Final Fantasy XII (Collector's Edition) (Sony PlayStation 2, 2006)

STORYLINE (18 out of 20)

The storyline is environment-oriented rather than character-oriented. This will upset some hardcore fans that were used to the romantic overtones of games like Final Fantasy VIII. The storyline is far less emotional than prior Final Fantasy titles and will tug less on the heart strings of players. However, the story has a unique flavor to it. First, the game is set in Ivalice, a world that Final Fantasy Tactics players will be somewhat familiar with. The story focuses on the fights of three rival kingdoms and includes bouts of war, peace, and deceit, including a rather complex coup in the making. The political overtone of the story makes up a major part of the focus, with pieces of emotional looks into the characters as a break from the bland and serious. Overall, the story consists of many different intertwining strings of stories, which makes for a very good game.


GAMEPLAY (17 out of 20)

The new Active Dimension Battle System is a coin toss for players. Many Final Fantasy players were generally used to the Active Time Battle system of the older games. Older players will remember that battles were randomized and the battlefield was very general and there was no movement involved in the field (except for the occasional changing of rows). The Active Dimension Battle System allows players to actually move around in the field, but it still retains the old gauge system of determining time in a battle.

Final Fantasy XII comes with a new concept known as the Gambit system. Under this system, you can assign your other party members commands with conditions to perform. The Gambit system allows players a lot of flexibility and the AI controlled party members follow through with the commands without a hitch. However, players can change their party memebers and still issue manual commands of the battlefield. Generally, this makes battling in Final Fantasy XII highly tactical in nature.

The downside is that the gameplay is generally very linear and, early in the game, getting from place to place involves a LOT of walking, which can prove to be tedious to some players. With the exception of side-quests, the game is very linear and does not allow too many options to change the order of the story--something that I believe is critical in RPGs.

Finally, Final Fantasy XII has a new system for learning abilities. Abilities and weapons (spells included) must now be purchased. Players must fill in a License Board to be able to equip certain weapons, armor, accessories, and spells. The board is filled using License Points, which are gained after defeating an enemy. Old time players will revel in the fact, however, that the game still uses the old experience point system to level up characters.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT (16 out of 20)

The game has little in the area of character development, but the game certainly boasts some very emotionally complex characters, torn apart by war and national loyalty. Characters are imaginative, but the focus of the story is on the environment--not the characters.

Overview:
Storyline (18/20)
Gameplay (17/20)
Character Development (16/20)
Graphics/Sound (18/20)
Replay Value (13/20)
Total: 82/100 = 4/5

I love it, I got drawn in instantly. Beautiful game on the PS2. Yes next gen games will make it look less amazing, but top notch for the ps2. Love the new move away from random battles, and with the Libra tecknick, you can gadge if you should fight or run past creatures. The new system takes some getting used to, but once you do, like with any FF game, it is smooth as silk. The fighting is great, the magic is cool, summons are a little different, not as useful as other FF games, and the quickenings are cool, once you know you have to chain them, to do any real damage. The gambits are great, once you get them all. Some Weapons are just too hard to get all the items to make in the bazzarr system. If you buy this game, get the gamers guidebook, or lookup the bazzar items on the internet, there is so much to unlock, be ready to spend over 100 hours of your life following the best story in any RPG in the past year. Of course the story is great it's a Final Fantasy, character development has always been a strongpoint for the series. The additional dvd of the history of FF is a great addition to the game. Please rate this reveiw, Thanks.

First, if you like random battles and think that any game without them should be burned, this isn't the game for you. FFXII is the first in the series without random battles. It's nice to be able to avoid a battle that you're not prepared for.

Graphics: The graphics will blow you away in typical FF style. The scenery is gorgeous and the movies are mind-blowing. This game takes the PS2 graphics as far as they can go.

Characters: The main character, Vaan, is somewhat standard, but the other 5 party members have rather intriguing backgrounds. The time Square-Enix put into character development was well worth the in-game result.

Battle System: As mentioned, there are no more random battles. The battle system is very easy to learn. It is real-time, not turn-based.

Playability: The game pushes you along the main quest while offering you some side quests and what are called mob hunts. A mob hunt is some beast that is causing someone trouble that, if you accept, you are hired to kill. This is a good way to make Gil (money) as Gil is hard to come by. You have to sell off loot dropped by or stolen from monsters.

Overall, FFXII definately lives up to the standards set by the previous games in the franchise. This game is well worth playing.

Final Fantasy fanatics will not want to pass this one up. Newcomers to the franchise will get just as much enjoyment from this one as the fanatics. I highly recommend this game to ANYONE who likes RPGs or the FF franchise!

The Final Fantasy XII starts fast and never slows down. The storyline of FFXII is great never a dull moment. Characters are somehow all related yet from different backgrounds different views. The new active battle system which they imported from FF XI is great !!! if you stick it around and get use to the games new battle system "Gambits" it just brings all new playing feeling from previous FF series. And the updated Summons !!! finally no more same summon character like ifrit or shiva well you know the names.. instead they sure did major update on summons and its more used as sidekick helper for few period of time in battle then a previous summon was powerful attacks spell cast.
overall this FF XII they really hit the spot on the next gen RPG. Kampai to those programmers in enix !!! and I would recommend this FF XII to new comers to the FF world !!! oh and I dont know if there is really a book related to the stories or quotes from the game if anyone with info give me a MSG

I am a very big final fantasy fan. This game is fantastic...assuming that you can get used to the new battle system. I had trouble doing this and still like the classic type. However, the gameplay, story, and characters are all fantastic. If you purchase this game you will find that you have a solid RPG and hours of fun!