XII gets the remake treatment…
Enter an era of war within the world of Ivalice. The small kingdom of Dalmasca, conquered by the Archadian Empire, is left in ruin and uncertainty. Princess Ashe, the one and only heir to the throne, devotes herself to the resistance to liberate her country. Vaan, a young man who lost his family in the war, dreams of flying freely in the skies. In a fight for freedom and fallen royalty, join these unlikely allies and their companions as they embark on a heroic adventure to free their homeland.
Final Fantasy’s latest remake comes in the form of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. It’s a huge improvement over the original in terms of visuals and performance, especially the framerate…but is there any other improvements or new features?
Besides trophies, a revamped job system, a remastered soundtrack with some new tracks…not so much. That’s not to say that it’s a bad thing. The game itself was too far ahead of its time when it was first released so suffered on the hardware of the PS2, so it’s great to have it in a much more enjoyable and steady framerate. The only letdown is that the audio quality is still low in comparison to modern games. Other than that, it’s the definitive version of the game.
If you weren’t much of a fan of the original Final Fantasy XII, chances are that The Zodiac Age will do little to change your mind…unless the performance was such an issue for you that it put you off. The combat itself is what divided fans 11 years ago and continue to do so, especially with the remaster opening old wounds. I personally prefer a turn-based RPG combat system, but that’s way too old school these days or even for over a decade ago.
As good as the remaster is with its improved visuals, it’s still dated by today’s standards. But considering how old the game is, it’s still technically brilliant and as I’ve said before, performs a hell of a lot better than the original.
The Verdict
For fans of FF XII, The Zodiac Age improves upon the original in every conceivable way. For those who hated the original, this won’t really change your opinion…but for those who missed out on it from the PS2 days, now is the time to play the definitive version of this epic RPG.