Final Fantasy XII

 PlayStation 2
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1542 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,062 out of 1542
  2. Mixed: 214 out of 1542
  3. Negative: 266 out of 1542
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  1. aaronnmp96
    Jan 30, 2023
    6
    and sorry for what happened in the development of this game, it could be much better, and the difficult one is a bit broken, thank goodness they improved it for new generations
  2. MoofiaBossVal
    Dec 26, 2021
    7
    The cutscene direction, the English localization, and the voice direction makes the story REALLY enjoyable to watch. Sadly most of the main party you're stuck with comprises dry, unemotive characters. Vaan is the only character who is allowed to emote, and if he wasn't there I don't think I would have made it through the game.

    Aesthetically, the game looks great. The soundtrack is okay.    The cutscene direction, the English localization, and the voice direction makes the story REALLY enjoyable to watch. Sadly most of the main party you're stuck with comprises dry, unemotive characters. Vaan is the only character who is allowed to emote, and if he wasn't there I don't think I would have made it through the game.

    Aesthetically, the game looks great. The soundtrack is okay. A little too noisy for my liking but nothing particularly bad.

    The gameplay is meh. I liked the open zones, but I'm not a fan of the MMO combat. It's not as fun as the turn based battles with the cinematic camera shots and stuff. If you do like the battles, then thankfully there are a lot of optional bosses for you to fight.    … Expand
  3. Kai82
    Dec 8, 2020
    7
    After all the years I still don't know if it is a great game that I did not appreciate enough or a weaker game in the Final Fantasy franchise. It has a great story, many remarkable characters and an interesting world I liked to explore while getting rid of random encounters. However it has also some weaknesses as I dislike that you have no direct control of other party members (Liked theAfter all the years I still don't know if it is a great game that I did not appreciate enough or a weaker game in the Final Fantasy franchise. It has a great story, many remarkable characters and an interesting world I liked to explore while getting rid of random encounters. However it has also some weaknesses as I dislike that you have no direct control of other party members (Liked the Gambit system first but it became annoying after a while), the license board / character development system is uninteresting and the protagonist Vaan has not that much purpose after the set up of the story (He even mentioned this himself in the game and it is sad as I liked him). Also there is an incredible annoyance with treasure chests. The game is set in the world of Ivalice (A few games from Square-Enix are set here like Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics but these are not related). The Kingdom of Dalmasca is one of a few smaller countries set as buffer state between two larger powers. When one of them Archadia invades another smaller country a war seems unavoidable as there is no response from the other great power. Two years after the events of the intro we follow the protagonist Vaan who dreams to become a sky pirate using an opportunity to infiltrate the royal palace. From here on the story gains momentum. There is far more to the attack on Dalmasca then it seems. You will face political plots, schemes, moral dilemmas and adventures. The twist are great and after some you will reevaluate your opinions as the world and some characters are not black and white. Sadly the protagonist Vaan is the least awesome character in your party. Ashe, Basch or Bathier with Fran were far better choices as main characters. Their stories are immersive and enjoyable. There is also more to them than it seems. The world however is impressive. I liked to explore it as the world is colorful and full of variety. There are also many interesting characters in this game. So far it looks really good but there are downsides. Lets start with treasures. There are some you have to avoid at all cost to get a really awesome weapon that is not obtainable otherwise. This is nowhere told outside of a guide and I think this is a no go. Also some chest contains good stuff only at a low chance (The guide gives you a percental value here). Then there is the Gambit system. There are no random battles or a battle screen. When you are near enemies a battle starts if they are hostile (Warning in some areas there a stronger enemies you should not attack early on). You have however only control of 1 character in a party of 3. For the others you have to set gambits. First are priorities 1 = highest priority, 2 second highest etc. Then you have to set them. Example: 1: Heal character when < 20% HP and 2: Attack enemies. With this you attack and heal when your HPs are low. If you do it in reverse you will never heal as it is never a priority. This is just the beginning as you should add to use an MP potion when the MP for healing are low at an ever higher priority. As you progress you get more options and can even buy some later on if I remember correctly. This was fun and exciting first but became a burden and uninteresting later on. As you battle you get License Points to spend on the License Board. There you can unlock spells, techniques, new items you are allowed to use (You can have them before but are not allowed to use them until unlocking) or status buffs. It is acceptable but not great. Downside is that you can only link summons to 1 character (This prevented me from using them). There is also a system of special Limit Break like attacks called Quickenings also learnable on the License Board. These can be chained for powerful combos. As per Final Fantasy standards there are many sidequests, additional content and bonus dungeons. Overall this is an excellent game where I disliked the battle system and have some other problems with. It could not win me over completely but it has some great moments and a good story (Sometimes it remembered me of Star Wars with a certain battle;-).… Expand
  4. mugsy
    May 9, 2020
    5
    This game feels like some MMORPG rather than a single player Final Fantasy game. You travel through the huge but empty world killing everything in sight to rack up experience. Story is boring.
  5. nervioso2009
    Jun 30, 2019
    5
    Un Final Fantasy diferente que intento cosas nuevas, como el sistema de combate, que a mi no me acabaron de convencer. Primero mitad del juego a nivel argumental bastante buena, aunque después, debido a los problemas que tuvo su director, se siente acabado con prisas. Los personajes tampoco me parecen demasiado memorables la verdad, y en ningún momento sentí que la banda sonora destacase.

