Review: Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age gets a second chance to make a big impression

Platforms: PlayStation 4

Developer: Square Enix

Publisher: Square Enix

MSRP: $49.99

Introduction

I always felt bad for Final Fantasy XII. It released at a very unfortunate time where it wasn't given a proper time to shine. Final Fantasy X was a showcase for the PS2, adding voice acting and facial animations, while Final Fantasy XI was the alluring first ever MMORPG for the fabled franchise. FFXII released a mere month before the PlayStation 3, a next-gen system promising a huge leap in graphical capabilities. By that time, many people were waiting for their next-gen fix, instead of diving into the world of Ivalice. Even by remake and remaster standards, FFXII was the black sheep of the group, since, at this point, we've seen every other mainline FF game get some sort of port or remakes/remasters on other, newer systems.

It's this reason why I'm so happy that Square gave FFXII new life with The Zodiac Age, because it not only reminded me what a fantastic game it was when I first played it on the PS2 but now complete with a host of improvements that make the game so much better. But the other, and possibly even bigger reason why I'm so excited is that many players who started gaming after XII's release will finally have a chance to play it, and see what they were missing out on. I'll continue the review talking a bit about FFXII itself, for those that have never gotten to play the original, and after that, I'll delve into the changes that make this an absolute must play.

The world and story in a familiar setting

Those who enjoyed the Final Fantasy Tactics titles, and even games like Vagrant Story, will feel right at home with Final Fantasy XII, since the story takes place in the same world of Ivalice, and retains the similar graphical look of those previous titles, especially Final Fantasy Tactics A2 for the GBA and Vagrant Story on the PS1.

Since those games revolved around empires and kingdoms, political intrigue, and backstabbing, Final Fantasy XII unsurprisingly delves into a whole lot of that as well.

You take on the role of Vaan, a young street urchin who happens to get tangled up in a grand adventure that has him teaming up with some of the best characters in Final Fantasy history, such as the lovable and charismatic Sky Pirate Balthier and his ferocious Viera companion, Fran, the disgraced and exiled Basch who seeks redemption, or Ashe, the princess of Dalmasca who lost everything she holds dear and tries her best to keep her homeland of Dalmasca united.

While the characters I mentioned are indeed some of the best protagonists in a Final Fantasy game, the same can't be said for Vaan. His characterization is similar to that of Tidus from FFX, and while many have scoffed at Tidus, calling him a horrible protagonist, the reason why he worked is he felt integral to the party. At many times, he was the drive pushing the party forward, keeping spirits high, and ultimately giving a reason for another party member to find her purpose outside of what destiny has pre-ordained. Vaan, on the other hand, feels like the complete opposite. He feels like a bystander, watching events unfold with or without his input. He's literally a device for the viewer to be a part of the main narrative, but considering that you can take control of literally anyone in your party, he seems largely unnecessary. Granted, this is a minor nitpick in the grand scheme of things.

A world worth exploring

Unlike its sequel that was comprised of a series of hallways, FFXII presented the player with a pretty large world to explore, with a lot of optional areas to uncover. It might not have the size and scope of a game like Xenoblade Chronicles, but it still retains the same focus on exploration.

There's a lot of interconnectivity to Ivalice, where you can easily navigate to various maps without needing to return to the central hub of one. For example, in the early game where you're given the freedom to explore Rabanastre and its neighboring fields, you can make your way to the various maps without needing to return to Rabanastre each time, making the exploration feel a lot more organic. Of course, for those impatient with traveling everywhere by foot, you have the option to using Fast Travel on all unlocked Save Crystals, which is certainly appreciated.

You'll also venture out into various parts of the world to take on Hunts. The process of taking on hunts wasn't streamlined, unfortunately, as you have to go the job board, accept a hunt, then go talk to the NPC about the hunt, then go on the actual hunt, and lastly report back to that NPC again to finish it, but the hunts themselves and the locations they take you to are always fun and exciting. This system would later be used again in Final Fantasy XV, albeit in a much more streamlined way.

Unique mechanics for a Final Fantasy game

Up until now, with the exception of FFXI's online focus, the mainline games have always focused on turn-based combat that would take place in random encounters. FFXII flips that concept on its head, going for more MMO oriented combat. Enemies appear directly in the environment as you're exploring, meaning random encounters are completely removed. Now, players will attack enemies with skills as their auto-attacking enemies, meaning there is a constant flow to the battle and never any downtime.

But the real game changer is the Gambit system, an almost developer-like take on combat with various "if-then" statements that allow you to completely customize your entire party so that they're extremely efficient at holding their own in combat, without much manual input.

