Final Fantasy XII/Characters

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Kingdom of Dalmasca/Party Members

Vaan

"One of these days I’ll fly an airship of my own. I’ll be a sky pirate, free to go where I will."

Voiced by Kouhei Takeda (Japanese) and Bobby Edner (English)

An energetic street urchin living in Rabanastre who talks big about rebelling against the occupying Empire and becoming a Sky Pirate. He is an orphan, his parents having died from the plague when he was young, and lives with Penelo at Migelo's house.

When he sneaks into the royal palace and steals an incredibly rare (and significant) piece of magicite, he becomes entangled in the events of the game.

He is a Point Of View Character in Final Fantasy XII, but becomes the main protagonist in Revenant Wings. He later makes appearances in Final Fantasy Tactics A2 as a Hidden Character and Dissidia 012 Duodecim as one of the main cast.

  • The Ace: Heavily implied in Final Fantasy XII, and made more explicit in Final Fantasy Tactics A2. In the former, it's not readily apparent since he's only of nominal importance to the plot, but side quests and NPC conversations paint him as nothing if not hypercompetent, and he has the the stats of a god.
  • Battle Couple: In Tactics A2, with Penelo of course. Doubles as a Sword and Sorcerer pair for bonus points.
  • Big Brother Mentor: To the orphans in the Rabanastran Lowtown.
  • Bishonen
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Even in the sequels where he is a Sky Pirate, Vaan can never stop doing whats right. Though he still has Sticky Fingers.
  • Dark-Skinned Blond
  • Deadpan Snarker: In Tactics A2 and Revenant Wings.
  • Dead Big Brother
  • Expy: It's subtle, but especially in the simpler graphics of Tactics A2 and Revenant Wings you can see that he bears a significant resemblance to Ramza and Marche. (It's mostly in the hair.)
    • He's also a more obvious one of Aladdin (the Disney version, at any rate). Street rat, tiny open vest, forbidden treasure, tec.
  • The Face: In Final Fantasy XII and Revenant Wings. In the former, he does almost all the talking to the nigh hundreds of NPCs and in the dozens of side quests.
  • Foil: To Ashe, paralelling her in backstory and Character Development, but with very different goals and temperment.
  • Friend to All Children
  • The Hero: In Revenant Wings.
  • Hot-Blooded: His blood isn't as hot as some, but it's still there.
  • The Hunter: Initially, he starts taking contracts for hunts because he feels its not much of a difference than hunting rats in the sewers (his usual way of making a living), and a way to earn extra money. As the story progresses, he and the party start taking on stronger, and stronger beasts, becoming epic monster hunters.
  • Infinity+1 Sword: Anastasia in Revenant Wings.
  • Idiot Hero: Subverted in the original game, though he's impulsive and a bit naive, Vaan is clever, resourceful, and has a fair amount of scenes where he shows a more inquisitive and insightful side. The manga however makes this his defining trait, cranking up his Hot Bloodedness and making him rather arrogant and cocky, but lacking the skill and intelligence to back them up.
  • Impossible Thief: Revenant Wings shows where all the that Level Grinding from XII went, as Vaan can casually steal concepts and attributes from an enemy, up to and including their sense of time, and make use of it himself. He steps it up by Final Fantasy Tactics A2, where he's essentially become the Carmen Sandiego of Ivalice.
  • Jack of All Stats
    • Lightning Bruiser: He's got all around amazing stats in XII, having emphasis on strength (best score with Basch), magick (second best score), vitality (best score) and speed (second best). Stats-wise, he's easily the best character of your party.
  • Jumped At the Call: Revenant Wings.
  • Kleptomaniac Hero
  • The Lancer
  • Loveable Rogue
  • Limit Break
  • The Messiah: He goes out of his way to help a lot of people during the side quests as well as lets the refugee Aegyl live on his airship.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: Vaan isn't really a bad character, he just happens to be in a game where, as far as Western audiences are concerned, he and Penelo are not as interesting or developed as the other cast members.
  • Overrated and Underleveled: While he and Penelo are far from slackers in Tactics A2, their default classes don't have very good stat growths. However, the trope is otherwise subverted in that the class abilities are more than decent. Vaan's Life of Crime ability has potential to deal 999 damage every time with 100% accuracy provided you have stolen enough. They're best moved to other jobs after learning their unique abilities and aren't bad as guests, either.
  • Primal Stance: Seems to favor these sorts of stances with his fighting style.
  • Persona Non Grata: Comes close to being banned from Bhujerba due to the whole pretending-to-be-Basch-very-loudly ordeal. Thereafter, the city guides are eternally pissed at him and caution him to stay away from ledges and cliffs.
  • The Rival: Is seen as such by Luso in Final Fantasy Tactics A2.
  • Sky Pirate: In the sequels.
  • Street Urchin
  • Supporting Protagonist / The Ishmael: He serves as a Foil to Ashe, both of them wanting to see Dalmasca restored and to claim vengeance for the death of their loved ones. However Vaan's actions only drive the story up to when Ashe joins the party, after that the game follows her entirely and Vaan just advises her like the other characters and acts as party leader in non-combat areas.
  • The Sneaky Guy
  • Tagalong Kid: Somewhat, he is only a two years younger than Ashe and is more of The Lancer towards her, but does not have a true connection to the main plot.
  • Team Dad to the war orphans in Lowtown.
  • Turn the Other Cheek: Vaan's willingness to forsake revenge is what stops Ashe from giving into Gabranth's Hannibal Lecture and Jumping Off the Slippery Slope.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Takes one in Revenant Wings. Takes a HUGE one in Tactics A2, where he is regarded as the greatest Sky Pirate who ever lived and even a Criminal Syndicate has a flee-on-sight order when confronting him.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene
  • Weapon of Choice: Swords are his starting weapon and preferred weapons in sequels and in artwork. They (along with sabers and blades anyway) are the only weapons available to the Sky Pirate class in Tactics A2.

