Sure, most of the gaming press is focused on the upcoming Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii, but there are still some amazing games coming out for the Playstation 2. Case in point: Final Fantasy XII. Number 12 is the last Final Fantasy on the PS2, and it really sends the system out with a bang.

Retaining everything that’s made Final Fantasy one of the most popular video game franchises in history yet making bold new updates to the genre, FFXII is the best Final Fantasy since VII, the blockbuster first RPG on the original Playstation. The biggest change comes with the battle system, which disposes of the series-old practice of random enemy encounters bringing you to a separate fighting system. Rather than getting pulled from the map you’re exploring to fight a battle, you can see the enemies wandering around and fight them right there. While RPG purists might worry that this is too drastic a change, it actually works incredibly well. The game feels more fast paced and battles are less of an interruption than in previous games while retaining that classic, menu-based, FF battle system.

Other updates include a License Board that allows you to buy “licenses” for various weapons, pieces of armor, and spells. Additionally, enemies no longer drop money but rather “loot” that can be later sold for money at shops. The benefit to this is that when you sell certain loot special items appear at the “Bazaar,” available at any shop. All of these new features coupled with gorgeous graphics, an amazing storyline, and well-developed characters makes this a game that no RPG fan should pass up.

See hi-rez screenshots below:

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This entry was posted by Adam on Wednesday, November 8th, 2006 at 3:17 pm