This is where I agree with you reinwald. I look at it like this.

FFXII is not a main entry in the Final Fantasy series. It's much more like the Ivalice games, which is pretty obvious and necessarily so. The Ivalice games have each taken on a different style - Strategy RPG's (Tactics series), Action RPG (Vagrant Story), and recently RTS RPG (Revenant Wings). Final Fantasy XII is an Ivalice game with its concept/style in that of an active turn based system, and they called it Final Fantasy XII.

The game is about exploration, the complexity of relationships and society, and an insanely deep combat system. It's an Ivalice game, and that's what I see its pedigree as.

Quote Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno
Honestly, I feel like we played different games. I feel the cast is incredible, the story was compelling and it was filled with tons of memorable moments like the escape from the Rabanastre castle, the first meeting with Lady Ashe, Balthier and Vaan's battles with the Seeq guards in the prison, the Leviathan, the destruction of Mt. Burimasce Temple, the destruction of the Leviathan, Vossler's betrayal, the Temples of Raithwall, the whole part of the party entering Archades, Gabranth murdering his friend, anything with Cid, and the entire Giruvegan/Pharos stuff. The game was freaking amazing.

Great plot twist were the Occurians, Balthier's past the truth about the Kings murder, Venat, Vossler's betrayal, and Lady Ashe's decision, to name a few.
To be fair, Wolf, you really only mentioned a handful of moments. Most Final Fantasy's are chock full of these kinds of moments from start to finish.

I still agree with you about the characters and the story being arguably the best in Square's history (not sure if you're going that far), unfortunately I feel it takes more than one playthrough to bring this to light.