I'm Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg of Dalmasca!

[Lawr]

Would it have bothered you if Basch was the original protagonist as was initially intended? Vaan was added at the last minute because for some reason Square-Enix thought having a younger protagonist appealed to the teenage demographic.

It kind of does, me being a teenage demographic statistic and all, but not when he speaks for the first 13% of the game then does nothing for the rest!

FFXII would be getting a lot less hate, and people would be giving it the glory it deserves for the great atmosphere, music, and gameplay.

[TheAbominatrix]

I'm sick to death of young plucky heroes with obnoxious voices. I would have loved that game so much more if Basch was the protagonist, he's already one of my favorite characters. It would have added a lot of depth to the game, imo.

[Raistlin]

I agree with The Abominatrix. Especially considering that Vaan became irrelevant at some point in the game, Basch as the lead would have been a welcome change of pace and more linked with the actual story.

[Crowseye]

I am one of the few that actually liked at least the idea of Vaan's character: here's a kid who had let his circumstances act as an excuse for not doing anything productive with his life. He gets caught up in the plot to restore Dalmasca and in so doing is given the opportunity to develop talents that he would not have had he remained a street rat in Rabanastre. It is a coming of age story of sorts, though far more subtle than the heroic characters we are used to seeing.

That said, he is arguably worse-developed than most of the party (except perhaps Fran). And yes, he does become an irrelevant character from the standpoint of the game's primary plot.

His dialogue is also often cringeworthy, even more than usual IMO because of the intended seriousness (as opposed to many FF characters who are almost portrayed as caricatures of themselves).

[Shin Gouken]

I find that pretty much all the characters lose their part in the story at some point, all except of course Ashe who is the only character to have any real connection to the plot.

But it doesn't matter. Each character has their reasons for being there and that is essentially what is important. Would it matter if i controlled Bash in towns instead of Vaan... no, not really. I don't like one more than the other so it wouldn't make a difference to me. Ashe or Balthier however i'd prefer simply because i <3 them

[PeneloRatsbane]

Basch would have been the better main character, he's awesome and he is closely linked to Ashe. would have made sense

[Breine]

I like Basch a lot, but I don't know if I'd like him to be the main character. I don't really know if I consider Vaan to be the main protagonist either.. at the end of the day it's probably Ashe? idk.

[Goldenboko]

I would've liked Basch being the main character, it would've matched the warring grit of the rest of the game. Vaan seemed like he was more or less along for the ride, gaining experience that would be invaluable during RW, but not the most important character of FFXII. Basch was the manly, general that I felt should've been the hero. Besides, how cool would the story have been if you started off escaping from prison after you where set up by your twin brother?

[Jiro]

I would've liked Basch as the lead purely so everyone else would be happy. I honestly didn't care what happened so long as my lovely Balthier was on screen. Which wasn't nearly often enough to be honest.

[Lawr]

I guess if there's no Vaan then there's no Penelo either. I think the game would also have benefited without Ashe too.

[Depression Moon]

street rat in Rabanastre

"You're a street rat. I don't buy that. If only they looked closer. Would they see a poor boy? No sirree.

I guess if there's no Vaan then there's no Penelo either. I think the game would also have benefited without Ashe too.

Oh, come on!

[Lawr]

street rat in Rabanastre

"You're a street rat. I don't buy that. If only they looked closer. Would they see a poor boy? No sirree.

I guess if there's no Vaan then there's no Penelo either. I think the game would also have benefited without Ashe too.

Oh, come on!

Let me say it one more time I don't think you heard me.

I think the game would also have benefited without Ashe too.

[Shin Gouken]

street rat in Rabanastre

"You're a street rat. I don't buy that. If only they looked closer. Would they see a poor boy? No sirree.

I guess if there's no Vaan then there's no Penelo either. I think the game would also have benefited without Ashe too.

Oh, come on!

Let me say it one more time I don't think you heard me.

I think the game would also have benefited without Ashe too.

Oh... initially i thought you were being sarcastic... errm... so how would the story work without ashe?

[Wolf Kanno]

I approach XII like it was FFVI or XIII. The game really has no main character with each character having an important moment and role to play as the story goes but with really no one character actually taking on the traditional idea of a "main character role" with the possible exception of Lady Ashe since the whole plot revolves around her completely.

I feel Vaan only gets main character status cause he's the only lead you can use in towns and you start the game as him. For many that's enough to warrant the title.

Also, how the hell does XII work without Ashe? Her story is the plot of XII. :objection:

[Bad Wolf]

I'm kind of leaning towards wanting Basch as the main character, just to get away from the teenage pretty-boy lead syndrome some of the newer games have been afflicted with. That said, I do not mind Vaan so much. He certainly annoys me far less than Tidus did.