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Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age


radiofloyd
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Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age will launch for PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe on July 11, and in Japan and Asia on July 13, Square Enix announced at the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Opening Ceremony. In Japan, it will cost 6,800 yen.

 

The PlayStation 4 remaster improves upon the 2006 original with high-definition graphics and sound, and several modern advancements, including reconstructed battle design and a revamped job system. Read more about the game here.

 

http://gematsu.com/2017/01/final-fantasy-xii-zodiac-age-launches-july-11-north-america-europe-july-13-japan

 

Final-Fantasy-XII-Zodiac-Age-Dated-WW.jp

 

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The Zodiac Age is a high-definition remaster of the Japan-only Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System, which adds to the original Final Fantasy XII with reconstructed game design and additional systems, with further system improvements and current generation technology.

 

Here’s the list of improvements:

 

Visual Improvements

  • High-resolution upgrades for backgrounds, character models, and all 2D parts including fonts
  • High-resolution upgrades for movie scenes
  • Introduction of current generation visual expression

Sound Improvements

  • 7.1ch surround support
  • High-quality voice support
  • English and Japanese voices (switch between them in the game configuration)
  • Original and newly re-recorded BGMs (switch between them in the game configuration)

Usability Improvements

  • Shorter load times
  • Auto-save functionality added
  • Improved speed mode and speed mode operability

Features

  • Includes several all-new enhanced gameplay features:
  • The Zodiac Job System – Improved character leveling system that now caters to the player’s preference
  • Trial Mode – Take on monsters and enemies in up to 100 consecutive battles
  • Speed Mode
  • Latest-generation high-definition graphical capabilities, including characters and movie scenes fully remastered in high-definition.
  • True 7.1 surround sound, including high-definition voicing and newly recorded background music utilizing the current generation of sound production.
  • Option to switch between the original and the newly remastered soundtrack.
  • New trial mode where players can take on monsters and enemies in up to 100 successive battles
  • Modern gameplay advancements including PlayStation 4 system trophy support and share functionalities, auto-save and shortened loading times
  • An endless amount of gameplay and adventure including hunts, battles, and mini-games

 

http://gematsu.com/2016/06/final-fantasy-xii-zodiac-age-announced-ps4

 

I've copied and pasted the most important details from that link. Support for Japanese voices is pretty nice.

 

That's a nice piece of art... :)

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@Sambob sort of really. It looks terrible though. It was at the end of the PS2's life and they where already stretching it beyond its capabilities. Coupled with me forcing it through component HD leads made it looks awful to the point it was spoiling my enjoyment. All the FMV played in a tiny boxed window.

 

The story behind the development is interesting (I'm doing this from memory..) but Balthier was meant to be the main character, but Squenix bosses wanted a more androgynous male lead, so the story was retrofitted with Vaan as the lead, which is why he's a bit two dimensional. I'll try and find the article.  

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I don't think it was an androgynous thing.  Someone felt Final Fantasy's success was down to a teen main cast.  Probably why they changed the story beats to be very similar to Star Wars for a quick job they know would work.  That turned Balthier pretty much into Han Solo except instead of having a Wookie he has a sexy bunny lady. 

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1 hour ago, DifferentClass said:

I don't think it was an androgynous thing.  Someone felt Final Fantasy's success was down to a teen main cast.  Probably why they changed the story beats to be very similar to Star Wars for a quick job they know would work.  That turned Balthier pretty much into Han Solo except instead of having a Wookie he has a sexy bunny lady. 

 

Yeah that sounds about right. I remember it was a particularly interesting article, but it doesn't seem to be available online anywhere.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 1 year later...

This is out on Switch now

 

Pious keeps calling this the "black sheep" of the series, and he's right. But the zodiac edition is such a cool upgrade that basically redesigns the whole license grid and class system so it's like the NES final fantasies and you have to build out a party with assigned roles, managing each characters weaknesses and strengths as you see fit. You get to pick two roles and so there's a lot of decision making WRT how each class complements each other. Like you can have a tanky healer by combining a white mage with monk, or a glass cannon caster with Black Mage/Red Mage. Each character has their own innate strengths/weaknesses also to take into account, so the party mixup combinations are fairly mind boggling.

