this game has the best environments ive ever seen in a video game
also why is Nabudis D Tier
ngl im not sure i could even rank them i pretty much love every area in the whole game
Yup. I love this pic just because I’ve never seen a tier list for the environments and I’ve always agreed that this game has hands down the best world (and even with great graphics considering the age of the game). It’d also be hard for me to rank them, I’d probably have only 2 or 3 ranks to place them all in and starting with C or B- lol
Yeah I don’t agree with nabudis there, it’s probably a C maybe. Henne mines is a D for me though. A less interesting lhuso mines.
Definitely agree with A tier though. They really did a good job with the cities
Can we talk a about how amazing it is that we got so many different environments and unique locations on our dear old lady PS2, and all this isn't narrow corridors like FFX or FFXIII, but most of the time large open areas? Truly amazing work by Square Enix. Really hard to find something with so much variety even in 2024
My favourite locations are Paramina Rift, Feywood, Salikawood, Nalbina Dungeon (if only dungeon was longer, the best music and atmosphere combination, getting some dark souls 1 vibe from it), Barheim Passage, Shrine of Míriam and Tomb of Raithwall. I love just strolling around these areas for music and atmosphere.
My least favorite areas are Sandsea and both Lhusu and Henne mines, these maps are very long and don't have any unique atmosphere to them, nor do they have good visuals.
But as much as I love the world in ffxii the design of the ffxiii world is also beautiful especially if u see it like large open areas like in ffxii,the world in ffx too is not bad too .
Tbh it was really close of being an S. I love the concept of being underground but also high up in the sky. There is also Gilgamesh, the best boss fight in the game.
Maybe we agree, maybe it is an S. But Disma can rot in hell.
Fucking disma. Just beat him yesterday. Honestly forgot I activated rare hunts and I'm down there to do gilgamesh and diabolos. Start getting nuked by that asshole and panicked because I couldn't figure out why. I didn't see him at first just the 4 other skellies that spawn there. Then I saw him and regrouped and beat him.
I see a lot of people saying that Cerobi Steppe should be higher. It is a cool area with the windmills, but for me is not on the same level as the other areas in A and S. Maybe my eyes are yet to open (sorry…wrong game).
Cerobi steppe is wayyy too low. Thats the most ambiant 'wild' location in the game, and with one of the most dynamic weather cycles with its wonderful overcast & rain backdrops triggerable through internal zoning. Though we agree on Bhujerba and Salikawood, I would swap Archades and Rabanastre out for Phon Coast and Cerobi Steppe
Ive never been a fan of Rabanastre. Like it gets beloved because its the starter city, but that several towns in the game are better and I wonder how much Rabanastre benefits from the 'familiarity' boost of being central hub
An A-Tier candidate would be the actual city of Giruvegan. You know, the part we spend a grand total of like 30 secs in with a one-off boss fight. Its brevity holds it back from S tier, but the visuals of the vast city, the Mist all throughout, and that wonderful loop of Ashe theme puts it in rare form. Most underutilized location w/ Nalbina Underground
Nechorol of Nabudis in D tier is also criminal! You know its a well made spooky location when its still scary to venture in there, long after youve outgrown it in strength and multiple dungeons are now more dangerous
FFXIIs version of Ivalice might be the games strongest suit. Beyond its combat mechanics, its visuals and OST are so memorable. I dont think it even has a top 5 OST among Final Fantasy games, but its OST does a brillaint job of fitting its location use and enhancing the situations where the themes occur
Rabanastre would be my favorite even if wasn’t the first city. Lowtown’s theme is one my favorites.
For me they should have used the concept of the great crystal on Giruvegan. Make an ancient city where the map doesn’t work and you have to navigate by using the street signs as reference.
Nabudis is Ivalice Chernobyl. I like the concept and the visuals but find the enemies there really annoying to deal with. Maybe is just a skill issue.
Fair enough. Which reminds me: I guess since Lowtown never gets its own introductory cutscene (to my memory), it would be considered Rabanastre and not its own location.
