5 Things I Want To See in Newer FFs.

NOTE: This is totally opinionated. I am not representing what the fans want. The series is so different to have everyone agree with you over everything.

The Final Fantasy series have been going on for more than two decades and only recently hit the 26-year mark. The constant change of the series made people so separated on which game is their favourite, but the series kept so many traditions in check that helped the people recognize that this game is a Final Fantasy. A change on a game is acceptable, unless if you step over the line and leave behind traditions that remained so long in our hearts.

*Readies non-existent leather gloves* Here we go! 

I: MOOGLES

Yeah who needs teddy bears?

Those snuggly little things. Do you know how torturous it is to see them away from the main act? VII, VIII, X, and XIII had little use of those snuggly little things, with one making it as a summon (ugly one) with a silly side story (was fun though), and one making absolute no use of it inside the game unless if you have the Pocket Station, and one making it as a doll-weapon we will barely use, and the last one just shows little to no moogles. Save for XIII-2 but I don't count stuff like sequels as part of the main series. Those snuggly little things have always been one of my favourite thing in the series since I played IX, which had Moogles you could not simply live without (unless if you had no memory cards, which was a real issue back then).

I just want something to Kupo the hell out of me, okay?

II: A NON-FUTURISTIC SETTING

This door is only seen ONE time the entire game,
and it is as detailed as it gets.

Personally, this goes along with the fact that I don't like Sci-fi in general, and my bias towards medieval/steampunk eras. I just feel that those two serve the word "Fantasy" better. As much as I liked XIII and VII, there was something that I loved more about games that lacked technology. XII had something great about it where everything was man-made and crafted beautifully. The doors, the vases, the decorations here and there just gave the game a stunning look. Did you actually take the time and look at the roof of some places? IX too relied on design. The backgrounds were absolutely stunning. I'm not saying that futuristic games can't be beautiful. I just think that it's not as artistic. It's not about environment, or nature. It's about what man can make. 

 III: JOBS

This is just me probably, since I am SUPERDUPERMEGAEXTREMELY biased towards the job system. It is the reason I've played Final Fantasy Tactics A2 for so long; a game that had more than 50 jobs you can choose from. They have been abandoned for so long since FFV, and represented as fixed jobs for each character in the likes of IX, and X (to a lesser degree). They made a wonderful comeback in the International Zodiac Job version of XII, and they definitely brought the gameplay to the next level, from incredible to almost perfect. XIII had an interesting take on the system, and done really well with it, but the job system is more to that than just skills in battle; stats, and equipment also define what a Job is. A comeback for them in XV seems impossible from what we saw so far, but I can wait. Yeah..

IV: FINISHED STORIES

In other words, I don't want sequels, or prequels, or any thing of the sort. I want a Final Fantasy that ends at the ending of ONE. SINGLE. GAME. In entertainment, it is very normal for a title to have multiple spin offs, trilogies and prequels for a certain title. However, Final Fantasy is a series that has been going strong for decades without the need of any additions to one game. It is a series built on change. Newer characters, worlds, and stories are always what I look for when I play a game from the series. There is always something new to look forward to, and that's something the series made a habit of it.

Don't tell me it's hard to do! I mean come on! For how long the series has been doing this? The first ever sequel of a Final Fantasy game was for FFX, but that happened a decade or so after the first game. I don't mind sequels if they're good. Just don't let them hinder the creation of a new FF, like what's happening because of the XIII trilogy (I can hear you all FFXIII haters praising me right now. :) )

V: VICTORY FANFARE (rant alert)

OOOOH SNAP.

Oh please. PLEEEEASE. I know it has been one game but PLEASE. I don't want this to ever happen ever again. The victory fanfare is one of the few features that has been going since day 1. Removing it in XIII was simply blasphemous and heartbreaking, and this should never happen again. No way I can EVER get over this. Just what were you guys thinking at Square Enix. It's like changing the name of the series to some weird synonym like Last Imagination or whatever the hell you weirdos do there inside that building.

