2006 was an interesting time for the Final Fantasy series, as Square returned to a single-player driven entry in the series after the MMO experiment of Final Fantasy XI. The development of Final Fantasy XII was rocky to say the least, as its protracted five-year development cycle cost Square close to thirty-five million dollars and its initial director, Yasumi Matsuno, suffered a mental collapse halfway through that saw him leaving the company for good. Fortunately, the final product turned out to be a reasonably consistent and high-quality JRPG; not the best in the series, but far from the back alley dumpster fire that it easily could’ve been. Now, Square has remastered the game as Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, which throws in improvements from the later-released international version along with a whole slew of modern nips and tucks, all of which come together to make for a wonderfully sharp experience that stands as the definitive way to play this classic.
The story of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age takes a less character-centric approach to its narrative, a move which certainly increases the scope of the plot, but at the cost of making it less relatable than some predecessors in the series. Echoing some of the earlier Fire Emblem games, this is more a story about the political intrigue surrounding an ongoing war between national superpowers. In the land of Ivalice (which acts as the setting of several other games from Square) the two nations of Archadia and Rozzaria are at war with each other, catching the much smaller kingdom of Dalmasca in the crossfire. After a lengthy and mildly confusing introduction segment, the plot picks up following Vaan, an orphaned petty thief with big dreams of one day becoming a sky pirate. Vaan leads a relatively simple life of being a sort of Robin Hood-like figure, but his misadventures quickly lead to him getting caught up in a resistance movement with Dalmasca’s princess, Ashe, who aims to reverse the annexation of Dalmasca into the Archadian empire.
It’s all rather high-concept - even for a Final Fantasy game - and this comes as something of a double-edged sword. While it’s impressive how much detail is put into the lore and history of the world of Ivalice, not nearly as much effort is put into making the cast particularly memorable or three dimensional. Much like how combat requires several different roles working in tandem, all the major players in the story are clearly there to fill a specific niche in moving the plot forward and they seldom break out of their cliché archetypes. For example, Balthier is the ‘cool’, roguish sky pirate out to fill his boots with treasure; he initially doesn’t want to get involved in the resistance movement because it’s not his cup of tea, but his kind heart eventually wins out and he shows there’s more to him then a trigger finger and one-liners. Everyone in the main party is like this to an extent. They’re likable and well-written, but predictable and rather boring as a result. Though the voice acting is spot-on, there’s a general sense of detachment one gets when playing through this story; it’s just hard to care about the plight of Dalmasca when the game doesn’t give you much reason to beyond the tired ‘empires are evil’ song and dance. There are much worse stories to be found in RPG’s, but relative to the rest of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is left a bit wanting.
Fortunately, the gameplay picks up the slack, coming off as something akin to a single player MMO. Though it’s not exactly open-world, the on-rails nature of Final Fantasy X is long gone here, replaced by a gameplay structure that encourages you to take frequent breaks from the main narrative in favor of some good old-fashioned side quest grinding. These take the form of ‘Hunts’, which see you fulfilling contracts for NPCs in towns who need you to take down certain powerful creatures in the surrounding areas for some contrived reason. More often than not, the locations of these creatures are generalized and require a bit of poking around the map, which naturally results in you finding treasure and hidden secrets as you fight your way through the countless fodder enemies that populate the environments. On paper, it all sounds rather cookie cutter, but there’s something about the reward loop of grinding hunts, getting more gil and better equipment, and using that to then do harder hunts that proves to be insatiably addictive. In this way, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age proves that innovation isn’t necessarily the only requirement to stellar game design, sometimes all it takes is brilliant execution of well-worn ideas.
That being said, one place where Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age definitely innovates is in its combat, specifically the Active Dimensional Battle system, which finally eschews the random encounters of the series in favor of a more active focus. Perhaps inspiring the Xenoblade Chronicles games that would come many years later, battles are simply started right there in the overworld as soon as you’re within the visual or attack range of an enemy. Once the battle starts, character actions are then governed by an ATB style system in which each character has an auto-filling bar that grants them an action every time it fills, but one way in which Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age puts all other RPGs to shame is in the depth of micromanagement it offers players through the “Gambit” system.
