Frustratingly good. For every great idea this game has, it has another terrible one to bring it back down. A troubled development process and shipping unfinished seem to be the story all the games in this series share, but you can truly feel the passion the developers had for this game and Ivalice in general.
As a disclaimer, I played this game with the "Final Fantasy XII TZA: Classic Mode" mod, which restores practically everything from the original PS2 release while keeping all of the quality of life from The Zodiac Age, which I highly recommend playing personally.
Before commenting anything about the game itself, Square Enix did an excellent job remastering this game; it's one of the best-looking PS2-era games already, and it looks even better in The Zodiac Age. The fast forward functions are a godsend, as are the improved loading times. These combined can save about 20 hours that you spend walking or loading on the PS2 version. Combined with the existence of the Classic Mode mod, this is the definitive way to play the game on PC, regardless of whether you prefer the original balancing or job system.
This game has some of the best English localization of any game I've played and is combined with fantastic voice acting. Unfortunately, the audio is quite low quality, and it isn't improved in the remaster, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the great dialogue. Gone are the typical tropey anime writing you tend to see in a lot of other JRPGs to be replaced by classical Victorian-era vernacular, and it's spectacular.
However, even with the great writing, the plot points were stretched too thin in the middle of the game to make the game feel grander than it is. To pinpoint an exact part of the game where the story falls apart, it would be after the final Mt. Bur-Omisace visit halfway through the game, where you're asked to walk across the map with very little plot or cutscenes outside of some minor character exposition. The game never comes back from the lowered focus on the story until the very end, after the point of no return, where I felt the game forgot its own tone it set. The characters ended up being too one-note and underdeveloped, with most of them existing for the sake of driving someone else's character arc, though I still enjoyed their dialogue between each other, and liked Ashe, Balthier, and Basch, who feel like the closest to main protagonists.
Nevertheless, I found the intro and credits sequence to be excellent, while the middle of the game had a lot of low points. The music being great is just a Final Fantasy standard, and the ambient tracks were the star of the show for this game. However, I felt like the lack of combat music for normal fights took a lot of intensity out of the game, though I did get why they did it to make the game feel more seamless.
The worst part of the game is how slow it is to play. This game has an excessive amount of walking in it, to the point of having a step counter in the menu. While it isn't a true open world, it's made up of many interconnected zones that have a loading screen in between, which is perfectly fine except for the fact that you walk incredibly slowly and there's no run button outside of Chocobo's in a select few locations. It would also be more bearable if most of the environments weren't just long hallways, deserts, or flatlands. The remedy for this run button is the 2x/4x speed, but I find that more of a band-aid fix than a substitute because it just feels like your time is being wasted exploring the same environments at a snail's pace. The combat also feels incredibly slow. In the beginning, when you do not have many skills, there isn't much you can do other than watch the combat animations and fill the ATB bar, which takes forever even with max battle speed in the settings. 2x with max battle speed on Active Mode is what I recommend for most of the battles in the game outside of boss fights since you do not need to perform many actions if you have your gambits set up properly.
As for the combat itself, it's very unique, but I can see why no game really replicates it. The most apt description I can give of it is that it is very similar to a tab-target game with a long global cooldown like FFXI or FFXIV. Where it differs is in your control of your party members and how you can automate nearly everything in the game with the gambit system, which makes the game feel more akin to a tower defense game where you set your parameters beforehand and then watch your strategy play out. I found the combat most enjoyable when fighting the bosses because you had to adjust your gambits for all of them because usually a simple attack and heal when low setup wouldn't suffice, so you have to find their weaknesses and vulnerabilities to status effects. Though, by the end of the game, I did feel like it did get too easy with you being able to easily stack every status buff before battles with the amount of gambit slots you get, and there was little need to adjust my setup, which is the whole gameplay loop. I also found fighting the normal enemies very boring, as they usually don't pose any challenges, so it's mostly just watching the battle animations play out, so I would recommend fast-forwarding on those parts.
This is a game that lives or dies based on its balancing. The Zodiac Age ends up being too easy, especially when you get two jobs, and that leads the game to play itself with no effort or grinding, while I found the original PS2 version to be much better balanced and offer proper challenges to bosses. It's even arguable that this is the most challenging Final Fantasy game if you don't grind, though that's not much of a high bar, and the game's balancing is easily broken by the end of the game once you get a proper gambit setup going and have access to a majority of the skills.
The other main difference between the PS2 release and The Zodiac Age is the addition of jobs. In the PS2 version, every character shares the same license board (this game's version of a skill tree), but they all start with slightly different skills matching their default armor and weapons. By the end of the game, all the characters have access to nearly all the same weapons, skills, and armor, which some may dislike, but I ended up preferring it since you can completely change your characters on the fly without them having any set roles or having them specialize in different areas. For example, I had Penelo be a mage with high evasion and mystic armor that focused on using white magic with her gambits, while I had Basch be a tank with an axe that focused on buffing himself and drawing aggro away from the rest of the team. Nothing stops you from switching them around if needed, which means you are very adaptable and aren't reliant on any character specifically. On the contrary, The Zodiac Age went with a more conventional job system where you pick two of the twelve classes for your character to specialize in; these jobs would have smaller, more focused license boards that only allow you to use certain weapons and magick compared to the adaptability of the original. The job system seems like it was in the original vision of the game, but due to time constraints they couldn't implement it properly it. Even so, I'm not a fan of the way it's implemented, as it seems the game is balanced completely around everyone having access to anything. The Classic Mode mod also restores the summoning animations for Espers, which adds some flavor to them if they are a bit too long and the summons themselves are not really worth using. The Quickenings also have some of the best animations in the series but also have the same issues as the summon system.