Penelo

"I'll be going too, of course. Every good sky pirate needs a partner, right?"

Voiced by Yuna Mikuni (Japanese) and Cat Taber (English)

Vaan's childhood friend and Love Interest. When Vaan's parents died, Penelo's family adopted him and his brother. However, after the war between Dalmasca and Archadia began, her parents and older brothers were killed in a raid and left her an orphan. She now lives at Migelo's house with Vaan, and works odd jobs in Lowtown to get by. Penelo remains a perky and responsible girl who keeps Vaan's immaturity in check.

She reappears as the main heroine of Revenant Wings and alongside Vaan in Final Fantasy Tactics A2. She also makes a cameo appearance in the character tutorials of Dissidia Final Fantasy, where she interjects her own amusing opinions on the Dissidia cast.

Balthier ( Ffamran Mied Bunansa)

"Princess! No need to worry. I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies."

Voiced by Hiroaki Hirata (Japanese) and Gideon Emery (English)

An infamous and aristocratic Sky Pirate. Well-mannered, intelligent and witty, Balthier proclaims himself to be "the leading man". His personal airship is the Strahl, which he flies with his partner-in-crime Fran. They are drawn into the conflict when they break into the royal palace to steal a rare piece of magicite, only for Vaan to accidentally beat them to it.

His real name is Ffamran mied Bunansa, a former Judge and the son of Archadian Imperial researcher Dr. Cid. He abandoned his post in disgust when his father became obsessed with nethicite, and warns Ashe against a similar obsession.

Fires of War: "I never miss."
Tides of Fate: "Let me show you how its done".
Element of Treachery: "There's a proper way to do everything."

Penelo: Here, Balthier...your handkerchief. I thought you might want it back.
Balthier: I shall wear it close to my heart.

  • The Smart Guy
  • The Stoic: Subverted, averted and played straight. He's neither unfriendly or quiet, but he is unflappable, rather secretive, and can be hilariously indifferent to nasty surprises, such as being thrown in a dungeon (where he implies he's seen it all before), finding out 'Amalia' is actually Princess Ashe ("Huh. Can't believe that was the princess."), or witnessing his partner flying into a Mist-induced frenzy.

Ashe: What's wrong with her?
Balthier: I always knew Fran didn't like being tied up. I just never knew how much.

  • Waistcoat of Style
  • Weapon of Choice: Guns. Ironically the special animation he has with guns makes his firing speed considerably slower then other characters and he's better suited to a sword that compliments his high strength stat.
    • Fridge Brilliance: What was he before becoming a Sky Pirate? A Judge, who use swords as their primary weapon

Fran

"I have discarded Wood and village. I won my freedom. Yet my past had been cut away forever. No longer can my ears hear the Green Word. This… solitude, you want, Mjrn?"

Voiced by Rika Fukami (Japanese) and Nicole Fantl (English)

Balthier's steadfast companion and a master of weapons, magic and mechanics. Fran is one of the Viera, a One-Gender Race tribe of bunny-women who live in the Golmore Jungle and command powerful magical abilities, such as the ability to "hear" the god-like spirit of the Wood. Fran disagreed with the Viera's philosophy of isolation and left her home village, sacrificing many of her natural abilities to live a life of freedom.

  • Action Girl
  • Adaptational Badass: She's on a far higher tier in the manga, having super-speed and a Blizzard-enchanted claw attack that deals a One-Hit Kill to Firemane and freezes Ghis's sword. In the game, she finds an exit from the Nalbina Dungeons but the magick bindings are too strong to break. The manga, she's perfectly able to break them, it's the Imperials outside that stops them from leaving.
  • Baby Got Back: The camera tends to emphasize her thong-clad behind a lot.
  • Badass Driver
  • The Berserker: While the spell Berserk can be used on any party member, it automatically happens to Fran when she gets too close to a very large concentration of Mist, such as when Judge Ghis tries to place the Dawn Stone in the Leviathan's. It makes her strong enough to break the bindings holding her and beat the crud out of Vossler and Ghis' mook squad - and fortunately escape the Leviathan before it blows up.
  • The Big Girl: Class 2, She shares this role with Basch
  • Combat Stilettos
  • Cool Big Sis: To Penelo.
  • Cute Monster Girl
  • Deadpan Snarker: Gets a few good lines here and there.

Vossler: We've secured an Atomos, come!
Balthier: An Atomos? All skiff, no ship...hardly fit for a leading man.
Vaan: So I can fly it?
Fran: Are you mad?