    5/10
  6. ArcCoat
    Jun 12, 2019
    7
    If you look at this game as a final fantasy title, it's a 6. If you look at it as a normal title, it's a 8. But I chose to give it a 7, because this game does not feel like a final fantasy game.

    imo, a final fantasy game is about the turn based system, the adventure, the great music, the amazing story and the wide range of characters. This game has the turn based system (I will get    If you look at this game as a final fantasy title, it's a 6. If you look at it as a normal title, it's a 8. But I chose to give it a 7, because this game does not feel like a final fantasy game.

    imo, a final fantasy game is about the turn based system, the adventure, the great music, the amazing story and the wide range of characters.
    This game has the turn based system (I will get into that later) and the adventure, but it doesn't have any of the rest.

    FFXII is a game you play for its game play, not for its story. Luckily, the game play is amazing, while it gives you the illusion of not being a turn-based battle system (no random encounters and free movement of characters), it actually totally is a turn based system in its mechanics. Which is a balance that I really enjoyed with this game, FFXII also brings you the type of exploration that you would see in a MMORPG.

    But what truly breaks the game, and it's a tragedy, is the boring, bland and mediocre story. There's not much I can say about it, it's honestly something to sleep over, luckily the game keeps it short and tends to focus more on the game play, like it's conscious of how bad the story is. The characters are generic and have nothing special about them, you can barely tell the main character is one at all.

    The music is also mediocre, but this is something I would have been willing to look over if the story had been at least interesting.

    To conclude, this games is an offline singleplayer MMORPG. Fun game play, bad story...    … Expand
  7. Hackattaque
    Oct 13, 2015
    5
    Bottom line, after 25 hours of play and more than halfway into the game, is that I'm very disappointed.

    I picked this game up a decade after it was released, so was prepared for it to show its age, but actually the presentation, graphics and cut-scenes are the best things about it. I can't even complain about the supposedly 'controversial' changes to the battle system - doing away with    Bottom line, after 25 hours of play and more than halfway into the game, is that I'm very disappointed.

    I picked this game up a decade after it was released, so was prepared for it to show its age, but actually the presentation, graphics and cut-scenes are the best things about it. I can't even complain about the supposedly 'controversial' changes to the battle system - doing away with random battles and going for a more action-y spin on the turn-based combat are great ideas in my view and help bring to life the slightly bland environments.

    No, the real reason I'm close to giving up is the complete lack of interesting story or characters. Now, I get that at the time the big boy in town was World of Warcraft and that with FFXII the developers were trying to approach the feel of MMORPGs after going full-blown online with FFXI. But that's no excuse for front-loading the game with an incredible set of Star Wars-esque battle scenes only to dump you years into the future with a completely unrelated (well, not completely, but always one step removed) set of characters and a totally undefined vague set of political objectives.

    I'm assuming that the developers thought that if they kept the universe and characters just vague enough players would feel more drive to go and explore or hunt monsters instead of driving the plot forward. But at every turn my attempts to explore the game were thwarted by bizarre design choices that seemed to block rather than encourage exploration. A few spring to mind: 1) fast travel requires specific fast-travel stones that are only dropped by enemies or bought in certain locations, 2) as a result, grinding takes way too long and too much effort for too few rewards, 3) you have to have a 'license' for every piece of equipment or spell, so grinding time is dragged out even more, 4) the environments are so bland and the enemies so repetitive that there is little to entertain you after a while.

