Final Fantasy XII: Difference between revisions

Line 6:

''Final Fantasy XII'' is the tale of Vaan, a [[Kid Hero]] thief with intentions of becoming a [[Sky Pirate]]. ... Actually, no, [[Decoy Protagonist|that's a lie]]. Although Vaan acts as the story's protagonist, ''Final Fantasy XII'' is actually about Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca (Ashe for short), the young but very mature princess-in-hiding of the [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|Arabian-esque]] Kingdom of Dalmasca, widow to Prince Rasler and leader of the budding resistance against the Archadian Empire.

It's also about army captain Basch fon Ronsenberg, who was jailed by the Archadians for killing Ashe's ~~father -- supposedly~~. Vaan has an axe to grind with Basch, who was witnessed killing Vaan's older brother Reks. There's also [[Loveable Rogue]] Balthier and his rather frosty, [[Stripperiffic]] pilot Fran (who has [[Unusual Ears|rabbit ears]] ~~-- she~~'s a Viera) who, for their part, really don't ''seem'' to care that ~~much -- they~~'re only interested in the various things they can plunder when the adventureres inevitably go find some ancient ruins. They aren't disappointed. Of course, they both have their reasons for staying far away from their ~~homes -- and~~ Balthier's reasons have more to do with Ashelia's political goals than he's willing to admit.

It's also about army captain Basch fon Ronsenberg, who was jailed by the Archadians for killing Ashe's father—supposedly. Vaan has an axe to grind with Basch, who was witnessed killing Vaan's older brother Reks. There's also [[Loveable Rogue]] Balthier and his rather frosty, [[Stripperiffic]] pilot Fran (who has [[Unusual Ears|rabbit ears]]—she's a Viera) who, for their part, really don't ''seem'' to care that much—they're only interested in the various things they can plunder when the adventureres inevitably go find some ancient ruins. They aren't disappointed. Of course, they both have their reasons for staying far away from their homes—and Balthier's reasons have more to do with Ashelia's political goals than he's willing to admit.

And Vaan's foster sister and [[Puppy Love|love interest]] Penelo? She's just along for the ride. In fact, [[Decoy Protagonist|so is Vaan.]] But they get along well with Larsa Ferrinas Solidor, the 12-year-old political genius prince, who is the ward of Judge Magister Gabranth. Gabranth, in turn, is working for Larsa's only remaining brother Vayne, [[Klingon Promotion|heir]] to the Archadian Empire and the game's closest equivalent to a [[Big Bad]]. And Vayne employs a sinister doctor named Cidolfas Demen ~~Bunansa -- Cid~~ for short, of ~~course -- who~~ seems to talk to shadows...

And Vaan's foster sister and [[Puppy Love|love interest]] Penelo? She's just along for the ride. In fact, [[Decoy Protagonist|so is Vaan.]] But they get along well with Larsa Ferrinas Solidor, the 12-year-old political genius prince, who is the ward of Judge Magister Gabranth. Gabranth, in turn, is working for Larsa's only remaining brother Vayne, [[Klingon Promotion|heir]] to the Archadian Empire and the game's closest equivalent to a [[Big Bad]]. And Vayne employs a sinister doctor named Cidolfas Demen Bunansa—Cid for short, of course—who seems to talk to shadows...

''Final Fantasy XII'' is a complicated and detailed game noticeably different in storyline from other Final Fantasy games; whilst other games focus on individual characters, XII is less about people and more a story of Nations and nationalism, and the lengths some will go to gain power and control destiny. That's not to say it isn't a character study, with Judge Gabranth's clouded conscience and dark history being one of the major subplots - and hence why he's on the boxart. It's full of intrigue and interweaving stories, tactical team-based fighting, well-crafted dialogue (as compared to the sometimes embarrassing lines from X), and [[Limit Break~~|Limit Breaks~~]] (here called Quickenings). It explores the ideas of freedom, revenge, loyalty, peace and the importance of dreams. It's also a [[Deconstruction]] of the "Find powerful [[McGuffin]] to [[Save the World]]" plot that's been around as long as the genre has, taking a [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|much more somber look]] at the pursuit of what is essentially a [[Weapon of Mass Destruction]] and the lengths to which people would go to ~~gain -- or regain --~~ ~~its~~ power.

''Final Fantasy XII'' is a complicated and detailed game noticeably different in storyline from other Final Fantasy games; whilst other games focus on individual characters, XII is less about people and more a story of Nations and nationalism, and the lengths some will go to gain power and control destiny. That's not to say it isn't a character study, with Judge Gabranth's clouded conscience and dark history being one of the major subplots - and hence why he's on the boxart. It's full of intrigue and interweaving stories, tactical team-based fighting, well-crafted dialogue (as compared to the sometimes embarrassing lines from X), and [[Limit Break]]s (here called Quickenings). It explores the ideas of freedom, revenge, loyalty, peace and the importance of dreams. It's also a [[Deconstruction]] of the "Find powerful [[McGuffin]] to [[Save the World]]" plot that's been around as long as the genre has, taking a [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|much more somber look]] at the pursuit of what is essentially a [[Weapon of Mass Destruction]] and the lengths to which people would go to gain—or regain—its power.