In retrospect, it honestly is impressive how expansive this game is, however oversized it may be. There are so many locations, and the dungeons are so diverse. If you enjoyed the gameplay loop, this game has the highest quantity of side content, with the main focus being hunts. These operate similarly to the Monster Hunter games, where you have to find some kind of enemy to slay in the overworld with information given to you by a bill. These hunts have some of the most challenging boss fights in the game and can give you some of the best items in the game, though by the end I did start feeling like they got way too tedious with the amount of backtracking you have to do for some of them as well as having to go back and forth to people to turn the hunt in. You can definitely see the MMO elements that remained in the game from when it was planned to be one. This is even confirmed by the producer in an old IGN interview where they said: "Back in 2000, when Final Fantasy X, XI, and XII were originally announced as being in the planning stages, X was announced as an offline game while XI onwards would be online games. Obviously, in the process of developing Final Fantasy XII, that changed—it is, of course, an offline game that we have now."
This game is a strange game to recommend because there are a lot of parts that have merit, but at the same time, I can fully understand how people may say the game is boring or a waste of your time. I would say it's only worth playing if you want a slower, more grounded Final Fantasy with a world you can fully engross yourself in, full of things to explore. A game about where the characters aren't the main focus, even lacking a true main protagonist entirely. Instead, it's a return to form for the older games that had a focus on mechanics and role-playing over a finely woven narrative. Final Fantasy XII dares to be different, and that is something I can respect.
As a disclaimer, I played this game with the "Final Fantasy XII TZA: Classic Mode" mod, which restores practically everything from the original PS2 release while keeping all of the quality of life from The Zodiac Age, which I highly recommend playing personally.
Before commenting anything about the game itself, Square Enix did an excellent job remastering this game; it's one of the best-looking PS2-era games already, and it looks even better in The Zodiac Age. The fast forward functions are a godsend, as are the improved loading times. These combined can save about 20 hours that you spend walking or loading on the PS2 version. Combined with the existence of the Classic Mode mod, this is the definitive way to play the game on PC, regardless of whether you prefer the original balancing or job system.
This game has some of the best English localization of any game I've played and is combined with fantastic voice acting. Unfortunately, the audio is quite low quality, and it isn't improved in the remaster, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the great dialogue. Gone are the typical tropey anime writing you tend to see in a lot of other JRPGs to be replaced by classical Victorian-era vernacular, and it's spectacular.
However, even with the great writing, the plot points were stretched too thin in the middle of the game to make the game feel grander than it is. To pinpoint an exact part of the game where the story falls apart, it would be after the final Mt. Bur-Omisace visit halfway through the game, where you're asked to walk across the map with very little plot or cutscenes outside of some minor character exposition. The game never comes back from the lowered focus on the story until the very end, after the point of no return, where I felt the game forgot its own tone it set. The characters ended up being too one-note and underdeveloped, with most of them existing for the sake of driving someone else's character arc, though I still enjoyed their dialogue between each other, and liked Ashe, Balthier, and Basch, who feel like the closest to main protagonists.
Nevertheless, I found the intro and credits sequence to be excellent, while the middle of the game had a lot of low points. The music being great is just a Final Fantasy standard, and the ambient tracks were the star of the show for this game. However, I felt like the lack of combat music for normal fights took a lot of intensity out of the game, though I did get why they did it to make the game feel more seamless.
The worst part of the game is how slow it is to play. This game has an excessive amount of walking in it, to the point of having a step counter in the menu. While it isn't a true open world, it's made up of many interconnected zones that have a loading screen in between, which is perfectly fine except for the fact that you walk incredibly slowly and there's no run button outside of Chocobo's in a select few locations. It would also be more bearable if most of the environments weren't just long hallways, deserts, or flatlands. The remedy for this run button is the 2x/4x speed, but I find that more of a band-aid fix than a substitute because it just feels like your time is being wasted exploring the same environments at a snail's pace. The combat also feels incredibly slow. In the beginning, when you do not have many skills, there isn't much you can do other than watch the combat animations and fill the ATB bar, which takes forever even with max battle speed in the settings. 2x with max battle speed on Active Mode is what I recommend for most of the battles in the game outside of boss fights since you do not need to perform many actions if you have your gambits set up properly.
As for the combat itself, it's very unique, but I can see why no game really replicates it. The most apt description I can give of it is that it is very similar to a tab-target game with a long global cooldown like FFXI or FFXIV. Where it differs is in your control of your party members and how you can automate nearly everything in the game with the gambit system, which makes the game feel more akin to a tower defense game where you set your parameters beforehand and then watch your strategy play out. I found the combat most enjoyable when fighting the bosses because you had to adjust your gambits for all of them because usually a simple attack and heal when low setup wouldn't suffice, so you have to find their weaknesses and vulnerabilities to status effects. Though, by the end of the game, I did feel like it did get too easy with you being able to easily stack every status buff before battles with the amount of gambit slots you get, and there was little need to adjust my setup, which is the whole gameplay loop. I also found fighting the normal enemies very boring, as they usually don't pose any challenges, so it's mostly just watching the battle animations play out, so I would recommend fast-forwarding on those parts.
This is a game that lives or dies based on its balancing. The Zodiac Age ends up being too easy, especially when you get two jobs, and that leads the game to play itself with no effort or grinding, while I found the original PS2 version to be much better balanced and offer proper challenges to bosses. It's even arguable that this is the most challenging Final Fantasy game if you don't grind, though that's not much of a high bar, and the game's balancing is easily broken by the end of the game once you get a proper gambit setup going and have access to a majority of the skills.
