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Levelling up works in correlation with the fighting system – every time you slightly level up, you get license points and then can spend them on the license board. The board consists of a range of things and you’ll need to pick your journey wisely. If you want to focus on health, then open up those avenues, whereas if you want to focus on weaponry, choose those. I found myself levelling up quite a bit because I made some bad choices. I wasn’t too worried about that as I like levelling up more than my opponents. It took me a while to get use to this, but I found it helpful that when you were buying weaponry, magic, accessories and such, as it would always tell you whether your character could or couldn’t use it. Apart from the weapons which you need ammunition for, it was annoying when I couldn’t afford the ammo and, thus, couldn’t work out why one of my characters was standing around like a lemon all the time.
Overall, I found myself really enjoying the gameplay. Yes, this may be partly down to how good the story is, and so is my desire to adapt to ensure I enjoyed the game. Either way, not for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised. Everything takes a little while to get used to, but if you are willing to give it the time it becomes more than worth it.
When it comes down to visuals, I was never expecting to be blown away – after all this was originally a PS2 game. However, I was very impressed, even within my first 30 hours. You could tell that they have done a great job touching it all up. Of course, you’re not going to be blown away by them like you would be with Horizon Zero Dawn, for example, and they aren’t going to be as quirky or bright as they are in Persona 5, but they are absolutely fine. The cut scenes were an area that particularly impressed me. I would say these graphics rival that of titles like The Last Guardian.
Visually, one area which particularly annoyed me and that was the camera angles. If you’ve played Super Mario 64 or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, then you’ll know where I’m coming from. It always seemed to me like when I was against a strong enemy, the camera goes off centre and I can never seem to orientate it back. This wasn’t always the case and was never a game changer, but it is an area that annoyed, too. Luckily, before most big fights you can save, so even if I died I was never far away from being back at the same point. Even though this is a PS2 games, the graphics have been remastered well and this *doesn’t* look like a PS2 game – and it doesn’t look very out of place on the PS4, either.
There are few things in life which are always constant: Donald Trump to cause some political scandal every other day, someone to moan about Brexit, NHS staff to be under appreciated and Final Fantasy to include an amazing soundtrack. I have played a lot of the FF games, and enjoyed a few but every single game I have played from the franchise has had a full and enjoyable orchestral soundtrack. FF12 has this in abundance. Throughout my time of writing this, I have had the soundtrack on Youtube on repeat (well maybe not repeat – it does last four hours) and just enjoyed the memories of the game it brings back.
They leave no leaf unturned, ensuring they hire the best Japanese music makers in the world and it feels so polished and pure that you can’t help but get lost in the world. When it comes to thinking about where this soundtrack stands, I need to give it time. It does have potential for being better than FF7, but I will only be able to decide that in 10-15 years time… and after the FF7 remake. Nothing about the sound did I not like, and at no point did I consider putting the useful Spotify app on during gameplay. However, I must add that voice sync shows that it was clearly made for Japanese dialogue. That said, clever direction means you rarely see the character’s lips move when they are talking, otherwise this may have annoyed me more.
For current gaming priorities, Final Fantasy XII is the one I play straight away when I switch on my PS4, and I highly recommend this title which is such a solid remaster, and a lot better than Final Fantasy X, in my opinion.
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is out now on PS4 and PS4 Limited Edition Steelbook, and click on the packshot for the full-size version.
Important info:
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Developer: Square Enix
- Players: single player campaign
- HDTV options: up to 1080p
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
8 10 9 9 |
| OVERALL | 9 |
I have been a video game player since 1993 and a music fan since I can remember. I studied Film and Journalism at university and ended up becoming a Primary School teacher. Video games changed my life and sent me on the right track and have stayed with me ever since.