After having a lengthy conversation with people about this game, and finally beating it myself, I have to say I really liked this game.
For one, the entire time I compared it to Final Fantasy Tactics. This wasn’t your Nomura style game where all the stops are pulled out and everything goes crazy nuts at one point. No, this is an intimate look at six people’s struggles to avoid a war between empires. The world is not at stake. Hell, didn’t Al-Cid allude to the fact that even Archadia might lose a war against his country? That is not all power. Vayne might have been a god at the end of the game, but he was never that way in the beginning. FFXII, like FFT, is about stopping corruption—saving the ones you love from impending oppression. FFXII is about power in the wrong hands, and relying on this power to achieve your own means (the nethicite). This is a story about how war affects people.
Although, like many of you I didn’t feel too attached to the characters, I was still behind them in their cause. There was nothing special about Vaan, and I think that was the point of his character. He was just a kid who lost his brother to the war, the same way Basch did. Penelo was caught up in Vaan’s escapades; however, she is the one person that changed Larsa. Who knows what he would’ve ended up as if he had not seen what kind of people he would be saving? Vaan and Penelo ground the other characters, keeping the sane and focused on the task at hand. Without Vaan, I think Ashe would’ve taken a piece of the sun-cryst for her own. I think Basch would’ve wallowed in his self pity and self hatred down in that prison.
Then, of course, we have the handsomely rogue-ish Balthier and his life companion, Fran. While the game could’ve been done without them, I don’t think it would be the same game. Balthier’s role in the game is opposite of Basch. Instead of withdrawing inward, he comes into his own as a sky pirate. He fights his father and kills him for what he does; that takes a lot of guts. Fran, more or less, had the more silent role in the story. This is a woman who comes from the outside, wiser than any of the other characters. I think she keeps her mouth shut because she knows she is merely a player in the grand scheme of things. When you come from a relatively secluded area of life into the big bad world, into war, it changes you. She withdraws, much like Basch, not to save her feelings but because she has no bearing in this world. No ground for her feet. I think she cares for the other characters the most. Plus, she’s hot.
I felt that the world was more realized, as well. Not only was there a kind of older way of saying things, but the cities/towns felt more alive to me. The towns and people seemed to react to the story, rather than be just stoic. I guess that was me. This game clearly could’ve been much longer to explore more of the viera, bangaa, seeq, and moogle races.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the characters and plot. It reminded me a lot of Suikoden stories. The war only affects those who are centered around it, and only one area of the entire world. It’s a big change from the traditional FF, but something different and welcomed. I don’t want to see the same thing game after game. I’m glad Square-Enix decided to take the risk.