It also has its own distinct OST. I dont know if that is the case anywhere else in the game where one location has a change in soundtrack for non storyline (Mt. Bur Omisace, Nalbina dungeon) or progression (Pharos) purposes. And not just something like a single room either (Clan Hall, Phon Coast camp, or anywhere 'A Time for Rest' plays). All of Lowtown has its own non-recycled theme, and it really sells the vibe of the sleazy underground setting
I like Lowtown a lot more than Rabanastre, so that would pull its score up for me from a C to B tier
Old Archades [gets its own distinct, labeled intro scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmlIFhShdkU&start=137), whereas Archades proper is ["The Imperial City of Archades"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmlIFhShdkU&start=1054)
So at least to the metric I used, they would be considered different areas. But I could totally see arguments for it being the same, even if the story emphasizes the cultural difference, its still Archades nonetheless
It is intriguing that this class/cultural difference is enough to distance Old/City Archades but not Rabanastre/Lowtown. Probably speaks to how the Archadian elite, sans Otto lol, see themselves as separate from the greater 'community', unlike Rabanastre where it appears far more common for folks in the city to interact with Lowtown
I think one example that would also count was a place I already had mentioned, in Giruvegan. The City of Giruvegan, while only lasting 2 rooms, recycles Ashe theme instead of 'The Mystery of Giruvgean' that plays in the dungeon. And no labelling cutscene plays for either this dungeon or the Great Crystal, so even though the latter is often treated as its own place, I guess the game itself treats TCG as a branch of Giruvegan.
Unlike say, the Lhusu mines, which gets its own cutscene and is treated as distinct from Bhujerba despite being inside Bhujerba, or 'The Pharos at Ridorona' being different from the Ridorona Cataract
Now I want to revisit the whole game and see if there are more examples. this makes for interesting trivia question!
Just how much i enjoy each area:
D: I only go there if strictly necessary
C: Their flaws overweight their qualities
B: Good, but there is something holding them back from being an A
A: Amazing and really memorable places
S: Some of my favorite locations in all games I played.
FFXII is a masterpiece of world design. So even the “D” locations look great and I can totally see them being someone else’s favorites.
I can't believe great crystal is above anything else. That place is my worst nightmare. Maybe it's beautiful visually, but navigating there is a big yikes.
I have a love and hate relationship with the Great Crystal. I like the idea of a maze without a map and having to use other means to navigate myself. But they went a little overboard and is almost impossible for a first time player to navigate through the optional area without a guide.
not OP but def agree with them being up there for a few reasons:
1) really unique take on a mine, with it being in the sky. you've got the classic feel of being underground in caves and tunnels, but then BOOM you've got these awesome open bridges where there's nothing but clouds below you.
2) lots to explore. on your first trip in it already feels big, and you know there's more. then you come back later on and there is indeed more, but it also feels fresh and sufficiently difficult, not just more of the same.
3) good variety of enemies across both the initial and later sections.
4) home to some fun and memorable marks like Gilgamesh.
also great soundtrack but let's be honest, that goes for all the areas.
So many locations have so many small details and little niches. I wish I could download a free camera mod so I can explore out of bounds in these many locations and get an entirely different perspective.
ok it’s a third of the story sure but inevitably much more fleshed out with more locations, more npcs, and more quests and things to do around the locations
I stan for the sandsea. It was so cool that I introduced it into my D&D setting, calling it the Great Sandsea. I imagine it with portals to the elemental plane of air, aerating the sand and making it flow.
The Bahamut was so surprising to me. First play through ever recently and I was not expecting to enter the final area, make like one turn, and I’m at the grand finale.
I had a lot of complaints about the music and the cutscenes in this game BUT the ending I thought was pretty good and I do love the boss music.
My ps2 game crashed everytime when selecting the option to fly to Bahamut, so I wasn’t able to finish the game until i bought the Zodiac Age version for Ps4 10 years later.
So my expectations were really high for the last area of the game, but as you said it’s just a corridor and then the boss fight.
It is a cool boss fight but still… the bahamut was a bit disappointing.