 

The Switch version is even better cause it lets you change your mind. It's imo maybe one of the best JRPGs ever, just a shame the story is boring and just has you going around dungeons collecting nuclear rocks with unpronounceable names.

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Yeah, the gameplay basically takes place entirely in menus, setting up little command macros. Not on the field like you'd expect.

 

Either you love that or you will hate it and want to send it to the depths of hell. But I think it's a super cool and expressive way to automate the grinding. Much more so than the weird button holding in XV

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4 hours ago, radiofloyd said:

How is FFXII the black sheep lol when it was followed up by the (significantly) worse XIII? 

 

I'd go as far as to say that every mainline single-player FF released after XII was worse. That's not saying I didn't like them (actually quite a fan of FFXV) but they're all super flawed in multiple aspects whereas FFXII feels like a game with a lot of thought put into it and most of the criticisms levelled at it are down to personal preferences and not design flaws. Well, at least with the re-release which fixed the random chest problem and upgraded the licence board quite  bit.

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'Black sheep' doesn't have to be a mark of its quality. I mean it usually is and that's definitely how Pious intends it when he says it, but with FF you've got a bunch of ones which have people disagreeing over whether they're good or not, like VIII and XIII. Or the ones Nag likes basically.

 

XII stands out as a bit weird to me cause of how it frames its narrative and has you play as someone who isn't even the main agent in the story. XIII and XV have much more obvious hallmarks that make you think of FF. The evil church is chasing Lightning or Noctis is going to beat the big bad Sephiroth stand-in, but in XII you don't see a lot of that high stakes shit happen except in a couple segments. A lot of the big action happens without you, the characters never even get involved in some of the biggest moments.

 

A lot of other FF storylines lean heavier into the emotional melodrama as well while XII is this psuedo-Shakespearean styled Game of Thrones thing. It's never been as anime as the other ones. FF also usually tells a very complete story but the world building in XII feels like it's just telling a chapter in an ongoing story and you've jumped in the middle of it. Which I guess it sort of is if Vagrant Story and Tactics is in the same world. But it just feels very different again cause of that.

 

Anyway I didn't mean to write another essay on XII, but this game is cool and Nag is wrong ??

 

Edit, one other way XII is a black sheep is it's the only one to receive a good remaster. All the other FF remasters have stupid bugs and problems that have existed in multiple versions across years, each release adding new problems in top. But XII just gets better with each release.

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I was always a fan of XII as well, but at the time it was released on a machine that couldn't handle it. I sort of want to pick this up on Switch, but know realistically I won't put in the time it needs.

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12 just feels like a cynical pile of shite thanks to the main character being jammed into the game for no good reason other than the fact he looks like a chick if you squint. It's actually a pretty cool game though. Unlike 13 which is an actual pile of shite made by a commitee of cynical business men trying to appeal to as many people as possible and only really achieving the best haircut ever conceived. 13-2 is great though. That's the game we deserved, Noel had great pants which is the hallmark of a quality FF character. Lightning doesn't even have pants. Bitch. 

3 minutes ago, Jimbo Xiii said:

I was always a fan of XII as well, but at the time it was released on a machine that couldn't handle it. I sort of want to pick this up on Switch, but know realistically I won't put in the time it needs.

 

Thanks to the fast forward mode you can blast through the game in 25-30 hours. Most of it is grinding. 

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6 hours ago, one-armed dwarf said:

It's never been as anime as the other ones.

 

And that's what makes it so appealing to me, particularly as I get older. I liked the more dramatic JRPGs when I was younger but FFXII feels more grounded and the characters act in a more relatable and reasonable manner. Basically it's closer to a western RPG than a Japanese one in tone.

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