FFXII Objectively Has The Best World

[Forsaken Lover]

So that title is just there to lure in posts. This forum is so dead compared to X's. I mean, I love X but XII is probably my favorite game in the series.

So...why do I love this game and consider it probably my favorite FF? The fantastic plot? The unrivaled (in the FF series anyway) cast of villains and antagonists? The supremely beautiful and best realized world ever seen in an FF game?

There are many reasons why but of the three I just listed, #3 might have to be the single greatest cause for my XII fanboyism. I have played most of the games in the series and while I haven't beaten VI yet, the fact it more or less shares the "overworld" gameplay of other FF's ensures that it won't ever equal XII. XII had an indescribable power over me - where many people whine and moan about "WAH WAH WAH IT TAKES FOREVER TO GET TO ARCHADES", I relish every step of the journey.

XII's Ivalice and the way you explore it is positively addictive to me. I've beaten the game several times since I first played it a couple years ago and each time I still have a blast just meandering about. Some combination of actually seeing the monsters, of the beautiful environments, of the lovely music, and probably other elements besides, makes me adore almost every damn area in the game with a furious passion. No other FF has so thoroughly and completely sucked me into feeling like I was a great adventurer on an epic quest.

So...yeah. Discuss.

[TrollHunter]

I feel like one of the only people out there who absolutely loves the trek through the sandsea. I love its concept and i find it to be a fun journey.
12 holds a very special place in my heart for a very large variety of reasons.

[Karifean]

While XII's Ivalice is amazing, as long as Spira is around, it's not gonna be the best in my book :P

[Jinx]

Spira is definitely a more interesting world than Ivalice.

HOWEVER

Ivalice gives you much more of that feeling of being a WORLD. There's weather, which affects the monsters and the people. Crossing the Sandsea really felt like that--crossing a sandsea. And the shifts/flow of one area to the world felt much more real.

I would say that's more game play design, versus the world itself, however.

[Pike]

I got bored with FFXII about a third of the way through and quit playing but Rabanastre was pretty nice to run around in.

[Quindiana Jones]

As has been said, XII was amazing because you felt like you existed in a world. It was all magnificently linked together, and just felt real.

[Pumpkin]

The world was very well done. A lot of the world's in the other games felt somehow small. Like, what, that's it? That's the entire world? This wasn't an issue in XII. There was always more. There were different areas and weather and people. You would see other random NPCs wondering off in some area exploring, just like you were. It felt like a real world. I wish more Final Fantasy's had a world this vast.

[Formalhaut]

As has been said, XII was amazing because you felt like you existed in a world. It was all magnificently linked together, and just felt real.


While FFX's world was undoubtedly very good, it was flawed in that each area felt very static, and compartmentalised. You go from Guadosalam (whose southern exit was all nice and sunny and forestry) to a barren and desolate thunder plain. Then, you go completely left field and enter some ice forest, which then enters into a sunny, bright skied Calm Lands.

Maybe I'm exaggerating slightly with my descriptions, but it's there. FFXII's world felt more interwoven more for me. You could also travel easier within Ivalice from the beginning and you often revisit areas, where the populace often have more to say and comment on recent events. With FFX, you visit Besaid once, Kilika once, Luca once... it's very linear. At least FFXII gives you the sense of nonlinearity with you often heading back to Rabanastre, doing hunts, blah blah blah. FFX has very little in the way of repeat journeys until the very very end of the game, which all seems very tacked on.

[Jinx]

As has been said, XII was amazing because you felt like you existed in a world. It was all magnificently linked together, and just felt real.


While FFX's world was undoubtedly very good, it was flawed in that each area felt very static, and compartmentalised. You go from Guadosalam (whose southern exit was all nice and sunny and forestry) to a barren and desolate thunder plain. Then, you go completely left field and enter some ice forest, which then enters into a sunny, bright skied Calm Lands.

Maybe I'm exaggerating slightly with my descriptions, but it's there. FFXII's world felt more interwoven more for me. You could also travel easier within Ivalice from the beginning and you often revisit areas, where the populace often have more to say and comment on recent events. With FFX, you visit Besaid once, Kilika once, Luca once... it's very linear. At least FFXII gives you the sense of nonlinearity with you often heading back to Rabanastre, doing hunts, blah blah blah. FFX has very little in the way of repeat journeys until the very very end of the game, which all seems very tacked on.

This is exactly what I said, just more detailed.

[DMKA]

FFXII is the only FF game where the world was taken into account far more than the characters or narrative were, which is the very reason a lot of people didn't care for it.

I thought all the FFs before X did a good job of maintaining a balance. XII and XIII really went all or nothing in opposite directions of each other. :p

Both are fantastic games though. I replayed FFXII not too long ago and I really enjoyed it, probably more than I did the first time I played it.

[James_Cub]

I've played 4-13, if every game was remade to include weather and this PS2 graphics, something I hadn't yet considered, I believe 6, 8, 7, 9 and maybe 4 would be pretty cool, maybe outranking this one. Having said that, this world is probably the best so far. It actually felt like a world that made sense, as opposed to some worlds where you go from a deep and moist forest straight into a desert, it doesn't make sense. Ivalice makes sense in that way. Plus I love the names: Rabanastre, Archades, the Leviathan, both sides of the Yensa, etc. In my opinion this puts Spira into a corner. I'm gonna say something that I probably shouldn't now, but this game outranks 10 in every single aspect (apart from the battle system, I'll never get used to gambits and real-time combat)

[Mirage]

This forum is dead compared to FF10's because FF10/-2 is about to get a HD port with additional content and FF12 isn't.

[Bolivar]

XII's world rocks!!! I like all the ambient themes!

[Mirage]

Actually, vanadiel is a better world.

[Tigmafuzz]

I think it's hilarious that 95% of the game's monsters could wipe out all of humanity if they wanted to, and 1% of them could probably do it single-handedly.

[Elpizo]

I think it's hilarious that 95% of the game's monsters could wipe out all of humanity if they wanted to, and 1% of them could probably do it single-handedly.

Agreed. You gotta wonder what Yiazmat was doing in that coloseum that he just stood there waiting until someone came along to fight him. :p

[The Captain]

I think a major factor for me was the sheer epic scale of things. The major cities felt that way with dozens, even hundreds of people wandering around with their own things to say. I liked how mostly the geography flowed from one in to another as well instead of the random desert popping up out of nowhere.

I think the biggest flaw people felt was the battle system which took some of the direct control away from the players and made it feel much more passive. Rarely did I hear criticism of the world itself.

Take care all.

[Mo-Nercy]

The design of the world and Balthier are the reasons I love FFXII so.

[Raistlin]

I agree, FFXII's world is awesome. It just feels like the most expansive world in the series, despite the lack of a world map (or perhaps because of it). I never tired of spending time exploring each new area.

[edczxcvbnm]

I think part of the reason the game feels so expansive and lived in is that you never explore the ENTIRE world. This gets away from some of the needs of most RPGs where you need the port town or multiple huge towns in 3 kingdoms etc, etc. By doing this, they could really expand the areas between towns/settlements and have the more subtle shifts in climate.

I wonder if the game were to be made today if it would just be one huge seemless landscape. It really feels like that is what they were going for but the limitations of the PS2 forced some compromises.

[thekingsfalldown]

Im new here to the site, but I openly agree that this is my favorite FF in terms of world!