Final Fantasy XII

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Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XII wordmark.png
Final Fantasy XII logo
Studio JapanJapan Square Enix
Publisher Square Enix
Koch Media (in Germany)
Senior Developer Yasumi Matsuno ,
Hiroshi Minagawa
composer Hitoshi Sakimoto
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 JapanJapanMarch 16, 2006 October 31, 2006 February 23, 2007 International Zodiac Job System August 9, 2007 The Zodiac Age PlayStation 4: July 11, 2017 July 13, 2017 Windows: February 2, 2018 Switch, Xbox One: April 25, 2019 April 30 , 2017 April 2019
North AmericaNorth America
EuropeEurope


JapanJapan



world
JapanJapan

world

JapanJapan
world
platform PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 4 , Windows , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch
genre role playing game
Game mode Single player
control Gamepad
medium DVD-ROM
language Japanese , English with u. a. German texts and subtitles
Age rating
USK released from 12
PEGI recommended for ages 16+
PEGI content
rating
Game contains violence

Final Fantasy XII ( Japanese フ ァ イ ナ ル フ ァ ン タ ジ ー XII , Fainaru Fantajī Tuerubu ; short: FFXII or FF12 ) is a computer role-playing game and the twelfth main title of the Final Fantasy series . The game was developed by the Japanese company Square Enix exclusively for the PlayStation 2 (PS2 for short) game console and released in Japan in March 2006. In North America, the title was launched in October of the same year; the publication in Europe took place in February 2007, with the media company Koch Media in Germany being responsible for sales. Under the title Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age , a revised HD version was released in July 2017 for the PlayStation 4 and in February 2018 for Windows ; Versions for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One followed in April 2019 .

The game, which took about five years to develop, introduced some innovations to the series. In this part, fights no longer take place in a separate battle screen and in real time ; the camera, which shows a three-dimensional view of the game, can be rotated in all directions.

The action takes place in a fictional region called Ivalice in an unspecified fantasy world . From the point of view of the protagonist , the orphan boy Vaan, she describes the political and warlike entanglements that the small kingdom of Dalmasca and its heir to the throne, Princess Ashe, get into against the background of a long-standing war between two great powers.

Final Fantasy XII was received positively by the critics, with particular praise for the graphics and the detailed representation of the game world. The game received several prizes and awards and was nominated for more. It was also economically successful for Square Enix, with over five million copies sold. The real-time strategy game Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings was a direct successor to the Nintendo DS handheld console .

Gameplay

Final Fantasy XII is a role-playing game, which means that the player controls a group of characters who fight against the background of an imaginary game world and experience a complex story. An essential element is the development of the characters: After each fight, the group members involved receive experience points that lead to an increase in level and thus improve status values ​​such as maximum hit and magic points , attack and defense strength. Another part of character development consists of constantly replacing the characters' weapons, armor and accessories with better versions.

Perspective, controls and game world

The game is controlled with the console's gamepad

The player controls one of his characters, the group leader, with an analog stick on the gamepad through a game world that is divided into numerous sections. The camera shows the figure from behind in a third-person perspective and can be rotated freely with the other analog stick. At the top right of the game screen there is always a small map that shows the immediate surroundings of the characters. During a fight, next to the displays with the current hit and magic points of the game characters, a fight menu is displayed from which the player can select commands.

As with many RPGs, some sections depict cities or settlements where the player can shop for in-game currency vendors or talk to non-player characters . There are no opponents here and there are no fights. In cities, the player always controls the character of the protagonist Vaan, outside the group leader can be changed at any time - even during a fight - the other characters always stay close to the group leader. Outside of cities, the game world often consists of extensive landscapes such as deserts, meadows or beaches. Some parts of the game function as a so-called dungeon . In these often labyrinthine areas, such as dungeons, temples and the interior of an airship, the goal of the game is to fight your way to a final boss and defeat him. Sometimes small puzzles have to be solved here in order to be able to reach the next section. All areas are divided into sections of different sizes; if the group leader crosses the border between two sections, there is a short charging process.

