Final Fantasy XII

"Discover the secret that will unravel an empire" I honestly feel like many people are too caught in the "typical" Final Fantasy Formula that came before FFXII was released. This is probably one of the BEST games in the series, alongside 10, 9 and 7! Here's why I feel this way: BATTLE SYSTEM: This is one of the things that drew me to the game once I learned about what it would be featuring. I love that the enemies roam free and you can choose to engage in battle or find strategic ways to avoid them. Sure, it gets frustrating when large groups of enemies swarm you but you know what, that's what I love about Final Fantasy: you had those heart stopping moments where you were like "Oh my god, I'm going to die!"...but then later, you say "Hey, maybe if I leveled up more, I could handle that!" and then you change tactics. It's ALL about critical thinking! PLOT: This is my FAVORITE plot in the series: it's rich, dynamic and engaging to me. It was full of twists and turns and to me, I love how the game really created a "history" and got you to appreciate just why the main characters were so determined to change the course of history, for the better. I'm a big fan of history so that got me! CHARACTERS: There is such an interesting dynamic of characters that it's hard not to love at least one. You have the young and spirited Vaan and Penelo, both of whom mature through the game to be fierce warriors (depending on how you raise them). Then you've got the sarcastic but charming Balthier who is my favorite character and then Fran, who to me, was a force to be reckoned with. Toss in the strong willed Princess Ashe who to me, was one of the strongest female characters aside from Lightning in FF13, and Basch who was a formidable fighter and you have a great set of characters who honestly have taught each other something along the journey! LICENSE BOARD: My FAVORITE thing about the game! This was, to me, a great addition to the series as was the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X. The fact that YOU had free reign over where and how your characters grew was great and also I loved how that choice could have pro's and con's. Example: If you gave your characters HEAVY ARMOR which mostly consisted of metal, during the fight with Vinuskar, your characters speed drastically is cut. This forces you to think of a different way to fight. It was just amazing to be able to control what the characters learned, wore, etc rather than the game dictate it for you. SUMMONING: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh how much fun was it to acquire the Espers! Seriously, fighting them first made me love it and appreciate it (a tactic the creators used in FF13). And then the hidden Espers...AMAZING! SIDE QUESTS/ETC: This game has PLENTY for you to do and yes, it may require you to go back and forth but some of the rewards are truly worth the effort. Also, the Side Bosses are FUN and CHALLENGING, which to me, made the game even better.

Last night I finished FFXII. It is my favorite FF game and the best video game I've ever played. I logged 120 hours and loved it. My favorite Final Fantasy games that I have played are now, in order: XII, X, VI, VII, and X-2. I plan to play VIII and IX next. What I loved about FF XII: - beautiful graphics - lots of challenging fights - huge world to explore and freedom to travel around - scenes including dark dungeons full of undead, icy mountains, foggy marshes, rolling praries, mystic forests, and more - combat system (with gambits optional) that I grew to love - memorable characters - license system for abilities is flexible and lets you choose who is a fighter, mage, etc. - no random monster encounters - you can see them approaching and use location and range to your advantage - the game stayed challenging pretty much the whole way - the NPC interaction and side quests are interesting and can be helpful, but are mostly optional What I didn't like about FF XII: - if I could redesign it, I would change the end fight - it was good, but could have been better. The best thing about FF XII is that I loved it all the way through the game, all 120 hours I played. I enjoyed all of the areas, all the boss fights, and monsters, weapons, magic, were all fun. In previous FF games, I have always liked developing character abilities and powers, and this game seemed to be the best yet that I have played at keeping the balance between toughness of monsters and power of characters good to keep fights challenging. I got wiped out a few times and had to restart from save points, and there were a bunch of close encounters where I just barely got out, but that to me is challenging and fun. Also, I liked the visuals. I could tell by looking at the weapons my characters were carrying around exactly which sword, spear, etc., they had because the detail is that precise. You can tell a Defender sword from a Save The Queen just by looking at them. Little details make it visually impactful. Fran and Balthier are great looking characters - the tall elf woman in leather and the swashbuckling leading man, very memorable. Penelo was the fun, peppy one. Vaan and Ashe reminded me of Tidus and Yuna from FF X. Basch was the tough guy. I thought the voicing was for the most part excellent, especially Balthier and Fran. My favorite locations were the creepier dungeons with the eerie music and undead monsters. When you are wading through zombies nearly getting your butt kicked, but manage to pull through and reach the goal, that is fun. There was also a windswept snowy area with swirling magic illusions that I will never forget. The battle system, with no random encounters, enemies you see coming on a corner map, and gambit options, is my favorite of all the FF games. The license system is my second favorite, after the sphere grid in X. The ending was also my second favorite, after the ending in X. However, I liked XII better overall because I loved the combat system, the consistent challenges, the phenominal look and graphics, and the puzzles were more intuitive to me. I will definitely play FF XII again some time in the future. It is my new favorite.

