Zodiac Age has been out for a couple of years now. It seemed like it was very similar to the X/X-2 remake where it was mostly a graphical overhaul with it being the exact same game. While that is mostly true, there are some major pieces to be aware that is different in this game.
Here’s the biggest differences from my play through so far.
Graphical – upgrade
The first thing I noticed early on were the graphics. The shadows didn’t have that weird blurred but still harsh lines, especially on faces. The hair textures also had more detail, giving the appearance of individual hairs versus a big chunk of hair.
The environment got a small upgrade as well. The heat waves in the Dalmasca Sands were a lot more pronounced and the caves looked every bit dark and moist as I tried to forget.
Finally, the updated textures on the monsters were minimal, but definitely there for those hungry for every bunch of fur and drop of ooze.
Fighting / Combat – almost identical
I’m not 100% through my Zodiac Age playthrough, but I can say with decent certainty that the combat system fells almost the exact same. You set your gambits, get good gear, and go headfirst into everything.
The only semi major change with the combat is in quickenings or mist abilities. These special moves were always a bit tricky because if you weren’t careful you’d do minimal damage, no final move, and be completely out of mana until you either got real scrappy or died.
Now, quickenings have their own separate bar that you fill up to cast, separate from mana. This is both great and meh. Great because a crappy roll of quickenings hurts a whole lot less. Meh because you can’t exploit that awesome trick of spamming ethers/elixirs to keep them going.
Story – identical (I think..)
The war-torn story of XII can be one that’s hard to follow. That being said, I think there may have been 1 additional scene in the opening of the game that I don’t remember prior. It is possible that I’m mistaken here, but I didn’t remember seeing Rossler getting exploded by Nethicite previously.
Beyond that one scene, everything is as I remember it.
Treasures – upgrades
As a teenager, nothing made me wanna scream more than my little brother coming to me hours after he played, and saved over, my XII save file saying he got the treasure chest outside of them old dudes’ house. Why? I knew in the original game that meant I was out of the running for the Zodiac Spear. To be fair, I was 20 hours in at this point.
The whole ‘don’t open these 10 chests I’d you want the best weapon in the game’ fiasco is gone! That cheat that held the spear itself is gone too. Now, that lovely weapon is in a new location with a 1% spawn rate. BUT you can get multiples! That’s like a triple win right there.
Also, I noticed far more in Zodiac Age that I was finding spells and techniques in the chests as well, not just Gil and items. It was nice running around, filling the Bestiary, and pop there’s Raise spell! Less Gil for me to spend!
Licenses – Major changes (you decide if it’s an upgrade!)
In the original game, you were given this massive board full of everything you can learn ever and you could have it where all 6 people knew every spell, every technique, how to wield every weapon, etc. Now, it’s more specialized. The entire grid is broken up into the 12 Zodiacs and there is a corresponding class to match. Everyone can have two classes, cause you know basic math. 6*2=12.
Once you set your two classes, those are locked in until you head over to Monteblanc all the way over in Rabanastre again and ask him to wipe it clean.
