For over 35 years, Final Fantasy has been synonymous with JRPG.

While many folks conjure up images of what they expect from the genre, Final Fantasy has always done something to keep even the fans of the series guessing… They’ve subverted expectations. Going into anything with expectations is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you could guess the entire plot and conclude that the story is too obvious. Alternatively, you might find out that you’re surprised by what you experience… and some folks are less than positive about surprises.

In the first Final Fantasy, you expect a traditional tale of Swords of Sorcery, and end up with Robots, Advanced Civilizations, Submarines, Airships, and Time Travel. In the Sequel, they added real characters, a whole new leveling system, and a limited party of 3 with a rotating cast of guest characters. In FFIII, you get the introduction of the Job System, and once again get blank slates for characters. In IV, you get rotating characters and even a main character that switches jobs mid-game, plus the introduction of the Active Time Battle System. V goes back to the job system, but again, this time with real characters. For VI, they leave traditional Fantasy Behind altogether, heading for a steampunk future, abandoning the way magic was traditionally handled.

I could keep going… and you bet I’m going to! I have a point here! VII is Cyberpunk and makes Magic and abilities tied to items that slot into weapons. VIII ditched the traditional “Chibi” styled characters and made a more cinematic story and a “Junctioning System”, plus Triple Triad. IX Goes BACK to the classic fantasy setting and ditches Triple Triad for Tetra Master. X is far more Linear than most of the earlier titles, and finally brings back turn-based combat… With a twist! Plus, an upset to the traditional leveling system with the sphere grid. XI is a freaking MMO!

I think I’ve driven home the point; each entry is different in more than just the setting or the characters; entire systems are ditched and reworked each time. Do people love these changes? Some do, but many do not. Every time, it is divisive, and yet simultaneously, each entry has its absolute fans who swear by the title as one of their favorites. For many, X marks the end of the so-called “Golden Age of FF”. As the years march on, Final Fantasy has continued to experiment with new systems and settings, sometimes to very polarizing degrees. I’ve already shared my thoughts on FFXVI, but this is not the first in the series to receive push-back, nor will it be the last. One particular entry from the “Post-Golden Age era” sets itself apart from any other entry… and it just happens to be my favorite (Next to FFXIV). None other than Final Fantasy XII.

I first heard of Final Fantasy XII in a PlayStation Magazine that I no longer have. Along with the magazine came a relic of days gone by… a Demo Disc! Yes, before wireless and broadband connections became ubiquitous on consoles, many companies provided Demonstrations (Demos) via physical media. Whether it was simply a trailer or a vertical slice of gameplay, consumers would be able to get a feel for what the games would be like. This is how I first experienced the main Final Fantasy series, through a demo of X, and later X-2. This was once again the case for XII… I remember being completely confused by how the whole system was supposed to work. All I remember is running through part of a castle, and then outside, and fighting a T. rex. In trying to piece these recollections together with what I know now, I must’ve been in the Westersand with Basche as my leader.

It wouldn’t be until 2020 that I would finally purchase the game. Square-Enix must’ve been trying to clear some inventory, as they were selling the Collector’s Edition for PS4… for $80. Notably, I’d seen it going for $250, and that seems to still be the case in most eBay listings I’ve seen. Inside is a copy of the game in a fantastic Steelbook Case, A set of Art Cards, the Zodiac Age Soundtrack, a gorgeous collectors box, and the crown jewel… a set of Judge Busts. Each of the primary Judges is included, and I’ve seen individuals out of the package selling for nearly $50 apiece. To date, it is one of my favorite pieces in my Gaming Collection. But enough about my story with the game… let’s talk about the game itself. Final Fantasy XII is a JRPG experience that eschewed the genre’s conventions to create what is still today a stand-out entry, for better or worse.

