Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - PlayStation 4

This is the first JRPG [or even RPG] in which I have *desired* to grind. The truly brilliant customizable gambit system makes my team of "leading" men and women a powerhouse of awesome, that work they way I want them to, while I can hit the speed-up option, enjoy the scenery, and the sweepingly beautiful John Williams-esque music. I'll often run between far locations rather than fast-travel. I repeat, this is unusual behavior for me. I usually hit that fast travel button quicker than you can say "where are we headed?". Ivalice is a place you want to stay and enjoy for as long as you can. There are a few things you should look into before playing so you have a plan/better understanding before charging ahead, as you will be better able to enjoy the systems when you understand how they work: the Zodiac job system and the gambit system. I lot of the gripes I see about this game refer to these two things. Do some reconnaissance, learn how to utilize them to your advantage, and be a powerhouse!!! Also, I walked into this game with the idea that Vaan (although I liked him well enough) was simply one of many main characters. His purpose is to be the one who asks questions so people explain things to us throughout the game. If I was stuck in the idea the he was "the" main character, I think I might have enjoyed the game a little less. (Besides, we all know that Balthier is the "leading man" hahaha) Each of your party is a main character in their own right, and each has a story, motivation, and plan unique to them. The deeper storylines, political intrigue, recurring guest party members, multiple main characters, great personalities (looking at you Balthier!), all make for an exciting, downright enjoyable romp in lovely Ivalice that you won't be able to forget anytime soon! Do yourself a favor, if you are on the fence, give it a try. I truly doubt you'll regret it.

Final Fantasy XII has always been an under appreciated classic, largely because it was an odd animal that was originally released towards the end of the great JRPG boom. Now that things have quieted down in JRPGs considerably this lovingly crafted classic has it's chance to shine brighter than ever. I'm sure a lot of work was done under the hood to get this remaster looking up to par for the PS4 but the original looked great and the biggest graphical changes apart from a resolution boost and enhanced widescreen are small fixes like removing Vaan's weird abs. Now, maybe you've played FFXII before and you're wondering "what's new for me here", the answer is that the majority of the changes are subtle and while it's more of a matter of remixing than anything it makes a world of difference. They've removed the original license grid and replaced it with 12 job based grids which force you to make hard and meaningful choices. No more can your characters all be shiny golden gods capable of doing everything at once, now you'll have to adopt new strategies, use new equipment you may have previously ignored, and choose your jobs carefully to maximize your characters abilities. Also there's a trial mode which offers wonderful new challenges and opens up brand new possibilities for breaking the game early on I can't recommend this game highly enough, particularly in this shiny new remaster. Yasumi Matsuno is a man with a love for deep RPG systems and complex political plots. Most would argue Final Fantasy Tactics is his masterpiece but I think there's a case to be made for Final Fantasy XII. The number of side quests and little interactions most people will miss are kind of astounding and make me long for the long gone days of obsessively crafted RPGs made by and for crazy people.

I remembered playing the original on the ps2 back in day when I was young and even then it was evolutionary for it's time. I couldn't play the international version that released exclusively in Japan. I'm glad Square Enix remastered it into the zodiac age for everyone to play! I enjoyed the gameplay like I did back then. Only this time with 12 new jobs to assign to 6 characters gives a fresh new play style every play through. Having a dual jobs system and the ability to change jobs anytime you like if you meet a certain moogle at a hunt clan (due to the latest patch update, both of which were not available in the international version of the game) makes it less stressful to decide what job to assign to who. In my honest opinion, this is one of the best final fantasy games out there next to final fantasy X and VII!

I bought this game for the good price and the great reviews from several sources (amazon, meta-critic), and because I wanted to fill the time before Pillars Of Eternity was released. Little did I know what I was getting into, this is no trivial, pansy romp like Dungeon Siege III. The game is huge, the reviews alluded to this but it wasn't until my character bought the maps for all the regions did I realize the amazing chains of areas linked together, in 3 different directions E, W and S. I am only 7 hours into it and I am already overwhelmed. There are several features that are quirky but ultimately part of the charm of this deceptively large game. The battle system is different than any other RPG I've played, part turn based, part FFXII craziness. You'll have to experience it to fully understand what I'm talking about. Equipment is "equipped" by obtaining license points in battle and you buy a license with these points which is definitely something I've never seen in an RPG before. It is slow going in the beginning, you won't die often if you're smart and retreat once and a while, but there are just some beasts you're not going to defeat until you've got your level and equipment up to speed. Yes this is something you can say about EVERY RPG in the universe BUT in this one but this levelling is sort of sanctioned via all of the licensing going on which is very, very unique. Graphics are beautiful having been ported from the PS2 version, and again unique. It has a real PS2 feel but beefed up. I recommend this game to anyone who wants to jump into an RPG for the first time or even the 70th time, you'll love the old school JRPG feel yet with the up to date firmware of the PS4.

