The PlayStation 2 is almost old news. This is the natural cycle of life. Consoles start out as flashy new equipment to replace their dull predecessors. They thrive for awhile until the next generation comes out and they're pushed into the bargain bin. And the cycle starts over. What's this have to do with anything? It seems that whenever this happens, there’s a Final Fantasy that explores the full potential of the system. Final Fantasy XI was the last one we saw for the Super Nintendo. Then there was IX, while not many fans favorite of the series, no one can doubt it was beautiful for a PS1 game. Now there’s Final Fantasy XII, and it does the system justice as It's little brother, the PS3, comes to steal the spotlight.

Let's take a look at Final Fantasy XII, where we return to Ivalice and set out on a whole new journey. Our main character, a young teen named Vaan sets out on a journey that take him all over the world. In this truly immense game we go with him as he unfolds a story beyond his, and our, imagination.

The team from Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant story are back, this time to give us the first true iteration since X came out a few years back. Don't come in here looking for a traditional RPG, because you wont find that. XII checks random encounters and rigorous turned based strategy at the door. The Active Battle System that we remember from the series is replaced by the Active Dimension Battle System. This can be compared with FFXI's system. Combat takes place in real time, and its not a surprise either. Just as if you were walking up to friendly townsfolk, you'll see your enemies before you fight them, and what you see is what you get. There’s also no battle screen, so if more enemies come at you, you had best be prepared.

While this calls for some quick thinking, you're not alone. You could sit there and individually tell each party member what to do, but you don’t have to. They game employs a new system called Gambits. Basically, a gambit is an If/then statement, customizable to each character. You can set up a character to fight for awhile until one of your friends falls below a certain level and then they'll pop off a heal. Or you can set up how they attack, or even how they attack certain foes. The system really allows for a lot of customization on how your team fights, but can, at times, get a bit monotonous having to change them fairly often.

Speaking of customization you won't find your characters with specific jobs. You can make the little girl be the one up front with a big sword being the party's meat shield. Meanwhile, the brawny guy can be in the back casting spells or using a ranged weapon. This is possible with the use of a license board. Slain monsters give license points that you use to unlock squares on 2 large boards to uncover skills, weapons, armor, magic, and stat bonuses. But unlocking a square doesn’t mean you can automatically use these things. You still have to find or buy the item/skill to equip it. All characters start out with roughly the same skills so how you play is your choice. Unfortunately this can be a bit nerve racking for those who like a bit of a hand in character and party growth.

The one thing that probably stands out the most here is the characters. They were created not necessarily to make you like or hate them. The main character certainly isn't some poster child for all that is right. He's a thief and a wannabe sky-pirate. On the other hand the "bad guys," while doing what they do best, are much more civilized that their counter parts. They are patriotic and, even though they are bad, they are not without compassion. While many may not compare them to Cloud or Kefka or Sephiroth, a few of the characters are worth noting along side these names. The voice acting seems to be predominately Scottish and English. This really adds great flavor to the role playing aspect. And they look good too. The characters are very well designed, and while some costumes are at best odd, they certainly do not lack in creativity.

Not only are the characters well designed, but once you step out into the huge world, you'll be amazed by the wide array of creatures and landscapes the game has. This is a PS2 game, but it's really pushed to the limits. While at some points it may be a bit grainy, you'll be more than compensated with the beauty surrounding you.

There's also a bunch of new smaller features added to the game. You can go hunting to increase your rank in the guild and get access to better items. Also there's a neat feature that allows you to chain like mobs. In other words, the more of the same creature you kill, the better items they drop. I really enjoyed my time spent chain slaying little Jawa-esque sand people to 50+. The rewards are worth it. Replacing the Limit break is the Quickening system. As opposed to getting beat on and having a limit bar increase, at full mana a character use a powerful attack that chain with other characters attacks to create, well, an even more powerful attack. The drawback to this is any character who does use this, has their mana reduced to zero, so use it wisely.

It should be noted that you can find 2 different versions of this game. The regular and the collector's edition. The collector's edition comes in a sleek metal case and contains a bonus DVD. On the DVD you'll find tons of developer interviews and Art work. Also on the disc is a short movie that retells the story of the history of all the final fantasy games and might make you want to revisit some old friends. Mostly it’s a documentary, but towards the end(especially the FFXI part) felt a bit like a sales pitch. Definitely worth the extra beans for die hard fans.

All in all Square-Enix brings us what many fans will tout as the best Final Fantasy in a long time, since FFVII, or maybe even VI. Fan of the series or not, this is one game that anyone who claims to like RPG's wouldn’t be taken seriously without. - Robert Martell.