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| Final Fantasy XII (PS2) |  | From: Square Enix
Category: Video Games
List Price: £29.35
Buy Used: £4.18
You Save: £25.17 (86%)
New (6) Used (27) from £4.18
Rating:  136 reviews
Sales Rank: 1341
Platform: Playstation2
Genre: role-playing-games
Rating: To Be Announced
Media: Video Game
Number Of Items: 1
Age: 11 - 18 years
Operating System: Playstation 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5050053015983
ASIN: B000EYHBH2
Release Date: February 23, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
The UK has always had a very unique taste in games, never comparable exactly to either the U.S. or Europe. As such, Japanese role-playing games have never been very successful here, even such worldwide blockbusters as the Final Fantasy series. No matter how fancy the graphics, most Britons just can't be having with the tedious, randomly initiated, turn-based combat. So it's a bit of a shock to find that Square Enix has finally come around to our way of thinking, because this game completely ditches the usual battle system for a semi-automatic design that actually has you looking forwards to fights rather than dreading them. Although you can still take manual control of a character the game invites you to set-up a series of tactics and rules for your allies before a fight, so you only have to intercede directly in combat if something goes wrong. Character customisation is also much less regimented than before and the storyline has none of the teen angst emoting that made previous games so hard to stomach for some. In fact the only major feature remaining from the other games is the stunning graphics (and they really are stunning too - probably the best ever seen on the PlayStation 2). So thorough has Square Enix been in revamping and refining every aspect of the series' formula that the only people not likely to enjoy it are die hard fans of the originals. Other than that the only real criticism you could level against it is that it doesn't exactly rival Wii Sports in the accessibility stakes, but with a game of this length and depth that's a small price to pay.
HARRISON DENT
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| Customer Reviews: Read 131 more reviews...
 Awesome!!! March 22, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
FFXII is by far the most time consuming FF ever. The world (Ivalice) is huge, with many different types of environment and terrain, even the weather changes, affecting which types of monsters inhabit an area.
With such a huge world in which to run around in it can seem somewhat overwhelming. Large areas can harbour some seriously handy treasures but with the new "probability" system the treasure may only stand a 20% chance of being a useful item and maybe only a 60% chance of appearing at all. This can lead to hours of going away and coming back again, hoping to have re-spawned the treasure into something you need.
Monsters can be a serious pain, especially if they gang up on you. You can avoid a lot of battles by simply fleeing past them, because unlike other FF titles FFXII allows you to see monsters roaming arround so you can avoid tough battles. Sometimes fleeing seems like a great idea but you need to idealy spend hours and hours fighting them and "leveling up" otherwise you will stand no chance of completing the game.
There are 21 optional side quests, some of which you will have to complete to find hidden bonuses and bosses throughout the game.
Magicks, Weapons, Armour, Shields, Tecknics and Augments can be bought for the usuall transfer of GIL at traders, but (and this is a very big but) you will need to unlock the corresponding liscence on the liscence board using points you have gained from defeating monsters. For instance, you have bought a sword but need to unlock the liscence square for 25 LP (licence points) you will need to defeat 25 wolf type creatures, most of which only award 1 LP. when you have done this simply unlock the tile on the liscence board and slash away. Its exactly the same with everything else.
Thats the basics of the game really but i could go on and on, if i did this review would take up several pages. Its a brilliant game and well worth the wait. I hope you enjoy it as much as i have.
If there is one piece of advise i could give, i would suggest you buy the strategy guide when you buy the game. You can complete the game by not having it but you will find it very difficult to find the juicy bonuses throughout the game with out it.
Happy Gaming.
Close to perfect March 27, 2007
32 out of 34 found this review helpful
Every Final Fantasy game of the Playstation era inevitably gets compared to the legendary Final Fantasy VII, and this is the first one that really comes close to matching that legacy, although in fact so much has changed now that it's very hard to make a meaningful comparison. Both are superb games, but whereas VII told a tight, intense story, XII is a more of a sprawling, drawn-out epic that takes something like twice as long to complete and will sometimes see you exploring absolutely massive environments for hours on end between plot scenes.
The combat has been changed to do away with random battles, so that the gameplay has become a lot more fluid. The balance between direct and automated control, and between combat and exploration, has been tweaked very carefully, with the result that the game is a lot of fun to play, and very deep to boot. It's just as well that it's so good, because the game world is physically absolutely massive (we're talking MMORPG massive here), and you'll still find that you have to plough through endless hordes of monsters to progress, though now at least now you feel like you have some control over engaging them.
