Final Fantasy XII

Final Fantasy XII
The US/Canadian cover of Final Fantasy XII.
Developer(s)	Square Enix
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Designer(s)	Yasumi Matsuno (original concept) Hiroyuki Itō (director) Hiroshi Minagawa (director) Akihiko Yoshida (character designs) Hitoshi Sakimoto (music composer)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	JPN March 16, 2006 NA October 31, 2006 PAL 27 February, 2007
Genre(s)	Role-playing game, Politics, Scifi, fantasy
Mode(s)	Single player

Final Fantasy XII (ファイナルファンタジーXII, Fainaru Fantajī Towerubu) is a console role-playing game produced by Square Enix for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console. The game was released on March 16, 2006, in Japan. The North American release is scheduled for October 31, 2006. The European and Australasian releases are scheduled for release in early 2007. On November 15, 2005, a playable demo of the game was shipped with the North American release of Dragon Quest VIII.

The story takes place in the world of Ivalice, where the kingdoms of Archadia and Rosaria are waging a bitter war against one another, and caught in the middle is the kingdom of Dalmasca. When Archadia occupies Dalmasca, the princess Ashe founds a resistance movement; and during the struggle, she meets Vaan, a young adventurer who dreams of commanding an airship. They are quickly joined by a band of allies and together rally against the tyranny of the Archadian Empire. On March 16, 2006, Final Fantasy XII became the sixth game ever to receive a perfect 40/40 score from the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, as well as the first Final Fantasy game and the first PlayStation 2 title to do so. The game has already been critically acclaimed in several non-Japanese prerelease reviews such as Gamekult, GamesAreFun, Deeko, Eurogamer, PSM, OPM and IGN.

To commemorate the release of FFXII on October 31 2006, playable versions of the full English version were available at DigitalLife's Gaming Pavilion in New York, in a day that was dubbed "Final Fantasy XII Gamer's Day". Also, Square Enix gave fans the chance to cosplay as their favorite character from Final Fantasy XII. Each person was asked to show Square Enix 3 photos of their costume, for a chance to win a trip to New York and participate in the Final Fantasy XII Gamer's Day event.

In early October 2006, the North American version of the game was leaked out onto the Internet less than a month before the planned release date. Square-Enix has apparently taken legal action against the pirates as sites hosting the files and torrents are being removed.

To commemorate the U.S release of Final Fantasy XII, Tofu Records has also announced that they will be releasing the Final Fantasy XII Soundtrack. The disc will contain 31 songs, including Angela Aki's Kiss Me Goodbye. The 31 songs represent the 31 days of October, leading up to the Final Fantasy XII game release.

Gameplay

In battle

Like previous games of the Final Fantasy series, combat is menu-based. However, unlike the first eleven games of the series (FF1 through FFX & FFX-2), it adopts a battle system similar to that of Final Fantasy XI where combat takes place on the same screen as regular exploration (in Chrono Trigger fashion), with a seamless transition from exploration to combat mode. Combat unfolds in real time, using a new battle system called active dimension battle (ADB). There is also not a different musical score during combat; the track that is played during exploration will be heard throughout the battle as well. The traditional fanfare featured in all Final Fantasy titles reappears after dungeon bosses along with a "Congratulations" text. The player may assume control of any of the three characters in the battle party at will and issue commands for the characters at any time. Battle commands include Attack, Magic, Skill, Mist Cart, Gambits, and Item. The game also features a system of chain bonuses. If the party kills a particular type of monster multiple times, it will gain the chance to earn improved (or simply more) items after battle.

Chocobos are traditionally featured in all Final Fantasy Titles. In FFXII, whenever a player rents a Chocobo, he/she has a certain amount of time to make his/her travels through the wilderness. When the time is completely depleted, the Chocobo returns to its stall in the city and the player is left on foot. Chocobos now look more war-like and savage than in previous Final Fantasy Titles. While on a Chocobo, enemies ignore the player.

