You read that right. This morning we received the announcement, and the trailer, for a remastered version of Final Fantasy XII. Those in North America will be thrilled to learn that this is not just a simple remaster of the old version — it is instead a remastering of the international version.
This version never left Japan, despite it featuring English voice acting. The freshly released trailer shows off some of the gameplay and cut-scene footage:
Compared to the original game, this version included 12 license boards as opposed to just one, each a part of a Zodiac (hence the new title), and included a job system as well. Also included was a faster running speed, summons and controllable guest characters, more tweaks to combat, and even new modes such as New Game minus (where players do not gain experience) and Trial mode (which allows players to hunt over 100 monsters for money and items).
There is even more to be added, based on reports from Famitsu translated by Kotaku. These features include an auto-save function, shorter load times, and an improved turbo mode. It will even feature both the original and re-recorded soundtrack as well.
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is set for release in Japan in 2017, developed by Square Enix. There is currently no word on a North American release. Considering we did eventually get the Final Mix versions of Kingdom Hearts games in collections however, it’s entirely possible we can get this version.
