Here is a topic to discuss the new and upcoming installment to the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XII! :woot: So, what is the story so far? Well...

Final Fantasy XII Prologue

A warrior takes sword in hand, Clasping a gem to his heart. Engraving vanishing memories into the sword, He places finely honed skills into the stone. Spoken from the sword, handed down from the stone... Now the story can be told...

That is the story of a world called Ivalice.
The strong military kingdom known as the Arcadia Empire That rules the Valentia Continent, And the Rosalia Empire that rules the Ordalia Continent Have been continuously at war for long years.

In the midst of it, Arcadia Empire invaded the small kingdom of Dalmasca, Positioned in the hallway between the two continents and thus is geopolitically important.
Under the invasion of the Arcadia Empire, the Dalmasca Kingdom accepted defeat. But Ashe, the rightful heir to the trone of Dalmasca, Joined the resistance army movements to fight against the empire.

The enemy's chase and attack of this girl with the liberation of her mother nation in heart is severe, But, she can not be defeated. At this moment, she meets the young man Vaan. With this meeting, begins the change in Ashe's heart.

And thus...

The meeting of these two people will greatly change the story of this world.

This sounds SO COOL!!! :woot: I am really excited about this game!

Final Fantasy XII Characters:

Vaan
Age: 17
Race: Hume
Weapon: Sword

Vaan is an easy going, positive young man who lives in the former Dalmasca Kingdom, now under the rule of the Archadian Empire. Vaan lost his family in a previous conflict and now dreams of commanding an air ship to escape the conquering Archadia. Vaan joins the resistance in order to free the citizens and the royal family of Dalmasca.

Asche
Age: 19
Race: Hume
Weapon: Sword

Ashe is the daughter and only child of King Dalmasca, who died during the Archadian invasion. After Dalmasca was conquered, Ashe disappears and forms the resistance against Archadia. She hopes to free the people of Dalmasca from the rule of the Empire.

Fran
Age: N/A
Race: Viera
Weapon: Bow And Arrow

Fran is part of the Viera race and travels the world with her partner Balthier. She entrusts her faith in combat during her journeys with Vaan and Ashe. While Fran is proficient when it comes to grappling and fencing skills, she is also adept in all forms of weapons.

Balthier
Age: 22
Race: Hume
Weapon: Gun

Balthier is a sky pirate and pilots a small ship around in the skies of Ivalice. With his companion Fran they prefer to be neutral when it comes to the war between the kingdoms of Ivalice.

Penelo
Age: 16
Race: Hume
Weapon: N/A

Penelo is a 16 year old hume who lives near her close friend, Vaan in Rabanastre of Dalamasca. She lost her family in a previous war and works happily at the bazaar. Her philosophy is "As long as you never give up, things will get better down the road." Penelo loves to sing and dance. She learned martial arts from her older brother, who used to be a knight. Her dancing style is similar to martial arts, even if she has no actual fighting experience.

Basch
Age: 36
Race: Hume
Weapon: N/A

The 36 year-old Basch is the sixth character in Final Fantasy XII. He was a former general of Dalmasca, but he killed the king when he found out King Dalamasca sold his people to Archadia. Basch also killed Vaan's older brother, Reks, when he had found out the truth. Basch is known as a villian but he travels with Vaan, but his intentions are still clouded in mystery.

Sounds so interesting! :woot: I wonder if any of the characters will resemble Cloud and Aerith? :cleris:

Wanna see some images from FFXII? Go here. The Viera are cool! I love their ears! :P You can also check out the artwork and screenshots from that page.

The release date, I believe, is Summer 2004 for Japan. So, maybe the US will see it released here by Christmas, huh? That is too long to wait... :sad:

All of this info came from rapidgaming.com, Kupo! :moogle: *Pets the moogle*

Sounds awesome!! :D

Meeting Vaan begins changing Ashe's hearts? Penelo is a martial artist? Hmmm ...

Ashe and Vaan are going to be together, this we know. I wonder if they get married, about a month or so ago I saw screenshots of Ashe in what looked like to be a wedding dress. Hm... I'm so excited! I have a feeling that their will be a few different pairing throughout the game. I wonder if Asche's name is Ashe or Asche, ebcause I saw a few different spellings. Penelo's probably going to get together with a side character, maybe Balthier. Asche and Vaan are definetly getting together. I wonder what will happen! Here are some predictions.

