Thursday 24 January, 2008

GAMEPLAY:

As I said before the game’s story starts out a bit slow but it really starts to pick up once all the playable characters join the party. Sure the character development isn’t as fleshed out as some of the other Final Fantasy games (such as FFVIII) but at least the plot is much more believable and is somewhat relevant to real world issues. Gone are the clichés of the past titles (rescue the princess, save the world, etc.) and instead players are treated to the most mature storyline out of any FF game.

The gameworld is huge and it may take hours to get from one side of the map to another (that is until players gain access to the airship). The huge gameworld does however bring about some new problems that didn’t plague past FF titles. Exploration can become a bit tedious (especially in later parts of the game). There is also a lot of backtracking involved which makes traveling a hassle at times. It would have been nice to have faster forms of transportation a bit earlier in the game. To be fair though, there are some satisfying rewards for traveling the world. Also each city is incredibly detailed and is filled with many NPCs (non-playable characters) that really bring the world of Ivalice to life. another thing worth noting is the difficulty level. This game is definitely on the harder side of the spectrum. In fact some of the optional boss battles are nearly impoosible to beat. But I suppose that only helps make the game more rewarding.

DESIGN:

FFXII is probably the most ambitious FF to date. Technically it does things that were thought impossible on the PS2. The graphics are impressive to say the least. In fact FFXII is one of the best looking (if not the best looking) PS2 game on the market. The voice acting is superb and the script is very professionally written. Thank God there are no more awkward conversations like in FFX. If there is anything worth complaining about in FFXII’s audio department, it’s the music. While there is nothing bad to be said about the soundtrack, it simply isn’t as memorable as past FF games.

In any case the FFXII world is very expansive and it took me well over 80 hours to finish the game (including all the side-quests). As I said before FFXII is a different beast from the rest of the FF games but I for one am not complaining. The changes made to this game are definitely refreshing considering the fact that many RPGs in today’s market play exactly the same with maybe a few minor changes. Overall I was very impressed by this game. It may not have the same impact that FFVII did back on the original PlayStation but Final Fantasy XII is still one of the best PS2 games to date and is definitely a worthy entry in the Final Fantasy series.

You do a good job explaining how FF XII differs from other FFs. However, you can't assume that the reader has played any Final Fantasy game (or any RPG, for that matter), so more time needs to be spent on the basic mechanics of the game.


- David Seagal (Grader)