Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age review
The little kingdom of Dalmasca has been taken over by the rampaging forces of Archadia and it's up to a couple of street urchins, a resistance leader, a knight, a sky pirate, and a rabbit lady, to battle their oppressors and save the realm. There's an airship, of course, and there are Chocobos, and you revive party members with tufts of phoenix down—so far, so Final Fantasy—but look past the mascots and you'll find the boldest, most inventive game of the series, powered by a weighty squad-based RPG system and remastered to run at high resolutions on PC.
After a brief scene-setting prologue you start the game in control of Vaan, a charmless and irritating child from the streets of Dalmasca. He's hitting rats in a sewer alone, and seems determined to give you the worst possible introduction to FFXII's world and systems. As you guide him around town and into the surrounding deserts to hunt monsters you pick up companions like Vaan's streetwise pal, Penelo, and the fantastic sky pirate Balthir, whose opening line “I play the leading man,” hints at a massive lost opportunity. Once you have a full squad the combat system oh-so-slowly reveals itself, and the fun can truly begin.
[...]
Score: 85/100 - A decent port of a great Final Fantasy with one of the cleverest combat systems in RPGs.