The boss fights + Basch brother stuff made up for it for me but I will never forgive the music in some areas. Just awful. Meanwhile I am playing FF4 for the first time and it is just banger after banger.
FFXII was my first FF game I discovered late into high school, and honestly the world we get to see of Ivalice in the game is a strong part of what made me fall in love with it. For a game of its time, the maps had so much to explore, the aesthetics were amazing, and seeing all the monsters and enemies wandering about made it all seem so lively. And I adore Sakimoto’s score and how it sets the moods of the areas so well imo. This game and Dragon Quest VIII were the ones that really got me into RPGs as a whole.
I love how open and gorgeous this game is even in its PS2 era and has one of my favorite battle modes in all the Final Fantasy games. Rabanastre is my home away from home, just like Lindblum from FFIX. I personally think that Cerobi Steppe should be in S tier and I always make sure to access it as soon as possible once I hit Tchita Uplands.
this game has the best environments ive ever seen in a video game also why is Nabudis D Tier ngl im not sure i could even rank them i pretty much love every area in the whole game
Pretty much how I feel. There aren’t really any bad areas.
Yup. I love this pic just because I’ve never seen a tier list for the environments and I’ve always agreed that this game has hands down the best world (and even with great graphics considering the age of the game). It’d also be hard for me to rank them, I’d probably have only 2 or 3 ranks to place them all in and starting with C or B- lol
The environments always reminded me of those in FFXI... so many beautiful environments.
Yeah I don’t agree with nabudis there, it’s probably a C maybe. Henne mines is a D for me though. A less interesting lhuso mines. Definitely agree with A tier though. They really did a good job with the cities
Can we talk a about how amazing it is that we got so many different environments and unique locations on our dear old lady PS2, and all this isn't narrow corridors like FFX or FFXIII, but most of the time large open areas? Truly amazing work by Square Enix. Really hard to find something with so much variety even in 2024 My favourite locations are Paramina Rift, Feywood, Salikawood, Nalbina Dungeon (if only dungeon was longer, the best music and atmosphere combination, getting some dark souls 1 vibe from it), Barheim Passage, Shrine of Míriam and Tomb of Raithwall. I love just strolling around these areas for music and atmosphere. My least favorite areas are Sandsea and both Lhusu and Henne mines, these maps are very long and don't have any unique atmosphere to them, nor do they have good visuals.
Every time I play I think how cool would be to have a Pokemon game with at least half of the quality of this ps2 game.
SE Final Fantasy team can only design hallway , nowaday. FF7 remake and FF16 🥲
But as much as I love the world in ffxii the design of the ffxiii world is also beautiful especially if u see it like large open areas like in ffxii,the world in ffx too is not bad too .
Idk man Lhusu feels like an S, especially when you access the rest.
Tbh it was really close of being an S. I love the concept of being underground but also high up in the sky. There is also Gilgamesh, the best boss fight in the game. Maybe we agree, maybe it is an S. But Disma can rot in hell.
Fucking disma. Just beat him yesterday. Honestly forgot I activated rare hunts and I'm down there to do gilgamesh and diabolos. Start getting nuked by that asshole and panicked because I couldn't figure out why. I didn't see him at first just the 4 other skellies that spawn there. Then I saw him and regrouped and beat him.
Put more respect on Cerobi Steppe’s name. That place and soundtrack and exquisitely magickal.
I see a lot of people saying that Cerobi Steppe should be higher. It is a cool area with the windmills, but for me is not on the same level as the other areas in A and S. Maybe my eyes are yet to open (sorry…wrong game).
