Final Fantasy 12 (PS2) Review!

[@DreamcastGuy]

I thought I knew everything about Final Fantasy XII but after watching this I now realize I need to do another long playthrough sometime soon! :P

[@bdcmain6654]

As a busy 25 year old, I largely use KZbin as quick entertainment. I have never "liked or subscribed" to any channel, and only have an account to bypass the annoying age restriction walls on various videos. After several years of casually watching KZbin, I'm glad to say that your channel is the first I'm actually subscribing to - This is coming from someone who watched ScrewAttack and similar game channels religiously for years. Typically, the more amateur game review channels that follow a "gameplay and home voice over" format for their videos are very difficult to hold any interest in because of how often mundane the narrators turn out to be, or worse: their reviews are riddled with poorly grounded or unwarranted criticisms. However, your reviews follow that format and go in the complete opposite direction. You are very knowledgeable about the game and thorough with your language - A viewer really gets the feeling that you've completed these games multiple times and have intense knowledge of their inner workings. PLEASE KEEP MAKING VIDEOS!!! I am addicted. You give me an incredible sense of nostalgia as well as covering several games I've never even heard of, but that I now need to play. I notice your intro uses clips of several games that you've declared as your favorites in your reviews, and there's a clip of FFIX in there, and although you haven't reviewed it, if it's a favorite of yours then that's just more bonus points from me haha. (My favorite JRPG of all time.) Also, I'd really love to see you finish reviewing the dot.Hack PS2 games. Those have always been wrongfully overlooked in my opinion and are some of the greatest and best executed games I've ever played. As well as certain entries in the "Tales of" series. Looking forward to your future videos. Your last was from 3 weeks ago so I hope you start putting content out more often :) Sincerely, A never before KZbin subscriber who just subscribed to your small but utterly wonderful channel.

[@HighLevelReviews]

Holy crap, thank you so much. Seriously, that means a lot to me. One of my primary goals when I created this channel was to be as fair as possible when analyzing these games and to not give in to needlessly bashing or fawning over any of the titles. Granted, that might naturally happen but I want to be able to, through research and experience, explain why I feel the way I do about a game. I'm relieved to hear that my desire for fairness hasn't gone unnoticed. I absolutely plan on reviewing FFIX, it IS my favorite game but I want to make sure I can do it justice and not be too biased, heh. I also plan on returning to the .hack series, the premise was brilliant and the fighting system was ridiculously addictive. I'm still working on getting the time between videos down, my work schedule is rough right now but I'm trying. I'm hoping to eventually get it down to every 2 weeks. Again, really, thanks a ton.

[@Redraw4444]

I really appreciate this depth of review. It's actually a level of review that I need to make me sure if I'm wanting to commit 10's of hours to a specific game. Subscribed!

[@mina319]

Great review, this is one of the more underrated final fantasys because it tried many new things and ended up being the most open and non linear in the series which I'm thankful for

[@Mrgoddamnwalls]

i found your channel last night and i absolutely love it! i am spending the day watching all of your reveiws! i would love it even more if you did more suikoden content!

[@markcooper4876]

Wow. Almost every high point and low point i considered was touched on in this review. Great job, and keep up the good work!

[@MrGse1992]

This review is so freaking awesome. this game is so freaking awesome. and You dear sir are freaking awesome. And this is only your fifth video and already it shows great quality . You are fantastic man. Just don't give up man. (sorry for my English, its not my native language)

[@HighLevelReviews]

YOU, sir, are awesome.

[@Mark_o_Helm]

This is my favorite Final Fantasy Game.

[@Genethagenius]

Great review!!! I missed this on PS2 and with the Remastered version coming out soon your review really helped me decide to give it a try!

[@HighLevelReviews]

Thank you! Glad I could help. It's certainly a game worth experiencing.

[@1truth2lies72]

Really good review. There's some things I don't agree with, but the fact you covered every single aspect of this game is worthy of praise. Really good work, sir.

[@HighLevelReviews]

Thank you! I'd be interested to hear what you disagree with. I always love discussing this game.

[@1truth2lies72]

+High Level Reviews The parts I don't agree with are where you said Vaan is the main character, but not the focus of the story. IMO, the story is about Vaan, but not in the traditional sense. It's about how he matures while being surrounded by adults (minus Penelo). I's a coming of age story told in a subtle way by Vaan being an observer of events way out of his league. This was a welcome change from the "story revolves around an orphan, who ends up saving the world" JRPG stereotype. Also, and this opinion is more subjective, but I fucking loved the espers in this game. IMO, their special moves were the best in-game graphics to ever appear on PS2. Also, there were so many of them! Can't believe less than half were obtained in 60 hour main story.

[@HighLevelReviews]

+1Truth 2Lies I just felt that, much in the same fashion that Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes' novels catalogues Holmes' cases (with Holmes being the focus but Watson being the "main character") that he was merely there to provide a different perspective. The story rarely developed him outside of the great early exchange with Basch and a few minor, but ultimately uninspiring, back-and-forths with Penelo. He just ended up humanizing the events and taking them back from a dispossessed royalty (Ashe). That coupled with the fact that he was written in half-way through the project to appease a fan-base that couldn't relate to Vagrant Story (despite it's critical success, there were large swaths of fans that didn't care for a rough-around-the-edges protagonist with dark and adult themes). If there had been a few more meaningful and emotionally grabbing cutscenes I might have bought that it was about him. As an aside, this particular debate has been going on for like 8 years. Kind of glad it hasn't vanished just yet. I'm also pleased that they didn't shoehorn a love story in. I know discussions can be had about the true nature of Balthier and Fran's relationship, but it was never an overt in-your-face aspect of the story. I appreciated that avoidance of a ridiculously common part of the RPG experience. As for Espers, No! That's all I can muster, haha.

