In a world full of injustice teetering on the brink of war, a small group of heroes find themselves inexplicably drawn together. Up against an entire empire, their only hope is to travel the world and unlock the powers of an ancient kingdom to resist those who would dominate the weak to serve their own purposes. Can so small a group really rise up and challenge the advanced power of such an empire?

Final Fantasy XII is a rather clean game, better than many of its predecessors in this regard. It is, however, firmly deserving of a ?Teen? rating. The relatively mild, but realistic, violence and some minor thematic issues do provide a little bit of questionable material. Magic may also be a problem for some and perhaps the biggest problem with the magic is the fact that it is accepted and considered normal. To be fair, however, the powers are common to people, and the game has no witches or wizards. Additionally, the magic is also portrayed by certain characters in a scientific manner, with the powers being analyzed and manipulated to serve specific purposes. Really, many children, too young for the content, will most likely lack much desire to play a game that is so plot heavy and reading intensive.

Overall, Final Fantasy XII provides a highly satisfying adventure in a well developed world that is relatively free of the controversial material that fills nearly all entertainment these days. With minor language, and only limited issues pertaining to content and magical references, FFXII provides a fun chance to immerse yourself in another world, the well developed characters and excellent presentation making it easy to form an emotional bond with Ivalice. The active time battle system mimics the feel of other online RPGs, with the highly customizable gambit system creating passably intelligent comrades. When you?re not too busy hunting monsters or finding new weapons with which to save the world, you can simply stop and take in the visuals all around you. Additionally, with all sorts of sidequests and bonuses to obtain, the game can easily take over one hundred hours to fully explore, and even then the chance to replay the game with different character builds can add a decent amount of replay value.

While many upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 games may soon overshadow FFXII on technical merits, the compelling storyline and impressive blend of real-time combat and strategic planning will likely stand the test of time for quite a while. Though there may be minor quibbles with some features of FFXII, and indeed the real-time system itself feels slow and awkward at first, by the time you let yourself get into the story and build a full party these problems will fade into the background. FFXII is a gem, an incredible game that cannot fully be expressed in a few pages. Perhaps it can best be described as an experience, a story that draws you in and genuinely lets you play a part as it unfolds. Square Enix has lived up to their reputation and provided us with yet another masterpiece, a game both beautiful and deep. If you are a fan of the console RPG genre, then you owe it to yourself to check out FFXII at least once!

» By Jesse Porch, Plain Games. Published 12/19/2007 3:42:49 PM.