Why You Should Play Final Fantasy 12 - Year of the JRPG Retrospective

[@AFriendRemembers]

Is Final Fantasy 12 your favourite! Speak out now and be heard, because whilst it is generally critically acclaimed it is also considered deeply flawed by many. Hardly the most polarising game in the series, but the one some people seem to adore far more than others!

[@PrincessNine]

It's my favorite...but only under multiple conditions. 1. If its any version after the original release 2. Final Fantasy 7 doesn't have new game + Yes. It's technically only my number 1 on a technicality.

[@TerraExcessum]

This is the one. My absolute favourite. It's not perfect, but it just presses a lot of my happy buttons. Particularly the music, but I also got a lot of satisfaction out of having my gambits setup just right. Edit - I'm with you on preferring the original to the zodiac age.

[@kaintkk]

its like playing an mmorpg but in single player, seriously , this game is perfect and really fun

[@IXArcanine]

Final fantasy twelve is my fourth favorite. It's a great game I've played it numerous times and I love it.

[@vicenarian340]

I really like your explanation of the game in terms of its systems! I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe it in those terms, but it's 100% spot on. I really wish the Zodiac Age kept the limit of one job per character, but I really did enjoy that remaster regardless. Thank you for this video!

[@AFriendRemembers]

Your welcome. After marathoning 1 - 13, I needed a break and then to take my time with 14 - so this already feels like years ago despite just being back in December! I really, really would like to see more games adopt this type of gameplay style. Xenoblade Chronicles series is the closest I've seen but even that has diverged significantly from where it used to be

[@RobertWWD]

Final Fantasy 12 was the first Final Fantasy game I finished so it would always have a special place in my heart as much as I love Final Fantasy 16.

[@justice4most]

I too preferred the og license board. Running around with six characters blasting flare at everything was an excellent reward for grinding out the game and reaching the end game.

[@AFriendRemembers]

I think that's the issue. It changed the dynamic of the early game and 'forced' tactical upgrade decisions - but it really hampered the late game. Thanks for watching!

[@gib84gaming4]

Up there with the best. The license board and when you get that perfect gambit setup...🤌, bliss, just sit back and relax 👌 The world was so nice and well realised too 👍

[@RollingCalf]

This game is so perfect, all.modern final fantasies are based on it. No randoms, the gambit system, graphics, etc I think it's the first final fantasy where all the bosses weren't immune to every status.

[@hugbuzzard]

The Zodiac remaster is incredible.

[@christopherhendren117]

I love XII, probably my 3rd of 4th favorite. But what I really like about it, is that at that time, I saw it as an Offline XI. Yep, I main Balthier, play White Mage basically, and just be the tactician. I set everyone to attack his target and I play healer. haha

[@VenusSatanas]

Under-rated game. It's my favorite ff game by far. Incredible soundtrack, awesome game play. So much power in this game it would make my ps2 run hot!!

[@Touchybanana]

Unlike other people, FFXII is my favorite game. It's probably the most open single player FF game and all the extra game content it has compared to the other games.

[@fawazdelrey8314]

Got you a new subscriber 😊🎉

[@GenerationPixel]

I only have faint memories of XII, I remember enjoying it, and remember thinking they were trying to acclimatise single-player gamers to MMO mechanics. I haven't played the Zodiac Age as of yet, but it's on my imminent to-do list. You do realise that after completing thos FF marathon, I'm going to have to insist that you tackle Dragon Quest next 😉

[@AlexiusYindor]

XII is the objectively best FF game, even in its crippled and unfinished state. We were so close to having an FF on the same level as Vagrant Story, but corporate meddling and the coming of the next gen screwed it over. Fuck Wada. Matsuno deserved better. The atmosphere of Ivalice, the complex yet accessible combat and the brilliantly sublime writing (and incredible localisation) is immaculate. A true evergreen.

[@alexjones50]

I'm sorry but nothing is objectively better, it's all down to opinion, you might like it but it's got some problems that are going to turn other people off. this not objectively the best game no more than XIII is the objectively best game. I hate it when people use the term objectively best, that is not a term that should be used in creative works, creative works will appeal to different people. objetively should only be used for stuff that can be definitively measured like the power of a graphics card, for example an nvidia 4060 card is objectively better than a nvidia 3060 card, no whether that increased quality is worth the price is another matter entirely but it is better. However there is no objective measure for a quality of a video game.

[@FelixS.]

You obviously are one of the millions of people on the internet using the term "objectively" in a completely wrong and inflationary way.

[@FelixS.]

@@alexjones50 Thanks. Always good to see people comprehending the semantics they use. An accelaration test between two cars with the same driver under the same conditions repeated for several times will lead to an objective result. Quality of entertainment media is never ever objective.

[@cfworthy]

Playing through the Zodiac Age currently, I too miss the open license board of the original game. It was an interesting evolution from FFX, which now feels more restrictive than the outfits in FFX-2. The excitement of finding Gambits as your travelled also has been removed for a gambit dump at the start of the game, completely eliminating the need to experiment with what limited gambits were available in the early game. But hey, I guess we're one of the rare ones who can create self-imposed restrictions for a unique feel with every character and a custom RPG experience. Life's not really interesting if everyone's doing it the same way.

[@richardjamesgallardojr.7584]

I agree with you the PS2 original version is better than the zodiac age version

[@TheRetroPerspective]

Fantastic game....horrendous story and characters that make no sense. xD The most baffling thing is, most people that say they love this game do so because of the "story." Cannot work that out.

[@AFriendRemembers]

One benefit of the 'authentic old style' dialogue is its great at cutting down the lengths of the cutscenes and making the story flow at a brisk pace - but despite the length of the game it's too brisk. It dances from one political intrigue to the next incredibly quickly and rarely pauses to reflect and discuss what's happened to help the player digest the big ideas or concepts. I think I had to play through the game 2 or 3 times before I 'got' what was going on. And on my latest playthrough - knowing the backstory and what's happening already - I found the story a delight. But then - I'm well versed in Ivalice by now. For someone playing through it for the first time - it's absolutely impenetrable.

[@TheRetroPerspective]

@@AFriendRemembers maybe I should go for a 5th play through then? 🤣