    And as I mentioned earlier, the story and characters just don't help. Now maybe you don't always need to have a hero or villain to have a good story, but in a game so sprawling in both time and geography it would really help to know who or what we're fighting for or against. The voice actors do a great job and the cut-scenes look great but even now I still have no idea why I should care about helping a small territory in an Empire that frankly looks pretty benign. Star Wars had Darth Vader, the Emperor and a completely clear sense of what they were capable of; this game hinges around the signing of a treaty and local politics and later brings in hints of the mystical with a stone called a "nethicite" (which again is not explained well at all).

    So, yeah. Maybe the game suddenly gets great in the second half but I'm not sure I want to keep sinking my life into it. Best to try before you buy.    … Expand
  8. everin
    Oct 1, 2015
    7
    Tier 2
    + Creates a fun new FF universe that feels aesthetically distinct from previous installments
    + Offers a visually impressive open world + Provides a fun new combat system that stands out and streamlines the turn-based genre + Level progression system is a lot of fun and provides nearly endless player customization ? Plot is less far-fetched than previous FFs, but ends up being    Tier 2
    + Creates a fun new FF universe that feels aesthetically distinct from previous installments
    + Offers a visually impressive open world
    + Provides a fun new combat system that stands out and streamlines the turn-based genre
    + Level progression system is a lot of fun and provides nearly endless player customization
    ? Plot is less far-fetched than previous FFs, but ends up being dry and emotionless by comparison
    ? Open world feels somewhat empty and tedious to explore at times
    - Most of the supporting cast are markedly less interesting than other FF games    … Expand
  9. HopelessVoice
    Feb 1, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The worst Sakaguchi entry in the FF series, but still a decent game. In my mind, FFXII tried to do too much, rather than focusing on improving a single aspect of the game. The combat feels out of place, the customization table/forgot the name feels unfinished, the main character feels like he got lost in all the complex political story and the world felt very forced. Never at one point did I feel that I actually wanted to reach some point in the story or world, as everything roamed on from seemingly similar places to the next, from similar political story cutscene to the next. The game still has optional bosses, featuring one of the hardest in the franchise, and this is perhaps the only thing going for it, as there is no main villain like Kefka, Sephiroth or Kuja in the story. One of the things that turned me off the most were the huge blocks of text in the beginning of the game: I never, in any game, care for these. If you want to deliver a story, do it through the gameplay or have a character dump that information after a boss if you must. Just never give a huge block of text. We're not reading a book here. We're playing.
    6/10.    … Expand
  10. SnowDay
    Jan 9, 2015
    6
    There is something to be said about the graphics and overall atmosphere of the game, but the characters and story are uninspiring and the battle system is about as fun as pushing the cruise control button on your steering wheel.
  11. Noin007
    Jan 4, 2015
    6
    The graphical quality, objectively, is high. Though, I personally didn't care for the styling.
    The combat feels like an attempt at making a fake MMO. The first 15 hours or so, where I had to control everything almost completely manually was painfully bad. But then once you're able to give the characters enough automatic commands it gets better, for awhile. Then after about 70 hours or so,    The graphical quality, objectively, is high. Though, I personally didn't care for the styling.
    The combat feels like an attempt at making a fake MMO. The first 15 hours or so, where I had to control everything almost completely manually was painfully bad. But then once you're able to give the characters enough automatic commands it gets better, for awhile. Then after about 70 hours or so, after you've completed the story and are doing extras, it slows down to a crawl as enemies have completely insane hp numbers.
    The story felt really small scale for a Final Fantasy title to me. Every Final Fantasy you're fighting for the fate of the entire world. In XII, you're basically involved in something along the lines of France VS the UK & Spain, but you never see Spain. The gamed ended at what I had expected to be the end of the 2nd act, but there's then no 3rd act.
    It's "okay". Worth a buy if you're looking for a JRPG and can't find anything better.    … Expand
  12. Rox22
    Sep 11, 2013
    7
    FF 12 is perhaps my least favorite FF game. It isn't bad, just rather generic and forgettable.

    Graphics are beautiful and has some of the prettiest scenery pieces of all the FF games. The combat system was a little rough around the edges, but I liked it and thought it was a bold step changing the tried and true JRPG battle system. The lead character Vaan is as bland as they get and    FF 12 is perhaps my least favorite FF game. It isn't bad, just rather generic and forgettable.

    Graphics are beautiful and has some of the prettiest scenery pieces of all the FF games. The combat system was a little rough around the edges, but I liked it and thought it was a bold step changing the tried and true JRPG battle system.

    The lead character Vaan is as bland as they get and completely forgettable. Side characters on the other hand are a bit more distinguished and have a bit more depth, even if their designs are a little odd and feel a little out of place.

