Originally released in 2006 on the Playstation 2, The Zodiac Age was the 2017 remaster of the game that added a myriad of new features and adjustments including the Zodiac Job System that brought something of a reverse Final Fantasy X to the game. Where the Sphere Grid originally was sectioned off in job-like routes for each character, the International edition would add the Expert Grid that opened the whole thing and placed all characters in the center. The original Final Fantasy XII featured an open and shared license board for all characters, where as the Zodiac Job System would give each job a smaller custom license board that was more orientated to that job’s strengths.
The Story
The kingdom of Dalmasca lies on a stretch of land between the warring nations of Archadia and Rozaria. When the Archadian Empire annexes Dalmasca after killing its king to gain a foothold at the doorstep of Rozaria, the plot begins to unfurl not at the top but at the lowest point one could find: the sewers. There a young orphan named Vaan with a chip on his shoulder about the Imperial occupation ends up triggering a whirlwind of events that ensnares a sky pirate and his partner, a thought dead princess, and a kingslayer traitor, on a quest to not only push back the Empire but decide the nature of divinity itself across the lands of Ivalice.
The Race
This playthrough of Final Fantasy XII was a race between a number of different casual streamers using a shared set of rules and segmented time based on when we could stream the game.
The Participants were: Kiljo, LadyP, LunarProjections, OrlandOhNo, Vicky Sanctus, Xing Hai Long.
The Rules were:
- Whatever job you pick for your characters, they are locked into that and you are not allowed to change them with Montblanc. Pick wisely.
- Pick your Espers (Summons) wisely as you will not be able to change their handlers later.
- No use of walkthroughs, guides, videos, etc with the acceptation of rule 4.
- Challengers are permitted to use guides when it comes to Hunts and the Bazaar.
- No 2x, 4x, or any speed ups. Must use default speed.
- No Game Enhancers
- Game difficulty must be Normal
- No skipping scenes or button mashing through dialog UNLESS you have died and need to get to where you were.
- Each of the challengers are allowed to watch each others streams.
- Challengers are to start in October of 2025, but may stream as much or little as they choose as long as they record their times. Best time to finish the game wins!
- Grinding off stream is permitted as long as you A) Log your time. B) Stay in the areas you’ve been to that won’t progress the storyline.
- Have fun!
The winner of the race was OrlandOhNo with a time of 28:51:36. The other times are listed below.
| Racer | Final Time |
|---|---|
| OrlandOhNo | 28:51:36 |
| Vicky Sanctus | 48:49:14 |
| LunarProjections | 50:33:28 |
| LadyP | 53:31:01 |
| Vrykerion | 62:37:09 |
| Kiljo | Still Racing |
| Xing Hai Long | Still Racing |
The Videos
Below is the embedded playlist of the full playthrough of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age.
Vrykerion 