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Final Fantasy XII

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Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XII logo.
Developer(s)Square Enix
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
March 16, 2006 (Japan)
August 2006 (est.) (North America)
TBA (Europe/Australia)
Genre(s)Role-playing game
Mode(s)Single player

Final Fantasy XII (ファイナルファンタジーXII) is an upcoming computer role-playing game produced by Square Enix for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console. The expected release date is March 16, 2006 in Japan. The North American release is unknown at this time, but August 1, 2006 is the speculated release date. On November 15, 2005, a playable demo of the game was shipped with the North American release of Dragon Quest VIII. Though not a direct sequel to any previous Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy XII features several concepts introduced in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the Game Boy Advance.

Yasumi Matsuno, originally announced as both producer and director, was forced to bow out of both roles due to health concerns. In his place, Hiroyuki Ito and Hiroshi Minagawa have taken over directorial duties, with Akitoshi Kawazu filling in as producer. Matsuno will remain credited as "original scenario plot supervisor". Hitoshi Sakimoto has been announced as composer for the game, with series veteran Nobuo Uematsu contributing one track (the main theme, Kiss Me Good-Bye, performed by Angela Aki) and serving as music producer. Renowned violinist Taro Hakase will provide the theme music titled "Symphony of Hope". Square Enix announced that Suntory Limited will commercialize "Potion" in March, 2006 in Japan. [1] [2]

Gameplay

In battle

Like previous games of the Final Fantasy series, combat is menu-based. However, unlike the first ten games of the series, it adopts the Final Fantasy XI battle system where combat takes place on the same screen as regular exploration, with a seamless transition from exploration to combat mode. Combat unfolds in real time, using a new battle system called active dimension battle. There will also not be a different musical score during combat; the track that was played during exploration will be heard throughout the battle as well. 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. So far, five distinct battle commands are known: Attack, Magic, Summon, Gambits, and Item. A Gambit is a pre-determined A.I. routine that can be assigned to a party member. Setting a character's Gambit to On will cause that character to act on their own during battles, with no need for player input. It's very similar to the Auto Battle feature as seen in Final Fantasy Tactics. However, the player can still manually issue commands which override the Gambit-determined actions. There will be many different Gambits in the game, each with its own set of behaviors. Gambits will be found as treasure, bought as items, won as rewards after battles and subquests, etc. The game will also feature a system of chain bonuses. If a character kills a particular type of monster multiple times, that character will gain the chance to earn improved (or simply more) items after battle.

The magic system is augmented by the introduction of a new school of "green magic." Green magic consists of supportive or debilitating spells that alter character statistics. Most of the green magic spells are not new; rather, they are previously known spells that formerly fell under white or black magic, such as Shell, Blind, Berserk, etc. In addition, summoning magic appears once more with creatures known as Espers (as in Final Fantasy VI). Much like Final Fantasy X, summon spells cause two members of the battle party to withdraw from the battle field and the Esper replaces them to fight alongside the party member who summoned them. 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 dimissed by the player, it will perform a very powerful special attack before leaving the party. Espers are controlled by A.I. and cannot be controlled by the player. Confirmed summons include Ultima, Hashmal, Belias, Adrammelech, and Queklain. All of these creatures have previously appeared as either Lucavi in Final Fantasy Tactics, or as Totema in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

Story

File:Rabanastre.jpg
The city of Rabanastre

Final Fantasy XII begins in the kingdom of Dalmasca, a small city-state in the world of Ivalice. Formerly a neutral party in the war two years previous between the neighboring kingdoms of Archadia and Rosaria, 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 eventually brings him face to face with Ashe, the deposed princess of Dalmasca and the leader of the resistance faction.

Other major characters include Balthier, a sky pirate struggling to remain neutral in the conflict between Archadia and Dalmasca; his companion Fran, a Viera warrior; Penelo, a street performer in Rabanastre and Vaan's best friend; Basch, a former general of Dalmasca turned traitor during the conflict between Archadia and Rosaria; Larsa Solidor, a young prince who has a mysterious connection with Nethicite, a rare counterpart of Magicite, the substance from which all magical energy is derived; he also goes by the name Ramon when out in public. And last but not least, Vayne Solidor who is the royal heir of Archadia, regent of Dalmasca, head of the Judges, and Larsa's elder brother.

Archadian Judges, who first appeared in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, will be featured prominently in the story. They are the supreme enforcers of Archadian law, and there are known to be at least five of them (Judge Master Gabranth, Ghis, Dreis, Zargabas, and Belga.). In addition, all of the races available in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (Bangaa, Viera, Nu Mou, Moogle, and Hume) appear once again, joined by a new race, called the Seeq.

Credits

Development team

Voice cast

Character Japanese English
Vaan Kouhei Takeda (武田航平) Micheal Jackson
Ashe Mie Sonozaki (園崎未恵) Jennifer Aniston
Fran Rika Fukami (深見梨加) Angeline Jolie
Balthier Hiroaki Hirata (平田広明) Matthew Fox
Penelo Yuna Mikuni (三国由奈) Jaqueline Thompson
Basch Rikiya Koyama (小山力也)
Judge Master Gabranth Akio Otsuka (大塚明夫)
Larsa Yuka Imai (今井由香)
Vayne Nobuo Tobita (飛田展男)


References

  • "SQUARE ENIX TO SHIP FINAL FANTASY® XII IN JAPAN MARCH 16, 2006". December 13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |publishyear= ignored (help)
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