Square Enix is finally set to release Final Fantasy XII on North American shores this October. The game has garnered much attention due to its many changes over previous games in the series. There is an entirely new battle system that takes the game to an almost action-RPG level. The setting is in Ivalice, the same location that Final Fantasy Tactics was set in. Nobuo Uematsu has been almost phased out of the music entirely, only contributing one piece to the entire game. All in all, much that fans consider Final Fantasy has been overhauled, but it remains to be seen whether this is good or bad.
Final Fantasy XII takes place in Ivalice. Players will spend a lot of time in the city of Rabanastre, the capital city of Dalmasca. The story centers around Ashe, the Princess of Dalmasca, and Vaan, a young man whose dream is to be a Sky Pirate. When war breaks out between the Archadian Empire and the Kingdom of ROsaria, Dalmasca's king surrenders in order to try to save the lives of his citizens. The plot is heavily political, which should please fans of Final Fantasy Tactics and those inclined toward such types of storylines.
The battle system is the major point that some fans are worried about. Last year, many people played the demo included with Dragon Quest VIII, which didn't allow players very much insight into the battle system, it did give a small taste. Essentially, the combat is a fusion of action and an MMORPG-styled systemd that ultimately gets the job done well. Characters can be set to automatically attack all enemies, and the battles can be left at that, with players merely interfering to heal or cast spells. Additionally, players can manually control one character at a time for each and every action they make in real time, or they can choose to set "gambits" which program specific behavior--such as healing others--into their characters for smoother combat. It would seem that this battle system has a lot of depth yet to be explored, so that is something to check out when the full game comes out.
This newest Final Fantasy also has a License Board that is similar to the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X. That is to say, players can spend License Points to fill up a board of tiles that unlock skills and abilities.
On technical fronts, the game appears to be about what's expected of newer Final Fantasy titles. That is, the graphics are top-of-the-line and the soundtrack has raised many an approving eyebrow. At present, the English voice acting reamins a question mark.
Final Fantasy XII has some huge expectations to meet when it finally reaches the states on October 31st, so be looking forward to a full review and discussion sometime after that date.
