types of final attack outcomes, it could be easy for someone to do less damage to an enemy.

 

In The End

Final Fantasy XII is an innovative, alluring and overall gorgeous addition to the Final Fantasy Dynasty. This game has come alive and its epic tale is powerful and enticing. Its believable and yet unbelievable. These semi broken people coming together to fight is at the heart of the story and the heart of Ivalice itself. Despite some of the lesser attractive parts, Final Fantasy XII is a great buy that will last for years. If this is any indication for the future for the series, then it seems Square-Enix is headed for a bright, bright future.