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Final Fantasy XII: Ivalice Revisted

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'A warrior takes sword in hand,
Clasping a gem to his heart.

Engraving vanishing memories into the sword,
He places finely honed skills into the stone.

Spoken from the sword, handed down from the stone...
Now the story can be told...'


For four years, Square-Enix has been working on Final Fantasy number twelve of their precious series. For a while, fans knew little more about the game other than a poster and an announcement regarding the staff, so we’ve been pretty much kept in the dark. But just days before the official opening of ff12.com on November 19th, Jump Magazine revealed an article with artwork of the assumed two lead characters. Rumours flew around in our forums, comparisons with previous Final Fantasy games were made and since the website was launched, bits of text and images were translated and placed online. As more time passed, we received more information regarding this much-anticipated game.

So what’s the deal with the next batch of teenage heroes? Keep reading.

Perhaps a surprise, but the setting of the series’ latest instalment takes place in an already existing Final Fantasy universe. Director/Producer Yasumi Matsuno (Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics) chose to go back to Ivalice, the world of Final Fantasy Tactics. Matsuno explains he couldn’t show the audience all that he envisioned in this mind of said world, and what he was able to present years ago wasn’t enough.

Here, Ivalice is once again steeped in a war between two super powers: the Archadia Empire (of the Ordalia continent) and the Rosalia Empire (of the Valentia continent). As a result, small kingdoms have been caught up in the strife between these two nations, one of them being Dalmasca, a geopolitical kingdom that has been acting as a buffer in the corridor between Ordalia and Rosalia. Just recently Archadia invaded Dalmasca and this small yet technologically advanced kingdom is now under occupation.

Of course not many are too happy with this occupation. Ashe, heir to the Dalmasca royal throne has been ousted from her country and now leads a movement to free her kingdom. Along with her is Vaan, whose force of personality and spirit manages to slowly change her heart.

Awww... you'd think they were in love... but they're not!
Yet surprisingly, a blossoming romance between Ashe and Vaan doesn’t seem to fit into the story’s equation. According to Matsuno, the type of love developing between these two will be different to what Final Fantasy gamers are accustomed to seeing. Romantic or not, love will be taking a backseat in the story. Freedom and the search for freedom is the actual theme this game will be focusing on.

Characters:

Party Members

Vaan--Robin Hood sans the whole giving back to the poor bit
Vaan: A boy who would be a sky pirate.
Vaan is a street urchin living in Rabanastre, capital of Dalmasca. Here, he acts as a Robin Hood though instead of giving back to the poor, he takes and keeps for himself. Vaan looks out for himself, but despite his best efforts it’s usually his girlfriend, Penelo, who has to watch his back. When Vaan’s not stealing from his oppressors, he’s dreaming of freedom and becoming an air pilot with an airship of his own.

Ashe, princess of Dalmasca...wait a minute--A Final Fantasy heroine with blonde hair AND a sword?!
Ashe: A princess. When all is lost she builds it a new.
Ashe is the youngest of nine children and due to unfortunate circumstances surrounding her brothers, she became Dalmasca’s heir-apparent. Since the invasion Ashe has been stripped of almost everything but title. She now leads a resistance to restore her right as ruler. Ashe has been seen attending what could be her wedding with a silver haired man who could either be her brother or her husband depending on the theories. Either way, this mysterious man seems to be dead.

Balthier didn't quite make the cut for the part of Han Solo
Balthier: He flies the skies of Ivalice. The sky pirate.
Balthier lives a life with little worry of obligations. He has no political affiliation to either Archadia or Ordalia. He owns an airship and works alongside his Viera partner, Fran. Not surprisingly, Balthier is marked for a very high bounty.


Fran is a super bunny girl in a leather body thong
Fran: She wields any weapon with ease. His partner.
Fran is Balthier’s partner and a Viera who also has a price on her head.




Penelo quite possibly has a butt that'll rival Yuna's
Penelo: A girl who wants peace.
Penelo is an upbeat and optimistic youth who believes in the brighter side of a situation. She has a steady head and is usually the one who has to keep reminding Vaan of the risks and dangers that he takes. Like Vaan, she’s an orphan. Unlike Vaan, she’s content with working in a bazaar. Penelo has a love for singing and dancing, but is also skilled in martial arts, which her older brother (who is supposedly dead) taught her.

Only Basch could pull off sideburns and still be cool
Basch: A loyal knight who becomes a traitor.
Basch is a skilled and high-ranking knight who was dedicated to Dalmasca’s cause. He was also a mentor who led Reks, Vaan’s older brother through a tutorial battle. When Basch discovered that his own king had sold out on Dalmasca, he turned traitor. He is responsible for the death of Ashe’s father and Vaan’s brother.

Known Non-Playable Characters

All right, ten bucks says this guy turns evil. Look at him, he has white hair!
Silver Haired Man:
First seen in one of the earliest trailers, yet very little is revealed about him. He has close ties to Dalmasca’s Royal Family and has the loyalty of Dalmasca’s armies. This means that he’s probably a general or a very important military leader. He wields the sword that Ashe uses later in the game. Some speculate that he is Ashe’s husband or fiancée.

One wonders where Ashe got her looks
The King:
Ashe’s father--he doesn’t live for very long in the game.




Reks has white hair too but he can't be evil because he's already dead! Unless... he comes back as a zombie and then he'll be an evil zombie!
Reks:
Vaan’s older brother by two years. He believes in fighting for one’s country, which is why he enlisted in Dalmasca’s army. He’s a temporary playable character who is led through a series of tutorials during the beginning of the game. Unfortunately, Reks is betrayed and murdered by Basch.