The player can use so-called memory crystals to save his game status on a memory card . There are various fast travel options between already known areas, for example teleporter crystals , airship lines or a ride on ostrich -like yellow ratites called chocobos , which are a well-known recurring element of the Final Fantasy series.

struggle

In contrast to the previous parts of the game series, fights do not take place as random fights and not in a separate battle screen. Instead, the player sees the opponents wandering around in the game sections from a distance and the fight begins seamlessly when a figure from the player's group has approached an opponent within a certain distance. The fighting is illustrated by sight lines, thin arched lines between the figures, the color of which symbolizes the type of action chosen. The player can now choose actions such as physical or magical attacks or the use of healing objects and spells from a combat menu. The commands are not turn-based, as in Final Fantasy X , but are carried out in real time ; however, the player can decide whether the battle should be paused while he selects an order. A special feature of this series part is that, for example, the equipment can be adjusted during a fight and the figures involved in the fight can be exchanged for others. The only restriction here is that a figure already targeted by an opponent cannot be removed from combat. Of the total of six playable characters, a maximum of three can actively participate in a fight. Depending on the action, a fourth figure, called a guest, is added, who is computer-controlled and does not allow the player to influence.

An important element of the combat system in Final Fantasy XII is the so-called gambit system , with which the player can determine before or during a fight in which situations a character should automatically perform certain actions. A gambit is a combination of a goal, which can be linked to a condition, and the command to be executed. Examples of individual gambits are “enemy in view” combined with “attack” or “yourself if the hit points are less than 30%” combined with the use of a healing spell. Each character can be assigned up to twelve gambits, which are then processed automatically from top to bottom - similar to the instructions in a computer program . Ideally, longer fights can be fought in this way without any further action on the part of the player. However, the gambits of a figure can also be switched off at any time so that it only reacts to direct commands from the player.

Another tactical element are the so-called Esper , powerful demon-like beings who can be summoned in combat and then fight alongside a character for a certain period of time. Such conjuring spells are - under changing names - a well-known recurring element of the Final Fantasy series. In Final Fantasy XII , the Esper cannot be given direct orders, but they fight according to their preset and unchangeable gambits. Like the so-called Mysth Teks - particularly strong special attacks that can be combined into chains by quickly pressing a key - Esper summons consume a third, two thirds or all of the magic points of a pawn, depending on their strength.

Character development

After the fight, the characters involved receive experience points, which lead to a level increase and thus to an improvement in status values. A change compared to earlier parts of the game series is that opponents generally don't leave money behind, but rather items (see Loot ) that can be sold in stores to receive in-game currency. With this, better weapons, armor and skills can be acquired and the characters can be further strengthened. Better equipment can also be received as rewards for completing secondary tasks that the player receives as tasks, so-called quests , in dialogues with non-player characters. Although it is a standard element in many role-playing games, the extensive quest system in Final Fantasy XII is a novelty within the game series. Equipment can also be found by opening treasure chests scattered around the game world. In contrast to its predecessor, however, the appearance and content of these chests is largely determined by the principle of chance.

Another new element of character development compared to its predecessors is a concept known as a license system . After an opponent is defeated, they leave behind one or more license points that can be spent on a special game board, the license board. In this large, checkerboard-like arrangement of license fields, licenses can be acquired, whereby only fields are available which border on a field that has already been revealed. A playing figure can only use acquired equipment or skills if the corresponding license has been activated in this way. The license board is the same for all figures, but they start on different starting spaces.

action

Background world

The action of Final Fantasy XII takes place in the Ivalice region, which extends over three continents of a fictional world and accordingly includes different climatic and vegetation zones. Politically, Ivalice is ruled by two great powers, Rozarria in the west and Archadia in the east, which have been at war with each other for a long time. Archadia in particular operates a relatively aggressive expansion policy under the House of Solidor and attacks the two small kingdoms of Nabradia and Dalmasca, which are buffer states between the two empires , at the beginning of the game .

Most of the population of Ivalice is made up of humans, also known as Hume in the game, but there are also numerous non-human races in the game world . For example, the lizard-like Bangaa and the pig-like Seek make up a relatively large proportion of the total population. Fran, the only one of the six playable main characters who is not human, belongs to a humanoid race called Viera, whose main characteristic is long rabbit-like ears.