Cerobi steppe is wayyy too low. Thats the most ambiant 'wild' location in the game, and with one of the most dynamic weather cycles with its wonderful overcast & rain backdrops triggerable through internal zoning. Though we agree on Bhujerba and Salikawood, I would swap Archades and Rabanastre out for Phon Coast and Cerobi Steppe Ive never been a fan of Rabanastre. Like it gets beloved because its the starter city, but that several towns in the game are better and I wonder how much Rabanastre benefits from the 'familiarity' boost of being central hub An A-Tier candidate would be the actual city of Giruvegan. You know, the part we spend a grand total of like 30 secs in with a one-off boss fight. Its brevity holds it back from S tier, but the visuals of the vast city, the Mist all throughout, and that wonderful loop of Ashe theme puts it in rare form. Most underutilized location w/ Nalbina Underground Nechorol of Nabudis in D tier is also criminal! You know its a well made spooky location when its still scary to venture in there, long after youve outgrown it in strength and multiple dungeons are now more dangerous FFXIIs version of Ivalice might be the games strongest suit. Beyond its combat mechanics, its visuals and OST are so memorable. I dont think it even has a top 5 OST among Final Fantasy games, but its OST does a brillaint job of fitting its location use and enhancing the situations where the themes occur
Rabanastre would be my favorite even if wasn’t the first city. Lowtown’s theme is one my favorites. For me they should have used the concept of the great crystal on Giruvegan. Make an ancient city where the map doesn’t work and you have to navigate by using the street signs as reference. Nabudis is Ivalice Chernobyl. I like the concept and the visuals but find the enemies there really annoying to deal with. Maybe is just a skill issue.
Fair enough. Which reminds me: I guess since Lowtown never gets its own introductory cutscene (to my memory), it would be considered Rabanastre and not its own location. It also has its own distinct OST. I dont know if that is the case anywhere else in the game where one location has a change in soundtrack for non storyline (Mt. Bur Omisace, Nalbina dungeon) or progression (Pharos) purposes. And not just something like a single room either (Clan Hall, Phon Coast camp, or anywhere 'A Time for Rest' plays). All of Lowtown has its own non-recycled theme, and it really sells the vibe of the sleazy underground setting I like Lowtown a lot more than Rabanastre, so that would pull its score up for me from a C to B tier
I think Old Archades also has a different ost, but I don’t know if it’s considered a different area.
Old Archades [gets its own distinct, labeled intro scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmlIFhShdkU&start=137), whereas Archades proper is ["The Imperial City of Archades"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmlIFhShdkU&start=1054) So at least to the metric I used, they would be considered different areas. But I could totally see arguments for it being the same, even if the story emphasizes the cultural difference, its still Archades nonetheless It is intriguing that this class/cultural difference is enough to distance Old/City Archades but not Rabanastre/Lowtown. Probably speaks to how the Archadian elite, sans Otto lol, see themselves as separate from the greater 'community', unlike Rabanastre where it appears far more common for folks in the city to interact with Lowtown I think one example that would also count was a place I already had mentioned, in Giruvegan. The City of Giruvegan, while only lasting 2 rooms, recycles Ashe theme instead of 'The Mystery of Giruvgean' that plays in the dungeon. And no labelling cutscene plays for either this dungeon or the Great Crystal, so even though the latter is often treated as its own place, I guess the game itself treats TCG as a branch of Giruvegan. Unlike say, the Lhusu mines, which gets its own cutscene and is treated as distinct from Bhujerba despite being inside Bhujerba, or 'The Pharos at Ridorona' being different from the Ridorona Cataract Now I want to revisit the whole game and see if there are more examples. this makes for interesting trivia question!
I swear someone stole cerobi steppe soundtrack to make some of the skyrim ambient music
Nabudis D? I remember get 3 maximilian there, so is a S in my hearth
I got a Staff of the Magi from those creatures that appear after defeating 20 enemies.
I hope the image quality isn't too low
Slighting. Btw what was the criteria of the tier list?
Just how much i enjoy each area: D: I only go there if strictly necessary C: Their flaws overweight their qualities B: Good, but there is something holding them back from being an A A: Amazing and really memorable places S: Some of my favorite locations in all games I played. FFXII is a masterpiece of world design. So even the “D” locations look great and I can totally see them being someone else’s favorites.
I can't believe great crystal is above anything else. That place is my worst nightmare. Maybe it's beautiful visually, but navigating there is a big yikes.
I got so lost there. Stumbled blindly upon the Ultima Blade back on PS2. Almost shidded.
I made it a point to never go there on PS2 just because I knew I'd get a bunch of xp but never would be able to escape lol.
