October 27, 2006 - How often can one say, "The wait was worth it" and truly mean it? When is it okay to claim that, "This is one of the best examples of [insert genre here] ever" and not just say it for cliché's sake? But most importantly, when does a game with momentous hype and anticipation actually live up to media, consumer, and competitor expectations? The answer to all three of those questions is a simple one, "When you're playing Final Fantasy XII."

Granted, Final Fantasy XII may not seem like a game deserving of that level of prestige in its beginning -- it starts slow (slower than your typical RPG) and can take upwards of three to six hours to get going. In this day and age of videogames hitting the ground running the moment you press start, asking users for an extra layer of patience can certainly prove trying. Nevertheless, like most great things worth experiencing, big effort means big rewards.

And big rewards are what you'll get when you travel to the world of Ivalice. Final Fantasy XII is a massive, multi-character adventure with the darkest and most mature storyline the FF series has yet seen. But unlike past titles in the franchise, there isn't a single major character pressing the action (despite what commercials or FMV introductions might have you believe) -- this is a true ensemble piece that weaves multiple webs filled with every descriptor in the book: misfortune, treachery, love, hatred... you name it, it's in there.

And it all begins with an invasion. The powerful and militaristic Archadian Empire has continued its martial campaign into the previously neutral kingdom of Dalmasca. Only wanting peace for his people, the King of Dalmasca has agreed to sign a treaty granting Archadia occupational rights in exchange for the war's end. On the eve of the signing, however, Dalmasca's king is assassinated under terrible circumstances and his daughter, the princess, kills herself as a result. Flash forward to two years later and Archadia occupies Dalmasca and its people are none too happy about it. Among them is Vaan, an energetic young store worker who moonlights as a thief on the city streets. As the brother of a solider who fell during the murder of the king two years earlier, Vaan feels compelled to take back Dalmasca from the Archadians one purse at a time.

As you might imagine (and as setups like these usually go), Vaan bites off more than he can chew the day he decides to break into the royal palace during a welcoming banquet for the city's new Consul. As it happens, the Dalmascan resistance decides to take that opportunity to do the very same thing, as does a Sky Pirate (Balthier) and his companion (Fran). It's all one major snowball from there of course, and we'll leave the rest of the craziness up to the storytelling wizards at Square Enix to tell. But know this: Final Fantasy XII's plot has more ups, downs, and surprises than any other title we can remember this year.

One of the reasons the story works so well (besides the support it garners from its adult dialogue, excellent voice acting, and multiple red herrings) is thanks to its inspiration. Borrowed from the offshoot Final Fantasy Tactics universe, the world of Ivalice is completely different in theme to those of previous installments. Though it still has its own brand of Chocobos, Moogles (which have been redesigned, by the way), Airships, and other Square Enix staples, its flavor is decidedly European. This newfound direction and influence goes a long way in making old hats feel new again, and this fresh approach affects everything from the style and sound of the game to what would normally be recognizable character archetypes. It's somewhat evocative of what a videogame would be like if Terry Gilliam was involved... sort of an "Adventures of Baron Munchausen on Magicite."