Aside from taking place in the world of Ivalice, the game borrows much of its plot, atmosphere and world from ''[[Final Fantasy II]]'', updating the gameplay for a modern audience. It also owes more to ''[[Star Wars]]'' than any previous ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' ~~-- the~~ character of Gabranth, in particular, is very clearly compared to Anakin Skywalker. The game happily ties in old [[Final Fantasy]] adversaries, as well: Gilgamesh makes his requisite cameo, as do several of the main antagonists from the earliest iterations of the series, as optional summoned beasts. (Chaos and his Elementals, Emperor Mateus, Zeromus, and Ex-Death/Exodus.) Still, it's very much a standalone title that can be played without having any previous [[Square Soft]] knowledge.

Aside from taking place in the world of Ivalice, the game borrows much of its plot, atmosphere and world from ''[[Final Fantasy II]]'', updating the gameplay for a modern audience. It also owes more to ''[[Star Wars]]'' than any previous ''[[Final Fantasy]]''—the character of Gabranth, in particular, is very clearly compared to Anakin Skywalker. The game happily ties in old [[Final Fantasy]] adversaries, as well: Gilgamesh makes his requisite cameo, as do several of the main antagonists from the earliest iterations of the series, as optional summoned beasts. (Chaos and his Elementals, Emperor Mateus, Zeromus, and Ex-Death/Exodus.) Still, it's very much a standalone title that can be played without having any previous [[Square Soft]] knowledge.

The game is also the first in the series to go into extreme detail on the nature of items and locations. Expect to find ''tufts'' of Phoenix Down and ''strips'' of rotten flesh instead of just the items, thorough explanations on the topics of evolutionary biology and monster habitats, a comprehensive history of Ivalice and its tribes and races, and incredible amounts of flavor text in every page of the in-game encyclopedia.

Line 20:

It's also noticeable as having a step up in difficulty compared to previous installments, and demanding more hours of investment from the player. Whereas in previous game you can level up reasonably well by just defeating every enemy you encounter via point A and point B, in XII enemies in one area can be very easy and in the next [[Nintendo Hard]], so the game will force you to level grind just to progress with the plot.

''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'', is currently one of only five of the main ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series to gain a direct sequel (the others being IV, VII, X , & XIII) with ''[[Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings]]'', a [[Real Time Strategy]] title for the [[Nintendo DS]]. A manga adaptation of the game was also released.

'''''Final Fantasy XII''''', is currently one of only five of the main ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series to gain a direct sequel (the others being IV, VII, X , & XIII) with ''[[Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings]]'', a [[Real Time Strategy]] title for the [[Nintendo DS]]. A manga adaptation of the game was also released.

* [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]]: The Garamsythe Waterway.

Line 31:

** A lot of cool ideas, such as the backstories for the Espers, that were probably left on the cutting room floor have at least some existence as text background in the Bestiary.

* [[Ambition Is Evil]]: Vayne.

* [[An Aesop]]: The typical "revenge solves nothing", along with the examination of what is truly important when it comes to being loyal to a ~~kingdom -- loyalty~~ to its ideals, its people, its rulers, or the physical kingdom itself, and if any of these should be sacrificed for the sake of the others.

* [[An Aesop]]: The typical "revenge solves nothing", along with the examination of what is truly important when it comes to being loyal to a kingdom—loyalty to its ideals, its people, its rulers, or the physical kingdom itself, and if any of these should be sacrificed for the sake of the others.

* [[Anti-Villain]]: Most of the judges, who (with two notable exceptions) are doing what they believe is right.

* [[Antidote Effect]]: Subverted. Poison is a pretty hazardous status ailment, and you don't want it to compound (Poison+ Sap will make your HP go down the drain quickly). The game mechanics (items are used nearly instantly) help it a lot.

* [[Anyone Can Die]]: None of the six main characters mind you, but the death toll for this story is reasonably high. Reks, King Raminas ''and'' Rasler all perish during the prologue, {{spoiler|all but one of the Judge Magisters}} die, {{spoiler|all but one of the [[Guest Star Party Member~~|Guest Star Party Members~~]]}} die, ''everyone'' in Nabudis prior to the main events, and anyone ''else'' {{spoiler|the Occuria might've exterminated through the use of 'Dynast Kings' much like Raithwall}}.

* [[Anyone Can Die]]: None of the six main characters mind you, but the death toll for this story is reasonably high. Reks, King Raminas ''and'' Rasler all perish during the prologue, {{spoiler|all but one of the Judge Magisters}} die, {{spoiler|all but one of the [[Guest Star Party Member]]s}} die, ''everyone'' in Nabudis prior to the main events, and anyone ''else'' {{spoiler|the Occuria might've exterminated through the use of 'Dynast Kings' much like Raithwall}}.

* [[Applied Phlebotinum]]: Mist. Appears as a fog in high concentration, Mist increases the power of magic, causes mutations in monsters and can have negative effects on the environment. It can also cause races that are sensitive to it, such as Viera, [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|physical discomfort]].

* [[Arbitrary Headcount Limit]]: Only three active characters at a time-proving, once and for all, that three is too few. Note how much easier the game gets when you have a [[Guest Star Party Member]]. (At least [[Lazy Backup]] is averted; see below.) [[Four Is Death]] is something of a [[Mythology Gag]]. Like the early ''Final Fantasy'' games, every time there is a guest, that member takes up an additional slot at the bottom of the main screen. Normally, these characters are killed off by important [[Heroic Sacrifice~~|Heroic Sacrifices~~]], but there are subversions early on. For example, remember Ashe? She was first a guest, and then Basch comes in, claiming he did not kill Reks, [[It Makes Sense in Context|who just so happens to be Vaan's brother]].