[@carnagekasady4743]

Steam needs to get this game in the store.

[@714KH]

Thank you. this game has been sitting in my library for years, I needed this to finally get around to playing it.

[@darwynn17]

Great review! I'm really excited for the remaster. I enjoyed the original and it seems like the changes will make it even more enjoyable.

[@Lordgaga160]

great review and this game actually one of the hardest games I played and alot of people said it was hard and I agree

[@S-Flo]

You should do a very short mini-review about the Zodiac Job System version. It'd be interesting.

[@HighLevelReviews]

+Samuel Floreani I've actually been thinking about that. Might return to it after I complete a few that I have lined up.

[@baschlives9252]

Great review this is my favorite game of all time. This gets me so hype for the Zodiak age! I never understood people's dislike for this game it's simply the best JRPG of all time and I've played all the greats (except Earthbound)

[@SuperWisemon]

Ah yes, my favourite game of all time! This is a really well-rounded and nice review, something FFXII has needed for a very long time. If anything, it just gets me more hyped to hear more news on the HD remaster (nope, I certainly didn't find this video due to my daily refreshing of my Final Fantasy 12 HD Google searches) and to finally play ZJS.

[@HighLevelReviews]

+SuperWisemon Thanks! And yes, I'm so ready for that FF12 HD.

[@johnanth]

How did you get the graphics in HD? I don't remember it looking this good (it still looked awesome of course despite coming out at the same time as Metal Gear Solid 3). :o Talking of which, I know you're the 'RPG guy' but I'd like to see you tackle some character action games. Look at TheGamingBritShow (Devil May Cry) and especially HyperBitHero (his 50+ min long Yakuza overview is a masterpiece) for a format. Just a thought, I get the sense you may like the genre. ^^

[@HighLevelReviews]

+yinyang I'd absolutely love to branch out at some point. There are many different genres and formats I'll eventually experiment with. I just felt like hitting some of the earlier RPGs because of a dearth of HD in-depth reviews (though, admittedly, there are some SUPERB non-HD reviews out there). I owned the physical copy but used an emulator to play it on my PC. All kinds of subtle adjustments can be made once that occurs. I try not to mess with the graphical settings too often but it's hard to avoid with how odd the conversion process is and how buggy most emulators are.

[@johnanth]

Ah. good to hear. I find emulators usually falter on sound above all, especially when you bring in FMVs. You usually have to enable some sort of 'accurate' mode at that point (looking at you DeSMuME). Even with SNES emulation (which is very mature), the sound is not quiiite right, though Higan is miles better than ZSNES was in that regard. So, anything you've been playing and recording at the same time? Would love to hear what you have coming up.^^

[@HighLevelReviews]

+yinyang Yeah, even with all of the improvements with the PS1 emulators there are still so many minor inconsistencies. I tried running it on native (which I presumed would run efficiently) and it was horrendous. I'm currently playing through Chono Cross and recording some of the earlier segments of it. I'm hoping it'll take far less time than this review did. After that I'm debating between Parasite Eve 2 or one of the Dark Clouds. I've also considered temporarily looking at some of the more grid-based RPGs from the PS1 era (like Vandal Hearts). I also eventually want to show less mainstream or prominent titles some love. I played the crap out of Koudelka and Azure Dreams and recall being impressed by the usage and implementation of divergent mechanics and genre tropes. I really appreciate the back-and-forths. I think I enjoy these as much, if not more, than the reviews. Hah.

[@DreamcastGuy]

+High Level Reviews Oh man, Im dying to see you do a full Parasite Eve 2 video! Your in depth dissection of stuff is so entertaining and your views on its strange yet great combat would be a real treat! If you start doing grid based tactical RPGs can I suggest a Front Mission 3 review at some point? Whatever you tackle next Im sure it will be awesome. Keep it up HLR!

[@BattleRapResume]

Fantastic review! Really enjoyed this

[@davidsnehotta2763]

final fantasy 10 and 12 were both very great games

[@19HajimeSaitou91]

I love FF series for its huge experiments -- every next game in series is ABSOLUTELY different compared to previous. And after 13 trilogy I'm really exited for XV coming. 😊😀

[@SaberRexZealot]

Kaan Erdi FF12 isn’t bad at all. It doesn’t deserve that reputation. It’s just different. Mechanically it feels like an evolution of prior entries. The only fumbles are in the lack of character development and both halves feeling like they were from different directors; which they were. It’s a product of long development cycles and never really met its full potential like MGSV or DMC4. But just because they’re incomplete, doesn’t mean they don’t offer experiences unlike any other.

[@iainmarchant9740]

XII always was a tricky one for me to get into compaired to previous FF outings. Regardless just bought it again on Amazon for silly money after selling my PS2 games collection five or six years ago. Hopefully this time I can enjoy it better this time around. Super review by the way.