The other main difference between the PS2 release and The Zodiac Age is the addition of jobs. In the PS2 version, every character shares the same license board (this game's version of a skill tree), but they all start with slightly different skills matching their default armor and weapons. By the end of the game, all the characters have access to nearly all the same weapons, skills, and armor, which some may dislike, but I ended up preferring it since you can completely change your characters on the fly without them having any set roles or having them specialize in different areas. For example, I had Penelo be a mage with high evasion and mystic armor that focused on using white magic with her gambits, while I had Basch be a tank with an axe that focused on buffing himself and drawing aggro away from the rest of the team. Nothing stops you from switching them around if needed, which means you are very adaptable and aren't reliant on any character specifically. On the contrary, The Zodiac Age went with a more conventional job system where you pick two of the twelve classes for your character to specialize in; these jobs would have smaller, more focused license boards that only allow you to use certain weapons and magick compared to the adaptability of the original. The job system seems like it was in the original vision of the game, but due to time constraints they couldn't implement it properly it. Even so, I'm not a fan of the way it's implemented, as it seems the game is balanced completely around everyone having access to anything. The Classic Mode mod also restores the summoning animations for Espers, which adds some flavor to them if they are a bit too long and the summons themselves are not really worth using. The Quickenings also have some of the best animations in the series but also have the same issues as the summon system.
In retrospect, it honestly is impressive how expansive this game is, however oversized it may be. There are so many locations, and the dungeons are so diverse. If you enjoyed the gameplay loop, this game has the highest quantity of side content, with the main focus being hunts. These operate similarly to the Monster Hunter games, where you have to find some kind of enemy to slay in the overworld with information given to you by a bill. These hunts have some of the most challenging boss fights in the game and can give you some of the best items in the game, though by the end I did start feeling like they got way too tedious with the amount of backtracking you have to do for some of them as well as having to go back and forth to people to turn the hunt in. You can definitely see the MMO elements that remained in the game from when it was planned to be one. This is even confirmed by the producer in an old IGN interview where they said: "Back in 2000, when Final Fantasy X, XI, and XII were originally announced as being in the planning stages, X was announced as an offline game while XI onwards would be online games. Obviously, in the process of developing Final Fantasy XII, that changed—it is, of course, an offline game that we have now."
This game is a strange game to recommend because there are a lot of parts that have merit, but at the same time, I can fully understand how people may say the game is boring or a waste of your time. I would say it's only worth playing if you want a slower, more grounded Final Fantasy with a world you can fully engross yourself in, full of things to explore. A game about where the characters aren't the main focus, even lacking a true main protagonist entirely. Instead, it's a return to form for the older games that had a focus on mechanics and role-playing over a finely woven narrative. Final Fantasy XII dares to be different, and that is something I can respect.
A highly interesting game that is just plain boring.
After nearly twenty years of playing this game, I finished the post-game of Final Fantasy XII! Both the vanilla superbosses and the Trial Mode The Zodiac Age added in. I left a review on the PS2 game’s page but figured I’ll add my thoughts on The Zodiac Age version.
The big sell here is the job system and it’s pretty cool! I like the dual-classing upgraded they added in this edition of FF12, but character being so focused creates a lot of small inconveniences. Only the Time Mage has Float, a very important spell if you are going through a place with traps. I had to keep my Fran out through most dungeons because I didn’t have a lot of Float Motes and mines were abound. You can unlock some extra abilities on everyone’s License Grids with Quickenings and Espers but there should have been more options available for late game conveniences. I was missing the absolute freedom of everyone sharing vanilla FF12’s maximalist License Grid.
While The Zodiac Age took away a lot of original’s need-guide BS like the whole thing with the Zodiac Spear, a lot of spells are stuck in normal-looking treasures that you can easily miss then go through the whole game never having that spell. It’s two steps-forward, one step back with this game.
The 2x and 4x speed settings were a great edition. Got a lot of use of them beating Hell Wyrm and Yiazmat. On the other hand, TZA could have improved the gambit system more. While the multiple gambit sets are a nice addition, I wished for more gambit types and additional complexity.
Overall, the speedup option and cool job system make this the definitive version of a game that I, despite my criticism, think it is pretty good and still love a lot. Maybe I don’t think it’s as good as I used to, but still something that is worth playing. A lot of my problems are things that became more obvious in the sidequest/post-game parts of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age so someone playing a casual playthrough probably wouldn’t butt heads with those annoyances.
The big sell here is the job system and it’s pretty cool! I like the dual-classing upgraded they added in this edition of FF12, but character being so focused creates a lot of small inconveniences. Only the Time Mage has Float, a very important spell if you are going through a place with traps. I had to keep my Fran out through most dungeons because I didn’t have a lot of Float Motes and mines were abound. You can unlock some extra abilities on everyone’s License Grids with Quickenings and Espers but there should have been more options available for late game conveniences. I was missing the absolute freedom of everyone sharing vanilla FF12’s maximalist License Grid.
While The Zodiac Age took away a lot of original’s need-guide BS like the whole thing with the Zodiac Spear, a lot of spells are stuck in normal-looking treasures that you can easily miss then go through the whole game never having that spell. It’s two steps-forward, one step back with this game.
The 2x and 4x speed settings were a great edition. Got a lot of use of them beating Hell Wyrm and Yiazmat. On the other hand, TZA could have improved the gambit system more. While the multiple gambit sets are a nice addition, I wished for more gambit types and additional complexity.
Overall, the speedup option and cool job system make this the definitive version of a game that I, despite my criticism, think it is pretty good and still love a lot. Maybe I don’t think it’s as good as I used to, but still something that is worth playing. A lot of my problems are things that became more obvious in the sidequest/post-game parts of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age so someone playing a casual playthrough probably wouldn’t butt heads with those annoyances.