An important concept in the game world is the so-called Mysth , a normally invisible, fictional substance that appears in higher concentrations as a colored mist, which is the source of the magical abilities widespread in Ivalice . Mysth collects in a special rock, the maginite, which is used, among other things, as a fuel for airships . These represent the most important means of transport for people and goods in Ivalice; however, air piracy is also widespread. Also central to the plot are special maginite stones known as natural nethizites , of which only three exist in the world at the start of the game. So much mysth energy is stored in them that they represent powerful weapons capable of destroying entire cities.

history

In Rabanastre, the capital of the small kingdom of Dalmasca, the wedding of Princess Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, called Ashe, daughter of King Raminas of Dalmasca, and Prince Rasler from the friendly neighboring kingdom of Nabradia takes place. However, the celebrations are interrupted shortly afterwards by the news that the great power Archadia has attacked Nabradia and wants to annex it. After Prince Rasler is killed in the decisive battle, the archadic troops subdue not only Nabradia but also Dalmasca. When King Raminas signs the contract of surrender , the young Dalmascan soldier Reks and his captain Basch von Ronsenburg are also present to protect Raminas. But shortly afterwards Reks finds his king dead, murdered - so it seems to him - in a coup d'état by Captain Basch, who finally stabs Reks to kill a witness. The Marquis Halim Ondore, a friend of Raminas, announces that Basch had been executed for high treason and that Princess Ashe committed suicide out of mourning over the loss of her husband and father. Dalmasca must surrender unconditionally.

Two years later: Vayne Solidor, son of Emperor Gramis of Archadia, arrives in Rabanastre to take office as consul of Dalmasca in an official ceremony . With a charismatic speech, he succeeds in largely changing the minds of the residents who previously showed him pure hatred; but not with the street boy Vaan and his girlfriend Penelo, one of the many war orphans in Rabanastre. Vaan, who lost his last family member with the death of his brother Reks, is now picking pockets and dreams of being an air pirate with his own ship. Although Penelo tries to dissuade him, Vaan carries out his plan to take advantage of the night of the festivities to sneak into the palace of Rabanastre and steal back treasures for the Dalmascan people. In fact, he succeeds in stealing a valuable gem from the treasury; but he is surprised there by the air pirate Balthier and his partner Fran, who also wanted to steal the jewel. Before they can come to an agreement, the three get caught up in an uprising by the Dalmascan resistance fighters, which is crushed by imperial units. On their escape through the sewer system, they meet the young leader of the resistance, who calls herself Amalia, but are soon captured by archadic troops and taken to a dungeon separately from Amalia. There they meet Basch, who was not executed for political reasons. On the escape from the dungeon, Basch, who everyone considers a murderer and traitor, gradually succeeds in convincing the others that he is innocent: not he, but his twin brother Gabranth, who holds the high office of one in the archadic leadership Judge's attire killed King Raminas and Vaan's brother Reks.

Back in Rabanastre, Vaan finds out that Penelo has since been kidnapped by bounty hunters who are after Balthier. The group is therefore traveling with Balthier's airship, the beam , to the floating city of Bhujerba, where representatives of Archadia are currently also on the basis of economic and political negotiations with the neutral city. Bhujerba's chief, Marquis Ondore, who appears to be working with the archadic empire but in reality supports the resistance, enables the companions to board an archadic battleship, the Leviathan . There they meet again with Penelo, who has escaped her kidnappers, and with Amalia. It turns out that Amalia is really Princess Ashe, whose suicide was fake and who has organized the Dalmascan Resistance for the past two years. However, she has no proof of her royal ancestry and requires an insignia for a coronation . Traditionally this is the so-called evening splinter, the stone - a nethicit - which Vaan stole and carried with him the whole time, but which is now taken from him on the Leviathan by the imperial judge Ghis and brought to Archadia. After defeating Ghis, the group can escape from the airship. Ashe sets out alone to get the morning splinter, also a nethicit that would prove her ancestry, in the grave of a legendary ancestor. After some involvement, the Morning Shard loses its inherent mysth energy in a huge explosion that destroys the Leviathan and kills Judge Ghis.