Fran: Then it's settled. We should leave before the Marquis notices she's missing, like proper kidnappers.

Balthier: (notices Vaan staring at Fran) Not many Viera where you come from, thief?
Vaan: It's Vaan. (looks to Fran) Sorry.
Balthier: Well, Fran is special, in that she'd deign to partner with a Hume.
Fran: Oh? Like a sky pirate who chooses to steal through the sewers?

Basch fon Ronsenburg (of Dalmasca)

"If I could protect but one person from war's horror... then I would bear any shame. I would bear it proudly."

Voiced by Rikiya Koyama (Japanese) and Keith Ferguson (English)

The former captain of the "Order of Knights of Dalmasca", Basch is framed for the assassination of Dalmasca's king and imprisoned as a traitor. Vaan and company find his cell during their escape from the Nalbina Dungeons, and reluctantly allow him to join to aid their escape.

Having failed the royal family of Dalmasca once, Basch is determined to protect and serve Ashe in her quest to reclaim the throne. His sense of honour and loyalty to Dalmasca is second to none.

Ashe (Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca)

"I am simply myself. No more and no less. And I want only to be free."

Voiced by Mie Sonozaki (Japanese) and Kari Wahlgren (English)

The crown princess of Dalmasca and the last true heir to the Dynast King. Ashe lost her father and husband only a week after her wedding when Archadia invaded Nabradia, and was soon announced to have committed suicide out of grief. In reality, she fled underground to lead the insurgency resistance against Archadia's occupation of Dalmasca.

She is determined to restore Dalmasca whatever the cost, driven by her hatred of Archadia and her own feelings of responsibility as the crown princess.

  • Action Girl
  • Anti-Hero: Somewhat, during the story's early stages - while she cared for Dalmasca, she wasn't exactly the most level-headed member of the group before her Character Development.
  • Badass
  • Bare Your Midriff
  • BFS: Two of them, the Sword of Kings and the Treaty Blade. Both also function as Swords of Plot Advancement.
  • Break the Cutie: She's a widow while still in her teens. Unlike most political marriages, both Ashe and Rasler actually loved each other.
  • Character Development: Learns to do what is best for Dalmasca and its people as opposed to blindly chasing revenge against the Empire, which would probably get her kingdom destroyed and herself killed. Also becomes more heroic and sociable as time goes on, when you first meet her she's a bit of a bitch and doesn't really trust the other party members.
  • Chickification: In the manga. Her introduction in the game establishes her as a Badass Lady of War, cutting down an imperial troop and proving a powerful fourth ally for the waterway. In the manga she's actively fleeing from her attackers, and is nearly helpless in subsequent battles.
  • Dead Little Husband
  • Determinator: To the point its a detriment actually—even when she gets a legitimate chance to regain her standing and rule Dalmasca, she refuses because she wants to see the Empire destroyed above all else. That, and just listen to her Quickening quotes:

"I must endure." / "I must believe." / "I must be strong."

Allies of Dalmasca

Vossler York Azelas

"Look on what my haste has wrought."

Voiced by Masaki Terasoma (Japanese) and Nolan North (English)

A former captain of the Dalmasca militia. Vossler is one of the top soldiers in the Resistance, and takes on the duty of protecting Ashe after she is forced underground. He has a deep respect for Basch, and works tirelessly to restore Dalmasca.

His constant struggles against the Empire eventually wear him down to the point where he betrays Ashe, selling her out to Archadia in exchange for some of Dalmasca's sovereignity, knowing full-well that Ashe would merely be a puppet ruler.


Marquis Halim Ondore IV

"I once knew a girl whose only wish was to be carried in her uncle’s arms. Her Majesty is a woman grown now."

Voiced by Akio Nojima (Japanese) and Tom Kane (English)

The leader of Bhujerba, a city floating in the sky with rich magicite mines. Though Bhujerba claims to be neutral, it is an open secret that Ondore is aligned with Archadia to prevent them from simply conquering his city. However, he is also secretly funding resistance movements against Archadia and seeks to reclaim Bhujerba's independance. He is the narrator of the game.

Al-Cid Margrace

"I would lay down my life at a single word to be sure… but I harbor no maundering delusions of valiant grandeur".

Voiced by Norio Wakamoto (Japanese) and David Rasner (English)

A member of the ruling family of Rozzaria, a nation rival to Archadia. He works alongside Larsa to avert the war brewing between the two empires, as the cost of such a war would devastate both sides.

  • Ascended Extra: He had a smaller role in the game before Norio Wakamoto was cast.
  • Badass Spaniard (despite Spain not existing in Ivalice)
  • Carpet of Virility: Good Lord...
  • The Casanova: His special abilities in Tactics A2 let him help and power up the girls on the team.
  • The Charmer
  • Chick Magnet: And, from the looks of it, none of the other girls mind.
  • Cool Shades
  • The Gunslinger: In Tactics A2
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Pun not intended - he does get involved with the events and does what he can to try and prevent another outbreak of war. And he's not even the true/direct heir to Rozarrio, but implied to be one of many - that's got to count somehow.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man
  • Sexy Secretary: He's always accompanied by a one who's main job seems to be holding his sunglasses.
  • Tuxedo and Martini: Tactics A2 reveals that he is this sort of Spy for Rozzaria with the unique Agent job.
  • Overrated and Underleveled: In Tactics A2, he cannot change classes. He is the only unit who cannot change classes. Even Vaan and Penelo, who also join with unique classes, are able to class change. This means he can't use any than other than guns, can't ever learn a secondary skillset other than Item, and can never learn any Support or Reaction abilities.
  • The Spymaster
  • The Wise Prince: Yes! Because some of his... well, activities aside, he's a very clever man and a competent politician. When he first meets Ashe he bring up important matters for her to consider, and when the party's shown determined to seek out the Deifacted Nethicite, he makes important points such as actually needing to find what they're looking for. Plus see his above quote.