The game also features an extended Clan report, a summarization of the player's progress so far, including detailed descriptions of enemies defeated, A catalogue of Wanted monsters defeated, and other information. The section is reminiscent of the Encyclopedias featured in Vagrant Story, as well as the bestiaries present in the Final Fantasy 1-6 re-releases.

Battle system

Battles appear similar to those in Final Fantasy XI, but are actually quite different. Battles are initiated in the field screen by engaging visible wandering enemies. There is no transition to a separate battle screen. Party members can move around freely during battle. The battle menu can be accessed at any time, but after commanding a character to perform an action, there is a wait time before the action is actually performed. Unlike Final Fantasy XI, there is a visible "Wait Time Gauge" which indicates wait time. Wait time varies depending on the action and character stats. A regular attack takes a couple of seconds, a powerful spell can take several seconds, and item use is instantaneous. The result is that it is fundamentally the same system as previous Final Fantasy installments (excluding XI). Battle flow is as follows:

• Party engages enemy
• Player both brings up the Command Window and selects an action (Attack, Magic, Summon etc.) or, if the player has set up a character's gambits to cause them to react to the presence of an enemy, the character will select the appropriate action automatically with no need of command input
• When the Wait Time Gauge fills up, the character performs the selected action
• A chosen command can be cancelled by opening the Command Window and choosing another command before the Wait Time Gauge has filled up completely.

A common misconception exists that the new system has eliminated "random battles" from the game; random battles still occur in the form of surprise ambush attacks from unseen enemies suddenly springing from tall grass, water, sand etc., or suddenly dropping down from above when the party is near. Enemies can now detect the party through several means, such as sight, sound, and smell. Some enemies are more hostile towards the party than others, and some can even attack other monsters rather than the party. Sometimes the player may even encounter citizens or monster hunters actively fighting, occasionally aiding the party with minor healing.

A maximum of three party members can fight simultaneously, and they are sometimes accompanied by a special Guest character which temporarily joins the party. Guest characters cannot be designated as the party leader or controlled by the player in any way. When current party members get knocked out, the player is given the chance to reorganize the party in the Menu, substituting active K.O.'d members with other inactive characters. The player is free to switch between characters at any time. The player can also limit their party to two or one characters if they wish. Guest characters cannot be substituted. Given the game mechanics, characters cannot be healed in the menu this time around.

Money is no longer dropped by monsters, much like Final Fantasy VIII. It can be acquired by performing tasks, hunting wanted monsters, or selling acquired treasures, which have no other benefits than to financially profit from (selling these may also unlock rare goods in shops). One notable exception is the item "Teleport Stone", used to instantly transport the party from one place to another, using specific, golden Save Crystals. These, like regular Save Crystals (of blue color), also fully restore the party's HP/MP and Status. MP is also recovered slowly with walking.

File:Mateus-ffxii.jpg

Mateus, one of the Espers in the game.

The Mist Cart command is short for "Mist Cartridge". In a nod to Final Fantasy IX, a mysterious phenomenon known as "Mist" exists in the story, and it is the key to two special abilities in the game: Summon magic and "Mist Knacks" ("Mist Quickening" in the US version).

Summoning magic appears once more with creatures known as Espers (as in Final Fantasy VI.) In order to acquire an Esper, the creature must first be defeated in battle. Afterward, one character must sign a pact with the Esper, and that character will be the only one who may summon it. Similar to Final Fantasy X, summon spells become active participants in battle; unlike Final Fantasy X, the summoner remains an active member in the fight, instead of leaving the party or standing idle while the summoned creature fights alone. While the Esper is present, the Summon command in the menu becomes the Dismiss command, which the player can use to send the Esper away at any time. The Esper will remain in the party for a limited time, indicated by a row of spheres that gradually disappear over the course of a minute or two. If the Esper survives until the time limit reaches zero and is not dismissed by the player, it will perform a very powerful special attack before leaving the party. The player can use curative magic and items to aid the Esper. Espers are controlled by A.I. and cannot be controlled by the player.