Yanno, I called this game FF Star Wars, like as a bunch of others did, but that feels uncharitable, honestly.
what if final fantasy 16 was good
The first Final Fantasy game I ever played, and I still have not beaten it all these years later, after so many attempts. The story is a good time, but I honestly can't get into the cast as much as I have with other FF games I've played this year, despite my nostalgia.
Oh well, maybe next time.
Oh well, maybe next time.
I LOVE IVALICE
super unique gameplay for an FF title, you basically program if statements for every possibility in battle and watch your genius plans play out. You can also play manually, if you're into that kind of thing.
super unique gameplay for an FF title, you basically program if statements for every possibility in battle and watch your genius plans play out. You can also play manually, if you're into that kind of thing.
An underappreciated gem that needs more love.
Bajo mi punto de vista, el Final Fantasy más infravalorado de toda la franquicia. Final Fantasy XII tiene uno de los mejores mundos y lore que se han hecho nunca, el mundo de Ivalice. Y viniendo de donde viene, de la gran mente de Yasumi Matsuno, no se podía esperar menos.
Todas las quejas sobre este título siempre vienen por lo mismo: "Vaya mierda de protagonista" y "Es que el final es una mierda". Y sí, estoy de acuerdo en ambas, Vaan no tendría que haber sido el protagonista de la historia, sino su hermano Reks, quien tiene un vínculo real con la trama y los personajes por ser un soldado dalmasquino que interviene en la traición de Gabranth y en el posterior asesinato del rey. Reks tenía motivos de sobra para intentar salvar a Dalmasca del Imperio de Arcadia. Pero Vaan se acaba uniendo al grupo por una mera casualidad, intenta robar en la cámara real y se topa con Balthier y Fran. Sí que es cierto, que al hacer ese vínculo con Ashe de que es el único capaz de ver también a los espíritus que le hablan al coger el guijo del alba, se siente como que falta algo después, que es algo que no se llegó a desarrollar y que probablemente habría sido un enlace para que Vaan fuese el protagonista. Peeero... Por desgracia pasamos al segundo punto, "final de mierda". Yasumi Matsuno pilló depresión y problemas de salud y tuvo que abandonar el proyecto faltando todo un tercio del mismo por terminar. Hiroyuki Itō asumió el cargo de director y, por puro respeto a Yasumi, intentó cerrar el juego con todo lo que él había creado y sin meter prácticamente ninguna idea nueva. Es por ello, que algunas tramas no se cierran bien y el juego se siente como que falta una parte más.
A pesar de todos los problemas, yo sólo veo un juego fantástico, con el mejor sistema de combate que se ha hecho jamás en la franquicia y con una cantidad de contenido enorme a pesar de estar en una puñetera PS2. Porque sí, no olvidemos que este remastered es una versión mejorada de la International Job System de PS2. Si no quieres centrarte en la historia, la cual puedes completar en unas 40 y tantas horas, puedes tirarte perfectamente 200 para conseguir todo lo demás. Las armas más poderosas, los monstruos más extraños, las magias y técnicas y las cacerías... Todo.
Si puedes obviar que el protagonista de este juego sea un poco parguelas y que el final no tiene un buen cierre... Es, sin duda, uno de los mejores juegos que he jugado nunca. ¡Viva Final Fantasy XII y viva Ivalice!
Todas las quejas sobre este título siempre vienen por lo mismo: "Vaya mierda de protagonista" y "Es que el final es una mierda". Y sí, estoy de acuerdo en ambas, Vaan no tendría que haber sido el protagonista de la historia, sino su hermano Reks, quien tiene un vínculo real con la trama y los personajes por ser un soldado dalmasquino que interviene en la traición de Gabranth y en el posterior asesinato del rey. Reks tenía motivos de sobra para intentar salvar a Dalmasca del Imperio de Arcadia. Pero Vaan se acaba uniendo al grupo por una mera casualidad, intenta robar en la cámara real y se topa con Balthier y Fran. Sí que es cierto, que al hacer ese vínculo con Ashe de que es el único capaz de ver también a los espíritus que le hablan al coger el guijo del alba, se siente como que falta algo después, que es algo que no se llegó a desarrollar y que probablemente habría sido un enlace para que Vaan fuese el protagonista. Peeero... Por desgracia pasamos al segundo punto, "final de mierda". Yasumi Matsuno pilló depresión y problemas de salud y tuvo que abandonar el proyecto faltando todo un tercio del mismo por terminar. Hiroyuki Itō asumió el cargo de director y, por puro respeto a Yasumi, intentó cerrar el juego con todo lo que él había creado y sin meter prácticamente ninguna idea nueva. Es por ello, que algunas tramas no se cierran bien y el juego se siente como que falta una parte más.
A pesar de todos los problemas, yo sólo veo un juego fantástico, con el mejor sistema de combate que se ha hecho jamás en la franquicia y con una cantidad de contenido enorme a pesar de estar en una puñetera PS2. Porque sí, no olvidemos que este remastered es una versión mejorada de la International Job System de PS2. Si no quieres centrarte en la historia, la cual puedes completar en unas 40 y tantas horas, puedes tirarte perfectamente 200 para conseguir todo lo demás. Las armas más poderosas, los monstruos más extraños, las magias y técnicas y las cacerías... Todo.
