Final Fantasy XII: Ivalice Revisted
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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.
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Characters:
Party Members
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Fran is Balthier’s partner and a Viera who also has a price on her head.
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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.
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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
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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.
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Ashe’s father--he doesn’t live for very long in the game.
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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.
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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
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The main race of Ivalice.
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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.
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Making their return for the nth time though with giant rabbit ears are these cute little critters. Supposedly they’re a slave race.
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Not much is known about them. Some speculate that they’re the pig people seen harassing Vaan in one of the trailers.
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They’re giant lizard like creatures that seem to enjoy hanging out in the desert with giant pig like people.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The following basic elements will be appearing in the game:
- Fire
- Water
- Lightning
- Ice
- Earth
- Wind
- Holy
- Dark
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:
- Swords
- Short Swords
- Daggars
- Guns
- Bows
- Lances
- Gloves
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