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Digital Foundry | Final Fantasy 12: Switch/Xbox One Tested + Bonus Final Fantasy 10 Analysis (XII: Sub-Native Res on Switch, 1080p@60fps on XB1X)

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Dancrane212

Dancrane212

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Oct 25, 2017
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No article but here's a quick summary.

Note: VGtech's analysis points to Switch using a dynamic resolution.

FFX:
Switch Docked - 1080p @ 30FPS
Switch Handheld - 720p @30FPS
Xbox One - 1080p @ 30FPS
Xbox One X - 4k @ 30FPS

Switch has a couple lower quality textures and weaker AO compared to Xbox. The game has rare drops during things like boss fight cinematics.

FFXII:
Switch Docked - 864p @ 30FPS
Switch Handheld - 576p @30FPS
Xbox One - 1080p @ 30FPS
Xbox One X - 1080p @ 60FPS

Switch again has some lower quality textures (and filtering) and weaker AO. XB1 and X are similar aside from the framerate being 60 on the X.


1080p on X is a bit of a surprise considering the Xbox wire article put it at 4k, but at least it seems to maintain that target FPS well.
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2019/04/30/final-fantasy-xii-the-zodiac-age-arrives-today-xbox-one/
On top of sporting remastered HD graphics and a rearranged soundtrack option, the Xbox One X version also supports 60fps and crystal-clear 4K. Simply put, the game has never looked (or sounded!) more beautiful.
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Nuclear Muffin

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Oct 29, 2017
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Can't even get a PS2 game running at 1080p on Switch? Come on!!

1080p max on Xbox One X!?

This game is so poorly optimised! (Doesn't it also run like crud on PC too?)

FFS! These consoles could emulate the original PS2 version and get better performance!! That should not be happening, no matter how many extra lighting effects and shadows you have slapped onto the original visuals/code!
 
Count of Monte Sawed-Off

Count of Monte Sawed-Off

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Oct 27, 2017
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Dancrane212 said:
I think that wire article was the only place I saw it mentioned. Looks like the box excludes the enhancement tags altogether.

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Oops, misread your post. Nevermind that part.

But yeah, this isn't surprising. After playing it for an hour on my X, I didn't think it looked as good as it did when playing it on my Pro. But 60 fps is nice. I imagine both consoles could have an option to choose between 60 fps and 4k though.
 
Lelouch0612

Lelouch0612

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Oct 25, 2017
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Nuclear Muffin said:
Can't even get a PS2 game running at 1080p on Switch? Come on!!

1080p max on Xbox One X!?

This game is so poorly optimised! (Doesn't it also run like crud on PC too?)

FFS! These consoles could emulate the original PS2 version and get better performance!!
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The game is not the PS2 game simply put at a higher resolution you know.
 
Cliff Steele

Cliff Steele

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I'm getting so sick of sub par blurry ass ports on Switch. Bought this because I thought it was 720p handheld. Blegh.
 

Deleted member 20297

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Yautja_Warrior said:
Been a while since I played it but looking back, it was only 30fps on Pro.

It's not really a game that needs 60fps but a nice bonus I guess, although it would have been nice to get a higher resolution too, it is a PS2 game after all.
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Tom mentions how stark the difference is coming from the X version when playing 30 fps on the base console but a higher resolution should've been an option, for sure. The hardware is not to blame here.
 
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

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screenshot_2019-05-04klko2.png

screenshot_2019-05-04ptkg7.jpg


Switch looks good and hold its own even with 4K video quality option on youtube
 
NeoBob688

NeoBob688

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FFXII 4K max settings @ fully smooth 60 FPS is challenging even on gaming PCs. (Which is pathetic considering what the game offers technically).

I am fairly certain that the X should be able to do 4K/30 FPS. It just seems like they were too lazy to include a separate option to select between 4k/30 and 1080p/60, opting for the latter. Which still has merit seeing as no other console release has offered 60 FPS at all.
 