Si puedes obviar que el protagonista de este juego sea un poco parguelas y que el final no tiene un buen cierre... Es, sin duda, uno de los mejores juegos que he jugado nunca. ¡Viva Final Fantasy XII y viva Ivalice!
kinda mixed on this one. like i get it, it’s clearly real cool, but it was way less glimmeringly perfect than i’d hoped. the graphics were obvs outstanding, but the gambit system seems to have been both inadvisably fiddled with (don’t make me choose which class my characters are permanently locked in to! i don’t know anything! do a game design and choose the most interesting arrangements of classes for the story got darn it!) and was also not as deep as i had imagined (i was expecting to be able to put the controller down and just watch, but the gambits didn’t actually cover a lot of stuff that i wanted so i had to keep my hands on the wheel more than i’d hoped).
anyway i had a good time but i got to like the 3rd or 4th town and was like ok yeah i get it i think. it’s cool and i respect those for whom it is their favourite. maybe i’d like the original more.
anyway i had a good time but i got to like the 3rd or 4th town and was like ok yeah i get it i think. it’s cool and i respect those for whom it is their favourite. maybe i’d like the original more.
i say "mastered" because the only trophy i'm missing is the goddamn trial mode one
see you in hell.
i still love this game tho
see you in hell.
i still love this game tho
Retornando para essa obra-prima, só que agora no PC e indo atrás da platina (que foi decidida durante a jogatina, que durou alguns meses). Esse é, com toda a certeza, o meu Final Fantasy favorito (até a data desse log).
Fico muito feliz dele ter sido remasterizado para plataformas modernas, porque assim mais pessoas terão a possibilidade de experienciar esse mundo. E talvez criar tanto carinho quanto eu tenho por esse jogo.
Fico muito feliz dele ter sido remasterizado para plataformas modernas, porque assim mais pessoas terão a possibilidade de experienciar esse mundo. E talvez criar tanto carinho quanto eu tenho por esse jogo.
Although the battle system may be a little controversial, in my opinion it is the best aspect of the game. Count by that some beautiful music and great visuals, and you have got a winner.
Le paso muchas a este juego, pero lo de presentarlo en el mundo de Ivalice, que tiene como diez razas distintas (entre ellas moguris, claramente la raza superior) y la party sean cinco humanos y una viera...
NI OLVIDO NI PERDÓN
NI OLVIDO NI PERDÓN
Easily a top 3 Final Fantasy game for me. The design, story and VO work are all incredible! The gambit and job system work brilliantly together without overwhelming you. They are there to engage with as little or as much as you like.
Definitely still feels this is an underappreciated entry in the series but it's absolutely worth your time. With the added features I managed to reach the end just over 31 hours.
Definitely still feels this is an underappreciated entry in the series but it's absolutely worth your time. With the added features I managed to reach the end just over 31 hours.
What I wouldn't give to visit the vast and expansive world of Ivalice so I could tell Vaan and friends to make their shitty game better and not only require the joystick
Have finished on both Nintendo Switch and PS4 but reviewing as Switch because it's an outstanding port.
Anyway, the game: hot take this is my second favourite final fantasy game. Love everything that it's putting down and The Zodiac Age fixes my only two qualms with the original release: 1. that the game can go soooo sloooooow at times (thank you speed up function) and 2. that the license board meant every character ended up the same. The zodiac job system is 🤌🤌🤌 absolute stroke of genius and why it wasn't standard in the original release baffles me.
Play this game, get obsessed with the bounties, become an Esper hunting machine (even though I never really engaged with actually using them in battle - small secret third but unsubstantial qualm).
Anyway, the game: hot take this is my second favourite final fantasy game. Love everything that it's putting down and The Zodiac Age fixes my only two qualms with the original release: 1. that the game can go soooo sloooooow at times (thank you speed up function) and 2. that the license board meant every character ended up the same. The zodiac job system is 🤌🤌🤌 absolute stroke of genius and why it wasn't standard in the original release baffles me.
Play this game, get obsessed with the bounties, become an Esper hunting machine (even though I never really engaged with actually using them in battle - small secret third but unsubstantial qualm).
The Zodiac Age is a massive tale of political intrigue, epic scale warfare, and classic Final Fantasy vibes. FFXII The Zodiac Age checks all the boxes in the remaster department, and the fantastic improvements over the original dish up some of the best mechanics-driven JRPG battles this generation.
Full Review: https://neoncloudff.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/ffxii-the-zodiac-age-review-revisiting-a-complex-and-meaty-jrpg/
Full Review: https://neoncloudff.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/ffxii-the-zodiac-age-review-revisiting-a-complex-and-meaty-jrpg/
Rich, geopolitical but sometimes convoluted story, yet didn’t detract too much from the overall experience. I loved the combat system and completing hunts, and the leveling/weapon system is really deep. Lots of fun
Had to use cheat engine to one hit kill every enemy here (boss fights looked funny because of it) cause I didn’t feel like grinding and all the progression systems combined (job system, license tables and having to buy skills and gambits from the town shops) felt like a huge time sinker. I would prefer if they had kept it simple: level up, get skill. Reach enough stats, can wield weapon. that’d be best, pretty straightforward. Then again, the way this game is designed in general is full of stuff meant for you to sink your time in. some might find it fun, I sure don’t.
So yeah, at times I was just rushing through the dungeons one shotting everyone with 4x speed on. I did, however, take my time to appreciate the places I thought looked good, and the game is full of pretty delightful to look at sceneries. I like the concept of the viera village too. Subterranean areas in general looked kinda boring though and there’s one specifically that could’ve been neat but was damaged by its level design. This might sound like a nitpick but I felt it could’ve been way better if done otherwise. I’m talking about the sword of kings temple. Our goal there was to lift the statue’s sword at the lower floor so that we could pass through, but instead of descending into the passageway from the floor above, we’re warped there through a portal as if it were a whole different area. This put me out of the feeling of adventure and cool puzzle solving that a more cohesive area design would convey.