In the meantime, not only Marquis Ondore, but also Larsa Solidor, Vayne Solidor's only twelve-year-old brother, who, in contrast to this one, absolutely wants to prevent another war, are trying to find a peaceful solution to the conflicts in Ivalice. With great diplomatic and political skill, he almost succeeds in reaching an agreement that would end the long-running war between Archadia and the other great power in Ivalice, Rozarria, and in return Ashe would be crowned Queen of Dalmasca. This hope is dashed, however, when Vayne poisons his father, Emperor Gramis, makes the murder look like a plot by the archadic Senate and in this way gets politically and militarily free hand.

Ashe seeks out Church leader Gran Kiltias Anastasis to legitimize her right to the throne. From him she gets access to the legendary sword of kings, which Nethizit can destroy. The group then embarks on a journey to the archadic capital Archadis, where they are confronted with the scientist Doctor Cid, who is responsible for weapons and airship production in Archadia and who turns out to be Balthier's father. Cid is almost obsessed with nethizite research and is under the influence of Venat, one of the almost god-like beings named Occuria. There is a fight with Cid, but the scientist escapes. In the ancient city of Giruvegan, the Occuria also reveal themselves to Ashe and present her with the sword of the pact. With this she should cut nethizite out of the so-called solar web, the source of all natural nethizite. On the dangerous path to the web of the sun, Ashe is faced with the decision of whether to follow the Occuria and take revenge on the archadic empire with the mighty Nethizites - or destroy the web of the sun with the sword of kings and thus destroy all nethits in the world . Once there, she chooses the latter; The group is, however, surprised by Doctor Cid which, although losing the fight and then dies, but still so much Mysth energy can release from the Sun web earlier that his great project, the air fixed Bahamut , a powerful new warship ready becomes.

Cosplayer disguised as Penelo (sitting), Fran and Balthier

The decisive battle between the resistance groups led by Marquis Ondore and the archadic empire takes place in the airspace over Rabanastre, where Vayne positions the Bahamut . However, Ashe and her friends manage to infiltrate the battleship with the beam . Basch finally convinced his brother Gabranth to join the resistance. The group can penetrate as far as Vayne and defeat him together with the divine Venat, under whose influence Vayne was after Doctor Cid's death, in a final battle and kill him. Gabranth dies in the arms of Basch, Ashe declares the war over and Larsa takes over the leadership of the archadic troops. When the group flees from the Bahamut , which has been damaged by an explosion , Balthier and Fran stay behind and are able to prevent the battleship from falling on the city at the last second.

A year later, Ashe is about to be crowned Queen of Dalmasca. Larsa and Basch, who has taken Gabranth's place as judge, continue to campaign for the peace process in war-torn Ivalice. Balthier and Fran, who were believed dead after the crash, are still alive, as it turns out when the two “steal” their airship beam from Vaan and Penelo.

development

overview

Producer Akitoshi Kawazu and developer Hiroshi Minagawa at a launch launch of the game

Final Fantasy XII began development in 2001 under the direction of Japanese video game designers and producers Yasumi Matsuno and Hiroyuki Itō . Matsuno previously held the leading role of director in the development of the action role-playing game Vagrant Story (2000) and previously in the tactical role-playing game Final Fantasy Tactics (1997) . In both games, as in Final Fantasy XII, the Ivalice designed by Matsuno is used as the background world. Itō was already the chief developer of the combat system for some games from the Final Fantasy series and was director of Final Fantasy IX (2000). Matsuno had to limit his activities during the development phase for health reasons. He was replaced in mid-2005 by Hiroshi Minagawa , who had previously worked as Art Director with Matsuno on the development of Vagrant Story . The game's executive producer was Akitoshi Kawazu , who is known, among other things, as director or lead developer of the SaGa role-playing game series by Square / Square Enix with the sub-series Final Fantasy Legend , Romancing SaGa and SaGa Frontier, which is largely not published in Europe .

The planned release date of the game had to be postponed several times, so that the entire development time took about five years. In 2004, Square Enix employed about 100 people in the department responsible for developing Final Fantasy XII .