[@Modenut]

This is, by far, my favorite Final Fantasy. I still haven't given up hope of getting a HD Remaster for the newer consoles. =)

[@philberto78]

FF12 is a great title for sure! I've been hearing a lot of rumors about that HD remaster.....oh man I will be buying the collectors edition day 1 when it comes out!

[@luqmanr]

it's getting a remaster for the PS4, i hope it comes to PC too

[@menacerisamir198]

actually you can play it with pcsx2 emulator on your pc.

[@PrincessNine]

the remaster is going to be better than the emulator

[@menacerisamir198]

i will got to fix my ps2 unit to play the game?i do not want to spend for a ps3 .i got a pc .

[@madcapper6]

How did you manage to get the 1080p resolution? This looks much better than what you can get with native resolution on the PS2. Is this from an emulator?

[@newvocabulary]

Pcsx2 is amazing.

[@desmondd.1316]

The one thing I absolutely loved in Final Fantasy 12 was the bazzar and loot system. But the number 1 thing I love besides that is the landscapes. Giza Plains is one of the most enjoyable and memorable places for me. The landscape of Giza plains is enjoyable for the land, creatures, quests, and most importantly the awesome weather changes. Whenever it rains and the conditions are right in real life, especially in the morning with that light misty fog and dew on the grass, it reminds me of Giza Plains. It's actually almost enlightening and refreshing to think about. Oddly I don't think I ever had an attachment to an in game environment in other games like I have with Giza Plains. I think FF 12 has some of the most memorable landscapes overall though, going beyond Giza to places like the Feywood or even Pharos. If Square Enix ever decided to make a HD remake of FF12, I'd definitely invest in it as memorabilia and to play it again. Lol, it's funny because I still have the original game for ps2.

[@jonesy2975]

Do not despair! That HD remake? Coming to ps4 in 2017. Check out the trailer.

[@desmondd.1316]

+VillageHeroOfTime I got to see it and I'm excited beyond words!! It's going to feel great playing it again after so many years.

[@Dimbark]

Hey, is that song in the intro 3kliksphilip?

[@JSmoothSoul]

Very good review

[@MeatPopsycle]

I played maybe an hour of this game and then moved on. I just couldn't get into the combat system at the time, and I was VERY stuck on World of Warcraft at the same time. I think I'm actually going to put the game in right now and give it another try....

[@dedicateddark]

Nice review. In-depth enough.

[@HighLevelReviews]

Thanks!

[@SaberRexZealot]

12’s biggest problem is it’s length. The back half of the game is rife with long stretches where no story actually progresses, and in its original release without fast-forwarding I can see why a lot of people would’ve lost interest; needless to say this is massively alleviated in The Zodiac Age along with other changes.

[@tinostarks]

Are you emulating this? I have this game and it's HIGHLY aliased, it's very tough to get past the graphics even w/ component.

[@Sephivoiceactor]

Do you plan to review FFXV?

[@HighLevelReviews]

I might eventually. I typically focus on older games.

[@8bpianoplayer]

XII is one of my favorites, top 5 FF numbered titles. Ivalice is still my favorite FF world, and I can't wait for the remaster...

[@philberto78]

Your game footage looks amazing! What are you playing this on...some kind of PS2 emulator?

[@wabbit234]

He'll be running it on PCSX2 which lets you upscale the internal resolution.

This video won u a new subscriber at least!! great job! I wish i could see some re mastered version of this game in PS4!!

[@HighLevelReviews]

Thanks! And yeah, I think it's coming next year maybe?

yesss, it'll be titled the Zodiac Age... I'm going to enjoy every last bit of it!

[@fabmanthereal]

this is still my favorite ff

[@faizal4655]

Awesome video man keep up the good work!! 👌👌

[@jokemaster9421]

That is great review you did sir.

[@HighLevelReviews]

+joke Master thank you!

[@RPGtourguide]

Final Fantasy XII, I think it's kinda funny that you follow up .hack with this game. They both give me the same vibe - a single player, offline RPG built like an MMO. I don't have a problem with that style of combat. It is just a departure from what I had been used to from Final Fantasy titles and not what I was expecting when I played the game the first time. I personally liked FFX's battle system better, but that's just me. ;) The Gambit system does help quite a bit, once you get the hang of it. I can understand the complaint that it can get to the point where the game plays itself, but as you said, it's just all in how you use it. I did enjoy the story of the game, even though it takes a while to get going. I really like the choice of Vaan being the main character. I get it when people talk about how it isn't his story and how he shouldn't be the main character... but that's a part of why I like the choice. The player taking the role of Vaan is fitting because he is an outsider to the bigger picture of the game's plot - just as the player is an outsider to the game's world in general. I definitely understand where you were coming from with the complaint about avoiding opening certain chests, or you miss great items later on. It's an RPG - if I see a chest, my initial reaction is to open it so I can get the goodies. Punishing a player for doing that is a bit bothersome, but oh well. It would be nice if there were some sort of in-game hints to let you know. Maybe an NPC talking about a curse based around a certain marking, and having all the chests you aren't supposed to open have that mark on them. That would make you feel clever for paying attention to the game and you'd feel more accomplished when you get your prize. But the only thing the current method is rewarding is paying extra money for a strategy guide... or you know, looking it up online these days. :P Another great review! Sorry for the long comment. ;)

[@HighLevelReviews]

+RPGtourguide Not a problem and I don't disagree with any of it. Some early in-game references (even if ridiculously obscure) would have definitely left me feeling less frustrated about it.