The way Gambits work is that you set a specific "if" statement, such as: "If Ally's health is < 50%" or "If the enemy is weak to Fire." After that, you select a "then" statement. If we'd continue both of those previous statements, then we'd set statements like "Then cast Cure" or "Then cast Fira." What makes this system even more customizable is placing these Gambits in a list of hierarchy. The top of the list has the most important Gambit that the character will try to perform first if there's a met condition for it to fire off. The character then goes down that list, fulfilling any Gambit as long as the conditions are fulfilled. That means that you can prioritize the importance of certain Gambits based on the character's role in combat. White Mages will want to prioritize healing over hitting enemies, therefore their healing Gambits should be at the top of the list. On the flipside, damage dealers will want to prioritize combat and perhaps special abilities depending on the types of enemies they're facing.

It can sound daunting, but the game's presentation of the Gambit system lends itself well for anyone to easily understand it and create some Gambits of their own. Of course, the game can be played completely manually, but it looks like that wasn't the intended way to play this game, at least based on the versatility of the Gambit system.

Leveling up and gaining skills was also something slightly new in FFXII. Players would spend License Points on a License Board, something similar to the Sphere Grid from FFX, yet still different. However, skills wouldn't be immediately learned upon unlocking them on the board. For instance, activating some of the Mage Licenses to use spells like Fira, Blizzard, or Aqua, would only give you the ability to cast them if/when you buy the spell. So, as the name implies, you're simply given the license to wield the skill, you still have to actually acquire it in order to use it. Passive skills such as increased strength or magic are immediate though and are applied as soon as they're unlocked. And since we're talking about the License Board, we should delve right into the biggest additions to The Zodiac Age.

The new Job system

The one thing sorely missing from our North American release of FFXII on the PS2 was the lack of a true Job System. The International Zodiac Job System version of FFXII is something us in the West never got to play and it truly expanded the way you could build each character. Now, instead of using a single license that's spread across every character, you have your choice of 12 separate boards, each one tied to a specific class, such as White Mage, Black Mage, Machinist, Bushi, Knight, Thief, etc. Adding, even more, variety, after a certain part of the game, you can add a second Job to your current one, meaning you can create some really deadly combinations. If you're the type that wants to experience it all, since there are 12 classes and six characters, you can literally have all of the classes assigned throughout your party, giving you the biggest variety and range in skills.

This is a dream (and possibly nightmare) scenario for min/maxers. Since there are some classes that pair up extremely well with others, and based on the skills and passives acquired, there are truly devastating builds that will absolutely demolish anything thrown at you.

More, more, more!

But the new additions don't stop there. Final Fantasy XII, in its purest form, is a relatively slow game. Exploration coupled with the battle system can feel slow and sometimes tedious. Thanks to the speed up feature, that's no longer an issue. You now have the option to toggle between 2x and 4x speed, making large treks relatively painless.

I found that when I'm trying to explore without much focus on combat, I'll play at 2x speed since that gives me better control over my party. However, when I'm in "grind mode" 4x is an absolute godsend. Toggle that puppy on and you'll be flying through maps, auto attacking enemies and racking up EXP and LP extremely fast, and makes leveling up the License Board that much quicker. A game that could last you over a hundred hours simply based off of the exploration and combat alone, can now be cut in half essentially, thanks to this feature. For someone like me who can't dedicate that kind of time to games anymore due to family responsibilities, this was a feature I'd love to see in any RPG with a grind.

There's also a whole new Trial Mode which will put you through increasingly difficult challenges, and the spoils from those can carry over to the main game. The awesome thing about this mode is that it will test how well you can put together and manage various Gambits, as you'll need to adjust them to make sure your team is capable of handling whatever is thrown at you.

Also, this might sound like a trivial addition, but the ability to toggle the world map to overlay on your screen as you're exploring is so helpful, ensuring you're no longer breaking your gameplay by constantly going into your menu to confirm your location.

Looks and sounds amazing for a PS2 remake

I've been playing The Zodiac Age on a PS4 Pro and given that the game runs at native 4K resolution (at least according to the developer) it looks amazing, at least given that it was originally a PS2 game. It is a bit disappointing to see that the game didn't make the jump to 60fps, but given how fantastic it looks, I'm willing to give that a pass.

The soundtrack got a bump as well, with the entire thing being re-recorded. You can even toggle between the original soundtrack and the new re-recorded one. Both, in my opinion, sound fantastic, so you can't really go wrong with either choice.

The voice talent holds up as well, with Vaan and Penelo easily being the weakest of the bunch. The rest though, especially Balthier, hold up amazingly well. And oh man, Fran's voice still remains one of the most unique accents in video games that I loved hearing back on the PS2, and absolutely adore here as well. Many fell in love with Fran because of her gorgeous look, I fell in love with her accent. However, the option for Japanese VO is available, so that's definitely a plus since that's the first time we'd be able to hear those voices here in the West.

Conclusion

As I stated previously, Final Fantasy XII never really got a chance to shine, releasing at a really unfortunate time. However, Square Enix decided to give this fantastic game a second life with The Zodiac Age. And, even crazier, it's not even a fully priced game, coming in at $49.99. For anyone who missed out on Final Fantasy XII the first time around, or perhaps hasn't played it since it came out on the PS2, like myself, you owe it to yourself to re-experience this game all over again.