So this is a remake of the PS2 game FFXII. The graphics look a little nicer of course, but there are several quality of life improvements. Gone are things like "if you look at this chest sideways, much less open it, you'll never see the Zodiac Spear". There are job classes (only 12) that you choose (though they can be changed) which determine your license boards. This adds a element of strategy as opposed to "everyone has access to everything so pick your favorite three characters (or the best three) and use them all the time". It adds a small amount of challenge to the game over the original. Overall it's just a better version of the original PS2 game that I recommend over the original (and I have played the original). It's combat system (in Gambits) is a departure from the previous FF games in the series as it moves away from turn based combat and instead delivers a more real time experience. You can choose to ignore the Gambit system, but it's not recommended you do that. The story is fairly solid, (and no it is NOT a copy of Star Wars story), and most of the characters, for what little personality they are given, are likeable. Overall it's a game that you'll get a great deal of playtime out of, especially if you're a competitionist as there's a lot to do, explore, and discover.

I absolutely love this game. It's magnificent. It's a masterpiece. This version is no different, plus it introduces the Zodiac system which, for better or worse, forces you to diversify your units rather than make them all eventual jacks of all trades. The gameplay is great, there's plenty to do, and it ranks up there with some of the best Final Fantasy games of all time. THAT SAID, this feels like a slightly lazy update. The graphical upscaling is nice, but it's just that, a direct upscale of models. Textures, as far as I can tell, haven't been touched, so the fine details in all of the models are pretty meh, as they've been simply run through some sort of upscaling algorithm that makes a lot of the larger textures look like they're being viewed through a stained glass window. I'll give points to Square for redoing the UI completely though - it looks very nice on an HD screen. That said, the graphical fidelity found in the actual gameplay could be reached (maybe even surpassed) with a capable enough computer and an emulator, so it's a bit disappointing. Movie scenes look good enough. I'm not sure how they've been remastered, but they're presented in ultrawide and get the job done. Audio has been remastered in 7.1. I haven't compared the original vs remake side by side, but the remake sounds great - especially the orchestral tracks. In a world of loving remakes, where everything, from top to bottom, is completely reworked, the Zodiac Age remake stands out as passable, but not phenomenal. The audio, UI, and gameplay changes are certainly welcome, but the fact they put so little work in updating textures in a game that retails at about half the price of a new game is a tiny bit disappointing. I'd rate it a 4.5 if I had the ability to rate half stars, considering the gameplay is still excellent.

I played all of the pre FFVII games and then played FFVII. It was, and remains, my favorite FF game. I tried FFVIII and IX and X but they just didn't have the appeal for me. I read some reviews of FF games as I await the remake for FFVII. Those reviews put this one as the best game in the series, so I gave it a shot. It has a very engaging story! It doesn't feel like too much of a grind, although there are some grindy elements, and it really does get you to care about the characters and the story. The individual characters maybe don't have much of an arc but you get to know them enough that you are interested. I actually like that you don't get too indepth with "here is their full story." The job system is so cool and it is awesome that they let you choose 2 jobs rather than just 1 eventually. The gambit system that allows fairly automatic combat is really fun to mess with and figure out the best combinations. Definitely a recommended play for any fan of Japanese RPGs and the FF series!

I don't usually do reviews, but this game is amazing. I am replaying the game. It has always been one of my favorites. It's from the same guy who did FF Tactics and Vagrant Story. The games from him are really an acquired taste, but they are so deep and rich in the battle system that they suck you in and don't let go. They lend to beating a hundred hour game multiple times. This is definitely the best version of this game, as it lets you do 4k , has upgraded texture and soundtrack, and has the fast forward mode that so many love. In a rom you can have all of these things, but they are gimped versions of them(plus dont play roms unless you own the game). The fast forward is fully integrated here, it doesn't affect the sound, and it works well as a toggle and feels like part of the actual game controls, instead of an overlay. You can tell love and care was put into both the original game itself, but surprisingly the remaster of the game. Everything has been remixed to improve the challenge and level the gameplay. 5/5