Yasumi Matsuno worked at Squaresoft during the 1990s and developed Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, and Final Fantasy Tactics. While only a few titles’ connections are confirmed, many of Matsuno’s works comprise a subseries within Final Fantasy, called “The Ivalice Alliance”. The Titles in this series are FFT, FFTA, FFXII, FFXII Revenant Wings, FFTA2, and Vagrant Story. Matsuno had a hand in writing and or directing each of those titles. The “Ogre Titles” bear some connections to the Ivalice games, but most of that falls to fan speculation.

Ivalice was created as a sort of “canvas” on which new stories could be created; in a sense, following the traditions of many campaign settings from the Dungeons and Dragons series. Much like how the Forgotten Realms was created for Ed Greenwood’s campaign, but became the primary plane for Dungeons and Dragons as a whole. The first title in this setting was the 1997 title, Final Fantasy Tactics. Deviating from the traditional systems employed in the mainline games, FFT, as the name implies, puts forth Tactical Combat as the focus. In a story that bears similarities to Game of Thrones, due to both being based on the War of the Roses, FFTactics built a rich medieval world with its political machinations, Religions, and Mythology (The latter being important moving forward). It is in this rich world that we find the story of Final Fantasy XII, but its arrival in front of players would not be for another 9 years.

Whilst in the development cycle of Final Fantasy IX and X, a major shift in economics worldwide was underway. The “Dot Com” boom was the first major push for the world to connect to the internet. Websites of all kinds were springing up everywhere, and companies were seeking any means of taking advantage of this burgeoning technology sector. Thus, Square sought to corner the market with a new system, called PlayOnline. Intended to be a hub for all things Final Fantasy, PlayOnline was a major milestone in the company’s journey. Overnight, stocks for the company jumped from 7,000 yen to 19,800 yen in less than a month.

These growing profits directly led to growing ambitions for better and worse, and Final Fantasy’s next entry would soon be solely online. Final Fantasy XI was developed as the first MMO in the Franchise’s history. The plan moving forward was to create the ecosystem of XI and begin development for subsequent online titles. This was an optimistic view of what the gaming landscape would be, but it would prove to be ahead of its time. Broadband support was not nearly widespread enough at that time, and the plans for the online-only franchise would be abandoned, but not before development had begun on the twelfth entry.

Developed from 2001 to 2006, Final Fantasy XII cost approximately 4 billion Japanese yen (35 million USD) to produce with a crew of more than one hundred people. It held the Guinness World Record for the Longest Development time (5 Years) until the release of Duke Nukem Forever after 11 years of development hell.

However, the “Development Hell” of XII was not merely about time; it was about a fundamental shift in the soul of the project. Yasumi Matsuno, the visionary behind the project, was known for his perfectionism and his desire to create a “mature” political drama. This vision often clashed with the commercial realities of Square Enix, which was still reeling from the financial failure of the film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. During production, Matsuno began to suffer from severe health issues, leading to an extended leave of absence. In his stead, Hiroshi Minagawa and Hiroyuki Ito took the reins.

This transition is why many fans feel a “narrative shift” in the latter half of the game. Vaan and Penelo, often criticized for being “along for the ride,” were famously added later in development because the executives feared a story centered solely on an older disgraced knight (Basch) would not appeal to the core teenage demographic. This friction between Matsuno’s “Vagrant Story” sensibilities and the mandate for a “Standard Final Fantasy” protagonist created a unique, albeit fractured, narrative structure that still sparks debates today. When all was said and done, over four individuals were given credit for its direction, and Matsuno’s departure remains one of the great “What Ifs” in gaming history.

As mentioned before, the game began development as an Online MMO, and this can be best seen in the following sections. In recent months, I have given XI a try, and the primary driving thought I had was that the game felt a lot like Final Fantasy XII.