Overpowering myself with a cheat kept me from experiencing the strategic possibilities the gambit system offers, I’m aware of that. i might replay it someday making proper use of the system. Honestly, I just wanted to beat this thing and be done with it already. Why did i almost entirely eliminate a great deal of what makes this game unique, you ask? Why did I keep playing a game whose gameplay wasn’t all that enjoyable til the end, you ask? Am I just stupid, you ask? Well, I probably am but the reason I finished it is because the plot was interesting despite being presented in an unclear way. I don’t really have anything to say about it other than i had to read the wiki to fully understand it. Still a neat little political intrigue story
So yeah, at times I was just rushing through the dungeons one shotting everyone with 4x speed on. I did, however, take my time to appreciate the places I thought looked good, and the game is full of pretty delightful to look at sceneries. I like the concept of the viera village too. Subterranean areas in general looked kinda boring though and there’s one specifically that could’ve been neat but was damaged by its level design. This might sound like a nitpick but I felt it could’ve been way better if done otherwise. I’m talking about the sword of kings temple. Our goal there was to lift the statue’s sword at the lower floor so that we could pass through, but instead of descending into the passageway from the floor above, we’re warped there through a portal as if it were a whole different area. This put me out of the feeling of adventure and cool puzzle solving that a more cohesive area design would convey.
Overpowering myself with a cheat kept me from experiencing the strategic possibilities the gambit system offers, I’m aware of that. i might replay it someday making proper use of the system. Honestly, I just wanted to beat this thing and be done with it already. Why did i almost entirely eliminate a great deal of what makes this game unique, you ask? Why did I keep playing a game whose gameplay wasn’t all that enjoyable til the end, you ask? Am I just stupid, you ask? Well, I probably am but the reason I finished it is because the plot was interesting despite being presented in an unclear way. I don’t really have anything to say about it other than i had to read the wiki to fully understand it. Still a neat little political intrigue story
Often summed up as "Anime Star Wars", FF12 is a bit of a controversial entry - the Gambit system, effectively giving you 100% control over your party, was maligned as complex, and the story is a lot more political and slightly more abstract than other games in the series.
I played FF12 because i really enjoyed Matsuno's work on the Bozja storyline of FF14, and although i took a break between beginning it and actually finishing it, it didn't disappoint. FF12's main story is effectively a subversion of Chosen One plotlines, although anything more would definitely need a spoiler warning. To a degree, the story somewhat subverts the idea of a Evil Empire and Good Kingdom - but again, you'd have to play for it not to be more of a spoiler.
FF12 suffers slightly from the lack of real character development - only Balthier, Ashe and Basch get any real development, and Vaan gets less - with the other 2 basically along for the ride. I don't particularly think this is too much of a sore spot, but also it'd have ended up more interesting to me if, say, there was more chances for the party to feel like a party.
The soundtrack is phenomenal and atmospheric, and most of the graphics still hold up despite the age of many of them - oh, and you're definitely going to want to toggle on English VA - it's completely exceptional and very widely liked.
I played FF12 because i really enjoyed Matsuno's work on the Bozja storyline of FF14, and although i took a break between beginning it and actually finishing it, it didn't disappoint. FF12's main story is effectively a subversion of Chosen One plotlines, although anything more would definitely need a spoiler warning. To a degree, the story somewhat subverts the idea of a Evil Empire and Good Kingdom - but again, you'd have to play for it not to be more of a spoiler.
FF12 suffers slightly from the lack of real character development - only Balthier, Ashe and Basch get any real development, and Vaan gets less - with the other 2 basically along for the ride. I don't particularly think this is too much of a sore spot, but also it'd have ended up more interesting to me if, say, there was more chances for the party to feel like a party.
The soundtrack is phenomenal and atmospheric, and most of the graphics still hold up despite the age of many of them - oh, and you're definitely going to want to toggle on English VA - it's completely exceptional and very widely liked.
melhor da franquia
best game ever.
After being on and off for a while I finally beat FFXII, making it the 2nd Final Fantasy game that I've officially beaten.
Overall I enjoyed the game, and I think it appealed to me in a lot of specific ways. Aesthetically I think its gorgeous, I love the visual style and Ivalice is an awesome setting with tons of great locations. Music was gorgeous of course, tons of lush orchestrations that really helped make the world feel alive and battles feel exciting. The combat really felt like a "single player MMO" but I mean that in a good way as I have a soft spot for that kind of vibe. It was great to pick up and just vibe out doing random hunts and side stuff. Story definitely takes some turns, but I didn't mind it at all and I know it was a big point of critique. If anything, I appreciated the characters and the overall presentation / voice acting even if I kinda got lost here and there with some plot specifics.
I know this one is a bit divisive in general but I dig it overall. I still like FFX more but I would definitely play this one again.
Overall I enjoyed the game, and I think it appealed to me in a lot of specific ways. Aesthetically I think its gorgeous, I love the visual style and Ivalice is an awesome setting with tons of great locations. Music was gorgeous of course, tons of lush orchestrations that really helped make the world feel alive and battles feel exciting. The combat really felt like a "single player MMO" but I mean that in a good way as I have a soft spot for that kind of vibe. It was great to pick up and just vibe out doing random hunts and side stuff. Story definitely takes some turns, but I didn't mind it at all and I know it was a big point of critique. If anything, I appreciated the characters and the overall presentation / voice acting even if I kinda got lost here and there with some plot specifics.
I know this one is a bit divisive in general but I dig it overall. I still like FFX more but I would definitely play this one again.
A huge game that I’m not yet willing to put the full time into doing all the side activities as they’re pretty daunting. However, having completed the main story I very much enjoyed my time with FF12. The combat, whilst different, was personally enjoyable. Ashe, Balthier, Larsa, Cid and Fran were all really cool and interesting characters that I enjoyed learning more about. Basche’s story was also very touching, especially in the final act of the game.