The Gambit system is a marketing friendly term for programmable actions, all of which can be set up in the pause menu. Essentially, every character has a set of Gambits that function as ‘if/then’ commands, and how you order the Gambits dictates how the character behaves in battle. Every Gambit slot has a ‘target’ and an ‘action’, and a vast list of selectable factors for each, which ensures that you have near-limitless amount of ways in which you can set up each character. So, for example, you can set a Gambit that ensures your healer-focused character will cast “Blindna” every time a party member is stricken with the “Blind” status effect by an enemy. Or, you can set multiple Gambits on your black mage to ensure that they’ll use whatever magic the currently targeted enemy is weak to. Unlike most other RPGs, you no longer have to worry about lackluster AI limiting the effectiveness of your team, as you can control exactly where, when, and how each party member reacts to certain scenarios.
It takes a bit of getting used to, but the true strength of the Gambit system lies in using trial and error to figure out how to turn your team into a perfectly balanced, unstoppable killing force that requires only occasional input from you. Some may think it sounds a bit boring to have a combat system primarily centered around playing itself, but the nature of the Gambit system always leaves room for a little more improvement or player interaction. Each character only has so many Gambit slots to fill, and even when you’ve found a nice equilibrium for the team, there are still plenty of scenarios where it’s simply quicker to tell a character to do a specific action. What’s nice about this system is how much stress it takes off the player in the moment to moment decision making; you can watch the action unfold automatically and intervene as needed, filling the gaps in as a sort of meta party member.
Character growth is handled in a manner akin to the Sphere Grid system of Final Fantasy X, but it’s slightly more freeform in its approach. There are twelve jobs to pick from and each character can be equipped with a main class and a subclass, each of which has a unique, chess-like board that charts their mastery of that class. Every job board contains a collection of “Licenses” which dictate the level of gear or the skills that the character can use. So, for example, you may find a fancy new armlet in a treasure chest that requires a level 3 accessory license to equip; only characters that have unlocked the “Accessory 3” spot on their job board will be capable of putting it on. Every enemy you kill grants each character “License Points” which can then be spent to buy more spots on their job boards, but you can only buy spots that are directly adjacent to any of the ones you’ve already bought. What’s nice about this setup is how it allows you to control your character’s growth within their class towards the way that you play them; if you feel comfortable with their current equipment setup, for example, then you can forgo buying higher ranks of armor licenses in favor of more direct stat buffs or skill licenses. And, unlike the Sphere Grid, there are no predefined paths here that you choose to follow, it all radiates outward from the starting point and you’re given complete freedom over what corners of the board to work towards.
Also, new to this Switch version, you’re allowed to respec characters and reclass them as you please, and you’re even refunded all invested LP. With this change, you’re now given greater ability to experiment with different party setups as you don’t have to commit to any string of decisions you make in growing any characters. It’s small, sure, but little quality of life changes like this can make a world of difference in ratcheting up the replayability and fun factor; it’s a lot less stressful knowing that you can undo your mistakes.
Speaking of quality of life changes, this Switch port also features the lovely inclusion of three swappable Gambit sets for each character, allowing you to create varying setups for different situations. For example, boss fights often like to throw some curveballs your way and introduce status debuffs and attacks that you likely haven’t predicted with your Gambit setups. In previous versions of Final Fantasy XII, you’d have to redo your party’s Gambits to fit that boss, then have to remember your previous setups and reimplement them again after you were done; this way, you can have one or two ‘main’ setups and use the remainders for specific situations. Another welcome inclusion (which wasn’t present in the initial PS2 release) is the ability to double or quadruple the speed of the game by simply pressing in the left stick, enormously cutting back on the downtime that grinding tends to bring. Especially when paired with a party that can fight mostly on its own, having the ability to expedite the process of fights that are otherwise set in stone lets you get to rewards that much faster and move on to whatever’s next. It’s clear that Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is designed to be a game that’s respectful of your time, even if the nature of the genre demands that you pour in dozens of hours to get the ‘full’ experience.
