Game overview Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

In my youth I loved a series of Japanese role-playing games . Then the game seemed to me something incredible, so I willingly spent their evenings, with the head going in a fantastic story, a unique combat system and enjoying the indescribable romance of fabulous adventures. Over time a series began to happen something strange: guide Square Enix obsessed with the idea of creating a MMORPG based on the popular franchise, what is at the root of ruined the magic for which many loved . One of the last "proper" games in the series was FF XII, which was released for PlayStation 2 in 2006. Today I'd like to tell you about a remaster of this great game for the PlayStation 4 with subtitle The Zodiac Age.

Game: Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
the Platform: PlayStation 4
the Genre: JRPG
the Developer: Square Enix
the Publisher: Square Enix
the release date: July 11, 2017

For developing the game Final Fantasy XII answered the legendary Japanese game designer Yasumi, Matsuno. He is at once came up with the fantastic world of Ivalice, where the unfolding events of almost all of its future games, including hits such as Final Fantasy Tactics (1997), Vagrant Story (2000) and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003). The world of Ivalice is also populated by many wonderful species, but in its atmosphere and especially the architecture throughout, the influence of the European middle ages. The magic here is adjacent to the complex mechanisms like flying ships, as the traditional elements of the Final Fantasy series can be found on almost every step. Mizuno have done a truly tremendous job, creating Ivalice. The quality and depth of this world can be easily compared with middle-Earth John Ronald Tolkien or Westeros from the works of George R. R. Martin.

Unfortunately, Yasumi, Matsuno was unable to complete work on Final Fantasy XII because of sudden health problems, so the post of Director, screenwriter and producer, he was replaced by good friend and colleague Hiroshi Minagawa, who previously worked together with Matsuno on many games. Critics at the time noted that because such an unexpected change of project Manager in the introduction of Final Fantasy XII has a large number of exciting mini-games, and the gaming scene is the most full, whereas closer to the finale all of this is gradually eroding. The father of the series Hironobu Sakaguchi was upset because of the departure of Yasumi, Matsuno from the post of Director and did not even bother to pass the game to the end, though acknowledged that "it's a real Final Fantasy". But the health thing is so that no arguing against it.

A Powerful Empire Arcadia and Rozarria fighting for power over the land of Ivalice, and the tiny neutral Kingdom Dalmasca is on the map in the center of the unfolding military conflict. Arcadia occupies Dalmasca, so the king Raminas agrees to surrender to avoid further bloodshed. On hearing this, the Royal knight Basch von Rosenburg kill the king for treason. The young Prince of Dalmasca Lord Rasler dies heroically, defending the Royal Palace during the siege, and his wife Asheliya B'nargin Dalmasca in despair commits suicide. Pretty dark beginning for the Final Fantasy game series, agree? Game Yasumi, Matsuno always been the same: the most serious, adult, and riddled with political intrigue.

Next event takes us two years forward. The main character becomes an orphan and street thief named Vaan who lives in the capital of Dalmasca – the city Rabanastre. Lad wants to grow up and become noble by the pirate, plunder the ship of the Empire and return to his people illegally seized his wealth. For a teenager watches his childhood friend Penelo different from Vahan with prudence and discretion. But even she can not prevent him secretly get into the treasure house of the Royal castle in the midst of the solemn reception of the new Consul. During a RAID on the Treasury, Vahan meets a couple desperate air pirates – Baltera and Fran, and stumbles upon the leader of the resistance Amalia (actually it's Princess Asheliya, who staged his own suicide). Caught custody at the scene, they are in the Royal dungeon, where free from the chains of the knight of the traitor bash.

In this team player will have to complete the game from start to finish and try to stop the long war, tearing Ivalice apart. However, the main characters will join guest characters, fighting with them shoulder to shoulder. Surprisingly, this Final Fantasy has no clearly defined protagonist. The main character is the entire team, each character of which is accurately spelled out in the overall story and gives the story something of their own. Princess Asheliya strives to bring peace back to her rightful Kingdom, knight Bash tries to clean his name from the stigma of being a traitor and pirate Balthier haunts known only to him one goal. But one of the main characters are similar: they are struggling to thwart the militaristic Empire Arcadia. And for this they first need to be deprived of its main military advantages.

In the world of Final Fantasy XII, as in many other games in this series, the emphasis is on the use of magic crystals — "magicite". In some regions of the state of Ivalice distributed energy, referred to as "haze", which literally hangs in the air in a dense fog. If the crystal magicite absorbs darkness, he turns into "the nethicite," and its holder gets access to additional magic abilities and special techniques. Empire Arcadia uses the nethicite for military purposes, trying to strengthen their air fortress and army soldiers. In a secret laboratory Dr. Sid (well, what "finalka" can do without Sid?) conducts experiments on natural nethicite, trying to create its artificial counterpart. It is the nethicite is the cornerstone in the struggle for power, and that he is being chased as antagonists, and the team of main characters.

When I first encountered Final Fantasy XII in 2006, I tried hard to leap from a fabulous, largely romantic stories, FF IX and to so serious, impregnated with political strife plot. Also, FF XII has largely become like a MMORPG with open world, huge maps and battle system, much like the battle of the online role-playing games. At the time it is because of these innovations I abandoned the passing game after about the first third, and then it never came back. Therefore, the release of the remaster of The Zodiac Age was a great opportunity to catch up and learn, finally, what ended the story of six friends and the Kingdom Dalmasca.

The Combat system of FF XII do not like the accustomed to what fans of the series. The player chooses three characters of the six, and the leader of the Trinity, which will be able to control himself. The remaining two characters act on their own and are subject to so called "gambits". Gambits is a kind of programming language, when a player using special commands and conditions configures the AI fighters. For example, attack the nearest enemy caught in their sight, to bring down fiery magic on monsters vulnerable to fire, use the healing item on a wounded comrade, and so on. A few gambits available to the player initially, but most have to be purchased in special shops scattered across Ivalice. The leader of the team the player can control in manual mode, and maybe just automate it using gambits.

When confronted with enemies (which, by the way, no longer occur in a random way) the main characters are no longer transferred to a separate arena to fight. The battle takes place directly at the location where the collision occurred. This combat system is called Active Dimension Battle (ADB), and she changed the usual Active Time Battle (ATB). However, in the game options you can configure the stop time in those moments when the player is sneaking around in the menu. In addition to traditional physical attacks, magic, all sorts of colors and use of objects, characters also available special military equipment. For example, inflict a powerful attack that consumes your own health or the accumulated money, the attack dealing damage proportional to the number of character steps, stealing items from monsters and so on.

Replace powerful "limits" and "overdrives" came the so-called Quickening. These attacks consume magical energy and the darkness were divided into three categories of power. Each character can be no more than three such attacks, but they can be linked in a chain during the fight, inflicting massive damage. Also in the game there are the traditional Final Fantasy series appeal to demons. In FF XII they are called "Esper". Part of the Esper becomes available to the player as you progress through the story campaign, and the remainder will be able to get only during special quests. Each Esper, the player must choose his master of the six characters. Called to the battlefield Esper fights before until the owner dies or until the Esper is not over health.

In Final Fantasy XII is a very advanced system of leveling. It is based on three components: the traditional experience received in battles, boards license, reminiscent of "Grid fields" from Final Fantasy X, and the system of professions, which came in a remastered was released exclusively in the Japanese version of FF XII, subtitled International Zodiac Job System. Each character can only learn two professions of the 12 available — just two on each of the six characters. Here you have the knight and the samurai, the machinist, owning firearms, and Archer, and monk, and all kinds of MAG...