The Wars of Ivalice

This is probably my nerdiest entry yet, but I'm writin' it anyways. On November 2nd, I picked up a copy of Final Fantasy XII. I could probably stop here, and y'all would have a pretty good idea of how nerdy this kind of declaration is. But I'm not, because I'm just having so much goddamned fun playin' it that I feel like sharing.

It's been a long time in coming, since Final Fantasy X there has been a sufficient lack of FF games to keep hardcore Fantasy-ers satisfied. For those who can run FF XI, congratulations, you don't own a Dell which shuts itself down when running it. FF X-2 was a complete and total joke, with its "dress spheres" and all-around girly action (you really don't need to know what dress spheres are, just know that they are unbelievably lame).

Now that it's here, it is absolutely beautiful. And perfect timing too. With the eminent launch of the Playstation 3 (PS3) at its whopping $699 price tag, there is no better game to tide me over until I can afford said ridiculously over-priced toy. So it's a grand thing to know that I bought not only the Limited Edition version of the game, but also the game guide, which contains oodles (yes, oodles) of secrets and extra stuff to keep me occupied. The timing is also perfect because I've just spent the last 4 days with cheeks the size of cantaloupes.

The world of Ivalice is a strange one, and yet oddly familiar. It has the trademark Chocobos (large yellow birds which have featured in every Final Fantasy game since the beginning of time), Phoenix Downs and other such status items/effects, summons (known as "Espers"), and super abilities (now called "Quickenings"). Ivalice is plagued by war: the Archadian empire has launched a massive campaign to rule Ivalice, and now controls the middleground, also known as the nation of Dalmasca. Dalmasca's ruler has been murdered (apparently by the captain of the guards), the princess has supposedly committed suicide, and the people live in fear of the "Imperials" and "Judge Executors" (scary men in wildly impractical suits of armor, but which convey an adequate if not extreme sense of power).

Your lead character is Vaan, an orphan boy much like Aladdin of Agrabbah. With dreams of being a Sky Pirate, he joins a rag-tag group of people and off they go in search of adventures to save the nation of Dalmasca, and to put an end to Archadia's reign of terror over Ivalice.

The abilities are gained through "Licenses", much like experience points. They can be spent in any number of ways, giving each character access to your own choice of weapons, armor, magic, skills, Espers, and Quickenings. Espers must be found, fought, slain, and then unlocked via the License board. Quickenings are similar, except you can find them on the License board and don't need to search for them in the world of Ivalice. Magic is much like the other games, with spells like Cure-Cura-Curaga and trademark spells like Esuna and Firaga.

Unlike other Final Fantasy games, the battle system has been radically overhauled to reveal a system much like that of FF XI. Battles are no longer randomly fought, but rather you can see enemies on the screen and thus avoid unwanted fights. Characters have access to "Gambits", which are essentially a series of instructions given to each one that guide their actions. You can, of course, switch through the party-members of your team and micro-manage their actions if you so desire, but to do so is difficult and often impossible against larger foes.

For an "older-gen" console, the graphics are remarkably well done, and show little in the way of the PS2's age. Cut-scenes are rendered beautifully in CGI, and display SquareEnix's skill in capturing facial expressions. The world of Ivalice is massive, and often takes large amounts of time to traverse, but doing so gives you a glimpse of an entire world never-before-seen.

Side-quests and extras consist of hunts for special monsters and the hidden Espers. There are sub-quests that can be completed if you so choose, but to ignore them is to ignore valuable prizes and rewards, as well as experience. Achieving all the side-quests and unlocking every Esper is fun, generally difficult to almost impossible, but will tip the scales of battle at the end of the game ever so slightly in your favour.

Overall, it's a magnificent game with amazing gameplay, and is well worth the investment. I highly recommend it to anyone who isn't currently drowning in work. ;)