FF XII is a much more mature game than the previous FF games. FFs from
X-2 below, all centered in simple plot lines, with a few plot changes,
or the common "Hidden Evil" that has been the center of 90% of FFs. FF
XII takes the thing to another level, it has a story that its more like
a critic to human beings, those who did the Fafnir Hunt may have
realized this. I understood this from the beginning of the game. I
realized that there was not going to be much character development,
since here, the final fight is not going to be a "giant boss", but
their hearts. They have their ideas setted from the beginning: Revenge,
Honor, Lust for power. But as the game goes on, you will see them
changing, entering in conflict, "evolving" in a certain way of
speaking. The story is not easy to follow, you have long dungeons, that
can be tiresome unless you use the map. The side quest like hunts that
are given all the time are also tiresome to some, even to the point of
boredom. (To me the whole game is great but thats my opinion, and has
nothing to do with what I was saying). Most of the complaints about the
game itself are the previous ones: no character development (that
actually is there); poor story (which most people dont understand due
to most likely age issues); boring battle system (I recommend using it
one or 2 spheres faster, besides, except for the fact that you dont hit
"Attack" anymore, the gameplay is turn-based; besides that, there is
the spell qeue later in the game).
The game has exellent graphics, though other games like The Legend of
Zelda: Twilight Princess has better graphics, but this issue is because
of it being on a less powerfull system. The music is right there.
Nothing catchy as in the old days, but the soundtracks have been fading
since VII and VIII. I still think that X and X-2 had the worst
soundtrack possible but that again, is my opinion. Along with it, one
has the option of turning 16:9 resolution on, allowing for nicer
graphics.
Effects, here we have lightning effects, dust, fire, water etc. Most of
them are awesome, especially when doing level 3 Quickenings, or using
the Espers specials. Magics also are good to look, mostly as usual, the
high level spells, such as scathe and holy. The weakest effect in the
whole game has to be water, and closely to it footsteps. Most likely
because having them in big areas such as the Nebra river area would
have slowed the game if a fight were to happen. Characters, this game
has the standard 6 character limit. But as in previous FF games, you
will have the company of thirds during certain moments of the story.
You can fully customize a character using "Gambits". Gambits are an
innovative system that basically is a programmable A.I. This is most
likely a tool used in previous FF for the enemies that controls their
behaviour in a fight. You start with the basic gambits. A gambit is
basically composed of 2 things: a situation and an action. The
situation varies, from "same target as leader" to "Self=Haste" or
"Foe=Reflect" and the actions are chosen from your available command.
Take it as a cause an effect.
Why did I said "available"? Easy, because you have to "unlock
everything for your character”. From skills and stats; to weapons and
armours. This system is called the "license" system. By defeating
enemies you gain AP (ability points). With this AP, each character can
learn whatever you choose, and by whatever, I mean anything. From
magics (magicks in the game) to quickenings (limit breaks), lances to
guns, etc. This means, that the more AP you gain, the stronger your
character can be. For a character to be strong, you need to level him
up as usual. But this alone wont help, leveling gives you a boost in
your stats, but its not that big of a boost. The biggest boost comes
from learning feats as "HP+100" or learning to equip new stuff. The
game stats, are mostly based on equipment, so the better your equipment
is the stronger the character can be. You will still need to level up
to gain more MP and HP though.
Espers, or commonly known summons. You can check early in the game how
many of them are in total (13). You will fight some during the main
story, but some others are secret, and are hidden in places that unless
you have a faq in hand, you will have to draw a map (damn you Ultima).
The bad thing about Espers, is that or you get them later in the game,
meaning your party is really powerfull, or you get them early. If you
get them early, and example would be Zeromus, that you can get after
Mt. Bur-Omisace, you will love him. He is a really strong Esper, and I
still use him even though I´m really high in level. Other Espers like
Belias or Mateus will be used momentarily, and left behind since they
will grow weak easily as you grow strong fast. The best idea for the
Espers comes from the strategic side. Decoy on them when in a tight
spot, keep healing them and Syphon them. That´s the smart way to use
them, since they have MP but dont use it. Another thing you can do is
use them as starters in a boss battle. You summon them, wait for the
time to go until they are almost gone, and enter, so as he enters, he
casts his especial. This is really a good thing when you have Zeromus
or Exodus.
Side quests are plentyfull. They consume some time too. The most easy
to find are the Hunts or Marks. This basically consist of reading a
bounty (as in the "old west"), be it on boards, or Montblanc; then
going to the requester and doing it. To complete them, you will have to
find and kill the monster. Sometimes, you will have to talk to some
other guys beside the requester to know how to find the mark, sometimes
you will have to wait for the weather to change, or find certain
person. The good thing about hunts is that they reward you with
equipment, sometimes its great equipment like for example the Masamune,
and with hard to get loot and lots of Gil. There are other kinds of
quest, like the Rare game quest and some other small side quest that
are not as important and could be considered mini games.
The combat system resembles that found in the old Final Fantasies turn
based system. You will have you ATB bar that will charge and once it
does an action will be executed. You can modify actions from your
gambits too, making the handling of you other members less trouble
some. The action that will be automatically executed is attack, so you
better watch out, since later on the game enemies will have different
stats and you will want to see who it is before attacking heads on. To
attack you will have the classic arsenal of spells from previous games,
though they will be divided in a sort of Final Fantansy V style. There
will be Black, White, Green, Arcana, etc Magicks that will have
corresponding spells. A big bummer though is the lack of some famous
spells like Ultima and Meteor, which are now the special attacks of 2
Espers. To be combined with that, you have Espers that were previously
described. Espers carry a Gambit of their own, so you should check that
out too, and as an extra point, not all Espers cast their specials by
time depletion, so you better experiment with them. Finally, your
arsenal is completed by your weapons. You will be able to equip swords,
shields, staffs, bows, guns, axes, lances, and some other stuff that
will help you progress through the game.
All in all, Final Fantasy XII is a game that changed the face of Final
Fantasy. Including a plot derived from Shakespeare works, a graphical
art as no other, a gorgeous setoff characters, suiting music for each
area and situation and a long main quest that will keep players
involved for hours to come. Final Fantasy XII carries the legacy of
Square Enix and gives a refreshing new face to a franchise that’s the
pillar of RPGs around the globe.
