Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

!!!STEAM DECK USERS!!!
If you encounter a white screen when trying to launch this game, set the game's resolution to 1080p in the manage properties screen, just be sure to also check "set internal and external display" resolution. No more white screen and the game loads normally.
If you have the OLED 90Hz model, you must open the QAM and under the Performance Tab, click "Use per-game profile" and set frame limit to 60/60, failure to do so will result in cutscenes running too fast or too slow and will lose sync with audio.
Graphics settings in game:
Set preset graphics quality to medium (default)
Frame limit to 60fps
Anisotropic filtering 16x
Buttery smooth experience.
I hope this helps those of you that wish to play this on deck. :)

I've 100%'d Final Fantasy XII twice already. Once when I bought the steel case version on the PS2, and again on an emulator many years later. I recently bought it again on Steam and I still love it. It's a really great JRPG and is one of this era's best. The game has aged pretty well overall, and it still has many features that resemble Final Fantasy as a whole, although I guess this was the period where the series started to diverge greatly from the first 10 installments.
The environments are actually really beautiful and detailed, and are still quite immersive. The art is just fantastic, and it's actually a shock how many newer games, while looking technically superior, look kind of boring compared to the environments in FFXII.
I really like all the character designs. The game has aged really well despite the lower polygon count (even though these have been cleaned up over the PS2 version too). They kind of look like paintings in a way. Really nice style.
The cutscenes still look great. FF really had the best cutscenes in this era. Reminds me of Blizzard games – these games have all aged beautifully.
The enhanced graphics and 60 fps in this Steam release make the purchase well worth it over emulating the PS2 version. It looks and feels gorgeous.
The music is superb. While this was the first game not composed by Nobuo Uematsu, it is still enormously varied and each track is 9/10 or 10/10. It really gives the game a unique atmosphere and feel.
The job system is really fun and adds some replayability to a game you'll want to revisit from time to time. The boards are much better designed compared to the PS2 release, I feel. Each class is unique. You can try and pick jobs that feel canonically similar to what you see in the cutscenes, or be creative and go with anything you want. You can even respec your boards in the Clan Hall, so there is no punishment for picking something that appeals to you and changing it later.
The game also has some really addictive progression systems as a result. You really want to fill out your entire license boards for the jobs you picked, and find all the best weapons and armor.
The audio quality of the dialogue sounds compressed. I wish they still had the original audio files because I bet they sounded a lot better. They sound like the ones from the PS2 version sadly. They are compressed because there is so much voiced content in this game, it's crazy. I would have been thrilled to download 10 more gigs to get better audio files though. The voice acting is great, for the most part.
The story is less focused on characters and more on events, which is actually weird for a JRPG. This world does feel well-thought-out though, and you feel like you're on an adventure in a real world as you travel from region to region. There are lots of unique environments and lots of people to talk to, and they are all worth spending time talking to.
The combat system is still similar to past entries like FF6, but has an added feature where the game will input commands for you via a gambit system, similar to Dragon Age: Origins. I really love this system. Between speeding up time to 2x speed and the gambit system, you can reduce the tedium of grinding or just inputting the same commands over and over, which is frankly what you would often do in most battles in the past anyway. I like that the gambits unlock a lot earlier than in the PS2 version. They used to drip-feed them over the course of the game, but now you can just buy them outright when the gambit shop opens up.
I really like that you can chain all the enemies together to get loot bonuses. If your chain of killing the same enemy type is high enough, you will get some very unique weapons and armor. It actually feels bad to kill an enemy of a different type sometimes, which is how you know the system is working. It really does help feel like the game is being strung together better with this mechanic. It actually makes grinding for loot kind of fun.
I like that all waypoints and even clan marks are visible on your map. Really helps with having to find things. I would have appreciated a modern waypoint system, but this is minor.
Overall, I can't recommend this game enough. If you like modern Xenoblade Chronicles, you will love FFXII as I feel like Final Fantasy XII is actually the precursor to those games in terms of feel, mechanics, interconnected worlds, etc.

One of the better Final Fantasy games. Despite its age (the original game is from the PS2 era) the gameplay and story are absolutely worth your time. The Zodiac Job System is a bit intricated and takes time to get acquainted to, but once you understand how it works you will be able to have very potent characters in your party. You cannot go wrong either, because if you don't like how a character is set up you can always undo it and try again, without restarting your run.
This is one of my most favourite games to play on the Steam Deck, which will last for about 3 hours of continued game time without tinkering with options, at constant 60 FPS.
My vote: 9/10 + STEAM DECK RECOMMENDATION

Such an incredible final fantasy game. Easily in the top 3 of all time. I think FFX is the #1, FF12 is contender for #2. I'm 44yrs old and I've just burned 40hrs over the xmas holidays like i'm 15 again. Have a blast.

Back in 2006 we got ourselves the last game in the golden era of final fantasy. We only did not know it then. This game was way ahead of its time and was easily the best looking ps2 game in the history of that console. And now in its remastered glory it still looks so damn good. The art style aged so well! Also for people who love and play Final Fantasy XIV, you should also try this game. FFXIV drew many inspirations from this game. Maybe that is just me but after finding out that yoshi P is a huge fan of Yasumi Matsuno (FFXII director and creator of ivalice) the pieces just clicked.
10/10 game and filled to the brim with content. A true final fantasy!!

This game was a massive part of my childhood and what I believe to be one of the most beautiful and realized final fantasy titles to date.
It's a gorgous piece of masterwork.
The increadible Airships, the watercolor artstyle, the massive beastiary, the beautiful armors, weapons, and the extreme diversity of the world and locations all wrap up into an increadible game.
There are mods to swap to the old license boards system from classic FF12 for even more freedom of choice for your party and characters.
If I had time to play this game to absolute completeion from the start I wish I could, but it's simply too massive.
Firstly I want to say this game is more of a WRPG than a JRPG which makes it so much different to other FF titles, and why it's one of my favorites of all time.
The Combat system is what I would compare to an MMO or RTS with a lot of customzability. Your character and party ai can be highly custimized with the Gambit system which I think is a complete marvel for a game released on the Ps2, and grinding gear through chaining monsters or rerolling loot chests is great. It's truly a classic hit of RPG level-up/gear up/get stronger accomplishment and immersion.
The Hunts system, puzzles, hidden areas and exploration makes this game a must try for any good RPG fan.
The OST is beyond wonderful, and I persoanally love the cast. Balthier and Fran are one of my favorite pairs of all time.

Perfect game that was part of my teenage, I had the pleasure of being able to re-play it through this remaster, I lost hours and hours in it as a teenager and managed to relive it all again. It is and continues to be the game of my life, owner of one of the most perfect artificial intelligence and group micro management systems in existence, with an exceptional plot and a gigantic range of drops and items, I love this game and whenever I can I introduce it to all my friends.