One final thing I want to say that is not entirely related to those five points. The developers should remember that a tree changes its leaves, not the roots. If you played Final Fantasy for so long, or even for a little bit, you can tell that something is amiss at times. Final Fantasy is a game that has been going for so long. Make games for those who remember it, and make newcomers want to play older games because the new ones sound similar to the ones before.

FFIX: Little Kids

I know, I've already written a blog on how dear is Final Fantasy IX to me, but I felt that I need to say more. The more I play this game, the more I feel that, there's a lot more than meets the eye. It's the simplicity of the delivery that made some of the parts a bit overlooked, but that what is exactly what made the game so brilliant. You HAVE to think of each and every part, because there might be a hidden meaning, and you might find your gem. In this blog, I'll talk a bit on some parts that really moved me as I looked for a meaning.

Is Eiko really a brat?

When you first meet Eiko, she acts like a complete brat. With her jumping and screaming and getting between this tamed relationship between Zidane and Dagger, you won't like a six year old kid hanging around you. Quite surprising that she actually fell in love with Zidane, and fancied him and called him her man. I'd hate her. 

When she starts cooking for the party when they visited her in Madain Sari, she stopped for a moment, then started praying; seeking help from her dead grandfather, because she doesn't want to be alone anymore. I found this really heartbreaking. She's bloody six, yet she already feels broken down and lonely. Her heart would settle for anyone now, and Zidane came to her like a hero from a novel. Handsome, charming, smart, capable. As much as Eiko sounded like a little brat, she is still an innocent kid who wanted to be loved. 

Black Mages

*sobs*

I feel emotional as I type this. Visiting the Black Mage Village was simply my favourite part in the game. A black mage is one of the most prominent icons in the series, and seeing a bunch of them very relevant to the story made me delighted. But, it was sad. In Gaia, the world of Final Fantasy IX, Black mages are tools of war. Weapons deployed by warmongers. They bring destruction, they bring terror. However, in reality, they are simple, living beings, who built a home hidden deep in a dead forest. They fear humans, and death. 

Then, we have Vivi. Our cute little black mage who follows around the entire game. During the game, Vivi sees Black Mages who are similar to him. He called them "dolls" because they showed no emotion, or control of their movements. He questioned his existence. Why he is like this? Where are his family? Does he have loving parents waiting for him to come back? Does he have a home? Later, when he founds out he was created for war, he was never born, he was made by human beings, that made him question his existence even more. Actually, he started wondering whether or not he exists.

When he visits the village, he learns of "stopping". The term itself made me really sad because it's so innocent. They are so afraid of death, they can't even say the word. Vivi learned that all the black mages will "stop" very soon. What's worse that he'll die before all the black mages, because he was built to last a bit longer than the others. He will watch them all fade before his time comes. He might be the last ever black mage left in this world. It's just depressing whenever I think about it. Black mages are like aware children. Their innocence shine from their glowing eyes. How does it feel when you know when will you die?

From Hero to Zero

Zidane. Zidane Tribal. That cool, unstoppable thief who stole the princess (by help from the princess herself) from her own castle, under the Queen's purple nose. The entire game, he was a winner. He does this, gets away with that. His chin was always up. He is a leader of leaders. 

Deep inside him, Zidane was always searching; looking for "a place to call home.". His only memory of it is an ambiguous blue light. Eventually, our hero Zidane finds his home, but it was never what he hoped for. He is a being above empty vessels. He is a bringer of doom. He is from a planet that lives on the life of planets. He is Immortal. Knowing all that, knowing that he was born to take the life of his friends he protected with his life, he refused to accept it. Then, he was made an empty vessel. 

Zidane. Zidane Tribal. That cool, unstoppable thief, broke down. He fell. From the moment the game started until now, he never, ever showed signs of defeat. When did you see Zidane ever "crack" before this moment? That part of the game itself was more talking about friendship and how the party helped one another throughout, but what really caught me was how Zidane suddenly lost it. When your favourite team goes on to win hundreds of matches and dozens of championships, then they suddenly lose all their grace, and get humiliated, its unfamiliarity make it unbearable. It was so sad to see Zidane lose after winning so much.