While these have practically replaced the traditional Final Fantasy summons, it may be noted that many of these Espers have origins in the two installments of the Final Fantasy Tactics series, as either Zodiac Braves (in Final Fantasy Tactics) or Totema (in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance). Other Espers have originated from the final bosses of the first five series of Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy XII does however feature several airships bearing familiar names, including Alexander, Shiva, Ifrit, Carbuncle, Valefor, Leviathan, Catoblepas, Remora, and Atomos.

File:Vlcsnap-597738.png

One of Vaan's Quickening attacks

Like the last several installments in the series, Final Fantasy XII introduces a new Limit Break system: Mist Quickening (Mist Knacks in the Japanese version of the game). Characters learn Mist Quickening by progressing to specific squares on the License Board, usually at the edges or corners. Upon activation, the corresponding square will disappear from the License Boards of all five of the other characters. Each character can learn a total of three Mist Quickenings. When a character learns their initial level 1 Mist Quickening, it requires a full 100% MP bar to use it. Upon learning their level 2 Mist Quickening, the character's MP bar is divided into two sections, and it requires only 50% of the bar to use the level 1 Mist Quickening, and a full bar to use the level 2. When level 3 is learned, the MP bar is divided into three. Now level 1 will require one third of the bar, level 2 requires two thirds, and the level 3 Mist Quickening requires the full bar.

Each character can also string together their Mist Quickenings into one combo, dealing in heavy damage. However, the more combos they pull off, the faster the timer will decrease which makes it difficult to perform more combo attacks. Also, they need 5 or more hits to make a finishing move visible.

License system

Learning and using abilities (magic spells, use of equipment, special skills, HP bonuses etc.) is done via the new License system. Each playable character begins with their own License Board, which looks like an oddly shaped chess board. The squares on the board contain various abilities which the character may use. Basically, one character's Board is split into two different parts with no intersection.

The game's unique License Board

The upper one contains Magical, Stat-raising and other character-specific abilities, while the bottom one is largely filled with Equipment Licenses. Mist Knack abilities are scattered randomly across both Boards. Every single character gets a starting point on each of the two. In order to learn an ability, the character must first spend the required amount of LP (License Points) to permit its use. LP is earned in battle along with the usual experience points. When a square is activated, any empty squares adjacent to it also become available for activation. A square cannot be activated if there are no activated squares adjacent to it. While similar in some ways to Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid, the License Board allows far more freedom; there are no restrictions on how the player may develop their characters. In practice, the License Board system is simply another in a long line of systems where ability points are earned and exchanged for new abilities.

The magic system is divided into five different schools. White magic includes spells that heal the party's HP, cure status ailments and resurrect dead party members. The holy-elemental attack spell Holy is also part of the white magic school. Black magic includes elemental and non-elemental spells that directly damage one or more enemies. Green magic consists of supportive or debilitating spells that alter party members or enemies' statistics. Time magic includes spells that alter the target's speed, or cause damage over time. The fifth and last school of magic, arcane magic, includes dark-elemental attack spells, as well as spells that cause status ailments, drain, and gravity spells which were previously included in the black magic school. Magic spells are bought from shops as in many previous Final Fantasy titles.

The playable characters can equip any kind of weapon after they acquire the corresponding ability on the License Board. Depending on what category a weapon falls into (e.g. swords, two-handed staffs), the game may use a different method to calculate the damage that weapon deals. The amount of damage inflicted by a bo staff, for example, is dependent on the strength of the enemy's magic defense, whereas other weapons may damage the enemy in accordance with the enemy's physical defense. Guns are actually two-handed weapons, requiring the player to equip different purchased ammo types (leaving no opportunity to hold a shield), which ultimately defines the weapon's power. Same applies to bows; the player may acquire stronger and stronger arrow types over time. Ammo is otherwise unlimited.

