Why Final Fantasy XII is secretly the best in the series

I bought this game a few months ago with no intention of really getting into it, it was 5 bucks and I had enjoyed a lot of games in the FF series so I grabbed it. Well it is fu*king great! It’s an inspiring game and in a lot of ways not only one of the best JRPGs on the console

[versusALL]

I always thought XII was the best in my opinion. It has the most realistic(believable) characters. The villan(while not as interesting as sephiroth) is fun to watch. The gameplay is deep, diverse, and a ton of fun, the story is very good and it's world is complex, and to cap it all off it looks just beautiful.

[TheTwelve]

Game was entirely too easy, I'm afraid.

[youndamie]

Yea allowing people to spam mist system kinda broke it, but the gameplay is still fun

[Army_of_Darkness]

The main gay looking characters Vaughan totally ruined it even more.

[Baka-akaB]

Tidus looks easily as lame as Vaan , an Vaan wasnt even the sole main char of the game .

The game had literally three main characters that shone through : Vaan , Balthier , Ashe . With the rest of the team not that far behind in focus .

it's not at all a game where Vaan in particular was the big star . The whole team and its adventure was .

Even if you dont agree with that view , at least in FFXII if you hate Vaan you can find solace with the others .

In FFX , as it it mostly Tidus' story , you are screwed if you hate him (like i do)

[NautilusXIII]

@TheTwelve
Agree. i beleive i beat the game at lv40. i was plannin on lveling to 80+ then fight final boss, but got impatient.

[NewMonday]

this game had much more potential , the judges could have become the most awesome villains in any FF, but Cid and the emperor undermined their potential.

making the fugitive solder the main character would have been much more appealing.

remember this game had development problems with the Director being chained, this had an effect i'm sure.

[blitz0623]

@Baka-akaB

If the game had 3 main characters that SHONE THROUGH it would be Ashe, Balthier and BASCH, not VAAN.

Vaan is easily the lamest MC in the entire FF franchise. Penelo had no business being in the game other than to 'babysit' Vaan and hold a nethicite Larsa gave her, which could have been done by some other character.

Basch and Balthier saved that game in terms of storyline characters. Vaan was basically like Tidus - he didn't know what the hell was going on, except Tidus actually came from a different place/time, whereas Vaan was just stupid to begin with.

[Zeixama]

Only things about FFXIII minus I are great city designs and memorable good soundtrack.

And it is not the best when you begin to live under the shadow of Danjuro. Item management is disaster. Ithuno is lovely pet.

The characters are easily unattachable. As a video game/fun/gameplay value, it is great but that supid story arch , that !! anone ne? annonne neee ?!!

[Lucretia]

Imo ff12 was by far the worst FF game ever.

no characters had anything that stood out from other characters, they were all just reskins of themselves, no iconic weapons or anything, Vahn and his little girl friend both were not even the main characters.

the game sucked, it was too easy, and worst of all.....

it literally played itself. you could go to work and the game would be playing itself, fully healed and gain a bunch of levels and loots thanks to the gambit system.

seriously the game was no good

[Reibooi]

XII being the best in the series is always something that will be up to debate. I mean at the end of the day it's the opinion of the person at hand and what one might like the other may not.

That said XII is by far my personal favorite. I loved that the story was something new and different(had far more adult themes like Political corruption, Murder and Betrayal and not just the typical love story FF was known for in alot of the previous games). Most of the characters were very well done and while I will agree that Vaan and Penllo were dull they are kind of the normal people dragged into something way over their heads so they have their place. Ashe and Balthier are some of the best characters in the series in my opinion.

I know alot of people hated the gambit system but I have never understood why. People complained that the game played itself which itself is a exaggeration. Yes you can get the battles to pretty much play themselves but you still need to navigate the world. On top of which the gambit system only worked as much as you wanted it to. If you wanted to be in direct control of more you could all you have to do was not set the gambit system to do what you wanted to do. Simple. It didn't HAVE to be a automated system if you didn't want it to be.

But I digress I could be here all day talking about why I like the game so much. I really hope at some point SE puts out a HD version of the game. Would buy that in a heartbeat.

[Baka-akaB]

FFXII twelve is seriously my favorite post ff6 title (With the tactics psx spin off). And i pretty feel the way you do about it .

Most people just didnt want to give it a clear chance and a deep look into the system .

[Bimkoblerutso]

^Yeah, you can't go wrong with Matsuno. Tactics, FFXII and Vagrant Story are some of the best games in the industry as far as I'm concerned.

[Ranma1]

FF12 had a mediocre story

[Bimkoblerutso]

I liked it. It didn't have a lot of the melodrama that has almost become borderline parody in the series over the years.

Though I can understand people disliking it, too. Fantasy politics is not something everyone can sink their teeth into.

