Final Fantasy XII is a role-playing video game created and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 in March 2006. The game introduced new features such as an open world, a seamless battle system, a controllable camera, a customizable "gambit" system that lets players control how characters fight, a "license" system that determines which abilities and equipment characters can use, and hunting side quests where players find and defeat increasingly difficult monsters. It also included elements from earlier Final Fantasy games, like Chocobos and Moogles.
The story takes place in the world of Ivalice, where the empires of Archadia and Rozarria are in a long-lasting war. The small kingdom of Dalmasca is caught between these two powers. After Archadia takes over Dalmasca, Princess Ashelia starts a resistance movement. During this struggle, she meets Vaan, a young adventurer who dreams of becoming a sky pirate and commanding an airship. Vaan and Ashelia are joined by a group of allies who work together to fight against the Archadian Empire’s rule.
Final Fantasy XII received several Game of the Year awards and sold more than six million copies on the PlayStation 2 by November 2009. In 2007, a sequel called Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings was released for the Nintendo DS. An expanded version, Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System, was also released on the PlayStation 2 in Japan that year. A high-definition remaster of International Zodiac Job System, called The Zodiac Age, was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 in July 2017, for Windows in February 2018, and for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One in April 2019.
Gameplay
Players control the main character from a third-person view, meaning they can see the character's back as they move around. Unlike earlier games in the series, players can use the right analog stick to move the camera, allowing them to look around fully. In towns and cities, players only see the world from the perspective of the main character, Vaan, but outside of these areas, any character can be controlled. The world of Final Fantasy XII is shown at a realistic scale, with areas and characters sized proportionally, unlike earlier games where characters appeared larger on smaller maps. Players can move across the world by walking, riding a Chocobo, or flying in an airship. Games can be saved using save crystals or gate crystals, with gate crystals allowing players to teleport between them. An in-game bestiary offers extra information about creatures and locations in the game.
Final Fantasy XII changes how players earn gil, the game's currency. Instead of gil, enemies drop "loot" that can be sold in shops. This connects to a new battle system where defeating enemies of the same type repeatedly rewards players with better loot. Selling different types of loot unlocks a "bazaar" option in shops, offering items at lower prices or exclusive items.
Final Fantasy XII is the first main series game after Final Fantasy XI not to use random encounters. Instead, enemies are visible in the world, and players can choose to fight or avoid them. Battles happen in real time using the "Active Dimension Battle" (ADB) system. Battles start when the party gets close to an aggressive enemy, attacks an enemy, or a story event begins. When a character or enemy takes an action, lines connect them to other party members or enemies, with different colors showing the type of action. Players can control any of the three main characters in the party but cannot control guest characters, who are controlled by the game's AI. Battle commands are chosen from menus, including Attack, Magicks, Technicks, Mist, Gambits, and Items. Players can switch between active and inactive characters at any time, unless the active character is being attacked. Characters who are knocked out can be replaced.
A new feature is the "gambit" system, which lets players set rules for characters to follow in battle. Each gambit has three parts: a target (an ally or enemy), an action (a command to use on the target), and a priority (which rule to follow if multiple rules apply). For example, a gambit might say, "If an ally has less than 70% health, heal them." These rules guide characters when acting on their own, but player commands always take priority.
In Final Fantasy XII, a mysterious energy called "Mist" powers summoning magic and "Quickenings." After defeating an Esper in battle, players can summon it to help in fights. Like Final Fantasy X, summoned creatures actively participate in battles instead of just performing cinematic attacks. Unlike Final Fantasy X, Espers follow hidden gambits instead of player commands. The summoner stays in the fight, attacking and casting support magic. An Esper leaves the battle if the summoner or the Esper is knocked out, the Esper's time limit ends, or the Esper uses its special attack. Some Espers are from earlier games like Final Fantasy Tactics or Final Fantasy IV.