Having never played an RPG before, I had no idea what to expect. Fortunately, this game is very modern, sophisticated, and plays similarly to an action/adventure game. Think of it as Lord of the Rings mixed with Star Wars. The main character is Vaan, a likable street kid looking for some excitement, and not too concerned with whether it's legal or not. While on one of his misadventures, he meets a couple of sky pirates, and hooks up with the deposed princess of the kingdom as well. You see, the kingdom has recently been overthrown by an evil empire, and as the story progresses, you and the rest of your party go on a quest to discover how the princess may overthrow the empire and retake her throne. The characters and dialog are truly better than those in most movies, and probably the best I've ever seen in a video game. The story is quite interesting, though considering it took me 92 hours to finish the game, it can get a bit hard to keep track of - various plot points may be separated by 10 or 20 hours of gameplay, and it's easy to forget some of the intricacies. You'll spend most of your time traveling through a huge variety of different areas, trying to get to your destination, while encountering numerous foes standing in your way. The battle system is based on a sort of programming scheme - your basic command for your characters is to attack the nearest foe, and from there you expand upon it by having members of your party automatically cast healing spells when needed, or attack using various types of magic instead of weapons, etc. etc. etc. It's a somewhat complex system, as deciding what your party members should do requires a lot of strategy, and as you progress through the game you'll figure out what works well and what doesn't. This stuff is a large part of the fun of the game, as you're always encountering new situations that require you to modify your instructions for your characters. You can't just rely on these commands to get you through every battle though, you'll need to keep a close eye on every situation and take a more hands-on approach for the tougher battles. As I said, there are a huge variety of environments, and a large number of sub-quests you go on in order to eventually accomplish the main quest. After playing for 92 hours, I never got bored once. The graphics are simply spectacular - there's a gigantic battle near the end that's simply breathtaking - I felt like I was watching a Star Wars movie. If you've got an HDTV, I'd definitely recommend getting the component cables for your PS2 and hooking it up. Overall, if you like action / adventure games and are a bit tired of the usual button mashing you get with hack 'n' slash games, I'd recommend this game highly. It's definitely one of the top 5 PS2 games I've ever played.

The game arrived brand new and sealed! However, for those who care (myself included), it was the "Greatest Hits" version and not the regular one, as the product photo shows.

The words Final Fantasy have been synonymous with great role playing games. My first experience with Final Fantasy came in the late 90's with Final Fantasy III (Or VI in Japan). Since then, I have played through 7-10, the online only 11, and now 12. Now keep in mind that I originally played this game when it first came out back in the mid 00's. I had traded in this game after I beat it the third or fourth time. The replay value began to diminish. I re-purchased the game due to a desire to revisit the world of Ivalice. I have been a fan of the FF series for a while now, having played the major console releases along with all of the hand held spin offs that were released. The first obvious change in the game is the aggro system which it adopted from Final Fantasy 11. Unlike past Final Fantasy games where you randomly encountered enemies in battle, this new aggro system allowed you engage or avoid battles at your leisure. This was innovative in a sense where grinding for levels and currency became a choice left entirely up to the player. What also made this system brilliant was that you could see the enemies and then decide what to do. This allowed for an easier time covering every nook and cranny of a dungeon to see if there are any items. The story of the game is a great one. The setting is borrowed from another Final Fantasy game from the PS1 generation; Final Fantasy Tactics. The story is well told from different perspectives. You initially play as one character but soon you are given a party to help with the battles. The music is beautifully composed, as is the sound design. The graphics are great for a PS2 game. Granted the graphics are a far cry from PS3's Final Fantasy 13, but for a game that came out more than a decade ago, it has aged well. The game is long. I remember my average run through lasted about 70-80 hours. The boss battles are great, and the aggro system really gave me the freedom to just explore an area without the worry of running into an enemy ill prepared. The cast of characters is great. You'll encounter different races, who have different skills and attributes, as well as their own stories to tell. I still consider 12 to be a far greater game than 13. It's mainly because of the story. If you're a fan of Final Fantasy, you will undoubtedly have played this game by now. If you have a PS2 that's collecting dust, pick up the game and enjoy a game from yesteryear that will keep you entertained for months. I give this game a 9/10.

