It's not where you're going thats all fun, but how you get there.
Lets start off with the worst part of the game. The story line (if you can call it that). The leading role in this game is Vaan, an orphaned teenager who gets by doing odd jobs for people, and stealing from others. His friend (or sister) Penelo is sort of his conscience, and tries (key word - tries) to keep him under control. Needless to say, Vaan (or any of the other characters really) don't actually start feeling like "real people" until near the end of the game, when the dialog gets heavier, and more people speak their minds. But by this time, its late in the game, and I was more interested in either leveling up and getting better equipment than I was in the story. There are a few characters that stand out as "leading roles", but for the most part, the story in Final Fantasy XII is fickle, and ... well.. unimportant.
Now lets talk about the general game play. Here is where the fun is. The new combat system is MUCH simpler than it seems. There are now pulsating lines showing which character/foe is attacking who, which helps a ton with the new real time field of view (you see the monster, you run up to it, and attack it, or it will attack you, or you can run from it). I like this system. you can also choose in the options to have the game pause whilst selecting actions to perform, or not. I chose the former, since I like the turn-based feel of JRPG's (Sometimes I like to be able to pause the action and see where I am). Also, one of the best parts is, You can swap gear mid-battle! This comes in handy on many occasions, particularly boss battles.
There is now a gambit system, that allows you to put your party members on "auto pilot". For instance, instead of having to keep hitting X and going to white magic>cure>character, you can set up a gambit for say.. Ally: HP 30%>cure. This means if an ally has 30% or less HP, the character with this gambit will cast cure on said ally. I find the gambit system helps keep the game moving along at a steady pace. If you so choose, these gambits can even almost play the game for you. I chose to keep it as a helper more than letting me play the game for me. I still had to cure ailments and such. but for the most part, I used gambits for commonly performed tasks (a GODSEND for buffing before boss fights.) In my eyes, the gambit system should stay a staple in the FF games (in one form or another), if balance permits it.
Then theres the license grid. It, too, is a fairly simple concept, but some (myself included) might find it rather inconvenient at times. I think once you find a weapon, or obtain a spell, you should be able to use it. With the license grid though, you not only have to purchase your gear/spells/abilities, but you also have to use "License Points" (LP for short) to purchase the ability to use them off the license grid. and since you can't just find the square and activate it (you have to go square by square), you end up not only spending a lot of LP on useless licenses, but you also end up grinding away to earn the LP to spend on said useless licenses. But it's not all bad, It does give a feeling of accomplishment, and it keeps the game somewhat balanced, if not only for the first part of the game. Another good thing is all characters, weather in your active 3 character party or not, gain LP (just not exp). Also, the License Grid is the same for all characters. This helps cut down on confusion of which squares are where, and it also allows you the opportunity to make all your characters the same, or if you want, you can go with the class system (spells for mage, none for warriors, etc.)
What about the graphics/sound you say? Well, the graphics are the best of any Final Fantasy game, and arguably the best on the PS3 (at the time of this review). The soundtrack leaves a bit to be desired, with seemingly only a handful of tracks, that you will have virtually memorized by the end of the game. The sound effects are as good as any, and the voice acting was done quite well. All the characters are well designed, some with rather "colorful" outfits, but thank goodness, no clown suits. Oh, and the Moogles have been redesigned, and are now insanely cute. Most of the bosses and monsters (even the more familiar foes to the series) have been updated and look a lot better, and the environments look very nice too. All things considered, this is a beautiful game, with wonderful, unique, and very useful game play mechanics, and a .. colorful set of characters. But if you play Final Fantasy games purely for story, then this won't be the best in the series for you. But if you play Final Fantasy for the RPG/fun factor, then this game will be on par with all the rest. Needless to say, a must have for any RPG fan.