Report: Final Fantasy XII Remake Coming Out "Soon"

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I only ever used Fran, Ashe, and Balthier. I barely register Vaan or Penelo existing, but I did like Basch as a character. However 4th best is no good in a 3 person party.

The combat system I normally would have hated but it worked well enough 99% of the time. I never beat the Omega Weapon ion that damn crystal maze place because it required heavy shenanigans.

I did, for some reason, farm myself a weird sunflower sword that took forever to make.

I can't remember if I ever killed that thing with the 30 health bars, probably not.

Also, I couldn't tell you almost anything about the plot though I do remember what the final boss looked like if not their name.

I mostly remember some interesting bosses, summons, and Fran.

 

[Kameburger]

I binged about 5 or 6 hours into this game and then my PS2 memory card stopped working... I couldn't bring myself to start again... it's a difficult system to start at from the beginning. But I would LOVE to play this game on my vita, or hell even my PS4 if they do it up enough.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Still have the steel-book edition on the PS2 but I haven't beaten it yet...oh well, presumably I'll finish the remake once that launches. It looks like another (potential) reason for me to grab a PS4 as well so woo-yay! It's a shame we won't be seeing any traditional Final Fantasies in the forseeable future though...I want me some random encounters and turn-based fights.

 

[RaikuFA]

I like Ivalice. Like this one. I hope a new FF takes place in Ivalice.

 

[elvor0]

For me, XII was too flawed. I disliked the combat and Vaan was just so unneccesary to the plot. Made worse by how absolutely stupid he is.

Balthier: "Hey, Vaan. Basch and I are wanted by the Empire. So, make sure you don't call us by name or anything stupid like that. I mean, you'd have to have some sort of learning disability to do something that dumb, right?"
Literally 5 seconds later, Vaan meets the young Imperial Prince.
Vaan: "Hiya, little boy that I have never met before. Did you know I'm with Balthier, the wanted Sky Pirate, and Basch, who isn't actually dead?"
Basch: "Why is this kid with us again?"
Fran: "Next thing you know he's going to be asking me my age..."

I'm not hating on the idea, may even buy it, but this is one of those games that I couldn't finish. Mostly because I realized I was watching TV while playing it because I found combat too boring.

Except we all know that's BS. He IS the protagonist, but of course since he was tacked on he does nothing of consequence and if dropped from the storyline nothing suffers. When there is a protagonist who does nothing, has no arc, and is in no way important to the narrative then it's quite clear the writers have failed at their jobs.

In defence of the game, this is executive meddling gone wrong. Thankfully the developers did try and reconcile this to the best of their abilities as you'll notice that when the actual main plot is going on(ie when the adults are talking), Vaan and Panile don't actually say or do anything. This is because they quite literally have been spliced into the background. The main characters were supposed to be Balthier and Bosch, but Vaan was stuck in for people to relate to. Who, I'm not sure, but whatever. The writers didn't fail at their job, they weren't allowed to do it in the first place. I /prefer/ Vaan being a non entity for the most part because he shouldn't exist in the first place.

 

[Story]

Hmmm so FFXII was actaully my first game in the series, reading the comments I can see I made a mistake and wasn't alone for not finishing it.

 

[Blazing Hero]

A remake of arguably one of the worst FF titles? Oh joy!
Blegh I would be more excited if they were doing a remake of FF Mystic Quest.

 

[koroem]

People that whine about Vaan obviously did not understand the story at all. Maybe button mashers are better suited to your comprehension level. FFXII is one of the best in the franchise.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

FFXII, I did enjoy that game. I don't believe it received the attention that it could have, especially since PS3 was released the following month.

It got plenty of attention. It sold very, very well. I do agree that its story hold it back for some fans of the series, but its battle mechanics and huge, beautiful world are probably one of the best in the series. Especially when compared to its successor Final Hallway XIII.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

People that whine about Vaan obviously did not understand the story at all. Maybe button mashers are better suited to your comprehension level. FFXII is one of the best in the franchise.

Dude, Vann was a bad protagonist. People who hate him do understand the story. Fans of the game understand that he wasn't even supposed to be the main protagonist. That was Basch's role before the game's writer and designer Yasumi Matsuno was hospitalized during its development. The people who stepped in to finish the story wanted to emulate Matsuno's previous work with FF Tactics and slid Vaan in as the new "Ramza Belouve".

