It’s hard to know where to start with the Final Fantasy franchise. Ever since the original game hit the NES back in 1987, the series has amassed more than 60 million sales. While the games all contain certain similar objects, creatures and people, they are uniquely unconnected to each other (with the exception of Final Fantasy X’s uncharacteristic sequel, Final Fantasy X-2). The series’ infamous Active Time Battle (ATB) system has been thrown around and changed so many times that the games have become distinctive in both looks and gameplay.

There have been numerous spin-offs, a box office flop movie, an MMORPG, all manner of collectables and remakes over the years. At this year’s E3 the trailer for Final Fantasy XII was shown, but you could blink and miss it between technical demos for the PS3 and the distinctly overshadowing movie of Final Fantasy VII running on Sony’s new console. But FF XII, directed by Yasumi Matsuno (Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story), promises to see the series out on PS2 with a visually stunning bang, ditching the ATB system and injecting new life into the console RPG series.