From its introduction in Final Fantasy IV, the bulk of the franchise made use of a battle system called ATB (Active Time Battle). Yes, when discussing Final Fantasy, most would refer to it as a turn-based combat system, but that has not been exclusively the case since the 3rd entry in the series. From IV onward, characters would fight each other when an action bar filled up, the speed of which was tied to the character’s speed stat. This system extends to the player characters as well as the enemies. If you were not paying attention, the enemies would continue to attack you whether you were ready or not.

Aside from X, which had a twist that allowed you to take multiple turns against an enemy, and otherwise return to turn-based, the franchise has not been truly “turn-based” for over 3 decades! Final Fantasy XI would serve as a precursor to the combat system of Final Fantasy XII. Contrary to modern conceptions of an MMO like WoW or FFXIV, there was a great reliance on “Auto Attack” with a selection of skills that could be activated at will. Final Fantasy XII would continue this idea, with a few tweaks; nonetheless, it would serve to be quite divisive.

Director Hiroyuki Ito had grown tired of “random battles” in the series. Until this point, during exploration, a battle could occur at any moment without warning. Instead, Ito wanted a more natural system of combat that could be engaged in during exploration at the players’ will. Active Dimension Battle is the name of the game here, or rather, the new battle system. Battles were now dynamic and occurring in the field, again, much like XI. This system allows the player to move around the field, avoiding being noticed by enemies, and actively trying to escape from foes deemed too strong.

Unlike XI, which still retained traditional battle themes, 12 is one of the few entries that lacks a dedicated battle theme. Combat instead occurs with the field themes still playing. Due to the nature of the combat, some battles could be over before a theme would even have a moment to start; keeping a consistent momentum of music was the priority. How exactly does this combat work? WELL I will need to discuss it in two halves, as the system is introduced to the player in two ways. The first and arguably more frustrating version) is a pseudo-turn-based option, in which you are choosing actions for each character in real-time, and waiting for them to execute said action. Every classic mechanic is here. This is very clunky and is not the recommended or intended method for playing the game. The real way to play… well, that deserves its section…

So, you sit down to play Final Fantasy XII, you’re kind of getting the hang of the unique combat system… and then you learn about something you never expected to see in a Final Fantasy game. PROGRAMMING! In Final Fantasy XI, as stated earlier, Auto Attacks were the primary driving force in combat, then supplemented by other Job and weapon-specific actions or spells. Due to the live nature of the game, a particularly frantic combat scenario could arise wherein the player is rapidly digging through menus in an attempt to find the proper commands.

Luckily for Square, this exact scenario had been accounted for in other games previously through the use of “Macros.” A macro is a series of instructions and commands that are grouped as a single command to perform a task automatically. These Macros would allow players to activate a series of actions in a sequence that would take much of the menu hopping away, leaving a streamlined experience. For Final Fantasy XII, a similar system would be implemented, though ultimately it was modified for players without keyboards who could not type the sometimes arcane terminology to set each command properly.

The “Macro” system implemented in XII took on the name of Gambits, and they followed a streamlined setup. No matter what language you’re writing in, some of the most fundamental methods of Programming are If/Then/Else (sometimes Else-if) statements. Essentially, you can think of it… well here’s an example: IF there is an enemy weak to fire, THEN use a Fira spell, ELSE attack the nearest Enemy. These statements are displayed as a list in the GAMBITS Screen of the menu. Here you can choose from a VERY detailed list of Scenarios and actions to formulate what essentially equates to a Battle Algorithm for each Enemy Encounter.

According to Director Hiroyuki Ito, this style of tactical gameplay was inspired by the NFL and the process of choosing “plays” to achieve a goal. For a lot of players, this was a MAJOR turn-off for them. Looking at the list of variables you can choose from can be overwhelming… and to make matters a bit trickier, you have to purchase certain variables. At the start, you have the basics for targeting any enemy, or even yourself. Still, when browsing the Gambit Shop, you’ll have the opportunity to micromanage the HECK out of your characters.

