Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

 PC
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

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  1. Saawatts
    Oct 4, 2019
    4
    Had to give this game up after 16h, as I was having no fun and it hits all my pet peeves. The "plot" so far is just your characters getting dragged from place to place for contrived reasons with no real agency or greater story. The characters so far are extremely underbaked--I have no connection with any of them, no clue why they're sticking together, and the character with the mostHad to give this game up after 16h, as I was having no fun and it hits all my pet peeves. The "plot" so far is just your characters getting dragged from place to place for contrived reasons with no real agency or greater story. The characters so far are extremely underbaked--I have no connection with any of them, no clue why they're sticking together, and the character with the most screentime is extremely obnoxious with no reason to be in the plot. I have 0 investment in the story, the characters, or any of the proper name places the game constantly references but hasn't sold me on. If I take a few days off, I can barely remember what I was supposed to be doing because none of it matters.

    Combat itself is far too easy and the gambit system, which could be amazing in a more challenging game, just emphasizes how pointlessly easy the fights are. With just one or two commands on each character (attack the nearest enemy, casters heal anyone who gets low), I can stomp through everything--including bosses. So gameplay involves running around a map and then drinking tea during fights. Even the hardmode optional enemies, which are extremely rare, might only require a single pause to use items. I just accidentally fought a boss without doing the sidequest to weaken it and...AFK killed it in 15 seconds with no risk. The progression system gives you nothing to look forward to by itself--the upgrades are either passives or proficiency for spells and weapons you don't have yet. Passives don't matter one bit when I've no sense of challenge and for all I know, I might get those spells/weapons in 40 hours. So the game's constant grinding feels pointless and unrewarding, as I've no stake in the rewards or the characters themselves and can sleepwalk through the gameplay.

    Out of combat, the world consists of hugs maps that you run around looking for enemies, sidequests, and treasure chests. I regret the time I've spent exploring--combat is soporific, sidequests are extremely rare, and treasure chests are almost all pointless. Overwhelmingly you get pointless items you don't care about or money, which you acquire easily and have nothing important to spend on so it becomes meaningless.

    I've heard this game gets really good later on, that the story takes off and end-game optional quest combat is the highlight of the game. Maybe that's true. But the 16h I've spent have been about as fun as a loading screen. Maybe some people could power through, but the burden should never be on the player to suffer through a horrible slog for several full work shifts in case the game maybe gets good later.    … Expand
  2. rxgamer
    Mar 19, 2018
    4
    One of the most offensive PC ports I've seen. No in-game settings menu. Everything is hyper fast and dialog isn't in sync with cut scenes. Refunded.
  3. Gorem
    Apr 12, 2018
    1
    See, I have issues when I see a game with many positive "critic" reviews simply because I know many companies and people pay these "critics" money to write fake positive reviews of games. FFXII ZA to me feels like they have ruined what used to be a good game.

    I've played FFXII many many many times over on the PS2, and its always been a great experience (cept for the overly large zones,    See, I have issues when I see a game with many positive "critic" reviews simply because I know many companies and people pay these "critics" money to write fake positive reviews of games. FFXII ZA to me feels like they have ruined what used to be a good game.

    I've played FFXII many many many times over on the PS2, and its always been a great experience (cept for the overly large zones, games worlds are way to huge could cut out half of the walking and it would improve the game so much). And the game always had this aroma of difficulty.

    Then ZA comes out, ports it, and ruins it. ZA has made the game way to easy. Better chests? Higher damage cap? Stuff the game didn't need. They made you hit harder against everything, gave "jobs" that made you hit harder EARLIER while not buffing the health of any boss? Some zones have walking trash mobs that pose more threat then the bosses of the area because the bosses are now so easy to beat.

    Game also takes four hours (and that's if you are rushing) to even get started, this was also not fixed with the port. The game itself prior to the port is not top score worthy. ZA is even less worthy of a top score. Anyone giving it a top score is either fanboying or a paid fake critic. The Ports made the game too easy, and too over the top with forced licence board changes.    … Expand
  4. Ratingss
    Sep 29, 2021
    0
    On PC the game can run at whatever framerate you wish, but the game wasnt meant for that so the audio is always out of sync, other than that its a fine port that supports modern resolutions and has a speed up option because even the developers realize how boring the game is.
    The combat system is an abomination and completely ruins the game, its the same old turn based stuff but you can    On PC the game can run at whatever framerate you wish, but the game wasnt meant for that so the audio is always out of sync, other than that its a fine port that supports modern resolutions and has a speed up option because even the developers realize how boring the game is.
    The combat system is an abomination and completely ruins the game, its the same old turn based stuff but you can pointlessly move around while you wait for your action bar to fill up. To add insult to that you dont even need to select your actions, the game can literally play itself, and the amount of mandatory grinding is insane.
    Playing this is a completely joyless experience, only meant for the dullest of people.    … Expand
  5. Kirin789
    Nov 15, 2021
    0
    Square-enix took a brave path with this game. Amazing remaster with the new job system.
  6. nightocelot
    Jul 25, 2023
    0
    For me FF12 feels like the game of the empty corridors and characters who don't care for each other, like really all interior levels are a set of soulless empty squares with enemies in it.