Reddas ( Judge Magister Foris Zecht)

"The illusions of the past. You think to have cast them off, only to find them years later, unwearying, unrelenting. The past can bind a man as surely as irons."

Voiced by Takayuki Sugo (Japanese) and Phil LaMarr (English)

The head of the pirate city of Balfonheim, who turned it from a den of corruption into an outlaw but ultimately moral city. Reddas has the honor of being the final Guest Star Party Member in the game.

He was formerly known as Judge Zecht, and defected from the Empire after he was tricked by Cid into destroying Nabradia with the Midlight Shard.

Reks

"No, sir. I want to fight. For my homeland and for my parents."

Voiced by Hideki Tasaka (Japanese) and Yuri Lowenthal (English)

Vaan's older brother. He was a member of the "Order of Knights of Dalmasca" under Basch. When he rushed to prevent the assassination of King Raminas, he found his comrades slaughtered and the king dead, supposedly at the hands of Basch. He was stabbed, and lived long enough to testify his version of events before dying.

Archadian Empire

Vayne Carudas Solidor

"Ivalice will know a new Dynast King, and Man will keep his own history! The tyranny of the gods is ended!"

Voiced by Nobuo Tobita (Japanese) and Elijah Alexander (English)

The son of the current Emperor of the Archadian Empire, and recently appointed Consul to Dalmasca. His affable nature cloaks his intelligence and utter ruthlessness, and his schemes permeate every part of the plot.

Vayne is a complex character with a multitude of goals: to break the control of the Occuria over Ivalice, to destroy the corrupt bureaucracy of Archadia, to become the next Dynast King and gain complete control over Ivalice, and to prepare the way for his younger brother Larsa to inherit his position.

  • Affably Evil: Arguably the most affable villain in the series. When Migelo refuses to drop the "lord consul" title from his name, Vayne invites him to dinner at the palace and tells him he'll get the guy drunk until he gets it right.
  • Aloof Big Brother: To Larsa.
  • Anti-Villain (Type III): While getting to rule the world is a nice plus, Vayne's goal is to defy the reign of the Occuria by overthrowing those they favor, thus ending their control over the races of Ivalice and giving Mankind freedom from manipulative and controlling gods.
    • Downplayed in the manga, while Vayne's ulterior motives haven't been shown yet, as it was in the original game, in the manga he's much more manipulative and cruel, getting a new Kick the Dog moment with Vaan as described below and having his speech to the people of Dalmasca omitted.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking
  • Bare-Fisted Monk
  • Big Bad
  • Big Brother Instinct: He does a lot to keep Larsa safe and innocent.
    • Depending on how you view the cutscenes that show the power struggles going on in the Empire, Vayne is aware that his brother would ultimately make a better ruler for the people, but the times are troubled and for the moment Vayne is the better ruler on account that he can handle the war and politics that Larsa is too young to deal with yet.

Vayne: "Observe well, Larsa. Watch and mark you the suffering of one who must rule, yet lacks the power."

