FFXII Story - A Homage to Star Wars ?

Someone complained this is the first FF game to not have Biggs and Wedge and that got me thinking... That mission to save Ashe on the Leviatan made me feel like Luke (Vaan) and Han (Baltier) saving Lea (Ashe), with a nicer looking alien (Fran pwns Chewie!) and a hot guy to boot (Basch). :love: Too bad we didn't go through a trash compactor scene. That would have been so awesomely SW like!!!

Then the Evil Empire theme and the father / Son / siblings themes made me think that the whole game has some Star Wars overtones.

Bhujerba - Lando's floating mining city ? With a figurehead the empire tolerates (Ondorre) just like Lando.

Eastersand / Westersand - Not exactly Tatooine but desert nonetheless ;)

Leviathan - Death Star obviously. Even the Imperial Soldiers uniform resembles the SW troopers.

Judges - Darth Vader obviously.

Don't the Slaven fiends look like those 2 legged robots from SW II ? Nabudis sounds like Naboo too ;)

Am I seeing things ?

i am very glad that someone pointed this out. because my roommate and i are playing together and all we do is relate it to starwars. and there is no problem with this. starwars is awsome and so is FF, why the hell not combine them.

(SPOILER)Ba'Gammnon totally dies like Boba Fett.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by guffman

starwars is awsome and so is FF, why the hell not combine them.

---

Because when you go to the well one to many times, that which is kinda cool becomes a little too close to plagiarism.

Urgh it's definitely not just you -- the game screams star wars ripoff, especially in the second half and towards the end. I think someone else also pointed to the Yodaspeak scattered throughout the game, though that's a cliche found in many medieval-based games. At any rate the "star wars" references certainly contributed to the "been there, done that" boredom that set in for me starting with the pharos sequence. Whatever draw the supposedly "adult-oriented" plot's emphasis on politics might have had for me was negated by the fact that these politics were copied from a story everyone's already familiar with in any case!

The judge/Darth Vadar thing was also annoying, as they could have easily avoided making such an obvious reference to star wars. Can't really fathom what the point of this and other references were, other than unwillingness to come up with original material...

Well... I guess there are some similarities. It is true that when I reflected upon the story it went something like: (SPOILER)So... this is about a boy named Luke Vaan who lives on the desert planet Tatooine in the desert city of Dalmasca. He's an orphan, aww. His whole life has been turned into a pile of poop by the evil Empire and their highly feared Darth Vader Judges.

Luckily, Princess Leia Princess Ashe forms the Rebels Resistance to fight the evil Empire. She recruits Vaan to her cause. Along with Vaan comes a useless piece of garbage that follows him around for no reason named c3Po Penelo. They also meet up with the wanted man Han Solo Balthier and his non-human partner Chewbacca Fran. Those two are luckyluckypants because they own their own airship named The Millenium Falcon The Strahl. There's also a neat little guy that helps out sometimes named R2-D2 Larsa and a man who reveals the true story of things to Vaan named Obi-Wan Basch.

To take down the evil Empire, they first need some power. To get this power, they need to find restore some ancient stuff. They get themselves a lightsaber a magical sword from an old guy named Yoda The Gran Kiltias Anastasis and also learn how to wield The Force Nethicite. Along the way they recruit some help from Admiral Ackbar Marquis Ondore and form a solid plan.

To balance out all this dark drama, they threw in some cute ewoks moogles for good measure. And since nobody wants to be racist, there's also one black guy tossed in at the last second named Lando Reddas.

Once they have the proper power to beat the Empire, they head to the final battle at The Deathstar The Sky Fortress Bahamut, where they get help killing the Emperor when Darth Vader Judge Gabranth turns to their side but dies in the process.

Er, right. Well, that said... There are differences too. Probly. Anyway, I enjoy it enough, even if for addicting gameplay alone. Besides:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Citizen Bleys

Sod off and stop being so picky or I'll cut your knackers off with a chainsaw.

---

Reddas was black?