FFX: TriNOgy

JUST STOP MAKING NEW GAMES AND EXPANDING THE STORY OF A GAME THAT ENDED LONG AGO. AND MAYBE START MAKING NEW GAMES LIKE...I DON'T KNOW. FFXVI?!

Damn it, Square Enix. 

FFVIII: Bad Romance

Final Fantasy VIII started with a bang. Right after you choose the "New Game" option, a breathtaking FMV opening ensues. Accompanied by what might be the best OST in the series, I didn't expect this game to get any better. 

But unfortunately, it didn't. It actually got worse.

"The Orphanage Scene"

My reaction after watching the flashback.

I'm not sure where to begin with this. Basically, after Galbadia destroys Trabia Garden with missiles, the party decides to pay Trabia a visit by Selphie's request, since she was a student there before she transferred. While they were there, they gathered to chat and talk a bit. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Irvine comes and reveals to everybody that ALL OF THEM WERE IN THE SAME ORPHANAGE WHEN THEY WERE KIDS. Okay okay, give me a minute...what? 

They all knew each other once upon a time? Where did that come from? Square just went full lazy with this one and decided to give all the characters the same bloody backstory, which kills the interest in any of them. But, why did all of them forget and Mister Cowboy-head here didn't? Because they junctioned GFs. I'm sorry but I find this reason ridiculous. The GFs are usually uninvolved during the story, and it was never explained to what extent this memory loss is. I mean, Selphie had junctioned a GF since childhood, so how much does she forget? And This whole amnesia thing just appeared for a moment and then was never spoken of again. 

Finally, when they realised that Matron is Sorceress Edea, they were all like "oh lol". If that was me I'd flip.

Gameplay

I'M COMING TO STEAL YO MAGIC!

Here comes the most unbalanced gameplay system in the series; even more broken than FFII and way easier than everybody's darling, FFVII. Limit breaks is the catch here. Whenever a character's health is low, you can use a super-duper special ability for each character. It does sound like a decent trade-off, but it isn't. A "critical health" situation isn't as dangerous as it sounds, and getting a limit break is not like FFVI where you use the Attack command while hoping that you might get lucky and nail a "Desperation Attack", you just keep hitting the switch turn button until you get your overpowered ability. 

Also, even without the limits, you can be still powerful throughout the game. Junctioning magic and acquiring higher-level magic early is very easy. Heck, you can even get Squall's ultimate weapon in Disc 1. Finally, enemies level up as you do, and that makes levelling counterproductive and useless when it comes to stat-raising. Magic is also very useless. Even the most powerful magic, Ultima, has little use outside of junctioning.

It feels like it was made to be more cinematic than challenging. The Limit Breaks are all handsome and dynamic, the GF's summon sequence is lengthy for the sake of Boosting, and there's no real need for a strategy to get out of a battle. You just watch your party slaughter what stands before them.

Did I mention that Drawing magic from enemies is boring?

Love Story

Yes please.

This is where the game truly shines (or not). Squall is a lonely boy who doesn't really like interacting with people, and his love interest is a very friendly Rinoa. Throughout the game, Squall was so..."Squall" to her just like how he is with everybody. He did show very little signs of improvement with time, but nothing too worthy of notice. When she lost consciousness after fighting Edea, Squall just turned upside-down from a guy who barely speaks a word, to an absolute Romeo in a matter of minutes! He learned all the pickup lines and all the sweet talk when he wasn't bothered to save her from falling some hours ago. When did this happen? When did Squall fall in love with Rinoa? Throughout the game, he showed little affection and desire to talk to her. A sentence here and there but that's it. They never even gave us a hint! It's not like Squall was at one point thinking to himself "Thank you Rinoa. You make me feel special" or something like that. It's like on-off. At one moment he wasn't in love, then a switch turned on somewhere, and now he is.

