Might as well post my review first.
Storyline - The storyline is definatly unique in the fact that its not a love between two character, but a love for one's country, it definatly reflects on the feelings people may or may not have for their country now. You find yourself diving deeper and deeper into this story, Learning about the characters you travel with, and how they find their part in this changing world around them. This aspect alone is enough to stick with this game to the very end. The only problem is you find yourself asking for more, and longer cutscenes because its THAT good.
9/10
Characters - Each character is unique, and lovable in its own way, Vaan, a young orphen who has the dream to become a sky pirate, finds himself surrounded by a great cast of characters, be it a duo of sky pirates, a once thought of trader of his country, a princess, or his long-time friend, the character to character interaction is pure gold.
10/10
Graphics/design - Everything about this game just oozes beauty, from the bustling streets of Rabinastre, to the fridged mountain of Bur-Omisace. Theres a place for everyone to love in this gameplay. The weather effects also add alot to this game's beauty, in previous Final Fantasy games the weather seems more like an afterthought, in this, it really give to the mood of the game.
The game is plentiful with CGI, gorgeous CGI at that. Previous titles have gone fairly minimalist with it, but in this, its actually used quite often.
From start to finish, its a beautiful game, and it really brings the world of Ivalice to live.
10/10
Music/voice - Music adds so much to a game, if you have a great selection, it can make almost any game good, if you have a poor selection, it can ruin just about any game. The good news though, is this game isnt ruined by its music. Its not the strongest set of music in a Final Fantasy title, but it certainly gets the job done. As far as the voice acting goes, theres only one word to describe it: Perfect.
Every character's voice is full of personality, be it Vaan's innocent, almost childish voice, the sexy-yet-monotone voice of Fran, to the charismatic voice of Balthier, you'll never find yourself annoyed by sub-par voice acting.
8/10
Gameplay - Its pretty rare for a Final Fantasy game, no, a game from any franchise to change so much in gameplay mechanics. Some games change for better, some for worse, and some just because thats the way gaming is going.
Final Fantasy XII plays something like an MMORPG, but thankfully, better. Much better. FFXII stresses collecting items from monsters to sell at shops, similar to MMO's. It does this through the new fully real-time battle system, no more waiting for your turn, no more random encounters. Straying so much from the formula, Square-enix was taking a huge leap of faith, but thankfully, it really still feels like final fantasy. You still have a ATB-type thing, that spaces out your attacks.
The realtime battle system isnt the only new addition to the franchise, with it comes Gambit and License sytems. With these paired, the game works really well, no character uses a set weapon/armor/skills, or even suggested class type. Instead you craft the character to your likings with the gambit and license board.
So how do these new changes stack up to previous titles? Its really up to you, if your afraid of change, and really dont feel like mastering a new combat system, FFXII probably isnt for you. But if your open minded about, or even used to action RPGs, this is definatly for you.
9/10
Overall - FFXII is a welcome addition to the final fantasy name. It takes new gameplay mechanics, and combines it with old-school character management. The bottom line is, if your welcome to change, this is definatly for you. You will invest plenty of hours in this game with all the sidequests and hunts.
9/10
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