Board 8 > ATTN: People who've played FFXII...

(+) Yeah! (+)

Could anyone explain to me who exactly is Balthier (most notable features, his importance in the story, personality, popularity, likebility, etc)? The only thing I know is that he's not the protagonist (Vaan).

I'm asking this because a friend of mine compared me to Balthier, but I didn't really get what they meant since I haven't gotten around to FFXII yet. So naturally I want to know how good (or bad) that is.

(Feel free to go as in-depth as you want, but marking spoilers, plz.)

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Vaan is not the protagonist either.

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redrocket posted...

Vaan is not the protagonist either.

Huh...

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He's Final Fantasy Han Solo paired with bunny lady Chewbacca.

There's more to it than that obviously but that's the gist.

Your friend was telling you that your dad is better than you in literally every aspect.

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He's British Han Solo, he's the second most story important character but that's not saying a lot (Ashe is basically the main character, Basch is third but is just there in the later half of the game, Fran, Vaan and Penelo are basically irrelevant, Fran does some forest people stuff but that's it.)

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Advokaiser posted...

Huh...

at best Vaan has typically been described as the player's avatar character, but definitely not the protagonist of the story - that description best goes to Ashe

my guess is Squeenix thinking they need a male character for gamers to relate to (fun to note the 2 mainline FFs considered to have female protagonists were actually both designed to be ensemble titles)

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It means you're the leading man (or at least you believe you are).

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FFDragon posted...

Your friend was telling you that your dad is better than you in literally every aspect.

Wow I didn't realize he was a RevolverSaro alt

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It means you're the hottest in your friend group.

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You're Billy Idol if he was a furry

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Murphiroth posted...

He's Final Fantasy Han Solo paired with bunny lady Chewbacca.

FFDragon posted...

Your friend was telling you that your dad is better than you in literally every aspect.

https://i.imgur.com/iCr129S.gif

SSJSephirothGokuX123 posted...

He's British Han Solo, he's the second most story important character but that's not saying a lot (Ashe is basically the main character, Basch is third but is just there in the later half of the game, Fran, Vaan and Penelo are basically irrelevant, Fran does some forest people stuff but that's it.)

This pretty much. It's fine to like Balthier/dashing rogue types in media, but if someone says you act like that in real life I'd question their intentions.

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FFXII great game and I will fight about it.

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Hes literally calling you the leading man.

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O...kay...

Let me see if I get it:

-He's the second most important character in the story.
-He's the "leading man".
-He's British Han Solo.
-He's the hottest of the group, despite looking like Billy Idol.
-His dad's superior in every way.
-He is a furry.

Well, it sure sounds confusing, but let's see:

Getting rid of the things that definitely do not apply those being: my dad (they don't know him), having a furry best friend/being a furry, being British, and looking like Billy Idol, we get a leading-man, hopefully-good-looking Han Solo with relative importance to some people's own stories, correct?

According to Star Wars, Han Solo is a cocky bounty hunter that shoots laser guns and is pretty popular among the fanbase. Granted, a guy like that would probably not be so likeable if treated directly, but still admired if seen from afar. He also doesn't care what others say. Hmm... It sounds to me like an I think Halo is a pretty cool guy. he shoots aliens and doesn't afraid of anything kind of situation.

...But if he's the "leading man", does that mean people see him as a role model? Or as the guy who knows da wae?

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do you live in a hole without a google button or what?

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Not as a role model but as a man of action, for sure.

Memes aside, Balthier is a very cool, very likeable character. He gets the best lines and the best moments. The other characters don't have any charm and aren't nearly as likeable, nor memorable.

He (and his superior dad) are the 2 best characters in the game imo.

If someone said I reminded them of Balthier I'd take it as a major compliment, tbh?

it feels like youre overthinking this

Hes just the coolest dude. Its a good thing. Hes like everyones favorite character in that game.

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Yeah, Balthier is just super cool. It's a compliment.

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Your friend wants to be your bunny.

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Han Solo is not a bounty hunter
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Basically hes saying youre the star of a bad game. Like youre A list but your supporting cast/friends are C listers.

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5tarscream posted...

Basically hes saying youre the star of a bad game. Like youre A list but your supporting cast/friends are C listers.

OR you're a completely unnecessary addition to a good game. Wasn't he in the PSP version of Tactics?

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colliding posted...

OR you're a completely unnecessary addition to a good game. Wasn't he in the PSP version of Tactics?

Yes. Where he is notable for giving Orlandu a run for most op character.

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GuessMyUserName posted...

at best Vaan has typically been described as the player's avatar character, but definitely not the protagonist of the story - that description best goes to Ashe

my guess is Squeenix thinking they need a male character for gamers to relate to (fun to note the 2 mainline FFs considered to have female protagonists were actually both designed to be ensemble titles)

Vaan wasn't even in the original plans for the game, Basch was originally going to be the main character but marketing staff and Japanese focus groups didn't like that a 35 year old guy was going to be the main character but so they slapped Vaan as the face of the game to appeal to general market. And Penelo was last a last minute addition as well because Ashe wasn't cute and peppy enough.

Also isn't Fran more of a Demi Human than a furry? Viera and humans can crossbreed in some games.

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MoogleKupo141 posted...

it feels like youre overthinking this

Hes just the coolest dude. Its a good thing. Hes like everyones favorite character in that game.

LeonhartFour posted...

Yeah, Balthier is just super cool. It's a compliment.

Oh thanks. That's awesome, then!

It's super hilarious to see you guys say the craziest inside jokes, but I felt the need to get the clear message out of them, lol.

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SSJSephirothGokuX123 posted...

Also isn't Fran more of a Demi Human than a furry? Viera and humans can crossbreed in some games.

what games

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In that DS FF12 sequel there's a race of veira/Aegyl hybrids. Well technically Aegyl aren't humans but they're close enough basically just being humans with wings. Also isn't there some human/viera hybrids in FF14 as well?

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Definitely a compliment, so you're lucky. I really need to replay XII, but no damn time to do it

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