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Galvanizer on 23 July 2013
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Scoobes said:

I didn't say the story needed to revolve around him, but he at least needs to be relevant to the plot. In X, the majority of the plot didn't revolve around Tidus, it revolved around Yuna; the POV character was still relevant with valuable insight. In VII the plot was centered around Sephiroth, Cloud was just there for revenge; the POV character was relevant. In VIII the plot is shared between Squall and Laguna; both were relevant to the story (as much as I hated Squall). In VI the cast was a true ensemble with multiple POVs; many of those were relevant to the narrative.

It's not a sterotype for the series so that's not why I think he's a poor protagonist. I do however expect a protagonist to at least have a modicum of relevance to the story otherwise why should I see the story from his POV? Why do I care? The character has no true investment in the story so he's effectively a casual observer. It distances the player from the narrative.

As for Kimahri, that's pretty much his character trope (silent, but fiercely protective; seen, but not heard) whereas in XII it didn't feel like the characters really interacted regardless of their character trope.

Vaan was relevant to the plot. It was just done more realistically and subtely than past FF games, or even other JRPGs for that matter. The fact you couldn't see how deep rooted he was to the overrall plot is just a testament to how well written FFXII was. It's an excellent script that's does well to not adhere to JRPG tropes.

 

Scoobes said:
A203D said:
Mistakes were made on the part of Square Enix. Do I think the game could have sold 10 mil copies and revolutionalised JRPGs...

If the year is 2007 when FF12 came out, the answer is no.

If the year is 2013 two years after Skyrim sold 11 mil copies (which I still can't believe), and if, only if the game was made with Yasumi Matsuno and his team with full control on the project, the answer is yes.


Why's that so hard to believe? They're different genres and people play them for different reasons.

It's hard to believe as WRPGs were never big sellers during the PS1 and PS2 era. In fact, mainline FF sold much more than The Elder Scrolls during the FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, and FFX period of releases. It just shows that WRPGs have become more mainstream and popular than JRPGs since this gen. As a result, had FFXII been released this gen, it would have sold a lot more. How? Becaue it's a JRPG that plays far more closely to the open world approach and mature writing of WRPGs than the anime-filled cliches and linear pathways of FFX and FFXIII.