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I have always wondered, despite cotrolling Vaan for the non-battle areas and such, who is the main character, I feel there are four likely characters: Vaan, Ashe, Balthier, or Basch.

When I first saw the previews for FFXII I thought Ashe was gonna be the main character, but like FFVI the main character seems to be undefined.

i always thought it was vaan...actually i thought it was meant to be vaan, seeing as you first control him (besides Reks or whatever his name was) and you control him in the sequel

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I believe the character with the best argument is Ashe. The most important parts of the plot center around her.

Vaan's basically just your eyes. He does have some small relevance to the story, but he's basically thrown in so gamers can 'identify' with him. (Speculation.)

I heard (can't say it's true or not), that Basch was originally supposed to be the main character. He ain't, but he's a damn good character and I'm getting tired of all these teenage whelp heroes. C'mon Squenix, how about a main character that's not an annoying young twit?

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Vaan a bit. The points about Ashe are valid...but you know Balthier gets my vote.

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I'm going to have to agree with Vaan. Not only is he the first character you get, but he also is the only person that you control during walking through towns. And he does have a good part of the story.

its obviously vaan, u start with him as your first official party member, hes the main character is both games and ive heard square enix people refer to him as the main character.
he is also the character u play as in citys and towns.

he is also my most hated character unfortunately.

This post has been edited by blizzera god on 25th June 2008 14:01

My friend's a writer, and he put it like this:

"The central character is Vaan, he's not written well and the intent if not clearly behind another character, should have been another character. But it's Vaan because like in most pieces of fiction, he's the one most unfamiliar with the world and thus the best analogue for the player as both he and the player explore it, make mistakes and ask questions.

He's the central protagonist and serves as the player's eyes and voice, but the plot isn't focused on him."

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Basch would have made a good main character, but Vaan does seem to be the eyes, Balthier has that main character feel to him, so that is why I included him.

Vaan might be the player character, but the game isn't about him. It's an ensemble deal. Happy Days wasn't about The Fonz, 24 wasn't about Jack Bauer, and Pulp Fiction wasn't about Mia Wallace despite what the posters and the DVD cover might indicate.

Batman however is about Batman, and screw all those douchebag comic book writers who keep trying to make the villians sympathetic. Oh boo hoo, so your wife is in a coma so now you set fire to things. Batman does not care, he will find you and stick your flamethrower up your butt until die from it. And it'll be suicide, because Batman doesn't kill.

The story is about everyone, but the main plot is mostly to do with Ashe. And of course, Batman, because Batman says so and are you going to argue with the goddamn Batman?

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I'm definitely agreeing with Del S...this argument is sorta like the one about the one main character in FF6, is it not?

The truth is, I don't think there is a "main character". Some are more relevant to the plot than others, (most of the time Fran and Penelo just seemed like they were there), and the four you mentioned affected each other's parts so much, you can't really say that one of the was the "main" one.



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Vaan is the main character because he is the guy that you immediately identify with, since he has little experience in the world. He isn't very involved with the plot, but that isn't necessary. Cloud was the most important character in FFVII, and Squall in FFVIII, but I would venture to say that Tidus wasn't the most plot-essential character in FFX. Just like Tidus, Vaan had an original goal. Both characters goals were somewhat altered due to the situation that they found themselves in. Another important reason why Vaan is the main character is because he is the one who really assembled the party. Penelo is his friend, he got Balthier and Fran to follow him after stealing the nethicite, he convinced Ashe to join, and they freed Basch. Vaan was the one who got the ball rolling, albeit unintentionally.

BTW, I love the Batman comments Del.

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I disagree with people calling Balthier the main character, to me he seems more like a comedic sidekick. And he has some pretty good lines too.

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Quote (Del S @ 25th June 2008 16:48)

Vaan might be the player character, but the game isn't about him. It's an ensemble deal. Happy Days wasn't about The Fonz, 24 wasn't about Jack Bauer, and Pulp Fiction wasn't about Mia Wallace despite what the posters and the DVD cover might indicate.

Batman however is about Batman, and screw all those douchebag comic book writers who keep trying to make the villians sympathetic. Oh boo hoo, so your wife is in a coma so now you set fire to things. Batman does not care, he will find you and stick your flamethrower up your butt until die from it. And it'll be suicide, because Batman doesn't kill.

The story is about everyone, but the main plot is mostly to do with Ashe. And of course, Batman, because Batman says so and are you going to argue with the goddamn Batman?

I'm not sure if you're saying otherwise, but Jack Baur IS the main character of 24, easilly. It's not purely an ensemble cast. Lost would have been a better example (though some might argue for Jack)

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