Despite Dragon Quest VIII's phenomenal success, it's the Final Fantasy series that is truly Square Enix's bread and butter, so it's no surprise that the latest installment, Final Fantasy XII, isn't slated to come out in the U.S. until next August. Not only does the company have tons of localizing to do, but it wants to make sure that this is by far the most cinematic entry in the entire series. Based on what I've seen it's pretty damn cool looking, but just because of its flashy CG sequences. Final Fantasy XII features some significant changes that are bound to upset a few diehard fans, but coming from someone who's not a huge fan of RPGs, the soon to be mentioned alterations make the game a lot more attractive.

Ok so I admit it. Old school and bone dry RPGs don't blow any wind up my skirt because I'm a traditionally grounded hack-an-slash guy. If I see a monster in a corner, I want to be able to walk up to it and beat its ass, and with Final Fantasy XII I can in a matter of speaking. Gone is the always annoying transitional period where the player is whisked off to a bland looking battle screen. In this game you can see most of your enemies as you explore the environments, and in some instances, it's totally up to you whether or not you want to engage your foes. If you're low on HP and don't feel like mixing it up with then stay the hell away from that ugly looking beast over there, or, if you're out to gain experience and you're fairly sure that you can lay the smack down on a creature, take your party of three into combat. Obviously, there are some battles you won't be able to walk away from, but for the most part, you have a lot more freedom than ever before.

The actual combat system has also changed. Now, the monster that you're targeting is connected to you by a red line, so you always know who or what you're facing off against. And you also have full control of your character(s) during battle, so feel free to walk right up to an enemy and maximize your close range melee attack, or put some distance between you and your foes and hit them with arrows or another ranged weapon.

Much of what Square Enix has done revolves around giving this Final Fantasy a more real time feel, yet battles are still turn based. When you're locked in a fight you'll have fine menu options that will be familiar if you know anything about RPGs. The first is Fight, which is pretty self explanatory. It's just a melee attack. The second is Magic and there are four types: white, black, green, and time. White magic heals you and your party, Black provides you with offensive attacks, Green is for support, and Time slows down your opponents while speeding up your friends.

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