To Ivalice, once again.
The origin of FINAL FANTASY XII: THE ZODIAC AGE starts with the original FINAL FANTASY XII which was released on PlayStation 2 in 2006. The game had the honor of receiving many best game awards with its unique game system that granted players great freedom and strategic ability, and by its graphical expressiveness that utilized the hardware’s capability to its fullest potential, in the world called Ivalice that inherited the genes of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS.
When I received the opportunity to create the HD remaster of this title with members from the original development team from over 10 years ago, the first thing that I thought was “to not only improve visual and sound expression, but also to reconstruct the game design itself so that the players can experience a new FINAL FANTASY XII as a modern game.”
In order to do so, we devised multiple mechanics based on the FINAL FANTASY XII INTERNATIONAL ZODIAC JOB SYSTEM that was only released in Japan in 2007. The idea was to create a more comfortable gameplay experience for our players, including changes to the growth system and the battle design where different strategies can be used compared to the original.
With that said, this strategy guide will be very beneficial for you to enjoy exploring this newly reborn Ivalice. You can use this as your guide to progress through the main story, but I’d love for you to make use of it for other elements in the game such as Mob Hunts, battles against Espers, and to explore the depths of the Necrohol of Nabudis and other dungeons. I am sure that the more you play the game, the more you will come across new findings on the maps, experience the growth of the characters, and feel the excitement when the breadth of your strategy expands.
And it does not just end there. We have included two other modes in the game, noted below, for you to enjoy the experience and challenge yourself even more.
Trial Mode
Players will use their characters that they have developed and battle through a total of 100 stages.
Remaining HP and MP and status effects after each stage will be carried over onto the next stage.
You can power through at first but as the stages become more difficult as you fight through them, and you will not be able to win with a single Gambit pattern even at max level.
Players will enjoy a thrilling battle where you have to think about your strategy, remaining HP and items per stage to complete the trial.
Weak Mode
A mode that you can select after clearing the Trial mode, where your characters will not gain any experience points, and will stay at their default level in the main game.
These two modes highlight the true appeal, or even the true worth, of the Gambit system—the battle system used in FINAL FANTASY XII. Please challenge yourself with these two modes by utilizing the skills and methods that you’ve acquired by playing through the main game. I am certain that you will be able to experience a new form of gameplay with these two modes.
I hope that your adventure in Ivalice will become a wonderfully fulfilling experience and will be enhanced even further with this strategy guide.
FINAL FANTASY XII: THE ZODIAC AGE Producer
Hiroaki Kato