Like in any other Final Fantasy game, the story is focused on a party of heroes, each of them with his or her unique dreams, story, and reasons to fight. The main male hero, Vaan, is a romantic figure reminiscent of Final Fantasy IX's Zidane. Vaan is a young man - introduced as a street urchin in the game - who has lost his brother, his last surviving family member, during the attacks of the Archadians. But the tragedy didn't change Vaan's cheerful attitude towards life - his only dream is becoming a pirate, owning and airship, and then leave the kingdom of Dalmasca. Vaan will be the true key character of the game, like Squall in Final Fantasy VIII; according to Matsuno, the whole game can be seen as the story of boy growing up to become a man. Penelo, Vaan's closest friend, also lost her parents during the war against the Archadians, but she managed to survive and become a strong young woman. She owns a bazaar, but she's also a great singer and a talented dancer, expert in a dance similar in its movements to martial arts.

Very interesting... :woot:

I was wondering if anyone else would pick up on that. :lmao: Penelo works at the bazaar and is a martial artist. She and Vaan are childhood friends... :whistle: Can anyone say... Cloud and Tifa?

Ashe is a princess (who just happens to wear pink) who meets Vaan and begins to have "changes in her heart"? :angel: Does this mean she falls in love with him? Oh, and she is older than Vaan, while Penelo is younger. Aerith was older than Cloud and Tifa was younger. :whistle:

I think Balthier (who is very hot, BTW :blush: ) may get together with his Viera partner, Fran. I think they would make a really cool couple! :wub: Also, between Penelo, Vaan, and Ashe... I smell a love triangle... :ermm: I have already seen Penelo listed as Vaan's girlfriend in several places... I wonder what will happen? :P

The game sounds soooo interesting!! I don't have a PS2 but I will keep track on what's going on.

Hee hee, Balthier and Fran. I remembered getting a bit freaked out seeing Fran the first time but I think she's pretty cute now ^_^. Go BalthierxFran! :P

Is there really gonna be a love triangle here? A REAL one? If so, I wonder if it'll be as interesting as FFVII's legendary LT :whistle:.

I never knew that Penelo knew martial arts. I always thought she was gonna be of the dancer class, which would be pretty interesting.

I remember reading somewhere that Ashe and Vaan are not going to be a couple but who knows...for all we know they could be related. (Think, Luke and Leia)

Anyway, have they announced the release date yet? I haven't really been paying attention. yup...

But what about the guy that married Ashe? I think he's a hottie!! ^_^ I just wish Vaan would be THAT handsome...his face is...weird. <_<

Hmm... On xbox-pro.com, I found this:

So can anything new be said from these screenshots? There are a few things. First, the sword held by the prince-looking figure in the screenshot seems to be the same exact sword as Ashe's. Since the intro trailer showed an image of Ashe in a wedding garment, it is likely they were once married, or about to be married. Also, the pictures of the prince and the 'Star Wars Episode 1'-like airships seems to be that of Dalmaska in its former glory days, before it was overrun of by the Alkaydia empire. *Picture of Ashe and her groom* Seems to be the same sword. A marriage torn apart by war?

Pretty interesting! :woot: Is the prince Dalamascan or Arcadian? Wouldn't it be different if they had Ashe getting married at the beginning of the game, and then she and her new husband get torn apart by the war (like, they are on opposing sides, or he dies or something)? :sad: That would be sad, but different than the other FF games. :D It would add a large emotional impact right off the bat in the game (sort of like Zanarkand being destroyed suddenly at the beginning of FFX). What do you guys think?

That would be very interesting! I know practically ONTHJIN ... (<--- that was supposed to say "NOTHING" :ermm: ) about the story but from what we've seen it could be ...