* [[Arbitrary Headcount Limit]]: Only three active characters at a time-proving, once and for all, that three is too few. Note how much easier the game gets when you have a [[Guest Star Party Member]]. (At least [[Lazy Backup]] is averted; see below.) [[Four Is Death]] is something of a [[Mythology Gag]]. Like the early ''Final Fantasy'' games, every time there is a guest, that member takes up an additional slot at the bottom of the main screen. Normally, these characters are killed off by important [[Heroic Sacrifice]]s, but there are subversions early on. For example, remember Ashe? She was first a guest, and then Basch comes in, claiming he did not kill Reks, [[It Makes Sense in Context|who just so happens to be Vaan's brother]].

* [[Artificial Brilliance]] / [[Artificial Stupidity]]: What you get depends on how you set up your Gambits. Provided you understand the system properly you can easily tell your party members to automatically revive KO'd allies, attack enemies with elemental spells they're weak against, and so forth.

:However, even with the rather complex Gambit system, sometimes your allies do stupid things you can't control. They'll run right into traps even if you use Libra so you can see said traps for instance, though a Gambit to cast Float on them will fix that. If you set a Gambit to have a character Steal from an enemy, they'll keep attempting to Steal even when the enemy has nothing left for them to take--sadly, there is no Gambit for "Steal: Enemy -> Hasn't Been Stolen From Yet", so you need to give the command to Steal (or stop Stealing) manually.

Line 43:

* [[Authority Equals Asskicking]]: Basch is a former Dalmascan army leader, Ashe is a princess, Balthier is an {{spoiler|ex-Judge}}, and Fran is sister to a Viera elder. By the [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]], the Archadians the player faces grow in rank as they play through the game, rising from normal Mook soldiers to Judges to Judge Magisters, and culminating with {{spoiler|Vayne, [[The Emperor]], as the final boss}}.

* [[Awesome but Impractical]]:

** Espers cannot be controlled, but they can be killed and so require healing and buffing like normal party members if you want to get any real use out of them, and a lot of the optional Espers cannot be acquired until late in the game. Furthermore the strongest Espers require three Mist Charges to ~~summon--that~~ is, you need to give up ''all'' your MP. The Esper will go away, too, if its master is KO'd. It simply isn't worth it. [[Infinity+1 Sword|Zodiark]], [[Awesome Yet Practical|is an exception.]] The trick is to use him like a [[Limit Break]] instead of like [[Summon Magic]]. The [[No Export for You|International Version]] fixes this by letting Espers be controllable. It's worth noting that the player can Syphon MP from the Espers as they get summoned with full MP Gauges and none of their attacks require any. That was likely put in there to counteract using a lot of MP to summon an Esper.

** Espers cannot be controlled, but they can be killed and so require healing and buffing like normal party members if you want to get any real use out of them, and a lot of the optional Espers cannot be acquired until late in the game. Furthermore the strongest Espers require three Mist Charges to summon—that is, you need to give up ''all'' your MP. The Esper will go away, too, if its master is KO'd. It simply isn't worth it. [[Infinity+1 Sword|Zodiark]], [[Awesome Yet Practical|is an exception.]] The trick is to use him like a [[Limit Break]] instead of like [[Summon Magic]]. The [[No Export for You|International Version]] fixes this by letting Espers be controllable. It's worth noting that the player can Syphon MP from the Espers as they get summoned with full MP Gauges and none of their attacks require any. That was likely put in there to counteract using a lot of MP to summon an Esper.

* [[Awesome Yet Practical]]: Quickenings.

** When your characters have much less MP and their spells suck, so using a Quickening is a more practical usage for their MP. If you only have 40 MP and normal attack spells cost 8 MP each, you might as well give up all of it for a Quickening Chain that'll do far more damage. In fact, a lot of early bosses and [[Elite Mooks]] can be killed in a single round if you can string together enough Quickenings.

Line 84:

** They also have ''[[Save Point]] Monsters''.

* [[Classically-Trained Extra]]: The majority of the voice actors are classically trained theatre actors, some of whom had no prior voice acting credits and were simply chosen because of their theatrical experience.

* [[Cold War]]: Rozarria = NATO, Archades = Warsaw Pact, Nethicite = Nuclear Weapons, Dalmasca = any country that got a proxy war in it such as Korea and Vietnam. This game could even be viewed as what would happen if during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Cuba was researching ancient magic that would let them mass-produce even more nuclear weapons. All in all, this is why so much of the plot of the game is about politics and faction leaders while your party tries to get an edge in on the coming ~~conflict -- Rozarria~~ and Archadia both don't trust the other to back down and don't want to do so themselves for fear of appearing weak, and while Archadia's nethicite research is allowing them to acquire more and more power, Rozarria is itching to seize the chance to make the first move before Archadia can. {{spoiler|This is why the game's climax centers around ''stopping'' the battle between Archadia and the Resistance, because it's the chance Rozarria has been waiting for and if they get involved the dreaded world war will begin}}.

