Vaan; The Main Character?

(SPOILERS!! Don't read until you have completed the game) :)




Ok I personally thought he wasn't the main character. :| i thought that Ashe was more the main character and Penelo and Vaan didn't get enough coverage and just appeared to be tag-along's. There wasn't anytime where Vaan did something really heroic, (Like save Penelo or Ashe or something) he just seemed to be one of those hero's who just didn't get the chance to show his heroism (I think there should have at least been a bit where Vaan fights Vayne alone but meh) The only thing i thought showed him as the main character was that he is the character you have to control in towns.

Anyway topic;

Do you think Vaan was the "main" character? (Yes i know he was but do you think he was treated like a main character?)

its more of a team effort. While Vaan is the charater you play as he is not the main character. really hes just helping and witness to the events in the game.
Ashe has her job to do and restore Dalmasca,
Basch has his issues with Gabranth to solve and hes redeeming himself by protecting Ashe.
Balthier is stopping Dr.Cid, he feels its up to him as its his father causing some of the problems, he wants to deal with the problems instead of running away so that he can truly be free and won't just be running away from his past. in the end he has sorted out the wrongs Cid created with nethicite and can happily return to the skies.
Fran, helping Balthier as he is her partner, also wise and they probably wouldn't have got anywhere without her.
Vaan and Penelo, lost and lonely looking for a path in life and help and witness what happens

At the same time, yes and no. You can't say he isn't. The story is all about him wanting him to do something about all that's happened and eventually doing it. But the supporting cast all have that as well, I think this game is just a good example of having meaningful support characters as well as a main one.

The sad thing is, Square have said 10,000 times that Vaan is NOT the Main character, and it's annoying and repetitive when people say he is, or even assume it.

Anyway, I would say Ashe is most deserving of the main protagonist title, cause it's basically revolved around her story, and how she must overcome difficulties, also, if you ask me, Ashe went through the most character development. Why? Cause I feel she was close minded to the people of Dalmasca, and didn't realize their struggle, but was only concerned with reclaiming the throne for herself. Later on, she realizes that her friends were a mixture of commoners, and prestigious figures, who risked their lives countless times to protect her and restore her to the head of the throne. She probably sensed the moral of her journey at that point, and it was to serve Dalmasca as a queen, sympathize with the people, and not only focus on her self-needs.

No, you're quite right in thinking that he's not really the main character. It just appears that way to most people due to lazy game design.

Vaan is probably the least loved Character in FFXII. Don't get me wrong I don't like him or hate him, I just think he should derserve some resepct, who else has saved the world when your a teenager?

Well he is in my reserve party as FVB (Fran, Vaan basch are reserves) but he is quite good, im hoping to lvl team FVB to 30 like my main party, Team BAP (balthier, Ashe, Penelo are main) so then I can give them all loads of deathbringer!

(Alright about 3/4 of the FF population are Teenagers but hell, who cares?)

This reminds of me all the threads asking if Terra is the main character of VI that are still being made even today.

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Originally Posted by Karellen

No, you're quite right in thinking that he's not really the main character. It just appears that way to most people due to lazy game design.

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i think it was made that way on purpose to show a point that its not always about one person. but then again they need someone to be the one in towns and since vaan is the first you meet he gets the role of the one who walks around towns.

as for whether or not he was the main character id say balthier was more the main character then vaan. he lead the group everywhere and after all he was the "leading man". he knew more about everything then everyone else. also in the end he was more the hero then anyone else.

and vaan did have a heroic scene or 2. when he caught ashe off the ledge. and if i remember correctly he did pick up gabranths sword and ram him.

I took Vaan's story to be sort of an origin story for a later more interesting hero. I'm sure in Balthier's first adventures (if this is revealed in Revanant Wings don't tell me) Fran or some other sky pirate was a far more intersting character. That may just be wishful thinking for sequals on my part.:)

The role Vaan and Penelo are playing is similar to the role Fry plays in Futurama. They are unfamiliar with the larger world so they provide a natural outlet for explinations actualy meant for the audience. A lot of the explainations on sky ships, mist or espers are explained in dialouge, often with either Vaan or Penelo.

