It has been a quiet few months for Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age. Since being announced prior to last year’s E3, Square Enix has been seemingly coy in showing any further footage of the remastered 2006 original, with the last update provided at the Tokyo Game Show back in September. During last weekend’s Taipei Game Show, however, series brand manager Shinji Hashimoto took to the stage to introduce the title to audiences, even going as far as to have producer Hiroaki Kato partake in a live demo for all to see.
Clocking in at six minutes, much of the gameplay focuses on exploration and combat, with Square no doubt keen to show off the remastered character models and backgrounds, but some screen time is dedicated to the game’s overhauled user interface, too.
As was the case with its Final Fantasy X HD Remaster a few years back for the PlayStation 3 (and subsequently released for PlayStation 4 and PC), particular attention has been paid to character and enemy models, with the footage’s concluding moments showcasing Vaan and friends’ explosive clash with the Bomb King.
Along with all of the visual improvements, Zodiac Age will ship with 7.1 surround sound support, as well as a remastered soundtrack and better quality voice acting. The latter, in particular, is a very welcome change, and something that the Final Fantasy X remaster sorely needed to cure its largely wooden performances.
Other improvements, including an auto-save feature, the ability to change between English and Japanese voices and a rejigged Turbo Mode are all on the cards for the remaster, hopefully remedying at least some of the issues fans had with the game when it originally released. Square has yet to provide a release date for Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age, but it appears to be coming along nicely. Assuming the original 2017 date sticks, we imagine it can only be a few months away by now.