Final Fantasy XII introduces "Quickenings," a new type of Limit Break. Characters learn Quickenings by completing specific panels on the License Board. Each character can learn three Quickenings, which are unique to them. Characters can combine Quickenings into powerful attacks called "Mist Chains" by pressing buttons at the right time. If a Mist Chain reaches a certain length, it ends with a powerful attack called a "Concurrence."
Like many role-playing games, characters gain levels by earning experience points from defeating enemies. Each level increases a character's abilities, such as hit points (how much damage they can take), strength (how strong their attacks are), and magic (how powerful their spells are).
Players can also improve characters using the License Board, which is a grid of panels showing actions characters can perform. The board has two sections: the top section includes licenses for Magicks, Technicks, Accessories, and stat boosts, and the bottom section includes licenses for weapons and armor. To use a Magick, Technick, or piece of equipment, players must earn its license by spending License Points (LP), which are earned in battles. Like the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X, all characters can earn any license, but each Quickening and Esper license can only be used by one character.
Plot
Final Fantasy XII takes place in the land of Ivalice during a time when magic was common and airships flew through the sky, filling it with their presence. Magicite, a mineral rich in magic, is used to power airships and cast spells. Ivalice is divided into three continents: Ordalia, Valendia, and Kerwon. Ordalia is in the western part of Ivalice. The Rozarrian Empire lives in the large inland plains of this continent. The eastern part of Ordalia is mostly desert and includes "jagd," lawless regions rich in Mist, a magical substance that makes airships unable to function. Valendia is home to Imperial Archadia, where green highlands cover the land. Dalmasca, a small kingdom, lies between the two continents and empires. It is located in the center of the Galtean Peninsula in Ordalia and is surrounded by desert. Dalmasca has a moderate climate, unlike the cold areas of Kerwon to the south and the green plains of Valendia and Ordalia. At this time, Ivalice is facing a coming war between Rozarria and Archadia. Dalmasca and several smaller nations have already been taken over by Archadia two years before the game begins.
The six main characters in Final Fantasy XII are Vaan, an energetic orphan from Rabanastre who dreams of becoming a sky pirate; Ashe, a determined princess of Dalmasca who lost her father and husband during an Archadian invasion; Basch, a knight from Dalmasca who lost his honor for killing the king; Balthier, a polite sky pirate who pilots his airship, the Strahl; Fran, Balthier’s partner and an exiled Viera who knows about legends; and Penelo, Vaan’s childhood friend who travels with him to watch over him.
The Archadian Empire is led by House Solidor, ruled by Emperor Gramis. The emperor’s sons are Vayne, a military genius and main antagonist, and Larsa, a peaceful leader. Judge Magisters, who enforce Archadian laws, protect House Solidor and follow the emperor’s orders. Airships and man-made nethicite, a type of magicite that uses Mist, are inventions of Doctor Cid, a scientist from Archadia. The Resistance against Archadia includes Dalmascan knight Vossler, who helps Basch; Marquis Halim Ondore IV, the game’s narrator and ruler of the skycity Bhujerba; Reddas, a sky pirate from Balfonheim; and the Rozarrian Empire, led by Prince Al-Cid Margrace. The story of Final Fantasy XII centers on Dynast-King Raithwall, a leader who once united Ivalice to form the Galtean Alliance.
In Dalmasca’s capital, Rabanastre, Princess Ashe of Dalmasca and Prince Rasler of Nabradia recently married as the Archadian Empire invaded their lands. Rasler was killed in the war, the city of Nabudis was destroyed by an explosion, and Dalmascan King Raminas was assassinated after signing a
Development
Development for Final Fantasy XII began in December 2000 and was led by Yasumi Matsuno, the director of Final Fantasy Tactics, and Hiroyuki Ito, the director of Final Fantasy IX. Matsuno created the original idea and story for the game but had to leave the project a year before its release due to health problems. Because of this, the team changed its structure. The new directors were Ito and Hiroshi Minagawa, and Akitoshi Kawazu, known for the SaGa series, became the executive producer. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series, was unhappy about Matsuno’s departure and did not play the game beyond its introduction.
