You've been waiting for years; now it's here? Does it live up to the hype? You're damn right it does!
Plot 7/10
Archadia and Rozzaria are two large empires in the world of Ivalice, and it's only a matter of time before war breaks out between them. In the meanwhile, the Archadian empire subjugates smaller kingdoms to expand it's influence. Resisting kingdoms have been wiped off the face of Ivalice. Dalmasca is one of the "lucky" ones, falling under the control of the Imperial premier, and prince of Archadia, Lord Vayne, after the death of the King and Princess.
Enter Vaan, small-time thief and street urchin of Rabanastre, capital of Dalmasca. In an attempt to steal from the palace, he is thrown into a political plot, ending up helping an underground resistance attempt to free Dalmasca from the iron fist of Archadian rule.
The party members that join, have their own motivations for doing so, never tagging along just for the hell of it, a problem of quite a few games. Each character has a fair bit of character development and background, but due to the amount of time spent on the main plot, not much character interaction takes place. It's dissapointing, especially when each character is as interesting as they are.
The plot sometimes likes to disappear at times, only really being revealed in sporadic, but fairly lengthy, cutscenes. In this way, you can see it's resemblance to it's online predecessor, Final Fantasy XI, where you'd spend a bit of time in town, gathering information to find out where you're supposed to go, sell loot, buy new equipment, and then fight your way to your new destination. But given the sheer amount of extra subquests, the design is understandable.
Graphics 8/10
The graphics are some of the best on the PS2, especially for the size of the areas. Tombs look decidely neglected and foreboding, and the open areas of the city are filled with citezenry, who often move around the city. Spells and attack animations look slick, and the more powerful the spell, the more impressive the effect. The random weather effects are well-done also, especially thy heavy blizzards and sandstorms, where it can often be difficult to find your way and avoid enemies. Unfortunately, the load time can be a little long at times.
Combat 9/10
Even though FFX and FFX-2 both featured fresh takes on the turn-based Active Time Battle system, XII is the first to have battles that take place in real-time (no shattering screens here) and the ability to set your party members AI via the gambit system, eliminating the need to pick every attack for your party members. And with the amount of monsters that can swarm you at any given time, that is a very good thing.
You can always use the traditional method of the battle system, sans gambits. but some of the tougher enemies will give you a run for your money, especially if the battle speed is set to its maximum. Even the most hardcore anti-gambit player could benifit from having a few healing gambits set up.
Sound 6/10
Unlike most entries in the Final Fantasy series, XII is pretty flat in the music department. There are few memorable tunes in the game, and the few that are are rarely heard in the game, another trait it shares with it's online predecessor. The series' composer Nobou Uematsu's absense is noticeable, although he did compose one track (one of the memorable ones.) The voice acting saves this category. Each character has a voice that fit them, from the smarmy, Han Solo-ish sky pirate Balthier, to the cool, scheming Vayne.
Conclusion 8/10
All in all, this is a worthy addition to any RPG fan's collection. I have 100+ hours played, and I didn't even finish everything, myself. Put on a CD between cutscenes and you have a truly great way to spend a couple of weekends.