entropia

I haven’t played a game from the Final Fantasy main series since Final Fantasy 7. I think I’m the only person to have stopped playing the series because of that game. That means FF12 is only the 2nd 3D Final Fantasy game I’ve played, and the first in about 10 years. I’ve only just started, but I think I may end up going back and playing 8-11 once I finish.

FF12 is almost exactly what I’m looking for in an RPG. In fact, it’s what I was hoping DS2 would be. I’m a huge fan of Dungeon Siege, and I had hoped Dungeon Siege 2 would expand on the party command system and the equipment/spell requirement system. FF12 does both of these. And since the battles are in run-time, on the same screen as the world, it feels more like a PC RPG than a Final Fantasy (although the artwork and the story leave no question).

Those two systems I wanted - party commands and equipment/spell requirements - exist in FF12 in the form of gambits and licenses.

Gambits are sets of rules which determine how your party behaves in battles. They are essentially simple logic statements. “If a party member has less than 50% HP, heal them.” “If an enemy is attacking the party leader, attack that enemy.” Combining them lets you have a character who will cast spells and perform other special actions when they’re needed, and just attack when they’re not. This is what Dungeon Siege was lacking. Your mages would only cast spells, repeatedly, until they run out of MP, and then just stand there.

Licenses are how FF12 controls which equipment, spells, and techniques a character can use. Instead of requiring a character class, or level, as previous Final Fantasies and Dungeon Siege have done, all that’s required is a license, of which the player has full control. Of course, there are restrictions. Licenses are organized on a 2D grid, and you can only buy a license if you have an adjacent license. So your mage, which only has staff and robe licences, can’t suddenly get a heavy armor or broad sword license.

The systems aren’t perfect though. Licenses can be tedious, and gambits can be restrictive. And that’s why I want to play FF8-11. I didn’t realise back when the games were new, but the Final Fantasy series has always been full of innovation. FF1 let you choose character classes; FF3 let you change classes; FF56 let you learn spells through espers. Jumping straight from 7 to 12, I’m sure I’ve missed some great gameplay mechanics.