[@jumaanecabrera8091]

Dang! Now I want to play this too. Didn't realize how great a game it was. Looked it up and IGN gave it a 9.5 out of 10. BLEW MY MIND! My friend had said the game was terrible and so I didn't really give it a shot.

[@tvducky]

We need an HD remake of this. This is one of the best looking Final Fantasy in my opinion. Reminds me of Vagrant Story.

[@jeffreymaurer1810]

Your wish has just been granted lol

[@iainmarchant9740]

It's already been announced for the PS4 next year at some point.

[@IRahkuBz]

I've always wanted to play XII. but never had the chance. so hyped about the remaster!!

[@HighLevelReviews]

As am I. This, along with 9 and 6, is one of my favorite Final Fantasy games.

[@nif82]

I love 12. I thought it was underrated when it came out. The single player MMO really worked well. The only thing is I tend to over grind and fill out the license board sooner and having characters all be too similar. I haven't played zodiac age yet, so I'm looking forward to getting around to it.

[@charoleawood]

Great Review!! FfXII is my #3 favorite game ever, but there is a lot that frustrates me about it. I feel many of your criticisms are spot on, though I do strongly disagree with a few. Great job anyway, Subscribed!!

[@HighLevelReviews]

+Charlie Wood Thanks! I appreciate it!

[@HighLevelReviews]

+Charlie Wood oh and I'd also love to hear your thoughts on the few you disagree with. Love discussing aspects of this game.

[@charoleawood]

+High Level Reviews Sure. The biggest disagreement I have is with your point about the kingdom building cut scenes. In general I don't normally like that sort of thing in movies and games either, but FFXII did these things extremely well. The writing in these scenes was superb and not done in a way that spoon feeds exposition to the player. I feel the same about the political yabber in Dragon Age Inquisition, it was simply superb and believably voiced. Also, unlike many people, I am not a big fan of Balthier, but I do like him as well as all six party characters. I agree that Vaan is a great viewpoint character, but if we were to replace him with someone more relevant to the story I would make that person Ashe, not Balthier, because it seems to me that she is more the main character of the story. I prefer it the way it is with Vaan as the viewpoint. Ashe and Balthier are my least favorite of the six... Next, I don't think I'd prefer the Zodiac job system. It seems easy enough to me to set gambits and license points in vanilla xii to suit ones playstyle. There are, in fact, walkthroughs that dictate, in a D & D dungeon master sort of way, how to precisely challenge oneself not to homogenize. I, however, prefer homoginization and it is true that temptation to do this leads to some people not challenging themselves. I would be all for the inclusion of Zodiac in an HD remaster of the game. Finally, I don't feel it is abuse to take advantage of higher level enemies in the game. I positively HATE it when exp based games don't allow me to be overpowered. Additionally, I didn't even know about a lot of the advantages to be taken my first couple of attempts to play through the game, though I did discover chaining skeletons on my own which made me proud of myself. Most of the 'Abuses' can't even be discovered by an average player struggling with the game without guides. So, all of that being said, you made an incredible 19 minute long video which was smartly edited and had well presented points. Making it must have taken quite a lot of time, bravo!!

[@HighLevelReviews]

+Charlie Wood 1.) Absolutely do not disagree that the expository parts were far from tedious. I just wanted to make the point that some might not care for them because they certainly were numerous. I like that it trusted an average player to be able to pull pertinent details out of cut scenes and discussions without highlighting the major points with massive fluorescent lights. I respected the game for that. I just also know how many RPG fans approach long dialogue-heavy cut scenes. 2.) Ashe would have made far more sense. I only said Balthier because I adored the character; admittedly, the entire game would have had to change in order to make that happen and I'm glad that wasn't the case. Funny how people view characterization so differently. Ashe was pretty paper-thin and rarely varied from her archetype so I didn't care for her either. But Balthier? Definitely archetypal too but so fun! 3.) I agree with you. I actually played it a bit recently and it just didn't feel like the same FF12. I've read about the guides for creating specific classes or types using vanilla 12's system. I never tried it because I just created my own. The problem came when I over-leveled so much that I couldn't keep the integrity of those decisions unless I ignored massive clumps of LP to spend. Could have been handled more gracefully I think. 4.) I think that might depend on one's working definition of 'abuse'. I'm not entirely sure the developers intended for certain monsters to be interacted with in the way that many of them were. Now, with that being said, I still personally LOVE games that contain a plethora of ways to game the system. And let's also be fair, the people that discovered these issues were either smart as shit or were privy to information few were. Again, I just wanted to highlight a common thread I saw while perusing forums. Some fans hated the gaming of the system while others thought, myself included, it added to the identity and complexity of FF12. I just wanted to be fair to both sides. And again thanks! I get a lot from these discussions so I certainly don't mind having them, Thanks for engaging!