I wish there were moments where the game took itself a bit less seriously (thank you Balthier for the levity you bring). Overall though, I felt the heart put into the game. As much as people might call it Star Wars, I think that’s just diminishing the effort that went into every aspect. I can’t deny similarities but by the end I was satisfied that this is its own story.
I feel similar towards this as I do to 5, and much like that game, I can see myself replaying this and trying something different.
I wish there were moments where the game took itself a bit less seriously (thank you Balthier for the levity you bring). Overall though, I felt the heart put into the game. As much as people might call it Star Wars, I think that’s just diminishing the effort that went into every aspect. I can’t deny similarities but by the end I was satisfied that this is its own story.
I feel similar towards this as I do to 5, and much like that game, I can see myself replaying this and trying something different.
This review contains spoilers
This is a weird game. A lot of the time I feel very strong or very weak, but I finally had an in-between. The good definitely outweighs the bad, but I will list them as normal.
(Negatives)
This game is definitely more story driven than character driven, which is fine, on paper. But the villains aren't on screen nearly long enough to get that point across. It's supposed to be this large scale political drama but it doesn't feel like Vayne himself does much. Cid carries the antagonist super hard.
This game's story feels like a zelda-game at certain points. Get item to help beat bad guys --> get new item to adjust to situation --> get new item to adjust adjust to situation --> finally fight bad guys. It leads to these deadzones in the story because the characters can't hold the story together because of lack of focus towards them.
Basch has a great foundation for a character but it doesn't feel like he gets to do anything until super late into the game. He barely even feels like Ashe's "Knight" because Vaan and Balthier do all the talking for him. Was pretty disappointed in him honestly.
Penelo and Larsa should certainly get more screentime together. They are definitely trying to show the gap between classes but there's only 1 main scene that shows this. I wish there was just something inbetween.
Vaan is alright, but I do agree with the majority, I have absolutely no clue why he is the vocal point of the story. They could of done it with Penelo. She narrates the ending, and builds a connection with a super major character in the story. He actually has enough for a supporting character. He feels quite contrived at times as they were trying to force a supporting character to be a main character. It feels very messy.
The traps are just irritating. I have no clue why this game has an obsession with them. They just make progression 10 times more annoying unless you consistantly float your party. Or remove all of the AIs to make sure you don't want into them.
The dungeons are pretty weak, especially Great Crystal, Pharos. Insanely tedious. Or just mazes.
There's a ton of walking because there isn't some teleport crystals in some points where there definitely should be.
And this is more personal but I think there is a little too much status spam, and bosses that just become immune to certain moves which slow certain battles to a crawl. Since this game doesn't have the Xenoblade mechanic of enemies ignoring you if you're higher leveled.
The chest system is really, really stupid. Along with the Bazaar system, I would put them in the same catagory. Very frustrating and grindy mechanics, that are basically impossible to utilize without a guide. There are some spells that are just completely luck-based, you really have no reason to collect most chest blind because 90% of them have basic potions that scale horribly, or like 10 gold. The Bazaar not holding the items you already sold is pretty damn baffling.
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Positives:
Balthier, Ashe, and I actually think Penelo are all pretty great. Penelo got sold completely to me by the ending but I think that alone justified her pretty meager role in the plot. Ashe and Balthier are actually just complete characters. They fit under the standard that I expect from this series.
The guest party members are fantastic. Hell, even better than most of your actual party members. Most of them have at least a few scenes that are genuinely impactful, and stay for quite a long time. I think being able to do side-content with them really adds to them feeling like main-stays. I would love to see more games experiment with guest party members like this.
The writing really gets it together in the last 2 dungeons. It feels like it regains the direction that it is periodically messing throughout the game. The definition of a slow-burn.
The ending sequence is fantastic.
The Gambit system and class system are both pretty incredible. I do have a few minor issues here and there, as I think the AI relies too much on gambits sometimes (They will just keep spamming shit if the enemy is immune to it or absorb it, and there's no real gambit around it unless you set a new guide in-battle.) But it's definitely a highlight of the game and you can be pretty exact about what you want the AI to do. It sets up for a ton of really good optimization and it's entertaining to watch builds (the building is super flexable) just absolutely desimate the main story as it is piss easy.
The music and world are both pretty damn solid.
The hunts can be pretty fun, and are a great challenge. I will note a lot of them have really annoying requirements and gimmicks in mid-game that are definitely not fun though. But the late-game and early game ones are pretty great.
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In-all, pretty good game, but it definitely can overstay it's welcome sometimes.
(I am sorry for my terrible formatting I just write what is in my brain oopsies)
(Negatives)
This game is definitely more story driven than character driven, which is fine, on paper. But the villains aren't on screen nearly long enough to get that point across. It's supposed to be this large scale political drama but it doesn't feel like Vayne himself does much. Cid carries the antagonist super hard.
This game's story feels like a zelda-game at certain points. Get item to help beat bad guys --> get new item to adjust to situation --> get new item to adjust adjust to situation --> finally fight bad guys. It leads to these deadzones in the story because the characters can't hold the story together because of lack of focus towards them.
Basch has a great foundation for a character but it doesn't feel like he gets to do anything until super late into the game. He barely even feels like Ashe's "Knight" because Vaan and Balthier do all the talking for him. Was pretty disappointed in him honestly.
Penelo and Larsa should certainly get more screentime together. They are definitely trying to show the gap between classes but there's only 1 main scene that shows this. I wish there was just something inbetween.
Vaan is alright, but I do agree with the majority, I have absolutely no clue why he is the vocal point of the story. They could of done it with Penelo. She narrates the ending, and builds a connection with a super major character in the story. He actually has enough for a supporting character. He feels quite contrived at times as they were trying to force a supporting character to be a main character. It feels very messy.