From a presentation perspective, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age doesn’t necessarily impress, but it certainly satisfies. Updated character models and up-rezzed textures bring the PS2-era graphics into the modern age and provide some solid visuals, but character expressions and jagged geometry ensure that it’s still unmistakably a game from days past. That’s not to say it looks bad, but coming into this one with managed expectations is wise; next to other modern RPG’s, it can look a bit lackluster. The world is presented in a rather painterly look that brings to mind shades of the system used in the Valkyria Chronicles, characterized by soft colors that tend to blur together occasionally punctuated by loud, vibrant colors that all but pierce the screen, such as when a powerful magic spell is cast in battle.
This is all well and good, but the visual style feels a bit let down by the slightly more reined in fantasy elements, bringing a more grounded approach to the world. There are still dragons and magic and all the trappings that one would come to expect from a Final Fantasy game, but the decidedly more political approach to the storytelling seems to have rubbed off a bit on the art direction, which is concerned with making the world of Ivalice seem like a place that could almost be real, somewhere. Of course, it looks great in motion and runs at 30 FPS - whether you’re playing on the Switch or the TV - and as far as we could tell, appears to be mostly on-par with the versions available on other platforms. Also, for you music aficionados, there are three different versions of Hitoshi Sakimoto’s soundtrack work here - Original, orchestral, and OST - and though the differences won’t be too noticeable to an untrained ear, it’s nice to see that the developers went to the trouble of making sure the audio received the same TLC that the rest of the game did.
Conclusion
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is a great example of what developers should aspire to do with remastering old games; this is the best-designed and most enjoyable version of this RPG classic currently on the market, and it can all be played on the go, too. Though the story comes off as being rather disappointing and the visuals are a little dated, the Gambit-focused combat system still proves to be one of the best we’ve seen in an RPG to date, making it dangerously easy for hours to slip by as you work on min-maxing characters to the best of their abilities. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age may not prove to be the best Final Fantasy ever made, but it’s still a pretty darned great game in its own right; don’t miss out on this one, it’s certainly worth your time.
Comments 98
I will get to this just as soon as I beat X. I did play for just over an hour the other day and it does look great! I'm looking forward to this one as I've not beat it yet.
It's one of five physical games that I've got waiting for me when I get back home. Don't know when I'll get around to playing it but one day I will.
Cannot wait to play Switch version instead of my PS4 version.
Maybe next Sunday my local game shop has stocked FF XII TZA Switch.
Once i bought the Switch version, Sayonara my PS4 version...
Edit: I have ever played the PS2 version on year 2006 & 2007 for 3 times (Japan, USA, international) and the Switch version will be Perfect choice from all.
Been loving it so far, so nice being able to just take it wherever.
Can’t even look at these games until I complete my backlog, ugh!
This is one of the only Final Fantasy games I’ve never played. Now it’s on Switch... I must have it!
In my opinion, FF 12 has one of the best story in the series!
Are you deducting a point for every non-first party game?
FF12 is now much better than it used to be when it originally released. Most FF fans hated it just because it was different. They expected a turn based battle system and FF12 was radically different. The game was brilliant, but it got so much hate just because it wasn't a traditional FF. For me it's a true jrpg gem and the inspiration for the mechanics we found years later in Xenoblade Chronicles.
I love the original FFXII, but I'm finding that adding in a job system didn't make anything better and made things worse slightly. Mainly in that jobs are a subset of the old license board so you simply have fewer options rather than a truly new way to play it. For what's almost a full price release compared to the more budget priced VII, IX and X/X-2, I don't think it's completely unreasonable for a larger revamp over the old International Zodiac Job System version to have been made versus the few tweaks that were. It also would have been nice to have had to option for the original board instead. The only thing I thought the original needed was a Foe: Has Item to make stealing more automated which is a weirdly manual process compared to everything else.