[@shirobrief3538]

I have a soft spot for this game, might not be the best final fantasy out there, but it was the closest to a spiritual successor to Vagrant Story, my favourite Squaresoft game of all time. Balthier was my favourite in that game, he had this stong Yoshida style in his design, and well, he was a pretty cool dude too, tho he didnt fit the conventional FF protagonist tropes, he'd be someone like Cid, or Irvine.

[@dokhycodan1012]

How are you able to run FF12 at 1080p? My PS2 only runs this at 480p

[@ronitaburke9544]

As a big Fan of FF, FF XII is one of my favs even with it faults. I like the character progression and I hope one day FF (Square) will come out with a similar but way better system. Leveling up was my favorite pass time in where I would put the pts on the nodes to make my character better.

[@coracaodeleao6596]

Hey man, your review is Great. 😁

[@HighLevelReviews]

Thanks!

[@821lancevance]

What do you think of final fantasy XII the zodiac age for ps4?

[@HighLevelReviews]

+821lancevance couldn't be more excited for it

[@julieannefowler5768]

For myself, 12 is my favorite game in the franchise. While it is not ideal for everyone, it has an actual fantasy feel when compared to other games in the later days of the franchise. 7 was more dystopian science fiction than fantasy as was 8. 13 also lacked the true fantasy feel for me and had literally two characters I could actually get behind liking. For me the most interesting thing is the bestiary and the tidbits of Ivalice information you receive after clearing a certain number of an enemy within the game. It helped make chaining all the more useful.

[@organizationxua]

+Julieanne Fowler The bestiary was so much fun for me. Each time I got a new entry I got so excited to learn more about the world. It made the game feel alive! I think SE tried to replicate the same with XIII, but it didn't succeed.

[@julieannefowler5768]

organizationxua My primary problem with XIII was that I only had two characters I liked and I didn't really care for the story for me it was too complicated too quickly. Snow and Sazh are the only reason I played lol. I still hope they do an HD remaster for XII like they did for X. I would buy it and treasure it as long as they don't force International Zodiac Job System as the default playing game.

[@organizationxua]

Sazh is the best! I hate that in XIII-2 he was just dlc. And Snow's optimism is contagious. Anyhow, if SE release a XII HD I'll buy it in a heat beat. I also don't want the Zodiac Job System. I really liked the freedom XII offered, and being able to switch my characters roles on a whim. To me, XII was the perfect game, gamplay wise. There weren't any restrictions on how you could play the game. I still can't understand why some fans view this as something bad.

[@nif82]

It really hit every mark for me in a RPG. I love this game

[@hemangchauhan2864]

The thing that you miss certain items/chests has been a tradition in older Final Fantasy, which lead me to quit FF6 second run, when I found out about it. It's simply unthinkable. Other than that, I think that the upgrade table was still good, and worked well. Though, to this day, I still never understood this game's limit breaks. I mean, I was fighting some Darth Vader looking general boss, and I tried Ashe's new ability, only to realise that it was some elaborate QTE. I was still thrilled, but that attack got wasted. I was bumed. I've yet to play Final Fantasy Tactics, and Vagrant Story, but the Ivalice setting was sooo appealing! Note - *This was my first Final Fantasy game*. The series had an enigma, and I was keen to experience it. When I played it, I felt like, whoa! this is new. This is just an opinion, but after this, I found most fantasy settings of other mainstream media to be not that full of life. Amazing work with the review, it was extremely enjoyable to and appreciate the game that introduced me into Final Fantasy , JRPGs, RPGs , the amazing PS2 library, and hardcore gaming, as well as planning and management (from all the items and party management) and programming (Used the hell out of Gambit system) A little suggestion, try to edit the video more, and add some text to add more information to the topic at hand. Video would look as good as it sounds ^_^

[@HighLevelReviews]

Thanks! And yeah, I am working on adding more text in to introduce the different aspects of a game. I appreciate the suggestions!

[@hemangchauhan2864]

High Level Reviews Always happy to help :)

[@maeganmartin2211]

such an awesome review!!

[@rioscarlos]

what do you think of the international version?

[@HighLevelReviews]

A huge improvement that really provided a more focused and class-based (while still allowing for variance) system. I recommend it.

[@vdevader1627]

I like "Vagrant Stories 2" hehe!

[@kgisabeast]

This game is so overlooked and underrated, I played this game forever and still didn't get all the side stuff done, the story is good, and the voice acting is much better than 10, the graphics were also ridiculous for a ps2 game

[@anafu-sankanashi8933]

This game is the closest we will ever get to a turn based action RPG.

[@rmsgrey]

I like the Gambit system precisely because it lets you (literally) fight on auto-pilot. Well before 12 was released, I'd realised that most Final Fantasy combat came down to spamming the same set of moves over and over with occasional breaks to heal when characters got sufficiently hurt - in fact, it was possible to set things up in some of the games so you could grind without actually being present - set up the right equipment etc, choose memory cursor, and use some rubber bands and cocktail sticks to rig your controller to run in circles and keep repeating the same commands in every combat you entered. All the Gambit system "robs" you of is the thrilling task of entering the commands to follow your pre-planned strategy - and the illusion that your moment-by-moment decisions matter rather than the ones you made back in the menu screens when choosing equipment etc.

