Who is the main character of this game?

[Roogle]

I consider Ashe the main character of Final Fantasy XII. Like others have said, I would have preferred Basch to be the main player character rather than Vaan.

Vaan and Penelo had very little to do with the character stories and political stories in Final Fantasy XII. I'm surprised they were included in the story at all.

[Loony BoB]

I don't like him one bit, but I would definitely say Vaan is the 'main character' - but that's only because this is a video game, and for me the main character of a video game is the one that most things are seen from the perspective of, especially at the start.

But, as many have said, he's not a story character. To summarise: Main character of game is Vaan, main character of story is Ashe. The question in the thread title states game, so I voted Vaan.

[Roogle]

He is certainly the main character of the gameplay considering that you start with him and you control him in towns; however, I feel like this could have been anyone and the story itself would remain entirely unchanged. If you added a Select A Character option at the beginning, would anything really change aside from the introduction? Why not wander around town as Penelo? I mean, they both have nothing to do with anything, anyway.

[LunarWeaver]

Vaan is just a mascot.

[Rodney]

Gamewise: Vaan.

Story-wise: Ashe.

For the latter, I'll pick Ashe.

[Loony BoB]

He is certainly the main character of the gameplay considering that you start with him and you control him in towns; however, I feel like this could have been anyone and the story itself would remain entirely unchanged. If you added a Select A Character option at the beginning, would anything really change aside from the introduction? Why not wander around town as Penelo? I mean, they both have nothing to do with anything, anyway.

That's true enough, but that doesn't make Vaan any less the main character of the gameplay (which, for me, means 'the game', just like the storyline means 'the story').

[Crowseye]

I chose Vaan. Primarily because he was the gameplay's main character but also because...

The game's primary plot clearly revolved around Ashe. For me there were points in the game where Vaan (and Penelo) seemingly became irrelevant to the the plot. The game made it clear that they were still very much kids in a story where the conflicts were primarily between adults. However, Vaan does have a story that is told over the course of the game, albeit in a much more subtle fashion.

Given that Vaan becomes the most powerful playable character in the game, his story is effectively one of a boy with tremendous talent who lacked direction and focus until the events of the story gave him a reason to focus those talents toward meaningful goals. It's a story about how sometimes getting out of your "home" or comfort zone is necessary to get out of the rut one is in. In particular it is a message to kids in bad or unfortunate settings or circumstances: it doesn't always have to be this way, you can be better than this...don't just dream big dreams, make them happen. In that sense it is a much more "real" story than the grandiose love stories or the struggles against evil empires that have dominated the series.