We get what they were going for, a main character who's more of an observer than an active participant in moving the storyline forward. It just wasn't executed that well. Vaan is an unrelatable character who's really just dragged along for the ride and has no input in the story after leaving Dalmasca. He doesn't come to find realizations of the world like Ramza did. He's basically a less involved Ash Ketchum. He's not an integral part of the story because he wasn't originally supposed to exist.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

That's what happens when the director walks out halfway through production because he got sick and tired of all the BS Square's meddlesome executives kept piling on.

If you're talking about Director Yasumi Matsuno, he didn't leave because of SE Execs. He left due to illness. I get not liking the game's story and characters, but try not to spread anti-corporation info when it doesn't apply.

 

[Zacharious-khan]

I'd buy it on steam. Hope it comes there. or Gog

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Vaan isn't the protagonist, it's Ashe's story.

Vaan's character arc is resolved in the first act, and is meant to be a reflection of the theme of Ashe and Basch's conflicts--that of revenge for those who wronged you. Vaan doesn't resolve it by getting even with the object of his scorn [Basch], instead he learns the truth and decides to follow along and do what is right instead of doing what is just.

Ashe's story, however, is that she struggles with that. She is seeking vengeance and even the reveal of the truth of the Occuria does not dissuade her; only the support of her allies [including Vaan] convinces her that vengeance is not the way.

Contrast with Tidus, who IS the protagonist of his story, as while he tags along Yuna's journey of self-sacrifice, it is eventually him that makes the choice to sacrifice himself to bring Eternal Calm so she doesn't have to; while her journey is intended that she sacrifices herself so that no one else has to.

Except we all know that's BS. He IS the protagonist, but of course since he was tacked on he does nothing of consequence and if dropped from the storyline nothing suffers. When there is a protagonist who does nothing, has no arc, and is in no way important to the narrative then it's quite clear the writers have failed at their jobs.

I like how the guy you responded to actually put thought into his rebuttal, and the only thing you gave in return was a bunch of biased circular logic.

For the record, I do agree in that Ashe was the ultimate protagonist of FFXII. One already knew who she was long before Vaan was ever introduced, and the entire plot revolved around her, up until the very end - not around Vaan. Hell, after the first act, even Balthier has more plot revolving around him than Vaan did.

This. Though to be fair, Basch was intended to fill the "Ramza Belouve" style protagonist instead of Vaan.

 

[Lightspeaker]

The good new is I suppose I'll not longer have to use the PS2 emulator to play this game again.

Dont we still need the HD remakes for 9, 10 and 10-2 on PC?

But they probably want to do XII first as it's still the only FF game that hasn't been ported to another platform yet.

Nor has FFIX been ported to another platform.

Not physically, but you can download it on the PS3.

FF9 needs a HD remake so badly. I would buy that day 1 and play it for a week straight. By far the very best Final Fantasy story. Loved that game so much.

Go one further and give me FF9 with FF10's battle system and I could probably die happy.

People that whine about Vaan obviously did not understand the story at all. Maybe button mashers are better suited to your comprehension level. FFXII is one of the best in the franchise.

Oh right then..."one of the best" with literally no qualifying points other than to insult people who are detailing grievances with the game. Lets provide a counterpoint then: I own every single main numbered Final Fantasy and a decent number of spinoffs. FFXII is, by far, the worst in the entire franchise for numerous reasons. A handful of them include:

- Weak and convoluted story that lacked impact despite its grand scale. The actual major plot points lacked emphasis to the point it ended up as a confusing and vague mash of 'stuff'.

- The single most godawful combat system in any Final Fantasy game to date. It was almost an MMO done in single player except worse. It had less interactivity than the combat of Final Fantasy XIII because at least there you had to change your paradigms about for stronger enemies. For 12 to level and grind money I would literally set up a handful of gambits to attack and heal and then just drag the analog stick to run back and forth through an area killing absolutely everything with zero input whilst I read a book or something.

- Incredibly poorly paced. Some sections dragged out for far too long and some of the more interesting places got too little focus in comparison. Worse still...rather than having a regular flow of dungeons and non-combat story progression parts were very laboriously drawn out meaning it was easy to just burn out and get bored with a part of it.

- Vaan was a godawful character to have as the focus protagonist from the start. There is zero reason to be invested in him at all. He is simultaneously dull and annoying, actively taking away from the interest in the central plot points by his mere presence. For me, Ashe should have been the titular focus character.

"One of the best" indeed...

 

[Rattja]

They sure do ride the remake/remaster train these days huh?
But of all the games, why this one?