From Disc 3 and beyond, Squall's friends start to fade, and the development becomes more focused on the Squall-Rinoa relationship. Actually, it almost takes over the story. The whole game feels awkward at some points. When Squall saves Rinoa in space, after they get rid of their spacesuits, they just stand like 10 feet away from each other and Rinoa asks for a hug, rather than just run at the flipping guy who almost sacrificed his life to save her from certain death. Squall goes to remind her of "Our current situation". WHAT CURRENT SITUATION? You turned into one of the most cringeworthy characters in the game moments after she passed out and now you can't even give her a hug? 

Squall's lovey-dovey moments stayed bumping up and falling down all the time. When their ship landed, Rinoa was taken by Esthar because the Sorceress was inside of her, and Squall left her because it was her decision. Moments after Quistis called him a fool (and rightly so), he started acting like Rinoa was stolen from him, and he'll get it back even if it costs him his life. He just left her to her fate moments ago! I don't even...

The beginning part of the game was excellent. You get to know everyone and watch their personalities develop, you start to learn more about your enemy and how to act as a SeeD, and then partake epic missions and huge battles. Then, characters lose relevance, the whole story is focused on keeping a rather badly-executed romance, and when you discover that all characters have the same past, it just becomes stodgy. You can have a love story going while still keeping the main storyline going. It's not rocket science.

FFV: Not Your Average Tree

"He kept going down, but he wouldn't stay down."  

With every game, The Final Fantasy series came up with a villain that is different from the one before it. All of them had specific characteristics which made them memorable. Kuja with his elegant style and poetical lines, Kefka with his crazy clown attitude, Sephiroth with his deep past and mysterious intentions. All of them had a rather similar goal in the end; either to destroy the world, or rule it. How much they succeeded is told in the game, but nobody succeeded as much as Exdeath. The villain from Final Fantasy V. This blog will talk about why Exdeath is one of the best villains of the series, even though he was just your typical "destroy teh wrld" final boss.

Bio

He doesn't care. He likes to crack jokes with
those willing to kill him.

Exdeath was originally......a tree. In the Forest of Moore, this tree was used as a "cage" for corrupted souls that used to haunt the world after sealing the power of the Void. Eventually, the souls that were trapped in this tree became too much, and affected the nature of the tree itself. Then, that tree became a vicious being, and that being is Exdeath.

Exdeath desires the power of the Void. The power to bring things into nothingness. This power was used before by Enuo, and it was beyond dangerous to be given to someone else again, let alone giving it to someone as evil as Exdeath. The heroes of the game go on a mission to stop Exdeath from breaking from his seal (which he breaks from anyway), then stopping him from unlocking the Void (which he succeeds in controlling anyway), then saving the world by defeating him.

What makes Exdeath brilliant?

• Evil.

Exdeath in his tree form.

Exdeath is a no-nonsense creature. He's brutal. He does what he says. There are barely others similar to him in terms of brutality, where he just kills and destroys whenever he desires. That is Evil. You want a villain that gets things right, not just all talk. He's very cocky and arrogant as well, but that led to his downfall. 

Exdeath is merciless. If you're his minion and fail in a mission, you are DEAD. When he saw Gilgamesh using that toy weapon against the Warriors of Light, he dismissed him into the Void, where nothingness awaits him. That is an enemy to be feared.

• Successful. 

A memorable villain is a villain with achievements. Kefka is remembered for leading the world to ruin. Kuja led the world to war and destruction. Exdeath? He did the unspeakable.

1. Even while sealed, he was able to destroy all crystals, which broke his seal and disturbed the life of the world.
2. Destroyed Ghido's island. That was a smart move since Ghido is one dangerous foe to him.
3. Destroyed the four crystals of the second world, and that was by using the Warriors of Light.
4. Killed two legendary Light Warriors Tycoon and Galuf.
5. Killed a party member (I'm repeating the point here because of its significance) in a VERY emotional scene. Yes, this was the first time it ever happened in a Final Fantasy game.
6. Mastered the power of the Void. The most powerful force in the world.
7. Sent multiple towns and places into the void, including important places like Library of the Ancients, Castle Tycoon, et cetera...
8. Engulfed the current Warriors of Light themselves into the depths of the void. He TECHNICALLY killed the main party, but the Old Warriors of Light saved them and brought them back to the battlefield. We shouldn't let evil forces win!

