final fantasy XII
" 'the gods do not smile upon us.'
'i like it better that way.' "
final fantasy XII
publisher: square enix
platform tested: playstation 2
other platforms available: none
number of players: 1
genre: japanese styled rpg
year of release: 2006
prequels/sequels (original platform listed):
final fantasy (1987, nes)
final fantasy II (1988, nes)
final fantasy III (1989, nes)
final fantasy IV (1991, snes)
final fantasy V (1993, snes)
final fantasy VI (1994, snes)
final fantasy VII (1997, psx, has spawned numerous spin-offs)
final fantasy VIII (1999, psx)
final fantasy IX (2000, psx)
final fantasy X (2001, ps2)
final fantasy XI (2002, ps2, online mode only)
final fantasy X-2 (2003, ps2)
final fantasy XII (2006, ps2)
final fantasy XIII (2007/2008, ps3)
final fantasy versus XIII (2007/2008, ps3)
final fantasy agito XIII (2007/2008, cellphone)
plot
wedged between the two massive empires of archadia and rozarria, the small kingdom of dalmasca soon finds itself becoming a pawn in international politics. on the wedding day of princess ashelia of dalmasca the kingdom is invaded by archadia. forced to retaliate, ashelia's husband goes to lead the defense of the last major fort still holding ground against the imperial troops. the battle is however futile and when forced to retreat the future king is killed by a stray arrow. the present king is also killed soon thereafter by a traitor in the midst of the dalmascan army called basch. for all intents and purposes, dalmasca is now a subject of the archadian empire. with the reported suicide of princess ashelia there is no one left in the royal family to put any legitimate claims to the throne.
two years later the capital city of dalmasca, rabanastre, is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new consul. as it turns out the consul is the heir to the archadian throne. vaan, a teenage orphan living on the streets of rabanastre, has his own reasons to hate the empire since his brother was killed in the invasion. dreaming of becoming a sky pirate he plans to break into the royal treasury during the arrival of the consul to start financing a ship of his own. in the palace however he runs into real sky pirate balthier and his partner fran who had the same idea as vaan. they flee together through the sewers where they meet up with a leader of the dalmascan resistance. after being caught and sent of to jail, vaan and the others learn that the resistance leader is none other than the proclaimed dead princess ashelia. things start getting even stranger when they during their escape from the prison find a battered man in a cage claiming that he is basch, the traitor who killed the king. the group soon realizes that they've unintentionally stumbled into a game of deadly international intrigue...
graphics
a mixed bag. much of dalmasca consists of deserts and making deserts interesting environments is hard work, which the game in all fairness doesn't manage to pull off. the other environments are much better, from the dense golmore jungles to the busy streets of rabanastre. especially the cities impressed me, since if you look around you can see small details in the architecture that are really well done and probably will be passed by most players. the game has a major flaw in the color scheme used though. all the colors are a little too pale, a little too brown and ochre. apparently, this was used to create a more realistic feel to the game, but frankly, i prefer the more cartoonish style settings of previous installments in the series. also, while the enemy design is generally well done, it sometimes get a wee bit too repetitive and uninspired. i think there are about ten variations of wolves in the game. just different colors and maybe some kind of strange attribute but still using the same template. but credits should be given to the art direction which rivals the box office hits of hollywood. such detail in something so seemingly mundane as clothing is a rare thing indeed to find in a game. the cut-scenes are breathtakingly beautiful and directed with real mastery but i wanted a bit more of them.
sound
sound in general and music in particular have always been strong trademarks of the final fantasy saga. this is only a half-truth concerning this game. the sound design is amazing and real thought and a lot of hard work has been spent on this area. just listen to the thump when one of the giant dragons fall to ground or the sound of insects in the forest areas and you'll get what i mean. the music however is not up to par with regular standards of the series. hitoshi sakimoto, the composer, can't fill the shoes of his predecessors and especially not nobuo uematsu who has only composed one piece for this soundtrack. with the exception of final fantasy x-2 (2003) all the games in series since final fantasy VI (1994) have had great major themes that have run through the games in various constellations and variations. this is not the case here. i can't actually even hum a single strain of melody from this game even though i finished it just last night. that's not a good sign. needless to say, this is one soundtrack i won't get.
