I've played almost every FF, and my impression is that XII improves on almost every facet of the series. From what I can tell the voice acting is a massive improvement, and the license system is superior to the sphere grid and offers a higher degree of customization. It's side games appear to be an improvement as well as do the number of Summons and the way you utilize them in battle. Overall I've almost expecting it to be the clear best game of the series. Any thoughts?

Also I wasn't sure about the game layout but has the world map returned or is it more like 10? And can you switch out party members like 10?