* [[Cold War]]: Rozarria = NATO, Archades = Warsaw Pact, Nethicite = Nuclear Weapons, Dalmasca = any country that got a proxy war in it such as Korea and Vietnam. This game could even be viewed as what would happen if during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Cuba was researching ancient magic that would let them mass-produce even more nuclear weapons. All in all, this is why so much of the plot of the game is about politics and faction leaders while your party tries to get an edge in on the coming conflict—Rozarria and Archadia both don't trust the other to back down and don't want to do so themselves for fear of appearing weak, and while Archadia's nethicite research is allowing them to acquire more and more power, Rozarria is itching to seize the chance to make the first move before Archadia can. {{spoiler|This is why the game's climax centers around ''stopping'' the battle between Archadia and the Resistance, because it's the chance Rozarria has been waiting for and if they get involved the dreaded world war will begin}}.

* [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard]]: Though the main storyline can be played through without much difficulty, the [[Bonus Boss|optional bosses]] cheat like hell:

** They [[Interface Screw|disable parts of the battle menu]].

Line 121:

* [[The Evil Prince]]: {{spoiler|Vayne. Well, [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|sort of.]]}}

* [[Everything's Better with Princesses]]: Ashe.

* [[Everything Sounds Sexier in French]]: Fran's accent in the English localization is cute, but very hard to place. It's apparently meant to be [[Iceland~~|Icelandic~~]].

* [[Everything Sounds Sexier in French]]: Fran's accent in the English localization is cute, but very hard to place. It's apparently meant to be [[Iceland]]ic.

* [[Evil Twin]]/[[Cain and Abel]]: {{spoiler|Basch and Gabranth}}.

* [[Exponential Plot Delay]]: The game moves very fast between Rabanastre and Bhujerba, moves at a steady pace through the Sandsea and the Tomb of Raithwall, then slows to a crawl between that and Draklor as you are sent on fetch quests by supporting characters that often take you through at least one new area to traverse, often more. Then you get to Giruvegan and suddenly the plot begins to rush to a close.

Line 140:

* [[Fantastic Nuke]]: Nethicite is the reason Nabudis became the Necrohol of Nabudis. The interesting part is that it parallels [[Real Life]] nuclear technology - there is no way to undo its development. Not only are nethicite city-smashers being stockpiled, but originally there were huge swaths of land that airships couldn't fly over, all but isolating Ivalice from the rest of the world. Nethicite not only negates that effect, but makes airships ''faster''. By endgame, just about every nation uses nethicite-enhanced airships.

{{quote|'''Reddas''': ''Would you like to know the best use of nethicite? Will or nil, I'll tell you. You pick it up, and throw it away.''}}

* [[Fetch Quest]]: Kites [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade]] on [[Fetch Quest~~|Fetch Quests~~]] shortly before you enter the Garamsythe Waterway for the first time.

* [[Fetch Quest]]: Kites [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade]] on [[Fetch Quest]]s shortly before you enter the Garamsythe Waterway for the first time.

* [[Fisticuffs Boss]]: The seeqs in Nalbina Dungeon, unless you bothered to get Vaan the licence for Fire (which you get for free when Balthier and Fran join up). Then it becomes piss easy.

* [[Five-Bad Band]]: Try ''Nine'' Bad Band, for [[The Empire]]:

Line 183:

* [[Good Republic, Evil Empire]]:

** ... Except the good guys are monarchist, and the bad guys, while still called an 'empire', actually have democratically elected leaders... Well, it's a [[Subverted Trope|little more complex than that]]: Dalmasca had a house of commons that still exists (albeit with little power) under Archadian rule, and if you listen to NPCs in Archadia, you will learn that the senate is controlled by the wealthiest families of the empire. The greatest irony about the empire is that the ruling house Solidor rose to power by taking control of the army and making sure that it remained a meritocratic institution. The brilliance is that while there is a clear social divide in Archadia, the game drop subtle hints that show that the Archadian army allow people from different social background to work together and that people from unprivileged origins can rise to the top of the hierarchy (a feat nearly impossible in the civilian society), thus explaining why Vayne is popular and why Larsa is pretty certain for most of the game that his family holds the moral high ground.

** Additionally, the Archadian Empire isn't ~~evil -- despite~~ their leaders' actions in the war, many Imperials are usually decent guys who uphold the safety of the Empire's citizens, even in conquered territories, and the Archadian people are as sympathetic and human as anyone from Rabanastre. That doesn't change the fact that Vayne is still a megalogmaniacal asshole who wants to rule the world, nor does it change the fact that the empire conquered others for power. It's more of a case of both sides having issues. The good guys are just a lot better.

** Additionally, the Archadian Empire isn't evil—despite their leaders' actions in the war, many Imperials are usually decent guys who uphold the safety of the Empire's citizens, even in conquered territories, and the Archadian people are as sympathetic and human as anyone from Rabanastre. That doesn't change the fact that Vayne is still a megalogmaniacal asshole who wants to rule the world, nor does it change the fact that the empire conquered others for power. It's more of a case of both sides having issues. The good guys are just a lot better.

* [[Gratuitous Foreign Language]]: Sanskrit. The Bhujerbans use it often. Bhadra is essentially the Sanskrit version of Sir/Madam. Parijanah means "guide". Madhu means "honey". And there are various other examples too.

* [[Gratuitous Iambic Pentameter]]: Literally, in the case of Venat and occasionally the Judges Magister. The rest of the Occuria speak in iambic ''tetrameter''.