Sure, why not. He ain't white is he.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LunarWeaver

Sure, why not. He ain't white is he.

---

There are only two races now?

(well, three if you count the viera)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Timerk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LunarWeaver

Sure, why not. He ain't white is he.

---

There are only two races now?

(well, three if you count the viera)

---

Four. Kupo!

Of course there's only two, I said the game wasn't racist not me.

Don't forget about bangaa and nu muo or whatever.

Anyway, yeah, Star Wars.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LunarWeaver

Well... I guess there are some similarities. It is true that when I reflected upon the story it went something like: So... this is about a boy named Luke Vaan ....

---

:D R O F L :D

That was brilliant!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LunarWeaver

Er, right. Well, that said... There are differences too. Probly. Anyway, I enjoy it enough, even if for addicting gameplay alone. Besides:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Citizen Bleys

Sod off and stop being so picky or I'll cut your knackers off with a chainsaw.

---

---

Oh I'm not complaining this time. Honest! I actually found this homage to Star Wars a reason to like FFXII more and to be less picky with the story. :love:

BTW, Races of FFXII
- Viera
- Garif
- Nu Mou
- Baknamy
- Seeq
- Bangaa
- Moogles
- Urutan Yensa
- Rebbes
- Helgas

There are also the immortal Occuria, often referred to as the "gods."

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Renmiri

BTW, Races of FFXII
- Viera
- Garif
- Nu Mou
- Baknamy
- Seeq
- Bangaa
- Moogles
- Urutan Yensa
- Rebbes
- Helgas

There are also the immortal Occuria, often referred to as the "gods."

---

You forgot Hume.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The Summoner of Leviathan

You forgot Hume.

---

:rolleyes2 DOH! :rolleyes2

I feel like Homer Simpson :p

I don't really get a 'Star Wars ripoff vibe' off it, but I do see where you're coming from with that. I see common ground as opposed to blatant rip offs. Vaan and company bust Ashe out of a prison that happens to be aboard a ship. Big deal-she's a princess. Being kidnapped and rescued by adventurers of questionable motives is in her job description.

I found it odd how the music in the Ogir-Yensa sandsea is strikingly familiar to the Star Wars score...

Not to mention you're fighting small little creatures in brown robes...

I didn't mean a ripoff. The FF series has long been paying homage to the Star Wars movies. There's a Biggs and a Wedge in every single game of the series (both were with Luke Skywalker on those Delta flier squadrons) and many other references to it in all FF games.

I also loved the opportunity to be able to rescue a princess on a huge ship crawling with empire troopers :D

Meh.. FFXII ain't so bad after all ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nominus Experse

I found it odd how the music in the Ogir-Yensa sandsea is strikingly familiar to the Star Wars score...

Not to mention you're fighting small little creatures in brown robes...

---

Hihi, true on both counts. But using SW's John Williams as inspiration while having Nobuo Uematsu in your staff is a crime! ;)

Nothing beats the homage to Star Wars from FFVI. When you rescue Celes in her cell and you choose to stay in the Imperial Uniform, her line will strike a familiar chord...;)

There's also FFII, now there is a game that just blatanly rips off SW. :D

I think it was obvious from the opening cutscene that the game was going to pretty much be Star Wars.

Someone pointed out to me that Biggs and Wedge are in FFXII too. Anyone wants to answer where ?

I'll post the answer later tonight :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Parakiss

They may not be there, but "Deweg" and "Gibbs" are ;)

---

I've thought that XII had a very SW prequel feel to it.

omg, I was thinking the same thing when I played FFXII. especially the (SPOILER)ride to and from the bahamut. I totally thought I was flying through a starwars movie

*I see my first Ogir-Yensa* "HK-47.. we need a translator." *Runs off like Revan and friends to kill stoopid dessert people anyways bwcause I'm evil.*

I was thinking as a game it feels like Kotor.

