Return to Ivalice.
If you head on over to metacritic and punch in ‘Final Fantasy’, you’ll discover the critic mixture web site is pretty accurate in its measurement of the highest finish of Square’s blockbuster Japanese RPG collection. Right on the high with a median rating of 94 is Final Fantasy 9, the perfect one (don’t even argue), and beneath that there’s a four-way tie on the 92 level mark: Final Fantasy 12, 10, 7 and 6 Advance all sit at that very affordable rating. This is correctly correct so far as I’m involved. This is an efficient high 5.
The level of mentioning that is to level out that regardless of being one of many worst-selling post-FF7 entries Final Fantasy 12 is a bloody necessary recreation. Like 9 it’s typically forgotten within the face of the entries within the collection which might be bigger cultural landmarks like FF7 and 10. For my cash FF12 is essentially the most mechanically wealthy entry within the collection with the richest-ever recreation world constructed for an FF – even when the story instructed inside it in the end finally ends up letting that world down a contact.
For my cash FF12 is essentially the most mechanically wealthy entry within the collection with the richest-ever recreation world constructed for an FF.
That makes the duty for the group behind Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age all of the harder. Where the group behind FF10 HD Remaster merely needed to tidy up and launch a beloved traditional that was one of many best-selling entries within the franchise, FF12 has a tougher activity. It bought a number of million much less, so a part of this repackaging is rooted within the ambition to deliver this unarguably glorious recreation to a bigger viewers.
“Obviously, it’d be great if we can get a higher recognition for the game – we always want to get as good a recognition as we can,” The Zodiac Age Producer Hiroaki Kato tells me. Kato’s historical past is deeply tied in with FF12 – after engaged on the PlayOnline system that powered FF11’s MMO methods he was connected to FF12’s universe of Ivalice for a few years, engaged on some FF Tactics video games and each authentic variations of FF12. For him, The Zodiac Age is a bit like returning house – and the identical is true for Director Takashi Katano, who was the programming lead on the unique launch of FF12.
“I think we can say we’ve achieved what we wanted to do and reached our hopes for this game if we can get people who played the original version to play it again and think ‘yeah, I loved this game when I played it first and it’s even better now’. And then there’s people who are new to Final Fantasy – for them to see and experience this core FF experience and this classic FF gameplay… I want to see them really appreciate that and get further into the series in that way. If we can achieve that, I think we’ll have got where we wanted,” Kato concludes.
In order to attain these objectives the group that Kato and Katano lead have centered on light iteration somewhat than upheaval – partly as a result of FF12 already had one upheaval that we within the West by no means acquired to expertise. After the unique launch of FF12 the studio went again to the sport and utterly reimagined its gameplay methods, with the tip outcome being the International Zodiac Job System model of the sport. The identical world, story and characters have been repackaged right into a majorly overhauled fight and development system that mixed the fundamental tactical core of FF12 with job-based character development impressed by the traditional methods in FF3 and FF5. It was praised as an unlimited enchancment on an already nice recreation on the time, however on condition that it got here out for PS2 nicely into the 360 and PS3 technology, Square selected to by no means localise it for the West – honest sufficient.
That’s the place The Zodiac Age will get its title, and after just a few hours with it it’s instantly obvious that having a job system bolted onto FF12 makes an unlimited distinction to the way you select your social gathering make-up. FF12 is probably extra squad-driven than your common FF because of the truth that you may play as any character (on this model, even visitor characters) and arrange sophisticated directions, gambits, that mainly quantity to novices ‘programming’ of the AI to your social gathering.
If ready correctly, battles might be made to play themselves – or you may pause fight and take a extra hands-on strategy to issues. Indeed, at its finest FF12 is all about preparation and planning, then when battle begins it erupts into flashes of vibrant traces, spell results, charging assaults and different HUD parts that should look totally impenetrable to newcomers – nevertheless it’s truly simple to know because of the deft means the sport introduces mechanics. FF12 casts you as extra of a supervisor and overseer of battle than an lively participant, however the intelligent means it retains you busy spinning plates makes it simply as thrilling.