Most of these achievements are massive. Killing a party member, "destroying" parts of the world, and bringing chaos to the two worlds. He was definitely a monster of a villain. Along with Kefka and to an extent, Sephiroth, he was one of the most active foes in their respective games.

• Fearsome.

Every time Exdeath enters the scene, the whole mood changes. There's always something terrible of a very high standard is going to happen. His musical theme sets a tone of terror, horror, and danger. He's either going to kill someone, or destroy something. And most of the time, he succeeds. 

Fine line for a first appearance.

• Genius.

How many times do you see an arrogant, maniacal entity that is intelligent? Exdeath is extremely powerful, but he didn't do everything chaotically like a headless chicken. He used his powers to possess the likes of Tycoon, which in turn, lured the Warriors of Light into believing that Tycoon is sane, effectively controlling the party. He also used the Light Warriors to destroy the four crystals, which gave him full control of the crystals' power and the Void. Taking initiative in destroying Ghido's island using an earthquake created by Exdeath himself is a sign of both his power and awareness. 


Exdeath was the perfect combination of brawn and brain, along with the lack of mercy or feelings, he was the perfect killing machine. Nothing was ever able to stop him, except for the combined effort of all eight Warriors, scholars, and legendary weapons. When he controlled the Void, he was unstoppable, but arrogant. He had multiple chances to kill Bartz and co. but he decided not to, since he saw him as just "rats" that can't ruin his plans. That was Exdeath's mistake that would have come back to haunt him, IF he actually stayed alive. Exdeath is one of the strongest Final Fantasy villains ever, and deserves more spotlights among the biggest names in the series. 

FFVIII: Konsparicy and Theories

NOTE: THIS STUFF IS NEITHER NEW NOR MADE UP/STARTED BY ME. I'M JUST SHARING STUFF I FIND INTERESTING. SOME OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY FALSE, TOO.

Give the screen a VERY good look. 

Recently, I've been replaying Final Fantasy VIII after a long while since last time I played it. I'm so far at the very beginning of Disc 2 but I still recall lots of stuff from the game. It was, albeit confusing, memorable. Here, I won't be ranting about the good and the bad the happened in the game, I'm going to share some theories and stuff that gives the mind something to think about instead. The main focus will be: Sorceresses.

What is a "Sorceress"?

A "Sorceress" is a human being that was gifted by The Great Hyne. What is the Great Hyne? It's some sort of a "God" who "Created the mankind" and was the first ever "Sorceress". Okay. Since we're talking about "Sorceresses", I'd like to believe that this word is unisex in the FFVIII world, because I've been reading everywhere but The Great Hyne is always referred to as "He". Confusing, I know, but try to get used to that. The whole Hyne thing is very perplexing and long, so I won't go deep into it. All that is both around the internet and in the game. Okay where were we? Hyne gave power to certain people and those people are called "Sorceresses". Sorceresses are the only humans that can use magic without any help of anything such as Junctioning GFs Also, they're probably immortal, according to Edea. Sorceresses have to pass their power to either a potential sorceress or another actual sorceress before they die. In this game, we only know four sorceresses: Ultimecia, Rinoa, Edea, and Adel. I'll talk about Adel first.

Adel The She

This is a female person. Yes. I didn't
believe that, either.

Sorceress Adel is one of the known sorceresses in the game and let's start with something: IT LOOKS LIKE A HE BUT CHARACTERS REFER TO ADEL AS "SHE". It's probably the most confusing thing ever. I've been discussing it with some friends on Twitter (big shoutout to them awesome people!) but we couldn't find a bloody clue what exactly Adel is. I'd like to think Adel is a genderless entity, because that makes things easier. The masculine body is really confusing and it's not really the most feminine face ever. 

To make things even more confusing: in the French version, characters use both he and she while referring to Adel, and it's pronounced as "Aderu" in Japanese which sounds exactly like Adele. We didn't need all that, did we?

