FINALLY! Square Enix have confirmed that they are in fact working on a HD remaster of Final Fantasy XII, named “The Zodiac Age”, coming to Playstation 4 in 2017. Most of us saw it coming, but I must say I’m a little disappointed in the release date. I kind of was hoping they’d been working on it for a while, with a release in Q3 2016 or something. Oh well, at least we’ll get it.
The new remaster will as expected be the International Zodiac Job System version (never released outside of Japan), with a lot of new features:
High-resolution upgrades for backgrounds, character models, and 2D parts
High-resolution upgrades for movie scenes
Introduction of current generation visual expression
Sound Improvements7.1ch surround support
High-quality voice support
English and Japanese voices
Original and newly re-recorded BGMs
Usability ImprovementsShorter load times
Auto-save functionality added
Improved high-speed mode and improved play time operability during high-speed mode
Gone are most of the old annoying features many people had a problem with on PS2, back in 2006. FFXII was never a personal favorite of mine, mostly because of the developers apparent wish to include classic MMORPG elements. I mean things like random loot with some items having a laughably low drop rate (Zodiac spear anyone? That’s some weird decision making right there), and very bland characters which little to no uniqueness. In FFXII: IZJS this was changed; you can now open whichever chests you like, and characters are assigned jobs to keep everyone useful.
Can’t wait ’til 2017!