Objectively, the status of perfection is hard to determine - but to me, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is a perfect game. So the following will be more of a love letter than an objective review.

First, the story: What makes it different from other games in the series/other JRPGs is, that there is no central protagonist, and there is no 'chosen one' story - at least not front and center and without subversions. Sure, Vaan serves as an introduction into the world and plot and is kind of a 'default', especially during the side quests, but the whole party is more or less equal in terms of importance - the princess Ashe on a quest to restore her kingdom is as central to the narrative and its themes as the orphan Penelo, whose friendship to an Archadian closes the gap between the Kingdom and the Empire. The way the main characters are introduced, enter and temporarily leave the party until they are set on their path together feels very in line of their motivations and backgrounds. Though they lead very different lives, they have one thing in common: The war took something or someone important from them, and in one way or another they tried to run away or cope, but as of now have not succeeded in finding closure. But their tragedy is not without hope, their doubt not without resolve. With the broader political meta-plot of FFXII this makes for a mature story that does not fall into usual JRPG tropes.

The presentation is another highlight: Every cutscene is rich in direction and meaning. The overall pacing of the story and unraveling of intrigue on the Empire’s side is in favour of the scope and themes it presents. Some of it gets even better on a second watch, where more details and foreshadowing are recognized. The localization is one of the best there is: Not only is the dialogue masterfully translated (which isn’t always the case going from Japanese to English), but every voice actor does a wonderful job, and there are some outstanding and memorable lines. The game is also generous with its amount of CGI cutscenes, which look phenomenal even today.

The world: The story does a great job at presenting the political nuances of Ivalice, but the world itself - its deserts, jungles, grasslands and mountains - are not easily outshined. Though it is no open world, the areas are huge and fun to explore. This is one of those games, where you really feel you’re on a journey, as opposed to just traversing the world. The cities are also big and immersive, with tons of NPCs you can talk to and whose dialogue changes throughout the story. Their dialogue relates to story events, their everyday life or other kinds of information that makes the world of Ivalice feel so alive. The soundtrack enhances this feeling too, because every area has its own theme and the usage of leitmotifs for the story and the quality of the composition overall makes the OST inseparable from the gameplay and narrative experience.

The gameplay: FFXII is a game that can be as fast or as slow as you want it to be. The gambit system, through which you can 'program' the AI of every party member, is easy to understand, satisfying to use and fun to optimize. And even if you use a gambit for everyone, you can always pause the gameplay and input controls manually. The job system also gives the player freedom to develop the characters and every bit of progress is felt. This level of freedom in the customization of your party is what makes the gameplay so compelling. Speaking of freedom, there are no random battles either. If you see an enemy, you can fight it or just run away. The amount of side content is huge: There is a long hunt club quest, where you hunt increasingly difficult monsters, you can fight optional bosses and explore optional dungeons and areas, and engaging with certain NPCs in the world will also lead to side quests.

In summary, this is what makes it perfect to me: A fighting and progression system that gives me full control to be as creative as I want. A world that goes out of its way to make me feel immersed. A story so full of themes, nuances and presentation that is a joy to experience.
I feel like I have so much on my mind when talking about FFXII and what makes it so special, and I’m not sure if what I’ve written really does it justice. But if you’re still here: Thanks for reading!