Quality of life stuff is essential when remastering these old games. But not hitting 720 in portable or even 900p docked is kind of unacceptable for a retail priced game for a game this old.
@Dang69 it's an hd remake. It runs 1080p at 30fps on ps4. A resolution drop is to be expected.
I’m 15 hours into FF12 and I’m thinking it might be my favorite Final Fantasy. The plot has been great so far, and I actually like that the characters and world are a little more on the “down to Earth” aide of things. It feels like a Final Fantasy for grown ups
I only played FF12 briefly when it first came out and I absolutely hated it, I thought the combat system was dreadful and it was quite a bland an ugly game after what had come before. I may give it another try as so many seem to like it
@razorxkenshin I've got to agree with him, yes there are some visual improvements but its still nowhere near the quality of even a 360/PS3 game with basic geometry and character models by today's standards. Overall it still looks decent on Switch but I'm surprised it hasn't hit its native resolution
@razorxkenshin It's not a remake. Link's Awakening on Switch is a remake. This is a remaster, with improved systems, models and updated textures. Why should I expect it THAT inferior to PS4 version? Should I have expected much less from the Cuphead port? I didn't complain about how wacky the texture work is compared to Ps4 cuz that is expected due to card size limits. This is a game releasing years after (2 years?) the Ps4 release. In that time they were able to do some special 4k stuff for the Xbox version. I find it kind of crazy they couldn't optimize this better for Switch in that same period. I just think SOMETIMES the answer is "Switch users are hungry for content, we don't need to put in that extra bit of dev money to polish this. They'll buy it anyway." edit: Guess they stealth removed the 4k bit even though they marketed it as such.
@carlos82 I don't disagree with you. I am just saying that you can't expect it to run better than it does, when they couldn't hit 60 fps on the ps4. I have the game and I think that it looks and more importantly runs great.
@razorxkenshin I never complained about the FPS - that's how it runs. The Xbox 1 *X version does hit 60 tho. But since the game wasn't built around that - it's fine. Who knows if they tried 60 for PS4 and couldn't get it working.
@razorxkenshin to clarify a bit more I find it strange all round as it's only 1440p on the PRO and the X is locked to 1080p albeit at 60 fps. Just seems a bit odd all round although it still looks fine for a game of its age
@Dang69 60fps on Xbox One X. Not the regular one.
@razorxkenshin All developers should be aspiring to 8/10.
Are there any differences between this and the PS4 version?
Huge fan of this one. In my opinion it's the one and only good FF game after the series died on a high note with 9. I detest 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15.
@razorxkenshin Yes - sorry thought that was implied when I also said the Xbox 1 could do 4k earlier that I meant the X. edit: Guess they stealth removed the 4k bit even though they marketed it as such.
I finished it a few weeks ago on PC and really enjoyed it. Other than the story feeling seriously rushed at the end, it did feel a bit more thought-provoking and mature than previous games. I found the gameplay extremely relaxing on x4 speed which is probably sacrilegious to people who played the original game but otherwise I found it rather slow. I'll eventually go back and finish the hunts but all in all, it's probably one of my favourites behind VII, X and VI.
This has an 8? Wow. Wow. Why do I keep reading reviews here?
yep it's well worth it no matter which system you get it on PS4, XB1 or Switch it's a great play
the added bonus of being able to play on the go is REALLY tempting me though, even though i already have it on PS4
Finally, Britney Spears and Aaron Carter can engage in their convoluted political quest of intrigue on a Nintendo system!
@abbyhitter the ability to change jobs and have more than one gambit set but that's it
oh and handheld mode of course
it is the best FF ever with 7, 8 and 6
@Dang69 X1X actually only outputs in standard 1080p. No 4k anywhere for FF12.
