3.9.2017

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age is an HD remastered version of the original playstation 2 game released in 2006. More specifically it's based on the International Zodiac Job System edition previously only released in Japan which balanced out some of the gameplay mechanics among other things to improve the original. This PS4 release with higher quality visuals, remastered orchestra soundtrack and ability to play at X2 and X4 speed is sort of the ultimate release of the game and it is, in my opinion, fantastic.The story of Final Fantasy XII is a very political one. Set in the world of Ivalice, more precisely the Kingdom of Dalmasca after a war where the Empire of Archadia has invaded and taken over.The characters are an assorted bunch from a pair of orphaned street thieves, a dishonored Knight, a Princess and a couple of sky pirates. They all get brought together for different reasons, some for their honor and duty and others just because they got swept up into events much bigger than themselves in an attempt to free Dalmasca from Archadia's grip. The story isn't a huge world saving quest like many previous Final Fantasy games or other Japanese role playing games in general and I kind of like it for being more grounded in many ways. That's not to say the story doesn't take the player to fantastical places like floating islands or towns full of strange races while fighting fantastical monsters or anything, only that the characters problems and motivations just seem much more realistic than previous games have gone for.The gameplay on this quest is of course the most important aspect and I thought it was way ahead of it's time when it was released and didn't actually think I would like it, when I finally played it though I loved it. During the parties travels both between cities in the wilds as well as numourous dungeons they will cross paths with many enemies such as wild monsters or Archadian empire troops. During fights or traveling the player can use up to three characters on the field at any one time and as long as they aren't being targeted can be swapped with back up members at anytime. These three members in the field can be swapped between at any point and given orders to attack, use a variety of offensive/defensive and heal items/abilities etc or they can be set up to auomatically perform actions under certain conditions.This is called the gambit system. Each charater has a set amount of slots for these gambits which can be set up to target specific enemies, characters or themselves under a variety of conditions to perform an action. For example "Ally health <60% - use potion" so any ally who drops below 60% health that character will automatically heal them with a potion. It's a simple but effective system where you can assign priorites to which gambit they will use over others in different situations gaining both more slots for these gambits as well as conditions to use them and abilities as the game goes on both from leveling up and shops. It is a system people either love or hate but you can turn them off at any tame should you wish and control characters manually. I liked to set up my gambits and have my party take a boss out running on automatic without me even touching the controller if I've done it right but there is some flexibility if you want.The big change to the game over the original is each character now take on up to two specific jobs that can't be changed, locking in what skills, weapons and armour they can use for the entire game rather than everyone being a jack of all trades super soldier as in the original. This makes for a much more interesting and strategic game where you have to choose characters jobs very carefully as you can't go back once they take on that job. I also found myself swapping between characters a hell of a lot more to use different skills such as various magic or long ranged attacks etc. How everyone plays will be entirely up to your job choices and it makes the party feel a lot more diverse.Visually this game is just wonderful. It's obviously still a playstation 2 game and that must be taken into account but in many places it looks better than some PS4 games. It was cutting edge at the time of release and with higher detailed models, crisp outlines and better colours it looks much better. There are some blurry undetailed textures here and there for backgrounds compared with the detailed character models but all in all FFXII still looks fantastic thanks to it's great usage of colour and design. I seriously love the overall art and atmosphere of FFXII from the normal citizens, the races, buildings, armour etc. It all looks great.The audio and music are also fantastic. The whole soundtrack was re-recorded, you can switch between it and the original in the menu to see the difference and use whichever you prefer. I personally loved the higher quality new soundtrack, the music is exactly the same otherwise which is no bad thing because the soundtrack is great. A nice mixture of more upbeat tunes such as exploring the city of Rabanastre up to the more epic orchestral boss fights. As for the voice acting, I always loved it in Final Fantasy XII and the voice acting is exactly the same, no re-recordings of that. The cast does a great job of all standing out, from the British skypirate (Balthier is the leading man after all) to the enigmatic Vierra and grizzled sounding Knight, each part is really perfect for each character. The only problem is some of the voice acting sounds like it was recorded through a tin can or a tiny room and comes accross as a little echoey, it didn't bother me much, just something I noticed people should be aware of.Lastly on my standard review list is value. I got the platinum trophy in around 110 hours beating all superbosses, doing all optional hunts and sidequests. I was however doing this having played it all before and a lot at x4 speed. For someone new to the game that's not hunting out every little secret or trying to take on the 100 levels of trial mode it's still a solid 40 hours experience which at £30 is good value to me.In conclusion Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age is a great game. It improves on the original balancing out characters and combat with better visuals, improved music, an ability to speed run through the large open areas. It has a ton of content and is just an all round great game. I can see how some people may be turned off by both the gambit system and the story but it's worth a try as you may end up surprised and loving it like I did eleven years ago.Recommended.+ Gambit system is excellent.+ New job selections make for a more diverse party.+ Great visuals, colour and music.+ Balthier.- Voice acting is superb but sounds like it was recorded in a small room. May annoy some people though I was fine with it.