I think the similarities between FFXII and Star Wars are a result of Star Wars' generic plot which copied from stories and concepts that have long been part of the literary world. You're not seeing in FFXII things stolen from Star Wars but ideas taken from the same sources that Star Wars got its ideas from. You think sibling rivalry, father/son relationships, or rescuing princesses were original ideas in Star Wars? Go to a freakin' library; you'll find that Star Wars is one of the most UNoriginal movies. Ever.

Huge space battles existed before Star Wars, especially in literature, so every time someone creates a huge war in the air it's not a direct rip-off of Star Wars. Star Wars was just the first time it'd been done well. In any case the battles aren't as similar as they're being made out to be. The physics of each are very different, the artistic direction is different, and the stories compelling each are very different.

Also, the Judge's aren't meant to be anything like Darth Vader. Just because they wear masks and their voices are muffled doesn't mean they're automatically Vader clones. Everybody that wears a helmet is not Darth Vader, and helmets necessarily muffle voices. Also, the Judges and Darth Vador symbolize completely different ideas. There are more contrasts than comparisons, really.

None of this is meant to belittle Star Wars. I <3 Star Wars. Star Wars was not original, but it -was- good. If it inspired any FF at all(apart from simple references) it set a par for quality that all storytellers, special effect technicians, and composers must meet.

You are talking about individual elements that, when taken on their own, can be found in many works of literature and film. The problem (and I don't know if I would even call it a problem) is that FFXII combines these elements in a similar manner to Star Wars, which is why the feel is so much the same. There are some scenes, (SPOILER)like Ba'gamnon being knocked into the Saarlac, which are lifted almost directly from the film(s), but for the most part, it is the spirit and feel which is copied. The Judges are not like Vader in motivation, but they fill his roll as a dark, intimidating figure serving the Empire. By the same token, Balthier is almost a direct homage to Han Solo, even if he has his own style as well. Also, FF games have paid homage to Star Wars before (Biggs and Wedge, anyone?), so it isn't like this is some surprise.

FFXII isn't the blatent ripoff of Star Wars everyone made it out to be in the beginning, but they share enough of the same spirit and feel that it is something you notice while playing through. There is a scene in Rabanastre where Balthier tells Vaan that the Strahl is 'the fastest ship in the galaxy,' or some such line, and the pride from Balthier added with the excitement of Vaan reminded me of a similar Luke/Han scene in ANH.

I had a smile on my face the whole time :).

Yes, it actually made me like FFXII more. At first I was like chionos and going "WTF ? This is a ripoff of so many old, stale stories!" but when I realized how much of it was a homage to Star Wars I started liking the story more. Besides, if I could tolerate George Lucas cheesy story telling and still love SW I should be fair and tolerate FFXII's cheesy dialogs too, right ? ;)

BTW chionos, you forgot history books too: the Roman Empire with it's Emperor and Senate politics, Julius Caesar and Brutus with their father /son power struggles... (SPOILER)Brutus (son) kills father (Caesar) for power... A subjugated desert kingdom (Egypt) with a strong princess (Cleopatra)...

The sequence after (SPOILER)the Leviathan goes down felt SO Star Wars it hurt.

The rearranged(letters changed around) Biggs and Wedge are (SPOILER)at the entrance to the Mosphoren Highwaste(sp?) from Nalbina for the first half/third of the game.... If no one answered it already. but I'm sure somoene has.
Never can remember the full or correct spelling of that place.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Renmiri

Someone pointed out to me that Biggs and Wedge are in FFXII too. Anyone wants to answer where ?

---

nalbina right?

"Deweg" and "Gibbs" are in XII, I think going from Nalbina to Mosphorian Highwaste as ValiantKnight said above

Lunar's first post is the reason I might start replaying this game tonight. I think I'lll have more fun with it if I see it as Star Wars than an FF game. :D

Truth be told, they give little nods to Star Wars all throughout the series...it's about time they're a bit more blunt about it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Avarice-ness

Lunar's first post is the reason I might start replaying this game tonight. I think I'lll have more fun with it if I see it as Star Wars than an FF game. :D

---

Lunar's post definitely made the game more fun to me :D