INTERESTING FACT: Did you ever give that screen in Timber a good look? You know, the screen where the Dollet President's speech was broadcasted. Before it, there were red letters appearing when the screen was showing nothing. As random as they looked like, they are actually a very early reference to Adel. In that screen, the letters make up words like "IAMALIVEHERE", "BRINGMEBACKTHERE", and "IWILLNEVERLETYOUFORGETABOUTME". Noticing this itself is a crazy achievement, but understanding the meaning behind it is a much crazier one. Those are words by Adel him/herself, since (to my understanding) the place where Adel lies is the reason radio is disrupted in the planet. Kinda scary. The whole sorceresses thing won't let me sleep tonight.

ULTIMECIA: Short Bio

Ultimecia is seriously badass-looking.

Ultimecia is all that is evil in the FFVIII universe. She's basically a sorceress from a future far far away. Her plan is to "compress" time so that she can absorb all time and space, and that'll make her an unstoppable being. Ultimecia throughout the game is basically Edea. Edea in the game did nothing by her own free will, instead, she was being controlled by Ultimecia the whole damn time. It's sort of crazy when you think about it; Ultimecia was around the whole time! She gave that speech in Deling, she fought the party, and she commanded Galbadia to do her bidding. She's probably one of the most overlooked villains in the series. But I can't blame the gamers since developers never actually gave her enough spotlights to shine. She deserved more IMO.

ULTIMECIA: Mind-Provoking Stuff

It's in the wingssss. (And the eyes, and the hair, and
the makeup)

The Rinoa-Ultimecia theory: I don't know how many of you read about this, but it is a very famous theory sparked by fans. I'll go deep into it: In the future, Squall dies and Rinoa gets very sad about that. She badly wants to bring him back so she tries to use time compression so that she can control time and bring him back to life. So, in other words, Ultimecia is Rinoa in the future. 

During the game, Matron (Edea) tells Rinoa that the power of a sorceress can corrupt her, and when Squall died, Rinoa lost herself and her powers controlled her, and that turned her into the evil Ultimecia. Also, Rinoa and Ultimecia got lots of similarities. According to the FFWikia:

As a sorceress, Ultimecia is almost the mirror opposite of Rinoa: Ultimecia is an evil sorceress with black wings, while Rinoa is pure and has white wings; Rinoa has black hair while Ultimecia has white-silver hair; Ultimecia wears a prominent red dress, while Rinoa's sweeper is light-blue; Rinoa uses Angelo while fighting and Ultimecia uses Griever; Griever is based on a lion, while Angelo is a dog.

It is also believed that Griever is actually a creation by Ultimecia based on Squall, since his pendant is called "Griever" and when Squall died, Rinoa was "grieved" by his death. Other theories say that Squall IS Griever, but I didn't go deep into that theory.

That is one amazing ring.

Unfortunately, all of that is FALSE. Square already denied such theories and said that Ultimecia wanted to compress time just because she didn't want to die, which kills the entire theory. Also, Griever is actually a Guardian Force created and drawn from Squall's mind. 

Still, after what I just wrote, it's a very interesting theory and almost fits in perfectly. It's also supported by the fact that Ultimecia has no background whatsoever. It really fills in lots of gaps left by some points in the story, such as the Griever-Squall relationship, and why only Ultimecia and Rinoa got wings, and so on. I find this theory incredibly correct even though it isn't. The story could go very well with it. If all that was true, though, I'm sure the whole world would go mad.

The K Thingy: Exaktly before you battle Ultimecia, she starts talking some krap to the SeeDs she's about to konfront. Strangely (for me at least), she replaces "C" with "K". Like when she said "Kurse all SeeDs". And as the battles go on, she stops using Ks and starts using words normally. I'm not sure whether the developers forgot about the whole K manner of speech or she just changed the way she talks as she changed forms. The K thing itself is very strange and kinda random. I never understood the meaning of it, or the reason behind it. A Mortal Kombat random reference? I'd love that.

