Vaan Character Analysis Final Fantasy XII
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- Let’s discuss Vaan.
This is an excerpt from my full Final Fantasy XII review available here: • Final Fantasy XII Revi...
Subscribe and keep up to date with my latest game discourses. This excerpt from my Game Discourses piece, looks more thoroughly at the character of Vaan.
© Square Enix - All game footage has been used in accordance with its terms of licence. The content in this video has been compiled in accordance with fair use/fair dealing criteria.
#finalfantasy12 #finalfantasy #gamediscourses
In game I think that we control Vaan in town makes sense storywise. The others are resting or planning or whatever and Vaan's running around town performing errands, getting hunts, gathering info, buying supplies. Which works best with him because he's just this young hume. Non-threatening, common, open, friendly, confident. Basch is reserved and intimidating. Penelo's shy. Fran's standoffish. Ashe's superior manner and way of speaking is immediately off putting to non-royalty. Baltheir...has better things to do. He could do all the stuff Vaan does. Schmooze and trade and charm but he's busy and he has Vaan for that. It's not really surprising so many people assume Vaan is Baltheir's apprentice.
Vaan walking up and starting conversations with everyone you meet makes more sense than anyone else. Can you imagine Ashe going up to trade with a Seeq Merchant? How very very quickly she'd insult him just from her mode of speaking? Merchants hearing either Ashe or Baltheir are absolutely gonna increase the price on everything cause their refined accents would make them assume wealth. We know because when Vaan talks to them they're open about the fact that they're fleecing the wealthy Arcadians and they tell Vaan because he's just a commoner, like them, trying to get by. An everyman. One of the people. The common hume, seeq, bangaa, and moogles you talk to throughout the game like Vaan almost instantly.
Agree, I think the point you touch on regarding Vaan/Balthier is significant too, as often in FF games (and general fantasy) we're given a hero who enters a new situation and needs to learn, level, develop in a personal sense. Everyone else in that party is an experienced 'professional' with knowledge of the wider world whether its a warrior Basch or a sky pirate Balthier... so Vaan offers that naivety that reflects the players when interacting with new people and places, and I like that Balthier takes him under his wing, so to speak.
Ashe would probably be too busy telling everyone around her to shut up if she wented to interact with a merchant
I know People say Balthier is the real protagonist, but that’s just it.
You’re completely right, I agree so much with this. We play as Vaan because he’s the best supporting character.
He’s the one in the group that wouldn’t have any problems doing the above and absolutely would nominate himself if the others seemingly didn’t want to.
@@KayderimGameplays Ashe is freaking Princess, no way she could walk around the town and people would immediately gather around her and wonder ‘is this really our Princess of Dalmasca lady Ashe right in front of our eyes? Basically like a popular person on the media casually walking around and people immediately going towards them
In all honesty I like vaan, hes so underrated tbh
People don't realize that Vaan is the literal hero and savior of Ivalice.
Assuming you and Vaan teamed up to defeat Yiazmat, the strongest being in Ivalice, he is the most important character BY FAR.
Also the strongest.
Ashe and the others may have stopped a national war, but Vaan stops a threat that was consuming Ivalice one life at a time.
It couldn't be beaten. An entire guild was created to defeat it with zero success. Once Vaan comes along, things change.
Vaan starts the game barely able to kill rats, and becomes what T.G. Cid was in Tactics by the end of the game; the strongest being in the game.
If that isn't amazing character development, I don't know what is.
@@We_Are_Borg_478 I'd agree if it wasn't just a side quest.
@@benthehobo5833 It's more than a side quest if you follow the lore. It's actually the main quest of the game, because nobody survives if Vaan doesn't finish the final hunt. Not even the empire.
And although the hunt is confined to one zone, the guild explains that the monster travels Ivalice with no discrimination in what it kills or destroys.
You can look at it two ways:
1) You can take the lore literally as I did.
2) You can take the actual game environment literally, in which case it's a dumb monster that doesn't go anywhere and is eternally trapped in an abandoned arena until Vaan comes and kills it, if at all.
