Final Fantasy turns out to not be so final

By Nick Elmer
Collegian Editor
January 31, 2007

In video games, there is no device more neutering to itself and its fans than that of the franchise. When a video game is amazing, fans will demand more. When fans demand more, video game companies assume they mean more of the same. Eight years later, we have eight versions of the same Tony Hawk game.

The developers of Final Fantasy have not allowed themselves to reproduce their past successes for 20 years. For better or worse, every new iteration of the series threw out the old game and started with a fresh slate in an attempt to make a new experience for the gamer.

No other Final Fantasy, ever, has deviated from its predecessors as much as Final Fantasy XII. It achieves this by taking some character leveling features of FF IX and FF X, outright removing random battles and adding a battle system change as jarring as when the series first switched from FF III’s turn-based system to FF IV’s Active Time Battle system.

As your characters level up, you gain License Points (LP) which can be used on the license board to purchase available magic spells, stat augmentations and the ability to equip certain weapons and armor. The system requires you to both own the spell or item, as well as have the character possess the license in order to use it.

The system sounds very intimidating, but once you start using it, it becomes second nature. The license board itself is very reminiscent of FF X’s sphere grid. A license becomes available only when it is adjacent to an already possessed license by that character, and the player has no real idea what license will turn up next. In this way, each license purchase follows with a mild commitment to purchase the newly available licenses later. It adds a nice layer of chance and personalization to each of your characters. It also makes sure you get to choose who the character will become. Instead of just a “white mage” or “warrior,” you can blend features to several different, previously static character classes to create perfect customizations for the player to work with.

No more random battles means you can now see every potential enemy off in the horizon before you need to face them. Not only does this remove the frustration involved in previous Final Fantasy games, but it also gives players a moment to prep their characters for the upcoming battle.

The battle system works. Ho boy, does it work. The implementation of real time combat had always sounded like the antithesis of all things that make a Final Fantasy game. Yet within a few hours of picking up the controller, the system feels more like the conclusion to the series. It feels as if every game beforehand had been leading up to this specific system. It feels that natural.

The game’s plot, a facet that is the foundation to any real role-playing game, is amazing as well. No longer do players take control of a group of misfits with coincidental connections to the evil force whom they must defeat to save the world. This time, the characters all feel like smaller cogs in a greater machine, making the story feel more realistic and like a true global conflict. There is political intrigue, strong personalities and a serious reduction on the sappiness many gamers have had to cringe through in previous Final Fantasy games.

Is Final Fantasy XII the greatest Final Fantasy game ever? Yes. Yes, it is. The game works on so many new levels, and feels nostalgic and fresh at the same time. Old school fans will be rewarded. New players will become hooked. The game works for everyone who enjoys the experience of developing their characters, the satisfaction of working with a battle system that is intuitive and customizable and the entertainment of an honestly good story. Play and be merry.

elmern1@lasalle.edu