Fainaru fantajî XII

Do not get me wrong I enjoyed it somewhat seeing as how I am a role playing game fanatic...still I did not enjoy it as much as any of the other Final Fantasy games I have played. I looked forward to this one for so long too, as it took forever for it to be released, but the end result has to many mixed results for my tastes. First the fighting engine, I know they want to cater to us Americans who when a button is pushed an action must be performed, but give me the good old turn based fighting any day of the week. Especially, when I have more than one character to control. That isn't entirely fair though as the fighting has some turn based elements to it...the fighting is exactly the same as Knights of the Old Republic to be honest. It took me a bit to get a handle on it, but in the end it was okay and I was able to totally destroy the final boss of the game. However, to do so I had to level up and level up and level up. I have never spent so much time trying to boost my characters in a FF than I did in this one. I ended up taking at least over twenty hours of my 70 hours of playing time just leveling up. That is too much, you should only be required to level up that much if you just want to beat the extra bosses, not just the regular enemies in the field. Also, be sure to make good use of the gambits as that is how I finally won the game. Magic casting takes forever here too so that can cost you as well. Then it is too long, seventy hours and I did not complete all the extra stuff you could, I mean if I did not have a life or job sure I would love to have a game that long, but not when I am working and stuff. The story is okay as it follows a wannabe pirate named Van (or the Tidus clone) as he helps Princess Ashe (the Yuna clone) regain her kingdom. Accompying them are a former guardsmen, an actual sky pirate and his rabbit eared sidekick and a little gal named Penelo. The story has some interesting elements, but gets to political for my tastes. Also with the time you spend walking places and leveling you forget stuff and characters that will be important later become forgotten as they are not seen for long stretches. I think to myself, "who is he?" and then oh yeah I saw him ten or so hours ago. Also, the whole sky pirate plot is a bit dumb here, as you might as well be walking pirates, because if you don't walk everywhere you will not level up enough to beat anyone. Still the character's are likable enough and the beginning part of the game is rather good, cut some time off of it and it would be great...the layout of the land is excellent though as this world is very detailed.

Final Fantasy XII is a really great game with a lot of extras to keep you busy for a long time. The fighting system itself has been overhauled - instead of running into random encounters and being transported to a battle screen, the enemies are on the field and you fight them right there. The system does take some getting used to, especially in the beginning when you only have one person in your party. The system works best later on, when the enemies (and you and your party) are quicker, stronger, and smarter, resulting in fast, amazing battles. Any fan of World of Warcraft or other MMORPGs will adapt to this game in two seconds, as it's basically the same fighting system.

I found the weakest link was the story, which is odd because Final Fantasy is known for great stories. It never felt epic to me, and it didn't feel like the fate of the world was hanging in the balance. It had to do more with politics and war (probably because the head guy of this game was the same guy behind Final Fantasy Tactics, which focused less on fantasy and more on warring kingdoms). Also, while the game advertises Vaan as the main character, it's not really so. It makes you wonder why they didn't just scrap him and go with some other party member as the main character, as there are three others with more "main character" story lines than Vaan. The music is also nothing compared to past games. Finally, the only way to make serious money is by selling the "loot" you find off dead monsters. You will find yourself broke often because everything - weapons, armor, magic, Gambits, technicks, EVERYTHING - costs a lot of money.

But those are actually minor grievances once you start playing the game. The sidequests in this game, mainly hunting Marks, are incredibly fun. There are great bosses, the Judge Magisters are cool and intimidating, the voice acting is superb, the cutscenes are excellent, the graphics push to the PS2 to its limit, there are tons of different weapons and spells, the cities are large and sprawling with life, and Gambits - if you like 'em - can be mastered to perfection.

All in all, a great game and a great addition to the series

Excellent! Bravo! Best game out there, i'd give it a 20 out of 10.

But this game took me 185 hours to beat! But I completed all of the side quests along with all the optional bosses etc. Probably 1/4 of that 185 hours was storyline.

I still remember the feeling of waiting for the game to come out, staying in my room playing 10 and 8, just thinking and wondering what the game was going to be like, then I got it and was thrown into a world of war and peace and kings and queens. Definitely the Final Fantasy that is apart from the others. You know what I mean FF fans, the other FF games are all corny and crap, then 12 comes in and it's about war and crap, which definitely made it better.

