Final Fantasy XII

access: Skybreak
approved in Nov. 2006
game/manga series
in process of moving to another domain and be merged with my FFXII tribute

I've been a slave of Final Fantasy series for long years, and XII is my unmovable favorite from the franchise. Despite being one of FF's newer installments, this game had inflicted a deeper influence on me than any previous FF was capable of: I no longer delved into a story solely for its characters.

I don't mean to say that XII doesn't have a good cast. In fact, it's quite the contrary. But you can't love each individual in XII so well without considering the bigger picture first: we've got such a complex network of politics in XII that you'd have to spend hours replaying different chapters to understand the philosophy behind them all. As a person who loves to dig every small detail in a story rather than in a character, XII sure was the perfect Final Fantasy for me.

XII was in development for a very long time, but worth the wait by all means. Despite having teen protagonists (like 99/100 RPGs do), I believe that XII is intended for a more mature audience than its predecessors. Nevertheless, I would recommend this game to anyone - FF enthusiast or newcomer alike - who takes a genuine interest in astounding plot and architectural details.

Critic's choice

All tracks are placed in random orders

While I adore Nobuo Uematsu's music with a passion, he's got such a strong Asian flavor in his works that I totally spent a couple weeks worrying about the sound of XII before its staff list was announced. As it turned out, the genius of Hitoshi Sakimoto was nowhere behind expectations and XII music was capable of making me an extremely happy fangirl since day one. What I loved the most about XII music is the fact that many of its soundtracks resemble the image of flowing water and wind - two of my favorite elements.

Exit smiling

Armistice, Aurora, Carpe Diem, Fior di Battaglia, Lament Story, Partners in Crime.