Vaan and Penelo (a martial artist) were friends during childhood (probably moreso that Cloud and Tifa; they were probably genuine friends). Penelo now owns a bazaar. Ashe was an item with this hottie in the beginning of the game (maybe) but perhaps he dies or they get torn apart. Once Vaan and Ashe meet, Ashe's heart starts to change. I assume this means that she grew cold after being seperated from that dude? :unsure: Anyway, once she meets Vaan (a happy extrovert) her heart starts to change. I think this implies that they fall in love. Maybe (if she had only been separated from the groom) she is reunited with the guy she had been going to marry, and she has to choose between the two? :huh:

I dinnay, but it seems mind-boggling. Actually, I feel kinda bad for FF12, with all the fuss over Advent Children and FF7:DC, it might not get the attention that it normally would have. :(

I'm still gonna buy it though!! :lol:

I think it looks interesting, but I keep hearing conflicting things about the characters. Let's see-
* Penelo and Vaan are boyfriend/girlfriend
* Penelo and Vaan are childhood friends (I'm more inclined towards this one)
* Vaan and Ashe ARE NOT going to get together
* Penelo is a professional dancer

I've heard more, but they get worse and more nonsensical as they go on. ^_^

Hmmm... Well, I have not seen anything yet that stated that Vaan and Penelo are an item, nor have I seen anything that says that Vaan and Ashe definitely aren't getting together. :/ I have seen several sources reporting that Vaan and Penelo are old friends that grew up together. Like Seii said, they probably are genuine childhood friends, not false "childhood friends" in the Cloud and Tifa sense.

From what I understand, Penelo is a dancer and a martial artist and her dancing mimicks the martial arts that she knows. BTW... has anyone noticed her shoes...? They are... WIERD. :blink:

I kind of feel that Vaan and Ashe will get together. But, what about Penelo? Does she have feelings for Vaan? Will this cause problems down the road? It sounds pretty interesting! :woot:

::is hooked already::

ICAN'TWAITTILTHISGAMECOMESOUTIT'SGONNABESODAMNCOOL!!!!!! :woot:

I agree, Seii! It is definitely going to be awesome! :woot:

I've heard that SE is not gonna focus on romance in this game... of course, there WILL be romance, but in only in the context of the game. Not the main theme, unlike in FFVIII, FFIX and FFX.

Thank God. That's all I can say about that. :yawn:

I'm not too excited about this game just yet. I'm still trying to recover from Square's visual pollution known as FFX-2. I don't wanna get my hopes up again. :cry:

Wait a sec, guys. Wait a sec. I know it's fun speculating on Ashe, Vaan, Penelo LTDs and what FF12 in general is going to be like...but haven't you noticed what I noticed from the beginning?

These words are in the opening scene to Final Fantasy Tactics.

This is the kingdom in Final Fantasy Tactics. And if I recall, Ordalia is also one of the places in FFT.

So Squaresoft has decided to go back to Ivalice instead of creating another whole new universe. Post-Tactics Ivalice or Pre-Tactics Ivalice. And I wonder if the plot will have some sort of connection to FFT, even just a reference?
Or is the Ivalice reference just a fan rumor gone bad?

O_o; I don't know ... erm ...

...

:woot:

OMG, maybe if it's post Tactics Ivalice then we can see Cloud and Aeris' BABIES!!! :lol:

::launches a tirade of crazy speculations like a rabid fangirl:::

They're taking a few things from FFT and FFT:A and putting them in FFXII. Like races, judges, etc. I have both FFT and FFT:A and it looks a lot like a PS2 version of those FFT worlds.

My fiance is especially excited about it because he loves those games.

Well, there's got to be SOME romance. After all, there was a big wedding at some point and then there was all that fluff about Ashe's "heart changing" and whathaveyou... :D Also, FFVII didn't focus on romance either and look what it gave us: Cloud and Aerith, the greatest RPG couple ever (and the love triangle)! :cleris:

Yep! :P Apparently, FFXII is going to be independent of the FFT games. That is what I have heard so far anyways... :unsure:

Heh, FF_G, at first I though you were Velvy ... it's gotta be the Garnet avvy!! :P

Yes, the world is called Ivalice. You know why? Because the game is being directed by Yasumi Matsuno, the creator of FFT and FFTA! :lol:. Yeah, I think they're seperate worlds though. Kinda like FFT and FFTA. ^_^ But I've heard that Nomura isn't going to be involved with FFXII...at all. :/

I read it in one of my issues of EGM. It's supposedly a quote from Yasumi Matsuno. :/. However, EGM has also called Tifa, Cloud's "main squeeze". So we can't trust them TOO much, now can we?

