Though I plan to eventually play all the mainline FF games eventually, what drew me to FFXII initially was the Ivalice setting. Despite having fallen off Tactics, I wanted to see more of that world and XII certainly didn't disappoint.
Throughout the journey, there were a lot of parallels I felt I could draw to Star Wars. From the ongoing conflict between the Empire and the Resistance, to the airship dogfights, to the sky pirates, to even some of the music. The city of Rabanastre and the surrounding jungles, plains, mountains, and cities are all sights to behold. Rabanastre in particular really feels alive with all the NPCs walking about and shops to visit, and lots of clan hunts and hidden side quests are available if you talk to the right people. Outside the cities, each area in your journey is a large sprawling map with multiple zones (think Monster Hunter-style) and it truly feels like a proper adventure.
The gambit system which drives the combat is really cool because it works like a bunch of if-statements, allowing you to effectively program your party to play the game for you. For example, you could tell your white mage that if they see any party member affected with blind then cast blindna on them, or if you see someones health drop below 50% then cast a curaga. It's a fantastic system that you can easily modify and leave on for easy encounters and toggle off as necessary for extended boss fights. This is combined with the license system, which is the successor to the sphere grid from FFX. Each character has a checkerboard-styled grid depending on which job they have been assigned, and each enemy kill awards a number of points to spend on the "license" to use certain spells, abilities, and even equipment. As someone who typically despises grinding, I felt compelled and even satisfied doing so in this game just because seeing my LP increase to be able to fill out the grids to equip new things was so addicting.
The overall story is compelling with a good mix of both your main party's quest and the politics and internal struggles of the Empire. It also caps off in a fantastic way, with one of the better finales I have seen in an FF game so far. I only wish I could speak so highly of your party members' individual story arcs and growth. Only half of them really have meaningful development and a real stake in the plot, whereas the other half kind of feel like they are just there for the journey. It would have been nice to get another game featuring this cast because they definitely deserve another go.
Throughout the journey, there were a lot of parallels I felt I could draw to Star Wars. From the ongoing conflict between the Empire and the Resistance, to the airship dogfights, to the sky pirates, to even some of the music. The city of Rabanastre and the surrounding jungles, plains, mountains, and cities are all sights to behold. Rabanastre in particular really feels alive with all the NPCs walking about and shops to visit, and lots of clan hunts and hidden side quests are available if you talk to the right people. Outside the cities, each area in your journey is a large sprawling map with multiple zones (think Monster Hunter-style) and it truly feels like a proper adventure.
The gambit system which drives the combat is really cool because it works like a bunch of if-statements, allowing you to effectively program your party to play the game for you. For example, you could tell your white mage that if they see any party member affected with blind then cast blindna on them, or if you see someones health drop below 50% then cast a curaga. It's a fantastic system that you can easily modify and leave on for easy encounters and toggle off as necessary for extended boss fights. This is combined with the license system, which is the successor to the sphere grid from FFX. Each character has a checkerboard-styled grid depending on which job they have been assigned, and each enemy kill awards a number of points to spend on the "license" to use certain spells, abilities, and even equipment. As someone who typically despises grinding, I felt compelled and even satisfied doing so in this game just because seeing my LP increase to be able to fill out the grids to equip new things was so addicting.
The overall story is compelling with a good mix of both your main party's quest and the politics and internal struggles of the Empire. It also caps off in a fantastic way, with one of the better finales I have seen in an FF game so far. I only wish I could speak so highly of your party members' individual story arcs and growth. Only half of them really have meaningful development and a real stake in the plot, whereas the other half kind of feel like they are just there for the journey. It would have been nice to get another game featuring this cast because they definitely deserve another go.