Gambit System

File:Gambits-ffxii.jpg

The gambit screen

The Gambit System is a new type of AI which works similar to an easier version of programming language. Using a set of pre-programmed commands, a player is able to set specific reactions to battle for each character. Each Gambit consists of two component variables: a target, and an action. For example, the game initially gives players two commands for use in their Gambit instructions. One reads, "Leader's enemy: Attack" and the other reads "Party member [HP less than 70%]: Cure". The Gambits are listed in order of priority, and changing their order in the list will cause the character to act differently. If the first command is “Leader's enemy: Attack" and the second is "Party member [HP less than 70%]: Cure", the character will attack with the party leader as long as they are engaged in battle. Once the party leader's target has been eliminated or the leader disengages from battle, the second command will come into play. If any party member is below 70% health, the character with the aforementioned Gambit will cast Cure on them. Different battle procedures would follow if the two commands were switched around, as the character will cease their attack and cast Cure on any party member with less than 70% health, and then resume attacking once all party members are at 70% health or more. There will be many different Gambits in the game to facilitate choosing any specific target, friend or foe, and then performing any action on it. Each character has a maximum of twelve available Gambit slots, which must be unlocked one at a time on the License board. Gambits are most often bought in Gambit shops, but they can also be found in chests.

Here is an example of a typical Gambit list used during the game:

Priority	Target	Action
1	Party Member [KO'd]	Cast Raise
2	Party Member [HP less than 30%]	Cast Cura
3	Party Member [Darkness]	Use Eye Drops
4	Party Member [Slow]	Cast Haste
5	Party Member [Poison]	Use Antidote
6	Yourself	Cast Protect
7	Yourself	Cast Haste
8	Yourself [MP less than 10%]	Use Ether
9	Undead Enemy	Use Phoenix Down
10	Flying Enemy	Cast Gravity
11	Enemy [Weak vs. Fire]	Cast Fira
12	Leader's Enemy	Attack

This Gambit setting makes keeping all party members alive and in good fighting condition the highest priority; reviving fallen characters, keeping the party's HP at a safe level, and removing status ailments. The next priority is the character supporting themself with Protect and Haste spells and MP replenishment. The final priority is attacking enemies. Giving undead and flying enemies special priority over all others ensures that the character will always treat them differently than "normal" enemies. If this character encounters a flying enemy which is also undead, they will treat them as undead, as the Undead Enemy Gambit is given a higher priority than the Flying Enemy Gambit. By giving attacking enemies the lowest priority, this character will cease attacking in the midst of battle the instant any other parameter arises and they will not resume attacking until that parameter has been rectified. Note that there is no specific qualifier following "Yourself" in the Protect and Haste Gambits. Therefore this character will cast Protect and Haste on themself the instant their Protect and Haste status wears off, regardless of whether they are engaged in battle or not.

Plot and setting

Setting

The game is set in Ivalice, the same world as Final Fantasy Tactics, while the story takes place many years after the events of Final Fantasy Tactics. In fact, this is the world where the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance characters based their Ivalice from. Vagrant Story took place in a country adjacent to Ivalice, Valendia.

Characters

See also: List of Final Fantasy XII characters

File:Ff12cast.jpg

Cast of Final Fantasy XII

Vaan (ヴァン Van) is an orphaned Hume street urchin who lost his parents in a plague when he was 12 years old and his only brother Reks 2 years after the Archadian Invasion of Dalmasca. He makes a living as Migelo's assistant, running various errands for him, while stealing from Archadian soldiers and citizens. He is cheerful and energetic, and among his friends he is considered their leader. Vaan always dreams of someday becoming a sky pirate in command of his own airship.

Ashe B'nargin Dalmasca (アーシェ Āshe) is a determined and independent 19-year-old Hume princess fighting to liberate her kingdom, Dalmasca, from the Archadian Empire. In addition to being the leader of the Dalmascan resistance movement with the pseudonym Amalia, she is the sole heir to the throne, her father and eight brothers having been killed during the Archadian invasion, as well as her husband, Prince Rasler of Nabradia. Ashe seeks not only freedom for her country, but also vengeance against the Archadian invaders and the former Dalmascan general Basch, who assassinated the king shortly after the Archadian army stormed the royal castle in Rabanastre. She went into hiding, and later became one of the leaders of the Resistance.

