Well, dur it's easier than FFT xD. In FFT, deaths are like permanent unless you revive REALLY fast. Plus, the only perm. death places were the Jagds.
IMO, FFXII was based off of FFTA. The races, the places, all the interesting faces!

(sorry, had to)
It's a great game, methinks, but it can't be compared to the other FFs due to the entirely different genre.