If you choose to use Gambits, your characters will do exactly what you tell them (YAY), if you put them in the wrong order of importance, however… well, they do EXACTLY what you say. For instance, if you tell Vaan to steal from ANY foe, and below it have it attack, etc., well, you’ll be running up to enemies and start stealing nonstop, NEVER attacking. This seems to happen to a lot of players who rush into the system without looking at it closely enough. Initially, I even found it overwhelming to figure out… but I did learn One Weird Trick that can make your experience a bit less stressful.

Ally Any is the holy grail… As I stated before, there are status effects present in this game, just like all previous entries. Now consider that you’re in the middle of a battle, but an ally is affected by the Oil Status. Depending on your License (Just Wait), you could use a remedy item to deal with it or use a handkerchief to take care of it. Let’s say you’re using gambits in that battle, and you’re attempting to use an item on your ally, but you have to wait for your previous action to finish… There is a simple solution: just use Ally: Any. This Variable tells the character to do whatever action to any ally; however, if the action is to use a solution to a status condition (i.e., Phoenix Down, Handkerchief, and even spells such as Protect/ Shell), they will ONLY use it when they need it.

That means, if you’re going into an area full of poisonous enemies, make sure at least one of your party members either has Poisona or Antidote connected to Ally: Any. If you were to put attack as the action… well then that character will attack the party until they’re the last one standing. So imagine all the ways you can mix the effects and actions around. At the bottom of the list, you can place passive buffs like Shell and Protect, and occasionally, as they wear off, the character will recast onto all party members outside of battle.

The variables get VERY specific if you are a micromanager. I don’t have anyone use Cura / Curaga until an ally is at 40% HP, and my casters wait to use Charge until they’re below 20% MP. There are variables for everything from Which Enemy has the Highest HP, Highest MAX HP, Lowest HP, Lowest MAX HP, Strength, Defense, and whether or not they’re vulnerable to a particular element or weak to an element. I accidentally chose vulnerable versus weak when setting up a magic attack gambit, so Ashe kept attacking anything that would take damage from a wind attack, versus an enemy with a specific weakness.

Additionally, I like to put 2 extra options for attacking near the bottom due to there sometimes being a distance between characters. I ran into an issue where, sometimes mid-battle, one party member would stand still away from the group. Everyone has Attack the Nearest enemy visible, but they were too far away. To remedy this, I added a gambit to attack an enemy targeted by an ally. Now, no matter what, if there is one party member in combat, the rest of the party will come to assist. I now find this combat so intuitive… but you may not always want the same gambits setup, especially if you’re taking on a hunt, or a boss. Luckily, the system allows you to swap between 3 separate sets of Gambits for each character. So you can have standard exploration, boss battle, and hunt gambits set up. Or you can have them swapped simply for fun.

Final Fantasy has had an on-again-off-again relationship with defined Jobs/ Classes. In the original, you had a handful of D&D Classes to choose from, but FFII did away with classes, allowing you to create “custom” classes based on what weapons, items, and techniques you have them use. Much like the Title 10 iterations previous, the initial release of FFXII allowed players the opportunity to create their classes, as each character had access to “The License Board.”

The Judges run the world, and those Judges disseminate the rights of the people. The License board is an extension of that metaphor of power and control, requiring you, the player, to purchase the right to use certain equipment. If you’ve ever seen memes about not being able to wear a certain hat without a “License,” well, this is the game they’re talking about. And believe me, it is not as bad as it was before.

From a gameplay standpoint, the process is to choose some slots on the board over others to create distinctly unique character builds. Some would unlock the license to wield certain weapon types or certain types of magic. Eventually, certain paths would lead to higher magic abilities and equipment. Note: these are not tied to levels specifically; for every enemy defeated, you received a point. If you had the requisite number of points, you could unlock them.