  • Cain and Abel: Averted with him and Larsa regardless of how different they are they love each other dearly, However in the back story Vayne murdered both of his older brothers.
    • Apparently, his father commanded him to, and it is implied that Vayne had to be forced to carry out those orders. This likely fostered ill will towards his father, which in turn helped motivate Vayne's assassination of the Emperor and ascend to the throne.
  • The Chessmaster: Though you don't see him on-screen as often as previous villains, it is made clear Vayne isn't just sitting around doing nothing and is working on securing more power for himself.
    • The manga takes it further by revealing the reason Archadia attacked Nabradia and later Dalmasca was due to an insurgent faction in Nabradia seeking an alliance with Rozarria over Dalmasca, and the Archadians feared a civil war in Nabradia leading to a power shift. It is implied Vayne has some hand in the insurgent's rise to power, effectively making him single-handledly responsible for causing a world war.
  • Cultured Badass
  • The Evil Prince: While he has no actual title Prince despite being the Emperor's son, it's implied he killed his two older brothers to get closer to his father's favor. He later seizes power by murdering his father and framing the Senate, allowing him absolute power over the Empire making him ...
    • While it may have gained him favor with the Emperor, it was the Emperor himself who ordered (and possibly forced) Vayne to kill his brothers.
    • The Emperor
  • Evil Virtues
  • Expy Some traits of his match that of Emperor Mateus, including his being the reigning Emperor, his allying himself with a rogue being, and even down to his final defeat on a flying fortress. Unlike Mateus, however, that defeat was permanent.
  • Fusion Dance/One-Winged Angel: Vayne's final form, The Undying, is a fusion of his dying body with the Occuria Venat with parts of his battleship Bahamut melded onto him.
  • Flying Weapon: His Sephira swords.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Courtesy of Vaan
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Cid
  • Ivalice Justifies The Means: His ultimate goal is a peaceful Ivalice united under Arcadia and him as the Dynast-King. However, "peace" only factors into things once he achieves the "united" part.
  • Ki Attacks: His attacks Mach Wave and Pummel.
  • Kick the Dog: While actually referring to the subjects as dogs, no less. While Drace questions his innocence in Gramis's death and threatens him, Vayne orders Gabranth, her confidante, to execute her right then and there. He also refers to Gabranth as a dog and reveals he knows Gabranth was spying on him under Gramis's orders, and thus the execution is a test of loyalty.
    • In the manga, during the attack by the resistance at the start of the game, Vaan spies on Vayne and Gabranth watching the carnage, and is discovered and hauled before Vayne. Vayne knows full well Vaan is enraged and mocks him, calling him a powerless dog too weak and cowardly to do anything but kneel at his feet. When Vaan brings up Reks's death, knowing Vayne was at that meeting, Vayne says that since Vaan is a dog, he should be grateful he didn't have to pay for a funeral. Vaan pushes himself to his feet, and when Vayne just mocks him some more for not knowing his place, Vaan finally musters the courage to attack him, only to be blocked by Gabranth. Vayne tells Gabranth to have Vaan executed as he's taken away, and just to drive a knife into Gabranth's heart too, taunts him about his brother and his homeland a bit before he leaves.
  • Kung Fu Wizard
  • Large Ham: When he goes nuts at the end, he REALLY goes nuts.
  • Necessarily Evil: Even in his quest to become the new Dynast-King that will unite all of Ivalice, and shake off the Occuria's yoke, he is very much aware of the atrocities he commits, and the tragedies his and Cid's plotting have wrought. His remark "my hands are stained with blood, I see little reason to stay them now" alone shows he's aware of what he has done and will have to do in the future to see his goals to fruition.
    • The Unfettered: A more rule-abiding version, he nonetheless states—in a conversation with Emperor Gramis—that he's willing to do whatever he must, even if it means raising his sword and taking life en masse. Especially if he can prevent Larsa from having to do so instead.
  • Power Floats: In his second and third forms.
  • Taking You with Me
  • Storm of Blades: His swords fly around and attack you without him even touching them except during special attacks.
  • Ubermensch
  • Unstoppable Rage
  • Upgrade Artifact combined with Hulking Out: Uses Manufactured Nethicite to transform into his second form the hugely muscled Vayne Novus.
  • Sanity Slippage: Toward the end.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Possibly due to With Great Power Comes Great Insanity, once he transforms into Vayne Novus and witnesses Gabranth's betrayal, his collected demeanor collapses into Large Ham outrage.
  • Villainous BSOD: Shortly after the Vayne Novus fight when he is defeated and his attack on Gabranth is stopped by Larsa, he seems to doubt his resolve.
  • Villainous Friendship: With Dr. Cid.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: He manages to turn public opinion of him around 180° with one speech. To the kingdom he's just overthrown and put under military occupation. Amazing.
  • Wave Motion Sword: His Gigflare Sword attack.
  • Xanatos Speed Chess: Plays a mean game of it to set himself up on the throne.

Larsa Ferrinas Solidor

"The men of my family, we are taught to place the needs of others before those of our own. I will see that you are kept from harm. It is my duty to House Solidor."

Voiced by Yuka Imai (Japanese) and Johnny Mc Keown (English)

Vayne's younger brother, and competition for the throne of Archadia. Unlike Vayne, Larsa ultimately desires peace and works with the protagonists to unravel the web of secrets that his brother has spun.

As a child of twelve, Larsa is too young to fully understand the harsh realities of the world. Several factions plot from the shadows to either take advantage of his naiveity or to protect his innocence and idealism.

