Two years have passed since the war in which the vast and militaristic Arcadian Empire annihilated the kingdom of Dalmasca… Vaan, a young man who lost his family to the fires of war, lives a stoic existence in the occupied city of Rabanastre, while dreaming of a life of freedom, soaring the skies as a Sky Pirate.

Princess Ashe, the last remaining member of the Dalmascan royal family, vows revenge on the empire, and secretly leads a resistance in the hopes of restoring her homeland. Brought together in a chaotic age, the hopes and dreams of these two heroes will unite the fates of the people and change the destiny of nations.

The game graphics have been completely remastered using the latest technology. Not only has the game been converted to display in HD resolutions, but the textures and shadowing effects have also been enhanced. This version features the Zodiac Job System that allows the player to freely grow and develop their characters, picking a unique combination of two jobs from a selection of 12.

Great enjoyment can be had from seeing the capabilities and tactical possibilities of your characters change and evolve depending on the combinations chosen. Numerous additions and improvements have also been made to enhance the playability and accessibility of the game, such as an increase in battle tempo, an optional high speed mode and auto save function.

A huge variety of bounty hunts, battles and mini games make for endless adventure. The games BGM has been re-recorded using live performances, with sound quality being further enhanced and 5.1ch sound output supported for the first time ever. You can even switch freely between the original, re-orchestrated and OST versions of the soundtrack.

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age happens to be one of the biggest wishlist games of mine in a long time! So imagine my delight when I found out this game was coming to Nintendo Switch. I was going to be able to play this game everywhere and that makes this game so unique. I played it earlier today during my break at work. I nearly overstayed my break time and barely made it back in time. This game is just an awesome game.

With a strong storyline to back up the special turn based attacks that closely lean onto the Action Adventure RPGs, you are able to move around and flee from battle when the enemies get too intense. On top of that, Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age also has a very extensive system, from gambits to stones to items and many more options, Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age sets itself apart as one of the more interesting RPGs.

Personally, I love how slowly all these new systems are slowly but surely taught to you! I was about 2 hours into the game and I was learning how to use a shouting function to lure enemies away from their post so you can sneak by them. A nice little puzzle approach at times and I loved how little punishment you got for messing up.

As many modern RPGs also have the party mode, no, not that kind of party game, but a real party of characters all working towards a goal, Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age is no exception. You can make them attack however you want and I always appreciate when they do their own proper attacking. It was by far my favourite mechanic in last years Dragon Quest 11 and I still adore this setting/option.

This HD remaster is based on the smash hit 12th instalment of the FINAL FANTASY series, which has shipped over 6,100,000 units worldwide, featuring a new, re-worked game design! Not only have the graphics and sound been updated to take advantage of the power of new hardware, but the core game design has also been tweaked to produce an evolution of the original FFXII fitting for the current generation. Enjoy a classic adventure reborn!

As it stands, Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age is a very high scoring title on metacritic with average scores over 85% and I wholeheartedly agree. It brings a great experience to the console and takes many of the best mechanics of the genre and magickly (sic) puts them together. I am going to make 1 negative comment too, at the beginning of the game, you are given the impression that the majority of the game is all about chores. Luckily that impression fades as you play more and more. Just a weird impression I had at first. They gave it a lot of attention in the beginning and well, yeah, you get the point.

Also important to note, for those that already played it before, this version has the speed multiplier function, so you can go double or 4 times the speed. I would recommend against 4 times inside cities or smaller places as it is mostly intended for outside on the plains. It was my first time and I am playing most at the regular speed, just saying it is most enjoyable that way for me.