Quick Look: Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

I'm Captain Basch Fon Ronsenburg of Dalmasca!

I actually got about 80% of the way through this game and never finished it (I checked, I was maybe two boss fights from the end). At 8 hours left I just couldn't grind any more. There was so much grinding....

Yeah I've never understood people buying into the whole Ivalice connections. Outside of a few marginal references XII didn't seem to have much in common with Tactics or Vagrant Story, and those games had cooler settings/atmosphere/aesthetics.

I love this game, it looks great remastered. I hope a PC version is released.

100% agreed. I had some really useful gambits setup, and farmed like mad to buy up all the options, but any given boss or mini-boss and they went right out the window. I always ended up doing what I do in any other difficult FF fight and controlling everything character-by-character with lots of pausing. Man, battles in this game were sooooo fun.

@gorkamorkaorka said:

Not really true, especially in IZJS/TZA. You might have some difficulty doing that during points in the story when your party is underpowered (the Ba'Gamnan "fight" for example, where you're "supposed" to run), but if you spend enough time setting up your Gambits, you can beat any of the ultimate bosses by just sitting back and watching. And I say especially in IZJS/TZA because it's actually far easier than the original version. They made all bosses (including the ultra super duper optional ones) vulnerable to Shear, Wither, Addle and Expose, which utterly trivialises them. In the original game, they were immune. Presumably this was done to ensure Breakers weren't near-useless, but it completely breaks the game in the process.

Vaan is the main character because he's an outsider to the larger stories of Ashe, Balthier and Basch, making him work better as an audience analogue. Telling the story from his perspective makes all the other stories seem larger, especially since this is where they converge. If any of them were the main, it would make their narrative more intimate and lessen the other two weakening the story as a whole.

A limited, personal perspective on a grander event is pretty much what Final Fantasy Tactics was about too.

My favorite FF beyond the SNES games. I love this game. I always felt that FF needed to get more complex like this and not more automated like FFXIII/FFXV.

Some misinformation about the License board differences here. Originally you didn't have classes and you customized your abilities starting from the part of the board with the default starting weapon for each character. In the international EU/JP version you could choose one class, and were limited to those abilities. In this version you choose one class initially, then beyond the first Esper battle you choose a second class for each character. The job system adds a great deal of tactics compared to the 'open' license boards of the original game, where you could learn anything and everything.

Worth noting that you don't have to play this game like an MMO/Dragon Age: Origins, you can choose to micromanage all actions. Also if you don't like Vaan or Penelo, the main characters involved in the actual story of the game are actually Basch and Ashe. You can ignore the street rats entirely, they have no real story arc beyond dreaming of being sky pirates.

@wolfgame: Japanese games get a great deal of respect among the GB office, if they do something to earn it. Breath of the Wild is a fine example of this. Valkyria Chronicles got high marks from Patrick and Austin, and the Fire Emblem games are generally well regarded by several GB staffers. And don't forget that Dan loves-loves-LOVES anything Kojima-related.

So no, Japanese games are not fighting an uphill battle for respect. The Final Fantasy games, though, fell into a rut (for myself and, apparently, many others) after FF 9, though. It's like Square Enix (were they still Squaresoft at that point) fell into this mentality of "we are not game developers, we're <i>artistes</i>" and that translated to "beautiful worlds and soundtracks" coupled with "game mechanics you need a spreadsheet to understand" and "storylines so convoluted and up their own butts that they're devouring themselves from the inside". :b

This looks great. I only got fifteen hours into it on the PS2 and really enjoyed it and I'm going to get this, though my brother is going to finish it first, unfortunately... I almost kind of wish this wasn't a Final Fantasy, or I don't know. To me, this is the kind of Final Fantasy I want to play just in terms of combat and the world. I am not sure about story and characters since I didn't get super far into it.

Yeah, the textures look archaic, but still, the art design was superb then, and still holds up now. There may not be music that signifies moments like combat, but that doesn't bother me, and it sounds great. Yeah, the voice work always sounded somewhat low quality despite its otherwise good voice work.

Damn, now that @rorie mentions it, Basch is totally doing Patreon funded travel documentaries now!