  • A Child Shall Lead Them
  • Adorably Precocious Child
  • Badass Adorable
  • Break the Cutie: By the end of the game, everyone this kid loves and cares for is dead. You see him break multiple times as a result.
  • Cain and Abel: Mostly subverted, Larsa and Vayne clearly love each other dearly but ultimately Larsa challenges his brother's authority when he feels he can no longer stay idle to his plans.
  • Combat Medic: You'll probably appreciate Larsa most for his healing skills, but he's a decent fighter too.
  • Crutch Character: It isn't a bad idea to save the optional sidequests and bosses for Larsa's second time joining the party. Besides the fact that Guest Party members are always a good thing for the fourth swordarm, Larsa's infinite supply of Hi-Potions make a lot of the optional parts of the game much easier. Without going into too much detail on how his Gambits work—the kid throws out healing items constantly, which take effect much faster than healing spells and will probably heal more than they do.
    • In the No Export for You International version, guest party members work differently as you can control them. This means that Larsa no longer has infinite high potions, but this is compensated by him getting very useful white magic- more powerful than you likely have at his parts of the game.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: People to this day still think he's a she. It's the pretty red shoes.
    • It doesn't help that he's initially known as "Lamont," not the most gender-specific name, and he isn't explicitly referred to as a male by anyone until some time after he joins you.
  • Guest Star Party Member
  • Heroic BSOD: Has a brief one when Al-Cid reveals that his father passed away.
  • Hyperspace Arsenal: The kid is famous for having an infinite supply of Potions, and he uses them liberally. Subverted in the International Zodiac Job System re-release, where Guest party members use items from your inventory instead.
  • Imperials Who Actually Do Something
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Al-Cid
  • Item Caddy: Larsa has potions up the wazoo and you will appreciate them.
  • Magic Knight: In the International Zodiac Job System, he masters some Black magic spells, and knows the Shades of black technique, which allows him to cast for free random black spells.
  • Odd Friendship: With Penelo
  • The Red Mage: In the International Zodiac Job System, Larsa becomes one (though different from the Zodiac Job's version of the game). He loses his infinite supply of Hi-Potion, but is granted many powerful white spells before anyone else, and even some black spells (plus the Shades of black technique), making him a jack of all trades. Combined with his quite high Magic power, high MP pool, his ability to wield a sword and his very high evasion, he is a force to be reckoned with, though he still lacks in the HP department.
  • The Sixth Ranger: The 2nd introduced in the story (after Vossler and before Reddas).
  • Weapon of Choice: Dual wields a Royal Rapier called Joyeuse and a Swordbreaker.
  • The White Prince: While he is certainly skilled in politics especially for a 12 year old boy, he is still incredibly naive.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years: He's only twelve, but is very intelligent and well-spoken, and manages to play a few rounds of Xanatos Speed Chess against his older brother.
  • Youngest Child Wins: Towards Vayne.

Dr. Cid (Cidolfus Demen Bunansa)

"The Reins of History, back in the hands of Man."

Voiced by Chikao Ohtsuka (Japanese) and John Rafter Lee (English)

The head researcher of Archadia's Draklor Laboratories. He is the creator of manufacted nethicite, the substance that powers Archadia's war machines, and of various other technical marvels such as airships that can traverse Jagd. He is allied with Vayne and is completely obsessed with the potential of nethicite.

He is the estranged father of Balthier, who left in disgust when Cid became consumed by his nethicite research. Cid recieved the knowledge of how to create nethicite from Venat, who he works with to destroy the Occuria's hold over Ivalice.

Venat

"They are fulfilled beyond your knowing. The Cryst is sundered, Age of Stones, complete. From the Undying ones the world is freed. You shall not tread this path alone. Together we go, come...

A rebel Occuria who disagreed with the philosophy of its kin, and sought to break the control of the Occuria over Ivalice. To accomplish this it aligns with Cid and Vayne, revealing the secret to creating nethicite.

  • Affably Evil: Is very polite and well mannered towards others.
  • Ambiguous Gender: Is specifically voiced by a woman, yet the body is ... confusing, to say the least. The voice is also digitally modulated to mimic certain masculine vocal inflections too. Since the Occuria leader Gerun is in the same circumstance, it's tough to say whether the Occuria even have genders at all, or if 'female' is the standard definition for them (as opposed to male). Or they just all have female voices regardless of gender. Either way, it's never specified what gender Venat is, but for simplicity's sake, she's referred to as female in this section from here on out.
  • Anti-Villain: Type III.
  • Bigger Bad: Vayne and Cid are threats, but only because Venat enables them to be.
  • Blue and Orange Morality: Like the rest of the Occuria, Venat's motivations are as unknowable as her actions. In siding with Ivalice's mortal races and desiring to free them from her brethren, she's willing to engage in atrocities on the scale of genocide, but treats her allies in this quest with kindness and honor, and only does as much evil as is absolutely necessary to bring about the "greater good." By the end of the game she succeeds.
  • Defector From Decadence
  • Early-Bird Cameo: That ink splot on the cover, alongside the Judge? It's her.
  • Fusion Dance: With Vayne at the end.
  • Pet the Dog: The above quote, where after Vayne is mortally wounded, Venat offers up her immortality so that he doesn't have to die alone. Similarly, her final farewell to Dr. Cid.
  • Pyrrhic Victory: Again, as the above quote explains, although every weapon in her arsenal lies broken, and she herself is about to commit Suicide by Cop, she technically wins.
  • Physical God
  • God Is Evil The Gods Are Evil: The motivation for the actions she takes.
  • Necessarily Evil
  • Satan Is Good
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: See the entry on Blue and Orange Morality.

The Judges of Archadia

Keepers of the law in Archadia who are also the Empire's highest ranking military officers.

Applying to the Judge's as a whole

Judge Gabranth ( Noah fon Ronsenburg)

"Silence! All was stripped from me. Only hatred for the brother who fled our homeland remains mine!"

Voiced by Akio Ohtsuka (Japanese) and Michael Rodgers (English)

An Archadian Judge and the Emperor's right-hand man. The Emperor tasks him with protecting Larsa from the ugly side of politics and war. However, he becomes ensnared in Vayne's machinations and finds his loyalties to the Empire and Larsa tested.

He is Basch's twin brother Noah, who impersonated Basch to kill King Raminas and disgrace his brother. When his homeland was conquered by Archadia, he joined the Empire instead of joining his brother in Dalmasca.

