RPG Glory Final Fantasy XII US Version Shipping on PlayStation 2 by End of this Month
News from Lik Sang
It's been half a decade since the last traditionally all-new Final Fantasy game was released on the PlayStation 2, and just as long since Square Enix officially announced FF XII was in development. If you've been waiting longer for the US edition though, now you're on the home stretch with just one month till your adventure kicks off. Stake your spot in the pre-order queue now, and as with all games here, Final Fantasy XII ships free right to your doorstep. If you already bought the Japanese edition however, English language aside, this new release includes 16:9 support and scenes cut from the first release due to rating issues.
With any game in development for so long there's always the question of whether or not it’ll live up to the hype. This epic also cost US$ 35 million to produce, but thankfully if Japan's heavily respected Famitsu Magazine is anything to go by, and it is, the title is truly everything you could wish for. Becoming only the sixth game in the publications twenty year history to score a perfect 40/40 review, back in March FF XII joined the elite ranks of Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Nintendogs. With more than 63 million Final Fantasy games sold since 1987, Square Enix's franchise also only falls behind Mario and Pokémon in terms of worldwide popularity.
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An Evil Empire vs. A Small Kingdom and Just A Few Heroes In-between
As big as a release is, every great adventure must start with a solid story. That of Final Fantasy XII takes place in a world called "Ivalice", also used in FF Tactics and Tactics Advance. During an age when magic was commonplace and airships plied the skies, the humes, bangaa, viera and moogles all called this land home. War however was on the horizon and seeking to strengthen its base of power, the great Archadian Empire began invading and subjugating its neighboring kingdoms one by one. The small Kingdom of Dalmasca was one such target.
When the occupying Archadian forces established a new consul in Dalmasca's Royal City of Rabanastre, it caught the attention of Vaan, an urchin living on the streets. To Vaan, the Empire was a hated enemy who had taken the life of his brother—his last surviving family member. Vaan hatched a plan to sneak into the castle housing the new consul and unburden him of one or two of his treasures. But before he would have the chance, Vaan got far more than he bargained for; a resistance movement of former Dalmascan soldiers rising up against the Archadian Empire was launching an assault! Amid the ensuing confusion that engulfed the castle, Vaan saw something he could scarcely believe. There, among the members of the resistance, was the figure of the sole remaining heir to the Dalmascan throne, the Princess Ashe, who'd been given up for missing...
The story follows Vaan, Ashe, Vaan's friend Penelo, the sky pirate Balthier, his partner Fran and many more on an adventure through Ivalice that traces the mysteries behind the Archadian Empire's invasion.
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It's Final Fantasy, But Not As You Know It
Final Fantasy XII brings forth many drastic changes to the gameplay systems of adventures past, and beyond the location, the new title takes more from two other legendary Square Enix games, FF Tactics and Vagrant Story. Yasumi Matsuno, the man responsible for those two was the original choice for directing duties here, but part way through he had to pull out due to health problems. Despite this however, his vision certainly stayed on.
The art style for example is very reminiscent of Matsuno's works, which considering the visual mood of those was very memorable, it’s certainly a welcome shift. Taking place in the same world of Ivalice, you'll recognize several characters, the various races such as Bangaa, Viera, Nu Mou, Moogle, and Hume, plus there's an all new race to be seen, the pig-like Seeq. The two directors who took over include Hiroshi Minagawa, former art director of FF Tactics and Vagrant Story, and Hiroyuki Ito, who beyond various Final Fantasy releases, worked on Chrono Trigger, Grandia II, and even Super Mario RPG.
Read the rest at Lik Sang