Basch fon Ronsenberg (バッシュ Basshu) is a 36-year-old Hume who formerly served as a general in the Dalmascan army. After the Archadian occupation, he and Vossler led an assault on Nalbina Fortress to save the king, only to be captured. His twin brother, who is an Archadian Judge, took his identity and slayed the Dalmascan king and later Vaan's older brother, Reks, who found out about the crime. As a result, Basch is regarded by the Dalmascans as a traitor and was said to have been executed. Because common belief that he died, Basch easily took over his brother's stead and became an Archadian Judge and protector of Lord Larsa.

Balthier Bunanza (バルフレア Barufurea) is a 22-year-old Hume sky pirate who pilots a small airship around the skies of Ivalice. He and his companion, Fran, prefer to remain outside of the war between the kingdoms of Ivalice. He is the son of Doctor Cid, whom he left behind when he saw that his father was slowly losing his mind obsessing over his research on Nethicite.

Fran (フラン Furan) is a member of the rabbit-like Viera race and Balthier's partner aboard his airship. Although her preferred weapon is the bow and arrow, she is also quite competent with a variety of other weapons and is notably proficient in grappling and fencing. Fran is the only non-Hume (human) character in the main cast.

Penelo (パンネロ Pannero) is a Hume orphan who works in the Rabanastre bazaar and other various shops under the guardianship of a Bangaa named Migelo, a friend of her parents. She had been with Vaan ever since his famliy died in the plague before the war, and eventually accompanies him in their journey to keep an eye over him.

Vayne Cardas Solidor (ヴェイン Vein) is the 27-year-old crown prince of Archadia and first in line to inherit the throne from his father, Emperor Gramis. Though he wields a considerable amount of authority, Vayne does not abuse his power; rather, he makes an effort to foster a positive relationship with the conquered Dalmascans and insists that the welfare of the people is his foremost concern.

Larsa Ferrinas Solidor (ラーサー Rāsā) is the younger brother of Vayne Solidor and the fourth son of Gramis, eleventh emperor of Archadia. He is second in line to succeed Gramis as emperor and tries hard to gain the respect of his father and older brother. Larsa travels on occasion disguised as a commoner, adopting the alias "Lamont" so as to remain incognito. He joins the party midgame as a guest, but is not a playable character, however.

Plot

Final Fantasy XII takes place mostly in the kingdom of Dalmasca, a small city-state in the world of Ivalice. A neutral party in the past wars between its neighboring kingdoms of Archadia and Rozarria, Dalmasca was ultimately conquered by Archadia and reduced to the status of an occupied state under Archadian rule. Vaan, a street urchin living in the Dalmascan capital of Rabanastre, joins the underground Dalmascan resistance movement and participates in an assault on the royal castle, now occupied by Archadian troops. His involvement in the attack eventually brings him face to face with Ashe, the deposed princess of Dalmasca and the leader of the resistance faction.

Archadian Judge Masters, leaders of the Judges who first appeared in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, are featured prominently in the story. They are the supreme enforcers of Archadian law, and number five total: Gabranth, Ghis, Drace, Zargabaath, and Bergan.

Development

Developed from 2001 to 2006, Final Fantasy XII cost approximately 4 billion Japanese yen (35 million USD) to produce with a crew of more than one hundred people. Yasumi Matsuno, originally announced as both producer and director, was forced to bow out of both roles midway through the creation of Final Fantasy XII due to health concerns. In his place, Hiroyuki Ito and Hiroshi Minagawa took over directorial duties, with Akitoshi Kawazu assuming the role of the executive producer. Matsuno remains credited for "Original Work/Scenario Plot/Supervision". Hitoshi Sakimoto was the music composer for the game, and series veteran Nobuo Uematsu contributed one new composition — the vocal theme, "Kiss Me Good-Bye", performed by Angela Aki. Renowned violinist Taro Hakase provided performances for Symphonic Poem "Hope", which served as a promotional theme along with "Kiss Me Good-Bye".