[l3Display]

XII had the best story, gameplay, and characters of all the Final Fantasy series.

[3-4-5]

I've only played FF11 and even I know FF6 would like to a have a few words with you.

[Cyb3r]

Oh reginald I Disagree

[Snookies12]

It was good, but DEFINITELY not the best in the series.

[Lovable]

I agree with Snookies

FF Tactics is the best in the series.

[vortis]

FFVI forever.

I know, I know...cue the flood of Cloud fanboys.

[Megaton]

Agree on VI. Best ever, followed by IX.

[Sarcasm]

VI is the best ever. Characters, story, and graphics (for its time).

FFXII was good, not the best, but good. Better than XIII at least.

[Snookies12]

Yeah, gotta agree that VI was the best. It had amazing music, story, a huge cast of party members who were thought out, tons to do before fighting Kefka, 2 world maps which was just unreal back in the day... Everything you could possibly want, and it STILL holds up to this day, which is extremely rare for games that old.

[MattyG]

Shhh, it's a secret to everybody.
And I've never even played 12, might have to check it out now.

[Catoplepas]

It's certainly home to some of the best dialogue and voice acting gaming has produced. The audio compression did give the impression that it was recorded in a tin outhouse though, but I always thought that added to it's charm rather than it's detriment.

Hopefully once Square pulls their collective fingers out and finishes X HD they'll move on to this.

[FinaLXiii]

For me its FFIX the best representation for the series but i understand that people have their own favorites.

No emo crap in FFIX =)

[Megaton]

Nah, but I did actually really like it anyway. Played through it twice, got all the secret weapons and killed all the side bosses. Only missing a couple of the 80 rare enemies or whatever.

[deletingthis34675334]

I disagree, better than XIII though. That game...that game.

[youndamie]

lol yea XIII sucked but im playing 13-2 right now, the story is only slightly better but the gameplay is way better

[HeavenlySnipes]

THANK YOU

- Most content
- Biggest game world
- More mature story
- Lots of customization
- Top notch graphics for ps2
- Great gameplay
- AMAZING VOICE ACTING
- Rated just as high as FFIX and FF7

InB4SomeoneSaysNoBecauseTheyT hinkVaanIsTheMainCharacterEvenT houghAsheIs

[falloutx]

My only problem with the game was the main character, It seemed he had nothing to do with the story. It should of been Ashe.

[Imalwaysright]

Ash and Balthier are FF12 main characters!

[youndamie]

yea Ashe, Balthier, Or CAPTAIN BASCH FON RONSENBURG OF DALMASCA!

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

12 was good, easily one of my favorite FFs, but it wasn't the best.

[koehler83]

I wouldn't say it's the best. But it's really good.

[MEsoJD]

My biggest problems with XII are the characters. Also my thought through the whole game was man, I wish I could either play as Judge Gabranth(so awesome) or change my character outword appearance to something just as badass.

[Godmars290]

In terms of gameplay, of representing a 1-1 scaled world, it did a decent enough job.

Lack of a engaging story, no main character or that characters became interchangeable - airpirates who didn't fly - make it forgettable where persistence makes XIII hated.

Honestly think that if FF7 had spawned direct sequels, people would hate it.

[Iceman X]

My favorite was FFXIII and FFXIII-2, i liked them all. I never played was FFIX. I couldn't get pass the goffy main characters. I heard it was good i may Dl it from PSN.

[DragonKnight]

You must have just started playing FF.

[Iceman X]

Nope i started at FF7 on Ps1.

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

I LOVED FF XII.

[Flipgeneral]

FF IV, VI, VII, and XII all have a special place in my heart (and Tactics, you know I'll never forget you baby)

[Imalwaysright]

Just the fact that the screen doesnt shatter into pieces every 3 or 4 steps automatically makes it one of the best in the series. Its my third favorite after FFIX and FF6.

[Megaton]

Agreed. Random battles can really rustle one's jimmies.

[Pozzle]

I don't mind random battles...but I'll never understand why Square thought a loud glass-shattering noise was a good way to begin every. single. battle. in Final Fantasy X.

Even now I've got the glass shattering noise in my head. :O

[Dac2u]

Ya, thanks for that... now it's in my head as well.

[belac09]

12 is amazing, i loved the amount of content it was huge, whoever that was that said its too easy is lying, it was hard for me and i have beaten every FF game multiple times as well as dark and demons souls, and i think FF 12 is harder. well when i last played it anyway.

[Imalwaysright]

FFX is the easiest FF. Yojimbo destroyed everything with Zanmato. Thats how i killed most bosses in the game and all i had to do was pay him 1 gil.

[Hicken]

Underrated? Most certainly.

Best? Not so much. The story is arguably one of the best in the series, if not number 1. And everything meshed so well, from the battle system to the countries to the music.