I agree with just about everything except for the art style complaints. I personally feel that the art style chosen for this game was a breath of fresh air at the time, and it still is. It holds up in most ways and is probably one of the things I remember most about the game, besides the good characters, and the stellar soundtrack.
@Octorok385 I couldn't agree with you more.
@invictus4000 I mostly agree with you. FFXII is one of the better games in the series and I enjoyed it much more than 10 or 13. FFXIV actually feels like a spiritual successor to FFXII in everything from the art cues and the story. It is an MMO, though, which puts it into a different place.
FFXV is actually pretty good if you’re not playing it as a Final Fantasy game. By that I mean FFXV is a great action RPG with a touching bro story, and tidbits of Final Fantasy flavor mixed in.
Ok. All these final fantasy releases have me confused with their regional differences- is this physical in uk?
Great score for a great game!I originally played this when it released for the PS2 and loved it but spent most of my time hunting Marks and less time on the story.For some reason i never did complete it so obviously I couldn't wait to buy the updated version when it came to PS4.Absolutely loving the changes and the Gambit system.I kind of wish I'd waited for the Switch Version but I'm 60 hours into it now and I'm not going to start the whole game again!
I really hope Final Fantasy VI gets a remaster or remake next cuz that one was my absolute favourite.
Bought it. 4th time picking up XII (ps2, PS4, PC and now switch). I wouldn't have gotten it for switch if it wasn't for portability.
I would have done the same for x/x-2 but since I have the vita version I see no point.
I think I must be a sucker for the oppressive empire storylines. My favorite Final Fantasy is 6, followed by 4, 12, then 14.
4 arguably wasn’t an oppressive empire, but it it walked the line.
@Indielink I guess they stealth removed any mention of the Xbox 1 X version NOT having 4K even though they literally marketed it as such up until friday last week? SO, Xbox 1 X has 1080 at 60 fps, and the Ps4 Pro has (upscaled/supersampled 4k) at 30 fps? Anyways, wasn't really bringing up that point for any reason other than to say "some extra work went into the 1 X version since the Ps4 release and therefore was surprised they couldn't get the Switch version a little closer to the base versions of the PS and Xbox given how old this game is, and that most of these updates are to SOME models and systems and textures." In my original comment I also said it was "kind of" unacceptable. Like 640 handheld and 860 docked aren't yoshi bad, but just SEEMS like the spine should allow for at least 720 and something closer to 1080. On the other hand I think X-X2 looks beautiful.
Getting my physical copy today. Hoping to get the Asian version of X and X-2 in the next couple weeks. Also, pretty sure I'm the only human being on the planet waiting for a version of 13 to eventually come to Switch.
@LegendOfStewart Tim Rogers had a let's play on it and really turned me onto the idea of 13.
This game is leagues better than FFX. It's a shame this game didn't get as much love when it released back on the PS2. I wasted a whole summer on this game.
@Dang69 Honestly it's just a weird release all around cause yeah it was marketed as a 4k port but there is literally no resolution boost at all.. This seems like the kind of thing the Switch SHOULD be able to run at 1080p and the X1X should crush at 4k60. Outside of the adjustments to the Gambit and Job system these versions of FF12 seem to have been pushed out fairly quickly. Hopefully we see a patch somewhere to give it that last little boost.
I bought this for PS2, but never finished it. Didn't like the Gambit system. I like my turn based RPGs to be just that, and the game being able to play itself for much of the time isn't exciting, it's boring.
But it's been a lot of years since I tried it, and I'm not currently playing any serious RPGs on my Switch, so maybe I'll give it another go.
Amazing, amazing game all around but at the same time it does get kind of tiring to play after a while, there is just so much here it's kind of insane.
I still have never finished this game, I think I got about 50 hours in in the PS4 version, but I still triple dipped and got this version too, hopefully the portability will help in finishing the game.
You're on a roll Square, can we get FF Tactics next please?