    FF XII has some of the best creature battles of the series. The creatures are rich, varied and extremely challenging.

    Overall:
    Final Fantasy XII is decent enough for a FF game, but also feels like the designers just put the same level of love and care into it as they did with the previous games. Fun to play, but you won't remember too much about it once you're done.    … Expand
  13. drlowdon
    Jul 22, 2013
    7
    With its overhauled (and improved) battle system Final Fantasy XII is certainly faster paced, and arguably more accessible to JPRG novices, than its predecessors. Unfortunately it also continues the series trend of having increasingly unmemorable characters and story-lines, two things that are of vital importance if you are going to invest 50+ hours in a game. Sitting here now I couldWith its overhauled (and improved) battle system Final Fantasy XII is certainly faster paced, and arguably more accessible to JPRG novices, than its predecessors. Unfortunately it also continues the series trend of having increasingly unmemorable characters and story-lines, two things that are of vital importance if you are going to invest 50+ hours in a game. Sitting here now I could still name every playable character from Final Fantasy VII but couldn't tell you a single one from this game despite it being nearly a decade more recent.

    It's still a good game but not one that'll ever be considered a true classic of the genre.    … Expand
  14. zeniff
    Jul 18, 2013
    6
    Simply put, this game just leaves you wanting while scratching your head at the end. Starts off great and the combat system was innovative (though annoying after awhile). Story is great in the beginning then just kinda falls flat.
  15. jelio1004
    Jun 1, 2013
    6
    Story is the hallmark of the final fantasy games. This game, however, does not have any. The characters do not have any personality. Only character with a personality is Balthier, rest is just there to fill up the screen. There no is character development. There is nothing to make you care about the characters you are playing. The only redeeming quality is that this game is really big. IStory is the hallmark of the final fantasy games. This game, however, does not have any. The characters do not have any personality. Only character with a personality is Balthier, rest is just there to fill up the screen. There no is character development. There is nothing to make you care about the characters you are playing. The only redeeming quality is that this game is really big. I mean really big. You have a lot of stuff to do. You have dungeons to explore and side quests to accomplish. The game mechanic has a mmorpg feel to it without being an actual mmorpg, which in my opinion is a bad thing. So if all you care about is game play and customizing your character with tons of equipment and abilities, go ahead and pick it up. If you have played any other previous final fantasy games, you will find yourself glaring at your screen and gritting your teeth as the computer fight your battle for you.… Expand
  16. Malamir7
    Feb 25, 2013
    7
    I am writing this review trying to convince myself that the game deserves a higher mark.....no actually it deserves a lower one but for better or worse I spent 80 hours playing it, therefore I must have loved something right. First of all I am a big fan of FFX, loved the story, the characters (except you know who) even though he was still a much better protagonist than Vaan. I loved theI am writing this review trying to convince myself that the game deserves a higher mark.....no actually it deserves a lower one but for better or worse I spent 80 hours playing it, therefore I must have loved something right. First of all I am a big fan of FFX, loved the story, the characters (except you know who) even though he was still a much better protagonist than Vaan. I loved the magical world.....okay this review is about FFXII, sorry.... The reason I played 80 hours of this game is that I wanted to immense myself in its world, I wanted to have a great Final Fantasy experience. I was trying realy hard all the time to care for the characters, to care about its bizarre and nonsensical political plot....but actually what where they trying to do? A royal Japanese soap opera?! They couldn't move me one bit, except for maybe the relationship between Balthier and Cid, but then of course these two characters were believable, compelling and INTERESTING (Judge Bergan deserves a nod here for the best impersonation in video games of Darth Vader) As many fellow reviewers have mentioned rightfully the game has a terrible pacing, you can so easily forget what the whole point of the story was, why on earth you were going in that direction, what were the characters and the villians motives, etc. I could continue all day but in short the game falls flat on many high expectations and standards created by the magic of previous FF titles. And if we are looking at this game even as a standalone RPG.....well it is going to receive even a lesser mark....Why?
    Well sometimes dear Square Enix, quantity is not better than quality. Even though you guys have created an enormous world, full of many many side activities, many enemies to be slain, many locations to be explored......the game is very repetitive, the player is forced to spent countless hours in the same old killing of skeletons, bats and wolfs, just so he can afford to buy that precious new gear and new magicks, thus unnecessarily prolonging the game to an unimaginable lenght. From those 80 hours I spent, probably in only 20 I was having actual fun, by slaying bosses, by hunting marks, or by losing myself in some dungeon full of overpowered creatures, fighting for my survival One game is NOT measured by the amount of filler time it contains but by the thrilling moments it presents the player with. In this game unfortunately these moments were far too rare and spread unevenly.
    FFX had also shortcomings of course but it presents the player with MANY epic and memorable moments, an engaging and hearth-whelming story, comprised of great characters in a magical world. Unfortunately FFXII lacks many of these key components to feel like an epic and memorable game.
    I am sorry but unlike Vaan when I play a game I am not there just for the journey, I am there for the EXPERIENCE.    … Expand
  17. Carlitoxic
    Mar 20, 2012
    7
    This is not a Final Fantasy game. It´s a Star Wars game. The history is bored and slow. FFXII has good graphical, good music and the game play is entertained. As adventure, it is a great game, but as Final Fantasy not.
  18. firstevil87
    Mar 16, 2012
    6