Design choices

Art director Isamu Kamikokuryo

In a retrospective analysis, one of the developers explained that due to the high demands in terms of innovation, quality and scope that would be placed on Final Fantasy games, they inevitably have a long development phase. However, this carries the risk that a game will already be technically out of date when it is released. To prevent this from happening, focus on artistic design. The team devotes around 70 percent of all resources to this aspect, while the development of the game principle and the technology accounted for only 20 and 10 percent respectively.

For the design of the game world, the development team was inspired by a mixture of medieval regions of the Mediterranean , which is not only reflected in the architecture of the buildings, but also in a multilingual mixture of peoples - represented in the game as fantasy races - and the racist prejudices associated with it . For example, part of the team from the graphics and design department traveled to Turkey to get inspiration there. Other sources of influence were the Arab and Indian cultures; some words from the ancient Indian language Sanskrit are used in a city in the game world . In some reviews of the game, comparisons were made between the game world of Final Fantasy XII and the Star Wars universe. However, one developer pointed out that Star Wars didn't have much of an impact on the design.

The developers originally planned to use the character Basch, a middle-aged man like the main character in Vagrant Story , as the protagonist of the game. Due to the overall scenario and the demographics of the target group, however, the team with Vaan decided on a young, androgynous main character (cf. also Bishōnen ). In an interview, character designer Akihiko Yoshida stated that Vaan's character was even more effeminate before motion capture and dubbing began . When it came to the appearance of the six main characters, the designers made sure that they could easily be distinguished visually from the non-player characters and from one another. Since the player usually sees his figures from behind, Yoshida began with these, in contrast to the other figures, with the design of the rear view. When asked why the figures were so scantily clad, Yoshida replied in an interview that Dalmasca has a hot climate and therefore more skin can be seen.

technology

According to programming supervisor Taku Murata, the most important innovation for the implementation of the game principle was the seamless transition to the combat system. However, care was taken not to alienate players who are used to the old command-based system or who do not get along well with action-heavy games. In addition to commercial standard software such as Maya , Softimage or Photoshop , numerous utility programs (tools) developed especially for the game were used in the technical implementation . These included tools for dynamically adding textures and for displaying 2D material in particle effects , a particle editor for effects such as magic or dust, and a program for compressing the movement of characters. The most important achievement was being able to display game content on the PS2 while it was being developed. According to Director Minagawa, the transition to the seamless combat system posed numerous problems for the team and thus significantly extended the development process. Restrictions due to the limited performance of the PS2 were often a major hurdle.

music

Composer Hitoshi Sakimoto

Most of the music in Final Fantasy XII was written by the Japanese video game composer Hitoshi Sakimoto , who, among other things, had already composed the soundtrack for Vagrant Story ; Masaharu Iwata and Hayato Matsuo contributed some other pieces of music. The only vocal piece in the game, Kiss Me Good-Bye , was written by Nobuo Uematsu , the composer of the music for all previous parts of the Final Fantasy main series. The singer of this pop ballad , which accompanies the final scenes of the game, is the Japanese and Italian-born singer-songwriter Angela Aki . A nine-minute piece entitled Symphonic Poem “Hope” , which is known as a “mini-symphony” and is used for the credits of the game, was written, arranged and played with Yuji Toriyama by the composer and violinist Taro Hakase.

The full soundtrack was released in late May 2006 under the title Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack . It comprises 100 tracks on four CDs with a total playing time of 4:54:34. A compilation titled Selections from Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack with 31 selected tracks was released in late October of that year along with the game's release in North America. In November 2012 Square Enix released the album Piano Collections Final Fantasy XII , which contains 13 tracks from the game as piano pieces, arranged and recorded by Casey Ormond.

Localization and synchronization

Bobby Edner , the English voice actor for the protagonist Vaan

From the technical point of view, an additional graphic display in 16: 9 screen format has been added for the localization for publication outside of Japan . In addition, the developers reinserted some scenes in the localized version that had been removed from the game in Japan for “political reasons” and in order to achieve a youth protection rating “without age restriction”. For example, this is a scene in which a tied up young girl is threatened by her kidnappers.