In some ways, FF12 truly reached the liberty of play targeted in by Final Fantasy 15 a decade earlier – and accidentally.
“The whole balance of the battle system and the job system has been reworked and tweaked – that gives a completely new feeling to the player in the game,” Kato says, noting that the model of FF12’s fight and development on this model has by no means formally graced Western consoles. “That’s going to be a big appeal, I think, for players over here.”
With that overhaul in place, tweaks have been made for this model. Chief amongst them is the choice to permit characters to tackle two completely different job roles directly – that means you may mix two comparable courses, equivalent to knight and battlemage, or take two disparate ones, equivalent to a magic-led class and a brawler-led class, mashing them collectively in a single character’s development.
“The whole balance of the battle system and the job system has been reworked and tweaked – that gives a completely new feeling to the player in the game. That’s going to be a big appeal, I think, for players over here.” – Hiroaki Kato
This truthfully appears mad: if you step again and take into account it as an entire, every character has a ridiculous variety of expertise at their disposal. FF12 was at all times about battle preparation and doing issues your personal means, and The Zodiac Age appears completely happy to take this to an excessive.
“The person who was in charge of the reworking and tweaking of the battle system is Mr. Hiroyuki Ito, the classic battle designer for many of the great numbered FF games,” Kato explains, revealing that Ito – FF12’s authentic director – has nonetheless had a task on The Zodiac Age. “I think what he’s achieved there is the fact that… it’s got those universal things that make RPGs great. He’s really good at distilling that and putting that into his games, and I think that’s so universal that it’s going to appeal to players now when it comes out in just the same way it did in the past. I think one of the big draws of it – that universal RPG goodness that he brings in.”
This is one thing I agree with vehemently; actually, I feel Ito can very a lot be regarded as a Miyamoto-like determine for Japanese RPGs. The Active Time Battle system that outlined Final Fantasy was his brainchild, and quite a lot of his different improvements outlined the style normally. FF12 was directed by him, which explains its mechanical depth, and whereas he’s not named as being concerned with The Zodiac Age persistently, his shadow looms over this recreation for good cause.
“We checked with him constantly about what worked and what doesn’t,” Kato provides. Final Fantasy followers who joke and fear about Ito being locked away in a Square Enix Japan cabinet as a result of he hasn’t been heard of a lot since FF12 be assured: he’s nonetheless there, and nonetheless exerting his affect.
Whereas some FFs have seen their gameplay mechanics age in a none too sleek means, FF12 holds up remarkably nicely. In locations it feels means forward of its time, and in order that makes this a extra clearly useful HD remaster than different titles. This recreation deserves to be skilled extra. The options added are all about high quality of life somewhat than disturbing that steadiness – and that is sensible.
Don’t count on story additions or adjustments, for example (a disgrace because the latter half of the story and protagonist Vaan’s full lack of company are two of FF12’s few weak factors), however you will see that two speeds of fight quick ahead for repeat runs, velocity runs or grinding. The remake additionally contains what Kato refers to as “the obvious things” – so now you can swap between Japanese and English voiceover on the fly, and the identical goes for the unique and a rearranged soundtrack. The visuals have been touched up however that is much less of a surprising overhaul than in FF10 HD Remaster just because the unique supply seemed so a lot better to start with.
Anyway, there’s solely a lot one can write a couple of remake or a remaster of an current recreation. Final Fantasy 12 deserved each level of that 92 critic common talked about above, and The Zodiac Age appears to be like prefer it’s going to be the definitive model of FF12 – thus, the definitive model of one among Japan’s most interesting RPGs.
“The whole overall approach was… we’ve got the game, we know it’s a good game, we’ve got the base sorted out – now what can we add to that and put on to that to make it better?” Kato says with a smile. The reality is that they didn’t have to do a lot, and that’s tremendous. Final Fantasy 12 remains to be wonderful.
Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age is coming to PS4 in July.
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