100°

The Case for Final Fantasy XII's Vaan

Though Vaan makes clear his purpose and operates Final Fantasy XII in respectable facets as a POV character, catalyst for gameplay scenarios, and knowledge drinker in a captivating world, he still manages to feel forced and unwelcome, and in this scene especially.

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icicledisaster.com
FallenAngel19842213d ago

“Leave him at Bhujerba, I say. Better yet, have him kidnapped and never to be seen again.”

Vaan plays an important role in the story and if he had been left behind FFXII would’ve had a downer ending.

He is usually treated as a tagalong kid not relevant to the grand scheme of things, but during the first appearance of Rasler's "ghost", Vaan also sees a ghost, but believes that it's Reks'. Since we know that the ghost is a tool used by the Occuria to manipulate Ashe, we can only assume that Vaan is seen by the same Occurias as a "plan B", another proxy who could do their dirty work if Ashe failed. Later Ashe keeps seeing her husband's ghost but Vaan stops seeing Reks', which would mean that he has already shook off the Occuria's influence.

Vaan becomes a more virtuous role model for Ashe: he has as many reasons as her to hate The Empire, but he gives up his desires of revenge, is ready to forgive Archadia, and even becomes friends with the brother of the man responsible for Reks' death, showing Ashe that there are other paths than mindless revenge and convincing her to not become the main villain of the game she would have been otherwise if she gave into the influence of the Occuria. If Ashe had listened to the Occurias she would have wiped Archadia from the map and then could have become a witch-empress with a pact with the devil; exactly the kind of ultimate bad guy you encounter in most classic fantasy RPGs.

This shows the quality of the writing: Vaan, who was essentially a last minute addition decided by the executives of the company was incorporated in the story with a subtle but vital role: he actually manages to defeat the main villain by stopping her before she actually becomes evil. How many RPG heroes can claim such a feat?

NewMonday2211d ago

Vaan is an oddity that destroyed the FF12 narrative,he was forced in by marketing because said Basch was old

Melankolis2211d ago

The FFXII i remember gave every character attention equally among them. So it was hard for me to imagine that Vaan was the main hero.

That's why, story wise, i thought this isn't typical J-RPG at that time, where the role of hero, heroine, supporting casts, enemies are clear.

As an adult-to-be teenager i found FFXII not that interesting to me compared to other RPGs or previous FFs. But as a full grown adult now, i would to revisit FFXII again.

FallenAngel19842211d ago

FFVI didn’t have a clear lead character either

solideagle2211d ago

FF vi was awesome. I played it after x viii and vii. One of the best square should remake that

FallenAngel19842211d ago

Square Enix already did remake FFVI twice

Nacho_Z2211d ago

Bland as water character who looked like an underage twink in bondage gear. I wasn't a faan.

120°

Final Fantasy 12 Has The Worst Cid, Says Ben Starr

Clive actor Ben Starr plays kiss, marry, kill with Final Fantasy characters, and decides to off Cid from Final Fantasy 12.

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thegamer.com
CrimsonWing6938d ago

I’d give it to 8, but whatevs.

mastershredder38d ago (Edited 38d ago )

Ew VO actors and their cringe core. Fiverr voice actors could out perform this chump.

150°

Final Fantasy XII Is the Perfect Final Fantasy Game to Play After XVI

Final Fantasy XVI makes big changes to the series. It has a new approach to combat and a mature story, that makes XII the perfect game to play after.

Flawlessmic334d ago

It's always a good time to play ff12. But more importantly absolutely everybody that has a ps5 should be playing ff16!!

What a game yoshi p and his team have delivered, we can only hope they have been handed the keys to next main line final fantasy and they can go back to back!!

332d ago Replies(1)
GhostScholar332d ago

He turned final fantasy into a 3rd person action game. A good one for sure, but not final
Fantasy.

Flawlessmic332d ago

What is final fantasy?

If your telling me it's turn based/party then people aren't actually final fantasy fans they are mechanic fans of turn based games not final fantasy.

I could point to 20 different reasons why this is a proper final fantasy but going off everyone opinions apparently what makes a final fantasy is the mechanics and nothing else lol.

I guess final fantasy hasn't been final fantasy since X-2.

GhostScholar332d ago

I’m not saying just the turned based aspect makes a game final fantasy or not. It’s not that it’s not turn based only. I don’t like the combat at all in 16. It’s better than 15 for sure, but it just doesn’t feel like a final fantasy game. It reminds me more of the Witcher 3 than final fantasy. The setting, the look of the world. No sci fi aspects.