Line 194:

* [[Guide Dang It]]: The game has a slew of bonus content including optional areas, sidequests with NPCs, optional bosses and rare items that you will simply ''never'' find if you don't know how. To recap some of them:

** The Zodiac Spear. It's the most powerful weapon in the game. You find it in an optional area in a normal treasure chest, but ''only'' if you avoid opening four chests in the early areas of the game, and the game gives you absolutely no hints or warnings to this. If you fail to acquire it the normal way, fortunately it randomly appears in a chest in another area. However, there's only a 10% chance of the chest appearing, a 10% chance it contains an item, and a 10% that item is the spear. For those who aren't good with math, that works out to a ''one in a thousand chance'' of finding the spear.

** The Bazaar will eventually sell the best equipment in the game, but only if you sell the right combination of items in the proper ~~quantities--by~~ the way, you aren't told what you need to sell or in what quantities. Finding these items is also a Guide Dang It because some of them can only be stolen/dropped/poached from a handful of enemies, and you're not told what they are or where you can find them. And speaking of finding them, a lot of enemies in the game only spawn under certain circumstances, like entering an area with a party member at low HP, killing a certain number of enemies within an area, or waiting around a certain point for a period of time.

** The Bazaar will eventually sell the best equipment in the game, but only if you sell the right combination of items in the proper quantities—by the way, you aren't told what you need to sell or in what quantities. Finding these items is also a Guide Dang It because some of them can only be stolen/dropped/poached from a handful of enemies, and you're not told what they are or where you can find them. And speaking of finding them, a lot of enemies in the game only spawn under certain circumstances, like entering an area with a party member at low HP, killing a certain number of enemies within an area, or waiting around a certain point for a period of time.

** Simple battle mechanics, like just how effective stat-boosting Augments are, how weapons calculate damage, or how weather effects combat, both magic and weapons. The second point for example, you're liable to think guns are useless since they attack slow and have low power, but what the game doesn't tell you and what you may not realize is that guns still do comparable damage to other weapons because they ignore defense, and against many enemies are even better than other weapons for it. Similarly, daggers have lower power than swords, but they charge quicker and incorporate the wielder's speed into damage calculations, so a fast character armed with a dagger may out-damage someone slower with a sword even though the sword has higher base power.

** The Sky Pirate's Den is essentially your trophy case that fills up with character icons as you complete certain tasks. You are never given any clue as to what these tasks are or how many icons there are.

Line 200:

** A number of the treasure cheasts that can only be opened once can be wasted by using (or sometimes not using) the Diamond Armlet, an accessory that improves the quality of items you find from chests, but sometimes screws you over by turning a really good item into vendor trash. This was at least fixed in the [[No Export for You]] international edition, in which all one time cheasts will always give you a specific treasure (though some of them still have a limited chance to spawn in the first place).

** The weather on the Giza Plains will eventually go to rainy during the plot. It will remain rainy forever afterwards unless you talk to one specific NPC hanging out at Rabanastre's south gate who comments on the weather (after doing so, the weather changes every hour or two). Not a problem for people who [[Talk to Everyone]], but quite a problem for savvy players who already know about the weather mechanics and not about the fact that talking to some random bloke in town is what makes them even work.

* [[Healing Checkpoint]]: [[Save Point~~|Save Points~~]] heal you and remove negative status ailments.

* [[Healing Checkpoint]]: [[Save Point]]s heal you and remove negative status ailments.

* [[Hearing Voices]]

* [[Heel Face Turn]]: Several, some prior to the game's beginning. Arguably, {{spoiler|Princess Ashe and friends, when they refuse to do the Occuria's bidding to exterminate the Empire}}. The aformentioned {{spoiler|Gabranth}} as well.

Line 212:

* [[High Heel Face Turn]]: Judge Drace.

* [[Hot Chick with a Sword]]: Ashe, although any of the girls in your party can use a sword.

* [[Humans Are ~~Bastards~~]]: Humes are portrayed as very power-hungry and driven to make their mark on the world due to their short lives, including via war and conquest. Ashe gets singled out several times by non-Hume characters for embodying this trait {{spoiler|[[Your Approval Fills Me with Shame|including the Occuria]]}}.

* [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]]: Humes are portrayed as very power-hungry and driven to make their mark on the world due to their short lives, including via war and conquest. Ashe gets singled out several times by non-Hume characters for embodying this trait {{spoiler|[[Your Approval Fills Me with Shame|including the Occuria]]}}.

{{quote|Mjrn: The stench of humes. The stench of power.

Ashe: What's wrong with her?

Line 229:

* [[Infinity+1 Sword]]: One for each weapon class.

** Gilgamesh also has a collection of these from prior games in the series, and some ''outside'' the series. And ''every single one'' is a fake.

** The best example of an [[Infinity+1 Sword]] in this game has to be the Wyrmhero Blade, which can only be acquired by beating two incredibly hard [[Bonus Boss~~|Bonus Bosses~~]] (Yiazmat and Omega Mk. XII) and trading in the rewards you get for them (along with another reward you get by [[Guide Dang It|punching a statue of a dragon after completing a certain hunt]]. It grants the wielder permanent Bravery and Faith status and HAS NO LICENCE, meaning you can equip it as soon as you get it. Unfortunately, it's so slow that it ends up being more of a [[Bragging Rights Reward]].