First, a quick review of the game overall and the gameplay. The gameplay surprised me pleasantly after the intial shock of how different it was. I would go so far as to call it addicting. The cities are massive and I can tell I am missing most of the secrets/side quests by just sticking to the main storyline. Replay value is excellent - I've already started playing again. I totally agree with the many reviewers on here who've said that it's the story & characters that matter most with these games. A little perspective on my preference: I've played V, VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2. VII, VIII, & X are wonderful IMO. Enjoyed IX in spite of the more juvinile feeling until the plot stopped making sense to me, and absolutely LOATHED X-2 I am sad to say. Anyways... my main point. I will use two words to describe the plot in this game: subtle and intricate. Now I'll be honest. I'm not sure I followed the whole Venar(?)/Ocuria(?) thing, but I think I got it in essense. As many have said, this is a more realistic game, the least like anime of all of them. It has a distinctly political bent (thankfully, we're not talking preachy political here). Again, I was surprised that different could be this good. The voice acting - or maybe I will just say acting, because a lot of the time you forget you are playing a game - is as close to perfect as I have ever seen. Balthier, of course, being the standout for his cavalier humor. I also loved the subtlety of Basch's character. We are left to conjecture on many points, especially concerning his past and his brother. Fran and Penelo - also excellent. While I liked Ashe and Vaan, I thought they were slightly overshadowed by the coolness of the other characters. Excellent side characters: Gabranth, Ondore, Larsa. The writing/dialog IS perfect, one or two iffy lines aside. Another complaint I read is that there is no romance. I would disagree. There are really 2 obvious couples here, and 1 that is not-so-obvious (and therefore more interesting). Balthier and Fran are fairly in-your-face. Vaan and Penelo seemed more like siblings to me, quite honestly, but I never doubted that they were an item. Now this may just be my opinion, but I suspect Basch might have been in love with Ashe from the beginning. Like I said - it's subtle; you have to watch & listen carefully throughout the game. Pay close attention to the ending. Notice that Ashe removes her wedding ring as we're obviously supposed to assume she is thinking about him. Notice his reaction when he reads that she "misses him." It reminds me of that short story "The Lady or the Tiger" - we are left to guess what will happen next. Will he decide to keep the oath he made to Larsa or will he go back to her? Now maybe this doesn't work for some people, but I think it's great. So I guess the bottom line is, you're going to need patience to really appreciate this game. Not because it is frustrating, but because of its depth of plot and character. Truly a masterpiece.

I got FF12 a little while back, and I must say I love playing this game. I really enjoy the fact that the player is able to roam freely and that you are not stuck in battles. I also like that you can see your enemies in the enviroment and can choose not to fight them instead of them being invisible and probability based. Another great aspect is that you can choose to skip cut scenes, instead of being forced to sit through a long scene. Finally, I would say that if you get this game, it is massive, I would definately recommend getting the guide for it, as there is so much to do and so many side quests to perform. As for the license system it can be quite confusing at first but I find it much better and more tolerable than the orb system in FF10. Additionally I think the main character, Vaan in this game is far better than Tidus of FF10, I found the main character in FF10 to be annoying an whiney, however I do like the other playable characters Lulu, Yuna of FF10 better than I do Balthier and Fran of FF12. I also own FF10, and while most people tend to like FF10 better I tend to lean the other way. I am not trashing FF10 as it is a great game, but from my own experiance, I like the leveling scheme, the fighting scheme and the fact that you can skip cutscenes far better in FF12 than I do in 10. When you compare story line and battle graphics FF10 blows 12 out of the water. Lastly alot of people including myself are not crazy about the gambit system that lets the game 'play itself', however if you dont want to use it you dont have to, its not forced, so it is there if you want it. I definately recommend this game, it will keep you busy for a while, especially if you try and reach 100% completion!

FFXII is a lot of fun. There are a lot of changes, especially to the battle system, but as usual Square-Enix delivers a quality product. There are tons of extra sidequests to do which is always a plus for me. If you've played FFXI you'll notice a lot of similarities. Here are some pros and cons when comparing this game to the rest in the series. Pros: - Best graphics of any game in the series, visuals are stunning. - A very deep and intricate storyline. Probably rivals FF Tactics in terms of story. - License system is new and different, which adds some innovation. Cons: - Music is probably the worst of any game in the series, including even the NES versions. What I mean by that is, the music isn't horrible, but none of the songs stick in my head. I've been playing for 45 hours and I can't hum a single song. - The lack of a world map makes running around everywhere annoying. Luckily there are teleport crystals. - I miss the random battles, but this system does use this new setup to add new types of quests you could do. Overall this is a great game and worth the buy. They can't all be FFVI's and I realize that so I won't try to hold it to that kind of standard. But Squenix does have a standard for the FF games and this one lives up to it.

There is no instructions booklet inside the game case please send the booklet instructions

Was in excellent condition But one day delivery took four days

Esse jogo é um absurdo

Das Spiel kam sogar vor dem angegeben Lieferdatum an und es gab keine Maengel vorzufinden. Mehr braucht man nicht zur Bewertung.

Tenia miedo que por ser producto usado estuviera en malas condiciones, pero la verdad cumplio mis expectativas de un producto de segunda mano, no he jugado el titulo lo pedí para mi colección de videojuegos.