This Judge suffers from a Darth Vader complex
The Judges:
The Judges are a malevolent force on Ivalice and have their origins from Final Fantasy Tactics. A wide variety of characters fear them and they’re described as executioners rather than judges. They also seem to be the ones that are manipulating events in Ivalice, having installed puppet rulers in various parts of the world.

Races

They look like humans, they sound like humans and they taste like--er wait no.
Hume:
The main race of Ivalice.




Giant, hot bunny people
Viera:
Returning from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the Viera are a race that supposedly lives in isolation. They’re mostly comprised of females, though male Viera do exist, they’re just very rare.


GAAH! The cuteness... it burns!
Moogles:
Making their return for the nth time though with giant rabbit ears are these cute little critters. Supposedly they’re a slave race.



Either they're not important enough to even have a confirmed image or they're really important that the game designers don't want to spoil anything
Nu Mou:
Not much is known about them. Some speculate that they’re the pig people seen harassing Vaan in one of the trailers.



Don't pet. They might just bite your hand off
Bangaa:
They’re giant lizard like creatures that seem to enjoy hanging out in the desert with giant pig like people.



Never knew that Chocobos had tongues
Chocobo:
Not so much a race, but they’ll be added here as well. A staple of the Final Fantasy series--they make their return as fierce creatures bred for war.



Game Mechanics:

Keeping in touch with the theme of freedom is a world that gives players plenty of freedom. Items, people and objects on the world map are all in proportion instead of deformed, giant characters towering over small metropolises. Along with an improved world map is an improved camera system. Fixed camera positions are gone and, Final Fantasy XII is now 360 degrees rotatable and viewable from first and third person view, much like Final Fantasy XI.


Yes it's an airship. Yes it can fly.


Airships will also play a large role in this game, as the developers say, be it as a stage for an event or used as transportation. With the proclaimed grand world map, those airships will come in handy.

Fans who adored the movie-like quality of Final Fantasy X will be disappointed with the number of FMVs in Final Fantasy XII. There will be fewer FMVs as most of the important cut scenes of the game will be done with in-game graphics instead. Models are also built up from far less polygons than the ones from Final Fantasy X were--almost dropped to a half. The purpose of the lowered polygon count is to leave space that can be diverted for extra attention on texture and lightning and on the extensive world map.

Battle System

Final Fantasy XII pulls away from AtB and even CtB to present a game that is more like an action adventure than a traditional RPG. The developers once promised a battle system that would provide more control and they’ve lived up to their promise. Ladies and gentlemen, we now have ADB--Active Dimension Battle.

Don't like Vaan? Then replace him with a hotter character
During the course of Final Fantasy XII, there will be one assigned lead character with two other assigned party members much like in Final Fantasy VIII. The lead character can enter a battle by encountering a monster seen on the field either by running into the monster or attacking the monster from a distance. Monsters can also be avoided through subterfuge though some may detect your presence either through sight, smell or hearing. It is said that the AI of the field monsters has been improved to the point where they may be able to trap or ambush your party, which means that if you don’t want to battle then you’d best stay alert.

Battle transitions are smoother in that there are no more battle transitions. You enter battle directly and exit battle directly, much like in Kingdom Hearts. This explains why weapons that are equipped are viewable in and out of battles. This also means that there will be no more victory poses or victory fanfare.

ATB, CTB, ADB... in the end you still kick butt
Battles require a combination of strategies called the Gambit System. Each Gambit consists of an AI script that determines the actions of your characters for certain commands. Such as one Gambit may represent a certain type of magic while another Gambit represents attack. A gamer must set these Gambits before entering a battle and may control one character while allowing the other two characters to be commanded by AI. There will be ten types of Gambits though most likely these Gambits won’t be obtainable until later on in the game.

The beauty of this system is that if you’re not used to or completely happy about having AI controlling your characters, you may simply turn off the AI scripts and issue commands and wait for their gauge to fill before they can attack à la Final Fantasy X-2.

These arches kinda look like screwed optic blasts
Adding a little more realism to this game is the effect of a character’s weapon range. Melee characters may be put to the front for more effective attacks and to prevent monsters from attacking characters in the back that are equipped with range weapons. To aid gamers during battle, characters have glowing “arches” which connects him or her to the monster that he or she is facing. This “arch” can be turned off if one finds it aesthetically displeasing.

The following basic elements will be appearing in the game:



There will be a new branch of magic known a Green Magic, which will consist of status inflicting spells such a Blind etc.

Adding a even more realism is the role of other NPCs. Unlike previous Final Fantasy games allies will join characters in battles depending on the situation. For example in the tutorial battles, Reks is the only playable character, yet when he encounters an enemy, the group of soldiers he travels with will aid in defeating the enemy.

The Job System will not be making a return, though there will be a system similar to the Job System. Instead of being allowed to instantly change the class of a character, you’re able to “train” a character towards a class. For example if you want one character to be more of a mage type then you need to continuously use magic type commands and the stats that influence magic will be boosted. And while there are no specific jobs, there are specific weapons—seven in fact and it’s very possible that all characters maybe able to equip these weapons:



Each weapon will have its own level that you may level up while characters level up through experience points.

General Information

Although he mentioned he had retired, Nobuo Uematsu has returned to compose a score for Final Fantasy XII. Still, Uematsu fans don’t get your hopes up. He’ll be working on the main theme of the game only. The rest of the music will be done by Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced, Vagrant Story).

The game’s rumored for a 2005 release in Japan, which means a 3-6 month later release for North America. It’s about 70-80% done and consists of a crew similar to the ones who produced Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics. Judging from what great games Tactics and Vagrant Story were, Final Fantasy XII is turning out to be quite the promising game.

Article written by Chrissy and Blue

Source:

FFXII.net
FFXII Online
Squarenet.de

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