Feels more like a 9 rather than an 8, but that's me.
Now how about the porting the FFXIII trilogy to Switch, Square Enix?
FFXII was the last great Final Fantasy, and what a way to go out! Already one of the very best in the series BEFORE all the Zodiac Age improvements.
@Dualmask You can disable gambits and turn it into a completely turn-based game by selecting commands between actions. I personally only use gambits as a backup in case I miss one of my characters running low on HP or something.
So, how does this compare to XIII? Which I hated, especially the linear gameplay, the wanky characters and most of all, the combat?
I'm playing XC2 at the moment which is great ... So if it's similar I'm sold.
@Anti-Matter Why bother buying multiple versions of the same game?
@Magician Not going to happen.
@Custom1991
Used to be i played pirated PS2 disc games on modded PS2 long time ago and i played FF XII three different version at that time.
Now, after i removed completely my pirated things and all modded machine i can start from new again.
I live in Indonesia where the pirated copies of PS1 / PS2 games can be easily founded in disc with just 5000 Rupiah or US$ 0.35
But now i don't want to buy any pirated games anymore. I did very wrong thing in the past.
I will get to this one day. I'm clearing a little more backlog first, then probably going to go hard on Final Fantasy for the rest of the year. I will be playing them all in the order of VII, IX, X, X-2, and XII, though hopefully by that time VII and IX will get sales. The rest will be through GameFly.
@Anti-Matter OK. I rather stick with one version of the game.
@Anti-Matter OK. I rather stick with one version of the game.
@Anti-Matter Why not just stick with one version of the game and not all of them?
always felt 12 was a better top to bottom game than 10 but the pacing of the game was always too slow to do feel like i was getting anywhere. the x2 speed made this game a much better experience.
10 is still great tho, i just didnt like the sphere grids. felt overly tedious and time consuming to miss one thing and you could never make it up.
@Custom1991
Because on that time the game has been available on Three version in order : Japan version first, then followed by USA version and International version at the last.
On that day i still play pirated copies, one game for 5000 Rupiah was extremely cheap, so i bought three version to play FF XII.
Actually, i found the differences for each version.
Japan version of original FF XII it have Omega XII with HP = 10 Millions
USA / PAL version, Omega XII HP = 1 Million
International version = The Zodiac Age
@Anti-Matter Not every version of the game have many differences and I won't waste my time and money on buying the same game in different regions just to get all of the content.
@Custom1991
But at least, on that day i can read some Japanese words (Hiragana and Katakana) for Magic spells (Written in Katakana) and other words.
And when i really like the game, i can replay again for many times.
Do you need to read a walk-through while playing or is it perfectly possible to beat without? I always have my doubts when it comes to final fantasy... cheers for an answer
...and if so: can you recommend one? Cheers!
@Anti-Matter I see.
While I'm okay with your score, this game is a 10 in my book. It is such a huge improvement over the original. I love the speed up features and the way you can go back and reset both of your jobs. It's so freaking good, and has a grown up story. Just amazing game to me. The original would be an 8, but this is a 10. RPG fans that have never played this, it's a must own!
@sportvater Either way but I'm using a walkthrough this time around so I dont miss anything. There really isn't a ton of missables. There's an html guide on ganefaqs that is pretty darn good. Just remember it's based on the international zodiac age so it doesn't know you can switch jobs later.
@SlippingBack Thanks, mate! Hope you'll have a good time in Ivalice!
@Dang69 Square's re-releases always tend to be bare bones. They never even put it in 4k for PS4 Pro, which should be no hassle for an upgraded ps2 game.
I think first I'll get Dragon's Dogma, but this one will come right afterwards...
Never played it, one of the very few FF I've never touched. And I'm looking forward to it!
About 15 hours in, and while Final Fantasy X is probably my favorite JRPG of all time, this one is giving it a run for its money. It’s just excellent. I almost don’t want to compare the two because they’re both just so good in their own way. FFX is the best turn based JRPG, and FFXII the best non-turn based JRPG. How’s that.