** The best example of an [[Infinity+1 Sword]] in this game has to be the Wyrmhero Blade, which can only be acquired by beating two incredibly hard [[Bonus Boss]]es (Yiazmat and Omega Mk. XII) and trading in the rewards you get for them (along with another reward you get by [[Guide Dang It|punching a statue of a dragon after completing a certain hunt]]. It grants the wielder permanent Bravery and Faith status and HAS NO LICENCE, meaning you can equip it as soon as you get it. Unfortunately, it's so slow that it ends up being more of a [[Bragging Rights Reward]].

* [[Informed Ability]]: Fran, as a Viera, is implied to possess powerful magical abilities (''"The Magicks binding the door to the [[Tailor-Made Prison|Oubliette]] are quite strong. Too strong even for my talents."''). Until Lv.50, she has the second lowest Magic stat in the game. At Lv.99, she ends up with the third lowest Magic stat.

** Around the middle of the game, however, it's revealed that {{spoiler|her magic has grown weaker since she left her [[Hidden Elf Village]]}}, so this may be at least partially justified.

Line 240:

* [[Jerkass Gods]]: The Occuria. [[Alternate Character Interpretation|On the other hand]], they may merely be [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] Gods.

** The problem with the Occuria is that they have a [[Blue and Orange Morality]], so opinions vary.

* [[Judge, Jury, and Executioner]]: The Imperial Judge Magisters. Think of medieval [[Judge Dredd~~|Judge Dredds~~]], but much more reasonable and with wicked swords.

* [[Judge, Jury, and Executioner]]: The Imperial Judge Magisters. Think of medieval [[Judge Dredd]]s, but much more reasonable and with wicked swords.

* [[Kamehame Hadoken]]: The ultimate black [[Magick]], [[Non-Elemental|Scathe]]. Basch's first Quickening also counts.

* [[Killer Rabbit]]: Fury is one, quite literally, as is the Vorpal Bunny whose name is practically a [[Shout-Out]] for the trope.

Line 278:

* [[My Country, Right or Wrong]]: During the talk with Anastasis, Ashe believes that {{spoiler|[[Does This Remind You of Anything?|initiating a world war]]}} to revive her country and reestablish her part as the Princess of Dalmasca is the best option. It's possible that {{spoiler|she was influenced by the Nethicite}}, but the other characters like Vaan have convinced her to [[Take a Third Option]].

* [[Mythology Gag]]: too many to count. Some notable gags:

** The name of one of the [[Bonus Boss~~|Bonus Bosses~~]] is Omega Mk. ''XII''. Simple, but gets the point.

** The name of one of the [[Bonus Boss]]es is Omega Mk. ''XII''. Simple, but gets the point.

** Most of the Airships are named after some of the iconic summons and characters in the series.

** The [[Final Boss]], the ''Undying'', {{spoiler|fusion of [[Big Bad~~|Big Bads~~]] Venat and Vayne}}, is a literal mechanical dragon. In addition, some of its special attacks have ''Flare'' in their names (e.g. "Mega Flare"). Most of the parts that make up this monstrosity came from the Airship/fortress "Bahamut".

** The [[Final Boss]], the ''Undying'', {{spoiler|fusion of [[Big Bad]]s Venat and Vayne}}, is a literal mechanical dragon. In addition, some of its special attacks have ''Flare'' in their names (e.g. "Mega Flare"). Most of the parts that make up this monstrosity came from the Airship/fortress "Bahamut".

** See Gilgamesh and his, erm, "borrowed" swords.

** The whole last chapter of the game seems to be an extended mythology gag. Let's see... The party climbs an incredibly tall, well-guarded tower to obtain the ultimate power, and upon leaving, they find {{spoiler|the Emperor hovering outside of their hometown in a large flying fortress guarded by a cyclone. Hmmm, [[Final Fantasy II|now where have I heard that one before?]] }}

** There's actually an homage to [[Final Fantasy]]'s rival series, [[Dragon Quest]], in the form of the Wyrmhero Blade (Called 'Tolo's Sword' in Japan.), modeled after the sword of the legendary hero Loto (also known as Erdrick).

** A stranger form of [[Mythology Gag]] is found in Yiazmat's name. [[Yasumi Matsuno]], the man behind Ivalice, was known to his peers as 'YAZMAT.'

** At the end of the game {{spoiler|Balthier}} is said to be off looking for the "Cache of Glabados"~~--a~~ reference to St. Ajora Glabados of ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]''. According to background information, Ajora is supposedly alive around the time in Ivalice when ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'' occurs.

** At the end of the game {{spoiler|Balthier}} is said to be off looking for the "Cache of Glabados"—a reference to St. Ajora Glabados of ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]''. According to background information, Ajora is supposedly alive around the time in Ivalice when '''''Final Fantasy XII''''' occurs.

*** He's still looking for it when he appears as a cameo in the PSP version of Tactics. How he did the [[Time Travel]] is not explained, but, unlike Cloud, nobody sees him as strange because he's talking about something that probably has some (even if probably different) meaning in their timeline.

** In ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'', when fighting the Behemoth enemy, Wakka will sometimes quip "How many steaks do you think we can get out of these?" In ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'', the Behemoth enemies sometimes drop the Loot item "Behemoth Steak".

** In ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'', when fighting the Behemoth enemy, Wakka will sometimes quip "How many steaks do you think we can get out of these?" In '''''Final Fantasy XII''''', the Behemoth enemies sometimes drop the Loot item "Behemoth Steak".