Remember playing it all the way through some years ago, just to get to right before the last boss before I scratched my disc and ruined it.
Usually I have a very good memory when it comes to games, but right now I can't remember jack about what the story was about.
I remember the leveling/unlocking system was confusing as heck and just bad. The combat was slow and repetitive, just plane boring.
The characters were quite lacking as well, where none of them stuck with me at all, actually only remember 3 of them.
Even the music, which is usually what strikes me as THE thing about the FF games is not memorable at all. Could not even hum the battle music which is kinda sad when you think about it.

Now I can take comfort in that they have already done FFX (but would REALLY like it on PC) and FFVII is on it's way. But why oh why are they not doing IX!? It would have been a much better choice than this one.

 

[Quellist]

It better be pretty impressive to beat playing a patched Zodiac International version on a PC in HD!

That said, XII was and is a classic, if its a respectful remake i'll probably buy it anyway to have it on my shelf!

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I like how the guy you responded to actually put thought into his rebuttal, and the only thing you gave in return was a bunch of biased circular logic.

For the record, I do agree in that Ashe was the ultimate protagonist of FFXII. One already knew who she was long before Vaan was ever introduced, and the entire plot revolved around her, up until the very end - not around Vaan. Hell, after the first act, even Balthier has more plot revolving around him than Vaan did.

Except she's not. If anyone is the main character by that logic it's Basch as he goes through the biggest journey, has the most backstory, most of the plot was in fact kicked off by him, and if it WEREN'T for him Ashe and her stupid fashion would have been dead in a ditch a long time ago.

But say Ashe IS the main character, which brings up another problem: she's a TERRIBLE character. She has ONE dimension to her and that's her whining 24/7 about her dead fiance. The second she doesn't she pretty much ceases to exist. And of course how she doesn't contribute much of anything significant to the party or the narrative except for being the princess (and when she does contribute anything it's either worthless or detrimental). She's not a character, she's a MacGuffin. You could have made her a briefcase and the plot wouldn't change in any meaningful way.

And that's before we get into the problem: that it doesn't change how Vaan IS the main character. People can deny it all they like, but it still doesn't change how HE'S the one we control, HE'S the one we're using as the viewpoint, and the game is clearly TRYING to make him relevant, but due to how they had to try and work that into a finished script, it shows just how badly they fucked up in their endeavor.

 

[Estarc]

My feelings for this are mixed. While the PS3 versions of FFX and X-2 were solid, the PS4 ports were plagued with issues. Leaves me without a lot of confidence in the quality of this port. Also, the amount of fucking grind needed in FFXII to get certain items, like, the Tournesol? Nobody ever in the world ever would be able to get that thing ever without a guide. I don't know if I can be fucked doing it again. But at least if I DO want to, I still have my FFXII strategy guide.

What would get me excited for this is if we get confirmation that the Zodiac Job System from the Japanese International version will be included in the English release. That'd be awesome. But I'd still wait for reviews because quality concerns.

 

[Janaschi]

I like how the guy you responded to actually put thought into his rebuttal, and the only thing you gave in return was a bunch of biased circular logic.

For the record, I do agree in that Ashe was the ultimate protagonist of FFXII. One already knew who she was long before Vaan was ever introduced, and the entire plot revolved around her, up until the very end - not around Vaan. Hell, after the first act, even Balthier has more plot revolving around him than Vaan did.

Except she's not. If anyone is the main character by that logic it's Basch as he goes through the biggest journey, has the most backstory, most of the plot was in fact kicked off by him, and if it WEREN'T for him Ashe and her stupid fashion would have been dead in a ditch a long time ago.

But say Ashe IS the main character, which brings up another problem: she's a TERRIBLE character. She has ONE dimension to her and that's her whining 24/7 about her dead fiance. The second she doesn't she pretty much ceases to exist. And of course how she doesn't contribute much of anything significant to the party or the narrative except for being the princess (and when she does contribute anything it's either worthless or detrimental). She's not a character, she's a MacGuffin. You could have made her a briefcase and the plot wouldn't change in any meaningful way.

And that's before we get into the problem: that it doesn't change how Vaan IS the main character. People can deny it all they like, but it still doesn't change how HE'S the one we control, HE'S the one we're using as the viewpoint, and the game is clearly TRYING to make him relevant, but due to how they had to try and work that into a finished script, it shows just how badly they fucked up in their endeavor.

It ultimately comes down to perspective, since absolutely none of us can say with 100% certainty as to whom is the main protagonist. So I am not really all that inclined to continue down that route, since it will essentially become a pissing contest. However, I will say that just because Vaan is the one we control, does not mean that he is the main protagonist of the story. There are indeed literary devices where the story is told through a secondary character, and this tact is used frequently, from Epics to modern poetry.