11.4.2020

This is a great example of how to remaster a classic.First off, some of the gameplay issues with the original have been remedied. The team of characters is better balanced and the new job system works very nicely. As someone who played and enjoyed the original back in the day I have no hesitation in recommending to other 'returners' that this is well worth getting. For those who have not played the game before, what else can I tell you?The bare details are that this is a great JRPG which will probably take you around 50-60 hours to complete or possibly double that if you are a completionist, which I'm not. The usual FF tropes are much in evidence: a cast of attractive,likeable and quirkily attired young people go on a fantastical quest which involves lots of battling through landscapes littered with aggressive wildlife. But that doesnt tell you why you should play this game. This is why:Firstly, the remastered world of Ivalice is eye-bleedingly beautiful. Really, the graphics are gorgeous and whilst, of course, nothing like the level of HD definitition that you would seen in a new triple-A title, are amazingly good for a game this old. The HD remastering is masterful (see what I did?).The gambit combat system remains quite devisive and I admit that I did not like it at first. It takes a little while to get used to and to understand the concepts. Esentially, the idea is to set your party up for combat in advance with a series of actions which they will perform either pro-actively or re-actively to what happens during a combat situation. At the start it can make combat feel a little passive but, as the game progresses and you aquire more options for setting up your gambits for each character the system becomes both challenging (in a fun way) and satisfying.The annoying random encounters with agressive flora and fauna from earlier FF games are a thing of the past. The creatures appear on the terrain so you can see and either chose to fight them or take evasive action. As ususal though you will need to do a fair bit of fighting to accumilate experience points and loot in order to be able to progress through the game.The game world is huge. There are so many beautiful locations to explore. The fantastic localisation, rich cast of NPCs which you meet and the sparkling gameplay all add to what is a fun and immersive experience. It is a long game, even just to complete the main story, but is absolutely a jouney well worth taking.So, why not 5 stars? Well, the issues which I have with the game are, I fully appreciate, a matter of personal taste and shouldn't discourage you from playing. I'll tell you anyway though.The 'macro' story is fine. At the most basic level it is about a tiny kingdom caught between two warring empires. That kingdom, Dalmasca, is annexed by one of the empires, Archadia. The king is killed and his newly married daughter widowed. Two years later the princess, believed by the populace to be dead herself, is leading a resistance faction with the ultimate aim of restoring her country's sovereignty and herself to the throne. Possibly with a bit of payback for Archadia as well. The game concerns the princess, Ashe, and her disparate band of friends (the rest of the party) striving towards that aim. So far so good. The bits inbetween are simply a series of 'fetch quests' where the party dispatches off to various parts of the game world to seek various items which they hope will help them in achieving these aims. The exposition for why each of these items is necessary is usually quite convoluted and you frequently find yourself setting off for somewhere without a clear idea of how obtaining this item is going to help you. Since you get to see the stunning world on the way, this is not too much of an issue though.Every game deserves to be judged on it's own merits but, for my other complaint, I have to contrast this game with it's predecessor in the (single player) FF series: FFX.Lets be clear; the game play in FFXII is better than FFX and for a lot of players that is what really matters. Where FFX really shines though is in it's story and characterisations. It is a tour-de-force of character driven story-telling. All of the main-characters go through a complex arc of development. Their back-stories are deep and impact on their actions in the present. Their interactions with each other feel meaningful and important. As a result you become attached and involved with them and consequently, the emotional set-pieces really hit you in the 'feels'. Who with a soul has played that game and not wept like a little girl at THAT ending?FFXII does not delve into the the characters to anything like the same extent. I got to the end of the game and didn't feel that I knew much more about the characters than I did at the beginning. The only character that I felt that I got to know to any great degree was Ashe who does go through an arc of sorts. There is no doubt that Ashe is one of the great FF heroines.I feel that the developers decided that an 'external' political plot rather than an 'internal' character driven plot was the way to go with this and would make for a refreshing change. As I have said, it is really a matter of personal preference. Not everyone needs or wants to be in a snotty emotional heap at the end of a game. As for FFXII, the cinematic ending is dramatic and satisfying and the epilogue leaves you with a smile and a warm fuzzy feeling of a job well done.As I have said, my reservations are really just ppersonal preference and, in truth, I hugely enjoyed playing this game and will be returning to Ivalice for a re-play at some point, without a doubt.If you haven't played this game before, I envy you. You are in for a real treat.

