Before playing FFXII I didn't quite understand why it was so overlooked and underdiscussed in Final Fantasy circles, especially considering the fact that it released to widespread critical acclaim and success upon release. Now that I've gone through it I get it: it's something of an odd man out and an outlier within the Final Fantasy franchise, as its more down-to-earth tonal qualities and emphasis on lore, politics and worldbuilding over character-focused writing make it the polar opposite of what many people think of when they think Final Fantasy.

My favorite being FFVIII (which has a similar "outlier" status and parked in the exact same extreme as XII, if not in the complete opposite direction) I completely understand its "cult classic" status, and there's certainly a lot to appreciate here if you want a JRPG with storytelling that more directly reflects real-life historical conflicts and politics. It personally didn't hit the mark for me, although there's a lot about it that I appreciate – particularly how much I realize that FFXIV took from XII, and in turn re-introduced a bit of Final Fantasy's trademark flair, charm and whimsy to make it a little more palatable and recognizable as a Final Fantasy game.

The plotline being frequently compared to Star Wars is not without basis, nor is the critique of Vaan as a protagonist that doesn't really "fit" – to me Balthier's constant referring to himself as a protagonist felt like a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the fact that Vaan and Penelo were arbitrary additions to the story to appeal to the series' traditional core demographic. Really, Fran and Balthier were the only characters I managed to truly get invested in and regard with the same living, breathing quality one expects out of a Final Fantasy game, as most of the rest of the main cast felt more like tools by which the game explores its lore and plot.

Some of the best gameplay in the series, though – again, like FFVIII it prioritizes player freedom and customization above all else (between the Gambits, Job System, License Board and equipment optimization you could likely spend hours optimizing a single character) which fits in neatly with the game's open-world nature and heavy emphasis on sidequests.

FFXII is a weird one - It's still one of the most fully realized FF worlds, with its brilliant artstyle, character designs, music, history, dialogue and wonderfully grounded tone. Yet for all these apparent strengths, it was also the point where a younger me had to begrudgingly accept that FF wasn't my go-to for great character stories anymore - because there simply isn't one. Nada. Nothing!

Where it really shines, especially in the Zodiac Age, is its mechanics - the heart of the game lies in the planning phase, the refining of a strategy until it's damn near perfect. It scratched a programming itch I didn't even know I had; hitting fast forward like a proud parent knowing that my team wouldn't need my help - their battles having already taken place in my mind's eye, the path to victory laid out before them by my own design.

"It plays itself" you might say - but hey, maybe once you've developed a good enough strategy to defeat a Sewer Rat you don't actually need to fight every single one manually to feel like you've achieved something, yeah? That puzzle is solved, you move onto a bigger one.

So yes, within this majestic and beautifully fleshed out world is a very dry, technical game that forgets to tell its own story - which makes it difficult to recommend to most people - but it's still one of my favourites. I can only dream of another attempt at the gambit system, fully unchained from the limitations of being a PS2 game... maybe an Ivalice game with some actual characters and a fully developed plot, while I'm still dreaming.

a must if you're a fan of XII and are looking to play again

if you're new: enjoy one of the last times AAA wasn't interested in making you trip over its every secret

excellent HD work here, with welcome (optional) audio edits as well

quality of life x2 / x4 game speed increases, and faster load times, are essential in bringing the game into the modern era

one of the most unique and compelling battle systems created, even outwith Final Fantasy

trial challenge mode is welcome and super fun

did i mention the battle system

Never am I happier than when I experience a story where things carefully play their parts.

FFXII is the whole package - it's brilliantly-written, gorgeous, packed with musical masterpieces and its fair share of difficult encounters. I'm far from being done with it in the sense that there's still plenty of side content I've yet to even scratch at.

The Zodiac Age's additions spice up an already-solid core gameplay loop, with features like speed-ups for quick grinding and traversal, a revamp of the game's license boards (its character progression mechanic) and the ability to mess with guest characters that join you for your journey. I really came around on the Gambit system, a feature present in the original that lets you set conditions for your characters to automatically follow in combat. A game is only as good as it is fun, and mileage may vary, but I did find it really satisfying to figure out some convenient setups for the team while also maneuvering my way through menus on the fly (between Active and Wait ATBs, I played on Active). In that sense, it almost feels more actiony than its interface might suggest.

All of that underscores a fantastic story about a ragtag bunch of characters finding a way to free the princess Ashe's kingdom from the clutches of a massive empire. At its most basic, it's a tale everyone's heard a few times (it frequently draws comparisons to a certain space fantasy movie), but it really comes into its own as an examination of the cycles of war and violence and the toll it takes on people from a fair few perspectives. It's paced fairly well, never really slowing to a crawl outside of the opening hours, and its finale is packed with some riveting set pieces.

Honestly, you might be able to tell how much I enjoyed FFXII by how much I have to say about it. All else I can really do is suggest with my whole chest that you find a way to give it a chance.

I never beat this when it came out while I was a teenager, but I held fond feelings for the game all the same (maybe colored by my admiration for the whole franchise, especially ff10). Replaying it over 10 years later, this game did not hold up for me. finally finishing the story, it’s an incoherent mess of royal intrigue where half the time you don’t know who people are or why they’re important. the combat starts out ok but it’s just not engaging enough to sustain this game’s run time. I did like the RPG progression (especially in this rerelease), and the main cast are all pretty good. but I don’t know if that’s enough to overcome this game’s weaknesses for me. I don’t think I would recommend it to anyone but the most hardcore ff fans, especially if they’re partial to MMO style combat.

