Final Fantasy XII: Best RPG of 2006

Having waited 5 years since the last proper installment of Final Fantasy (or 3 years if you consider Final Fantasy X-2 a full fledged FF game), Square Enix gives us the last PS2 Final Fantasy, and it was well worth the wait.

The game takes place in the beautifully rendered world of Ivalice and begins with a bang. The Archadian Empire, bent on global domination launches an attack on the peaceful kingdom of Dalmasca, brought to reality with Hollywood quality CGI full motion video we've all come to expect from Square. During this attack, the brother of the main character, Vaan, is killed, seemingly by another main character, Basch and Final Fantasy XII's story is engaged. The story here deals with politics, survival, and betrayal and feels much more adult than Final Fantasy 10, thanks to the script and voice acting. Although Vaan is the main character, all 6 main playable characters each get equal time and development.

After the FMV dust settles and you have control of Vaan you'll notice sizable departures from previous Final Fantasy games. Most notably there are no longer random encounters. The battle system is very similar to FF XI's in that you will be able to see every enemy and can choose to attack or avoid them. While in the beginning this gives the game a decidedly non Final Fantasy feel, once it becomes familiar it will not only feel like you're playing FF, but feel like you're playing a vastly improved FF. with a lot of the monotony removed. Don't worry, the victory music we all know and love is still here, but only after boss fights. Who wants to hear that 40,000 times anyway? A note on controlling Vaan in the beginning: level him as much as possible early on, you'll be rewarded when the rest of your party members join you and are 2 levels higher than whatever level Vaan attained.