But one of the biggest drawbacks for me was the fact that anybody could use any weapon. To me, a character's weapon is a representation of the character, itself. To have Penelo capable of using a katana, a pistol, an axe, a bow, and everything else just took away from what could have made her more memorable.

Speaking of which: she and Vaan were the weak links in the character list. I can't think of any other JRPG where you start off which characters that aren't the main characters. And let's be honest, Ashe IS the main character of XII(though Balthier and Fran make a pretty good attempt at stealing the show).

Do I like XII? Hell yes. Great game, far better than most people give it credit for. But I think the expendability of two main characters- and the overall lack of identity with just one weapon for all characters- damages it a lot in my eyes.

[Knightofelemia]

I played it she wasn't my favorite Final Fantasy I prefer Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VIII myself but fans have their own Final Fantasy game that speaks to them.

[kwyjibo]

If 12 is the best in the series, then the series must be lame. This is not outside the scope of possibility.

So much of the game is just filler guff. Take the Phon Coast - what happens at the Phon Coast, why is it part of the game? It's just some area that you have to grind through from A to B, just because they wanted more hours in the game. It has no narrative function, and only serves as a checkpoint in which you have to waste x amount of time.

Look back through the game, how many other Phon Coasts are there? How many other needless dull repetition? At what point do you actually have to engage in strategy or skills? It's just so packed full of mediocrity.

Then again, this is a series of games for people who like random encounters. What was the point of those again?

[DragonKnight]

Your post is full of so much wine I'd like to ask if you own a vineyard.

Phon Coast is FFXII's attempt to add more life to the world of Ivalice. It isn't a BAD thing to have a location where the characters just go through it just because they need to pass through. It's called adding realism. You probably like FFXIII's linearity.

Is the question you're asking about the series as a whole? Because if you're asking it then you're ignorant of the series as a whole. You sound like the type of person who likes shooters and especially likes the twitch shooters. You sound like someone who wants "no nonsense" in his games and thinks of them as "srs business" to which I would ask why you play at all.

What's the point of random encounters? Oh I don't know, to be random? What's the point of being able to see your enemies being in the same place every playthrough, knowing what kind of enemy they are every time, devising the same exact strategy every time. Random battles STARTED out as a way create surprise encounters on limited hardware. People like random encounters because they're random. It kind of takes the fun out of a game when you can see pretty much every enemy coming from a mile away, and if you can't then you can easily remember where they were the next time you play. With random encounters you may have some repetitive battles but at least there is a random element to them.

But don't worry. There are plenty of generic shooters and lame pseudo-rpgs like Mass Effect for you to play.

[Griffin4871]

-No World Map
-Main character was unimportant
-Character development was dry and uninteresting
-Too sincere and lacked comic relief

While it was a good game, half the time it felt like I was playing an MMO...OFFLINE. I didn't like it because it was Final Fantasy, but that it was a decent game.

[megamanX2]

"Why Final Fantasy XII is secretly the best in the series"

why i dont care...too many reasons to list. The main reason is that nobody wants a transgendered rpg game.

[Bahamut-Shin]

what do you mean with "transgendered"?

[DragonKnight]

Don't get all uppity. He means Vaan looks like a flat chested girl because he does.

[listenkids]

Opinions are opinions, get over yourselves.

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

XIII>XII. IMa get some hate for it but thats just my opinion.

[raiden-49]

Well i hope to play this soon when its re-released i never played it but i can't wait to so far the best ff I have ever played is ffIV but i have high expectations of XII.

[CanadianTurtle]

Personally, I feel that FF12 had a really cool looking universe. It was a mix between futuristic and medievil style and I loved the monster designs too. I haven't played the game yet I've seen quite a few vids, and I don't really think it'll be all that bad of an experience. Because at least I'll have the universe's artstyle to keep me going. Unlike FF13, man that game had nothing to offer but nice graphics.

[Xperia_ion]

FFVI is second best to me. Compare VI storyline to XII, there is more originality in XII. Psycho Clown villain has been done to death, not that I hate it, Kefka is badass.

[mochachino]

I totally agree with the author. It had amazing universe design, characters, story and artwork.

[Xperia_ion]

It's the best one and Vaan is doing it with Penelo, Haters wish he is Gay.

[Tzuno]

Is not the best is one of the best but not the best. Ps1 best is 9. Ps2 best is 10.

[GrahamGolden]

nope ps1 is ff7

[GrahamGolden]

not the best but compared to that pile of shit 13 its a diamond lol

[abzdine]

i'm ready to pay 100$ for FF12HD. SONY please make it happen cause this is true RPG for me, complete freedom and tons of customisation.

[rhap]

Lol, it's a single player MMO. Boring. People here probably never bothered to play Final Fantasy Tactics and see moments like Wiegraf's Karl Marx speech.