    Final fantasy 12, the one where I give up on the franchise. Starting with 10 I noticed a decrease in quality but this in particular killed it. Hopefully with 13 and 13-2 the name has been redeemed. Back in topic, the first hours are actually ok, I dare to say enjoyable. Users are introduced to the new battle system that it's actually more interesting that most people give credit for.Final fantasy 12, the one where I give up on the franchise. Starting with 10 I noticed a decrease in quality but this in particular killed it. Hopefully with 13 and 13-2 the name has been redeemed. Back in topic, the first hours are actually ok, I dare to say enjoyable. Users are introduced to the new battle system that it's actually more interesting that most people give credit for. People complain that the game plays itself, but it's not true, it's up to the player. If you choose to focus on attacking the nearest enemy of course that's what the characters will do. People forget that they can manually input commands for each character, but hey! Haters gonna hate no matter what. Areas are also huge to explore, one can literally get lost while traveling with branching paths, hidden paths and so on. So, with a good battle system, good exploration, why I disliked this game? Because of one simple thing:reward. The pacing is awful, you can spend hours when nothing happens and when finally you see a cutscene, most of the time is :" we arrived here, now we're going there". The story is lacking, I felt that the plot was moving forward but the characters had nothing to do with it, it doesn't help that Vaan, the main character, stays in the background during nothing most of the time. With character I couldn't care about, a lacking-story, side-quests relegated to monster-hunting, it's not difficult to understand why I gave up. It was impossible, almost inconceivable that a final fantasy lover like me could do such a thing. I finished the game only because I didn't want to have the feel of having wasted 60 euros on such it. Nothing in this game really stands out, nor the characters, nor the story, nor the music, the most interesting things happen during the prologue. Some may like it, if they manage to stay awake.… Expand
  19. rawrnerozero
    Mar 3, 2012
    6
    I have played this game and overall the graphics were pretty good, the storyline was not as bad as I thought(still not good though), the characters weren't really engaging and I did not really care for any of them, also the music was just average for me too. I would like to add that the battle system is also not too bad since I like to avoid monsters when I don't want to fight, I like theI have played this game and overall the graphics were pretty good, the storyline was not as bad as I thought(still not good though), the characters weren't really engaging and I did not really care for any of them, also the music was just average for me too. I would like to add that the battle system is also not too bad since I like to avoid monsters when I don't want to fight, I like the turn base system since I kinda hate waiting while I want to defeat certain weak monsters as soon as possible without the need for spamming though I would like to point out that I kinda hate the License Point since most of them were pretty bland but overall i'll just wrap it up and say it's a decent game though not really worthy to be called Final Fantasy title but atleast it's not the worse Final Fantasy title(Final Fantasy XIII or -2) .… Expand
  20. BlacksitePSU
    Oct 6, 2011
    7
    Not necessarily a bad game, if you can ignore the fact that the game has a hard time deciding who we should care about, in terms of the story. That is to say that Vaan was dead weight. The gameplay was surprisingly addicting though. As a dungeon-crawler, it's a really enjoyable experience advancing through the many beautifully-rendered levels, battling all of these amazing creatures inNot necessarily a bad game, if you can ignore the fact that the game has a hard time deciding who we should care about, in terms of the story. That is to say that Vaan was dead weight. The gameplay was surprisingly addicting though. As a dungeon-crawler, it's a really enjoyable experience advancing through the many beautifully-rendered levels, battling all of these amazing creatures in real-time. I certainly think that on a technical level it pushed the PS2 to its limit. Technicalities aside, Final Fantasy XII is like any other Final Fantasy: a new story, battle system, music etc. It just so happens to be a "western" RPG. Not the kind of change I was expecting to see.… Expand
  21. ArkonBlade
    Jul 12, 2011
    5
    this FF game just didnt do much for me the story i felt was very weak . the voice acting was ok atleast. the combat system i didnt care much for it was almost like they where tryin to hybred FFXI into this . the summoning magic system sucked . i made it all the way to the final boss area and just got bored with it all and didnt feel like finishing it mainly because the story didnt holdthis FF game just didnt do much for me the story i felt was very weak . the voice acting was ok atleast. the combat system i didnt care much for it was almost like they where tryin to hybred FFXI into this . the summoning magic system sucked . i made it all the way to the final boss area and just got bored with it all and didnt feel like finishing it mainly because the story didnt hold alot of intrest for me and thats so key for me pushing foward. i thinki the only reason i made it that far was i was in denial that the story wasnt very good and wanted to believe it was really gona pick up.… Expand
  22. oblivion2011
    Jul 3, 2011
    6
    I like the visuals and everything about the game. It's the work put into it that leaves me catching some "z"s. I definitely think there is too much work for too little of a plot to actually spend my 80-100 hours of gameplay on.
  23. Ignatius_Reilly
    Jun 29, 2011
    6
    Lots of potential, little follow through. So many missed opportunities for greatness. The problem is that this game had a great set up and the first 20 hours are packed with intrigue and excitement, then after that first 20 hours it simply falls off, and settles into this grindy MMO feel. You'll be traversing miles of game world killing random mobs with little effort for 10 hours at aLots of potential, little follow through. So many missed opportunities for greatness. The problem is that this game had a great set up and the first 20 hours are packed with intrigue and excitement, then after that first 20 hours it simply falls off, and settles into this grindy MMO feel. You'll be traversing miles of game world killing random mobs with little effort for 10 hours at a time, or so it feels. It's tedious.