In early stages of development, the main character was to be "big and tough", but as development continued and targeting demographics were considered, he became more effeminate. With the casting of voice actor Kohei Takeda, who also did motion capture for the part, he became less so and more "active, upbeat bright and positive".

Square Enix officially confirmed that the game will be available in North America on October 31, 2006. The game will be available in two versions — the standalone game (with an MSRP of $49.99) and a "Collector's Edition" for an additional $10. The Collector's Edition is an exclusive title offered only by GameStop or EB Games. This edition includes the game packaged in a steel case along with a variety of trailers and featurettes about the Final Fantasy series. Changes to the North American version of the game include the addition of widescreen 16:9 support and additional scenes that were left out of the Japanese version due to rating issues. [1]

References to previous Final Fantasy installments

Both the terms "Espers" and "Magicite", which are heavily associated with the plot of Final Fantasy VI, are used in Final Fantasy XII.

All of the summoned creatures in Final Fantasy XII are named after boss enemies or other entities from other Final Fantasy games, most notably Final Fantasy Tactics and its spin-off Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Cúchulainn, Belias, Zalera, Adrammelech, Hashmal, and Ultima are all names of various Lucavi demons in Final Fantasy Tactics; though some of their names in Tactics vary slightly from those of the Final Fantasy XII espers due to errors in translation; i.e. Ultima's name is spelled in Final Fantasy Tactics as "Altima" and Cúchulainn was spelled "Queklain"; "Zodiac" also made an appearance in the game as a summoned creature called "Zodiark". Similarly, Famfrit, Exodus, Adrammelech, Ultima, and Mateus have appeared in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance as Totema, guardians of the Five Crystals of Ivalice. Chaos, Mateus, Famfrit, Zeromus and Exodus are all named after the final bosses of Final Fantasy I, II, III, IV and V; though Mateus and Famfrit are original names from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and the reference to being the final bosses lies in their title in the Japanese version and their appearance in the said series, i.e. "Corrupt Emperor Mateus" and "Dark Cloud Famfrit". All "traditional" summoned monster names such as Shiva and Bahamut still appear in the game as the names of various airships.

File:Gilgamesh12.jpg

Gilgamesh in Final Fantasy XII, wielding Cloud Strife's Buster Sword. The Kanji on the sword means "Replica"

Final Fantasy XII contains a mob quest battle featuring Gilgamesh, an entity typically a summoned creature or other similar being, seen previously in many other games in the series. The battle is set to his musical theme "Clash on the Big Bridge" from Final Fantasy V and he wields eight replicas of swords from previous Final Fantasy titles, which are Cloud Strife's Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII, Squall Leonheart's Revolver Gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII, Zidane Tribal's Orichalcon from Final Fantasy IX, Tidus's Brotherhood sword from Final Fantasy X, Odin's Zantetsuken, and Final Fantasy V version of the Excalibur and the Excalipoor. As a special surprise for fans, Gilgamesh's final sword is the iconic Sword of Loto, also known as the Sword of Kings or Erdrick's Sword, from the first Dragon Quest game.

The tradition of assigning a certain Esper to a specific zodiac sign in Final Fantasy XII originated in Final Fantasy Tactics; where each of the Zodiac Braves are assigned to each of the Zodiac stones. In anticipation of Final Fantasy XII release, vendors at Comic Con 2006 passed out temporary tattoos with designs of the game's espers. Though not a direct sequel to any previous Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy XII features several concepts introduced in the Final Fantasy Tactics series.

Just as in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the familiar moogle Montblanc is the first to invite you into his clan and provides support throughout the game providing rewards as well as quests to complete. Also, after clearing one of the mob hunt missions, the player receives an item called "Phobos Leaf", a reference to Phobos of Final Fantasy V.

Balthier's surname, Bunanza, is the same as that of Final Fantasy Tactics character and fellow gunner Mustadio Bunanza (as well as his father, Besrodio). This may indicate a familial connection.

