Well it's been about a year-and-a-half since I first played and beat FFXII. The time has given me a bit more objectivity I feel as I refined my opinions and viewpoints.

When it comes to the story, I think FFXII stands out as a firm example of what I have noticed in pretty much all fiction.
The villains are the real main characters. Face it, our brave heroes are only heroes because they're reacting to what the villains did first. The villains are the ones who are really doing everything and our heroes are just playing catch-up.

FF12 is a particularly glaring example of this. I adore the story of this game but it sure as hell isn't because of Fran.

hat kills the energy of the FFXII is the undeniablly poor pacing. Basch is the single best example of this since he becomes completely irrelevant to the plot from the moment Vossler dies all the way to the top of the Pharos. how many hours is that?

The cast do interact a lot but much of it is unnecessary fluff dialogue. Sure it's nice for setting a mood maybe but it doesn't really develp the characters all that well.

Yet, sprinkled in between these many scenes where our heroes interact in meaningless fashion, are the scenes wih the Archadians. The Judges The Emperor, Vayne, Cid - they are the ones who are really talking about stuff and moving the plot along. We learn about thema nd their ambitions. What they say is in fact important to the narrative.

Now don't get me wrong, I do appreciate FFXII's more subtle storyline. I understand that Vaan does develop as a character and it's just done in a less flashy way than it would have been done in previous installments in the series. But there is such a thing as being too subtle and I think this game suffers from that in a few areas.

Now, despite everything I just said about the characters and their flaws, the game really isn't about them. The game is not simply about Ashe saving the world from the Evil Empire. It's a world-spanning epic that is more about themes, ideas and grooups than it is about the individual. It's a study of Mankind and how people are hopelessly defined by their past. It's also a look into how various peoples choose the same path but go about it in startlingly different ways. Vayne thought dictatorship by Man upon Man was superior to that of the gods' but he still wanted Humans to decide their own fate just like the party did.

People often talk about who was the main character in this game. I submit there is no main character because, as I said, the game isn't just about any specific individual. It's a clashing of nations and of concepts

Also i have to agree with the earlier post abot FFXII being better on a replay. I'll admit the first few hours of the game are tedious but when you have the benefit of hindsight, when you can look at those events in the context of he overall storyline, they take on a much more intriguing element. I guess you just have to understand the underlying ideas the game is trying to convey in order to appreciate it.

Well that's all I have to say right now... Oh wait, one more thing.

Larsa is the best character in the game.