* [[Non-Human Undead]]: Many of the monster types have an undead version. Examples include undead wolves, undead war horses, undead vampire bats, undead slimes, and undead ''bombs''. There's also the requisite undead boss who is a [[Conjoined Twins]] demon with visible skull.

* [[No OSHA Compliance]]: The city of Bhujerba is on a floating continent in the sky, and some portions of the city have ''no railings'' running around the edges of the walkways! However, it's said in-game that no one who falls from Bhujerba dies, and this demonstrated in-game by the character "Fallen Bhujerban" who is found in Phon Coast. The fall from the skycity gave him amnesia and probably hurt a bit, but he's alive.

Line 314:

* [[Prequel in the Lost Age]]: It stands as a prequel to ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]''. (Probably.)

* [[Programming Game]]: The Gambit System.

* [[Punch Clock Villain~~|Punch Clock Villains~~]]: When you're not busy carving your way through their ranks, most of the Archadians are a fairly decent lot. The Archadian civilians are worried about normal day-to-day issues like finding employment and buying their spouses gifts, and some of the Archadian soldiers stationed in Rabanastre show a genuine concern for its citizens and truly want to keep the peace. For example, one of the Hunts is petitioned by an Archadian soldier in the city who saw a dangerous monster, but his superior brushed him off. Thus, he decided to pay money out of his own pocket to hire you to kill it before it causes trouble.

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]s: When you're not busy carving your way through their ranks, most of the Archadians are a fairly decent lot. The Archadian civilians are worried about normal day-to-day issues like finding employment and buying their spouses gifts, and some of the Archadian soldiers stationed in Rabanastre show a genuine concern for its citizens and truly want to keep the peace. For example, one of the Hunts is petitioned by an Archadian soldier in the city who saw a dangerous monster, but his superior brushed him off. Thus, he decided to pay money out of his own pocket to hire you to kill it before it causes trouble.

** Judge Zargabaath {{spoiler|at the end of the game, is willing to sacrifice himself, the Empire's flagship, and the hundreds of crewmen aboard it, to save ''someone else's city''}}.

* [[Purple Prose]]: The Magic Pots return again in this game. Rather than simply asking for an elixir in a crude manner such as they've done before ("Gimme Elixir!"), they ''clamor'' for the elixirs, and are ''outraged'' whenever you attack them.

Line 326:

** It was implied in an earlier game that Gilgamesh's "death" in FFV really just sent him careening through time and space, sticking his nose into every game along the way and borrowing trophies.

* [[Redemption Equals Death]] {{spoiler|Gabranth, Reddas for destroying Nabudis}}

* [[Repeatable Quest]]: The game has only one repeatable quest, and it's very modest, and available very early. By visiting the Giza village and running around in the Giza Plains area, you can create multiple Sunstones, which sell for what is a moderate bonus for the player at that part of the ~~game -- but~~ the player could get the amount from just killing wolves and selling the loot, and on the side get both EXP and LP.

* [[Repeatable Quest]]: The game has only one repeatable quest, and it's very modest, and available very early. By visiting the Giza village and running around in the Giza Plains area, you can create multiple Sunstones, which sell for what is a moderate bonus for the player at that part of the game—but the player could get the amount from just killing wolves and selling the loot, and on the side get both EXP and LP.

* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]: Ashe could have just given in to despair, but she instead is basically the hero of the game. Larsa also counts.

* [[Running Gag]]

Line 349:

** There's also its rare game called Vagrant Soul, yet another reference to [[Vagrant Story]]. Its name in the Japanese version is Soul of Chaos, which refers to ''[[Final Fantasy I]]''.

** All the [[Star Wars]] allegories and references are shamed by the overhead shot shown of the Draklor Laboratory...''it's shaped like a Super Star Destroyer.''

** The Espers that aren't [[Continuity Nod~~|Continuity Nods~~]] towards ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'', specifically Chaos, Zeromus, and Exodus, reference the [[Final Boss~~|Final Bosses~~]] of ''[[Final Fantasy I]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'', and ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'', respectively. In addition, (Emperor) Mateus and Famfrit (humans and moogles' respective Totema who first appeared in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'', and promoted to Esper status for this game) had their backgrounds expanded to reference ''[[Final Fantasy II]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy III]]''.

** The Espers that aren't [[Continuity Nod]]s towards ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'', specifically Chaos, Zeromus, and Exodus, reference the [[Final Boss]]es of ''[[Final Fantasy I]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'', and ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'', respectively. In addition, (Emperor) Mateus and Famfrit (humans and moogles' respective Totema who first appeared in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'', and promoted to Esper status for this game) had their backgrounds expanded to reference ''[[Final Fantasy II]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy III]]''.

** None of the traditional summons from the main games are featured in the game (a first!) but their names survive as the names of the airships used by the Archadian and Resistance fleets. Notably, two flagships which serve as mini-dungeons are ''Shiva'' and ''Leviathan,'' Marquis Ondore's ship is ''Odin'' and the final dungeon is ''Bahamut''.

*** Furthermore, the ship destroyed at the beginning is called "Tonberry."

Line 366:

* [[The Starscream]]: Judge Ghis. {{spoiler|He's assigned as Vayne's personal aide, something he detests, and thinks he is (and possibly is) more intelligent than him. He seems set to betray him and possibly even the Empire right before his doom.}}

* [[Sticks to the Back]]: All greatswords stick directly to your back, with a slight clang, suggesting they're stuck there using magnets.