The American translator and writer Alexander O. Smith acted as the producer and chief translator for the English version of the game . Typical of Smith's style is the use of formal language to archaisms in some characters, which led to the language style in Final Fantasy XII being described in some publications as " Shakespeare ". Different English dialects or, for example, English with an Indian or Italian accent were used in the linguistic characterization of the characters . An Icelandic accent was chosen for the main character Fran, who belongs to a non-human fantasy race ; the antagonists of the “evil empire” speak British English as in the Star Wars films .

The following table gives an overview of the playable main characters and their Japanese or English voice actors. A total of 37 speakers were involved in the English dubbing, some in more than one role, including Nolan North , Phil LaMarr and Michael E. Rodgers . As in Final Fantasy X, the ADR process was used for the extensive synchronous work.

character Japanese speaker English speaker role
Vaan Kohei Takeda Bobby Edner The protagonist of the game, an orphan boy
Penelo Yuna Mikuni Cathrine Taber Vaan's girlfriend, a war orphan
Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca,
called "Ashe"		 Mie Sonozaki Kari Wahlgren Heir to the throne of Dalmasca
Basch von Ronsenburg Rikiya Koyama Keith Ferguson a knight and captain of the Dalmascan troops
Balthier Hiroaki Hirata Gideon Emery an air pirate
Fran Rika Fukami Nicole Fantl Balthiers partner

publication

Announcements and dates

In late July 2005, Square Enix announced the final release date for Final Fantasy XII in Japan, which was March 16, 2006. The launch date in North America on October 31, 2006 was announced at the end of June of the same year. In most European countries the game was released on February 23, 2007, almost a year after it was first published. In Germany, the media company Koch Media was responsible for publication and sales.

marketing

Bottles with Final Fantasy XII Potion

In Japan, Final Fantasy XII was also released as a bundle together with a black Play Station 2 console embossed with a symbol from the game in a special design packaging. In addition, an album entitled The Best of Final Fantasy XII with eleven pieces of music from the game was released for download on iTunes for that day only on the day before its release . As a further promotion for the market launch in Japan, the Japanese beverage manufacturer Suntory offered a special herbal soft drink called Final Fantasy XII Potion in blue designer bottles for sale. “Potion”, the English word for “magic potion”, is the name used in the game for a standard healing potion.

In November 2005, a playable demo version of Final Fantasy XII was released for the North American market , which was included with the role-playing game Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King . Before the US release, Square Enix held a cosplay competition in which participants could send in photos of themselves disguised as characters from the game and win a trip to New York for the so-called Final Fantasy XII Gamer's Day , a large promotional event for the sales launch. A similar competition took place prior to the European release. In addition to the standard version of the game, a Collector's Edition was also released for publication in North America . In addition to the original game, this collector's edition contains another PS2 disc with developer interviews , trailers , artwork and documentation on the history of the Final Fantasy series in special packaging . In early 2007, Square Enix released action figures featuring game characters Vaan, Ashe, Balthier and Judge Gabranth.

Sales success

Within a week of its launch in Japan, more than 1.76 million copies of the game were sold there, roughly the same as when Final Fantasy X went on sale . The appearance of Final Fantasy XII also led to a tripling of sales of PS2 consoles in Japan. In a financial report published in May 2006, Square Enix attributed the 14 percent increase in profits achieved in the previous fiscal year to the game's sales success. In North America, approximately 1.5 million copies were sold in the week of publication, which, according to Square Enix, was a sales record for the company. According to information from Square Enix, more than 5.2 million units were shipped to dealers by the end of March 2007. The title thus took fourth place among the best-selling PS2 games in 2006. The VG Chartz website estimates the number of copies sold worldwide to date (as of February 2015) at 5.95 million.

Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System

In the case of computer games that are initially only published in Japanese in Japan, the English-language localization is often later reissued there as the so-called international version . Sometimes additional content is added to the game. Even Final Fantasy XII was on 9 August 2007, entitled System Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job re-released with numerous innovations in Japan. In addition to the English synchronization with Japanese subtitles and the additional 16: 9 image format, the biggest change to the gameplay in this version is that not only a single license board is used to develop the characters, but that the player can choose from twelve different license boards, which he can assign to the characters. In this way he can specialize his characters and assign them different roles (“jobs”) such as “knight”, “black magician” or “archer”. In addition, in the international version, commands can be given to the guests fighting with the group of players and it is possible to double the speed at which the game takes place at the touch of a button.