12.7.2017

The original FFXII was met with mixed reactions, some people loved it, others hated it. I was very much in the former, and so was very excited to get stuck back into Ivalice in this remaster. There is something special about FFXII; sure it has its flaws, but so does every FF game. However the strengths more than make up for the weaknesses. Where FFXII shines it does so with a grandeur so perfect it has never been equalled. From the superb scripting to the beautiful complexity of the gambit system, this game is an absorbing, wonderful experience that can easily take over most of your free time.So what has changed in the remaster? Well, obviously there’s been a graphical overhaul, and it does look gorgeous,which you’d expect really. The cutscenes look amazing, though for some reason there’s a huge black border at the bottom of the screen during these. I can’t remember if this was in the original, and it’s a bit odd, but it disappears for the actual playing.The sound too has been redone, with full surround available. You also have the options of setting the language to Japanese or English, and the music to original or reorchestrated.You have the option to speed the game up too, simply by pressing L1. This is amusing, watching your character (and all NPCs too) move around at double or quadruple speed, but it will come in handy for the grind sections.The biggest change, and one I’m not certain of yet, is the change to the licence grid. The remaster incorporates the system from the previous, Japan only ‘international’ version. This splits the system up into twelve separate classes, each with a grid specialising in a style eg knight, black mage, archer etc. and you have to assign each character a class, which you cannot change. Later on, you can assign a second class, but still this inability to change things forces you to put each character into a role before you’re sure if they fit it. And if they don’t, tough. I get the idea of it, but in the original I enjoyed sending each character off in separate directions, knowing if they didn’t suit the path I’d chosen, I could adjust it, or having a laugh watching tiny Penelo fight with a ridiculous greatsword. Then once I was at the end-game, hunting the most powerful marks, I could really fine tune each character to the role I preferred them to have. What’s more is that there is no option to choose which system you want to use, you have to play it this new way.That uncertainty aside, this is still the amazing game it was, redone for the PS4. And, as with all games now, you are rewarded for your efforts with trophies. It’s not an easy trophy list, and I can’t say I’m particularly looking forward to fighting Yiazmat again, but it’s something to really get stuck into. Fortunately I’ve still got the amazing Piggyback guide, which is invaluable for figuring out some of the hunts, though apparently some of the tasks listed in the book are different in this version of the game...great... The one and only thing I never achieved in the original, and for which there is a trophy, is completing the bestiary. That is going to take some doing, given how awkward the conditions needed for some of the elite monsters are, but I still reckon this game is far less of a grind fest than the huge time sump needed in FFX to complete the sphere grid.All in all, I have most of the summer off work, and this is going to take up a good chunk of that time, especially when it’s raining. A wonderful game, for me one of the best Final Fantasies, and I am revelling in every nostalgic moment of it.

4.8.2017

First of all: I purchased this from another UK website, which was the same price as Amazon but included a free official FFXII t-shirt. Always shop around before buying or pre-ordering from Amazon, as other sites often have exclusive free gifts and can be cheaper too.I never played the original so these are my thoughts on this one: The story is wonderful and the characters brilliantly realised. The art direction is of course top-notch, as is the soundtrack. I much prefer the layouts of the dungeons to Persona 5, which felt boxy and repetitive. I enjoy the Gambit and License Board systems, although try not to spend too much time fretting over getting the perfect set-up. The visuals are brilliant,

15.7.2017

I have played this up to lv26 for Van and absolutely love it, great RPG! I won’t talk about the story as not to spoil its enjoyment but after a fast paced intro which reminds me of a mix of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, you set off on your adventure. Usual FF mechanic of baddy attacks peace loving neighbour, hero steps in to save the day :-)Graphics are good, reminds me a bit of Fable with that 'glow’ effect that makes the world vibrant. Music is excellent and voice acting as well in 5.1. Areas are small but load times between areas is short so no problem. Enemies can been seen wandering about and the colour bar above them indicates their aggression level, green is ok,

23.7.2017

Note: Never completed a Final Fantasy game before, nor played much of any. Pretty much first time.At the moment, I'm farming levels for 99 and throughout the game, i've loved it!I'm not one for strategy games as I'm terrible at them and always lose alot.But what I love about this Final Fantasy is the combat, classes and the adventure!While I agree with some people the game is pretty easy, some bosses are little difficult and require small tactic. Other than that, I've beaten nearly every boss (apart from last bosses) first try without much struggle.Combat feels little slow but you can turn on the "fast forward" to speed things up. As well as use it for travelling.