@@We_Are_Borg_478 That doesn't explain why you think that Vaan specifically is the hero, what about the rest of the party.
@@benthehobo5833 Because the story very clearly states that Vaan is the one going on hunts. Not Balthier. Not Fran. Not Basch.
The Occuria tried to make Ashe their empire-nuking scribe by baiting her with a “ghost” of Rasler. Vaan was shown a “ghost” as well. He was their Plan B!
Except he grew out of those longings for revenge and they gave up on him. But ignoring him after that was their mistake, as his growth provided an example for Ashe to follow.
The part as a whole will never amount to more than a forgotten footnote in Ivalice’s history, but their small actions brought big movements to the world. And none embody this principle more than Vaan, the tag-along kid who prevented the birth of a nethicite-using supervillain just by being there!
Vaan and Ashe unlike anybody else, they’ve lost someone so dear to them that they wish they could bring them back like Vaan had his older brother Reks the only family he had left and Penelo is just his friend that Vaan hang out with sometimes, Reks’s last words before dying was saying his brother name, Ashe literally just married Rasler she loves him but the war came and he died forever gone, she loves him so much that she can only see his ghost which it is not really Rasler, Vaan and Ashe has similar positions and they both thought that Basch is a traitor
@@Omega-jg4oqI think it's more than just the thirst for vengeance. They are considering the next Dynast King as their puppets so the Occuria would choose people that can wield such powers and will not shy from it. Balthier lost a lot too but he hates Venat and the influence of the shards. Fran as a Viera wouldn't want to disturb the mists plus she wouldn't betray Balthier and probably shares the animosity with the Shards. Basch is not power hungry. Penelo wouldn't also want such power. But Vaan and Ashe, aside from wanting revenge, probably has something more common when it comes to power. Vaan is not a bad person but he's free spirited and he doesn't shy away from anything. He's there out of curiousity and pretty much becomes the oil to the gears of the whole story, granted we play as him for the most part. But that probably makes him a candidate. He's not exactly power driven but he probably doesn't also say no if there's a freebie. He's naive to the world and has little to no care about things he has yet to know. So maybe the Occuria thought he's a good puppet candidate because he's almost a clean slate and would be able to wield great power without derailing their plans. Of course it was derailed immediately when Vaan showed more guts to destroy the shards than keep them. But that shows how Vaan doesn't care about authority even if they are their very "gods".
I always enjoyed vaan as a character. It wasn’t till I was older that I realized some of my liking him came from relating to him with being in poverty. I understood that and feeling trapped as I watched my family struggle. Either way great video.
I like him too, but, Aang would wreck vaan; as well.
I was confused of why Vaan was never portrayed as an actual main character. Balthier was more of a leader. I wish they could’ve did Vaan justice and gave him something even more important than just wanting to be a shy pirate from poverty.
Vaan is my favorite FF Character of all time, because I relate to him the most. Think about it, he actually overcomes and grows as a person more than all of the other Characters in the Game... maybe even more than any other Character in the entire FF Series!!
I always liked Vaan As a character.
I find him forgettable .
I find his dream too relatable, I could never forget Vaan.
I just like to play with him.
I'm playing through the game right now and I notice that vaan may have a significant origin that gamers aren't really taking a closer inspection.
Are you talking about Vaan and Reks ring and amulet that seem to be some family crest? Cause I got theories.
Finished FF12 for the first time a couple days ago. The game is great and so are all the characters including Vaan. The only that took me out at first was that Vaan had an American accent while everyone has a foreign one but I got used to it.
Pretty Vaans point of view is ours. We are Vaan, the nobodies amongst the stronger leads in the cast.
I love Vaan. He’s arrogant and impulsive. Reminds me of me
I didnt really feel anything for Vaan originally playing the game but you make some good points, Im convinced.
WrenchNinja I don’t have a problem for Vaan as a character. What I do have a problem with ,is it’s so annoying to get gambit slots with him! All the other characters get multiple gambits, but his are all over his license! The only complaint I really have,but I switch to Ashe as the leader. Really Ashe is the main character. Basch could be,I guess, but the conflict has a lot to do with her! If I were to say who’s my favorite character in this game,it’s Ashe without question!