He appears in Dissidia Final Fantasy as a Hidden Character.

Vayne: The hound strays...treason bears a price!
Gabranth: One I gladly pay!

  • Determinator: Of the villainous kind, his hatred of Basch is all that keeps him going when he's lost everything else.
  • The Dragon: He's Vayne's right-hand man.
  • Eleventh-Hour Ranger
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: "You confound me, brother! You failed Landis, you failed Dalmasca, all you were to protect. Yet you still hold on to your honor. How!?"
  • Evil Counterpart: To Basch. He was also is an antithesis for Vaan and Ashe who at the games emotional apex chose to Turn the Other Cheek on the man who destroyed their entire lives while he spent his life mulling in his hatred for Basch.
  • Evil Twin: He's actually a Deconstruction of this trope, having initially had good reason to hate his brother. By the events of the game however, Noah was serving the country who originally assimilated his homeland of Landis. This may originally have been justified to him by his and Basch's mother being Archadian, but by the game's events he's gradually falling ever further, whereas Basch was able to put his life back together and fight on even when all his honour seemed lost. That neither side is entirely right or wrong keeps this trope from being played straight, much like the treatment so many others tropes in the game are given.
  • Exact Words: After Vayne transforms into Vayne Novus, Vayne tells Gabranth to defend his brother, Larsa, as he will have "much need in the Hell to follow." Gabranth obeys the command to defend Lord Larsa... by turning his sword against Vayne and aiding the heroes instead.
  • Failure Knight: for the Republic of Landis, his homeland.
  • Guest Star Party Member
  • Heel Face Turn
  • Kick the Dog: The way he tries to goad Ashe into taking revenge by rubbing in the fact that he murdered her father in cold blood.
  • Knight in Sour Armour
  • Redemption Equals Death
  • Sixth Column: To Arcadia.
  • Sword Beam: His signature skill Innocence.
  • Unknown Rival: His relationship with Basch has shades of this frequently making enraged comments about Basch to his face while Vaan and Ashe are the ones to react more strongly to his presence.
  • Take Up My Sword: When he passes his charge on to his brother.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Suffers this after it becomes clear that Basch was able to transcend his past and hardship while Noah is still empty and bitter. After Basch defeats him he finally lets go and performs a Heel Face Turn.
  • You Killed My Father: Ashe is not happy when Gabranth gleefully admits to killing her father and essentially ruining her life (of course, this was his intention with the confession).

Judge Bergan

"Too late, and to their sorrow, do those who misplace their trust in gods learn their fate."

Voiced by Yosuke Akimoto (Japanese) and Gary Martin (English)

One of the Archadian Judges who believes that power and might are the key to ruling. As such he eagerly accepts Vayne as the new emperor when he takes power. Has a short but very memorable role, demonstrating he has no problem slaughtering an entire mountain village of innocents for no real reason.

  • Ax Crazy
  • Blond Guys Are Evil
  • Blood Knight: It's largely implied, but still demonstrated in-game. The manga adaptation shows this is his normal state, with him leading the assault on the Dalmascan troop at Nabudis and clearly enjoying himself immensly.
  • The Brute: Of the Judge Magisters as a group, and of the Archadian military as a whole. Presumably.
  • Face Palm of Doom: To Drace... With a steel gauntlet. That had to be painful.
  • General Ripper/Social Darwinist: He firmly believes that a leader must be forceful, ruling with an iron fist. This drives his loyalty to Vayne.
  • Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: If several of these tropes are any indication, Bergan was, if not kind, at least a more sane man at some point before the events of the game. Even in his first appearance in-story, he's rather brusque but somewhat level-headed - in particular, he seems to take Drace dismissal of Vayne as a leader - by using Judge Zecht's disappearance - as a grave insult to the missing Judge Magister's memory. In his subsequent scenes, his taking manufacted nethicite into his body causes him to first brutally throw Drace across the room, followed by his slaughtering people at Mt Bur-Omisace before the nethicite destroys his body, killing him.
  • Meat Puppet: By Venat, to precipitate the slaughter of the Kiltias and galvanize Ashe's retaliation.
  • Serrated Blade of Pain
  • Super Strength: Justified, since he merged a manufactured nefecite into his own body !
  • Three Scene Wonder
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity

Judge Drace

"Spare me your lies! I see the serpent coiled here before me!"

Voiced by Yoko Soumi (Japanese) and Julia Fletcher (English)

Another Archadian Judge, and a more reasonable one. Knowing Vayne is a Magnificent Bastard she doesn't trust him and prefers Larsa. She's the second Judge to fall (after Ghis) when she tries to call him out on killing his father. Vayne has her executed for treason.

"You wear the mummer's motley well, Bergan."

Judge Ghis

"Blood alone does not an emperor make, Vayne."

Voiced by Ryusuke Obayashi (Japanese) and Mark Wing Davey (English)

An Archadian Judge - probably the second-oldest after Zargabaath - who plays an important role in the early plot by capturing the party members multiple times. Unlike the other judges, he only seems to be out for himself; in short, he's a careerist and a schemer.When he gets his hands on some deifacted nethicite he contemplates seizing power for himself, but dies when he finds out how powerful it really is.

