Final Fantasy XII

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Final Fantasy XII
Developer:	Square Enix
Publisher:	Square Enix
Release dates:	NA – October 31, 2006
Genre:	Console role-playing game
ESRB rating:	E10+
Platform(s):	Playstation 2
Media:	1 CD-ROM (PS2)
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General

Final Fantasy XII is a huge Role-Playing game both developed and published by Square Enix for the Playstation 2 and is the twelfth installment of the well known Final Fantasy series. The game was first released in 2006 and was the next single-player game since Final Fantasy X in the series. The game sold more than 2 million copies alone in Japan, and became the fourth best-selling PS2 game of 2006 in the world.

Background

The kingdom of Dalmasca is a free, independent country. That is, until the powerful nation of Archadia wants to overthrow them. They manage to do so for two long years, being led by Vayne Solidor, a madman in the pursuit of power. They kill all who resist them; But now times are different. The people of Dalmasca will now fight for their freedom and redeem themselves as the rulers of their countries once more.

The game takes place in the fictional location called Ivalice, where the empires of Archadia and Rozarria are waging an endless war. Dalmasca, a small kingdom, is caught between the warring nations. When Archadia invades and occupies Dalmasca which the princess Ashe, creates a resistance movement. During the struggle, she meets Vaan, a young adventurer who dreams of commanding an airship. They are quickly joined by a band of allies; together, they rally against the tyranny of the Archadian Empire.

Final Fantasy XII also includes elements from previous games in the series, such as summoned monsters, Chocobos, and airships.

Story

A warrior takes sword in hand, Clasping a gem to his heart. Engraving vanishing memories into the sword, He places finely honed skills into the stone. Spoken from the sword, handed down from the stone... Now the story can be told... That is the story of a world called Ivalice. The strong military kingdom known as the Arcadia Empire That rules the Valentia Continent, And the Rosalia Empire that rules the Ordalia Continent Have been continuously at war for long years. In the midst of it, Arcadia Empire invaded the small kingdom of Dalmasca, Positioned in the hallway between the two continents and thus is geopolitically important. Under the invasion of the Arcadia Empire, the Dalmasca Kingdom accepted defeat. But Ashe, the rightful heir to the throne of Dalmasca, Joined the resistance army movements to fight against the empire. The enemy's chase and attack of this girl with the liberation of her mother nation in heart is severe. But, she can not be defeated. At this moment, she meets the young man Vaan. With this meeting, begins the change in Ashe's heart. And thus... The meeting of these two people will greatly change the story of this world.

Battle System

Battle System

Unlike the previous Final Fantasy games which used a turn-based system, battles in Final Fantasy XII occur in the open field, which means instead of random encounters, you see the monsters in real-time. However the menus are still used to issue commands to the characters. Combat unfolds in real-time, using a new system called active dimension battle (ADB), which allows the player to battle in the world instead of in a separate battle screen. The player may issue commands to any of the three characters in the battle party at will or allow gambits, which will issue automatic commands under certain triggers, I.e, cast a heal spell automatically if you have less than 40% of your max HP(health points) for that character. Which allows the characters to act on their own, however, certain guest characters are controlled by the game's AI. Battle commands include Attack, Magicks & Technicks, Mist, Gambits, and Items. Using these abilities, the player must destroy enemies before being defeated.

In Final Fantasy XII, a mysterious phenomenon, Mist, is the key energy which allows the player to cast summoning magic and perform Quickenings, the games version of Limit Breaks, which appeared in the other series of Final Fantasy. After defeating an Esper in combat, the player will be able to summon an Esper to the battlefield. Similar to Final Fantasy X, the summoned creatures become active participants in battle, as opposed to the attacks seen in previous games in the series. Unlike Final Fantasy X, however, Espers follow hidden gambits, rather than the player's direct command which can come to both advantages and disadvantages. The summoner remains an active member in the fight, able to attack and cast support magic, instead of leaving the party or standing idle while the summoned creature fights.

License Board

License Board

Like most role-playing games, characters will level up each time they earn a number of experience points from defeating enemies, and when they reach the designated amount of Experience, the character will level up. Each level"gained increases the character's stats, which improving their performance in battle. Stats include hit points, the amount of damage a character can receive, strength, the power of the character's physical attacks, and magic, the potential of the character's magical spells.