@Cathousemaster
It’s not a perfect comparison, but... Xenoblade 2 is probably the best comparison there is. I definitely think you’ll like this if you dig Xenoblade. FFXIII was linear in more ways than one, and if you’re ever curious why FFX was so beloved despite also being linear, while FFXIII wasn’t, check out this video
https://youtu.be/QMZMJDFe1kc
@dsparil
For stealing, I do
Foe: >70% HP ..... Steal
Foe: <70% HP ..... Attack
And it seems to work pretty well. Sometimes I get stuck in a steal loop when I’m mobbed by enemies, but I clear them out fast enough that it’s not too much of an issue
I'll return to Final Fantasy when it returns to its turn-based roots
@Custom1991 there was a time when FF VII on Nintendo Platform was a “not going to happen”.
still need to pick mine up.
Zodiac age is a wonderful game but it has massive difficulty spikes at times. almost makes me want to quit but so far i managed to overcome them.
@Dang69 That's what's important, the resolution. /s
@Expa0
I keep wondering what is going on with Tactics. They’ve even released the game on mobile devices like iPad and we know there’s a market for the franchise on the switch. One of the most well suited Final
Fantasies for mobile devices is underrepresented no mention at all. I am
Happy with Squares support for the Nintendo Hybrid so far though.
I love this one to death...I played it on my PS3 until my unit died. Then I picked up the remaster and loved it even more. The world-building they put into this game is really cool--the desert areas, jungles, etc. I'll probably pick it up for the switch just for the treat of being able to play it on the go.
doubting whether i should pick it up. Is the dialogue still tacky as hell?
@Crono1973 As a consumer potentially paying 50 bucks for a thing. yeah the visual fidelity of a VIDEO game is an important aspect of the game to me. Why shouldn't it be important when Im gonna stare at it for like 80 hrs in a game like this? But there's a difference between that sentiment and praising a game AS BEING GOOD because of resolution. Honestly I got bored after a few hours of God of War for example. Rez didnt make it better for me in any way. But I also felt icky while playing Crash on Switch as it's low rez felt gross and make it hard to jump on platforms undocked. I just mostly just need a game to not look bad from the rez. But I also dont care if a game looks hi rez either. Make sense? Obviously if the core of the game feels amazing and requires a lower rez like Doom to run, Im chill with that too cuz Ill stop noticing and therefore not be distracted.
Too bad the story in this one is so poor.
Every version of this has been better than the previous, and being able to reset your jobs is a huge boon to anyone stepping into this title for the first time.
Fingers crossed for a XIII release with its 10 year coming up, that'd be an instabuy for me.
It seems to me like Nintendo and all media outlets are ignoring that the Zodiac job system was introduced for the PS4 (and even on a PS2 version in Japan), and are talking about it being a brand new thing for this release? Or am I missing something?
The game itself is amazing, but saying "this is how a remaster should be done" is ridiculous
It only runs in about 800p docked and 500p undocked, both at 30fps. This is a game designed for a console that came out almost 20 years ago. The Zodiac System and several other changes were made back in the PS2 era too, they're not made as part of this remaster. The bulk of the changes unique to the remaster on PS4, PC, Switch etc are visual, and they're pathetic considering how old the game is.
.
Hmm... at some point I'm thinking on trading in my PS4 version and get the Switch version, instead.
On the other hand... my PS4 version has a slick looking steelcase...
Of all the FF games released recently this sounds like the one I would be most into. I fear that the "classic" ones will underwhelm me due to lack of nostalgia, but the Gambit system in here sounds like just the thing.
Also Ivalice from FFTA.