Reception

Final Fantasy XII sold 1,764,266 copies on its first week in Japan, almost equaling the sales of Final Fantasy X in its first week. The total number of copies sold stood at 2,150,671 after 5 weeks of release. A Square-Enix conference report stated that Final Fantasy XII has sold more than 2.38 million copies in Japan as of May 24, 2006.

On March 16, 2006, Final Fantasy XII became only the sixth game ever to receive a perfect 40/40 score from the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, as well as the first Final Fantasy game and the first PlayStation 2 title to do so. It is also the second Yasumi Matsuno title to garner a perfect score, the first being Vagrant Story. It was praised for its graphics, scenarios, game system, and the freshness it brings to the Final Fantasy series.. The game has also been critically acclaimed by many reviewers outside of Japan despite not having been released yet. It was praised for its seamless transitions between FMV segments and the in-game engine.

Final Fantasy XII was voted number one for Best Art Style on IGNs weekly Top Ten. The game scored a 9.5 on IGN

The American release of Final Fantasy XII received, in each case out of a possible top score of 10, a 10 in the November 2006 issue of Official PlayStation Magazine, a 10 in the November 2006 issue of Play Magazine, an 8.5, 9.0, and 9.5 in the November 2006 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, a 9.5 from IGN, a 9.25 in the November 2006 issue of Game Informer, and a 9.5 in the October 2006 issue of PSM (magazine). As of October 30, 2006, Final Fantasy XII has a collective score of 92.0% on Game Rankings , making it the fourth highest rated Final Fantasy behind Final Fantasy VI (94.0%), Final Fantasy IX (93.1%) and Final Fantasy VII (92.1%).

Audio

Voice-overs/English localization

Only 8 English language voice actors have been announced as of October 23, 2006. The first English language trailer was shown at E3 in May of 2006. Most of the main characters were shown with their English voices. Recently, the official Final Fantasy XII website has updated their character section with the voice actors for the six main playable characters.

Square Enix announced that the English localization process has been completed. Noted translator Alexander O. Smith was involved with the English localization of the script. Smith had also previously worked on the localization for Vagrant Story. He had also worked on previous Final Fantasy games in one way or another, including Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

Musical score

Main article: Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack

The vast majority of the game's soundtrack was composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, with vocals (both English and Japanese) for "Kiss Me Good-Bye" by Angela Aki. The score was originally to be composed by Nobuo Uematsu, who noted that Aki's style of playing the keyboard as she sings reminded him of Elton John, which is one of the reasons he chose her. Only the English version would be featured in both the Japanese and North American versions of the games.

The soundtrack was released on the 31st of May, 2006 in Japan with a price of ¥3,990 bearing the catalog number, SVWC-7351~4. The soundtrack consists of 4 CDs with 100 tracks. The soundtrack also includes some tracks which were featured promotional material, but not in the final version of the game. The recording comes in a DVD-style package, complete with images from the game printed on each disk. The box also includes a 28-page informational booklet. The CD single for Aki's single for the game, "Kiss Me Good-Bye", was released on the 15th of March, 2006 with a price of ¥1,223 bearing the catalog number ESCL-2810. A limited edition was also released with a price of ¥1,500 bearing the catalog number ESCL-2808 and featuring a DVD containing the "Kiss Me Good-Bye" music video.

Merchandise

File:FFXIIPotionPremium.jpg

The Final Fantasy XII "Potion" Premium Box.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan have released a special Final Fantasy XII package, which included a PlayStation 2 game system, model: SCPH-75000 FF, the Final Fantasy XII game, a standard DualShock controller, and a vertical console stand. The special edition package was released in Japan alongside the game on March 16, 2006.

There is also a Final Fantasy XII Collector's Edition, which features special packaging, a DVD with promotional trailers from both Japan and America, developer interviews, featurettes on the Final Fantasy franchise, and an art gallery.

The renowned Japanese third-party manufacturer Hori also released Final Fantasy XII memory cards on the same day as the game's release. The memory card is a standard 8MB card, colored white and will have its own case priced ¥ 3,660. Stickers of various Final Fantasy XII characters are included.