From the start of development, the team wanted to move away from random battles. This idea led to the creation of the Active Dimension Battle system, which allowed players to move freely between battles and exploration. The gambit system was also planned early on to help with this change. Battle system designer Hiroshi Tomomatsu explained that the system became simpler and more flexible over time. Ito got the idea for gambits from American football plays, where each player has a specific role based on the situation. The license system, which required players to earn permission to perform certain actions, was inspired by the strict society of Archadia, as shown by its Judges.
During early development, Minagawa said that some ideas were removed due to technical limits and hardware issues. These included a two-player mode and the ability to recruit non-player characters for mob hunts. The game took longer to develop than expected because of these challenges.
The game’s design was influenced by medieval Mediterranean countries, as seen in the architecture and races of Ivalice. The art team, led by Hideo Minaba and Isamu Kamikokuryō, visited Turkey, which inspired the Mediterranean-style setting. Other influences included styles from India and New York City. Sanskrit was used in the city of Bhujerba, with phrases like “svagatam” (welcome) and “parijanah” (guide) taken directly from the language. The team also tried to include Arabic culture in the design. War was a major theme, and the cutscene battles were inspired by Ancient Rome. When asked about similarities to Star Wars, Minaba said the connection was not intentional but may have come from the 1958 film The Hidden Fortress, which inspired Star Wars.
At first, the developers planned to use the “big-headed” character designs from earlier Final Fantasy games. However, they later chose proportions similar to those in Vagrant Story, the team’s previous game. Basch was the first character designed and was seen as the hero at the time. Vaan and Penelo were added later and became the main heroes in the final story. This change happened after the commercial failure of Vagrant Story, which had an older protagonist. Vaan’s early designs were described as feminine, but the voice actor and motion capture performer, Kouhei Takeda, helped make him more active and positive. Some people compared character designer Akihiko Yoshida’s work to that of Tetsuya Nomura, but Yoshida said the similarity was due to the use of similar colors to match characters with environments. Non-human characters and races were also important, influenced by the developers’ interest in history.
Miwa Shoda wrote the storyline based on the cutscenes and world setting that were already created when she joined the team. Scenario writer Daisuke Watanabe expanded her plot into a full script. During the English localization process, Alexander O. Smith, who had worked on Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy X, acted as a producer and translator. He used different English dialects to reflect regional differences in the Japanese version and hired experienced theater actors to avoid “flat reads” found in other dubbed games. The localization team also added widescreen 16:9 support and reinserted scenes that were removed from the Japanese version for political reasons and to keep an “All Ages” rating.
A playable demo of Final Fantasy XII was included with the North American release of Dragon Quest VIII in November 2005. To celebrate the game’s release, playable demos of the English version were available at an event in New York City on October 11, 2006, called “Final Fantasy XII Gamer’s Day.” Square Enix also let fans dress up as characters from the game and submit photos of their costumes for a chance to win a trip to New York and attend the event.
Final Fantasy XII held the Guinness World Record for the longest development time in a video game, lasting five years from 2001 to its 2006 release. At a postmortem event at MIT in 2009, Hiroshi Minagawa said the team spent years creating custom tools for development. The game was also listed as the 8th best game of all time in the Guinness top 50 in 2009.
Hitoshi Sakimoto composed most of the game’s music, with Hayato Matsuo and Masaharu Iwata creating seven and two tracks, respectively. Nobuo Uematsu, who left Square Enix in 2004, only contributed the ending song, “Kiss Me Good-Bye.” The song was performed in both English and Japanese by Angela Aki. Uematsu chose Aki because her style reminded him of his childhood idol, Elton John. The English version of the song was included in both the Japanese and North American versions. Violinist Taro Hakase co-composed, arranged, and performed the ending credits theme, Symphonic Poem “Hope,” with Yuji Toriyama.