@Indielink I can't remember if I talked you about this yesterday, on here or NE, but I learned something new about the FFX JP and SE Asia versions. Both DO have the games on one card BUT those versions are missing a couple QoL things like the 3x speed you can run the game at in the Western releases. I said to you yesterday I was "sure the Japanese version didn't have both games on it, only the SE Asia one" and was wrong (SE Asia has the western CGI blue cover tho, while JP has white) https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/bcd91r/close_up_shots_of_final_fantasy_x_x2_and/
@Matroska I agree. My complaint with the article too. But..you'll weirdly get a lot of commenters on here saying to you "oh (eye roll) cuz resolution is the most important thing dot dot dot." And it's like, no, no one is sayng that, but also when paying 50 bucks for a thing, that's older and less demanding it's perfectly awesome for you as the consumer to question 860-whatever p for something like this. It ain't Doom and many of us bought a Switch under the promise most games would be 1080-900 docked and 720 in handheld. Visually dense games like this, NEED better resolution.
Enjoying the game but it's such a pity the portable version is not native 720p, as sometimes it looks a little blurry. It would have been a perfect port with native 720p resolution.
@Dang69
Seriously? 5 dislikes for stating a legit criticism and fact.
You're paying the same amount of money today as you did when FF12 first released on the ps2 (10-20 more today depending on where you live). I would rather just have a modern sequel for those prices.
I don't have an issue with the likes of Square Enix wasting their resources on flipping old games. I do have an issue when they use the hardware's portability as their main selling feature and use it to justify the outrageous price points.
Portability isn't a feature of any game. It's a feature of the console that we've already purchased. It can't not be portable.
It's like an automotive place selling you repurposed (remastered) parts and the main selling feature is that they fit on your car.....wow!
@Itzdmo That is a great analogy. And a great point on the "we already purchased into the portability." Gonna have to steal all of that in future discussions elsewhere.
The Digital Foundry comparison video sold me on the One X version.
@Dang69 add it to the list of reasons to not own a switch. Price premium for portability, cart costs, a re-master/port not being on a Nintendo console before...
Was going to rate it and... ¿8? ¿9? It's not a 10 for sure... Maybe it even deserves just a 7.
Then realized I need something else beyond the raw number. A "Must have" check or something similar.
Great review and a nice score. As I've already played it and liked it a lot (PS2)... I'm giving this version a 9. I hope you'll excuse my fanboyism ^^
** This 9 comes from a 6 hours playtime on Switch
@Oubie My favorite too. Ivalice was one of their most thought out settings. I just wish they were willing to stick to their original plan of a grown up team instead of shoe-horning in Vaan and Penelo.
@james_mueller True, though I'm not really that much bothered by them. If anything, they complete the team to give their perspective on all the political stuff. As a player you experience it all in-depth through Basch, Balthier, Fran, Ashe and Balthier and the effects of the political war on the 'kids' Vaan and Penelo.
@james_mueller Vaan and Penelo have more dramatic character arcs than Balthier or Basch... well maybe not Balthier, but those two "grownups" have already been through their most trying times. Now we see them picking up pieces. Vaan and Penelo have the adventure that defines their lives NOW. It's good storytelling. It's free real estate. Reks got rekd.
@Oubie @aznable Time for me to play though it again. An excuse to enjoy it more, and have a decade+ of growing up to see how I feel about the story now. Likely love it even more.
Odd from all the negativity though out the review I was expecting a score of 5 maybe 6 but lays down a 8 that was a surprise.
Played it back in the ps2 days and it has been one of my favorite games all time. Revisited on Switch and I am happy to see that the artistic design is as good as ever, higher-res graphics looks damn fine and with rock solid soundtrack the overall presentation is classy. Ivalice is probably the best world in FF series. So detailed, so awesome. Not to mention, Switch version is the absolute best one among all ports.
But what makes FFXII a truly unique game is its battle system. It is so well designed, so fluid that it feels more modern than 90% of the RPGs released in the most recent 5 years. You can change the name, remove the remastered tag and give it to someone who had never played it as a brand new game from 2021. Nothing feels dated except the save crystals (which are just modernized by auto-save function).
This game aged like a fine wine.
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