Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - PlayStation 4

I always give every FF game a chance but rarely finish one of them as they often lose me at some point in their very long campaigns. I didn’t play the original FFXII but I did enjoy this updated version for various reasons. The upgrade system for your squads attritibutes and combat abilities is very flexible and feels rewarding. It reminds me most of the FFX sphere grid but with a bit more options. The combat is different than other FFs as it is not turn based but more of a live action auto attack setup that also relies on you setting up pre determined auto actions for each character called “gambits” and it works surprisingly very well. The story is overall intriguing and good enough to keep you engaged, with a fair amount of beautiful cutscenes and interesting landscapes. My one very major gripe that almost led to me quitting halfway through is the lack of/overall complexity of navigation and direction. It is frustratingly difficult at times to know exactly where you are supposed to be going. The areas are almost all connected to each other which in and of itself is nice but there’s no easily accessible overall world map that would show you which direction to head. On top of that there are sometimes not markers on the minimap to give you an inkling of what general area you should be heading, leading to you sometimes wasting minutes and hours roaming into areas you shouldn’t be in yet and getting slaughtered by high ranking mobs. There are a handful of teleportation areas but they are too few between and also require you to use up one of your teleport stones to access. I just feel like a couple minor quality of life choices could have made this very good RPG a perfect one, while still allowing the player to enjoy exploration of the vast world created here.

TLDR Great FF game with good story and great combat system, the job is whatever. The only gripe is I would rather have this on my PC. Honestly this game is awesome and brings back so much nostalgic joy. I personally loved this game and the combat system that it had. The gambit system is just a bunch of IFTTT ( If this then that )commands you give your party to follow. The story is good, but not quite as good as 6 or 9. The job system is an interesting twist to this game. Instead of everyone doing everything and mindlessly following specific routes on the old leveling system, you now do this on job boards that limit roles. Of course you can still max your builds if you prefer, but the nice thing here is the game encourages you to try new things and variety. Honestly I feel like this is a meh party for me. Some people may call me crazy, however I could care less about the job system unless its a Tactics style system. My only complaint on this game is how Square drags their feet on PC release games. Sure no one has confirmed release of this game or other newer FF games for PC, but the writing is on the wall and they will. As I get older as a gamer I prefer the ease of games on PC and having things linked up via Steam Etc so I know where all my games and saves are. I hate the fact that I have bought games for the PS, PS2, PS3 and PS4 separate times because the catalog doesn't follow to the next system and is no longer backwards compatible. Still this is a great game and I will be a FF fanboy and buy this game and play it when it comes out. The game has 100+ hours of playtime for me and that value is wonderful.

This is my first PS2 to PS4 HD remake from Square-Enix. I have played the original on PS2 back in the day and put so many hours of my life into Final Fantasy XII. I have not played it in over 10 years, so it feels 'new' and 'old' in certain ways. I vaguely remember the story and the amount of side quests was crazy! It makes me feel like I am getting to know an old friend all over again after 10 years of being away. The updated graphics are far better than the original, although no where near as realistic at Final Fantasy XV. The music is fully orchestrated and beautifully recorded. On a side note: you have the option to use the original PS2 music or the newly recorded orchestrated soundtrack. Just switch it in the options menu. The new Zodiac Job system is a welcome relief too! I hated that all the characters 'grew up' becoming the same. Now there is a lot more thought and planning involved with the party selection. I have an open mind and I enjoyed most, if not all, the numbered Final Fantasy games. Square tries to be innovative and back in 2006, this was innovative with the battle system, gambit system and license board. If you haven't played the original, buy this version instead. In my opinion it is far more enjoyable than the original.

I liked Final Fantasy XII a lot back when it came out on PS2 but I felt the story and the music were not as good as past games and the game was very grind heavy. There isn't enough story between these characters and the story is mostly uninteresting politics which feels distant from you because large parts of the story, your role is basically to be sent from place to place and not much happens during. This remaster has a new job system which basically just limits you. It has you make important job choices early on and doesn't allow you to change them once you have a better grasp of them and it doesn't really add to the game only limits it. You could claim it makes the game harder but I found this remaster overall much easier. What's worse is the game doesn't give you the option for the original system. The game slightly improves on the original games graphics and music and the speed up function improves on the grinding aspect to the game but also make it very easy to over level and become way too easy. I find it extremely pathetic when a developer makes a remaster worse than the original. My mind fails to comprehend such a high level of incompetence. When I play this again, i will be back with the PS2 version as I hate the new job system.

First off, the texturing of this game looks AMAZING. Objects, such as clothing, that once looked almost paper-like are now glossier, more 3D in depth and clay-like in texture. There is less of a difference graphic wise when the game goes into a cinema; meaning the game play graphics are more like the cinemas. Since I played the PS2 version so long ago, I can't really comment on how much better the cinemas are. I really do like the game. It was a great first step towards an open world, active battle RPG. I like the Trial Mode. It's great for Gil and LP farming in the beginning of the game. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the Licensing System. It is different than the Original USA version. In The Zodiac version, or the original International version, the board is more limited. In the Original USA version, you could make every character capable of ALL magic and able to use ALL weapons and armor. It made the game so much easier and MORE FUN!

FFXII initially released in the PS2's twilight years, to the regret of many fans who wished it to spread further but was stopped by its timing near the PS3 launch. Many years later, SE released an international version which never came overseas, but was lauded to fix problems noticed in the original. Now, we're very lucky to have the chance of playing FFXII remastered, which takes the best parts of the international version and dials it up to 10. But, most buyers aren't interested in the history behind this, so I'll bullet point why it's great. *New license board that makes every character unique and a class board you can mix and match to create a character tailor made for you *Dozens of hours of side quests and hunt missions *Newly rendered graphics *A cast of characters you can't help but fall in love with *An intriguing, seamless world to get lost in

While FFXII may not be as popular as other entries in the beloved franchise....its story is pretty slow and kinda unengaging, it takes awhile to get the ball rolling....it has a really great battle system which was one of the first times they really tried something different and new with the series. While you can still fully control each member of your party, the draw of the gameplay comes with the ability to program each person's tendencies in battle which eventually leads to you just directing the characters around its ginormous world as they react, fight, and support each other the way you set them up. This system brought a high level of strategy into the mix, and while polarizing to many, was a refreshing change for others. Definitely worth a look!

I absolutely loved everything about the original game including the old lisence board and mechanics. The updated sound and graphics are amazing. Really happy to play again on hemi vs av. Some small differences like treasure locations...At first I wasn't too happy about the new license board and am still getting use to the lack of complete freedom.... Yet at the same time, I'm enjoying this second go a bit more then if it had been 100% like the original I guess for a new challenge although I had the old system down pat. Excited that there are fair trophies as well for that extra feel goodness. moonless chocobos exciting story arventure and tons of side quests!!!! I love how lost in another world I feel while playing this game.