However, one thing struck me as particularly odd with what you said: which Ashe are you talking about? Because the Ashe I know in FFXII, almost never mentions her dead fiance. Hell, for the entire act after first obtaining her as a party-member, she will barely even talk to anyone straight.

 

[xaszatm]

I like how the guy you responded to actually put thought into his rebuttal, and the only thing you gave in return was a bunch of biased circular logic.

For the record, I do agree in that Ashe was the ultimate protagonist of FFXII. One already knew who she was long before Vaan was ever introduced, and the entire plot revolved around her, up until the very end - not around Vaan. Hell, after the first act, even Balthier has more plot revolving around him than Vaan did.

Except she's not. If anyone is the main character by that logic it's Basch as he goes through the biggest journey, has the most backstory, most of the plot was in fact kicked off by him, and if it WEREN'T for him Ashe and her stupid fashion would have been dead in a ditch a long time ago.

But say Ashe IS the main character, which brings up another problem: she's a TERRIBLE character. She has ONE dimension to her and that's her whining 24/7 about her dead fiance. The second she doesn't she pretty much ceases to exist. And of course how she doesn't contribute much of anything significant to the party or the narrative except for being the princess (and when she does contribute anything it's either worthless or detrimental). She's not a character, she's a MacGuffin. You could have made her a briefcase and the plot wouldn't change in any meaningful way.

And that's before we get into the problem: that it doesn't change how Vaan IS the main character. People can deny it all they like, but it still doesn't change how HE'S the one we control, HE'S the one we're using as the viewpoint, and the game is clearly TRYING to make him relevant, but due to how they had to try and work that into a finished script, it shows just how badly they fucked up in their endeavor.

As someone who actually puts FFXII as his favorite Final Fantasy, I'm going to have to disagree with you. The main character isn't anyone in your party. Similar to FF Tactics, the main character is someone you don't control. The main character? Venat, the rogue Occuria and his friends (or the "villains") are actually the true main characters of this story. Even if Vaan was added later (he actually wasn't, his status as the "POV character" was added later, but concept art featuring him was there since the early game), it wouldn't have mattered because the original director was going with something similar FF Tactics storywise, which tells the "true" story behind an official telling. Where a series of seemingly inconsequential events lead to the status changing event.

And honestly, Vaan IS important to the story. In fact, his biggest confirmation of this the one trait everyone hates about him: his unimportance. Yes, that sounds completely contradictory but here me out. The entire main cast are but pawns in a grander game between Venat and the Occuria. The Occuria are trying to lead Ashe, Basch, and Balthier to destroying the three main humans helping Venat (Vayne, Cid, and Gabranth). The three already have individual reasons to hate one of those three humans. The Occuria's ultimate goal is for Ashe to use the Sword of Kings to create new "Ralthecite" to destroy the Dalmascan Empire and once again have the Occuria rule behind the scenes. Since the Occuria are terrible rulers, this is a bad thing. However, they probably would have succeeded if it wasn't for a wrench no one saw coming: Vaan.

Vaan's main role is his relative unimportance to larger events yet having the same desire the "main trio" has: revenge. Ashe wants Vayne dead as the head of the Dalmascan Empire, Basch wants answers for his brother for his betrayal, and Balthier harbors anger against his own father. Revenge plays a major role in these relationships and the Occuria are only happy to exploit these feelings to get their way. Vaan, however, despises Basch. Now, granted, he should actually hate Gabranth, but even with the truth, hatred for Basch still exists. Vaan's ultimate forgiveness of Basch puts a wrench in the Occuria's plans. At first they try to use Reks as a way to get Vaan to hate Venat's human followers but since they had not seen him coming, it fails. Not only that, it ultimately has the opposite effect because Ashe ultimately rejects the fake ghosts the Occuria use because of Vaan. This will lead to the true climax of the game where Ashe refuses to cut the Ralthecite from the giant crystal using the Sword of Kings, thereby giving Venat's true goal: a world where the races of Ivalice decide their own fate. At this point, the rest of the game is just cleaning up the remaining story threads. The only thread that's ultimately unfinished is Vaan's, which does tie into the fact that this ISN'T his story. He was a small, but ultimately important, part in many other people's story, but FFXII wasn't HIS story. That's why I do not mind him being the "POV" character.

I mean, I could write an essay on how I think the characters are way more interesting then you give them credit for, but at that point I've gone beyond fanboying and into an uncomfortable realm.