I like Vaan he's the realest one in the game. Everyone else feels like they came out of some fairytale and they're so busy with themselves. People might dislike him for the fact that this boy really reflect the generality of players. You are nothing but a bystander. Just observing and occasionally support others. It's so me in any game i play. It's so tiring to be so important in the game. I like being Vann watching people around me do the thinking. I'm just having fun messing around with panelo beating pretendious villains.
Edwar Son Yeah Vaan’s a good character! I don’t know why people love Tidus(FFX)! He’s so annoying! The laughing is justified, because he’s depressed and forcing himself to laugh to make himself feel good,but his voice acting is annoying and his presence also!
Vaan is definitely better than Tidus I’m every respect,people don’t seem to understand! A very underrated character in my opinion!
Can you do Relm?I'm curious about that magical paintbrush since you mentioned VI.
I really like Vaan, not as main character, but his interactions are just fine.
Larsa should be the main character xD
I can see the case for that. Larsa's relationship to Vayne would make that pretty interesting, plus it'd be interesting to see a FF title with a child as lead hero.
It does bum me out that Larsa wasn’t a permanent party member in the game.
Ash should have been the main but Vaan works since you everything through his eyes.
Vann is underrated his place within the story is vital in my opinion and if you know what your doing you can make him good
I never finished 12 so I can’t really comment on this but I will admit the stuff about Vaan is why I’m always on the fence about going back and playing 12. That and the gameplay
My opinion of Vaan: "You have no place in this story. You come from nothing. You're nothing."
TFW you're a side character in your own story.
The thing about FF12's story is that it was the game released after FF 10 where we are shoved with characters full of Anime tropes and its sequel is not anything better. FF12 takes you back to Ivalice and much like tactics, it's always about the world rather than the individual characters. Vaan's story is told in the sidelines with the hunts, the sidequests and small hints here and there. It is implied that the Occuria almost considered making him the next Dynast King should Ashe fail with his visions with the mist that not even Fran was able to sense. He is also the catalyst with the other characters along with Penelo without knowing himself that he's the one uniting the casts.
Ashe along with Basch was vengeful. Balthier and Fran always has an exit strategy and Larsa cannot betray his brother. But with Vaan, Balthier regains his sense of "youthful innocence" by considering him an apprentice of sort. Fran is doing the same with Penelo. Ashe let go of hier vengeance eventually and simply considered rebuild their kingdom with the help of the people which she saw with Vaan, being one of her subjects. Basch forgave himself since Vaan also forgave him. And Larsa befriended Penelo which made him believe in friendship that doesn't have any political cloak and daggers. Vaan would also eventually challenge the Occuria once more in Revenant wings.
vaan's one of my favourite characters
i think penelo is worse than vaan honestly, he has a decent amount of plot at least
I seriously think Vaan gets way too much hate. Maybe I’m a little nostalgia blind since XII was my introduction to the franchise, but I do think Vaan has some good qualities as a hero despite not being the center of the story. He might be rash, cocky, and a little short tempered, but he has a strong sense of justice and is willing to put aside his greed to help someone who he sees is struggling. A good example is how Vaan initially refuses to hand the Dusk Shard over to Balthier due to his goal of wanting to get revenge on the Empire, yet he doesn’t think twice about giving it up both after Penelo is kidnapped by bounty hunters and Ashe is threatened with execution.
Yeah, Tidus from X was similarly ill-regarded by some fans (albeit to a lesser extent). I think it's a combination of these characters being more of a 'window' into events, supporting others rather than having a story centered on them, which makes some players think them pointless... and this is combined with their youthful optimism and boundless energy which doesn't wash with those who want a more serious protagonists (which is why we have Basch and Auron to contrast their personalities). As you point out though, Vaan has some unique story elements and his own subtle arc that contributes to the wider ensemble and the events that center on Ashe/Basch etc.
There's also the time where he rushes to save Ashe in the sewer and when he tries to stop the prisoner in nalbina's prison to be beaten to death. He have a nice personality, but his dead brother stuff is way too cringe to me
Respect Vaan
Hey man, nice vid. I tried to suggest Vaan against Aang in deathbattle for a while but they used Edward instead.