    The combat system is in some ways brilliant but at other times cripples the game because it will simply play itself with little to no attention from the player. I think a difficulty overhaul would have done wonders, because the game is fun when you have to actually think about what you're doing with your Gambits and such, but for the most part it's just on auto-pilot. Sadly, the game really doesn't offer much past the first 20 hours, and I can't really recommend it to anyone. It also has one of the worst endings in Final Fantasy history, mostly because it comes out nowhere, but that could mostly be attributed to the awful storyline which never really gets you to care about anything, but that's no surprise when you're randomly running around a massive world mindlessly grinding on mobs.

    A true shame really. What could have been...    … Expand
  24. quacker
    Nov 18, 2010
    6
    Good things first.
    + The story is adequately complex with a number of turns, and it goes with the whole style of the game. Without going into detail, I think Square came up with something exceptional here.
    + You better believe the aesthetics were brilliant, cutscenes no exception. Square's usual originality was apparent in the world of Ivalice - the sandsea, for instance, or the Giza    Good things first.
    + The story is adequately complex with a number of turns, and it goes with the whole style of the game. Without going into detail, I think Square came up with something exceptional here.
    + You better believe the aesthetics were brilliant, cutscenes no exception. Square's usual originality was apparent in the world of Ivalice - the sandsea, for instance, or the Giza plains becoming a swamp/marsh. Besides Penelo, who I thought was a bit flat, the voice acting was superb. I liked the royalty obvious in Ashe's voice, the down-to-earth quality of Vaan's voice, and I fell in love with the uniqueness of Fran's voice. Going from FF10 to FF12 there is definitely more graphical detail and polish all around.
    + The gameplay was not what I was expecting, which is a good thing in general. It has more elements than most games: Multiple types of magick, many technicks, quickenings/summonings, and gambits. There are 5 things each character can equp, and each combination has advantages or disadvantage, such as a ninja sword versus a dagger/shield. The six characters can potentially use any weapon and gain any ability with the License Board, much like the Sphere Grid in FF10, but where the Sphere Grid forces you to differentiate the characters first (ie: LuLu learns black magic, Yuna learns white magic, Tidus gains strength/speed, etc.) the License Board lets you change up their weapons and abilities at virtually any point in the game. Not better or worse - just new and different. The fighting system is a fresh update as well. While the gambits could automate the fighting entirely, you have the option of turning them off, so no complaints there. Where FF10 had a passive, turn-based fight system, FF12 has an active, real-time fight system. Again, no worse or better. Both are refined.

