Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (PS4)
Final Fantasy XII seemed a little divisive among my friends when it first came out on the PS2.
Personally, I loved it. There was a definite charm to the world and its inhabitants which kept me adventuring onward to find out what stunning and intriguing new place or situation I'd stumble upon next.
So how does the remastered/Zodiac Age version hold up today?
Following a short tutorial-based prologue, you step into the shoes of Vaan, a young man living in the city of Rabanastre.
He seems to make ends meet by doing odd jobs for people, but has dreams of making more of his life.
And wouldn't you know it - before too long he finds himself embroiled in an increasingly high stakes struggle, the repercussions of which reach far further than his home.
I won't go into the plot too much, except to say that it sees your party of likable heroes travelling all over the world in their battle to restore peace and order (as is usually the case in some way in Final Fantasy games).
Travelling is a big part of this game - the world is pretty large and initially you'll be making your way across it on foot.
This, for me at least, gave Final Fantasy XII the feeling of going on an epic journey.
You're not always locked into one path either. Many of the maps branch off in different directions and lead to completely new areas.
Exploring these places is an absolute pleasure too, as you'll be journeying through all kinds of places from dusty deserts to ancient ruins, icy wildernesses, lush green jungles and more.
I recall the PS2 version being very pretty, but I am sure this new edition has been given extra polish as everything looks gorgeous.
The music is as good as it ever was, and does a good job at giving each area its own personality and atmosphere.
And while the odd line comes off a bit wooden, the majority of the voice acting is good.
Gameplay-wise, this title does depart from the trusty turn based battle system from previous games, replacing it instead with a real-time "gambit" based system.
Gone are the random battles too. Enemies roam the wilderness and will attack if you get too close, making exploration and battles merge seamlessly.
The gambit system allows you to program your characters to act in certain ways in battle, and can be as basic or complex as you like.
I initially found this a little cumbersome, but I have to say the more I used it the better it got.
By the end I had each character set up just as I wanted them and each was individual in their abilities thanks to further customization via the license board.
Through the board, characters can spend license points (earned in battle) to acquire the skill needed to wield certain weapons, wear different armors, learn spells and more.
You must choose which license boards each character will access, so it is really up to you which of your characters will wield swords and shields, guns and bows, spells and other abilities - a level of freedom I don't recall being in the original PS2 version, but one which I really enjoyed.
Final Fantasy XII's main story is a pretty good length, easily equal to other entries in the series I'd say, and there is more than enough extra content to keep you busy for a long time with optional sidequests and monster hunts.
A welcome edition on the remastered/Zodiac Age version is the ability to speed up walking and battling by 2x and 4x.
This is particularly useful when you're grinding for experience or backtracking, which now feels really quite slow without the changeable speed option.
So overall, this is definitely worth a play. It seems to be more expensive on Nintendo Switch but at the time of writing it's about £10 preowned on PS4 or as little as a few pounds if you're looking for the original PS2 experience.
Personally, I loved it. There was a definite charm to the world and its inhabitants which kept me adventuring onward to find out what stunning and intriguing new place or situation I'd stumble upon next.
So how does the remastered/Zodiac Age version hold up today?
Following a short tutorial-based prologue, you step into the shoes of Vaan, a young man living in the city of Rabanastre.
He seems to make ends meet by doing odd jobs for people, but has dreams of making more of his life.
 |
| Final Fantasy XII's heroes, from left to right: Balthier, Basch, Penelo, Fran, Ashe and Vaan |
And wouldn't you know it - before too long he finds himself embroiled in an increasingly high stakes struggle, the repercussions of which reach far further than his home.
I won't go into the plot too much, except to say that it sees your party of likable heroes travelling all over the world in their battle to restore peace and order (as is usually the case in some way in Final Fantasy games).
Travelling is a big part of this game - the world is pretty large and initially you'll be making your way across it on foot.
This, for me at least, gave Final Fantasy XII the feeling of going on an epic journey.
You're not always locked into one path either. Many of the maps branch off in different directions and lead to completely new areas.
Exploring these places is an absolute pleasure too, as you'll be journeying through all kinds of places from dusty deserts to ancient ruins, icy wildernesses, lush green jungles and more.
I recall the PS2 version being very pretty, but I am sure this new edition has been given extra polish as everything looks gorgeous.
The music is as good as it ever was, and does a good job at giving each area its own personality and atmosphere.
And while the odd line comes off a bit wooden, the majority of the voice acting is good.
Gameplay-wise, this title does depart from the trusty turn based battle system from previous games, replacing it instead with a real-time "gambit" based system.
Gone are the random battles too. Enemies roam the wilderness and will attack if you get too close, making exploration and battles merge seamlessly.
The gambit system allows you to program your characters to act in certain ways in battle, and can be as basic or complex as you like.
I initially found this a little cumbersome, but I have to say the more I used it the better it got.
By the end I had each character set up just as I wanted them and each was individual in their abilities thanks to further customization via the license board.
Through the board, characters can spend license points (earned in battle) to acquire the skill needed to wield certain weapons, wear different armors, learn spells and more.
You must choose which license boards each character will access, so it is really up to you which of your characters will wield swords and shields, guns and bows, spells and other abilities - a level of freedom I don't recall being in the original PS2 version, but one which I really enjoyed.
Final Fantasy XII's main story is a pretty good length, easily equal to other entries in the series I'd say, and there is more than enough extra content to keep you busy for a long time with optional sidequests and monster hunts.
A welcome edition on the remastered/Zodiac Age version is the ability to speed up walking and battling by 2x and 4x.
This is particularly useful when you're grinding for experience or backtracking, which now feels really quite slow without the changeable speed option.
So overall, this is definitely worth a play. It seems to be more expensive on Nintendo Switch but at the time of writing it's about £10 preowned on PS4 or as little as a few pounds if you're looking for the original PS2 experience.
Comments
Post a Comment