Two promotional soundtracks were released before the original soundtrack: Symphonic Poem “Hope” and The Best of the Final Fantasy XII Soundtrack, on March 1 and 15, 2006, respectively. Symphonic Poem “Hope” includes all the music from the trailer performed by Taro Hakase. The original soundtrack was released in Japan on May 31, 2006, and includes 4 CDs with 100 tracks, plus promotional music not in the final game. A CD single for “Kiss Me Good-Bye” was released on March 15, 2006, with a limited edition featuring a DVD of the song’s music video. Tofu Records
Merchandise
On March 16, 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan released a special Final Fantasy XII package that included a PlayStation 2 game system, the Final Fantasy XII game, a standard DualShock controller, and a vertical console stand. On the same day, Hori, a Japanese company, released Final Fantasy XII memory cards with stickers of characters from the game. Logitech’s Japanese branch, Logicool, also released a special edition Final Fantasy XII controller. Suntory, a company that makes drinks, created "Final Fantasy XII Potion," which contains ingredients like royal jelly, chamomile, sage, thyme, and marjoram. These drinks were sold in Japan starting March 7, 2006. Suntory also released a Final Fantasy XII Premium Box that included a collector’s card. The Potion was a limited edition product and is no longer available. Final Fantasy XII was also made into a manga by Amou Gin. Square Enix published the manga in five book volumes from December 22, 2006, to August 22, 2009.
Studio BentStuff published three Ultimania books in 2006: Final Fantasy XII Battle Ultimania and Final Fantasy XII Scenario Ultimania on June 16, and Final Fantasy XII Ultimania Ω on November 24. Battle Ultimania explains the game’s new battle system and includes interviews with developers. Scenario Ultimania describes the main story, character and location profiles, and details about the world of Ivalice. Ultimania Ω includes interviews with voice actors, the full story of Final Fantasy XII, artwork, a guide to playing the game, and a novella written by Benny Matsuyama. Another book, Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System Ultimania, was released on September 6, 2007, as a guide for the International Zodiac version of the game. The game was later included in the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box, a special Japanese package released in December 2012.
For the North American release, a "Collector’s Edition" was sold through GameStop and EB Games. This version included the original game in a metallic case and a bonus disc with developer interviews, an art gallery, trailers, and a short video called "History of Final Fantasy." On January 26, 2007, Square Enix’s Product Blog showed full-color figures of Gabranth, Ashe, Balthier, and Vaan. In 2007, Balthier appeared as a playable character in Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions.
Reception
Final Fantasy XII received "universal acclaim" from Metacritic, a review website. It was the sixth game to earn a perfect score from the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. It was also the second game by Yasumi Matsuno to receive a perfect score, following Vagrant Story (2000). The game was praised for its graphics, story, game system, and new ideas for the Final Fantasy series. It was noted for smooth changes between full-motion video scenes and the in-game engine. It was voted number one for Best Art Style on IGN's weekly Top Ten. Newtype USA called Final Fantasy XII its "Game of the Month" for November 2006, praising its gameplay, graphics, and story. They called it "the best RPG for any Sony platform."
GameSpot praised the game's gambit and license systems as creative and detailed ways to control characters. However, it criticized these systems for being too complicated, especially for new players. It also mentioned that traveling between locations could be tedious. GameSpot highlighted the "excellent" voice cast. IGN praised the game's story, art style, and "sheer depth of character." IGN also addressed concerns that the gambit system might allow the game to play itself, explaining that gambits require player input. However, IGN noted that while the game was strong, its soundtrack was one of the weakest in the series.
Executive producer Akitoshi Kawazu was happy about Famitsu's perfect score but admitted the game was not perfect. He said the story did not meet some fans' expectations. Kawazu expressed frustration with the story, citing disagreements between the PlayOnline and Final Fantasy Tactics teams during development.
