Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGE – This revered classic returns, now fully remastered for the first time for PC, featuring all new and enhanced gameplay. RETURN TO THE WORLD OF IVALICE Enter an era of war within the world of Ivalice. The small kingdom of Dalmasca, conquered by the Archadian Empire, is left in ruin and uncertainty. Princess Ashe, the one and only heir to the throne, devotes herself to the resistance to liberate her country. Vaan, a young man who lost his family in the war, dreams of flying freely in the skies. In a fight for freedom and fallen royalty, join these unlikely allies and their companions as they embark on a heroic adventure to free their homeland. Players both returning and new to the game will be immersed in a grand adventure that spans the world of Ivalice in an entirely fresh and improved experience.
Steam User 269
I remember play this game in PS2 with my dad when i was a child, but i cannot finish this game back there.
After all this time, i completed this game and cried when the credit rolls because my dad has passed away.
Dad, this is for you.
Steam User 60
I originally played this game back when it came out on the PS2. I fought with the Gambit system and kept having to grind at various points. I burned out 75% of the way through and never finished. I finally chose to give this game another chance and try to fully embrace the gambit system.
The changes in The Zodiac Age won me over. Being able to play at 2x or 4x speed makes getting around much less tedious (going back to normal during hard fights felt like slow motion.) I enjoyed the story back then and enjoyed getting to finally see it to the end. It's definitely the most grounded of the FF stories I've played. I didn't need a wiki to help explain what was going on. And while the story threatened to go bonkers towards the end, it held it back for the most part so at least the ending felt satisfying and complete.
Also, the license system is an interesting leveling system that made me want to get into fights in order to be able to improve my characters. The addition of the job system helps specialize everyone, but by the end, I had all the spaces filled with over 1000 LP for each character I had no use for. Also, being able to see and fight the monsters in the world (or avoid them entirely) did help better immerse me into the world of Ivalice.
There are still some issues I personally have. While I prefer it over ATB, I am still not a huge fan of the gambit system. It just feels like basic programming to make the game fight battles for me. I either want full combat like Witcher 3 or full turn-based like FFX. Anything in between just feels inferior.
And while I liked the story, I couldn't really bond with the characters like I do in games where I have more control. With the combat system, I felt less like a part of the team and more like an escort guiding them to battles. Battles give me a chance to learn each character's style and advantages and disadvantages. With this system, I frequently forgot who knew what techniques. Balthier's charm won me over in cutscenes, but I just couldn't find a reason to care about any of the main characters. Also, Vaan and Penelo feel like non-characters. I get they are meant to be player-projected, but I've played those types in other games and they at least felt pivotal to the plot. You could remove those two and nothing would be missing from the plot.
Overall, I still enjoyed my 2nd first time with this game. While it's definitely not an all-time classic, I still had enough fun with the changes made to the original to be able to play it through to the end and do MOST of the marks and get all of the Espers. But the hands-off combat and lack of connection to the characters will probably keep from wanting to play it again. Still, I am glad I came back. It was one of those games I always felt a mixture of hate and regret when I thought about this game because I never finished it. I can at least say I finally finished it and appreciate it for what it is: a solid if middling entry to the Final Fantasy franchise.
Pros:
- 2x and 4x speed help make the game fell less sluggish
- Fun story
- License and job systems are creative
- Battles in-world help with immersion
Cons:
- Battle system is hands-off and less engaging
- Lack of attachment to the characters (due to the combat)
- Lack of talent progression by end of game
Steam User 76
"I'm Captain Basch fon Ronsenberg of Dalmasca!"
Steam User 81
People who disliked this game never played it in 2005 - it is a product of its time, but man it has still aged really well. The art, the story, the music, the aesthetic, and everything in between is top top tier and so memorable. The bestiary and mix of future and old is something I love so much. One of the first games when I was a kid that showed the weapon on the character and battles were not randomized - you could see them in the world and flee battles live! Compared to now, that's not much, but the nostalgia is there for me - I even have the game book from BradyGames that I still use to this game for hunts haha. I have this game on every platform that I own, and to this day still listen to the soundtrack and have the art framed. This is and always will be my favorite Final Fantasy, and I guarantee if you haven't played it already, you should. This is one of the last Final Fantasy "feeling" games before they started mixing it up in 13. So 12 is the best classic feeling with great modern twist (for the time) that still hold up to this day. Mods on PC are also a nice touch, I downloaded some quality of life and texture and coloring re-mods that make the characters and world pop even more (even gave Penelo her pink hair that was proposed in her draft designs). Vanilla game also has 2x speed which makes grinding and traversing quicker and better. You really only have to grind around twice in this game if you know how to do it and where to go - you can make this game as easy or as hard as you'd like to. (TIP: (for new players) grind when you have 4 people in a party! Also one time to grind I would suggest would be the Eruyt Village arc, you have access to Golmore Jungle and the Paramina Rift which are prime places to farm before the judge boss and the story onward) Also vanilla game gives you opportunity to max out your LP board and Gil if you have no patience but just want to enjoy the story and worlds. Lots of nice additions to the Zodiac version, although I do miss the original for certain things. If you dislike it, give it some more time to grow on you. The battle system allows free movement while still allowing the player to either manually command the party all at once which makes it exciting or, use the Gambit system which can help automate it but still feel like you are there part of the action since you'll still need to manage who does what especially in boss fights. I know this FF and FF13 are ones that people either love or just have a meh opinion about (I love both actually). But what throws FF12 up top tier is just the diversity and MAGIC you can feel coming from the game and characters. I am very excited for FF16 because the aesthetic of old and new are coming back with more monster bestiary like FF12. The ONLY gripe I have about this game is whenever they recorded the English voices, it sounds muffled. Doesn't sound like that in Japanese and its been bugging me since 2005. But now I hear it and its just nostalgia for me haha. Anyway, 11/10 would recommend. 12 is a must play for FF fans and easy to grasp for newcomers.
Steam User 42
One of the Greatest games made by Square. Definitely the best Final Fantasy game in my opinion.
Steam User 36
The greatest game ever made in my opinion. You will leave this game wishing the characters were your friends...all of them. The story is spectacular, emotional, funny, dramatic, sad, exciting, mysterious...this game has it all. This is the third time I've purchased the game in different formats. I feel that this version is the best. They took a wonderful game and made it better. The Gambit combat system is fantastic if you don't want to micromanage all your players. The skill tree is a blast. It's so much fun to pick and choose. The story can be linear, but you can change it up as well. Example: Two pieces of jewelry that I desperately wanted are sold by a vendor in a zone that's much too high for me. So I maxed my health out on the skill tree and made a run for that vendor trying to avoid fighting. Several of my characters died on the way, but I made it and since I had enabled these pieces of jewelry by discovering them in the skill tree early, I was able to use them many levels before I could realistically go to that vendor to get them. In another instance, there is a battle that you're not supposed to win. I farmed that dungeon for like 6 hours (lol) until i was really strong. Then i actually beat the mobs I was supposed to run away from and a special cut scene happened in which they ran away since you're not supposed to be able to defeat them. There are hunts where you go try to find rare monsters. some of them only spawn under certain conditions. They get progressively harder. The game is simply amazing. I've played many rpgs like Witcher 3, Divinity Original sin 2, and Skyrim modded, but I always go back to this one...it's that good.
Steam User 29
i think this is my 6th playthrough. honestly one of the top 3 video games of all time. steam version is good because of 60fps and the ability to install challenge mods. works perfectly on deck too. my switch version seems pointless now.
p.s. venat did nothing wrong