Final Fantasy XII Playstation 2 Game SQUARE ENIX Final Fantasy XII Playstation 2 Game SQUARE ENIX

Pros: Doing away with the old random battle sequence is the first of many improvements in this game. Not only choosing your opponent, but also being able to see their level and HP before battle gives more complete control to the player. Outstanding graphics, music, characters, dungeons, and opponents all contribute to this great game. There are beats in the game which are almost unkillable: the final hunt, but that only contributes to the prestige of the game. The license board and gambit system aren't that hard and adds somewhat to the difficulty, which is good. The bosses require the perfect amount of preparation: not too easy, not too hard. The different areas in the game were well drawn, well named, and provide a great back drop for the characters. I found the characters themselves to have a good balance of depth and shallowness, good and evil, complexity and simplicity, and overall were extremely well developed. I would, without hesitation, recommend this game to anyone who loves RPGs.

Cons: There are small mistakes in the story line, for example, there is a character with the title of Marquis, and it is pronounced exactly the way it is spelled: mar-k-w-is instead of the traditional mar-k-ee. Those small things tend to get annoying over time.

Other Thoughts: The side quests are phenomenal and there are plenty of them! Sadly, you'll never figure them all out without the companion guide which lists them all and how to solve them (sold separately, of course). I saw no correlation between this game and Star Wars, and only minimal similarities with Lord of the Rings.

Pros: Wow where do i start?
Characters are nice - Well not FF VII quality but...
Vann - Is a youth, who remains dumb the whole story which is good, I can't imagine someone obtaining some divine knowledge through fighting an Empire. "Stupid is as Stupid does" But he always has key lines that a normal person not worrying about others opinions might say. Like when others know to keep quite, he will speak up and point out what everyone is really thinking, in one sentence.
Balthier - Classy dressing sky pirate? Oxymoron? No it's explained in the story.
Ashe - Happy Princess gone bad, after losing her family and kingdom she decides revenge is her way, but later learns that everything she's wanted might not be worth mass murder.
Story - Yes somewhat similar to Star wars, but much more interesting, unlike Star wars it does not start off no where and finish with your no-body characters living happily ever after. Everyone has something personal going on in the game, yes even the lowly gate-guard

Cons: The other three Characters are very typical but aren't bad either. There is a girl who kinda likes Vann, a half cat/rabbit woman who has magic, and a loyal knight who likes to... Serve? Whatever. Bad?.... Well If i have to point something out, I guess you can very well continue the story early on in the game, with a level 5 Vann but when you meet your 1st two companions they are automatically Lvl 27, Kinda annoying. That's all.

Other Thoughts: Battle system is less of a hassle, Especially with Gambits, since it auto heals or auto w.e as long as you put it in the gambits. Gambits are very simple it follows an if command; in other words, if target is enemy - attack; if user status is poison - use antidote on user or ally. I do not understand how it can be complicated.

You can also decide to change the battle speed at any moment in game, if you want to make the game wait for you to decide your action, you activate the wait option in the config menu, that's that, it's very useful when you didn't expect that undead unicorn looking 'guy?' to teleport behind you.

A MUST BUY NOW KINDA GAME!!! NO REALLY BUY!!

Pros: Different battle systems - fight what you see, no random pop ups. Responsive controls. Totally uniques Story experience from the rest for the Final Fantasy Series.

Cons: The new add ons are annoying. There is a License system which you gain experiences called LP and alloys you to buy/wield certain abilities in which you must find. Then there is the gambit system which you program your characters to do certain things in battle situations. Both of which are extremely tedious.

Other Thoughts: I have played all the Final Fantasy series and this one is the most unique one because of the battle system. You take turns but you can move freely. For some reason, After playing 8, 9, 10, 10-2, and now 12 - most of the main characters bear the same facial designs (Rinoa-Garnet-Yuna-Ashe). Its just a thought.

Pros: This game is among one of the greatest Final Fantasys, it's has a great battle system that is very fast, it doesn't have a items screen, or an experiance screen, a little message pops up telling you how much experiance you earn, fastest battle system out of all the final fantasys

Great soundtrack, all music is orchestrated

All charcaters can have the same wepons and armor equiped if you have the licenese for it, license point are obtained after every guy you fight, the first part of the game you get 1 LP per guy, then latter on in the game you will get higher numbers.

Cons: One of the cons it that you do not have the ability to own a chocobo

The License system is a little complicated for someone that doesn't want understand it, but when you get used to it you love it.

