I went to the mall at the first opportunity I had, and bought my first Final Fantasy game - Final Fantasy X. I went home immediately and turn on my Playstation 2, and was greeted with a fantastic introduction of Final Fantasy. Hours, weeks, months passed, Final Fantasy X was the only game I played with the determination of seeing how the game would end.

Tidus, Auron, Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri, Rikku, and of course the young summoner Yuna and her summoned beasts called aeons (Valefor, Ifrit, Bahamut, Shiva, and Ixion) became my virtual friends during that time. I was able to finish the entire game within 3 months, and can't wait to play the next Final Fantasy version available. Unfortunately, there was none available at that time so I had to content myself by playing the earlier versions of Final Fantasy, FF-VII (PC), and FF-VIII (PC).

Until finally, the continuation of FF-X was released - Final Fantasy X-2. My favorite characters were sporting new outfits, equipped with new weapons and abilities, and the game comes with new and exciting gameplay. The main objective of the game was to look for Tidus with the help of Paine (a new character). The time it took me to finish the game was shorter than when I finished FF-X.

After FF-X, Final Fantasy XI was released, but it requires me to go online to play the game. Due to connection limitations, I was not able to play FF-XI and decided to wait for the next version.

I was so excited when I heard Final Fantasy XII will soon become available. I went to Square Enix (previously known as Squaresoft) to find out what FF-XII has to offer this time, and this is what I found out.

The game stars new characters: Vaan, the main character, Ashe, the beautiful princess of the kingdom, Balthier, the sky pirate, Fran, Panelo, Vaan's close friend and Basch, the loyal knight.I saw the pictures of some of the new characters, and I noticed some physical resemblance between Tidus (from FF-X) and Vaan, which makes me more excited to play the game.

The setting of the story is in a world called Ivalice, in the kingdom of Dalmasca, which is now under the rule of the Archadian Empire. The main objective of the game is to free the kingdom from the conquering Archadia. Almost similar to FF-X whose aim is to free the world of Spira from the wrath of the monster, Sin.

The battle system would be different from the previous versions of Final Fantasy. Players will now be able to rotate the camera freely to take a good look at their surroundings while in battle. Other than Black and White magic, there will also be Green magic which contains the magic-reducing shield, Shell, and some status-inflicting magics like Blind.

In this game, monsters are able to think. They can trap the player in different ways like planning ambushes, fleeing, healing, considering obstacles, and more. Not only can monsters think, they can also detect the party by sight, sound, or odor. (I think I'm going to have a hard time on this game.)

Aeons (the summoned beasts) will also be present in the game, and new beasts (Ultima, Velius, and Adrammelech) will be introduced. Of course, our beloved Ifrit is still present as he has been on the previous versions of Final Fantasy.

Watching trailers of FF-XII made me more excited to play the game. I saw different flying vessels, more advanced airships, monsters and people who lived together in the same land, and wars going on almost everywhere. The plot seems more complicated since it involves kingdoms, knights, monsters, sky pirates and more.  But one thing's for sure, Final Fantasy XII will keep gamers at the edge of their seats as it presents new plots, new characters, new twists, captivating sounds and music, fantastic cut-scenes with powerful graphics and animations, and most of all - a great story that makes Final Fantasy one of the most loved games by the gamers out there.

So to all the Final Fantasy fans, let us all wait for the release of Final Fantasy XII.

Happy gaming to all!

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