I've got a soft spot for FFXII, totally forgot I pre-ordered the remaster a few months ago and got a pleasant surprise when it landed on my doormat.

when is this out on pc

@dasakamov: FF9;s story is way more convoluted than FFX and especially more than XV or Bravely Default or I Am Setsuna or Nier Automata and the other newer stuff coming out of Square Enix. Also FF are like the least complicated RPG systems to come out of Japan. How did you get through 9's shit Trance system if somehow a turn order meter is supposed to "require a spreadsheet?"

I think I'm one of a small group of people who liked Vaan's stylised abs and the "bad" sound quality of the original.

Great game though, arguably the best in the series on balance.

@chacobo: Huh? Why are you implying FF9's trance system was complex? It's a meter that fills up as you do shit and take damage and then you do some flashy moves for a little while. It's not exactly rocket science, especially when so many FF games have something similar..

Sphere grids and gambits are definitely more complex systems.

@zeik: I mean that's kind of the point its similar in depth to everything but I knew so many people that didn't understand how to get through basic fights in those games while everything was way more explicitly explained and readable and information was available everywhere in later games.

The post they were responding too is the uphill battle a lot of Japanese games fight, and then responding to it with very, very little understanding of the games in question and dismissing it for that. That's never going to change here though.

This is my current game of the year. Of games I've played over 15 hours with, this has made me the happiest. Surprised and elated to hear that not just Rorie (whom I knew liked the original) but also Brad's enjoying it. This game is fantastic and I'm glad they're giving it a chance <3

I played through this entire game, but it's very long and I was playing it off and on, so it took me like six months or something ridiculous like that to beat it. Consequently I hardly knew what was going on in the story because after two weeks without playing it would forget a lot of what happened. But, the combat and exploration was very enjoyable and Balthier is great. Some of the best world-building in video games.

I never really understood why people called it a "single-player MMO". It functions pretty similarly to games like Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age, etc. with pause-issue-commands-unpause combat that's not possible in an MMO. Actually it seems more comparable to a Western-style RPG than a JRPG, except without much player choice in story. But then, I've never actually played any MMO, so what do I know.

Fun fact: My mom, around 60, played this game obsessively. After I showed it to her she started her own game and got way ahead of me in the story. She would play for like twelve hours at a time and still be playing at 4:00 am. Maybe not totally healthy. But, she enjoyed it.

When i talk about this game, i always see it as one of the weaker Final fantasies. But i can't deny that i spent a crazy amount of time with it. It's simply a satisfying game to complete quests in. The monster hunting aspect is also quite interesting, with certain enemies only spawning at certain weather. Apparently that system was lifted from FF11, but i haven't played that so i could be wrong.

And the speedboost mode is pobably the best update the game can have, since 90% of the battles are meaningless, while the world is gigantic. Would be cool to see Brad sticking with the game because i think he will appreciate the more mature storyline. Hope Vaan and Panelo (Worst FF pixiegirl) don't turn him off too much.

It's kind of annoying how small the cast is and yet only 3 of the characters feel like important plot central characters (Ashe, Bashe, Balthier). If the character focused plots of Final Fantasy are what you enjoy, this is not going to be your game. But there are some cool enemies. At least I remember the judges looking amazing and the world having a nice sense of scale.

Also props to the guy that made the original main menu. It was the most mindblowing menu i've seen on PS2 (It was this cutscene playing in the background)

It belongs on a PC.

You sure cause I definitely remember playing Zodiac version in English. I can't find my ps2 games since the move, but I'm sure it wasn't bootleg. I know it was english and had zodiac system plus the 2x speed

@alvarofaraujo: Yeah it was definitely Japan only. It used the English voice track though

Well the battle system in FF13 is the best of any RPG of anytime. This does look pretty fun though

As much as I'd like to see this come to PC, I don't know if I'd be anywhere close to paying $50 for it.

Still, I'd definitely like to play this version. I own the PS2 version but never started the game and at this point question if my PS2 is still fully functional. I'd rather have a few more pixels to work with regardless.

Oh hey look, it's the last JRPG I ever played. The one I hated so intensely that I decided I didn't like what JRPGs had become anymore.

Top 4 Final Fantasy for sure for me and excited to play a version that's supposedly way better than the original.

I really love IZJS and the fact that you can get two jobs in this version almost makes me want to play through it again despite only playing it for the first time early last year.

Everyone should give this a chance - even if (like me) you didn't actually like the original version!

