Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

 PC
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Cubed3
    Sep 24, 2018
    60
    Final Fantasy XII is a good game that broke a lot of ground upon release, as an RPG, as a work of fantasy, and as a Final Fantasy entry. With that said, The Zodiac Age feels like a bare-minimum up-port, with little besides the textures being improved. Fans of the original adventure will probably love it, and fans of the series who never played it should give it a try, but on its own two legs in the present day, it doesn't offer much that other RPGs don't do while looking and feeling much better in today's technological landscape.
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  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Feb 11, 2018
    When a sale comes along I will be the first to invite all ye completionist trope-soakers to partake, to wade around in this sweet trash heap one more time, listening to the guttural Scots-Cornish-Caribbean of my old friends, the Bangaa.

Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Best PC Game of 2018
76
#76 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
98
#98 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 311 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 253 out of 311
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 311
  3. Negative: 32 out of 311
  1. kuehnau
    Feb 4, 2018
    5
    Final Fantasy XII is out for PC now, with improved visuals, new mechnics, and other options to try and justify charging $40.00 for a 12 yearFinal Fantasy XII is out for PC now, with improved visuals, new mechnics, and other options to try and justify charging $40.00 for a 12 year old game that you can get brand-new for $15.00 on Amazon for the PS2.

    I never played this when it first came out. To be honest, I was starting to move away from Square by the end of the PS1 era of their RPGs. And their new ones on the PS2 never really grabbed my attention. I grew up with and loved some of their classic games, like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, but as the years went on, Square seemed to move further and further away from the kind of game development that caused me to fall in love with them in the first place.

    After seeing some pretty good reviews for Final Fantasy XII online and the reviews on here, I decided to give it a chance and see how it held up. Visually it is a beautiful game and Sqaure did a good job remastering the graphics of the game. For all intents and purposes, their OST for the game is fine too. It's not going to blow anyone's mind, but the music is "good enough".

    That's about all the good stuff I have to say about this game, unfortunately.

    The writing feels half hearted, it's another basic story they have going on, that has been retold since they started doing RPGs in the late 80's and early 90's. Character behavior is weird, a lot of times someone will do something, without really ever being able to justify it.

    Vaan, one of the main characters is basically an orphan and lives off the streets, stealing from people and working odd jobs for friends. At some point he gets it into his head to break into the royal palace, bypass a ton of security and steal "something" from the palace. He doesn't even know what it is he's looking for, he's just looking for something, anything to steal. It makes no sense.

    Speaking of characters, none of them are likeable in any capacity. For me, they were all just kind of there. All of them have about as much character and depth as a puddle of rain water and show about as much. They are just talking heads, there to drive the narrative forward, unfortunately they fail to grab my attention in any sort of meaningful way.

    It's nice that Sqaure introduced a system to play the game, without having to worry much about the actual mechnics, they have a normal, easy and hardmode you can start off with. And easy mode, (new game plus) starts you off with characters all at level 90. This would actually be more impressive if Final Fantasy XII were a game you could enjoy just for the narrative, but it's not. Starting off in new game plus is just going to make the game that much more boring.

    XII has a basic concept of a leveling system in place, which has been a standard since Final Fantasy 1. The issue is they keep fouling it up by trying to get fancy or "unique" with how it's all handled. Their job system is like a poor mix of Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy X and it's completely garbage. What's the point of even having a job system if you are going to lock players into one or two roles?

    The combat is just a mess. It's like a mix of the classic Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy 10 and Final Fantasy Online. All the fights are bascially "live", but still has a weird turned base feeling to it. Other party members will run around and do whatever based on their "gambit" system. You can also command each party member, but to be completely honest, the whole thing is such a mess, it's so chaotic, it's just easier and less frustrating to let the computer do what it wants to do.

    I'm pushing to play the game right now, just so I can justify the money spent on this title, but there's no way I could recommend it to anyone, especially at the current asking price.    … Full Review »
  2. philzlz
    Dec 31, 2018
    6
    Zodiac Age is a remaster of the 2006 released PlayStation 3 game Final Fantasy XII featuring a new job class system. The game takes place inZodiac Age is a remaster of the 2006 released PlayStation 3 game Final Fantasy XII featuring a new job class system. The game takes place in the war torn land of Ivalice, where the kingdom of Dalmasca finds itself between the two fighting empires of Archadia and Rozarria. You control Vaahn and lead a resistance movement to stop the Archadian Empire.

    One of the weaker entries of the Final Fantasy saga due to its weak story. Combat mechanics don't hold up nowadays, but with the option to speed fighting up it becomes bearable. Towards the end, the game starts to drag and the weak cast of main characters disappoint.

    A good PC port of the game with 4k support and 60 fps.    … Full Review »
  3. Louis88
    Feb 12, 2018
    10
    FF XII: The Zodiac Age is a revamped and expanded port for the PC of the PS4 title. The Zodiac Age contains many improvements on the originalFF XII: The Zodiac Age is a revamped and expanded port for the PC of the PS4 title. The Zodiac Age contains many improvements on the original FF XII, the largest being the Zodiac job system. These improvements were unreleased outside of Japan until the release on the PS4.

    The PC port of the game is near perfect, complete with support for 60fps in 4k. The game looks very good and the performance is fantastic. It can be comfortably said that this is one of the best Final Fantasy ports on PC. If you are a fan of the game, or of the series in general, you owe it to yourself to get this definitive version of FF XII.    … Full Review »
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