Must read: Final Fantasy XII details, plot chatter and rumours inside

World awaits Japanese press kit dissection.

Posted by Staff
This morning in Japan, Final Fantasy XII was shown to the world for the first time (well, it was shown to Japan, which seemingly - for Square Enix - is the entire world, but anyway…)

Those lucky enough to witness the revelation were shown a wealth of assets taken from the traditional RPG, which was confirmed as an online game, albeit with offline functionality.

As the world awaits a decent translation of the mouth-wateringly lush press kit handed out in Tokyo today, a bevy of speculation and rumour has fired up around the game, which is arguably the most anticipated RPG in history.

The strangest thing to bubble up is that FFXII will be set in the world of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. We are, as are most people, wildly sceptical about this, but you never know. Stranger things have happened, though not many...

Producer Yasumi Matsuno recently stated that Final Fantasy XII would share certain unspecified similarities with the acclaimed Vagrant Story and surprisingly, will share more in common with the PlayStation classic than it will with Final Fantasy X. Strange indeed.

It was also confirmed that the game will comprise of two DVD's, both of which will be full of game content, not a bonus disc of some description as some previously thought. This will make for the biggest Final Fantasy outing to date, a drool-worthy prospect for fans of the series.

The two main characters, now with the finalised names of Vaan and Ashe, are expected, according to some reliable Japanese sources, to indulge in a bit of romance amid the turn-based battling. A good move for Vaan, as anyone who’s seen Ashe in all her glory will attest. Vann is - again according to Japanese reports just breaking - a young thief with aspirations of becoming an airship-piloting sky pirate (don’t we all?). Ashe is the only surviving daughter of the King of Dalmaska, a kingdom sandwiched between Valentia, the Arcadia Empire and Ordalia, the Rozaria Imperium. Arcadia is waging war on Dalmaska and, determined to take her rightful place on the throne, Ashe fights back and somehow gets caught up with Vaan.

From what we can tell, the gameplay system remains unchanged from the basic formula that has been the staple of the series for years, with screenshots showing both magic points and hit points.

However, Yasumi Matsuno has promised “tight controls” which might well be translated as faster and more intuitive menu operations.

Expect everything FFXII right here, whenever and wherever it breaks.
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