This pic isn't related to what I'm talking about. Just wanted
to say that is part was SCARY AS HELL

Rinoa Fainting: Okay, this one is just something that personally confused me. At the very final part in Disc 2, after the battle against Edea, when the party defeat Edea, she gives her sorceress power into Rinoa, which in turn makes Ultimecia inside Rinoa. Ultimecia then commands Seifer from within Rinoa's body to bring the Lunatic Pandora back to the surface. After that, Rinoa collapses. Why? I don't understand why this happened. Was it mentioned anywhere? My theory is that the power transfer suddenly to Rinoa was overwhelming to the point that her body couldn't handle it, therefore she went through this coma. But this theory isn't proven by anything during the game, which makes me wonder if it's true or not.

All that what was at the top of my head. Lots of stuff from Final Fantasy VIII was left to interpretation by us gamers. It does give a lot to think about, but it would have been better if they gave out more on Ultimecia's background, and gave her more screen time because she showed glimpses of a great antagonist when she controlled Edea, and Edea did get lots of love. 

FFXII: The Bigger Picture

Final Fantasy XII got balanced scales in terms of love and hate. Since it was released, it was one of the most discussed games in almost everything. Mainly because it's a Final Fantasy, and such a long development time that even Guinness recorded that in their books. Denying its beauty in terms of graphics and details is blasphemy, but story and gameplay are the main talking points for whoever played this game. I'll focus on story here, and mainly the two you see in the first picture; Vaan and Penelo.

Short bio: Vaan and Penelo are two orphan teenagers who are living their lives in Dalmasca's Rabanastre under the care of a big-hearted Bangaa with the name Migelo. Dalmasca is occupied by the Archadian Empire and took everything from both kid and elder living there. Vaan always had this rebillous intent against them and usually steals from the imperial soldiers from time to time. He once told Penelo that he wants to be a "Sky Pirate" to regain the freedom he lost because of the Empire.

Now as the story goes, Vaan and Penelo get an airship (not theirs) and fly around the world in a long fight against the Empire.  But, as main characters, how did they turn out? The answer is: Almost forgettable.

What Happened?

Sorry, Vaan. Try again in the sequel.

At the beginning, Vaan decides to steal the Dusk Shard; a very important relic in Dalmasca's history, from the Empire's hands. Such a massive task to be done, but Vaan does it and steals it. Until Balthier and Fran gang decides to interfere and fight for it. Eventually they get stuck together and Vaan keeps the Shard for himself when they came back to Rabanastre. That part (the whole thing I'm talking about) was my favourite. Vaan had all the spotlights. He decided to steal right from under the Imperials' noses, and ran all the way successfully (you can argue with this point) to Rabanastre. It is such an incredible achievement and heroic by Vaan. He had his fair share of memorable screen time, and most notably is the scene where he jumped on Basch's cage and started screaming at him. Screaming at the "kingslayer" and raging on him like that just made me love Vaan. After they survived and returned, he had some personal problems to deal with against Basch. Vaan forgave him and that's kinda cool to see, since no real evidence is around and add to that such a big guy like Basch begging for forgiveness from a teenager just gives Vaan lots of points. 

All this impressive stuff gave the game promise. FFXII was bound to be an ultimate figure in gaming. Vaan had his spotlights, but they didn't last long enough.

Overshadowed

Ashe announcing that Vaan is no longer important
in the game.

It was slightly visible when they were in the Garamsythe Waterway. When Balthier and Fran came in, Vaan had to follow them and eventually, he gave up his lead. Balthier and Amalia, the lass who joins them later, took control of conversations thanks to their experience and Vaan's naivety in the business. If we fast forward much later in the game when Vaan and Penelo are reunited and the group is complete, they just disappear even further into the shadows. The occasional discussion here and there and that's it. Penelo is even barely mentioned during the game. I can assure you that none of Ashe, Basch, or Balthier calls her name. Fran does once but that was in the ending. Vaan gets called from time to time but Penelo is just NOT there. Story writers included here rarely in the important scenes and just gave spotlights to the likes of Basch, Ashe and Balthier, with Vaan getting some screentime from time to time. 