I think maybe there wasn't supposed to be a central character. FFXII felt like an ensamble comic or show to me. Each character is interesting in of themselves but it's their interactions that make them the story move and keep you pushing to the next cut scene.

ya know how theres 4 charecters in ff1 but none of them are exactly THE main charecter?ff12 is the same way.in ff1,you walk around with the 1rst person in your party,well in ff12 its the same way.they all contrbute to the story but none of them take the leading role

i don't think vaan's the main char coz he simply sucks compared t othe cool balthier. balthier should be main char but i agree with remnant1.

The answer is quite simple. There are no main character in 12. Not in 1-3,5, 6 and 11 too. All the playstation games + 10 have main though.

Am I the only one who didn't have a problem with no main character? I thought it was very refreshing.

I liked it too. It reminded me of the things I liked about Firefly, where the audience got to explore each character and really get to know both them and the group as a whole as opposed to just one or two characters.

I'm playing through FFX right now for the first time and there's a marked difference in that the story seems to focus entirely on Tidus and Yuna. While I'm enjoying these two I keep wanting to get back to Lulu and whatever her apparent issues are.

I'm hoping any future games will provide more character development with Vaan and Penelo and interactions between Fran and anyone besides Balthier.

Ashe is to Terra as Vaan is to Locke as Balthier is to Shadow as Penelo is to Relm?????????????????

I agree with Balthier being the main character,sometimes even more so than Ashe.
Although the struggle for Dalmasca is always apparent,theres always the big thing about the manufactured nethicite which would be all about Balthier.
And like it was mentioned before,he plays the hero way more than the other characters.
However,when I played the game I took the "no main character" stance because it just felt better making them ALL the main character rather than just picking favorites and sticking with them constantly.

Factually: Vaan is the main character no opinion can change that unfortunately.

Storyline Wise: Ashe is the main focus and could therefore be regarded as the main character...

I think that's interesting, because both characters are on either end of the spectrum, with the others kind of imbetween...

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Originally Posted by Omecle

Am I the only one who didn't have a problem with no main character? I thought it was very refreshing.

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I think having no main character (although refreshing indeed) ultimately it hurts the story.A story always needs a main character/protagonist as it also needs an antagonist.
If a story doesn't have one,it becomes a documentary.

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Originally Posted by Nifleheim7

I think having no main character (although refreshing indeed) ultimately it hurts the story.A story always needs a main character/protagonist as it also needs an antagonist.
If a story doesn't have one,it becomes a documentary.

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what

"If a story doesn't have a main character it becomes a documentary".
Well,documentary maybe isn't the right word (documentaries are based in real life) but i just tried to say that it becomes just a documentation of a series of events and not a story.

its an ensemble piece.
Ashe and Basch are fighting for Dalmasca,
Balthier is fighting to put back the wrongs of his father and clear his guilt so he can be truly free.
Now the other 3.
Vaan and Penelo are trying to find there way in live, towards becoming pirates and are generally good souls helping out some people who have become there friends.
And as for Fran well it seems like she has found the place where she belongs finally and is happy to help Balthier, and lend her knowledge to the others.

I think that in terms of knowledge about the wider world of Ivalice, the player and Vaan start off in around the same point. By that I mean they're both fairly ignorant about the wider world and the politics, magic and people and so on. I think in that respect there's a learning curve for both us and for Vaan. While I was playing, I did consider him the main character but never felt he was entirely crucial to the storyline. I felt that he had the most interaction with other characters throughout the game (other than Asch). It's a fairly weak argument to call him the main character, I suppose, but he did feel that way. I don't think he really is though, just seems it.

Actually, Balthier is the leading man. He was even kind enough to tell us.

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Originally Posted by Heath

I think that in terms of knowledge about the wider world of Ivalice, the player and Vaan start off in around the same point. By that I mean they're both fairly ignorant about the wider world and the politics, magic and people and so on. I think in that respect there's a learning curve for both us and for Vaan.

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I agree with this, it was the same idea with Tidus because he was unaware of what Spira was all about.

If Vaan wasn't the main character then he'd be unneccesary basically.

I don't think that at all, Vaan was living in the capitol of Dalmasca and was the unofficial leader of the cityrats. Yet, you get introduced to that city and without the slightest idea where you are and who is who. Vaan should have been a guy that knows something about everything.

I wouldn't have had a problem with it if there was no main character. But in the game you are Vaan, in cities you only see Vaan walking and people talk to you in the assumpion that you are Vaan. Example: The resistence Hide-Out, you go up to the guy with Basch, Asche, Balthier and Vossler in your party and he wont let you in because you would only get in the way.