Definitely one of the best Final Fantasy games out there, and probably has the tightest ratio in the series of "good game" vs "not acknowledged as much as the others".

The story is great. You'll find people that say the story is "just like Star Wars" or derivative. While these complaints aren't completely meritless, I can't help but admit that anyone who genuinely thinks this to be a mark against this game likely didn't play through it entirely. The moment-to-moment experience of playing through this story is consistently thrilling, and a satisfactory adventure. You're thinking about just this game while playing it, and nothing else, because it's one of the most tightly-plotted games in the series.

To the story itself, it tells the tale of Dalmasca, a desert country in continent of Ivalice, and the next target of the encroaching Archadian empire. Upon the annexation of the Dalmascan capital, Rabanastre, a small group of freedom fighters from all walks of life find themselves thrust together by fate in an adventure that will shape the very face of history. FFXII has you playing as all sorts; from larger-than-life heroes, politicians, and knights, to swarthy thieves and scoundrels, to the hoi polloi commonfolk. They all pepper the main cast, as well as the guest characters you find along the way. This game has little in the way of "hanging out with each other" among these characters, but it does have quite a bit of "hanging out in the WORLD" that makes it such an enamoring adventure. Beyond that, there are moments where your party shows unexpectedly-charming, teeth-clenched affection for one another, if the viewer is able to read between the lines of the fantastic voice acting.

And yes, the voice acting IS fantastic. I doubt it's a stretch to say Final Fantasy XII has the best English dialogue of any Final Fantasy game, and its place in the pantheon of dialogue for all games is quite high up there. You feel less like you're playing a quirky JRPG and more like you're witnessing one of Shakespeare's masterpieces. And yet, despite the characters' hifalutin, Byzantine cadences and vernacular, the viewer absolutely never feels left behind in the vocabulary. It's sharp and cutting, and it certainly does make every character feel like they're brimming with life.

The music is incredible. It's orchestral, it's heady, it's classical, it's weighty, it's just so good. The tracks range from light-hearted to heart-pounding, but not a single song in this DOESN'T inspire the listener to want to take up arms and embark upon a country-trotting adventure. I can't even begin to name all the most beautiful tracks in the game, but I'll go ahead and try: Flash of Steel, The Dalmasca Estersand, Nalbina Dungeons, The Tomb of [SPOILERS], Jahara - Land of the Garif, the Ozmone Plain, ERUYT VILLAGE (I really like the Eruyt Village theme), Discarded Power, The Stilshrine of Miriam, Respite, the Salikawood, A Moment's Rest, the Cerobi Steppe, Realm of Memory, To Walk Amongst Gods... and those are only the ones on my Spotify playlist. And I think I can safely say that the Final Boss theme of Final Fantasy XII is absolutely one of the most rousing, inspirational music tracks I have ever heard in a video game. If you can listen to it and not feel SOME sort of emotion come over you -- especially at the end of such a far-flung adventure, you would need to be either deaf, or a BORN. HATER (I'm kidding but seriously, it owns so hard).

Let's get to the gameplay. Many describe this gameplay as "MMO-like". I have dabbled in a few MMO's, but to be completely honest, I don't REALLY get the comparison, at least when compared to other Active Time Battle Final Fantasy games. Is it because the combat is seamless in the world? Probably. Moving along, the combat is quite good. The lifeblood of it is the Gambit system, a very rudimentary coding scheme that allows your dudes to automatically perform certain actions in a hierarchy upon the combat environment meeting certain conditions. For example, you could set it so Penelo will heal any ally of hers that dips below 30% health with a potion. If you place this at the top of the list, it will be her first priority, but she'll only perform it once that condition is fulfilled, so one could put BENEATH it "Attack any enemy" and she will attack. This is more or less how all your gambits will likely be organized; healing skills and curatives at the highest priority, followed by attack skills. It's both deceptively simple and... well, simple. It's not very hard. Which, in my evaluation, is good, as there's not much mental stimulation in the typical JRPG turn-based loop of "Run into monster" > "navigate menu" > "use effective skills" > "win" > "Run into monster" > "repeat". But there is still room for strategy, particularly with Final Fantasy XII's bosses and hunts, which offer the daring thrill-seeker a chance to stretch their tactical muscles.

That in mind, this game has quite the bevy of side-content. By some metrics, FFXII is even considered the mainline non-MMO Final Fantasy game that takes the most time to 100%, what with the dozens and dozens of side-quests in the form of the game's hunts. They're fun, no question, and they're quite challenging, but at the same time, I wish there were MORE sidequest mechanics. But that's a minor quibble in a game as stacked as this one; in addition to the hunts, there are multiple secret optional areas, optional summons, and hidden passageways, befitting of a fantasy world loosely based on a steampunk reimagining of the Mediterranean.

In conclusion, I have gone on record saying Final Fantasy XII is quite possibly my favorite game of all time, and it's definitely my favorite JRPG of all time. Is it a perfect game? No. Is it a really solid game for JRPG fans? Certainly. I hope this review might just convince you to play it if you're on the fence, and the Zodiac Age version is definitely the definitive way to do it.

Reviewed on Aug 08, 2021


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