Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age Release Date Set for July

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, the highly-anticipated Final Fantasy HD title, will be released on July 11 in both North America and Europe, according to Square Enix. That's just two days after my birthday. The game will release on July 13 in Japan and other parts of Asia.

If you haven't checked it out, now's a good time to do so. Here's the synopsis, courtesy of the Square Enix store:

"Enter an era of war within the world of Ivalice. The small kingdom of Dalmasca, conquered by the Archadian Empire, is left in ruin and uncertainty. Princess Ashe, the one and only heir to the throne, devotes herself to the resistance to liberate her country. Vaan, a young man who lost his family in the war, dreams of flying freely in the skies. In a fight for freedom and fallen royalty, join these unlikely allies and their companions as they embark on a heroic adventure to free their homeland."

The title includes several new enhanced gameplay features that weren't existent in the North American version:

• The Zodiac Job System - which provides you with an improved character leveling system that caters to the player's preference. You want Dragoon? You got it! Well... sort of. The closest you'll receive is Uhlan.
• Trial Mode - You'll be able to take on monsters and other types of enemies in up to 100 consecutive battles.
• Speed Mode - If you're impatient, speed mode is the way to go.

Last-generation HD graphical capabilities, including characters and movie scenes fully remastered in HD.

True 7.1 surround sound, including HD voicing and newly recorded background music utilizing the current generation of sound production. So no sound compression here!

Modern advancements including the PlayStation 4 trophy support and share functionalities, auto-save and shortened loading times.

And of course, all of the old content that was included in the original, such as hunts, mini-games, and rares. And that stupid Zodiac Spear... which can be found early only if you do not open certain chests (without a guide, how is that possible unless you don't open a single chest?). Oh, and none of the characters must not be equipped with Diamond Armlets. Crazy, right? However, this is the easier method. The second way to obtain a spear?

Henne Mines' Phase 2 Dig, which can only be accessed due to a lot of requirements. The chances for the chest to spawn is 10 percent, and the chances any item appears is 10 percent. The chances the Zodiac Spear appears is 10 percent, meaning there is a 0.1 percent chance for the spear to even appear. Plus you must have a Diamond Armlet equipped. Thankfully, this method is exploitable... in the PS2 version. More than likely, we won't obtain the Zodiac Spear via these methods, but the methods that are in International Zodiac Job System version.

You can pre-order Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age here.