Graphically it's simply stunning. The individual character designs are awesome, and the environments you explore are astonishing. Each landscape is broken down into a series of `rooms' which you pass through loading screens to transition between, but you can always see beyond the area you're in, which means you can see geographical features that are miles away in game terms. The game must physically be something like 10-20 times as large as FFX, say, and the scale means that you'll no longer miss the world map.
The story. On the one hand it's much more daunting than previous Final Fantasies. On the other hand it's much more mature, better written, and beautifully translated. FFXII requires you to keep track of dozens of characters and the internal politics of at least three warring kingdoms. The difference is that in previous games, the player would learn what was happening as the characters did. This time the characters are intimately involved in the labyrinthine plot, and it's sometimes frustrating to feel that they understand a lot more about what's going on than you do. Occasionally the game will send you out to retrieve an artefact without any very clear idea of why you're doing it or what you're trying to accomplish. But it doesn't really matter, because the plot and dialogue are so good, and the characters so deeply engaging, that it keeps you playing. FFXII is much more subtle than the previous games, much more westernised, and almost completely devoid of Japanese quirkiness. Some people will love this, others will be alienated by it. This game is not going to please everyone. But it is a great return to form for the series.
Outstanding! October 24, 2006
38 out of 42 found this review helpful
I am about 2/3 of the way through the game at the moment and i can honestly say this is one of the best games I have ever played.
I only say this after much debate with myself due to the fact I play every new final fantasy with an open mind to how the game looks and feels. Before i played Final Fantasy XII I didn't like the fact square had changed the battle system nor how the game looks so much like a MMORPG.
The opening scene can only be described as epic with lush graphics bringing you 8 minutes of total eye candy. I will not tell you what happens because you need to see it for yourself.
The batte system does a fine job of bringing you in to the game with basics that most rpg players can quickly catch on to. The command list is still here in a familar fashion as always, you have the attack command, different magic spells (white,black,time,green) and items. Limit breaks are now called mist knacks and each player can have a total of 3 throughout the quest. Summons known as espers (FF6) are obtained by first finding them and then defeating them in battle, remember only one summon can be assigned to one character and once allocated can not be changed.
As you begin you adventure you will notice two things, one is how big the areas are, especially the main city of the game Rabanastre. The streets are full of life with lots of shops and people to talk to. Second is certain areas change weather over time thus bringing more dangerous creatures with it.
The story evloves around Vaan a wanna be sky pirate who walks the streets and often steals to make a living. You will soon be introduced to Vaan's friend Penelo who seems to come from a similar background as Vaan, Fran and Balthier who is sky pirate. You go to steal treasure from the royal palace and soon find yourself involved in a star wars like battle between different empires.
The music and sound feel right for the environment your playing in with tracks ranging from epic battle music to slow temple vibes.
Before I played the game I tried and tried to find faults, I was starting to go mad because I was convinced Final Fantasy XII was not going to be as good as previous titles in the series boy was i wrong.
One game one word OUTSTANDING!
Impressive February 28, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Like everyone else I am a massive FF fan and was concerned when I haerd the whole fight engine was being overhauled. But I wasn't disappointed once I started playing. What seems a bizarre system at first soon turns into a logical progression for the series.
I simply don't understand where the comments from some of these so-called FF experts are coming from. This is a beautiful game with incredible detail, a more mature storyline and a nicely nostalgic score. Although at times this feels a far darker and broodier game than the typical FF fodder. The gothic, detailed graphics, political intrigue and often moody score reminds me very much of Vagrant Story on the PS1. There's even a very similar battle system.
If you want an impressive and new gaming experience give this a go - if not go play FF7 and remind yourself how much the franchise has improved.
Looks beautiful, plays well. April 13, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I've been a fan of the FF series for a while now, dipping in and out to see how they progress. And I've been astounded with just what they have achieved here on a (relatively) elderly console. The cut scenes are just beautiful to watch, the play is smooth, the load times are minimal and the story plays out just nicely and draws you in.
There a couple of things to note - the battle scenes can get pretty complicated when you've got characters firing off gambits left right and centre and enemies are putting spells up, and using items. I didn't mind this - first time I had a big battle, I was struggling to keep up with the action, but after one or two more, I went with the flow and the pace that things happen feels true to combat. Secondly, the licence board is a definate case of there being a few key squares that you make for to get an early character boost. The Quickenings make things very easy for a while, and the HP boosts really help too. Thirdly, the overall difficulty swings up and down a bit. Early on, it felt easy, then it got a bit tricky, then I hit a mid game patch where five or six bosses were just trivial and then it got a lot harder again.
So this is a character based RPG, with a bit of grind in there, plenty of monsters, plenty of female characters with not much on (some of Fran's scenes are just wrong!) - you know what you're getting. But it is all very well done, and I'd recommend without any hesitation.
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