I loved the game play. No more random battles people! Thats a thing of the past man, they had to move on and they did! I was very happy. You could actually see the enemies in ADVANCE! The storyline was well thought out but It could of been better I believe.

Square Enix also had the time to make huge and extremely hard bosses. Take Yiazmat for example. A total of approximately 50 million HP, and doubles his level to level 146 when you almost kill him. Took me 5 hours to beat.

Well there you have it, reasons the game had gotten the best rank of the FInal Fantays series, all in a couple paragraphs.

Currently a little over than 60 hours into the game (with all characters at level 40), I'd say that "Final Fantasy XII" ("FFXII") ranks as perhaps one of the best video games I have ever played (not that I've played a lot).

Maintaining everything from previous installments that contributed to this franchise's incredible success, "FFXII" contains excellent graphics, gameplay and story. The world of Ivalice (particularly the kingdom of Dalmasca) is so meticulously rendered and it's refreshing to see Square Enix going for less traditional Japanese feel here than a faux-Mediterranean one. As a metaphor for the transition to PS3, perhaps? Maybe.

The Kingdom of Dalmasca is at war with the neighboring Kingdom of Archadia, which has since conquered and transformed the former to a state seized by military invasion. The Lady Ashe was then a 17-year old Hume (human) princess mandatorily married to Lord Rasler, who died in battle trying to claim the Nabradia Fortress. Two years later, in a desire to set out for revenge, she unites with street urchin (and playing character for most of the game) Vaan, sky pirate Balthier, the initially enigmatic Basch, the ex-Viera (a race of rabbit-like wood-dwellers) Fran, and the perky Penelo. Together, they embark on a journey across the snowy mountains of Paramina Rift to the white beaches of Phon Coast in an effort to restore peace in Dalmasca.

As with all the narratology of "Final Fantasy" installments, characters are given enough history to give the player a little more connection with them. (I agree with the previous comment of another user that Ashe has the best backstory which is why I often use her as the party leader.) While not necessarily attaining the lofty bars "Final Fantasy VII" and, to some extent, "Final Fantasy X" ("FFX") has reached as far as characters are concerned, "FFXII" more than makes up with a better storyline (the nature of which I understand may reduce the appeal to some) and excellent visuals. Rather than the usual narrative mostly involving otherworldly beings, "FFXII" gears more towards the political realm, even if the Victorian-style dialog feels a bit our of place in some parts (not really a complaint). Music-wise, the score is good although there are certain stretches I half-expect "FFXs"'s battle theme, as well as "Final Fantasy X-2"'s "Yuna's Ballad" and "Eternity of Lightwaves," would play.

Regarding gameplay, the battle system of "FFXII" is similar with "FFXI" in that it uses an active dimension battle (ADB) system, which means battles unfold in real time (yep, no more shattering screens and less victory fanfares). This, along with the gambit system (a set of preordained actions to be performed by each character depending on default and user input) and an ala-sphere grid license board (only much less confined regarding the characters), offer much creativity and flexibility to the part of the player. For instance, with the right gambit, license, weapons and/or armor, a character can both be an effective healer and a decent attacker.

"FFXII" is, needless to say, a great game that should satisfy fans as well as casual gamers alike. Honestly, I think it's a triumph for Square that fits as a nice send-off before the shift to PS3.

Oh, and on a relatively unrelated note, Penelo reminds me of ex-Morning Musume member Nozomi Tsuji. Heh.

This game is so incredible. It made such an impression on me when I was younger. This is pure art. The language can be hard to understand but the story is deep. The world is just top tier. Ivalice has my heart.

Understand that this game came out at the end of the Ps2's life cycle. However this means its actually one of the most technically impressive ps2 games ever made. Nobody ever talks about that fact but Final Fantasy 12 has full on dungeons in worlds with multiple monsters and bosses casting gigantic spells while your party meets them in kind. Somehow it keeps up, how? With a lot of motion blur but its good motion blur, it feels the misty nature of the game.

The amount of endgame content is staggering and ultimately you can get a lot out of this game. Taking your time and interfacing with the gambit system is key to enjoying 12.

Again I cannot simply state how FFXII is simply art.