Final Fantasy XII

Written by Adam Woolcott  on April 01, 2004

First Impressions: Silly Viera, Trix are for kids!

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It seems that the Final Fantasy series is finally returning to normalcy. With the last traditional Final Fantasy game releasing in 2001, Square has since released the first direct sequel, and the first online-only Final Fantasy titles in lieu of more standard installments. This year, that all changes as Square Enix brings the FF series around the bend again, with the new installment, the traditionally single player RPG Final Fantasy XII, exclusively (as always) for the PlayStation 2. Releasing in Japan this summer, and most likely a US release in early 2005 (but they did manage to sneak FFX out the door in 2001, so you never know), FFXII is a blend of old and new, taking the theme of empires and kingdoms of past FF games and mixing in more realistic worlds like Final Fantasies VII, VIII, and X/X-2. With the series continually evolving, Final Fantasy XII is yet another entry that looks to be quite different from the previous eleven (12 if you count X-2 as separate or 11 if you refer to it as merely part of the X universe) editions.

FFXII takes place in the world of Ivalice, which you'd know from the Final Fantasy Tactics games, though it seems the world is only similar in name. The Arcadia Empire has toppled the Dalmasca Kingdom, and now the kingdom is controlled by a dictatorship of nasties, keeping the citizens in line. The princess of Dalmasca, Ashe, the heir to the throne, is slowly organizing a resistance to fight Arcadia and return the kingdom back to the people who reside there. During the times of her movement, she encounters Vaan, a young man eager to be rid of this evil control and be able to pilot an airship and see the world (and no, zero interest in discussing his supposed girly, effeminate looksЕhe could probably kick all your asses into the ground if he was real). Despite his eagerness to be free, Vaan is a relatively laid back and calm guy, less hellbent on revenge and merely looking to sail in the skies (of Arcadia. Har, I had to use that). While not much else is known with the story, it seems it will be full of the usual FF twists, turns, and conflicts. FFXII is supposedly modeling a lot of worlds after the caste class system, so you know that means lots of high and mighties putting down the little people and making them feel bad.

The main enemies are seemingly the Judges (after all, a Judge is right on the FFXII logo), a group of mega-intimidating characters who Arcadia uses to control Dalmasca from rebelling. Whether or not these are the actual antagonists instead of a mere group doing the bidding of something more sinister (which you'd probably guess is right) is unknown, but most likely will be the case. Ashe and Vaan won't be alone, however, as the pair will encounter at least two new allies, in Fran (a Viera, or a bunny girl. Seriously, a bunny girl), and Balflear, a gunner/thief who's like an armed version of Robin Hood, stealing from the evil and giving to the good. Most likely the names of these secondary characters will change to be more СEnglish' sounding Ц and hopefully Vaan or Ashe will not be able to be renamed, as we don't need another Tidus situation with Yuna and co. calling him "you know who" all the time.

Squenix has been very quiet about most of this game, though a few things have leaked. The first major thing to note is that the engine of FFXII will be fully 3D, with the ability to actually control the camera to see things, and even go into 1st person view for a better angle, like Final Fantasy XI does. With the era of fully 3D FF games here, this is not just a nice addition but also a necessity (how many times I tried flicking the right analog stick to see stuff in FFX and X-2, I couldn't keep count) for exploration purposes. This does mean some extra work, as now the programmers have to actually render ceilings and skies if you decide to glance in that direction, but it's merely positive progression. Most of the game's engine will be familiar to PS2 Final Fantasy fans though, as there will once again be no true world map, and instead a mini-map to guide you through Ivalice. It's been hinted that the game will be much less linear than FFX, though it's doubtful it will be as wildly non-linear as FFX-2. Whether that means branching paths in the world or early access to a trendy airship is unknownЕwe'll just have to find out when it arrives on store shelves.

The battle system is the most mysterious of all, as hardly anything has been revealed as of yet (possibly at E3 in May). From the looks of screens, it will be based loosely on the same form of ATB (Active Time Battle) as found in Final Fantasy X-2, with random character placement (rather than the traditional Сyou on one side, enemies on the other, all in a nice row' methods of past FF games) and even possibly chain attacks to do massive damage in succession. Still, it's really not known whether it will be ATB or not. Nobody knows if the battles will be random or not, or even if there will be loading in the traditional sense, or taking place within the game engine (as a few screens have demonstrated, unless it's a minigame a la the Gunner's Gauntlet). Nobody knows what those 3 little slots on the status bars during battle meanЕmateria orbs, job classes, or something different. Square has been very, very mum, which means either they have something up their sleeves that is far different from anything they've ever done, or it's merely the ATB and they don't really feel the need to mention it. All will be revealed in due time, but until then, how you'll fight in Final Fantasy XII is kept under wraps.