10.6.2019

The world design is huge and feels it with a Mediterranean meets European inspiration, art direction, best voice acting in a FF game and visuals of it's time still strong, Music is melted within the game through a fab Ost soundtrack, cultural contextual events, grittier story however still holds the recognizable ff flair Moogles and all.The new gameplay system to the series is active real time with strategy and time/party/gambit management, giving players manual command over characters you can swap to as well as giving AI actions they will prioritize when chosen conditions are met, as an example,

11.7.2017

This game was one of those which people originally looked over because it changed too much compared to the previous Final Fantasy's and people weren't sure about it back then.This was an injustice in my view. The game is a step above and will be welcomed by people who loved VII and those who loved XIII . Whilst the graphics upgrades are modest the game still looks like a ps3 game,mostly.I'll admit, the story isn't great in parts and I personally found some characters annoying this is partly why the game lost a star from me.The gameplay is very fun and unique, the battle system is based on planning ,moving your characters around the battle field etc.

14.7.2017

A brilliant improvement on an already brilliant game, making this probably the best remaster Square has worked on. The Zodiac Job System, released for the first time outside of the Japanese special "international" edition, adds another layer to the strategy of the game, forcing you to use make the best of a more specialised team. I feel it could have been introduced better, as even though I was a veteran of the original, I still made some rather poor choices just because of how they are labelled and described. I would have preferred labels like " Paladin" and others used in the past games so I could better understand what the role focused on, only realising my mistakes after a couple of hours in game.

22.10.2019

"What is gone cannot be taken back...what's done is done". The heroes of FINAL FANTASY XII face this fact-this lesson in front of them, as they take on the military might of the Arcadian Empire. Following the perspective of Disney's Aladdin like youth named Vaan, rebels from across a desert based kingdom must now join forces, despite following completely different paths and having utterly different personalities to one another. A masterpiece with lots to offer, FF XII is de facto the "Star Wars" of the FF franchise, Rebels opposing a dictating Empire. Now this might off-put fans who don't like Star Wars...but on the other hand, again, Final Fantasy XII has a lot to offer of itself.

18.12.2018

I played this for the PS2 years ago and can say it has aged well. The graphics enhancement are good however what I love is the classic roaming, levelling, new gear to buy. The story is perhaps more political than in most final fantasies however is still interesting.The speed up system has made it better in my view as it means you can level up and see lots of things quickly. I took roughly 40 hours to go through the game this time which is probably half the time it took last time.The license system is more restrictive which is good and bad. If you're new to this type of game then it can keep you focused on only a couple of classes however if you've played rpgs a lot then you would probably want the old system.The variety of worlds/areas is great,

1.3.2020

This is one game in the series I never had the opportunity to play. I was a little hesitant to purchase as I had heard rather mixed reviews. My first few hours I was impressed, the world feels lived in the action based combat interesting. With the addition of controllable party scripting 12 begs the question how did 13 go so wrong?However, the further in I got in the more I could see the framework of 13's faults. The characters are very one note at best and annoying at worst. Graphically acceptable, it is an older game but playing on the go visuals aren't the most important thing. In the end I was most surprised with how easy and short the game was.

3.11.2017

My PS2 always had issues with this game, I had tried many copies and it just never was meant to be, I never got a chance to fully enjoy this game.. until now.The PS4 remaster is a warm welcome to my library, and when I do have the free time to play it, I sit down and have a proper session, I am glad they have not just touched up the graphics and even re-worked some of the music score, but they have included the job system which makes this game more enjoyable..This may not be everyones cup of tea, but as far as stories go this is indepth and full of lore, based in the world of Ivalice (which has been used in many other Squeenix games)

13.2.2019

Simply stunning. Holds you from the first minute.The classic Final Fantasy tricks and treats are all their. The Skill wheels are a joy to use and really help you decide your route forward. Its ace when something 'BIG' appears..like a superb sword or spell. You have to work to earn items, work to level up, in fact its engrossing. Going off story to track down a beasty is ultra fun. You can and do make mistakes, but thankfully after more graft you feel well rewarded when you sort things out. i like the characters and npc's. The locations are brilliantly realised and to sum up I think this title deserves a 9/10.my only gripe is that the TRIAL mode is quite difficult to understand when you want

2.11.2017

For some reason I couldn't get into this version of FF12 when I was younger. Having smashed through all the other versions and 10 being a favourite. I was a little reluctant to go back and try again, but the challenge to complete a game I hadn't before made me jump on it at a good price. Brought it for 19 pound on a sale. What a game! I love it. The extra speed setting helps push the pace as most Areas are massive. 25 hours in and I don't want to play my new games yet. The HD remaster is lovely. Some of the facial expressions are a bit odd especially when it's upscaling on a 4k tv. However the gameplay, music and cutscenes make up for the odd weird looking expression or shading on the face.if your looking for a challenging DOG this has got plenty going for it.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - Reviews

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