Return of the King
You'll find everything you need here that all good RPGs should have: interesting storylines, interesting characters, character development, and many hours of playtime. However, these familiar points are not wrapped in the same turned based formula that you may be used to. Instead, we are given a game that plays more like an MMORPG during battle and does away with the more traditional format. To some, this may be a turnoff, but there are benifits to be had. For one, there are no random encounters, as enemies will always be on the screen. You can fight or run at your own pace and there will never be a large break between battle mode and exploaration mode. Its all one in the same. There is some deep customization in the game as well, although it can be a little confusing and overdone at the same time. The lisence board is an interesting twist on the FFX Sphere grid, but the problem with it is that in order to use weapons and abilities that you buy from markets, you have to buy coresponding squares on the board as well. So there may be a possiblity that you find nice weapon or upgrade while playing, or bought a nice cure spell, but you can't use it until you buy the right square for it on the board. Overall, its not bad, and does add more strategy but it could have been a little more simple.
The graphics in this game are probably the best that have ever graced the PS2. Sure the CG cut scenes look great as usual, but the in game models and environments are stunning. The emotions and expressions that the characters display are very believable and realistic, and you can tell that a lot went into this game. On the sound side, the voice acting is great and the music is spot on as usual. If its one thing that Square has always been known for, its pulling as much good stuff as possible out of a technically inferior system. Its nice to see that they have not lost that touch.
Overall, despite the changes, this is the best PS2 RPG out this year, and really the best RPG on any console this year. Square Enix took a risk with the battle system, but like it or hate it, its there, and it gets the job done. The game still has that Final Fantasy flavor that we've been wanting for a long time. The wait was worth it to receive such a fine game.