Kage Maru

Kage Maru

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Surprised they couldn't hit 1440p60 on the 1X. Also agree that it would have been nice to offer a 4K30 option but it's still nice and clean at 1080p.
 
exodus

exodus

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Oct 25, 2017
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Honestly the post processing makes the game so blurry that 4K is barely noticeable over 1080p.

I think fast forward is likely the demanding feature here that results in a very large overhead needed.

Maybe someone with the PC version can check CPU/GPU utilization with fast forward on.
 
Gotdatmoney

Gotdatmoney

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Nuclear Muffin said:
Can't even get a PS2 game running at 1080p on Switch? Come on!!

1080p max on Xbox One X!?
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It's not a pure PS2 port. They redid a lot of the texturing and the lighting model is revamped.

They definitely could have pushed out a higher res on the X though.

This game is so poorly optimised! (Doesn't it also run like crud on PC too?)

FFS! These consoles could emulate the original PS2 version and get better performance!! That should not be happening, no matter how many extra lighting effects and shadows you have slapped onto the original visuals/code!
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You don't know how development works if you believe this.
 

Nuclear Muffin

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Oct 29, 2017
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Let's put this into perspective. Wind Waker HD got a similar upgrade and runs in full 1080p on the Wii U... a console that is weaker than Switch in handheld mode...

... let that sink in. Virtuous did a terrible job with this port.
 
Ridley327

Ridley327

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exodus said:
Honestly the post processing makes the game so blurry that 4K is barely noticeable over 1080p.
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It also helps make the Switch version compare favorably, even with it being sub-native resolution in both modes. This is one of those instances where replicating the look of the PS2 original is a double-edge sword for folks demanding crisp IQ, since this remaster is stubbornly against such clarity in all its forms.
 
SuperSah

SuperSah

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Not a great port. It's good that X runs native on Switch but I don't really see why XII should be running less than native.

Heck, even the XB1X got the shaft here.
 

Deleted member 18161

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Nuclear Muffin said:
Can't even get a PS2 game running at 1080p on Switch? Come on!!

1080p max on Xbox One X!?

This game is so poorly optimised! (Doesn't it also run like crud on PC too?)

FFS! These consoles could emulate the original PS2 version and get better performance!! That should not be happening, no matter how many extra lighting effects and shadows you have slapped onto the original visuals/code!
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Is this a troll lol?

On topic. Looks like they're both solid Switch ports. Will get them at some point!
 

Deleted member 8593

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I guess it says a lot about how aggressive the post processing was even on PS4 that the Switch version somehow manages to compare favourably despite the sub-native resolution. It's not a great port but is carried immensely by its stellar art direction.
 
Bjoern

Bjoern

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I'm surprised to read that it is sub-1080p.
I'm currently at a Swiss convention showing off our own game at Nintendo's booth and directly in front of us is FF12 for Switch.

I seriously didn't notice the sub-1080p resolution, thought it was Full HD the whole time.

That is meant to be a positive post.
I congratulate the porting studio on a job well done! đź‘Źđź‘Źđź‘Źđź‘Źđź‘Ź


And just to repeat the most important information here:

This is not just a simple port of the PS2 version.
This thing was completely remade as far as I know and had many additional features neither PS2 version had, as well as graphical upgrades along the way, not just in terms of texture and overall resolution, but also polygon count for some models and some post-processing effects, among other things.

It's definitely way more demanding than the PS2 game ever was.

EDIT: I'm standing on front of the game right now, watching someone else play it. I don't see the lower resolution at all. Doesn't look bless to me either, should they use anti-aliasing.
Yes, it's 'only' 30fps, but still, this looks amazing, considering this is a port of the PS4 version of the game.
 
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Imitatio

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Feb 19, 2018
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Played it for 5h handheld only so far; it's slightly blurry in some scenes, but looks great overall and runs smoothly. I'm quite happy with it.
 