Final Fantasy XII was named the best PlayStation 2 game and best RPG by many video game websites, including GameSpot, GameSpy, and IGN. Edge and Famitsu both named it Game of the Year 2006. The Japan Game Awards 2006 gave it the "Grand Award" and "Award for Excellence." The PlayStation Awards 2006 honored it with the "Double Platinum Prize." It was included in the "Top 100 New Japanese Styles" list, which recognizes top Japanese products and services. Final Fantasy XII was also nominated for awards in categories like best RPG, story, art direction, character design, and musical score at events such as the AIAS Interactive Achievement Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, BAFTA Video Games Awards, Spike Video Game Awards, and the Satellite Awards.
Final Fantasy XII sold over 1.76 million copies in its first week in Japan, nearly matching the sales of Final Fantasy X in its first week. A Square Enix report said the game sold over 2.38 million copies in Japan in the two weeks after its March 16, 2006, release. In North America, it sold about 1.5 million copies in its first week. It was the fourth best-selling PlayStation 2 game worldwide in 2006. By March 2007, the game had sold over 5.2 million copies globally. By November 2009, over 6 million copies had been sold worldwide on PlayStation 2. As of October 2017, the PlayStation 4 remaster had sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
Sequels and re-releases
An expanded version of the game, called Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System, was released in Japan on August 10, 2007. This version includes twelve license boards (instead of the original game’s one), each linked to a different Zodiac sign and job. Players can control guest characters and summons, and pressing the L1 button doubles the game’s running speed. The game also includes a "New Game+" option, a "New Game-" option (where characters do not gain experience), and a "Trial Mode" where players hunt monsters on 100 different maps to earn items and money. It also features the English voices from the western version, widescreen 16:9 support, and a bonus DVD.
A sequel, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, was released for the Nintendo DS in 2007. It takes place one year after the events of Final Fantasy XII and follows the adventures of Vaan. It is one of four games in the Ivalice Alliance series, which also includes International Zodiac Job System.
A game called Fortress, an action role-playing game developed by Grin, was planned as a spin-off that would take place after the events of Revenant Wings. Square Enix canceled the project after six months of development.
In July 2017, Square Enix released Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, a high-definition remaster of the Japanese-only International Zodiac Job System for the PlayStation 4. This version adds trophy support, a remastered soundtrack with a few new tracks, and improved technical performance. The Zodiac Age was nominated for "Best Remake/Remaster" at IGN’s Best of 2017 Awards and won "Best Remaster" at Game Informer’s Best of 2017 Awards and 2017 RPG of the Year Awards. It also received favorable reviews. The remaster was mostly developed by Virtuos, who previously worked on Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster for Square Enix.
A version for Windows was released through Steam on February 1, 2018. This version supports higher display resolutions and 60 frames-per-second rendering, includes options to switch between three different versions of the soundtrack, and allows immediate access to post-game modes. Versions for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One were released on April 30, 2019.
Legacy
The Gambit system influenced similar systems in other games, such as Dragon Age: Origins and Pillars of Eternity II. Final Fantasy XIV used the Gambit system as a foundation for its "Trust System," a feature that connects online players with story characters controlled by artificial intelligence. The game included areas and characters from Final Fantasy XII, as well as other titles from the Ivalice universe, with Yasumi Matsuno serving as a guest creator. Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, the translation director of Final Fantasy XIV, stated in an interview that many team members had previously worked on Final Fantasy XII and that the team wanted to draw heavily from it because they admired its visuals and story elements. Astria Ascending used its job system, later included in re-releases, as inspiration for its gameplay. The Diofield Chronicle took inspiration from Final Fantasy XII for its controls and player movement. The localization of Final Fantasy XII was highly praised as one of the best in the series and in video games overall. Alexander O. Smith and Joseph Reeder, who led the localization of Final Fantasy XII, later worked together again on Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune, a remake of a previous Yasumi Matsuno game, which also received strong praise for its localization. Producers of The Zodiac Age mentioned that they were considering creating another game set in the Ivalice universe, noting that earlier projects were abandoned because original developers moved on to other projects.