[@HighLevelReviews]

Wonderfully stated. I actually tend to agree but people hate when that illusion starts to break down. Hell, it was an entirely optional system and was intended to streamline the experience and (probably) make players like you less frustrated with the typical rigmarole of the previous title's fighting systems. It was tedious for some. Thanks!

[@rmsgrey]

I actually prefer the action-RPG combat of the Kingdom Hearts series, which doesn't involve any more interesting high-level decision-making, but does allow player skill to play a major role - it's no longer what you do, but also the precise timing of your actions that determines the outcome. Of course, there are downsides to that - making player hand-eye co-ordination a factor means players need higher dexterity (or to compensate by grinding more) in order to succeed, rather than just making smarter decisions to do better. Go far enough in this direction, and you reach Dark Souls or other games where player skill is the main factor determining outcomes, and character levels and equipment are much less relevant...

[@BawesomeBurf]

Nice review! I didn't really care for this game too much though. The first problem I had is that is was painfully obvious within the first 2 hours who the final boss would be. Penelo looks like a FFX reject. Then there's the story, which started off great, but kind of fizzled out after about 15 hours. The Gambit system, while innovative, was like basic computer programming, and made combat feel dull. Plus the conditions for getting some of the Esper's special attacks were ridiculous. I think I remember one where you're supposed to immobilize the Esper when it's HP gets under a certain amount, and then it will unleash it's special attack. I finished it, but meh.

[@PheseantNetsuke]

This game really deserves more attention. I can't wait for Square Enix to officially announce the HD Remaster next year.

[@HighLevelReviews]

I know it's cliche to have a "favorite" but this one is up there for me. Love this game. Hope you enjoyed it!

[@jumbie4972]

+High Level Reviews would you ever review tactics?

[@HighLevelReviews]

+kaw kaw absolutely. I'm doing 9 soon then I'll be looking at other entries.

[@dokhycodan1012]

Is Final Fantasy XV as good as XII?

[@HighLevelReviews]

I'm pretty biased so I'll have to pass on that question, lol.

[@SuperGenio86]

No way

[@lynchaxxonn]

This game was pretty well made objectively speaking but somehow I just didn't connect and felt a bit bored, beat it but almost entirely forgot story right after, maybe I'd like it more today :p

[@alpiston]

So far FFXII is the last good single-player FF. And arguably the best!

[@moribund18]

cant wait to play this on ps4. ive played this on my then ps2. I havent fnished it cos I sold my console back then.

[@marcschwartz5676]

Thank you for addressing the homogenization of characters in the original version's license board. When I first played through the game, I eventually got bored and lost interest because a) there was too much freedom in character progression, with none of them having strengths/weaknesses, just some licenses sooner than the other characters; b) the characters being virtually identical mechanically actually caused me to care less about them in the context of the story. This also incentivized using only whichever three characters you wanted in your party and essentially ignoring the other ones (they're the same, so what's the point in switching them out for different situations?). When I learned how the international version added job classes, and how it was only released in Japan, I was riveted but disappointed that there was no real way to get my hands on it. It's to the point that, if they release a HD remaster on the ps4 with the IZJS version, I would seriously buy a ps4 just to play it. The setting, the combat, the plot, the writing (omg the writing!)... pretty much everything about FFXII appealed to me EXCEPT for the god-awful leveling system. Anyway, great review.

[@jonesy2975]

Do not despair! That HD remake? Coming to ps4 in 2016. Check out the trailer.

[@solidad-29]

I really like the combat system. I wish they just use this in FF13.

[@joshuarichardson6529]

They'd originally intended to make the battle system in FF13 realtime action, so you press a button and the PC initiates the attack. The higher-ups at Square said that fans are expected turn based combat, and made the designers change it to a turn-based menu combat system. Instead, the designers went for a hybrid between the two.

[@ichweissnichtgenau92]

best battlesystem ever in FF

[@hineighbor]

Magicofrahat is that you?

[@MrYoungHegelian]

I just bought FF15 (PS4) and inside the case there is glossy paper that shows Square Enix games and one of them is a Remaster of FF12, first time I heard of a remaster of 12 and apparently coming out next year.

[@RolfCJ]

Ive been waiting for this for a LONG time.. Hope this is true.. As FF12 came out at the end of the ps2 era, and my original ps3, with backwards compatability finally took a dump, leaving me no way to play ff12..

[@mizucallow1662]

This game was sick. When I first played the game I conjunction with replaying the Original Mass Effect on the 360. I often tried hitting the hitting a non existent home button on the controller trying private chat my friends that texted me. In short the graphics are amazing it even curved the ps2's horrible anti aliasing issues, I.e. jaggys, I felt like it even scaled to 1080p even though it was running through a component cable. I do have to say that it is super intense game that my casual play through took ninety+ hours to beat. Luckily I actually had the special edition guide with art book, having known of the tactics connection so I wasn't going to miss out on it; BTW you have to not open 40 different chests throughout the game to have the ability to obtain the zodiac spear in its own chest which apparently can be duplicate glitches enabling you to equip your entire party with the most powerful weapon in game. While not my favorite of the ff stories though I still consider it the best one because of its realistically motivated political plotline, it was very refreshing seeing how most main ff villains are generic "I want to rule/destroy the world for no apparent reason" types. It also introduces the ff series only Darth Vader character being Gabranth who is featured in Amano's title art. Its one beast of a title that everyone should play especially it is ever ported to PSN.

