System: PS2
Dev: Square Enix
Pub: Square Enix
Release: Nov 2006
Players: 1
Review by D'Marcus

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Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best

The Active Dimension Battle system takes a while to get used to, but does make a great experience. The foes that you fight have different attack behavior, sometimes attacking in packs, sometimes fleeing when injured, or sometimes ignoring your party altogether. While most of the creatures that you encounter will be around your level, you’ll occasionally encounter creatures that are too powerful and simply most be avoided. There are even creatures that prey on other creatures, allowing you to choose whether to sneak past or choose sides. The ADB does an excellent job of making the player feel as if he/she is actually trekking through the game environment and encountering various species, which, obviously, adds to the gaming experience.

Another addition to the gameplay is the introduction of gambits. Gambits are basically commands to your party members, stacked in order of priority. By effectively using gambits, your party members will carry out orders without needing the player to micromanage their every move. For example, you can set your gambit for your healer character to heal any character that has health falling under thirty percent of their max HP before attacking any foe. Or you can tell a character to automatically use a remedy on any character that has been turned to stone. Or to use potions and healing spells on any undead foes that your party encounters. The game does require you to buy and find the various gambits, but once you get the hang of assigning gambits to players, the gameplay flows much more smoothly, as each character responds to situations automatically based on your orders. There is also still the option to directly give orders, which takes precedence over gambits, or to turn off gambits entirely and give all the orders yourself which should satisfy the aforementioned purists.

The last major change to the gameplay is the use of the license board. The license board is similar to the Sphere Grid system in FFX with a few minor differences. The first is that the board isn’t really personalized for characters, allowing you to chart your own route. This means that you can decide whether you want your character to be a magic using swordsman or an agile archer or whatever other combination you can dream up. By earning license points through defeating foes, you can purchase licenses on the board that can give you stat bonuses, new abilities, or the ability to wear certain types of armor or wield new weapons. Any character can use a sword if that sword spot is purchased on the license board. Of course, after the license is purchased the player must find the corresponding skill or object in the game world before using it. For example, after opening a license to use a sword, the player must purchase a sword. The same applies to skills and magic as well, as skills (called technicks) and magic must be purchased in stores as well.

In addition to the main storyline, the game has a number of fun distractions to add to the hours. One of the most fun is the ability to take on Hunts, which are basically bounty hunting creatures that are a little more powerful than the standard foes but not quite boss level. Your character joins a clan that gives him access to hunt info and rewards you, not only for completing a hunt and defeating the mark, but also for other achievements like beating three marks in a row. There is also a bestiary that gives info about all encountered foes and a Sky Pirates’ Den that keeps track of achievements.

The visuals are amazing as well, easily among the best the PS2 has seen. In addition to this, the audio and voice acting are also outstanding, putting together not only one of the best RPGs, but also one of the best games available now.

Final Fantasy XII should be an easy choice for any gamer. The only type of gamer that should avoid this game is a gamer that is only interested in investing a few hours in each game, but this game may hook even those casual gamers. With an engaging story, incredible visuals, great audio, and a cohesive and epic experience, FFXII is easily one of the best RPGs available now.

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