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FFXII gets perfect score from Famitsu

Japan's top gaming magazine has only good things to say about Square Enix's long-delayed PlayStation 2 role-playing game.

Suffice it to say that Final Fantasy fans have been waiting a long time for the next game in the series. The game was initially announced within hours of President George W. Bush being sworn in for his first term in office. In the intervening five years, it has been delayed numerous times, going from March 2004 to Summer 2004 to April 2005 to March 2006.

Now, with the game's release actually on the horizon, the first signs are emerging that it was worth the wait. The latest issue of Famitsu, Japan's most widely read and respected game magazine, gave the game a score of 40, the highest rating on its scale. The score is derived from the combined 1-10-point ratings of a quartet of reviewers--meaning all four found the game all but flawless.

Final Fantasy XII's 40 rating puts it into a very elite club, whose members include The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64), the original Soul Calibur (Dreamcast), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube), and, most recently, Nintendogs (DS).

Final Fantasy XII is set to ship in Japan March 16--a week from Thursday. No US release date has been set yet, but GameSpot's extensive previous coverage has plenty of details on the game.

107 Comments

  • chibi-acer

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:54 pm GMT

    Yay! Now Square Enix can start on a FF7 remake on next-gen consoles! It should be ready about the time the next-next-gen consoles are coming out. ^_^

  • DarkSan00

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:49 pm GMT

    GO ZELDA!

  • DarkKefka

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:46 pm GMT

    I wished I had a PS2, so I would be able to play this game. Yet, I can say that not all reviews will have a "perfect score" here in the US [Nintendogs, anyone?]

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:38 pm GMT

    Holy! Perfect score! Can't wait to play this one.

  • ConfuseRay

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:31 pm GMT

    can't wait

  • orangestar

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:31 pm GMT

    i holp this is as good as Final Fantasy 7 and 10

  • PSdual_wielder

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:25 pm GMT

    does anybody know that famitsu in japan is almost equivalent strict reviewing as gamespot? so yes, thats like a game scoring perfect 10 on gamespot on the west coast.

  • OmegaOrtega

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:24 pm GMT

    Oh god oh god oh god. EAT THAT FINAL FANTASY HATERS!

  • 504Cp3

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:10 pm GMT

    nice. wasn't expectingh that one, might have to pick it up

  • Cz-100

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:07 pm GMT

    .... I think that's BS from what I've seen so far, but I suppose we will see..

  • man-of-mystery2

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:06 pm GMT

    Nice, now i'm definetely buying this. Whoever said the PS2 was done and dusted is a fool!

  • StrikerGold

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 3:02 pm GMT

    I'm skeptical that this isn't just massive fanservice to Square-Enix. I adore most of the FF games, but a perfect score... meh. even if the game is 10 times better than the demo, it's still not close to being "perfect."

  • ferrarimanf355

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:59 pm GMT

    This game, and Famitsu themselves, is highly overrated. After what they gave Dirge of Cerebus, I think that money must have changed hands for this to happen...

  • Javier

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:51 pm GMT

    Knowing that Windwaker got all 10s doesn´t tell much (look over the hype, that game was not that good)

  • jman183

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:49 pm GMT

    GIVE ME THIS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • kylespeicher

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:47 pm GMT

    Whoop dee doo.
    Enjoy it RPG fans, while I get back to games with a pulse, like Burnout, Halo, and Fight Night.

  • alocacoc

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:39 pm GMT

    YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sure im pissed i didnt have the ability to add it to my collection two years ago, but if its half as good as what it seems to be, im totally contempt with waiting. FINAL FANTASY HATERS BOW DOWN TO GREATNESS!

  • Xanog1

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:27 pm GMT

    Cool, I haven't enjoyed a FF game since FFX, so this one should be amazing!

  • paladinvn

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:26 pm GMT

    OMG............ CAN'T WAITTTTTTTTT.... OMG... HOW LONG DOES SQUARE ENIX GONNA MAKE ME SUFFER ????

  • metalmario_64

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:19 pm GMT

    still way more excited for Twilight Princess and Kingdom Hearts 2.

  • dru26

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:16 pm GMT

    All I want to know is, does it support 720p? Or at least 480p for Christ's sake.

  • Sequentialorder

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:16 pm GMT

    Wow, man I thought this game just couldn't get any better and Famitsu's already labling it shear perfection. Awesome. I just can't wait to get my hands on the finished product.

  • Poochie0709

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:15 pm GMT

    Don't forget about Vagrant Story, it got a perfect score too.

