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Now that I’ve finished wiping the drool off my controller I am free to introduce Final Fatasy XII, the long awaited addition to the Final Fantasy franchise.

It starts with the marriage of Princess Ashe to a brave young warrior. Then came the war. The couple are separated by the thirst of violence and power and the need to protect home. But he isn’t who you play as.

Next is Reks, a young soldier with a heart of gold and a desire to save his people and his king from the underhanded, invading empire. But he is not the main character either.

You actually play as Vaan, Reks’s younger brother two years after the war has ended. Vaan, the girlish looking thief, bands with other orphans in trying to make a life out of the newly oppressed world. This rebelling youth has less desire in creating a more manly façade then he is in getting away from the humdrum life he leads.

When Vaan decides to break in the royal palace and help himself to a five fingered discount he meets several captivating, but questionable, characters, each with their own motives. With members of the resistance fired up and secrets that weren’t meant to be revealed, Vaan finds himself caught up in an epic adventure that will shake the foundation of the lands.

From start to finish, the story is demanding, fast paced, and takes you all over every corner of each map you find; from dusty plains to the lower bowels of the city. The dungeon and city layouts are extensive and well planned, making the places you go come together as a world instead of random spots on your map. It’s incredible easy to get lost and turned around no matter where you go, go get used to pulling out maps and charts to gain your bearings.

Now for the juicy stuff. The battle system, which throws the turn based method out of a seven story window into the middle of an ocean where piranhas await to tear it to shreds. Introducing the Active Dimension Battle System, or the ADS. FFXII will make RPG gamers loath the random, turn based battle system even more.

It starts with you and an enemy. You choose your action, pick a target, and attack. Simple, yes, if you are the only one in your party. With the accumulation of different characters with different special abilities, you will find yourself micromanaging until the sun comes up.

The use of Gambits, an auto function with predetermined commands set up beforehand, takes away some of the stress. You can even put yourself, the leader, on gambit mode for some of the more frequent, low level encounters. But for each battle it is recommended that gambits be changed and battle tactics be updated constantly.

The commands and set up can get complex and sometimes the right command combinations are hard to find without a little trial an error. Since everything is active you don’t have to be out of battle to change gambit commands, which is especially a good thing when you come up against new enemies with different aspects of attack.

The entire area is your battlefield and you’re free to spread out and lure enemies to any part of the map. It’s also easy to find yourself surrounded by the local enemies, who will chase you if you try to run. For the fast reflex impaired, like this particular reviewer, you can have the battle pause while you choose a command. Or, if you can think fast on your feet, you can have the battles rage on while you issue the manual specific commands that override the gambit commands.

This innovative battle system is impressive and engaging. Between fighting and exploring the fields, the environment and events seem more realistic. It also brings up an awareness of battles that RPGs haven’t been able to do for some time.

But fighting isn’t everything. Most Final Fantasy gamers remember how complex character development can get with orb grids and charts. Well, to your disappointment or pleasure, the grid is back. It’s the license grid, which can actually be very irritating.

In battle you obtain license points which you apply to your grid to get a license to perform certain skills, magics, use various weapons, and wear various armors. This is a lot of back and forth as you cannot equip items ore use skills unless you have a license for it. Want to cure, you have to buy the magic and obtain the license. Need to use you’re your shiny new broadsword, you need a license. And if you don’t have enough points to obtain you have to go back out into the field, slay some baddies, until you have what you need.  Managing your party is a full time job, so don’t be surprised when you spend at of time in your menus.

Again, FFXII is completely interactive. There are clans to join, more people to talk to, more skills to learn, more things too buy, more ways to be broke, and more ways to get your posterior handed to you on a silver platter with garnish and garlic. 

Also, just killing monsters won’t earn you any money. Sell the treasures they drop for fast cash. This adds a sense of realism to the game on top of the ADS. Camera controls are a little tricky, using some unfamiliar buttons when it comes to adjusting and resetting.

The FMVs are visually stunning, proving that Square Enix still has the magic touch after so many years. In game graphics are pretty standard, not much improvement, but the attention to detail is admirable. Voice acting is impressive, save for the emotionless Vaan. The talents of John DiMaggio, Steve Blum, and Tom Kane, all prominent and distinctive voice actors in both the animated and video game world, have been enlisted for supporting and main role characters.  

The collectors addition is loaded with extras, including clips of past Final Fantasys. This game redeems Square Enix of it’s past failures and flops, putting them back at the top.

JIVE Magazine Rating: 5 out of 5