[@chovue2363]

game is best played active without pausing at the battle menu. experiences are gained faster and the combat feels more thrilling.

[@HighLevelReviews]

+Cho Tube valid, but i panic and i like that time to strategize and slow it down. you're a brave man :)

[@ItachiUchiha-lr3yr]

The Balthier character, and the Gabranth/judges storyline was really Epic, but you had to sit through weeks of crap to see little bits of it. and although the combat system was great you had to do months of grinding to Level up for some of the battles. The Vaan/Penelo characters ruin the game, then are so dull.

[@JimmySentence]

thanks for the review convinced me to get the metal box for the new zodisc editipn since it addresses alor of the issues you wete talking a bout

[@Syrupy]

Great review!

[@HighLevelReviews]

+Syrupy Thank you!

[@colinboots8694]

wow most of this just flew right over my head lol. i never realized that it was that complicated .i remember that i didnt like how it was just like ff11 and imo it ruined the final fantasy series . it got too hard for me at some point( i believe i was 30-40 hours in , something like that)and so i gave up. i still own the game maybe one day ill get a guide book and give it another shot

[@astrocyborg]

its truly a shame the community didn't give this game a chance if they did we'd get more ff games with the depth of 12 instead of games with no depth like 13 & 15

[@Vladicarus]

recently bought this on ebay, to get ready for the remaster :D myps2 memcard ha a 77 hour data of thi game, which..i forgot all about (lost my disc)

[@cookiesontoast9981]

im 51 hours into this game and i love it so much, before this ihad only played ff1 on nes, i love that too

[@HighLevelReviews]

That's awesome to hear! I think I put like 180 hours into it. Buckle up! haha

[@cookiesontoast9981]

+High Level Reviews after this one i think i will play ff2 on nes, after i have played 2 which ones would you recomend to play the most?

[@HighLevelReviews]

+MechaMinilla99 I'm about to do a review on 9 and that is my favorite. It's excellent.

[@cookiesontoast9981]

+High Level Reviews yeah, i have seen a few reviews and 9 looks amazing, i like how it is alot like the original final fantasies apposed to the newer ones, i might play 9 after 2 then :) im really exited for 15

[@samc8002]

It would be great if the international Zodiac version was released in HD for the PS3.

[@kimmolaine8069]

It's truly a joy to play. There are flaws in the storyline progression because the plans and staff got changed so many times. Overall it's Vagrant Story meets Final Fantasy. Most of the players that boo the game are ones who never played it through. Sidenote: Is this game fucking 10 years old!? I feel old.

[@PC-Gamer-000]

After all this time I finally figured out (on my own) where the Rouge Tomato was. My character is currently in the Nomad area. FFXII frustrated me for a great period of time, but it's proving to be quite an enjoyable game :) FFX is still my absolute favorite though. I don't like how Square Soft made Tidus a ghost in the end of FFX. Tidus should really have been the main character in FFXII. There were plenty of ways to extend his story; Tidus's battle moves were more epic than this VAAN character who looks like a girl.

[@King-2077]

This game is the greatest ff game for me, way better than ff7 in terms of gameplay. Storywise ff7 wins the cake easily but gameplay is just awesome and not boring. Im excited for the remaster but i dont know if i have the time nor if i want to complete the game 100% again. I had about 500 hours on my ps2 save file because of the shitty rng on the treasures on this game.

[@TheFoolTohru]

Very Cool Review.

[@HighLevelReviews]

+Daniel Poteat Thank you!

[@TheFoolTohru]

You got Final Fantasy 12 International Zodiac Job System? Cus I do and it's Much More Better.

[@TheFoolTohru]

And No Problem.

[@HighLevelReviews]

+Daniel Poteat That's what I've heard. I've never been able to play it but I have read some great things about it.

[@TheFoolTohru]

If you still got a ps2 all you gotta do is order if off of Amazon like o did. Buy the Swap magic coder disk. And use a Gamefaqs guide for Translation.

[@Viper4ever05]

This was a good game, but I didn't feel the same satisfaction when I finished it. It didn't feel like final fantasy. But Holy shit at that final Dragon mark, I never could beat it.

[@HighLevelReviews]

It was like a raid boss lol

[@Viper4ever05]

+High Level I seriously wanted to rage when it healed itself.

[@adame7843]

underrated

[@MtMarshi]

This is definitely the weakest Numbered Final Fantasy for me. But its proof of how much the series means to me that FF 12 is "only" brilliant.

[@19HajimeSaitou91]

exactly 😊😉

[@benjaminbufton3696]

Still my favourite ff game

[@kevinvu5432]

you trying waaaaay too hard to hide spoiler.....I think the worst problem is that you tell us "sounds vague? well because spoilers" you could say "Which explained further in the story" or "For reasons".

[@HighLevelReviews]

I agree, I was still tinkering with different ways to protect certain story elements when I made this video. I've tried to be more graceful about it.