Vaan would get destroyed
@@BlackangelKatakuri Really?
Keriptic RF yeah, but he’s cool
@@teon7881 How tho?
@@BlackangelKatakuri Nope, Vaan can manipulate magics, Quickenings, Concurrenses and use any kings of weapons.
I hate how people hate Vaan. Remember that Vaan is shafted by the story. He is *not* a bad character, it is just bad storytelling.
bobby edner did really good as Vaan.
I would have let the Seeqs kill Vaan in the Nalbina Dungeons and move on as Balthier, if I could. Reks on the other hand is pretty cool.
They could have made his character more relevant it's not our fault it's the people who made the game
They probably didn't want to make him relevant since they were forced to put him in the game due to management.
Him becoming back ground and a laughing stock as soon as the party gets together isn't a bug, it's a feature.
Hmhm if people wanted to know more of Vaan and Penelo then they could play Grimoire of the Rift and Revenant Wings. Those 2 games show more of their character development :)
They're so underrated. I love vaan even though he gets lots of flack
people hate vaan i’ve always had a soft spot for the guy.he need more justice.
*There's No Pleasing People 😕*
Talk about a Shafted MC
To me I like vaan
I just like to play with Vaan. He is not the main character.
He is us
@@edwarson8616 Yeah, i understand now.
@@rapidfire9999 i was just re playing this game again. And did research a bit. Found out it has no romance or any meaningful relationships development. I'm dropping it (my childhood memories are really whacky)
@@edwarson8616 In FFXII Revenant Wings, Vaan kissed Penelo.
What I realize is that Vaan has a somewhat effeminate body frame and he doesn't act like a main character. It's the thighs and hips on Vaan that look feminine. If he was wearing women's yoga pants, he could pass as a female from a distance. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 He is a passive character that just goes for the ride. I feel that Vaan is the weakest main character out of all of the main characters in all final fantasy games. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I hate this character so much I hate that he's our POV character (essentially) I hate his voice I hate his attitude to me he added nothing
To me Ashe should have been the main protagonist of the game.
Her story is the majority of the game.
Basch became unrelevant to the story after he got his sword.
Basch is pivotal to the story until the very end. He has a mission of bringing Ashe to her heirlooms, the dusk shard, and protect her, he is the one to turn gabranth to his senses and make him see that not everything is lost, which convinces Gabranth to fight on their side against Vayne.
Everyone has a task and everyone (maybe not as much with penelo) is relevant
I honestly just find him to be forgettable.
666 views. I definitely switched my party leader to Ashe every chance I could on my playthroughs. I even tend to use Penelo more than Va'an.
Vaan has the highest stat growth in the series being top in both Str and HP. Second in both speed and Magic. He is best used as a whip, rather than the leader who will keep on supporting party members.
Vaan is stronger than Penelo.
I don't believe I ever said he wasn't or didn't have a good stat growth. If how you choose your party is entirely based on stat growth then what did you do on the first playthrough? Did you even take a sneeze without a strategy guide or faq page open?
@@darksaint0124 Nope, I played the game back in 2006 in Ps2 and you get to spend more time playing as vaan as you progress until you have the "freedom" to truly explore so I sticked mostly with him. Vaan's license board gets him in good position too of using most available weapons that you'll pick up while Panelo and ashe has pretty much the same build. I used my main party with Balthier as the leader, Ashe as support and Vaan as the main Dps since they are the most involved characters story wise. Fran has bad stats so I keep her as back-up. Basch is almost the same with Vaan with less speed. Panelo and Ashe is interchangeable. In the Zodiac version, I did the same but rotates them frequently inorder to level-up everyone and have their designated job as early as possible before I go to the hunting quests but I mainly uses the threeman party of Vaan-Balthier-Ashe. Also I have always been amused on how a street urchin like Vaan gets to throw a giant exploding fireball in his mists.
He was only added to make the game sell better he is pointless really basch or balthier should of had lead tbf. What did vaan really add the story
Tidus Chad VS Vaan Incel