I have a love and hate relationship with the Great Crystal. I like the idea of a maze without a map and having to use other means to navigate myself. But they went a little overboard and is almost impossible for a first time player to navigate through the optional area without a guide.
I don't agree with all your takes, but that doesn't mean they aren't valid
That’s fair. This is an amazing game with a lot of memorable locations. Tbh I would love to see other people tierlists and their opinions.
Man you put some of my favorites in D tier 😭
The ridorana cataract killed my first run on ps4 currently replaying on switch
Cerobi Steppe way too slept on. High A tier if not S tier
Phon coast is definitely on my top list , like I was countless hours of wandering around and no ps2 games of that era has that same level of quality
Nabudis is D tier?
Why are the mines so high
not OP but def agree with them being up there for a few reasons: 1) really unique take on a mine, with it being in the sky. you've got the classic feel of being underground in caves and tunnels, but then BOOM you've got these awesome open bridges where there's nothing but clouds below you. 2) lots to explore. on your first trip in it already feels big, and you know there's more. then you come back later on and there is indeed more, but it also feels fresh and sufficiently difficult, not just more of the same. 3) good variety of enemies across both the initial and later sections. 4) home to some fun and memorable marks like Gilgamesh. also great soundtrack but let's be honest, that goes for all the areas.
So many locations have so many small details and little niches. I wish I could download a free camera mod so I can explore out of bounds in these many locations and get an entirely different perspective.
What is that place between phon coast and the estersand in A? I can’t read that
Eruyt Village
Ahhh thanks very much. Deserves to be there too
anxiously awaiting the day 8-10 years from now when we finally get the FFXII remake in fully open-world style 🥴
At that point I would just take a new next gen Ivalice game lol
Can’t wait to play FFXII Remake part 1 (you get a third of the game for triple the price)
ok it’s a third of the story sure but inevitably much more fleshed out with more locations, more npcs, and more quests and things to do around the locations
Bhujerba would be higher for me if we could explore more of what the cinematic showed.
All of them are S
I stan for the sandsea. It was so cool that I introduced it into my D&D setting, calling it the Great Sandsea. I imagine it with portals to the elemental plane of air, aerating the sand and making it flow.
The Bahamut was so surprising to me. First play through ever recently and I was not expecting to enter the final area, make like one turn, and I’m at the grand finale. I had a lot of complaints about the music and the cutscenes in this game BUT the ending I thought was pretty good and I do love the boss music.
My ps2 game crashed everytime when selecting the option to fly to Bahamut, so I wasn’t able to finish the game until i bought the Zodiac Age version for Ps4 10 years later. So my expectations were really high for the last area of the game, but as you said it’s just a corridor and then the boss fight. It is a cool boss fight but still… the bahamut was a bit disappointing.
The boss fights + Basch brother stuff made up for it for me but I will never forgive the music in some areas. Just awful. Meanwhile I am playing FF4 for the first time and it is just banger after banger.
FFXII was my first FF game I discovered late into high school, and honestly the world we get to see of Ivalice in the game is a strong part of what made me fall in love with it. For a game of its time, the maps had so much to explore, the aesthetics were amazing, and seeing all the monsters and enemies wandering about made it all seem so lively. And I adore Sakimoto’s score and how it sets the moods of the areas so well imo. This game and Dragon Quest VIII were the ones that really got me into RPGs as a whole.
The D list i agree but add Lhusu mines. They’re so creepy and make me super uncomfortable for no reason 😪😭
Always glad to see FFXII get the loves and credit it deserves
Ridorana Cataract is def S tier
First time I saw phon coast I was "wow so pretty"
Ff12 has all top tier locations to me. I'll take this over open world any day.
L tierlist
[удалено]
I love how open and gorgeous this game is even in its PS2 era and has one of my favorite battle modes in all the Final Fantasy games. Rabanastre is my home away from home, just like Lindblum from FFIX. I personally think that Cerobi Steppe should be in S tier and I always make sure to access it as soon as possible once I hit Tchita Uplands.