Why You Shouldn’t Overlook Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

For my 10th birthday, Final Fantasy XII was purchased by my uncle. I was 10 when the combat system and plots were confusing. Regardless, I was enamored with the game’s vibrancy: I specifically recall marveling at hair and garments fluttering in desert winds as well as azure sparks flashing from clanging swords and shields. This is my favourite Final Fantasy.

The game was originally released as a PlayStation 2 exclusive, but in the past few years, a remaster called, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC with performance enhancements, deeper job customization, and various quality-of-life changes. More recently, Square Enix released the remaster on PlayStation Now. If you’ve never experienced Final Fantasy XII, this is why you should jump at the chance as soon as possible.

The Cast 

Like most installments in Square Enix’s beloved series, Final Fantasy XII chronicles the lives of heroes rising against a greater antagonistic force. Where other entries employed moody, often unrelatable caricatures to drive their plots forward (that’s right, I’m talking about everyone’s favorite heroes, Cloud and Squall), Final Fantasy XII is less about individual motivations and more about the sum of its ensemble parts.

The Rabanastre slums are home to street urchins Vaan, Penelo and Penelo. Penelo seeks to see the silver linings to their situation, but Vaan is aspired to own an airplane and live freely. After many chance encounters with shady folk, the two youths are flung into a world of political intrigue and clandestine coup d’états. They learn to be companions in other people: Ashe, a princess of the Forsaken, Basch (an exiled soldier), Fran (wanted bounty hunters), and Balthier. 

Despite their oddball mix, each member of Final Fantasy XII’s main cast shares similar insecurities – cowardice, loneliness, unresolved grief, and doubts of self-worth. Vaan and his ragtag team of outcasts remain some of the greatest characters in Final Fantasy lore because they’re so easy to root for. They continue to find ways to overcome their shortcomings, despite being human. 

The World

Like Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII’s narrative takes place in the Kingdom of Ivalice. The continent’s vast majority is home to the unexplored remains of old dynasties. But when your party is not traversing every labyrinthine fortress checkered throughout the expansive backdrop, you’re navigating breathtaking metropolises and townships. Vaan begins in Rabanastre’s chaotic urban landscape, which is filled with numerous districts such as bazaars, palaces, and other buildings. Players will discover more areas, such as waterways with flaming Stallions and badlands with roaming Tyrannosaurs. 

Final Fantasy XII has many unique settings that are bursting with hidden secrets. Some areas, like the Skycity of Bhujerba, can only be reached via airship; that’s as simple as purchasing a one-way ticket. Others must be explored on foot. But hubs can be accessed easily as they are both small-scaled and, in certain cases, linear. What’s more, Ivalice houses various ethnic groups. Fran is an example of a Viera, who hails form Eruyt Village and has seven-foot tall ears. Other races like the Nu Mou – bipedal canines – are religious nomads. Despite being a cultural melting pot, Ivalice’s racial tensions make intermingling increasingly difficult. This negativity is reflected in Fran’s reactions to strangers (and all of your humans for associating with Fran), making the game feel natural and real. 

The Battle System

Final Fantasy XII will appeal to both traditional and modern Square Enix RPGs. The game features an excellent mix of real-time and turn-based combat. ATB gauges or cooldowns are a welcomed return from the older games. This adds urgency to attacking inputs and party positioning. Battles are intuitively streamlined thanks to a dynamic camera and real-time actions. 

Final Fantasy XII progression doesn’t involve unlocking skills trees or nodes. It is more like an immersive game. Upgrades are recorded through job licenses – spaces on a sprawling checkered board that unlock ultimates, weapon and armor sets, and stat augmentations. The licenses correspond to the assigned job (or class). Although each job is assigned its own board of directors, some licenses may be shared by others that overlap when they are purchased. My Balthier, for example, is both a White Mage or Machinist. Both job boards have “swiftness” licenses which lessen cooldown timers. One swiftness node can be purchased on the White Mage board to allow me access to other abilities on the Machinist Board. 

Players can make a plethora of job combinations to stack overlapping skills and take down the game’s most fearsome bosses. With the added benefit of “gambits” – a customizable command system that programs characters to perform important actions like healing low HP allies or attacking specified targets – battles become relaxingly automated, removing the need for frustrating micromanagement. 

The things that matter most to me in RPGs is character driven stories and vibrant settings. Final Fantasy XII achieved these standards in 2006 and is still one of my favourite gaming experiences. All the great features of the original Final Fantasy XII were retained in the Zodiac Age. And now that it’ll be available to every console player in a few weeks (PlayStation Now accessibility means PS5 owners can finally dive in!), I can’t help but be excited to explore its world once again. If you love intuitive gameplay as well as the age-old “Final Fantasy formula” done right – an eccentric cast of relatable characters, an epic-scale odyssey, and grand boss fights – then Final Fantasy XII is for you!

If you’re excited about the remaster too, watch our video detailing four things you need to know about the game in preparation for its re-release.