Final Fantasy XII also features voice acting for every character in the game. That's not to say that every line in the game is accompanied by real speech, but most of it is and it's mostly good. The actual acting itself is actually quite strong; many of the characters have great sounded voices and deliver the dialog with a lot of passion. Unfortunately some of the voice work is hampered by the way it was recorded, some of the actors sound like they did their recording in a tin can, which sounds terribly unnatural when you're supposed to be out in the middle of a giant landscape. Also, the woman that plays Fran (the female magician with large bunny ears) has an accent that is either really cool or terribly annoying … I kept changing my mind with every line she read.
There's more to Final Fantasy XII than just great graphics, a lengthy story and an open world to explore, there are also a bunch of mini-games and side quests to complete. You could spend more than a hundred hours working on all of the extra stuff in this game, which is good if you want a game that will keep you going for days (and months), but bad if you're looking to for something you can just rush through as fast as possible. The game packages a lot of cool extra content, and even features its own set of Achievement Points (yes, achievement points on a PlayStation 2 game). There is so much extra content in this game that it's hard to say anything back about Square Enix or Final Fantasy XII.
While there are a few minor problems with the game (such as the camera controls), Final Fantasy XII is the single best role-playing game of 2006. It changes the Final Fantasy formula enough to feel fresh and exciting. It also features one of the best stories I have experienced in a long time, full of highs and lows (not to mention a number of exciting surprises). Even if you're not a fan of the Final Fantasy series there may be enough changes here to make it worth your while to actually give this game a chance. Everybody else should definitely pick up Final Fantasy XII; it's easily one of the best games I have played all year.
A-
Final Fantasy XII delivers everything you could possibly want in a role-playing game; it has a deep story, a ton of quests, great graphics and a brand new combat system. It's one of the few games where you can actually say that it's well worth the wait!
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