* [[Stripperiffic]]: Ashe and her micro-skirt, Fran and her armored ~~teddy -- and~~ arguably Vaan's outfit as well. Penelo's skintight jumpsuit is modest by those standards, but still pretty revealing.

* [[Stripperiffic]]: Ashe and her micro-skirt, Fran and her armored teddy—and arguably Vaan's outfit as well. Penelo's skintight jumpsuit is modest by those standards, but still pretty revealing.

** Regarding Penello, there's a ''very'' gratuitous shot early in the game where pretty much all you can see is her crotch area, and you can see the texture of her panties underneath.

** The Dalmascans in general are as well.

Line 395:

** Of course, this is in a game with sand seas & floating continents, but at least all the deserts are equatorial.

** It is heavily implied the Mist has a profound effect on the environment and the ecology, so Mist concentrations are likely the cause of Kerwon's badly put-together jigsaw puzzle status.

* [[The Walls Are Closing In]]: The game has two Demon Wall enemies. The first one you fight presents a ~~twist -- it~~ is powered up and offers you little time to defeat it, but it is fortunately a [[Skippable Boss]] and you are meant to flee the battle by using the door that it would crush you against, and instead fight the second wall in the next room. The second one (the one you ''must'' defeat) is much weaker and offers much more time to win. If so desired, you can come back later in the game to rematch against the first wall. Unless of course, you've done a lot of [[Level Grinding]], in which case you can just off the first one right away and pick up a weapon that you're not intended to have at that point in the game yet (still not quite the [[Infinity+1 Sword]] though, but it is one of the games many, many [[Disc One Nuke~~|Disc One Nukes~~]]).

* [[The Walls Are Closing In]]: The game has two Demon Wall enemies. The first one you fight presents a twist—it is powered up and offers you little time to defeat it, but it is fortunately a [[Skippable Boss]] and you are meant to flee the battle by using the door that it would crush you against, and instead fight the second wall in the next room. The second one (the one you ''must'' defeat) is much weaker and offers much more time to win. If so desired, you can come back later in the game to rematch against the first wall. Unless of course, you've done a lot of [[Level Grinding]], in which case you can just off the first one right away and pick up a weapon that you're not intended to have at that point in the game yet (still not quite the [[Infinity+1 Sword]] though, but it is one of the games many, many [[Disc One Nuke]]s).

* [[Wave Motion Gun]]: The {{spoiler|battery of Mist Cannons mounted on the top levels of [[Ominous Floating Castle|Sky]] [[Evil Tower of Ominousness|Fortress]] ''[[Meaningful Name|Bahamut]]'', used to sink (read:utterly disintegrate) Resistance cruisers in one shot}}.

Line 416:

*** Vaan is the [[Player Character]] because he has the best perspective of the whole train wreck - a civilian who not only has to ''live'' in a conquered country, but lost family to the conquest. Penelo tags along with him to keep him from snapping due to the three blowhards who play their power games, ignoring how normal people suffered in the turmoil. And Fran is there to remind them that the world is bigger than their squabbles - {{spoiler|She has extensive knowledge of the origins of magick, as well as friends among the races who left the games behind.}}

=== The manga adaptation provides examples of: ===

== The manga adaptation provides examples of ==

* [[Adaptational Badass]]: The Judges have been each upgraded from [[Elite Mook]] to [[One-Man Army]], possessing superhuman strength and speed in addition to their fighting training making them powerful duelists. Take Ghis for ~~example--he~~ kills Firemane single-handedly and then takes on Fran and Balthier and was beating them until Vaan intervened. ''And he was barehanded the whole time''.

* [[Adaptational Badass]]: The Judges have been each upgraded from [[Elite Mook]] to [[One-Man Army]], possessing superhuman strength and speed in addition to their fighting training making them powerful duelists. Take Ghis for example—he kills Firemane single-handedly and then takes on Fran and Balthier and was beating them until Vaan intervened. ''And he was barehanded the whole time''.

** Standard operating procedure seems to be for the game's bosses to suffer [[Badass Decay]] so the party members can gain this trait dealing [[One Hit KO~~|One Hit KOs~~]] to ~~them -- Fran~~ uses a Quickening to freeze a second Firemane solid, and Basch cleaves the Mimic Queen apart in one swing. Using a rusted and cracked sword he repaired to working condition using [[Heroic Willpower]].

** Standard operating procedure seems to be for the game's bosses to suffer [[Badass Decay]] so the party members can gain this trait dealing [[One Hit KO]]s to them—Fran uses a Quickening to freeze a second Firemane solid, and Basch cleaves the Mimic Queen apart in one swing. Using a rusted and cracked sword he repaired to working condition using [[Heroic Willpower]].

* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: Flashbacks show the circumstances of how Ashe and Rasler fell in love, why Archadia began the war, and Basch's side of the story during the night Raminas was killed.

** [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: As the chapters progressed from backstory to the in-game events, it still follows the general outline of the game's plot, but a lot of scenes are swapped out and new ones added in.

Line 434:

[[Category:Yasumi Matsuno]]

[[Category:Wide Open Sandbox]]

[[Category:~~{{PAGENAME}}~~]]

[[Category:Final Fantasy XII]]

[[Category:Video Game]]

[[Category:Final Fantasy]]