Seeing Vaan and Penelo disappearing from the act saddened me. They showed a bit of promise early on but vanished as the game went through and were outmuscled by other characters from the same casts. But, even though I stated that I'm critical of this, I do see both good and bad points of this.

The good 

Fran telling Vaan to piss off. 

Question here: What are Vaan and Penelo? They're Humes orphans who live in Rabanastre. And what is this story about? It's about a war between empires. So it's mostly going to talk about royalty and those who possess the royal blood inside their veins, or got a major part in the politics and certain big events. So, if anything, casting Vaan and Penelo out for a bit was necessary. Because their positions and backgrounds just don't make them fit into this. They're teenagers who just got lost in the middle of all this. Balthier is an ex-judge and son to the Doctor Cid himself, Basch is a "kingslayer" and Ashe's protector in Vossler's place, Ashe is the heir to the throne, and Fran is Balthier's companion. Vaan did get the slight push in being the brother of the murdered witness of the late king, but Penelo? She really got nothing to do with all that. She did lose her parents in the war, but that puts her nowhere in the war other than a victim. 

More into the point: Getting Vaan and Penelo as deep as, Basch  for example, in the story would be difficult. They might be forced to do something like what FFIV did with Cecil, who discovered later in the game that he's brother to Golbez and not a normal human being. But that wasn't really a problem since he was already very important, but it was so sudden and for me at least, completely out of the blue. Vaan and Penelo had to be given up so they can concentrate on the more significant characters in this way, because if they wanted to bring up their importance, they would have to create more outside-of-the-box stuff, which could lead to cliches and unwanted arcs if writers didn't want to be bothered, and that might take the story outside the main focus.

The bad 

Vaan got tricked into joining the game,
apparently.

You just simply DON'T DO THAT TO MAIN CHARACTERS. Vaan is the bloody main protagonist of the game. He's standing in the middle of the US boxart. He's placed among the likes of Terra, Cloud, Squall, and Zidane. How can you make such a character so irrelevant?! Why make him the lead character when you aren't going to be bothered in giving him an important role in the game? He had his moments earlier, but then he was just...there. Once embarrassed himself, once saw the ghost of Reks, 2 hours later he talked for a moment and that's effing it! Why not make Ashe the protagonist if you're aren't going to give a damn about THE MAIN CHARACTER YOU JUST MADE?!!! Okay, Main Character 101: If you're going to make a main character, let us see him/her. As simple as that. Zidane was just a thief in the middle of all that war between Alexandria and Lindblum, yet he showed some leadership, talked a lot, gave his opinion, and had a bite from every pie. He (still talking about Zidane) remains like this until he finally discovers that he's not normal. You CAN make a character that isn't part of the bigger picture and STILL make it relevant. 

Penelo was just handled quite horribly; no backstory, and no major, memorable scenes of her. Terrible. She looked like a decent character and could have been a sweet addition to the game...wait. Did I just say "addition"?...... See, Square Enix? Penelo could have been an addition, because she's not EVEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! It's just bad from the developers. The cast wasn't 10 people and had to concentrate on 7. It was 6 and they removed two to concentrate on 4 (or three if you want to exclude Fran).

Problem solved

Having such a long time developing the game, and then releasing it while it still feels a bit unfinished by a company such as big as Square Enix is rather too disappointing. Then, Square Enix released a sequel called "Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings" and I must say, it's great. Vaan in that game was a boss. I so much loved him after playing RW. He showed how good he could have been had they worked more on him in FFXII. Penelo was also cool, not like Vaan but certainly a main character. I don't know what went wrong in the main game, but they did have the recipe for the cake but made a mess of it. But in the end, two different games, different teams, different writers, different story, different...everything. But Revenant Wings wins massively in terms of handling the main cast and giving all characters their right. 

If I was being honest with you, IMO Final Fantasy XII could have been the best in the series. But it only needed a character to drive it forward. Balthier wasn't enough, Basch wasn't enough, nobody was ever going to be enough because there is already a hero, but that hero himself wasn't enough.