Final Fantasy XII

Great classic ps2 title that still holds up today

Last night I finished FFXII. It is my favorite FF game and the best video game I've ever played. I logged 120 hours and loved it.My favorite Final Fantasy games that I have played are now, in order: XII, X, VI, VII, and X-2. I plan to play VIII and IX next.What I loved about FF XII:- beautiful graphics- lots of challenging fights- huge world to explore and freedom to travel around- scenes including dark dungeons full of undead, icy mountains, foggy marshes, rolling praries, mystic forests, and more- combat system (with gambits optional) that I grew to love- memorable characters- license system for abilities is flexible and lets you choose who is a fighter, mage, etc.- no random monster encounters - you can see them approaching and use location and range to your advantage- the game stayed challenging pretty much the whole way- the NPC interaction and side quests are interesting and can be helpful, but are mostly optionalWhat I didn't like about FF XII:- if I could redesign it, I would change the end fight - it was good, but could have been better.The best thing about FF XII is that I loved it all the way through the game, all 120 hours I played. I enjoyed all of the areas, all the boss fights, and monsters, weapons, magic, were all fun. In previous FF games, I have always liked developing character abilities and powers, and this game seemed to be the best yet that I have played at keeping the balance between toughness of monsters and power of characters good to keep fights challenging. I got wiped out a few times and had to restart from save points, and there were a bunch of close encounters where I just barely got out, but that to me is challenging and fun.Also, I liked the visuals. I could tell by looking at the weapons my characters were carrying around exactly which sword, spear, etc., they had because the detail is that precise. You can tell a Defender sword from a Save The Queen just by looking at them. Little details make it visually impactful. Fran and Balthier are great looking characters - the tall elf woman in leather and the swashbuckling leading man, very memorable. Penelo was the fun, peppy one. Vaan and Ashe reminded me of Tidus and Yuna from FF X. Basch was the tough guy. I thought the voicing was for the most part excellent, especially Balthier and Fran.My favorite locations were the creepier dungeons with the eerie music and undead monsters. When you are wading through zombies nearly getting your butt kicked, but manage to pull through and reach the goal, that is fun. There was also a windswept snowy area with swirling magic illusions that I will never forget.The battle system, with no random encounters, enemies you see coming on a corner map, and gambit options, is my favorite of all the FF games.The license system is my second favorite, after the sphere grid in X. The ending was also my second favorite, after the ending in X. However, I liked XII better overall because I loved the combat system, the consistent challenges, the phenominal look and graphics, and the puzzles were more intuitive to me.I will definitely play FF XII again some time in the future. It is my new favorite.

"Discover the secret that will unravel an empire"I honestly feel like many people are too caught in the "typical" Final Fantasy Formula that came before FFXII was released. This is probably one of the BEST games in the series, alongside 10, 9 and 7! Here's why I feel this way:BATTLE SYSTEM: This is one of the things that drew me to the game once I learned about what it would be featuring. I love that the enemies roam free and you can choose to engage in battle or find strategic ways to avoid them. Sure, it gets frustrating when large groups of enemies swarm you but you know what, that's what I love about Final Fantasy: you had those heart stopping moments where you were like "Oh my god, I'm going to die!"...but then later, you say "Hey, maybe if I leveled up more, I could handle that!" and then you change tactics. It's ALL about critical thinking!PLOT: This is my FAVORITE plot in the series: it's rich, dynamic and engaging to me. It was full of twists and turns and to me, I love how the game really created a "history" and got you to appreciate just why the main characters were so determined to change the course of history, for the better. I'm a big fan of history so that got me!CHARACTERS: There is such an interesting dynamic of characters that it's hard not to love at least one. You have the young and spirited Vaan and Penelo, both of whom mature through the game to be fierce warriors (depending on how you raise them). Then you've got the sarcastic but charming Balthier who is my favorite character and then Fran, who to me, was a force to be reckoned with. Toss in the strong willed Princess Ashe who to me, was one of the strongest female characters aside from Lightning in FF13, and Basch who was a formidable fighter and you have a great set of characters who honestly have taught each other something along the journey!LICENSE BOARD: My FAVORITE thing about the game! This was, to me, a great addition to the series as was the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X. The fact that YOU had free reign over where and how your characters grew was great and also I loved how that choice could have pro's and con's. Example: If you gave your characters HEAVY ARMOR which mostly consisted of metal, during the fight with Vinuskar, your characters speed drastically is cut. This forces you to think of a different way to fight. It was just amazing to be able to control what the characters learned, wore, etc rather than the game dictate it for you.SUMMONING: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh how much fun was it to acquire the Espers! Seriously, fighting them first made me love it and appreciate it (a tactic the creators used in FF13). And then the hidden Espers...AMAZING!SIDE QUESTS/ETC: This game has PLENTY for you to do and yes, it may require you to go back and forth but some of the rewards are truly worth the effort. Also, the Side Bosses are FUN and CHALLENGING, which to me, made the game even better.