Joqu

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Considering how demanding this is on PC I don't find these results surprising in the slightest. There's something to be said about its general optimization, but I'd say they did a solid job with these new ports when you consider the previous ones.

I've got FFXII on Switch and it looks fine. Subnative games usually bother me, but this XII HD always looks quite blurry due to the post processing so it doesn't look that much worse. The only way to get it looking as crisp as I'd like is by throwing a sharpening filter on it on PC.
 
Ser_Luke

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Honestly I'm fine with 1080 60fps on the One X, the 60fps makes it look better than it did when I played it on the Pro with my 4k set.
 
chandoog

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Joqu said:
Considering how demanding this is on PC I don't find these results surprising in the slightest. There's something to be said about its general optimization, but I'd say they did a solid job with these new ports when you consider the previous ones.

I've got FFXII on Switch and it looks fine. Subnative games usually bother me, but this XII HD always looks quite blurry due to the post processing so it doesn't look that much worse. The only way to get it looking as crisp as I'd like is by throwing a sharpening filter on it on PC.
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The AO option in the game, for some reason, is a performance hog. Setting that to half resolution lets you run the game at 1440/60 FPS with everything on High and 4xMSAA on a GTX 1060.

Based on my own PC version, the loss in quality isn't notable either and outside of cut-scenes, most people will be playing the game in Turbo mode anyway lol.
 
Edge

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Mgs2master2 said:
"Switch Handheld - 576p @30FPS" - FFXII

What? 576p???
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God, the Switch is such a joke.

I mean we have 2 at home and over 30 games on the shelf, but I at least haven't bought twice as much because of low res bullshit that I don't support.
I absolute despise sub 720p in handheld mode, it's so f'n ugly, like what year is it?
 
Disclaimer

Disclaimer

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People bitching about the Switch version's resolution should actually watch the video for DF's impressions (they're positive).
 
Joqu

Joqu

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chandoog said:
The AO option in the game, for some reason, is a performance hog. Setting that to half lets you run the game at 1440/60 FPS with everything on High and 4xMSAA on a GTX 1060.
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Hm, that's a significant difference for sure. I don't know what they could have managed on Switch, but the One X version probably should have offered a higher resolution option with pared back AO.

Disclaimer said:
People bitching about the Switch version's resolution should actually watch the video for DF's impressions (they're positive).
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Indeed.
 
SuperSah

SuperSah

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Disclaimer said:
People bitching about the Switch version's resolution should actually watch the video for DF's impressions (they're positive).
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The way resolution looks is subjective. DF is not law when it comes to this. Some people have a hard time with lower res imagery, and that is not at all an issue.
 
Otnopolit

Otnopolit

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Edge said:
God, the Switch is such a joke.

I mean we have 2 at home and over 30 games on the shelf, but I at least haven't bought twice as much because of low res bullshit that I don't support.
I absolute despise sub 720p in handheld mode, it's so f'n ugly, like what year is it?
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The year in which we get to play the best games of the past two generations, and even some great games of this generation, on the go. Congrats on your purchase (and 30 games) you so clearly hate...? DF did a side-by-side comparison and said the tech helps the scaling process. It looks good to me, hoss.
 
Gotdatmoney

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SuperSah said:
The way resolution looks is subjective. DF is not law when it comes to this. Some people have a hard time with lower res imagery, and that is not at all an issue.
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Modern games aren't going to be native res on Switch. People are living a delusion if 2 years in they think that's going to be a thing.
 
base_two

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Edge said:
God, the Switch is such a joke.

I mean we have 2 at home and over 30 games on the shelf, but I at least haven't bought twice as much because of low res bullshit that I don't support.
I absolute despise sub 720p in handheld mode, it's so f'n ugly, like what year is it?
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Hyperbole? Seem like a mediocre port job rather than an indictment on the system's power in this case.
 
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