In addition to leveling up, players may improve their characters via the License Board, and thus give the gamer an entitlement of enhancing the character however he/she likes such as by allowing different people to wear different armor to casting a different kind of spell. The License Board is an oddly shaped array of panels that contain "licenses" which allow a character to perform certain actions. The board is split into two parts, the upper part contains Magics, Technicks, Accessories, and Augments (stat-raising) licenses, and the bottom part is filled mostly with Weapon and Armor licenses.[ To use an ability or piece of equipment, the character must obtain its corresponding license by spending the required amount of LP (License Points) to permit its use. LP are earned in battle along with the experience points. To most gamers, it's like the Like Final Fantasy X Sphere Grid, all characters may obtain all licenses on the board; however, each Quickening and Esper license may only be activated by a single character.

Audio

Hitoshi Sakimoto composed the majority of the game's soundtrack and Nobuo Uematsu contributed by making the theme song. Sakimoto decided to create a unique soundtrack in his own way. "Kiss Me Good-Bye", the theme song for Final Fantasy XII, was performed in both English and Japanese by Angela Aki. Uematsu noted that Aki's style of playing the keyboard while singing reminded him of his childhood idol, Elton John, which was one of the reasons he chose her to do it. The English version of the song was featured in both the Japanese and North American versions of the game. In addition to the theme song, violinist Taro Hakase composed and performed the game's main instrumental theme, Poem "Hope".

Two promotional soundtracks were released before the original soundtrack, the Poem "Hope" and The Best of The Final Fantasy XII Soundtrack. The former contains all the music used in the game's trailer performed by Taro Hakase, including Symphonic Poem "Hope". The original soundtrack itself was released in Japan on May 31, 2006. It consists of 4 CDs with 100 tracks, and includes promotional tracks not in the final version of the game. The CD single for "Kiss Me Good-Bye" was released on the March 15, 2006. A limited edition was also released, featuring a DVD containing the music video for "Kiss Me Good-Bye". Tofu Records has released an abridged version of the original soundtrack, which contains 31 songs, including "Kiss Me Good-Bye".

Tips

Below are a few pieces of advice to help you on your adventure:

Use Libra! Obtainable on the license board, Libra is a technick that allows you to not only see the name of a foe when targeting it, but also its HP/max HP, level and weakness. It also reveals the location of hidden traps. There are several different types of traps in dungeons and fields around Ivalice, most of which have detrimental effects. Libra is quite useful when trying to avoid these obstacles. In addition to the technick, there are also accessories that give the players Libra status effect when equipped.

Check Name Colour!

Sell your loot!

Most monsters do not carry gil, so to earn money you must often sell items that you find during your travels. The majority of the loot that you find n foes cannot be used by your party, so after confirming that you do not require an item, sell it to ne of the many shopkeepers peddling their wares across Ivalice.

Sometimes, after selling loot to a shop, new bazaar goods will become available for purchase. The contents of most bazaar goods remain a mystery until they are obtaines, so there is some risk involved when buying. However, it is rumoured that there are some rare objects that can only be obtained from the bazaar...

Consider Equipment Bonuses!

Many weapon and armour categories confer unique bonuses. For example, each category of weapon has a different attack range and some categories allow for a higher percentage of multiple attack or higher parry rate. Armour, on the other hand, often offers various stat boosts and added effects. For example, certain equipment from the Mystic Armour category boosts magick-related attributes such as magick power or maximum MP. It is always wise to consider the strengths of a character when deciding which equipment and weapon licences to obtain.

Learn action ranges!

As mentioned earlier, a weapon's attack range is determined by its category. Melee weapons such as daggers and swords are only effective in close combat. Ranged weapons such as crossbows and guns are required if you wish to deal damage to distant or flying enemies. Irrespective of proximity, only ranged weapons, magicks, and select technicks can be used to defeat flying foes. Note that magicks and technicks also have varying ranges of effectiveness. You can determine whether or not your party leader is close enough to a target to perform the desired action by checking the colour of the target guide (arrow) stretching in front of him. If the arrow is yellow, the target is within range; if it is red, it is not. All other party members, regardless of active gambits, will automatically move withing range of their targets.

Keep an eye on your status!
Foes often possess attacks that cause harmful status effects. If left untreated, these effects could hamper the performance of your characters, or even knock them out of a battle.

-1 | The healing properties of remedies can be improved by obtaining special licenses.

'NOTE:' In addition to items, there are also magicks that remove some of the above status effects.

Major portions of this page were written by: Sparx