gameplay
if you're interested in video games you've probably heard all about the death of the atb battle system by now. for those of you not that interested the atb system was the battle system of choice for a long, long time in the world of final fantasy. it basically used random encounters to prompt a battle and well there you got to choose from various commands in menus. simple and a good compromise with older systems that couldn't handle more complex battle systems. for some reason, nostalgia perhaps, the system was kept until this game. now you actually see your enemy before engaging in battle and can choose to avoid them altogether. thank you. this called for a major overhaul in the fighting system which has been done with the so called "gambit system". the system gives the player various slots to fill commands in. your character then performs these actions unless told otherwise. basically, you constantly program and re-program your character's actions to fit the situation. it works surprisingly well for regular battles but as soon as you encounter any difficult foe you'll probably want to command your characters manually again. this also works fine and the system is actually a minor revolution in the genre as such.
of course, there are annoyances with the gameplay too. one major annoyance is the introduction of licenses. basically, in each fight you earn license points. these points can then be spent on a board to gain access (or "license") to use various equipment or magic. the problem is that this license board never gets very interesting to develop. the sphere grid in final fantasy x (2001) was a winning example of this sort of system since you basically could mold your character in different directions. the license board is small enough to basically give all your characters the same abilities which doesn't really encourage strategic thinking. another minor annoyance is that all the chests in the game are randomized, i.e. you never know what you'll get when you open one up. to get certain items you'll have to reset and try the chest again. and again. and again. needless to say, i just didn't bother after a while.
back on the positive side, the mini-games and side quests are more diverse and fun this time than they have been in the recent games. take the "hunts" for instance in which you check a board at your local pub to see if anyone needs help with a monster pestering them. accept the challenge, go see the petitioner and experience a little in-game drama as well as get valuable loot. beats blitz ball any day.
script
the key element to any final fantasy game is the script. after saving the world (worlds) countless times i'm glad to say that i didn't have to do it again. just saving a kingdom. well, you take what you can. no, but in all fairness, this is the best script a game in the series has had to offer - at least for 75% of the storyline. it starts out as a wonderful game of cat and mouse in the political and military worlds. no gods, no evil i-want-to-destroy-the-world-because-i-can villains and no true evil empire. the evil presented in the script of final fantasy XII is a more personal and individual evil than presented in the previous installments. basically, countries or folk groups aren't evil, persons are. it's a really exciting and actually kind of dark story that's presented. that is until the gods, the ever meddling gods, have to get a word in. and suddenly the carefully constructed plot comes tumbling down and in the end just left me with a sense of compromise.
also, while the tone of the graphics are more realistic than before the characters are made to be so as well. this is both good and bad. i loved not having to endure another mary sue or hero like tidus, but i realized after a while that these type of over the top characters actually are needed to pull off a story like the ones presented in your regular final fantasy game. everything else is so over the top that the characters have to roll with the punches or just fade into the background. the only two characters i felt for in some way (among the playable characters that is) was the sky pirate balthier with his dry wit and funny one-liners and his partner, the girl with the bunny ears, fran. these are also the two characters that are over the top. balthier is basically a little more down to earth version of jack sparrow in the pirates of the caribbean franchise and fran is a deadly femme fatale who steals the show just by her looks. the other main characters are just a pale mix of standard supporting characters from previous games. vaan is tidus without the annoying streak, basch is auron with a blander design, ashe is every female main protagonist ever made and so on.
the script also borrows heavily from alternate sources of inspiration. in many aspects this is final fantasy goes star wars. the similarities are too many to list and while they're usually kept in the background some parts of the game (such as a battle close to the end) is almost a carbon copy of the final battle in return of the jedi (1983). there are far worse sources of inspiration than star wars but they could've concealed it a bit better.
overall
yes, i've complained about a lot of things above, but how does it hold up as a unity? very well actually. the annoyances are there, sure, and i wished for better characterizations and a better finish to the script, but other than that this is a game you can't afford to miss. the introduction of the new battle system, the more serious style of writing and the production values are so great that this has to be experienced. an excellent, if not perfect, game.
good stuff: excellent production values, good gameplay, huge world, lots to do, an amazing story...
