A Vaan problem?

[Forsaken Lover]

I agree that Vaan has a role in the story and that role has been highlighted by previous posters. Unfortunately FFXII suffers from cosmically bad pacing. Characters fall in and out of relevance quite frequently and more often thannot Vaan is he peon in the background.

This does not make him much of a respectable character according to most people and is a big reason why people say he is "tacked on" and unnecessary.

[Topaz Flare]

I really didn't mind him at all, but penelo.......:shoot:

[Mercen-X]

I believe they tossed Penelo into the mix so they could demonstrate that it was possible for a character to be more pointless than Vaan. I'm just kidding, I like Vaan.

in a game I prefer the 'main character' to have some more relevance to what's going on around him. Whenever I play games there is always a naive kid getting mixed up in a big adventure in a grand world. Myself! I don't need there to be two of me.

Also he needs to put on a shirt.

So, you want to play a game like Eternal Ring or some other equivalent where the main character is expected to already know what the hell is going on around him and so he's thrust into the middle of the plot without a single helping hand or explanation. Yeah, you know? 'Cause it's fun to be dragged into something you know nothing about.
It's easy to wish to be in the role of a character who is "better" than you are in reality, but when you're actually playing as that character, don't you start to feel that your life has no meaning because you'll never live up to the awesomeness of this character. At least with Vaan, a street urchin with dreams of becoming a pirate, you can take his journey with him and learn that you can accomplish great things too. Not because you're already in the shoes of some dousch whose "been there and done that", but because that's the power of ambition.
You say Vaan's role is better suited to a novel, well I call bullsh and claim the opposite. I wouldn't want some dorky kid being the main character of my novel. That makes absolutely no sense.


Hoo-ahh! With a passion!

But I agree, no matter how hot it is in Dalmasca, Vaan needed a shirt. Penelo needed to lose those pigtails, they looked awkward instead of cute.

[LunaRaven]

I understand why his character was created and what role he was meant to play. Unfortunately, what makes Vaan so unlikeable is that fact that he is just so poorly written(and designed). Personally, I like the rest of the cast. I like the subtle nuances of their personalities and their lengthy dialogues. Their subtle personas grew on me throughout the game, and by the ending credits I had a good idea of what sort of people these characters were. That is, all except Vaan and Penelo.

I like Penelo, I like her character design, and I liked using her in battle. What little we did see of her I liked, but the writers just didn't do anything with her. She was really only there to validate Vaan's character. The trouble is, Vaan doesn't have a character! He was written as a stereotypical, obnoxious young street kid who is supposed to provide comedy to an otherwise serious story(and I admit, sometimes I did laugh at Vaan, but never with him...). What a chance the writers missed with both of these characters! They could have had Vaan mature considerably along the way, transforming himself into a mature young man opposed to staying that same whiny pirate wanna-be. And Penelo! Granted, I find her character(though hardly explored) better developed than Vaan's, but really---she hardly contributed to anything! *sigh* I love this game, but these two characters always get me.

So no, I don't hate Vaan. I didn't ignore using him in battle because his stats are great and he was useful in some of the larger boss battles. But near the end of the game, he really was just a drag on the plot when he should have been helping to propel it. I've done many a Squall facepalm when it comes to him, let me tell you.

[Marlowe Serpentarius]

Vaan's other big purpose is to be a playable incarnation of an 'average person' caught up in Dalmasca's conflict. With the exception of Penelo, the other main characters are all rather extraordinary in their own right: Ashe is the fallen princess, Basch the condemned 'traitor', Baltheir the son of Archadia's mad genius and a former Judge. Vaan, though, is a lot more down-to-earth: a young Dalmascan, not a solider but still a victim of war, losing his only brother and his nation's freedom. As he starts to expand his horizons and realise his dreams over the course of the game, Dalmasca does too. In that way, Vaan allows us to see first-hand a nation's growth as well as a man's.

This is actually what I've been saying all along, partially. I've always interpreted Vaan as being transformed into the main character so the actual player could relate to him more than, say, Basch - he's just a young nobody wrapped up in the political warfare of Ivalice's huge world. Through his interaction with some of the characters more pivotal to the ongoing plot, he's able to partake an epic adventure and save a subjected kingdom.

[Hollycat]

basch = balthier > reks > vaan > vosseler

[Elskidor]

He just doesn't belong. He hurts the story more than helps it, and has no real purpose. If he was written better and was made to have a true impact on the overall story then it would be fine, but he doesn't. The story works just as well if he was completely left off from the start. I try to ignore him and Penelope whenever playing this game.

[TrollHunter]

I really didn't mind him at all, but penelo.......:shoot:

Old post... but w/e
In her defense, at least she has cool attack animations

[Laddy]

Vaan's not a bad guy, he's just not the protagonist. Ashe, Balthier, Basch, and Fran could've been the party and the game would've been fine.

[Quindiana Jones]

Vaan makes an excellent tank. And I quite like him, though he needs to grow some manhair. As has been said before, he's just this kid who finds himself trapped in a situation he has nodding sodding clue about. He experiences this new world with its intrigue and tragedy as we do, but just takes it in his naive and optimistic stride. Sure, he's a bit of a pillock, but everyone is trying to smurfing kill him even though he didn't do anything directly wrong! If I were in this game, I'd be in the same position as Vaan, except I'd be sitting in the corner soiling my kegs.

I think the reason we love Balthier, Fran and Basch so much (and anyone who doesn't can go choke on a Bomb) is that they're so bloody amazing. If the main character was Basch or someone good like that, then we wouldn't have any relation because none of us are that cool.

To sum up, he's not the coolest character or the most story-important, but that's the whole point. I like him.

[Bolivar]

I didn't have a problem, either, and Big D put it perfectly... I mean we've all played tons of RPGs like this, I don't see why it was such a big deal. He's a kid with humble beginnings who saves the world. How is he irrelevant?

I also like the fact that FFXII is a "coming of age" story for him. As Vaan sees the world, his perspective broadens. And that's beautiful.

[Necronopticous]

The only problem I have with Vaan is his abs.

[Quindiana Jones]

He does have a weird chest. All these characters need to put a jumper on, really.

[chionos]

Except Fran, she's way overdressed.
Vaan is certainly not the worst leading man in the series.
I also find it quite ridiculous when games/movies/books show a character's "growth" in the course of a few weeks' adventuring. It's just silly when a young immature selfish boy becomes an altruistic courageous magnanimous hero overnight.

[Fynn]

Well, considering how big of an experience they get, it makes a bit of sense.