[@kevinvu5432]

High Level Reviews With that said, most hang ups are optional. just like the choice of over using Gambit (which you can still attempt to avoid attacks by moving or delaying their attacks manually regardless) I felt the license vCard offers the same level. immediately they are all distinguished and they all mesh the same but as they develop, you really technically unlock more license for the buffs or better weapon. so even though one character just got the license for a certain type of weapon, the other character may be more skilled. sure once it's filled it's all the same. but it's not bad either. I do agree with the punishing/reward. I still love this game. to me it's a breath of fresh air.

[@jerrr7032]

ash looks like a older yuna

[@HighLevelReviews]

I can definitely see that.

[@jimb0ismyname0]

I did not like FFXII at all the first time I played it, hated it even, and one of my worst rated final fantasy But between these reviews and the recent release of the HD edition i want to revisit it

[@drkcrstl]

dude u made the review in 2015, the game has been out for like 8 years man. dont worry about spoiling it dude lol

[@HighLevelReviews]

I just wanted to be careful haha. You're right though.

[@drkcrstl]

+High Level Reviews so u seem to think balthier would make the best main character, eh. i agree that vaan is just a "bystander" the story is as if told from his naive perspective. and i think that makin ashe the main character would have made more sense, since its her kingdom shes fighting for the entire game. ur thoughts ?

[@masterdex7804]

Am i the only one who didn't like FF12 because of the combat

[@HighLevelReviews]

i think a lot of people weren't interested in it because of the combat.

[@masterdex7804]

i'm playing it for the first time right now and it feels so weird compared to the other games

[@HighLevelReviews]

I think that was what frustrated plenty of people - the abrupt departure from previous entries. I loved it but I understand why some were perturbed by it.

[@masterdex7804]

i'll give it a try

[@King-2077]

Master Dex the combat on this game is great. Way better than the typical turnbase, This game has a lot of side content especially grinding for ingredients to unlock powerful weapons but it will not bore you out because of the battle system. I completed this game 100%, i had all the weapons,accessories and defeated all sidebosses. In previous ff games like 7 or 10 grinding is boring as fuck especially when trying to level up because of the transition to a different screen and makes you fall asleep. people hated this game because this game is hard as hell, I am so glad that square decided to go this path rather than staying with turnbase.

[@FarFromLima]

Final Fantasy 12 is the most boring thing ever made. Great video tho :p

[@HighLevelReviews]

+FarFromLima Thanks! And yeah, though I do love the game I'm not necessarily offended that some can't tolerate it.

[@FarFromLima]

+High Level Reviews I wish i liked it. I dont know theres just something about the gameplay systems that are just boring. Its like a really really good game that just happens to be boring :(

[@HighLevelReviews]

Yeah, I've heard and read similar sentiments. I kept reading that people wanted cooler spells and more interactive things in combat. I loved the combat but once you understand and know the commands and set your gambits up it isn't exactly a highly involved system. (Until you take on the hunts/tougher bosses and need to address a lot of status effects.)

[@FarFromLima]

Yea man the gambits killed the middle half of the game for me :(

[@HighLevelReviews]

dang =(

[@bonky_in_space2025]

FF12 is the best final fantasy game

[@ezkimus6104]

I like how it is so different from the previews entries. And the story is not about saving the world but about saving a nation. The tone is also more mature. Sadly the series went downhill from there with FFXIII because fanboy did not like the XII.

[@PasserbyP]

I plan to play this game with an action replay or some kinda cheat so to nullify the bull shit ways of acquiriing equipment.

[@alejandromarinetti8622]

Cool game.

[@UnderdogTactics]

Looking forward to a Re-Master.

[@HighLevelReviews]

As am I! This year right?

[@manosp6448]

the graphics are fucking ps3. i still did not enjoy this game :/

[@jetunior9571]

Реально говоришь FF12 моя любимая серия

[@sailorartema9]

12 is so fucking looong, im just wasted 200+ hours in that pice of shit and you know what? any of my characters were level 99....could you belive that? 200+ hours and even that is enough for a max level? and people ask. "ah. that amount of time is becouse the game has a lot of content"....BULLSHIT it makes it long becouse they make the level up system so fucking hard and the HP of the bosses are....HUGEEEEEEE

[@kinh0t]

The gameplay is ok but i could not stand the characters design. So horrible, alladin as main character; no armors visible; characters looks like bums, saving the world with bum clothes. If im a fucking warrior that uses magic and stomps giant monsters, i want to actually looks like one.

[@HighLevelReviews]

+ricardo gomes marques I definitely don't disagree with that. Would've been cool to see Basch in actual badass armor - kind of like what he looks like in the ending cinematic.

[@kinh0t]

+High Level Reviews ow man would be sweet. Hell, look at that armor of the prince at the beginning, jesus!

[@creativecontentforcanewera6303]

ff 12 is 1 of the worst rpg's of all times! Too long, too unbalanced, retarded unlock table - I didn't know a ninja needed to use guns before learning to use ninja swrds. Almost on par w scorpion king fr worst game ever made!

[@HighLevelReviews]

+creative content forca new era Haha, you definitely aren't a fan apparently.

[@creativecontentforcanewera6303]

+High Level Reviews After watching the whole video I agree with everything you said which is y I despise the gm. 126hrs twrd last part & I'm surprisingly sane as I curse this gms ineptitude. Thnk kotor inspired this ff garbage. Notice dragon age origins borrowed elements frm ff 12.