bad stuff:...which fades towards the end, bland music and character design
rating: 8,5/10
'i like it better that way.' "
final fantasy XII
publisher: square enix
platform tested: playstation 2
other platforms available: none
number of players: 1
genre: japanese styled rpg
year of release: 2006
prequels/sequels (original platform listed):
final fantasy (1987, nes)
final fantasy II (1988, nes)
final fantasy III (1989, nes)
final fantasy IV (1991, snes)
final fantasy V (1993, snes)
final fantasy VI (1994, snes)
final fantasy VII (1997, psx, has spawned numerous spin-offs)
final fantasy VIII (1999, psx)
final fantasy IX (2000, psx)
final fantasy X (2001, ps2)
final fantasy XI (2002, ps2, online mode only)
final fantasy X-2 (2003, ps2)
final fantasy XII (2006, ps2)
final fantasy XIII (2007/2008, ps3)
final fantasy versus XIII (2007/2008, ps3)
final fantasy agito XIII (2007/2008, cellphone)
plot
wedged between the two massive empires of archadia and rozarria, the small kingdom of dalmasca soon finds itself becoming a pawn in international politics. on the wedding day of princess ashelia of dalmasca the kingdom is invaded by archadia. forced to retaliate, ashelia's husband goes to lead the defense of the last major fort still holding ground against the imperial troops. the battle is however futile and when forced to retreat the future king is killed by a stray arrow. the present king is also killed soon thereafter by a traitor in the midst of the dalmascan army called basch. for all intents and purposes, dalmasca is now a subject of the archadian empire. with the reported suicide of princess ashelia there is no one left in the royal family to put any legitimate claims to the throne.
two years later the capital city of dalmasca, rabanastre, is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new consul. as it turns out the consul is the heir to the archadian throne. vaan, a teenage orphan living on the streets of rabanastre, has his own reasons to hate the empire since his brother was killed in the invasion. dreaming of becoming a sky pirate he plans to break into the royal treasury during the arrival of the consul to start financing a ship of his own. in the palace however he runs into real sky pirate balthier and his partner fran who had the same idea as vaan. they flee together through the sewers where they meet up with a leader of the dalmascan resistance. after being caught and sent of to jail, vaan and the others learn that the resistance leader is none other than the proclaimed dead princess ashelia. things start getting even stranger when they during their escape from the prison find a battered man in a cage claiming that he is basch, the traitor who killed the king. the group soon realizes that they've unintentionally stumbled into a game of deadly international intrigue...
graphics
a mixed bag. much of dalmasca consists of deserts and making deserts interesting environments is hard work, which the game in all fairness doesn't manage to pull off. the other environments are much better, from the dense golmore jungles to the busy streets of rabanastre. especially the cities impressed me, since if you look around you can see small details in the architecture that are really well done and probably will be passed by most players. the game has a major flaw in the color scheme used though. all the colors are a little too pale, a little too brown and ochre. apparently, this was used to create a more realistic feel to the game, but frankly, i prefer the more cartoonish style settings of previous installments in the series. also, while the enemy design is generally well done, it sometimes get a wee bit too repetitive and uninspired. i think there are about ten variations of wolves in the game. just different colors and maybe some kind of strange attribute but still using the same template. but credits should be given to the art direction which rivals the box office hits of hollywood. such detail in something so seemingly mundane as clothing is a rare thing indeed to find in a game. the cut-scenes are breathtakingly beautiful and directed with real mastery but i wanted a bit more of them.
sound
sound in general and music in particular have always been strong trademarks of the final fantasy saga. this is only a half-truth concerning this game. the sound design is amazing and real thought and a lot of hard work has been spent on this area. just listen to the thump when one of the giant dragons fall to ground or the sound of insects in the forest areas and you'll get what i mean. the music however is not up to par with regular standards of the series. hitoshi sakimoto, the composer, can't fill the shoes of his predecessors and especially not nobuo uematsu who has only composed one piece for this soundtrack. with the exception of final fantasy x-2 (2003) all the games in series since final fantasy VI (1994) have had great major themes that have run through the games in various constellations and variations. this is not the case here. i can't actually even hum a single strain of melody from this game even though i finished it just last night. that's not a good sign. needless to say, this is one soundtrack i won't get.