EDIT: Here's a link saying that Penelo is Vaan's girlfriend. :(

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/507/507078p1.html

Never played FFA. But by separate worlds, you mean that all the events of FFT and FFA are not related to the events of FF12? Like, the history of FFT is not the same history of FF12? Alternate Universes?
And Nomura isn't involved! What a shame! Even if he didn't direct it, I was counting on him to at least sneak in another :cleris: reference :(

They sure do like to change things. The month after that, they called Tifa only "Cloud's lady friend". And over the picture of Cloud and her in the church. No more main squeeze. ^_^

Eh, the "quote" stating they were boyfriend and girlfriend wasn't in quotes, but even if they are it also said they fight a lot. If Square disclosed that, then maybe they're indicating to us that they break it off? Or maybe they're trying to force another love triangle on us ... >_<

I also noticed right away that quote was form Final Fantasy Tactics. I thought I was the only one who caught it. Final Fanatsy IV was the first Final Fantasy game to have a real wedding.

Hmm... :huh: Well, here is the whole article from IGN:

Vann Gets a Girlfriend
The Final Fantasy XII hero is a stud.
by Suppai Hitmitsu
April 16, 2004 - Yesterday, we revealed to you the latest Final Fantasy XII character, Pannero. It was discovered that this girl was a "close personal friend" of the main character Vann. That description is a little off. Pannero is actually Vann's girlfriend as the game starts off. Which, of course, makes one wonder, how are Vann and heroine Ashe going to hook up? Or are they going to hook up?

We'll have to wait to play through Final Fantasy XII to find out for sure, but Square Enix offers what seems to be a hint: Vann and Pannero occasionally fight.

FFXII is scheduled for Japanese release in the Summer.

So Penelo is Vaan's girlfriend at the beginning on the game. But, that doesn't mean he and Ashe won't hook up later, especially if he and Penelo fight sometimes. :whistle: I am already a VaanxAshe fan, it seems... :lol:

BTW... why are all of the people in this game blonde or nearly blonde??? :blink: I like the tall dark and handsome type (Squall, Vincent, and Auron spring to mind...). :wub:

I don't like Vaan's hair. It makes me sad. :cry:

He reminds me of Aaron Carter. But oh well, I will make myself love him. >_<

Squall is the only dark-haired hero... WHY IS THAT?! >.< Cloud, Zidane, Tidus, and Vaan are all blondes... :blink:

Well, Serge from Chrono Cross has dark, sexy blue hair. He was my first RPG hottie. :wub:

:lol: Serge is quite the hottie. ;)

Was I the only one who thought Ashe was picking her nose in this picture? Or am I just completely and totally insane?

:lmao: She does look like that!! :lol:

And yes, someone else who luffs TEH Serge!! There's another reason that I love j00. MT! :huggle:

Wow, I really must play Chrono Cross... :huh:

I think that pic of Ashe is cute! :P It reminds me of Rinoa, pointing up at the stars while smiling at Squall. ^_^

Yeah, you should. Go buy. Now. Play. Ugga ugga.

At first I saw that pic and thought, is she picking--no, she's not. Ok, that's a really prett-- HER SKIRT!! :blink: It's so incredibly ... pink!! :lol: (and short, but ... Square's been heading in that direction so I guess I'd better get used to it. <_<) And she does have awesome armor. And it's about time they had another blonde as main heroine!! She's representin'! :D

Me too, FF_G. I think it has to do with the personality...the darker the hair, the darker the personality...but then Cloud is blonde and his personality is pretty dark. :unsure:

And Seii, I thought Serge was hot but even hotter when he turned evil :D I liked Chrono Cross' deep, complex plot, if not the nonexistent character development Unfortunately, I never finished playing it, my second cd was wrecked and now I'm too lazy to buy a new copy and play it all over again.