    Now for the critiques.
    - The characters themselves were great. They were obviously deep people with complex pasts and stories to tell. That much was clear. But those stories never came to light. 30 hours into the game, I was still meeting new characters, and I was still expecting guy/girl to hook up or someone to reveal some shocking truth. There could have been a flashback, a description of some special memory, anything, please! Before the final battle, I was still waiting for something to happen. Then the game was over. Nothing happened. My favorite character was Fran. Why? You get to see the village she's from, you meet her sister, find out why she's with Balthier. Besides that, Ashe is a princess, Vaan's a citizen of Rabanastre, Penelo is a friend of Vaan's (or a sister? Idk!). And that's all you need to know about them.
    - I know I said the story was good, and it is, but not entirely. FF12 really piles it on at the beginning with cutscenes and a guy reading paragraphs, which is incredibly rushed. Then it's Dalmasca this and Nethicite that...and Nethicite this and Nethicite that. It's like Star Wars in many ways. Brilliant, but it makes you wish you had a friend there so you could whisper, "Uh...what's going on again? ... Oh, so nothing's happened still?"
    - I felt like I was fighting the same monsters over and over, just with different colors with different names in different places.

    Why a 6?
    The main reason I give FF12 a 6 and not higher is that after about twenty hours of playing, part of me wanted to quit. I'm putting 50 hours of my life into this game, basically spending 50 hours with the characters. I don't do that just to see the next beautiful city or a cutscene of old men talking around a table. I want to be immersed in it. Nobody spends 50 hours reading the Harry Potter series just to look at the pictures she puts at the start of each chapter. They want to know the characters, how they react to situations, how they came to be. Harry Potter is an example of good character development in addition to original and stunning surroundings. FF12 has the aesthetics, and it has good characters, but you never get to know them and it fails to bring you into the story.
    Besides that, I have few complaints. The gameplay is great, although it can become mostly automated, further disconnecting the player from the game. The visuals are great, and the music was good, though I expected more. FF12 is not your typical Final Fantasy, even if it does carry on features from previous FFs. It's a different style (think knight-era) which refreshes some of the same old typical things in Final Fantasy.
    Bottom line, it's worth a play through. But start playing this and then start playing FF10 and you'll see where FF12 is lacking (you'll also see spots where FF10 is lacking).    … Expand
  25. Tubie
    Oct 3, 2010
    6
    This game starts off slow then after a while you get used to the controls and combat and for a while I was even having some fun but that doesn't last long. This game marks the first Final Fantasy I could not play to the end and I think this is a good indicator as to when SE started to lose their quality in RPG making.
  26. BenH
    Mar 11, 2010
    5
    When I saw that this was the second highest rated FF on metacritic, I couldn't believe it. Its not that this game is bad (unlike the melodramatic dross that was FFX-2), it
  27. ChrisM
    Mar 3, 2010
    6
    This is the first Final Fantasy that I repeatedly put down for weeks before being motivated to continue. I still need to prevail over the final boss. The reason for it being far from the best, primarily, is the characters. I mean, seriously, the characters were worst cast in the entire franchise. I had no connection with most of them; and only had a minimal connection with Fran and This is the first Final Fantasy that I repeatedly put down for weeks before being motivated to continue. I still need to prevail over the final boss. The reason for it being far from the best, primarily, is the characters. I mean, seriously, the characters were worst cast in the entire franchise. I had no connection with most of them; and only had a minimal connection with Fran and Balthier. Besides that they were so forgettable. It is key that a inal Fantasy has a solid group of protagonists and XII failed spectacularily in that department. I cared more for some of the villains than I did any of them. It's quite sad, tbh. The story was ok, but nothing too great; but the way it was told and the voice work was beautiful. The voice cast did an immense job on this game. The world f Ivalice was lovely, the battle sstem was good (I do understand people's qualms with it, though) and it had some gorgeous musical scores (although the OST, overall, was forgettable). One of the greatest things about the game was the Hunts sidequest. Loved that.… Expand
  28. DanV
    Nov 28, 2009
    6
    Great first impression with great visuals and audio and a higher action combat system, but the excessive time consuming gameplay makes it somewhat of a bore. My initial play tried to take on all the side quests and other optional tasks and I seemed to have trekked all over the place. Explorer-like behavior was rewarded with treasures in urns and chests, but this brought out a glaring Great first impression with great visuals and audio and a higher action combat system, but the excessive time consuming gameplay makes it somewhat of a bore. My initial play tried to take on all the side quests and other optional tasks and I seemed to have trekked all over the place. Explorer-like behavior was rewarded with treasures in urns and chests, but this brought out a glaring peeve of mine... fixed loot tables with randomized/percentage based drop rates. OMG I hate that system so much ever since I tried WoW.… Expand
