Final Fantasy XII Demo Reviewed

What to expect from FFXII... if it ever gets here.

December 28, 2005

It feels like it's been ages since Final Fantasy XII was first announced, and we've only recently been given a release date. It's set for March 16, 2006 in Japan, which means we'll probably see it in the fall in North America.

But we do have a taste of what's to come. Square Enix shipped a playable demo of FFXII with copies of its latest RPG, Dragon Quest VIII. The demo is quite limited, but it gives a good idea of what to expect from the gameplay of Final Fantasy XII.

Actually, the battle system is most similar to Final Fantasy XI: Online. It's like playing an MMORPG by yourself.

Graphics: The graphics of the game are comparable to the previous PlayStation 2 FFs (Final Fantasy X and X-2). The FMV scenes are quite attractive — the demo begins with a cinematic trailer for the game. You can also see the same trailer on Square Enix's official Web site for the game, if you want to check it out.

Story: There's not a whole lot that can be said about the game's storyline so far. From the trailer, it would appear that the game has a very epic feel to it (like any Final Fantasy, really). It's largely based on a war, and involves various characters that will be somehow thrown together in the chaos. It's Final Fantasy, so our hopes are high.

Gameplay: Here's where things get interesting. Final Fantasy XII differs from all the single-player battle systems in previous Final Fantasy games. Actually, the battle system is most similar to Final Fantasy XI: Online. It's like playing an MMORPG by yourself. Although you do need to wait your turn to play, everything happens in realtime (unlike fully turn-based games). You continually attack your opponent by default, and can choose when to use items, magic, etc, on each turn. The gameplay feels much like playing FFXI, only your party members are controlled by the game (with commands from you if you so choose) instead of by other people.

Even more like Final Fantasy XI is the fact that all enemies appear in the world. There are no random battles in this game. Also, some enemies will attack you upon approach, while others will only defend themselves if you choose to attack them. The demo even has a monster that FFXI players will recognize — the Mandragora.

The Verdict: It's fun to play, no doubt, but this one is unlike any previous Final Fantasy we've played before. With MMORPG gameplay style in a story-based, single-player game, this one will be interesting. And we've only had a taste of the gameplay so far, so we can expect more suprises from Square Enix on this one. There's still much to see, but its looking like Final Fantasy XII may be worth the wait.