Flawlessmic332d ago (Edited 332d ago )

i still have to disagree dude, final fantasy games are made up of so much more, they have a certain heart & soul to them that make them easily identifiable and this game has all that heart and soul of a FF game as well ff staples below.

- the music
- chocobos
- moogles
- summons - Super heavy influence
- a grand epic story/ ps. they have done medieveil before like with ff9
- crystals - Super heavy influence
- cid

I mean the fact this game is basically all about crystals and eikons is about as FF as it gets, throw in the rest and i get it being action game may be weird but this is FF game through and through.

in terms of Sci fi, id say your probably still very early on in the game.

This is coming from an old school FF fan.

Terry_B334d ago

I also recommend Devil May Cry 3-5 if you liked FF16 a lot.

MrNinosan333d ago

Played them all, and no... Not at all like FFXVI except parts of the combat

Gardenia332d ago

I don't know if this is serious or sarcasm, but it says a lot of what Final Fantasy has become.

lucian229333d ago

ff12 was the worst ff imo; no character was unique because of the class system, so in cutscenes no character had an assigned weapon; they were all different skins of one another; the game played itself, the main character wasn't the main character and it was just a big eh

Nacho_Z333d ago

I think I preferred 12 to 13 but I agree with your assessment. It was very bland and not much fun to play.

lucian229333d ago

i liked 13 combat wise, and i think story wise, but then i really liked the 2nd game, and lightning returns was....odd but i liked it.

MrNinosan333d ago

Sounds like you were late to FFXII and only played Zodiac edition.

FFXII is a great game, still today, and with Zodiac, it became even better.

lucian229331d ago

nope lol i got ff12 at launch

GhostScholar332d ago

Final fantasy 7 remake is better than 16 in every way

lucian229331d ago

not at all; while i love my ff7, ff16 is epic constantly; no game has epic battles the way this one does

Tapani38d ago

The Zodiac edition was absolutely superb. Top 5 final fantasies, up there with 4, 6, 7 and Tactics.

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MadLad333d ago

Still the last one I really enjoyed.
Series is just all over the place anymore and, while people like the new arpg gameplay, it doesn't do anything for me.

goldwyncq333d ago

The world is the real star of XII. I didn't care about the character nor the story but the worldbuilding was excellent.

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180°

Final Fantasy XII director shoots down 17-year rumor about the game's main character

First, the rumor itself. When Final Fantasy XII originally launched in 2006, plenty of players were left disappointed by protagonist Vaan, who many deemed to be dull and apathetic. From this, a rumor sprang forth than companion Basch was originally meant to be the protagonist of Final Fantasy XII, but was switched out of the role at the last minute.

This rumor has gained traction ever since, to the point where multiple outlets have reported it as fact, and Final Fantasy XII’s Wikipedia page (opens in new tab) even mentions it as part of the game's development. Now though, years after the rumor originated, original Final Fantasy XII director and scenario writer Yasumi Matsuno has stepped in to quash the rumor.

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gamesradar.com
Hofstaderman398d ago

I'm still convinced Vaan and Penelo were placed in the game as a last minute decision.

-Foxtrot398d ago (Edited 398d ago )

It does feel like that tbh

It's why even though the theory has been shot down I can see why people came up with and believed it.

It makes sense

Vaan was there for the younger audience and to me that seems like a last minute development decision.

gold_drake398d ago (Edited 398d ago )

ok that doesnt change the fact that Vaan is the least intresting and biggest waste of a main character in the franchise.

like Penelo and Vaan are literally just there, to be there. any other character has more purpose haha.

Becuzisaid398d ago

We all know Balthier and Fran were the mains the whole time lol.

FinalFantasyFanatic398d ago

The characters and writing for this game, just wasn't good, I have a hard time believing that there wasn't some major changes at some point (do writers just not leave notes for each other if one of them gets sick or leaves?).

SegaSaturn669398d ago

I enjoy the gameplay a lot but tend to agree, the soundtrack was not memorable to me at all, either. Which is weird because the composer also did FFT which was tremendous.

FinalFantasyFanatic397d ago

I always think of Uematsu when I think of the FF franchise, but most of his music is pretty iconic, unfortunately I didn't get to play FFT (hopefully it ends up with a Steam release in the near future).

RedDevils398d ago

Back then I like the gameplay, but I just don't like the story enough to enjoy it as X.

GoodGuy09398d ago

It was obvious Vaan was of little importance. His brother or Balthier should've been the MC. They've already told us that Vaan was chosen just so the game can appeal to younger audiences. But well that's square for ya, always trying to appeal to the masses rather than just do what they really want to do and favor core fans.

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