I hate when people compare this game to an mmo. It still has an active time battle system like most of the previous FF games, the only difference is that you can move your characters around during battle. Even previous FFs had the option to pause the battle while you were selecting your moves.

also fun note, trying to remember what the battle system was called by googling abs Final Fantasy just brought up a million articles about vaan's abs.

"There needs to be a battle theme to be a FF"

"This isn't doing it for me"

You'll take your Sakimoto wonderment and like it, buddy!

It seems like you have very little understanding of my post in question. I said Japanese games do NOT have an uphill battle to fight, and gave specific examples of Japanese games which were positively received by the GB Staff -- and I even excluded the Paper Mario / Puyo Puyo games that Dan and Jeff absolutely adore. I then explicitly stated *my own personal opinion* on why I fell off the Final Fantasy wagon.

This remaster actually looks really nice, but if your game requires a 4x button, you might want to consider pacing!

Damn that's good music

@dasakamov: I said the post you were responding to, not that you said that. And I think opinions most often form from poor understanding and observation of the games in question when it comes to criticizing Japanese developed games.

Hmm, if you need to include a speed boost in your game that's a sign of a pretty serious problem. However, it looks like the speed boost improves the game quite a bit, so color me intrigued....!

The story, lore and gameplay for this game is great, there is pacing issue because you have to grind alot. I burned out from grinding and never finished the original release.

It is also hard, if you do not really set up your gambits correctly bosses will destroy you. Still looking forward to getting into this.

It's disheartening as a fan of this game to see so many people just not click with the combat system. I find the combat to be a lot of fun, and it's not as hands-off as it seems. The intro bosses are walk-throughs, you just need to HAVE gambits. Other bosses need some prep and contingencies or else you won't just idle through the fight. Managing your gambits and deciding your jobs are fun parts of the game.

My major critique is that managing the equipment and licenses could be a LOT more streamlined. You should be able to buy licenses through the vendor's menu rather than backing out to YOUR main menu and learning what you need, then going "oh wait, what was it I needed to learn, oh I can't learn that yet, wait, hang on..." It makes an already complicated system just feel clunky. But I still like the idea of licenses and the ways in which that lets you build your characters.

The grinding is either your bag or it ain't. With the 4x option, it should be super easy to grind the necessary amount of mats and levels, which isn't necessary to complete the game at all. If you want to experience the game's SHIT load of side content, then you'll need to grind for stuff for sure. The post-game bosses are insanely hard.

I remember being excited to play this game when I was a young, foolish child. Then it made me play as the stupid kid instead of the cool princess. Then all the voice acting sounded like they were speaking into cans. Then I got into a desert and was collecting junk loot and I realized a single-player MMO is the worst idea in the world. Then nearly every RPG that came after it started doing the same thing. Now I'm old and bitter.

This "remaster" looks completely awful. Wow, I can't believe the audio still sounds like trash. What are you paying for here?

Never finished a FF game, never liked 7 or 10 but this game actually looks good.

If you wonder if this comes to PC, one look at steam will answer your question. Square is porting all the FF games to steam. Just like the X/X-2 remaster, this will make it to PC after the PS4 exclusive.

I feel like the things Brad mentions as having been polarizing were actually pretty uncontroversial. I don't think people cared much about battle transitions or that FF12 wasn't set in it's own universe. It was really what you thought of the gambit system that determined whether you loved or hated this game.

Game owns

@mutha3: I might have ended up in some bubble, but the nr 1 talking point in the run up to this game was how it was going to be real time for the first time. People were wondering if it would be close to the cutscene action that FF was known for . The Ivalice connecton was mentioned, but i don't remember much controversy about that neither to be honest.

Afterwards, people were mostly talking about the gambit system and the MMO feel of the game. At least that's how i experienced that period.

The only FF games I've played are, in order I guess, Tactics Advance (the snowball one), Crisis Core, XIII, some of Type-0 (I always wanted it for PSP but it never released outside of Japan. I bought it for cheap when it came to PS4 but then Bloodborne came out and it's been on the shelf since) and XIV. Also Lost Odyssey and Bravely Default if their JRPGness is more specifically Final Fantasy like.

I suppose I don't really have a proper comment. I am interested in this one though.

And here begins the great downfall fall that is final fantasy

@bocckob: It is disappointing the voice acting still sounds so compressed. Guess they must not have the original files saved. :-/