Almost as far back as I care to remember, I’ve been playing Final Fantasy games. In fact, as I look back, my life for some time was just periods in between playing a different installment, or replaying the old ones. That being said, I have been excited for the North American release of this game for awhile, especially after I found out that FFXI would be online.

In Final Fantasy XII you play as a young boy named Vaan in a world called Ivalice. Some may remember this name from Final Fantasy Tactics. This time around Ivalice will seem a little less blocky, and a bit faster paced. Also a few might recall the world from Vagrant Story. Vaan, our hero is a young, blonde, albeit effeminate teenage boy who has lost his parents years ago in a war. While this setup may sound familiar, Square-Enix brings a completely new adventure to us. Vaan is a young thief whom decides to make it rich in his hometown palace one night by doing what he does best. In the process he meets a sky pirate, a fallen princess, and a man marked as a traitor. This chain of events will bring a group of strangers together and what starts as what could have been a big score, will end up an adventure he could have never imagined.

Final Fantasy XII introduces a new battle system. The series strays away from random encounters and a lot of telling four different people what to do. Instead action is real time; you will see the monster before you ever fight it. Also, you won’t be brought to a battlefield to fight your opponents, your party fights them right where you stand. You can also move during battles and trade out any of your three characters, as long as nothing has them targeted, even if they are dead. The only time you do get a pause in the action is when you choose your characters actions. Or, if you would prefer, the game introduces a new system called gambits to control your party for you. The idea behind a gambit is to set up a predetermined battle plan for your characters almost like a truth table in math. For example, if you ant to customize your healers gambit, you may set up one of your gambit slots as such; ‘If a party members health falls below 60%, then cast cura.’ Gambits affect all aspects of the battle and help the game from getting too repetitive, a problem all RPG’s in general face.

Earlier in the series character abilities were based on a job system, ability points, shiny rocks called material, what dress you wore, and to some extent your weapon class. This time around we see a new system called licenses. The license system is not unlike the ability points in FFX, but this time around you will see a lot more freedom. All characters will start on basically the same spots on each of the two boards, allowing you to customize each character with whatever weapons, spells, skills, or gear that you want from the start. You can put any character in whichever role you would like.

This generally goes without saying for the games in the series, but expect to see some great CG work. The cut scenes will prove to be a treat to loyal fans and new comers alike. The character modeling and movement in the game is cleaner than ever before and the characters seem realistic. Even the Viera, a human like race with long bunny ears are convincing. Also you will notice that a lot of planning was put into the voice work. The characters in the English version tend to have varied accents. Some of the royal characters have a European accent, and that gives them a bit of a distinguished appeal. Little things like poor voice overs and all-Californian accents can ruin a game. You can also expect to see a lot of different races throughout the game. Of course you have your stock Humes, and the aforementioned Viera, but also look out for Baanga, an athletic, intelligent lizard race. Also you will see the Seeq, who look like huge walking pigs or maybe the Vogons from the film adaptation of Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

There are also tons of side missions and even a clan you can join to go on hunting trips in your free time. Ivalice can wait at least a little while for you to go hunt down a huge cactus, right?

Final Fantasy XII should be hitting the shelves later this month. The game should provide enjoyment to Final Fantasy veterans and newcomers alike. Expect a cleaner, more flexible, and deeper experience than you have seen in the regular series yet.