If only the programmers had considered those words of wisdom.

I absolutely love Final Fantasy. I spent literally DAYS playing VII, VIII, IX, X and X2 into the ground and I truly adored every minute.

Final Fantasy XII completely changes the battle system and feels totally different from its predecessors. I spent a long time trying to get to grips with it, and, whilst I don't dislike it as a game, it lacks too many of the trademark features of it's older siblings to truly consider it one of the family. I'd even go so far as to say this "isn't Final Fantasy", even though I am fully aware in saying so I am likely to infuriate a few hardcore fans of the game itself and of the series.

My main gripes relate to the combat system, which bears virtually no relation to previous Final Fantasy titles, making the entire experience feel immediately unfamiliar. Add to that the sad absence of some of the usual creatures (particularly Tonberry), and you are left with a bitter taste in the mouth throughout.

Please don't misunderstand me me - I like this game, but I do not consider it a true continuation of the series.

I have been genuinely surprised at some of the pretty negative reviews that Final Fantasy XII has garnered.I think it is one of the best in the series and the fact that it is now available on Platinum makes it outstanding value.

You will spend many,many hours playing this game and although some of the battles do get tedious,this has ALWAYS been the case with a Final Fantasy game.There is something of a different look to this and it reminded me of a superb Square game from years ago 'Vagrant Story'.

On the whole I found the characters to be engaging and this effort features one of my newly added favourites,the fantastic Fran.I pretty much used her as a playable character as soon as I could and she is one of the few that could slip into the world of FFVII.Now that is a compliment believe me.

As usual there are several side quests that aren't essential to finishing the game but which most of us will try anyhow.One monster with 1,000,000 health points took me an absolute age to defeat.This isn't as good as FFVII(what is?) but it is an excellent addition to the series and a truly fantastic bargain.It fully deserves five stars.

Final Fantasy XII is something I have been working through recently due to the current economic crisis. I heard some major changes were made to this game and so differs a lot to its predecessors.

Anticipating the horror of a new combat system in the manual, I actually was amazed at how efficient and engaging it is. The gambit system is a useful tool for those who are too lazy to issue your other characters an attack or defensive strategy. It makes the game very efficient during battles but I should point out the game still revolves loosely round a turn based system.

The GF's, those who can turn the tide of battle with a single summoning returns. They are known as Espers in this game and they are very hard to get hold of. They now roam around with their summoner fighting enemies like one of the characters and usually execute their finishing moves in a cut scene, classic Final Fantasy style.

There is little variation in the game, not many sub plots and sub games which is disappointing. It is needed because the structure of the main plot is very repetitive. One gets something to do, one travels through the desert and fights baddies, one goes through a ruin/dungeon to retrieve something fighting baddies along the way and the cycle goes on. What ever happened to those addictive sub games? The card game in FFVIII was classic.

So was the world roaming in the spaceship, the Ragnarok. Is there really no freedom? Actually there is in the towns. Good graphics help make these beautifully articulated places that are very memorable and you can almost believe in them. Sometimes it feels like you are on vacation. Very exotic places and an enjoyable experience roaming round the towns. When you are outside the towns its just desert or glacier, no suburbia or farmland! How do the people survive and where do they live? :D

I do agree with some others who reviewed this game stating that the characters were not very interesting. I think that would partially have to do with the English voice overs. They don't appear enthusiastic or emotional enough for instance when you expect them to be in order to help you engage with the plot. The plot is very political, subliminally sending out messages to those young gamers and well timed considering the political situation between the West and the Middle East. Although I am not sure that was intended :D

Good job for changing the combat system. If it was the same as all the other FF games I would not have continued playing. An addictive chill-out sub game would have been nice though.

I waited almost 3 years for this, and I pre ordered it. When Squaresoft merged with Enix, and because SquareEnix. I think they lost the plot. The main Composer left, who had done all the score to all the games.

In Final Fantasy 7 8 9, there was a very strong bond between the characters, even in 10 there was a bond.

In this game, there is non. The characters, they are just there for the sake of it. No real story line in the characters apart from a little in Balthear.

To me this game is so repetitive, boring, You wander around endlessly to find where you have to go. the grafix aren't as good as in Final Fantasy X and even in the older games like FF7 FF8. There are no Summoning of GFs, Aions exc. Just Limit breaks.

I am a hard core Final Fantasy, so please don't slam me for what I have put in this review, as this is my Honest opinion.

I own all the games from 1 and to the last one, which was Crisis Core.

I just hope Final Fantasy 13 which is due for release next April 2009, is gonna live up to expectations, and have an in depth story line as well as characters.

I enjoyed this game at first, but I soon realised I was doing the same thing over and over. The story in this game seems quite good, if a bit odd. Sometimes a character will come out off no where with no explaination.

I really enjoy the new battle system. It's bassically just like it always was with the massive difference of it being in real time. This means you can hold down the "Fleeing" button as soon as you see an enemy you don't won't to fight, and avoid him without any hasle. There are new things like Lisences, Gambits, and monster hunts. They're fun but the main gameplay never changes and I feel like I've wasted my money.