gameplay
if you're interested in video games you've probably heard all about the death of the atb battle system by now. for those of you not that interested the atb system was the battle system of choice for a long, long time in the world of final fantasy. it basically used random encounters to prompt a battle and well there you got to choose from various commands in menus. simple and a good compromise with older systems that couldn't handle more complex battle systems. for some reason, nostalgia perhaps, the system was kept until this game. now you actually see your enemy before engaging in battle and can choose to avoid them altogether. thank you. this called for a major overhaul in the fighting system which has been done with the so called "gambit system". the system gives the player various slots to fill commands in. your character then performs these actions unless told otherwise. basically, you constantly program and re-program your character's actions to fit the situation. it works surprisingly well for regular battles but as soon as you encounter any difficult foe you'll probably want to command your characters manually again. this also works fine and the system is actually a minor revolution in the genre as such.
of course, there are annoyances with the gameplay too. one major annoyance is the introduction of licenses. basically, in each fight you earn license points. these points can then be spent on a board to gain access (or "license") to use various equipment or magic. the problem is that this license board never gets very interesting to develop. the sphere grid in final fantasy x (2001) was a winning example of this sort of system since you basically could mold your character in different directions. the license board is small enough to basically give all your characters the same abilities which doesn't really encourage strategic thinking. another minor annoyance is that all the chests in the game are randomized, i.e. you never know what you'll get when you open one up. to get certain items you'll have to reset and try the chest again. and again. and again. needless to say, i just didn't bother after a while.
back on the positive side, the mini-games and side quests are more diverse and fun this time than they have been in the recent games. take the "hunts" for instance in which you check a board at your local pub to see if anyone needs help with a monster pestering them. accept the challenge, go see the petitioner and experience a little in-game drama as well as get valuable loot. beats blitz ball any day.
script
the key element to any final fantasy game is the script. after saving the world (worlds) countless times i'm glad to say that i didn't have to do it again. just saving a kingdom. well, you take what you can. no, but in all fairness, this is the best script a game in the series has had to offer - at least for 75% of the storyline. it starts out as a wonderful game of cat and mouse in the political and military worlds. no gods, no evil i-want-to-destroy-the-world-because-i-can villains and no true evil empire. the evil presented in the script of final fantasy XII is a more personal and individual evil than presented in the previous installments. basically, countries or folk groups aren't evil, persons are. it's a really exciting and actually kind of dark story that's presented. that is until the gods, the ever meddling gods, have to get a word in. and suddenly the carefully constructed plot comes tumbling down and in the end just left me with a sense of compromise.
also, while the tone of the graphics are more realistic than before the characters are made to be so as well. this is both good and bad. i loved not having to endure another mary sue or hero like tidus, but i realized after a while that these type of over the top characters actually are needed to pull off a story like the ones presented in your regular final fantasy game. everything else is so over the top that the characters have to roll with the punches or just fade into the background. the only two characters i felt for in some way (among the playable characters that is) was the sky pirate balthier with his dry wit and funny one-liners and his partner, the girl with the bunny ears, fran. these are also the two characters that are over the top. balthier is basically a little more down to earth version of jack sparrow in the pirates of the caribbean franchise and fran is a deadly femme fatale who steals the show just by her looks. the other main characters are just a pale mix of standard supporting characters from previous games. vaan is tidus without the annoying streak, basch is auron with a blander design, ashe is every female main protagonist ever made and so on.
the script also borrows heavily from alternate sources of inspiration. in many aspects this is final fantasy goes star wars. the similarities are too many to list and while they're usually kept in the background some parts of the game (such as a battle close to the end) is almost a carbon copy of the final battle in return of the jedi (1983). there are far worse sources of inspiration than star wars but they could've concealed it a bit better.
overall
yes, i've complained about a lot of things above, but how does it hold up as a unity? very well actually. the annoyances are there, sure, and i wished for better characterizations and a better finish to the script, but other than that this is a game you can't afford to miss. the introduction of the new battle system, the more serious style of writing and the production values are so great that this has to be experienced. an excellent, if not perfect, game.
good stuff: excellent production values, good gameplay, huge world, lots to do, an amazing story...
bad stuff:...which fades towards the end, bland music and character design
rating: 8,5/10