A remastered version of FINAL FANTASY XII named FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGE will be making its way to PlayStation 4 in July of this year, according to the story trailer on the official PlayStation YouTube channel.
The story of the FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGE is the same as the first game, where Vaan, whose family was killed during war, and Princess Ashe, who was forced to escape her kingdom of Dalmasca and join the Resistance to fight team up in order to stop the Archadian Empire once and for all. Along their journey, they team up with four different allies who want to regain their freedom and save the land of Ivalice from certain destruction.
While the story of FINAL FANTASY XII stays the same in this game, several new features have been added in order to improve gameplay. Here is the list of new features from the official FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGE website:
- “Includes several all-new enhanced gameplay features:
- The Zodiac Job System – Improved character leveling system that now caters to the player’s preference
- Trial Mode – Take on monsters and enemies in up to 100 consecutive battles
- Speed Mode – Move through the world at a faster pace
- Latest-generation HD graphical capabilities, including characters and movie scenes fully remastered in high definition.
- True 7.1 surround sound, including high definition voicing and newly recorded background music utilizing the current generation of sound production.
- Modern advancements including PlayStation®4 trophy support and share functionalities, auto-save and shortened loading times
- An endless amount of gameplay and adventure including Hunts, Battles, and mini-games”
It seems that Square Enix is treating fans with this packed list of new features available in FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGE in honor of the Final Fantasy franchise’s 30th Anniversary, with the first Final Fantasy game, FINAL FANTASY, being released back in 1987. FINAL FANTASY XII was first released back in 2006 and became one of the most popular PlayStation 2 games at the time, having a score of 92 on Metacritic. Metacritic also ranked the game first for the Most Discussed PlayStation 2 Game of 2006, second for the Most Shared PlayStation 2 Game of 2006, and third for the Best PlayStation Game of 2006.
There are six playable characters that the player can choose from, including Vaan and Princess Ashe. Players will also be able to assume control of Balthier, a thief who steals from the wealthy and a self-proclaimed smooth talker to women, Fran, a sky pirate and maintenance worker who is Balthier’s sidekick, Penelo, Vaan’s childhood friend whose family was also killed during the war, and Basch, a former captain of Dalmasca who was accused of murdering the king and assumed to be dead, but is still imprisoned. More information about the characters can be found on the official FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGE character page.
Three different editions of the game are available for purchase, including the Standard Edition, Limited Edition and Collector’s Edition. The Limited Edition of the game, which includes an artbook created by illustrator Akihiko Yoshida and a code that will let players unlock the original soundtrack in-game is out of stock on Amazon but available on GameStop and the Square Enix official online store for $49.99.
A Collector’s Edition of the game is available only on the Square Enix official store website for $199.99 includes everything the Limited Edition has plus a bust set of the Judge Magistrars, a selection of soundtrack music from composer Hitoshi Sakamoto, and six art cards of the characters and of Ivalice.
The Standard Edition of FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGE will be available on July 11 and can be pre-ordered on Amazon and Best Buy for $49.99.
Featured image via Square Enix