The story line is really complicated, not as good as VIIs, and IVs, but still good

Other Thoughts: very good, Highly recomended

Pros: The graphics are very amazing for the PS2 system (the scenery, enemies, weapons, character details, and voices) and I would like to applaud Square-Enix for bringing out the full potential of the PS2. The game play is not like the other traditional final fantasies but I think Square-Enix made the right choice overhauling the battle system (although you could alter the battle system so that you can control each individual character but battles would take forever). The hunts and sidequests are entertaining and numerous.

Cons: As mentioned in other reviews, the storyline was somewhat lacking. Everything in the game could be related to either Star Wars or the Lord of the Rings. The characters don't really develop throughout the game and remain predictable.

Other Thoughts: I think Square-Enix did a great job with the graphics as always and the new battlesystem overhaul is a fresh new look for the Final Fantasy. The game is worth the $50 just because it's a final fantasy game. I hope that the next FF will utilize battlesystem in a more engaging storyline.

Pros: Star Wars

Cons: Episode XII

Other Thoughts: Join the desert commoner-turned-hero Luke Skywalker on his adventure! Obtain hunt marks at Tatooine's Cantina - filled with many strange and wonderful creatures! Play and party up with sky pirate Han Solo and his quiet, but wise companion Chewbaca as they break out the Death Star prison with the grizzled warrior Obi-wan Kenobi, once a noble hero, but now traitor to the evil Empire! Rescue the lovely princess Leia and restore balance to her kingdom! Travel to wild and wonderous locales in Han Solo's Millenium Falcon! Don't forget about the useful-but-in-no-way-contributes-to-the-story party companion R2-D2! Flee or battle with Imperial Stormtroopers! Escape from Imperial starships! Or engage them in WWII-style intense dogfighting! Fight evil judges in Darth Vader masks! But don't give into the Dark Side - choose mercy over the hateful execution of your foes! You have the power to save or destroy the galaxy! Lead the underdog Rebellion against the unstoppable Empire!
USE THE FORCE!

Pros: I would have to agree with most of the other reviews. the battle system is awesome unlike any other FF. the gambit system makes everything move along much faster instead of having to choose what you want everyone to do. Love the sidequests and Marks, its a good addition to FF.

Cons: The Licinse board kinda sucks. I would rather just be able to buy my armor and weapons. The story line lacks a bit compared to FF7 and FFX, but other than that I had no major problems with the game.

Other Thoughts: None!

Pros: The battle system is much more fun than the usual FF game. The battles in this game are handled more like it's MMORPG cousin Final Fantasy XI. Even normal battles can be particularly hard granted you don't power level too much, and the boss battles are truly epic.

The graphics are also outstanding. This game has the most detail of any game I have ever seen except maybe Oblivion. Square is definitely pulling off some wizardry with the visuals for being on the outdated PS2 console.

Every NPC has something interesting and unique to say, much unlike other FF games. There is a whole sidequest system dedicated to hunting notorious monsters called Marks. These are the hardest creatures in the game and I believe there are nearly a hundred of them to hunt.

Cons: The characters are somewhat boring and predictable (especially Vaan), and the main story was lacking a bit. With such little character development, you'll find yourself not caring much about the 'heroes' you play.

The license board was OK but could have been better. You don't know what's hidden in the license squares and sometimes you have to waste points just to see.

Other Thoughts: This may be an evolutionary step for the type of RPG Square likes to put out, and I would expect even more remarkable games yet to come.

Pros: The graphics in this game are about as good as the ps2 gets. The set-up for the story is great, two great countries on the brink of war and the smaller ones in between are caught in the crossfire. Battle system is excellent and the licenses/gambit system really compliment it.

Cons: -The musical score isn't as strong as previous FF games.
-The main character (Vaan) doesn't even really need to be in the story. You could replace him with any other wanna-be sky pirate and it'd be the same. Ashe is more the center of attention.
-No character development like in previous FF's. By the time I finished the game I didn't feel connected to any of the characters at all. The one I ended up liking the most was Lord Larsa, and he was in the game much less than the main characters.

Other Thoughts: This game is a great addition to your RPG collection, but it's lack of character development and hardcore focus on the brewing war really pushes it off the list of "must have."

Pros: Pretty awesome music and graphics! Who needs a PS3??? Yes liscencing feature is great! and the map system and new fighting system works more seemlessly now.

Cons: Not sure if I really like the gambit system, makes the other party members a little to automatic, I'm old school and want total control. Well of course you can turn it off but the new battle system makes it very hard not to use it.

Other Thoughts: My fav FF is X then 7 perfect combination of story and technology! Jury is still out only about 6 hours into the game. But looks and feels great so far!