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Final Fantasy XIIWhen a game is in production for four years, you generally have high expectations for it but with all the changes that Final Fantasy XII has brought to the Final Fantasy series – was it really worth the wait, or would we have been better off with the same old, winning formula?

Final Fantasy XII brought one thing I never wanted to see in the Final Fantasy series, change. Why? Because Final Fantasy works so damn well, it doesn’t really need changing and when I heard that Final Fantasy XII would be changing it’s battle system from the traditionally turn based method, my heart sank. How mistaken could I be? From a distance, Final Fantasy XII looks reminiscent of a second rate slasher and this was what worried me the most, however the fact that you control the movement of your characters in battle adds an whole new spin on Final Fantasy, rather than waiting and praying for the word “Miss” to appear, Final Fantasy XII puts you in control!

Now you’re probably wondering, “If I’m busy moving one character around, what on earth are all the others doing?” – You’re right in thinking that, but like I said; Final Fantasy XII has brought change to the series and with it comes a new system known as the Gambit System. Gambits allow you to program commands and the likelihood of their occurrence into a character before you enter a battle meaning that you only really have to concentrate on the one character. This system works pretty well as it’s quite intelligent and let’s you concentrate on dealing damage and healing when it needs to be done the most, the gambit system doesn’t mean you can’t control the other party members though, as with the push of a button you can be in control of another character!

Final Fantasy XIIFinal Fantasy XII begins with the powerful Archadian Empire invading the peaceful kingdom of Dalmasca, in order to prevent the war going any further Dalmasca’s king signs a peace treaty giving the Archadian Empire occupational rights to Dalmasca, in return asking for the end of the war. Fast forward two years and you’re now playing as Vaan, an energetic young man with huge dreams of becoming a Sky Pirate after the death of his brother, Rexs in the war two years prior. Vaan, like many others isn’t best pleased with the Archadian Empire’s possession of Dalmasca and due to the death of his brother he holds them responsible and feels it his task to reclaim what rightfully belonged to Dalmasca.

As the storyline progresses Vaan and his friend Penelo end up travelling with a bunch sky pirates, a man convicted of treason and princess thought to be long dead on a journey that tells the darkest story seen in a Final Fantasy game to this day. On the whole Final Fantasy XII’s storyline was mediocre, I wouldn’t say it was bad but then again it lacked the character development and depth seen in previous Final Fantasy games and it removed the romance between characters that I’d grown fond of in previous titles. For example the relationship between Zidane and Garnet in Final Fantasy IX and Tidus and Yuna in Final Fantasy X – the romance between these couples added so much depth to the story and resulted in an epic tale worthy of been a novel. The fact that Final Fantasy XII was lacking this meant that the character’s personalities didn’t shine like they had in previous games, and the story didn’t mean as much as it should’ve to the player.

Final Fantasy XIILike many, Final Fantasy X-2 left me thinking that the PlayStation 2 had reached its absolute limits and that it would be impossible for a game to improve upon the graphics of Final Fantasy X-2. However, Final Fantasy XII proved me wrong. Final Fantasy XII’s in game graphics are impressive to say the least, but with that in mind Final Fantasy XII’s FMV sequences are truly breathtaking, exceeding even those of Final Fantasy X-2!

In a nutshell, even though Final Fantasy XII lacks a little in the storyline department it’s still definitely worth playing and alongside Final Fantasy X and X-2, it’s one of the best RPG’s on PlayStation 2 at this moment in time.

Rating: 8/10


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