Final Fantasy XII

It was a welcome sigh of relief when I finally got my hands on this game, having been repelled by my previous encounter with the Final Fantasy series, the unspeakable horror that is X-2. Now this game is no FF X or VII, the best of the series, and it's got some glaring faults that give quite a buzz kill, but on the whole it's hard not to be satisfied.

With any game this full of depth and complex elements, it helps to break it apart into the various key aspects that make up the FF games. So...

The Plot: 4/5
Starts big and ends big. Too big. The world of FF XII is definitely a fall-back to the older FF days of grand magic infused with futuristic technology, the style of which is very similar to FF VIII. The plot, however, is the most political of all FF games to date, of betrayals and rank climbing and warring countries, and if that sounds a bit chaotic to you, it is. When the big story revelations are made toward the end, you don't feel like it was a logical progression, it feels more of a jump. That aside, the ride is a fun one, if dizzying, and never at any point is it insulting (*cough* X-2).

Characters: 4.5/5
Ahh, the bliss of not having an annoying character in your party that makes you want to strangle every time they open their mouth. The characters are very well realized here, with fairly smart dialogue and intruiging back stories. Even the more annoying character, Vaan, is still fun to watch as he evolves throughout the story. But give it up for my favorite three, Basch, Fran, and especially Balthier, who while a bit over-done at times (especially Fran's outfit), are among some of the more memorable FF characters in the games' history.

Battle/Loot System: 4.5/5
The best new addition to the series, easily, is the the battle system. No more waiting your turn as your allies string out in a line - now you're all fighting at once in a fully interactive environment in real-time. Seeing the monsters on the screen instead of having them surprise you accompanied by some "fight music" is vastly more engaging, and presents new strategies too such as surrounding your opponents or leading them away from a pack to tackle them individually. In addition, the monsters drop some very spiffy (yes, spiffy) items and "loot," that can be sold to merchants as ingredients for other, even more spiffy items. While searching for rare monsters gets tiresome (they're not always there when you want them to be), I've got nothing but love for the system itself. Speaking of monsters...

The Beasts and Bosses: 4.5/5
My second favorite aspect is the monsters and bosses that are... everywhere! You've never seen so many monsters in a FF game before, in all shapes and sizes, some from previous FF games and others that are so unbelievably difficult it will take you hours to beat just one of them (remember Omega? He's back with a whopping 10 million HP, and he's not even the hardest boss!) They inhabit levels that are equally brilliant in their size and art, and the hunting side quests take you to every corner of the world (sadly, like FF X you still can't navigate the "world map" like you could in earlier FF games). I loved the challenge some of the extra bosses provided, and the bosses that come up during the story line are just the right difficulty to make you focus hard and strategize.

The "Summons": 2.5/5
Aaaand here we come to the weakest part of the game, the Espers, aka the "summon" creatures that so many FF buffs love about each game. But wait, where's Ifrit? Where's Shiva? Where's Leviathon and Bahamut? They're in the game, but not in the forms you think, and no you never summon any of them. Instead we have such memorable names as... Shemhazai. And... Cuchulainn. And don't forget... Adrammelech. Trust me, their powers are equally uninspiring. You can't control them once summoned, they have weak HP/MP, they cost a load of MP for relatively little in return, and worst of all, their special powers animations are practically non-existent (and those were often among the best animation sequences in earlier installments!) I really hope Square Enix learns their lesson after this and reintroduces the classic summons in FF XIII, because the Espers were a mess. Speaking of messes...

The Characters' "Special Moves": 3/5
If you're looking for the "overdrive modes" or "trance modes" of previous FF games, they don't exist. Instead you get the MP-devouring Quickenings, a series of highly unreliable animations that resort to button mashing in order to string a chain together to produce a particular level of damage in the form of another animation sequence. Fortunately, those animation sequences are a joy to watch unfold, and each character has his own unique sequence. Unfortunately, they all do the same damage, and did I mention how unreliable they are? Not to mention you lose all your characters' MP whether the chain is successful or not, so if the monster or boss isn't dead after, you're a sitting duck. An interesting idea, but ultimately a failure. Save your MP for magic attacks instead.

Overall: 4/5
Clearly this is not a perfect game, and I'd probably rate it somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4, but I'll round up. However, as an RPG it still ranks above pretty much everything else that's come out in the last few years, and when all is said and done, is a worthy addition to the Final Fantasy series. Let's just hope we can summon Bahamut in the next one...Buy Final Fantasy XII!