The first and most obvious change coming to The Zodiac Age is updated graphics. Textures have been completely reworked both for the world and character models, along with the addition of current gen lighting and depth-of-field effects. Cutscenes and movie segments have also been remastered in high definition, making Final Fantasy XII look better than it ever has. The work on The Zodiac Age is pretty comparable to the graphical update we saw in Final Fantasy X HD. Load times have also been improved over the original game.
Re-orchestrated Soundtrack
In addition to graphical updates, the sound in Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is also receiving an overhaul. Voice acting and sound in general have received an upgrade to 7.1 surround, and you can even switch between Japanese and English voice tracks. The real star of the show, however, is a re-recorded soundtrack, with an emphasis to make it even grander than before. One of the best parts of the original game was its soundtrack, and The Zodiac Age makes that aspect even better.
Enhanced Job System
In 2007, an updated version of Final Fantasy XII called the International Zodiac Job system released exclusively in Japan. This version overhauled the job system, creating specific jobs with different License Boards instead of each character having the exact same License Board like in the original. The Zodiac Age is based on the International version, so it has the new job system fans in the west never got to experience. However, it does make one more addition: letting each character choose not one, but two jobs in the game.
This job system allows for much more strategy than the original game, giving characters defined roles in battle instead of everyone feeling the same by the end.
Trial Mode
Another addition from the International version of the game is Trial Mode. This is a new option selectable from the main menu that has you running through a 100-enemy gauntlet, with the difficulty consistently ramping up. There’s even a few battles in Trial Mode that you won’t encounter in the main game, and beating it unlocks a Weak Mode that locks your party at level 1. The change that The Zodiac Age brings to Trial Mode is that it now lets you bring any rewards and items you obtain back into the story.
Speed Mode and Map Features
Probably the most meaningful changes to The Zodiac Age come with the fast forward feature and map options. By tapping the L1 button you can speed the game up to 2x or even 4x if you want. This feature is hugely helpful, letting you speed through long dungeons or backtracking for hunts. It also significantly cuts down on the time you have to spend grinding for experience or License Points. Another new feature lets you click the left stick in to bring up a transparent version of the area map. Yet again, this is a humongous help as you can just view the map while running around, instead of having to pause your progress and look for where you need to go next. Both of these are huge quality of life improvements that really help streamline your experience with Final Fantasy XII.
Controllable Guest Party Members and Espers
Another small improvement to combat actually lets you control guest party members and Espers that you summon. In the original game you didn’t have full control over these characters, having to really on the AI and Gambits to guide them. Now, however, you can control them and issue orders, helping to reinforce your own strategy.
Improved Battles and Updated Treasure Chests
To match the new job and license system, both enemy battles and boss battles have been retooled. Because each character has a distinct role, you’ll now need to employ more strategy during battles to overcome them. Square Enix has tried to account for the changes, and keep the difficulty of the original Final Fantasy XII intact. In addition, chests across the world of Ivalice hve been changed to match the progression of your jobs and provide valuable new rewards.