I wanted to play this game ever since it was released on the PS2, but I never had one, so I was happy to find out about this remaster.

The game mechanics are a hit or a miss. Gambits? Big hit. I love automating combat. Licences? Big miss. They feel more like a chore than anything else.

Other than that, this game is beautiful. I hope I can find a new game + mode to give it another go.

This game took me way too god damn long to finish but it's pretty good.

This game has a pretty unique battle system, and while I can see why it might not be for everyone I found it to be very fun. Getting to the point where your party members will easily wipe out groups of enemies is extremely satisfying, but it does take a bit of work to get there. Obviously there are basic RPG things to consider like team building and gear and all that, but you have to set up your gambits just right so that your party will do what you want them to in the correct order, so you don't have to worry about giving them commands manually.

I can understand why people wouldn't like the automation, but I find it really interesting. It's like programming your party members, in a sense. It puts a greater emphasis on coming up with strategies before you go into a fight, and then executing on them, rather than making decisions in the middle of battle. The main story content isn't very hard for the most part, but for a lot of the late-game hunts and espers, you'll definitely need to pay more attention to how your gambits are set up.

The story was a little hard for me to follow, which is mostly my fault because I had this game on hold for like six months, but the main cast are all very likeable and all have their own goals and motivations for going on this journey. Vaan feels the most like he's just along for the ride, but he has some good moments and development by the end.

In conclusion, I am THE Basch fon Ronsenberg of Dalmasca! BASCH LIVES!!

Good
- The MMORPG-ish battles and gambit system is pretty interesting.
- Early storyline (very political).
- Dungeon design and battles.
- Soundtrack is good.

Meh
- Characters are pretty forgettable and some outright annoying.
- Later part of the story seems to escalate without proper development.

"What makes something a Final Fantasy game?" was a question posed to me by a friend when I told them I was planning on playing through the series for the first time. This question has stuck in the back of my mind as I've worked through the series, and as I get to ff12 I am not sure I have a definitive answer. I can say that ff12 has little in common with the other 5 games I have played in the series, though there is a thread of familiarity that would echo through when I least expected it.

The world of Ivalice feels vast, lived in, and rich with history. Towns are bustling (I cannot believe how many NPC's are in this game, and how much dialogue was written for them), the countryside is home to both breathtaking oceanfront vistas and harsh deserts. The monsters that inhabit the world are generally very inspired, and the actual of traversal of these spaces is a huge improvement on the attempt made to ditch the overworld system first seen in FFX . Ivalice feels huge, with winding roads many dark dungeons to explore. The on-foot travel allowed for a sense of scale that didn't resonate in the "showing your progress by moving a marker on a map" style of X.

The dungeon design is also great. I had mixed feelings about the dungeons at first, but as the story progressed and the spaces the party ventured to grew more complex, I came around on them. This culminates in what I can safely say has been the most challenging Final Fantasy area yet, with a truly daunting endgame dungeon that felt insurmountable. When I eventually got to the end, it felt like a true accomplishment, especially with the gauntlet of very challenging bosses that it also through at me.

The plot is where my real issue lie with FF12. I have found a lot to love as I play through this series, and one consistent standout are the characters who bind these stories together. The main cast of FF12 never really develop, and their motives did not really keep me invested throughout the game. Generally, the characters feel one note: Vaan is a street rat who longs to be a pirate, Penelo is his friend, Ashe is a conflicted deposed ruler, Basch her guard, Balthier and Fran are sky pirates along for the ride who may have some ulterior motives. The strokes for these characters are too broad, and the nuance is forsaken in exchange for the stories emphasis honing in on the large picture political plot. I found that this unfortunately resulted in story beats being confusing, as characters you barely knew listed places you had never been to, and talked of characters you had not met. This left me confused to the motives of many of these factions, and while some of the party members do get more developement in the late game (particularly Balthier and Ashe), the lack of focus on the individual characters who were agents in the broader picture left me wanting more. The story also generally suffers from a pacing issue, with a lot of the themes not being presented in ways that work in their benefit. I wish more focus was placed on the brother stuff that is going on as well, I think a great story could have been told here with a little more focus. One final note on the writing of FF12: I actually really liked the pseudo-shakespearean dialogue of 12, and think it fits well with the sweeping story they are trying to tell. Lot's of weird word choices, and overall great performances from the V/O cast (A huge, huge step up from the cringe of X).

The gambit system is great, lots of weirdness to it, which is always a plus in an FF battle system imo. Loved picking apart what was working and what wasn't, and fine tuning encounters until I was a well oiled killing machine. Enemies who cast nasty status effects keep you on your toes in the late game, and I found I was tinkering with the system throughout my playtime. The system almost works like a puzzle game, and optimizing my gambits was compelling enough to keep me playing. The job system is also amazing, and I love the flexibility it allows. I had a blast planning routes through the boards, and picking multi-class combos for my character. I ended up using the combo of Basch as a tank, Vaan as a Samurai Time Battlemage, and Fran as a bow wielding White Mage and had a blast find tuning my strat for some of the truly punishing late game boss fights.

I may still not have an answer to the question of what makes a Final Fantasy game a Final Fantasy game, but with every game the answer to "What makes a Final Fantasy game a Great Final Fantasy Game" grows less obscure. FF12 comes close to greatness so many times, and if someone told me this was their favourite I would understand, as there is so much to love here. Unfortunately, my issues with the character development and pacing put this on the lower scale of FF games for me.