    The towns look great at the first glance, but then you realise that you cannot do anything there: no sidequests, no minigames, no puzzles to solve, no optional characters to obtain, thus loose all    For me FF12 feels like the game of the empty corridors and characters who don't care for each other, like really all interior levels are a set of soulless empty squares with enemies in it.

    The towns look great at the first glance, but then you realise that you cannot do anything there: no sidequests, no minigames, no puzzles to solve, no optional characters to obtain, thus loose all interest quickly. Same goes for open areas, they look promising first but really don't hold any secrets to uncover so exploration soon feels unrewarding.

    I really liked design of characters (except Penelo) but their stories are never to be discovered on a deep personal level (like in prior FFs with cleverly placed sidequests, intermission dialogues and personal interaction cutscenes that don't touch big main storyline), and so you cannot fully connect to them.

    Apart from that the whole plot is a political sci fi drama observed by your "don't know what I'm doing here" main protagonist Vaan. Idea that your hero is a random chap who got accidentally caught up in big political game is OK, but at some point he needed to get special purpose or attachment to more significant characters. I can easily see all royalty related characters waving goodbyes to Vaan and Penelo and the end of the game: "Thank you for your service guys, it's highly unlikely We'll ever see each other again, bye!"
    And yes, often story reminds you a Star Wars fan fiction.

    There will not be any love stories, challenging friendships, characters origins to be discovered, double agents, characters development and plot twists - yes, all these are cliches that will nevertheless thrill us for as long as storytelling exists.
    People and their destinies evoke emotions, not solely kingdoms fighting each other for power.

    Balthier and Fran's introduction (basically Han Solo and sexy Chewbaka) was pretty cool and I expected these two charming rogues-lovers to amuse me with their moraly ambiguos behavior and witty arguments for the rest of the game but that was it, couple of good scenes and basta.

    No random accounters was a big step forward in the genre, gets high five here.

    Fighting system is ok, gambits though not nessesary to use until you get deeper into the game are themselves no fun and really rob you of combat diversity, disencouraging you from using different abilities, support magic etc. That's the biggest dealbreaker - because of battle speed you're forced to build these boring gambits and then just watch how they are being executed in battle without your active participation. And of course as enemies change on your way you have to constantly optimize gambits - wich is so tiresome. I prefere to do my decisions on the spot, not thoroughly thinking in advance "Ok what else would I do if...?"

    Licence Board is confusing, it's easy to spend all your points for nothing good till you learn what it's for.
    Idea that in order to equip some advanced gear you need to get a permission in Licence Board first is irritating.
    Job System again does detaches you from characters, depriving them of unique characteristics that match theit backstory and personas.
    Job Synergy is unnessesary headache.
    And it's easy to constantly forget that chain attacks work only on killing enemies of one type.

    When FF12 first came out on PS2 I beat it and exhaled Oh Gosh finally it has ended, felt like a lot of work has been put in it and that deservse a big respect, but eventually I got unamusing and forgetable experience. But ever since I was bewildered cause everyone loves it so much and it got highest rankings from Metacritic and Famitsu.
    Massive respect to all FF12 fans though, maybe be one day I give it another shot and will discover the same joy you guys did, Cheers!    … Expand

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

Critic Reviews

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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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  2. Worth Playing
    May 29, 2018
    85
    Overall, The Zodiac Age is a game that genre fans will absolutely love.
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  3. DarkStation
    Mar 21, 2018
    80
    The remaster might have some flaws that could have been prevented with just a little bit of effort. Despite that, Final Fantasy XII is still solid and just as fun as we remember it. Some aspects might be a bit too easy now, but perhaps the New Game Minus mode will encourage players to challenge themselves for a new kind of experience. All in all, I didn't regret playing the game again, but I also feel that there could have been a little bit more love put into it.
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