  • Bling Bling Bang: His weapons are gold or at least gold plated.
  • The Chessmaster: Tries, but ultimately isn't as good as the bigger and more well-informed Chessmasters.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Seems to have shades of this in his first appearances - especially compared to Bergan - but it's really more that he prefers to not dirty his own hands if he can help it. When the party confronts him, he has no further issue with attempting to kill them, though it must be acknowledged that he doesn't appear to hold a grudge afterward. Say what you will about his ethics - or lack thereof - but don't mistake him for a simple-minded mass-murderer.
  • Faux Affably Evil: He's definitely cultured and polite, rarely if ever losing his composure even when Ashe's group is fighting against him to escape the Dreadnought Leviathan. He's also got an enormous ego and an inflated opinion of himself which comes from being a cunning social climber.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard
  • Jerkass: Polite he may be, but a creep he most definately is.
  • Magic Knight: He has a an Aero spell which is very powerful at the time you fight him and appears to cast Flare during a cutscene but it is absorbed by Penelo's manufacted nethicite.
  • Nerd in Evil's Helmet: More like Upper Class Twit in Evil's Helmet, but same idea.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: His stupidity not only dooms himself, but takes the whole Imperial 8th Fleet with him, that could not have been anything but a benefit to Dalmasca and a setback for Archadia.
  • Oh Crap: When he realizes exactly what's about to happen to the Shiva after the deifacted nethicite goes in the ship's drive, and the readings go red.
  • Smug Snake
  • The Starscream: He makes a very revealing comment right before his death that implies he'll use the nethicite to put himself on the Archadian throne.
  • Starter Villain
  • Too Dumb to Live: Really, Ghis - you just had to test the deifacted nethicite while on an airship, not stopping to consider just how powerful it must be if King Raithwall used it to conquer the lands all those years ago? With not even any safety precautions in place, you were kind of asking to get blown up.
  • The Unfettered:

"Methods do not interest me. Only results."

Judge Zargabaath

"The Empire's debts grow legion."

Voiced by Ryuzaburo Ohtomo (Japanese) and Simon Templeman (English)

The final of the five Archadian Judges seen in the game, he's more the quiet type and acts as a voice of reason among them. He's an honourable sort, loyal to Archadia as a nation and ideal rather than any person. Is notably the only Judge to make it out of the game alive.

"[[spoiler: This is Judge Magister Zargabaath, captain of the Alexander, flagship of the 12th Dalmascan Fleet of the Archadian army. I address all ships in Rabanastre’s airspace. The Bahamut must not be allowed to fall on the city of Rabanastre! We are preparing to ram her! Do not interfere!

"Should she fall, the Paling will not hold, and all Rabanastre will be obliterated! All ships, concentrate your fire on the Alexander's remains once Bahamut is clear of the city.]]"

Other

Montblanc

"How fares the hunt, kupo?"

Originally appearing in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, he reprises his role in running Clan Centurio, which will offer you monster hunting sidequests.

Ba'Gamnan

"The whole affair has the smell of money. I may have to whet my beak a little."

Voiced by Koji Ishi (Japanese) and Steve Blum (English)

A Bangaa bounty hunter with his eye set on claiming Balthier's bounty (he's the green Bangaa in the bottom center - the others are his gang). He is incredibly cruel and his methods are wildly illegal. Such methods include kidnapping and attacking innocents to draw out his prey.

Revenant Wings only

Feolthanos

"You must give your anima to the heavens! Only then will you fly on wings undying!"

The self proclaimed God of the aegyl. Really Seven Hundred Years Old, he has been alive for a long time, thanks to the Auracite. With the barrier around Lemurés gone, he has started a plot to get revenge on the world. This vengeance is prompted by the Occuria, who tried to dominate the aegyl, thus causing Feolthanos to take them to Lemurés.]]


The Judge of Wings (Mydia)

"Illusion is the only true reality."

A mysterious armored figure who aims to invade Ivalice from the floating continent of Lemurés and start a war between the aegyl and humes. Sky Pirates call her the Judge of Wings due to her resemblance to the Archadian Judges.


Filo

"I'm gonna learn to fly all by myself! I wanna fly higher than anyone's ever flown before!"

Another orphan from lowtown, Filo follows faithfully in Vaan's footsteps. She still bears the emotional scars of the war, but she doesn't let them interfere with her dream of becoming a sky pirate. She actually appears in Final Fantasy XII, but doesn't do anything until the sequel, where she's part of the main party.


Kytes

"I got my hands full watching the shop... and Old Dalan had something for me to do, but I can't get away."

An orphan living in Rabanastre's Lowtown, Kytes is one of Vaan's closest friends. Hoping to become a sky pirate himself, Kytes practices magick with single-minded determination. Like Filo, appears as an orphan in Lowtown in Final Fantasy XII proper, but doesn't have any real characterization until the sequel.


Llyud

A warrior from the sky continent of Lemurés. He exhibits a curiosity not commonly found among the Aegyl, for which he is regarded as something as a curiosity himself


Velis

  1. ↑ a double attack, used only if she has an edged weapon equipped
  2. ↑ who wield broadswords and katanas, respectively
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