In July 2017, Sony Interactive Entertainment released a revised HD version of Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System entitled Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age for PlayStation 4 and February 2018 for Windows . At the end of April 2019, the title appeared for the first time for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch .

reception

Reviews

Meta-ratings
Database Rating
GameRankings 90.77%
Metacritic 92%
reviews
publication Rating
1UP A−
4players 90%
Computer picture games 1.86
Eurogamer 8/10
Eurogamer (UK) 10/10
Famitsu 40/40
GamePro 91%
Gamereactor 10/10
GameSpot 9.0 / 10
Gamona 87%
IGN 9.5 / 10
RPGamer 4.5 / 5
4.0 / 5

Meta-ratings

Final Fantasy XII was rated almost entirely positive to very positive by the critics: According to Metacritic , a website for media reviews, the game scores 92%, while GameRankings , another aggregator service, has an average rating of 90.77%. It is the first part of the Final Fantasy series and at the same time the first PS2 game to receive the top rating of 40 out of 40 points by the renowned Japanese specialist magazine Famitsu . In the four individual ratings that led to this overall result, the reviewers particularly praised the graphics, the scenario and the game system and highlighted the refreshing innovations that the game brings to the series.

Reviews in magazines

Jeremy Dunham from the online magazine IGN Entertainment particularly praised the presentation, which provides a gigantic, fully implemented game world with very short loading times and also tells one of the best stories of all games this year. The game principle with a gambit system and license board together with the opponent's AI offers both fun and challenges. The graphics are a technical top performance on the PS2 in every sense. Dunham also praised the voice actors' performance.

Jens Bischoff from the German computer game magazine 4Players came to similar assessments . He also emphasized the great playful freedom by moving away from the traditional combat system of the series with random opponents and turn-based battles in a separate battle screen towards a structure that is based on the role-playing game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic . However, the freedom in the combat system and in character development could also lead to disruptions in the game balance. The plot holds a solid level of tension most of the time, but cannot come up with any real highlights. The character design fluctuated between excellent (figure of Balthier) and irrelevant (Penelo).

In the online magazine 1UP , Shane Bettenhausen particularly praised the design and the graphic representation of the game world, which gives the player a feeling for realistic proportions like no single player title in the series before, but he also addressed some negative points. The plot does not get lost in confusing details and is surprisingly easy to follow - although full of political intrigue - but falls apart towards the end. The characters are quite banal, so that it is hardly possible to make out a real protagonist. Formally it is Vaan, but everything revolves around Ashe - unfortunately, so Bettenhausen, both are not particularly interesting characters, which means that the story lacks emotional impact. The combat system initially appears flat and repetitive, but gains in depth above all thanks to the inventive gambit system. It is "cool" to let the group "preprogrammed" fight alone, but it also reveals a lot of the strategy and the challenge of earlier Final Fantasy parts.

Fabian Walden from the German-language branch of the online magazine Eurogamer , who considered it a bad choice for developers to take interactivity out of the battles, became even clearer when assessing the Gambit system . Especially in this game, in which the player alternately runs for five or ten minutes to his goal or through a dungeon and watches five-minute cutscenes that tell the story, there is hardly any difference to a "long, long film" , even if the fighting is still almost by itself. Nevertheless, Walden came to a good rating of the game overall, because the game world with its large and "surprisingly busy" cities, the gloomy, "sometimes terrifying" dungeons and the vast outside worlds is impressive. He also thought the story told, even if it lacked tension and dramaturgy, was more interesting than in most other role-playing games.

Bernd Fetsch from Stern.de , who stated that the plot of Final Fantasy XII could be described as a “Japanese version of 'Star Wars'”, thought the game was a worthy end to the “aging PS2”. He found the licensing system cumbersome and criticized the fact that seven years after the PS2 was released, the developers still had the graphic problem of edge flicker under control; However, all small points of criticism are basically just wasted, because the overall picture is correct. The game offers "for many, many hours of entertainment and a story that can maintain the tension over time - not least because of its characters, who are anything but one-dimensional."