Unfortunately, it proved to be far easier for players to choose the same options to make identical but overpowered characters. This was done, despite the unique characteristics of each character. It is not shown, but characters have an “innate” license that provides certain aspects that provide distinct inclinations for certain powers over others. Some have higher magic affinity and mp, others have higher strength and hp. To make matters worse… Once you bought a certain license, there was no going back. If you made a character one way, versus another, sorry, but you’re screwed. In my research for builds, etc. I stumbled upon many players who had to fully restart their game simply due to a misguided choice on the board.

All this business was rectified in the International release of XII, ditching the single board and developing 12 potential classes for characters to choose from. Additionally, they added in one of my favorite things from D&D… Multiclassing! Now, you can have crazy combinations that build upon each other to make insanely powerful new classes. With over 144 combinations (not to mention choices of what you pick ON the license board itself), this is one of THE most customizable Final Fantasy Experiences… Did I mention you can also reset them for free? And you get back all the spent points… At least in the Zodiac Age Version. Of course, there is a huge discussion as to which combinations are the best, and I’m sure there is a definitive guide somewhere, but there isn’t a wrong way to choose. You can make some choices that ultimately do not blend very well. Choosing a job that gives you a bunch of Magic Lore Potency and mixing it with a class that cannot cast magic is a bit of a waste. I like White Mage and Monk on Penelo. She’s pretty tanky, with very fast pole attacks, restoration magics, and the highest HP pool out of my whole party.

To understand the stakes of XII, you have to understand that Ivalice is a pressure cooker of three continents: Ordalia, Valendia, and Kerwon. The game primarily takes place in the “Galtean Peninsula,” a strategically vital land bridge between the massive Archadian Empire (Valendia) and the Rozarrian Empire (Ordalia).

Ivalice is a very large and diverse setting… Whether the name refers specifically to the continents depicted or the whole planet is up in the air, everyone in the game calls it Ivalice. Our primary locations take the form of 4 major countries:

The world is also defined by its diverse races, which is another MMO-style holdover. You won’t just see humans (Humes); you have the lizard-like Bangaa, the pig-like Seeq, the bird-like Garif, and the rabbit-eared Viera. Each has its own distinct culture, and seeing them occupy the same city squares makes the world feel infinitely more “realized” than the monocultures of earlier Final Fantasy games.

Final Fantasy XII bears a striking resemblance to a particularly popular franchise that JUST so happened to be experiencing a boom all throughout the development of the game… Much like Star Trek IV is referred to as “The One with the Whales.” Final Fantasy XII is often referred to as “The Star Wars One!” On its face, many push back against these comparisons because they see it as a reductive view of what Final Fantasy XII is. You may see many surface-level comparisons, and some will push back and say the plot is nothing like Star Wars at all… I can see both sides!

But holy shit, this game is Star Wars as fuck, and I LOVE IT! Let’s address a few of the “Common” Observations, and identify some of the more accurate ones…

As I noted before, the entire development cycle occurred during the releases of the entire “Prequel” trilogy of Star Wars, and the influence is rather pretty clear. Plot-wise, it doesn’t match all that well, but aesthetics and thematic elements are shared between the two properties. They are most certainly not a coincidence either, especially considering the franchise’s history of including characters named after Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles. Which, rather ironically, have their names obscured as “Gibbs and Deweg” in the one entry that seems to borrow the most from the Galaxy far, far away.

This section needs its place as well… It technically falls under the Star Warsiness of the game, but in general, the soundtrack is worthy of discussion. Hitoshi Sakimoto is once again producing a fantastic and bombastic soundtrack. The Composer of previous Ivalice titles, FFT and FFTA: Sakimoto is channeling his inner John Williams throughout this whole dang thing… with a healthy dose of Holst… which George Lucas used as temp music for… STAR WARS!!!!!