  29. ArielK
    Nov 6, 2009
    5
    I had a terrible experience with this game. About an hour into playing, I put the controller down. I couldn't bring myself to play anymore. Did you ever read Eragon? I thought the same thing as I did when I read that book - why the hell bother? It's one of those LotR facsimiles with the bizarre name scheme that's overly reminiscent of Celtic and English folklore. It's I had a terrible experience with this game. About an hour into playing, I put the controller down. I couldn't bring myself to play anymore. Did you ever read Eragon? I thought the same thing as I did when I read that book - why the hell bother? It's one of those LotR facsimiles with the bizarre name scheme that's overly reminiscent of Celtic and English folklore. It's everything I hoped Final Fantasy would not become - a stereotype of the fantasy genre with a male stripper as the lead character. Of course, Vaan isn't really a stripper. That's just the first thing I thought of as he walked around with a few buckles for a shirt, proclaiming "Someday, I wanna be a sky pirate!" No set of characters lacked so much depth since Final Fantasy I. Yes, I played FFI. The story seems obvious from the first hour of gameplay. You are a resistance faction fighting against two warring kingdoms squashing out the little guy. No matter what you add to it, no matter what debauchery the characters engage in, the plot is that basic. No plot twists, no huge discovery that you've been fighting for the wrong cause. The overarching plot, and motive of the villains - whoever they may be - is obvious from the first level. Also, I like English people, but does every frigging government official and soldier have to have an English accent? It screams LotR ripoff. Cough cough, Eragon. Now I didn't totally hate this game. Besides its plot being about as interesting as overcooked white meat, the game does have its merits. For the first time (for a single player FF) the ATB system has been dropped in favor of an all-out melee approach. This is a welcome and refreshing new way of gameplay. Sure, it could be refined, but as a foray into a little-tested system, executes well. The graphics are gorgeous. I am honestly impressed with SE's work with the graphics. However, it's not like they outdid themselves. Final Fantasy has a history of gorgeous scenery, and if you pay attention to all the field maps, you'll realize you often are walking through a barren terrain with some features and a unique skyline. Good, but a little repetitive. The music is also repetitive - but tends to complement the game appropriately. No epic scores here, certainly nothing the likes of One Winged Angel or even Eyes on Me, but it's good enough to keep the sound on the whole time and whistle to while you gain LPs. Overall, I was disappointed by this game. It had introduced some firsts, and unique systems, but all of that just wasn't enough, for me, to overlap the absurdly lacking plot. I wish that in the future, SE writes up a fantastical, unique world like Midgar or Spira, not this bland copy of Middle Earth. Overall, 5 / 10.… Expand
  30. J.S.
    Jul 14, 2009
    7
    The weakest game in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XII shows a complete lack of storyline and gameplay. The gameplay is very tedious: the critically aclaimed 'liscence system' is an extremely simple choice of passive abilites.. All combat is automated, and every room is infested with monster after monster. You can simply set your characters to heal eachother when The weakest game in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XII shows a complete lack of storyline and gameplay. The gameplay is very tedious: the critically aclaimed 'liscence system' is an extremely simple choice of passive abilites.. All combat is automated, and every room is infested with monster after monster. You can simply set your characters to heal eachother when someone is below 50% health, walk into a group of monsters, then go take a nap. The graphics are sub-par for its time and especially for a Final Fantasy game. This sacrifice was done so that the ridiculous action-RPG system could be implemented. It seems like the game was aimed at those comming off from MMORPGs. All the negatives aside, the 2 hours of storyline that managed to find their way into the 70+ hours of tedious gameplay were actually very enjoyable. The plot was very cliche for the genre, but it was done better than I've seen it before. This game brings all the flash and ambiguity of a hollywood blockbuster to the console; simply slapping the words 'final fantasy' on the box.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best PS2 Game of 2006
1
#1 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2006
2
#2 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 64 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 64
  3. Negative: 0 out of 64
  1. GamesRadar+
    80
    The story soars, but not so often. The dungeons are long and meandering. The gameplay is effective, but not engrossing. It's a staggeringly well-made game that throws more at you than any other RPG on the PS2... but well-made doesn't necessarily mean "fun."
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  2. eToychest
    97
    This is absolutely my favorite Final Fantasy title, a claim I probably would have laughed at two years ago when rumors about the game’s battle system began to circulate.
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  3. Gaming Age
    91
    One of those rare games that can be appreciated by both hardcore and casual fans alike, Final Fantasy XII may very well be Square's last great adventure, and a fitting sendoff, for the PlayStation 2.
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