Suntory Limited have also produced "Final Fantasy Potion" — a drink containing such ingredients as royal jelly, chamomile, sage, thyme, and marjoram. The drink has a unique taste; it is very sweet, but at the same time possesses a bitter herbal aftertaste. The drinks became commercially available on March 7, 2006 in Japan and come in 120ml bottles with a retail price of ¥ 191. Suntory also released a Final Fantasy XII Premium Box priced at ¥ 600, each containing a 100ml bottle with a decorative plastic topper and a Final Fantasy XII collector’s card. There are a total of six tops and twenty-seven cards to collect. Final Fantasy XII Potion was a limited edition product, and is no longer available.

Game peripheral maker Logicool (the Japanese version of Logitech) has also released a special edition Final Fantasy XII controller alongside the title on March 16th. This white cordless controller comes stamped with the Final Fantasy XII logo and includes a convenient LCD cleaner.

Book publishers Studio BentStuff released two ULTIMANIA books — Final Fantasy XII Battle Ultimania and the Final Fantasy XII Scenario Ultimania on June 16, 2006. The Battle Ultimania provides a complete analysis of the new battle system, explanations of all the licenses attainable, every item, every monster and a hand catalogue with all conditions. The Scenario Ultimania on the other hand provides a walkthrough chart of the main scenarios in the game, profiles on all of the characters and areas of the world, along with walkthroughs of all the sub-events and a full map marked with all hidden items. As a bonus, both the books also include separate interviews with the developers of the game.

Related games

On September 13, 2006 Famitsu magazine announced three new titles from Square Enix. One of these included a title named Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, which will appear on the Nintendo DS. The game will be a sidestory to Final Fantasy XII, starring Vaan and Penelo, now sky pirates roaming the skies.

Voice Credits

Japanese Version

• Kohei Takeda ... as Vaan
• Mie Sonozaki ... as Ashe B'nargin Dalmasca
• Hiroaki Hirata ... as Balthier Bunanza
• Rikiya Koyama ... as Basch von Rosenberg
• Rika Fukami ... as Fran
• Yuna Mikuni ... as Penelo
• Nobuo Tobita ... as Vayne Cardas Solidor
• Yuka Imai ... as Larsa Ferrinas Solidor
• Akio Otsuka ... as Judge Magister Gabranth
• Masaki Terasoma ... as Vossler York Azelas
• Hidekatsu Shibata ... as Emperor Gramis Gana Solidor
• Chikao Otsuka ... as Doctor Cidolfus Demen Bunanza
• Yôsuke Akimoto ... as Judge Bergan
• Yoko Soumi ... as Judge Drace
• Ryunosuke Obayashi ... as Judge Ghis
• Ryūzaburō Ōtomo ... as Judge Zargabaath
• Takayuki Sugo ... as Judge Zecht/Reddas
• Hideki Tasaka ... as Reks
• Yasuyuki Kase ... as Prince Rasler Heios Nabradia
• Shiro Saito ... as Migelo
• Norio Wakamoto ... as Al-Cid Margrace
• Akio Nojima ... as Marquis Halim Ondore IV
• Kōji Ishii ... as Ba'Gamnan

English Version

• Bobby Edner ... as Vaan
• Kari Wahlgren ... as Ashe B'nargin Dalmasca
• Gideon Emery ... as Balthier Bunanza
• Keith Ferguson ... as Basch von Rosenberg
• Nicole Fantl ... as Fran
• Catherine Taber ... as Penelo
• Johnny McKeown ... as Larsa Ferrinas Solidor
• Simon Templeman ... as Judge Zargabaath
• Steven Blum ... as Ba'Gamnan
• April Stewart [2]

External links

• Official North American Final Fantasy XII site
• Official Japanese Final Fantasy XII Site
• Template:Playstation.com
• Final-Fantasy-12.net
• Template:FFwiki
• Template:GameFAQs

Reviews

• Metacritic: Final Fantasy XII
• PS2 RPG Site: The Next Generation of RPGs, Whether You Like It Or Not
• PS2.ign.com: Final Fantasy XII Review