Kidding aside, this soundtrack is quite honestly magical. This evokes a sense of drama, adventure, and danger that is found in many of John Williams’ soundtracks, including Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and even Harry Potter and Home Alone. From the Imperial Theme to the Nam Yensa Sandsea to the Golmore Jungle, each track sets its tone but evokes images of William’s scores. Seeing as you will primarily be hearing field themes throughout your playthrough, each theme not only seamlessly loops but also manages to remain fresh despite any instances of grinding. Several of these tracks have also made their way into Final Fantasy 14, though that truly is a story all its own as well.

The Story of FFXII is a classic setup, we have a heroic new King off to fight the evil empire… oh, he’s dead… um okay. The Story of FFXII follows a young man named Reks, a soldier in the Dalmascan Army sworn to… REALLY? Okay, for the last time… The Story of Final Fantasy XII follows a wide cast of characters, starting with the viewpoint of Vaan Ratslayer, the brother of our dearly departed Prologue Protag.

Vaan does odd jobs and acquires items to keep himself alive. He goes about this with his friend Penelo. Both work for Migelo, the proprietor of a local Item shop. We follow the two as Rabanastre, the now-conquered capital of Dalmasca, celebrates the arrival and installation of their new governor, Vayne Solidor, son of the Emperor. As a means of getting revenge for his brothers’ demise, Vaan schemes to pull off a heist at the palace on the eve of the celebration.

Vaan gets much more than he bargained for, collecting a piece of treasure that just so happens to be of great importance. Just as he intends to escape, Vaan runs into Balthier and Fran, a pair of Sky Pirates attempting to heist the royal treasury just like Vaan. As the three argue over possession of the “stone”, rebels attack the palace, leading to a harrowing escape. The trio reluctantly joins together in the Garamsythe Waterway, fighting off Imperials and teaming up with a mysterious woman calling herself Amalia.

The group finds themselves captured and imprisoned in the ruined Nalbina Fortress, where the party frees purported Kingslayer Basche fon Ronsenburg… who killed Reks! The team regroups and makes their way to Bhujerba to save Vaan’s friend Penelo, and is betrayed by Lando Calrissian… just kidding. At this point, it is now known that Amalia is the reported dead Princess Ashe, heir to the Dalmascan Throne, and it is confirmed that Basche is not Reks’ murderer. The gang is now all here, and their goal is to put an end to the empire, hoping for peace, but staying at the ready for conflict, embarking on a quest for the Nethicite!

Purely by the length of this video, I’m sure you can tell that I hold this particular entry in high regard. But I can certainly criticize a few aspects that I wish were changed: Equipment management is a little bit clunky, to be honest. As each character will have their own set of licenses, you’ll often end up with items that can only be worn by one individual or by no one. Due to the way the license boards function, you can often skip several “lower” tiers of equipment, often having to backtrack and purchase earlier tiers upon collecting new items. Accessories, in my opinion, can be quite expensive and often very situational, requiring you to juggle them whenever you go into certain encounters.

It is often not very clear what stats are upgraded upon leveling up. For weapons, a phenomenal quality-of-life feature would be to list what Licenses can unlock a certain weapon, or even a dedicated button that would switch screens and highlight the license’s location. Numerous times, I’ve had to leave the shop menu, open my licenses, scour the board for a particular square, then close the whole menu, speak with the merchant, and finally get back to the weapon itself. Knowing what you can and cannot unlock, or where you can get confusing.

A few of those are nitpicks, but would otherwise improve the experience. For the experience as it is… I LOVE IT! From the Aesthetics of the simultaneously Ancient, yet Futuristic world. I mean, it’s Ivalice, so it’s crafted to utter perfection. To the “lived-in” feel of the environments, and NPC Dialogue. NPCs will have different things to say depending on what point of the story you’re in! The optional hunt system tests your strategic skill as well as boosts your party’s experience. To be able to program your characters exactly as you want them to act. A soundtrack that I find myself whistling all the time, and a story that I felt was still pretty compelling. Final Fantasy XII is an amazing game that once again changes up the formula of the franchise to deliver yet another unique experience. With unforgettable characters and dastardly villains.