  • FallenAngel

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:14 pm GMT

    Hmm...a perfect score, really?! The demo was ok, nothing special, but I seriously didn't expect this. I was gonna get the game when it came out whatever the score, but I guess this gets me a little bit more curious.

  • dru26

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:12 pm GMT

    From what I hear the demo for this game was horrid. I guess I'll have to wait and see, for the amount of time it took to develop it better get a 10.

  • Petri87

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:08 pm GMT

    In Japan they LOVE RPGs so dont expect a perfect score in Europe or America, although you can expect a really high score.

  • terrahertz

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:06 pm GMT

    Finally oh thank God almighty finally.

  • jmegasite

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 2:03 pm GMT

    I do agree that the demo was bad, but if some of you had paid attention what the beginning of the demo said, you would have figured out that it said the real version of the game would have gameplay changes. It's probably nothing major though. It would've probably took longer for them to change gameplay style.

  • Berserker_2

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:59 pm GMT

    For the U.S. audience, the Famitsu score isn't significant. Wind Waker and Nintendogs are not 10s in the U.S. Japan doesn't mind random battles and turn based combat.

  • doomed51

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:58 pm GMT

    holy freakin crap!!! SE must've done somthing drastic!! now i definitely can't wait!!!

  • Kenzo287

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:58 pm GMT

    I welcome FFXII into the elite club of awesome games. To make room we had to kick out the Halo series. Oh well they're not very good!

  • neovalkyr

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:57 pm GMT

    I was always a fan of FF but after playing FFX I lost interest. If fact I don't even consider it a roleplaying game. Yes you are playing the role. but you have no control over what the character does except in battle. Its really just a long movie with rpg style battles. My favorite FF game was FF 5 the japanese version. That was a good game.

  • eljono

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:56 pm GMT

    Likes its surprising a FF game gets a perfect in Japan...wow. I like FF but I dont respect japan's take on it b/c they are way to biast towards games like FF and Zelda.

  • jonnyjd

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:49 pm GMT

    I haven't played a FF game in a very long time. It's not really my type of game. But if it's as good as everyone says it is, I might have to give it a try.

  • Symytry

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:48 pm GMT

    They failed to mention that Vagrant Story for PSOne also received a perfect score from Famitsu...

  • Mit_Man

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:48 pm GMT

    Wow. I'm definitely doing to have to get this when it comes in then... If I'm done with Kingdom Hearts II yet that is.

  • LuckyEEX

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:42 pm GMT

    I've played the demo and it really su**. It's like playing a MMO alone with 2 characters that are controlled by the CPU.... How to scrap a good universe (Final fantasy tactics avdance).... put some spaceship with lasers and.... It will be like all the other FF, you will rebel yourself against the "Empire" and will discover that there is something more big behind it..... 40 for this, I don't get it. Maybe the game is a way better than the demo but I really doubt it!!!

  • peterzhao333

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:40 pm GMT

    ...Tell me Im not Dreaming... I WANT THIS GAME NOW *hits computer screen with rage and creates a dead pixel*

  • MasterChad

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:36 pm GMT

    I called it. I have the post somewhere. Yes!

  • MyGrover

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:32 pm GMT

    Wow, I had kind of assumed that an RPG could never get a perfect score simply because not everyone likes collection quests, item mgmt, etc. Sign me up for the 'excited' camp.

  • MHKnights

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:31 pm GMT

    A perfect score? Whatever, I am calling BS. I got over the FF series years ago when I realized they all have the same basic story and characters, just with a new coat of paint. I could barely stand FFX's bland and predictible story. The score isn't surprising so many worship the FF series for whatever reason.

    I will be saving my money for a real RPG like Oblivian or NWN2.

  • hardcore0115

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:30 pm GMT

    woooooooooooooo!

  • Star2020

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:24 pm GMT

    a perfect score I'm definitely going to get this one.

  • Salehjamal

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:22 pm GMT

    "Wow, i can't see this game getting perfect score ANYWHERE else other than Japan (based on my initial impressions from the craptacular demo)" ... wow, and you are the rest of the world?

  • kingdom09

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:20 pm GMT

    YAY!!!! Bout time it got what it deserved.

  • buildar

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:20 pm GMT

    Played the demo didn't like it. Now i will have to look elsewhere to get standard rpg gameplay. Though i'll probably try it for a change of pace.

  • abdu4

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:18 pm GMT

    cant wait

  • zhuojloh

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:16 pm GMT

    I'm so getting this game

  • DarkBigone

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:16 pm GMT

    well this shows that sometimes is better to delay a game. Hopefully TP will get a good score.

  • tremo01

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 1:07 pm GMT

    That's some huge news in itself

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