Soundtrack

The composer of the previous parts, Nobuo Uematsu , wrote only one piece for FFXII , the song Kiss Me Good-Bye

In a review of the soundtrack, Ben Schweitzer noted on the RPGFan website that Sakimoto's style in Final Fantasy XII was very different from his earlier work. A basic element for understanding the soundscape in play is the change of mood within individual pieces. There are three key themes in the soundtrack - in addition to the main theme, the theme of the empire and the theme of freedom fighters - and all three appear in the opening track Opening Movie , which Schweitzer found "spectacular". Uematsu's only contribution, the song Kiss Me Good-Bye , he described as a solid song, which he preferred over, for example, the song Eyes on Me from Final Fantasy VIII . The text is “not bad”, even if it contains the same type of clichéd love song poetry with a farewell theme. Overall, Schweitzer rated the soundtrack as "excellent with some reservations". However, it is difficult to answer whether it is still “real Final Fantasy music” compared to Uematsu's work.

Patrick Gann was also much more critical of the soundtrack at RPGFan. After Sakimoto's work for the games Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story , the reviewer had high expectations, which were largely not met for him. He expressed mixed feelings about this large, bombastic work, but lacking substance. Many pieces are said to be “rambling” and have the same effect on him as some of the less enjoyable compositions from the beginning of the 20th century. Angela Aki's Kiss me Good-Bye described Gann as a beautiful ballad that stands in stark contrast to Sakimoto's work; Hakase's symphonic poem “Hope” is a short, but multi-faceted and memorable ode.

Awards and nominations

Final Fantasy XII received numerous awards from game magazines and online magazines, and the game was nominated for other awards. It was named Game of the Year by Edge magazine , and was named PS2 Game of the Year by IGN Entertainment and GameSpy . At the Japan Game Awards 2006, the game won the Grand Award and an Award for Excellence in the Game of the Year Division . The reason for this choice said that the game presented the best graphics within its range and showed spectacular views of its world. It also offers an exceptionally complete form of role-play in terms of the story told and the music.

The Interactive Achievement Awards , the Spike Video Game Awards and the Satellite Awards was Final Fantasy XII nominated as RPG of the Year, at all three ceremonies but was eventually The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion from Bethesda Softworks this award win for themselves. Final Fantasy XII was also nominated for Original Score and Story and Character at the British Academy Video Games Awards 2007 , the Game Developers Choice Awards for Character Design and Visual Arts, and the Interactive Achievement Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction . The soundtrack also received nominations for the British Academy Video Games Awards and the Spike Video Game Awards.

successor

Final Fantasy XII logo : Revenant Wings

At the end of April 2007, Square Enix released Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings in Japan, a direct successor to Final Fantasy XII for the Nintendo DS handheld console . The game, which was launched in Europe in February 2008, is not a role-playing game, but can be classified in the genre of real-time strategy games; however, game elements from Final Fantasy XII such as gambits and esper evocations were also adopted in Revenant Wings . The action takes place a year after the events of Final Fantasy XII . Vaan was able to fulfill his dream of becoming an air pirate and now owns an airship. Together with his girlfriend Penelo as helmsman, he visits Balthier and Fran at the beginning of the game, and the four of them go on a treasure hunt together. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings was received largely positively by the critics: At Metacritic, the game achieved a rating of 81%. Another offshoot, an action game with the working title Fortress , was developed by the Swedish studio Grin for Square Enix, but the project was dropped in 2009. The studio then had to file for bankruptcy.

With Final Fantasy XIII , Square Enix released the next main title in the RPG series in December 2009 in Japan and in March 2010 in Europe for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game consoles . As usual for the Final Fantasy series, the game has a story that is completely independent of its predecessor and a different background world. The combat and character development systems are also very different from Final Fantasy XII .

literature

Web links

Commons : Final Fantasy XII  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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This article was added to the list of excellent articles on July 2, 2015 in this version .