The traps are just irritating. I have no clue why this game has an obsession with them. They just make progression 10 times more annoying unless you consistantly float your party. Or remove all of the AIs to make sure you don't want into them.
The dungeons are pretty weak, especially Great Crystal, Pharos. Insanely tedious. Or just mazes.
There's a ton of walking because there isn't some teleport crystals in some points where there definitely should be.
And this is more personal but I think there is a little too much status spam, and bosses that just become immune to certain moves which slow certain battles to a crawl. Since this game doesn't have the Xenoblade mechanic of enemies ignoring you if you're higher leveled.
The chest system is really, really stupid. Along with the Bazaar system, I would put them in the same catagory. Very frustrating and grindy mechanics, that are basically impossible to utilize without a guide. There are some spells that are just completely luck-based, you really have no reason to collect most chest blind because 90% of them have basic potions that scale horribly, or like 10 gold. The Bazaar not holding the items you already sold is pretty damn baffling.
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Positives:
Balthier, Ashe, and I actually think Penelo are all pretty great. Penelo got sold completely to me by the ending but I think that alone justified her pretty meager role in the plot. Ashe and Balthier are actually just complete characters. They fit under the standard that I expect from this series.
The guest party members are fantastic. Hell, even better than most of your actual party members. Most of them have at least a few scenes that are genuinely impactful, and stay for quite a long time. I think being able to do side-content with them really adds to them feeling like main-stays. I would love to see more games experiment with guest party members like this.
The writing really gets it together in the last 2 dungeons. It feels like it regains the direction that it is periodically messing throughout the game. The definition of a slow-burn.
The ending sequence is fantastic.
The Gambit system and class system are both pretty incredible. I do have a few minor issues here and there, as I think the AI relies too much on gambits sometimes (They will just keep spamming shit if the enemy is immune to it or absorb it, and there's no real gambit around it unless you set a new guide in-battle.) But it's definitely a highlight of the game and you can be pretty exact about what you want the AI to do. It sets up for a ton of really good optimization and it's entertaining to watch builds (the building is super flexable) just absolutely desimate the main story as it is piss easy.
The music and world are both pretty damn solid.
The hunts can be pretty fun, and are a great challenge. I will note a lot of them have really annoying requirements and gimmicks in mid-game that are definitely not fun though. But the late-game and early game ones are pretty great.
----------------------
In-all, pretty good game, but it definitely can overstay it's welcome sometimes.
(I am sorry for my terrible formatting I just write what is in my brain oopsies)
O queridinho do PS2, que nunca consegui terminar no seu console de origem. Esse jogo é simplesmente um MASTERPIECE para mim. O gameplay, a história, os personagens, os segredos, o conteúdo end game... chefs kiss
deranged game. ridiculously confident in its insane overcomplicated set of mechanics. a masterpiece that threatens to buckle under its own weight and ambition constantly
This review contains spoilers
No geral me diverti jogando. Não foi nada demais pra mim, mas foi uma experiencia bacana.
Combate: o começo é bem chato até abrir bem o sistema de Gambit, aí se torna legal por um tempo até tu achar um bom esquema, depois disso é só ficar andando e fazendo grind. As batalhas contra boss não parecem tão interessantes assim porque basicamente tu só assiste
História: a história no começo pra mim foi um pouco confusa com muitos nomes, depois melhorou, até chegar um ponto que se arrastou (como basicamente todo jrpg) e pro fim melhorou bastante. Curti muito como o jogo terminou que acabou deixando uma sensação boa. É bem interessante que todos os personagens tem seus momentos, e o protagonista não é tão protagonista assim.
Outros defeitos: a parte de ter armadilhas pelo mapa aleatóriamente tirando dano ou causando efeitos nos personagens é muuuuuuuito chato, só faz com que o gameplay fique parado por um tempo até que tu arrume tudo
Combate: o começo é bem chato até abrir bem o sistema de Gambit, aí se torna legal por um tempo até tu achar um bom esquema, depois disso é só ficar andando e fazendo grind. As batalhas contra boss não parecem tão interessantes assim porque basicamente tu só assiste
História: a história no começo pra mim foi um pouco confusa com muitos nomes, depois melhorou, até chegar um ponto que se arrastou (como basicamente todo jrpg) e pro fim melhorou bastante. Curti muito como o jogo terminou que acabou deixando uma sensação boa. É bem interessante que todos os personagens tem seus momentos, e o protagonista não é tão protagonista assim.
Outros defeitos: a parte de ter armadilhas pelo mapa aleatóriamente tirando dano ou causando efeitos nos personagens é muuuuuuuito chato, só faz com que o gameplay fique parado por um tempo até que tu arrume tudo
Absolutely my favourite Final Fantasy game.
The story is a grand game of political chess, and how every rung on the class ladder - and their struggle for supremacy - affects those below them. The environments are sprawling and wonderfully realised, and the soundtrack does NOT get enough love.
The Gambit System is super interesting with the options it opens up, and allows you to optimise as much - or as little - as you wish. The enemies and all the status ailments they can inflict can be really, REALLY annoying, and the last couple of dungeons absolutely suck, but outside of that? This game is well worth your time.
The story is a grand game of political chess, and how every rung on the class ladder - and their struggle for supremacy - affects those below them. The environments are sprawling and wonderfully realised, and the soundtrack does NOT get enough love.
The Gambit System is super interesting with the options it opens up, and allows you to optimise as much - or as little - as you wish. The enemies and all the status ailments they can inflict can be really, REALLY annoying, and the last couple of dungeons absolutely suck, but outside of that? This game is well worth your time.