Back to FF12, I think it would be interesting for the main character not to have a love interest this time around. Ashe/Vaan reminds me of all the previous FF romances- a boy and a princess-figure and all that. Now, I like how SE develops love stories and all but I'm beginning to feel like everything is a rehash of the previous couple's story. There's no excitement anymore, you already know the signs of how much in twoo wuv they are...you already know what to expect and what to look for. Sorry, but no matter how powerful a love story is, seeing it reincarnated over and over again can get pretty tiring. I'm glad that SE has decided not to make the love story an important part.
And if the main character has to have a love interest, however minor a part it will play in the main plot, I'd like SE to try something different from the normal love story they usually create.

Very true, KY. I'm very tired of them re-hashing the same old stuff. I didn't feel much for Squall/Rinoa and Tidus/Yuna (I adored Garnet/Zidane, though), so I often pay attention to off-canon couplings in both those fandoms. The problem is, it's just so obvious. You know the hero and heroine are going to get together right from the start, so there's no tension at all. Add to that the fact can be horribly un-subtle in dropping hints sometimes ("LOOK! TIDUS AND YUNA GRAB EACH OTHER'S HANDS! IN FULL FMV!!! HERE, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK, WE'LL GIVE YOU A CLOSE-UP SHOT JUST SO YOU KNOW WE'RE HINTING AT SOMETHING! THEY'RE GOING TO GET TOGETHER!"). I don't like having the lovestory dropped in front of me; I like to put some thought into it. That's why I liked Zidane/Garnet - even though it was blindly obvious that they were going to fall in love, I enjoyed their romance because their characters were so engaging, it took its time and developed at a good pace, gave Garnet lots of opportunities to act independantly of Zidane, and above all: there was more to all of FFIX than their romance. Their love was just an aspect of the larger story.

Anyway, I hope Square will be more creative in FFXII and not hit us over the head with a romance. Square can be creative and surprise us a lot when they want to...

In FFIV we have a sweet and rather conventional romance, which is still interesting and heartwarming, but Square take their time before treading back that way again...

In FFV, the hero gets together with neither of the three girls he fights evil with - even though there are some hints dropped at the start of the game that he might fall for Lenna (she has an incredibley lovely and romantic theme, she's a princess, she initally needs to be rescued, she wears a lot of pink, etc), the relationship doesn't go in that direction, and saving the world is more important than romance.

In FFVI, we rather expect Terra and Locke to fall in love, as there are quite a few hints dropped early on, but instead in a twist of the storyline, the romance occurs between Locke and Celes, while Terra remains single at the game's end, and perfectly happy about it, because she doesn't need to be with a man.

And in FFVII, we have the infamous Love Triangle in which one of two possible love-interests is a valid choice... :rolleyes:

Square are capable of surprising us with romance when they want to. And I really hope they try to surprise us with FFXII, I really do. :unsure:

Now that I think about it, it would also be interesting if SE were to make Penelo Vaan's girlfriend from the start. Has Square ever made a game where the main character already has a girlfriend? I don't think so. It would also explain why they have decided not to concentrate on the love story- because it has already been established that these characters are in love and there is no need to go deeper into it---except for showing the actual tightness of the relationship despite how shaky it seems.

Does FF12 take place in an Alternate Universe from FFT? Too bad if it does...I was kind of looking forward to seeing FF12's history equal the happenings in FFT. I really love FFTactics ^_^

Ah, I hope you finish CC someday, Kusari, best game EVER!! *cough*

Yeah, the relationships are normally the same, more or less. Although I liked X, you weren't sure whether Yuna would give up her life like Aeris did or not, and then we find out it's Tidus that disappears. I also liked LennexShuyin's story. It was really sad, and actually fairly different from other Square pairings (that I know of).

Although they always have the theme of waiting to meet your love again, Square always seems to satisfy me, no matter how rehashed.

I guess I'm just so obsessed that it doesn't matter. :rolleyes:

This is all great, don't get me wrong.

But Square Enix is really srewing us up the side of the head with the release date of this game, (they're working on too many damn projects) and so at this point in time we have absolutely no idea when it will be released and likely not until late next year in Japan. The rest of the world has a much longer wait.

The other worrying aspect for most people over the game is the new battle system. I can't remember exactly but i believe they're taking on a style similar to vagrant story and all other FF battle systems. Check it up, it doesn't look too good.

Ditto! :lol:

Really??? I have seen the release date listed as Summer 2005 for Japan, so I thought the US would see it around Christmas 2005... :ermm: