The Complete Story of Final Fantasy XII
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Welcome to the complete story of Final Fantasy XII, a game that is perhaps as beloved by some as it is underappreciated by others. Final Fantasy games seem to have a habit of changing things up and in the case of Final Fantasy XII many seem to have felt that the game diverges too significantly from what they had come to expect from a Final Fantasy game. For those who were able to get on board, however, Final Fantasy XII features a satisfyingly intricate political plot, fuelled by excellent character drama, all the while being delivered by well-written dialogue and some of the best world-building the series has ever seen. I’m Pétur from Birds of Play, and in this video I hope you’ll join me as we revisit the world of Ivalice to celebrate the story of Final Fantasy XII. We have a long journey ahead of us and I hope you’ll be with us every step of the way.
This video was too a large extent made by using the great work done over at the Final Fantasy fandom wiki: finalfantasy.f...
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The design of the judges is some of the best character design in any final fantasy. They just all looked like badasses
Yes but they did nothing with them, played the whole game because of the judges but no point as this was the most boring game I've ever played.
Yet you played the whole game ^^
True, but they are so under utilized...
And the summons are also completely useless in this game... it's so frustrating !
@@ItachiUchiha-lr3yr
"played the whole game because of the judges"
Maybe you played yourself?
Agreed
I felt like I was listening to Marquess Ondore himself narrate. Fantastic video!!
I felt the same wayyy especially when he says Dalmasca 🤣
Exactly lol 😂, he made it so interesting
I just assumed it was the same guy >.
I think that's the point.
@@alexandralite835 Yep, that’s why I offered the compliment as to how well it was done!
The painterly visual style of this game, particularly in the Zodiac version, is magnificent to behold. & while I think XII is a bold and daring game overall, one that I by no means detest, I think it's the visual direction that most sticks with me.
Same, the oil painting / watercolour look for the gameplay graphics is what will forever enchant me, the only Final Fantasy that strives to resemble its artwork (Vagrant Story has a similar vibe), I will forever adore the art design they chose to go with for XII. They could easily have stuck to X’s aesthetics, more cookie cutter anime, more like other Jrpgs that often like to go for the same (anime) style, less ambition to craft a unique visual identity. The only FF to do justice to the high level of detail in Square’s watercolour artwork. The intricate design extends as far as the logo, depicting Gabranth and a brushstroke. Thought put into every detail, connecting everything, a gesamtkunstwerk.
Ecaxctly this, while I liked FFX, I didnt like the visual direction as much as FF XII
I'm a MASSIVE FF12 fan, I've seen every recap/story video, and this is easily the best one. Bar none.
Amazing work! You need more subs and views!!
Thanks for the compliment!
We had a lot of fun making it, please share it around if you have any friends who like FF12! #skypiratesunite
This actually was my first FF game. Liked it almost immediately (ofc I had no other FF game to compare it to back then, but today I still enjoy it) and it got me into the series.
Wish there was more of us in the community. Unwarranted hate just because it’s not turn based and made. Especially now that everyone loves ff7 remake which implements the main changes people hated about 12
Thank you a bunch for making this. This was my first Final Fantasy game and I played through it with my father. It was so long ago and I was so young that I didn't really remember any of the details from the story but I remember being completely enthralled with the story, world, and especially characters.
This was a wonderful trip down memory lane.
Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it! And thanks for sharing your story with us!
I remember playing but couldn't remember the story
play suikoden II its better
I loved the politics of this game!!! Betrayals, drama, judges, etc. Overall my favorite Final Fantasy game. I love VI; but this one is far more adult!!!
Would have loved a sequel!
Thank you for making this. I remember getting this game day one when it launched. I had troubles following the story due to the epic length of time to playthrough. I decided that I'm going to revisit this game and refresh myself on the story. Great video.
ditto. the first ones came out with like a metal box right? but yea watching this again made me realized i just really went through it without appreciating the story. guess cuz i was in college already and just wanted to finish the game
I had played this original game back in the PS2 days, but a lot of the story and lore had gone over my head and was confusing. Now that I've replayed it as an adult, I absolutely LOVE this game. Great work on this video, thank you!
I know its blasphemy, but ff12 is my favorite final fantasy. I don't even care who knows.
Shout it loud and proud!
@@BirdsOfPlay You forgot the REAL Last boss of the game, Yaizmat hahaha
We went to the cinema while the party was fighting Yiazmat and the beast was still alive when we returned.
FF12 is a gem. I'm one of the few that think ff7 is overrated but I believe that FF12 is top 3 for sure.
I think FF7 is fantastic but it can also be a bit overrated in a sense since the love it receives doesn't appear to be proportional to the love other fantastic Final Fantasy games receive. What are your other top 3 FF games?
@@BirdsOfPlay top 3 - 5:
1) FFTactics War of the Lions
2) FFVI
3) FF XII
4) FFIX
5) FF
I believe FFVII is a good game but the franchise is so large, the popularity of VII overshadows others that are really good as well.
@@BirdsOfPlay I am not a gamer as you are but i know the storys, the art and the music. And my favorites so far are.
-- Final Fantasy V
-- Final Fantasy Final Fantasy IX
-- Final Fantasy VII
I no particular order of favoritism
I think they are both top 3.... 6, 7, and 12 for me. But really, 4 - 12 are all gems to me.
X2, x, 12
The only final fantasy I’ve dropped thus far. I can’t get past how boring the combat system is. But thank you for this video, because at least the story is interesting 😅
I didn't watch this when it was uploaded as I was in the middle of my FFXII playthrough and wanted to avoid spoilers. I have to say, you summarized it pretty effin well. Even to the point that I understood the story more BECAUSE of this vid. Thank you.
This video actually helped me so much whilst playing through ZA - great job at this🔥
Glad to be of service! And thanks for watching, helps a lot!
Final Fantasy 12 is MY FAVORITE FINAL FANTASY of all time. It has the most engaging optional boss battles compared to the other sequels. If you are a true FF12 fan, you know that YIAZMAT is the greatest optional boss of all time.
My Yiazmat story is that I set up my gambits and started fighting. Realising it would take a while I left the PS2 on and went to see a film at a nearby cinema. When I came back the party was still fighting Yiazmat.
@@BirdsOfPlay Your characters survived Yiazmat on autopilot? Wow, you must have a well-placed gambit system or you must have the perfect equipment set up. I had to vigilantly monitor my characters just in case one of them would need healing because Yiazmat could just one hit kill some of them.
I was basically maxed out and had good gambits. But I think beating Yiazmat without auto pilot is even more impressive!
This was a really great summary! Have you considered doing something like this in more of a short form for some of the side quests in Final Fantasy games?
Any side quest you have in mind?
@@BirdsOfPlay There's a lot to choose from for sure but I think a good one is the croakadile hunt in FFXII with Sadeen
Bit of minor spoilers below. Honestly, I randomly came across your channel and, I glad I did. Your summarizing of FFXII; your voice and editing it was a very pleasant experience to listen to, and watch. Ever since I played this game on the PS2; planning to replay it again, the story in my opinion wasn't given a place to truly shine because the lore, the introduction to the world, and its characters, could have been expanded much more but it was cut short to a major ongoing event that was going on within the game to be its main focus.
What I liked and irked me a bit; that most supporting and minor role characters has a unique personality's like "old Dalan" for example made the story more interesting. Even the antagonists for the short time they were given they were memorable especially a certain antagonist that really stood out.
But what hated I personally was most the protagonists that took on the role as the "leading roles" at the beginning of the game to eventually to becoming spectators to the very end; when a certain protagonist overshadowed that role.
What stuck by me mostly was a certain pair of protagonists one in particular made it more ironic with a quote "I'm the leading man". Funny enough made that character; even though took on a supporting role mostly; became the "leading man" almost on par as the protagonist the game was focusing on.
I want to cut this short; but FFXII to me is truly memorable experience I had played for its story. I hope that some day they would revisit it and truly make it shine.
Thank you again for summarizing this game. It really makes me want to watch your other videos.
Thanks for watching and leaving such a great comment. I'm also very glad it is possible to randomly come across our channel! Welcome aboard!
One of my favorites still to this day. Ivalice remains Square Enix's best-crafted and most visually striking fantasy world - perhaps maybe tying with Eorzea - and I'd love to see more games set in it.
Wasn't ivalice in FFT too
Next to FF7 and FF10 this was my favorite mainline game…it was fun and the story was so deep…art direction of the game was 💯🔥
Oof how the eff do you just toss aside not one but both 8 and 9
I know right, and let’s not over look that this final fantasy is good but vaan really has little to no impact on the story as a main character it feels like he could just be replaced with anyone and the outcome would’ve been exactly the same, just some random dude that wants to be a sky pirate, is not really an in depth explanation of why the story happens, surly if he was genuinely interested in being a pirate his personality of greed steeling and plundering would only keep him apart of the quest line as long as he was going to gain out of this in some financial manner, and would probably care very little about 2 nations being at war with one another. In my opinion it kinda makes the experience of being vaan a little like he should have been a side character and not the main one, but that’s just my opinion and I’m happy to listen to any other theory if I have missed anything
One of the few Final Fantasy games that I have completed the story line and continue with content of collections of weapons and defeating epic bosses. Watching this really confronts that I had very little knowledge of what the story was talking about. All I really remember was I was a small group of players fighting evil men in fancy armor. Thank you very much for this video.
ahahah. same for me. this video helped me understand what was going on
Thanks for the summary! 😀
The game had a lot of potential; too bad that they made some last minute changes to switch its focus/progression.
Would have been very interesting to see how the game would have turned out with Matsuno finishing the project.
@@BirdsOfPlayYes in our dreams. Maybe it would be even better than FF IX.
For me Final Fantasy is a story in 13 parts ( also for symbolic reasons). While FF XII is the final Final Fantasy and FF Adventure is set between FF III and FF IV. If i would have a UA-cam channel i would make a video about the mystic between FF I-XII + Adventure and the chromatic scale. FFXIII would be the beginning of a new scale. Thank you for these beautiful videos. Please take care of FFV. Its my personal favorite.
💙May the light of the crystals shine out of your hearts warriors of light💙
I’m downloading zodiac age right now haven’t played/finished FFXII in 14 years and this video has me all pumped up thank you
We live to pump! Wish you all the best revisiting Final Fantasy XII!
One of the most underrated Final Fantasy games. The political drama was done so well and in terms of scale, this game really pushed the PS2 to its limits. Ivalice is absolutely grand scale world and has so many beautiful locations.
Final Fantasy mixed with Star Wars = Final Fantasy 12. Plus some music that sounds like Zelda.
I’ve been working my way through the saga over the past year and going into XII I had the impression that it was going to be bad as I don’t really hear people talk about it much, but oh man was I wrong, its definitely one of my favourites now.
....and there hasn't been a decent FF game since. sigh.
What's your favourite Final Fantasy?
So you've never played 14, 16 or the 7 remake series ??
Your voice was perfect for this :))
Thank you for bringing this to us
Thanks for watching! More coming soon!
Greatest story, greatest mechanics.
Sad, that the gaming community doesn’t appreciate the best game to ever appear on console.
It is meant for a more intellect, mature audience. Not saying it’s exclusive, it’s more like the audience is not adults anymore.
Best game, easily. But only if you are smart enough to play it right. This includes side content and exploration.
This sound like propaganda
Don't listen to Ondore's lies! Basch lives!
@@BirdsOfPlay what sort of heresy is this nice vid btw
Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it!
My problem with other story explainers of final fantasy is they go way too fast, yours is slow and nice like a National Geographic narrator!
My friends and I had a running gag where we referred to the characters of FF12 as "the beautiful people" because of the ridiculous amount of detail the devs put into all the characters, enemies, npcs, and environments, which was impressive for the PS2 at the time. Everything just looked like an exquisite piece of art.
Thanks for the story read!! Nice job
Thanks for watching! It helps a lot!
Amazing game! I played it in college back in 2006. Those were the days!
Fantastic narration & clear retelling of the story, well done!
Auto generated captions: Adolphus Demon Bonanza!
thanks for the vid man. This was one of my favorite final fantasy but i was like 14 at the time so i never truly understood everything. This really helped me understand without having to run the whole game again and even then i would have probably missed a thing or 2.
it's really sad how the story ends how the team split up
I'm Bosch von Rosenburg.
42:06 “my throat hurts” 💀
Why does this guy sound like he was in the game?? 😱😱😱. Insane video 🔥❤️
you sound a lot like Halim Ondore ! (the narrator from FF12)
I wish - Pétur
I keep taking huge gaps from playing this game so this video has been a life saver on remembering wtf is going on. Aside from being high quality. Thank you!
Glad to be a part of your Final Fantasy XII journey!
You sound like marquis Ondore the fourth, I love it !
Top 3 FF all time for me.
1. FF8 or FF10
3. FF12
4. FF9
5. FF 7
People think I’m insane but, FF12 is easily in my top three.
Definitely agree that people are sleeping on FF12. Sill the best among all FF franchises
Wake up people!
Am I the only one who thought Larsa was a girl for the longest time ? 😅
I want a remake of this game. The world building, the visuals and the story is just perfect.
Some love for Ivalice is always welcome!
In 14 you can visit ivalice and past characters I wish they would remake 8 that's my favorite game of all time lol
There also was a planned FFXII-2 (not the DS game), but was eventually canceled. I'm still upset about the cancelation.
This was dope af, great narration bud you sounded like a scholar speaking to his students.
Welcome to class!
@@BirdsOfPlay 'rushes to sit in first row in class' raises hand ✋️
What's next?
Working on more complete story videos. We already have scripts for a few but we're also thinking about how we can take our content to the next level!
@@BirdsOfPlay time to power level
Vayne Solidor, dictator of Arcadia? More like the T h i c c tator after that showing in the end.
This is the way.
Sir, this is Game of Thrones
Great game, but it could have had 4 great protagonists, instead of 6 with 2 useless ones.
If Balthier would have put his gun into Vaan's face to ask for the magicite, Vaan wouldn't have been part of the story any further. And not even regroup once with Penelo.
Balthier is the true hero of this story.
Best fucking game ever
Music is too loud, I can't :/
Good bro. Thanks for making this video
Thanks for watching! Helps a lot!
The dialogue was impeccably delivered and crafted from an oratory artisan; I LOVED it, especially since I usually cringe at most of the FF dialogue! Every character was my favorite because the development was so extensive and each performance was so nuanced and carefully curated, it genuinely felt like another world!
I didn't have the time to play through the game myself (got to the Grand Kiltias meeting) but I desperately wanted to know the whole story and meet all the characters!
I hate these boring political plotlines that most incredible games and anime seem to gravitate to so heavily, but these characters even made THAT interesting! Favorite characters were Balthier, Vayne, Basch and Gabranth!
Excellent job narrating, really felt like a recap with the Marquis!! Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Also Larsa, I liked a LOT! As well as Vassler! Their train of thought made their character arcs so relatable!
Let's save you from time:
FF12 ever watch Star Wars A New Hope?
Then you've played FF12
It's Star Wars A New Hope.
Damn your voice vibes hard on the story of ff12
All about those vibes!
It's almost like having a giant hole in your chest armor is... a bad idea. XD
Great video, I hope your throat didn't hurt for too long!
There are several points from FF12's story I don't get:
1. Why would Ashe fake her own suicide? What for?
2. Why wouldn't Ashe, the princess of Dalmasca and who even had her wedding with Rasler public, be recognized by both the party as well as the public even to go as far to get the dusk shard to prove her heritage?
3. Why would Vayne use the whole Gabranth/Bash killing King Raminas scheme to silence Marquis Ondore? Why did Ondore declare her niece, Ashe, committed suicide and Bash was executed when it was all a lie? Why would that damage Ondore's credibility? And why did Vayne fear Ondore? Also why did Ondore stay neutral only to organize a resistance afterwards?
4. Why is Fran with Balthier?
5. What made Larsa believe that he could achieve piece between Arcades and Rozaria by allying with Cid, the Rozarian royalty?
All of these points of the story don't make any sense to me? Are these plotholes or what?
For all these points
I can answer 4 and 5 to a certain extent.
Blathier and Fran gotten close. Let's say enough for the minor subplot of a small romantic point. My guess The two got a run in and well, found something in common.
Now for Larsa. The short story, a child like him is uncorruptble, a young prince, willing to take the risks to make peace with unlikely allies. Unlike his brother, Vayne would love to start a war. But however, Larsa was that one who sees a proper way of having a peaceful resolution. Remember, during that moment with the great sleeping sage was where all forms of peace was gone, the emperor died. As the words of al-Cid were (I think it was him) If the emperor was still alive, all forms of peace was possible, talks, and even a proper recognition of Ashe's right. But not to Vayne. Or TLDR, larsa is more diplomatic for a child.
To sum up 1-3. Ashe's royal family was still around so their is no need to recover the treasures or the one Goddess magicite was already presented at the wedding. The need of to proclam Ashe dead by suicide was a cover up. If she was still governing Dalmasca after the assassination of the King, she's going to be used as a puppet ruler, a figure head with no power. As for Ondore and his resistance? One needs to prevent one from knowing what the other does. While he stays neutral both sides will try to cox him into joining the other. Since he chose a side already, it's better to look neutral before you strike. It's all a political conspiracy. Now unless you skipped the cutscenes, didn't listen to what the whole plot was about...
to sum it all in one go,
Ashe's death was faked to prevent a puppet state, while she did lose Rassler in war, that would open a forced marriage that has more political motives that could cause more problems than what can be said. While that's going on, the assassination of the King of Dalmasca by a high ranking officer was to throw off any kind of proper insurrection to rally a proper army. Gabranth was still Basch's brother, while the motives was for political reasons, you only need to fool the public to ruin the reputation of a high ranking officer to...let's say, twist the knife in a dying man. Ondore made the announcement to cover the entire conspiracy, while that goes on the resistance builds up and Ondore is the one going be the one that leads it, while he keeps a neutral stance on things, the motives to show who he really supports is known. The resistance got someone who is still related to the royal family or connected in some way, Now onto Fran and Balthier...you don't question the lovers. As for Larsa, young, uncorruptble, willing to risk it all, actually smart enough to know the risks but still a child and breaks down after his father's death who is the only one that was needed to not continue the war
FFXII is one of my favorites. Amazing gameplay that made me love all Xenoblade Chronicles series. The puzzles and side quests are abundant and enjoyable, but it made me like
"wait, why are we going to Giruvegan?" 😂😂
I replayed it and still have to watch this video to understand the whole story
You have a voice suited to a chocolate commercial
We're ready to be sponsored by a brand of chocolate! 🍫 Although we'd settle for a toilet paper sponsorship.
The story, gameplay qnd designs r awesome but deym the summons' lore is way too dark.
Ty for making an effort narrating the story. We appreciate it so much. Kaka!
Caw-caw!
I just wish Final Fantasy 12 had like 20% more character development for some of the secondary villians. Then it would almost top Dragonquest 8 as my favorite RPG ever.
Despite trying over 5 times between the PS2 and Switch versions, I've never beaten this game. For some reason, whenever I'm supposed to go to Arcadia after the events at Bur-Omisace I end up putting the game down. This video has definitely inspired me to try again!
This is the only Final Fantasy game I've played and I love it. The soundtrack is great, the gambit system is great, the characters are fun to play as. The only complaint I have is that it's stupid I need a "license" to wear armor.
Couldn't get into FF12 for a couple of reasons but I always LOVED the world building and lore. Great video mate
cant believe I watched it untill the end
Thank you for your patience 🙏 hope you got something out of it.
@@BirdsOfPlay no! Thank "You" for creating this video! ff12 is the best ✌🏻
Thank you for this. I was playing in the end of 2021 and stopped, so I decided to continue playing it now in January 2023 but I didn't remember anything about the story.
We wish you all the best in your Final Fantasy XII journey. We just made a "Facts" video for XII and working with footage from the game really made us want to replay it!
Thanks+!
I'm currently playing it again.
Hope you have a great time!
Games like this make me wonder what Square Enix is gonna do with remakes, rumor is FF9 is next. Do we see ourselves having a remake of this in a decade? We’ll be at Final Fantasy 20 by then 😂
I always felt like Balthier emanated big Han Solo vibes, but now I see so many other similarities to Star Wars! Fran is sort of a Chewbacca, Ashe is the badass princess that is locked in another cell and needs to be jailbroken, and the judges look so much like Darth Vader
I took a sh1t while I was watching this masterpiece
ff12 is the prequel of ff tactics.
We really need to make that FF Tactics complete story video...
Unbelievable world. Fun to play. Such a shame the rushed storytelling led to the story collapsing under the weight of its own ambitions.
Thanks so much! I was pretty young g when I played this the first time and had no idea what was happening for 90% of it hahaha. Now that I’ve seen this video I’m like, OOOH that’s what they were doing! Thanks again and I hope you got some tea for that sore throat hahaha
This is top 3 FFs of all time for me. Incredible game, I can’t tell how many hours I’ve put into all its versions.
I love that you don't overextend the narration. Also, I agree you do have a great voice for these.
I loved this game when it first came out, and loved the Zodiac Age even more. But navigating in the Great Crystal must have been one of the most frustrating things ever in a video game! The gates, the powerful enemies, the secret enemies and secret items, all with no possibly to save. Could run around for hours, only to stumble on to hidden espers or something to take you out instantly 😅
12 is my favorite the easiest favorite of any series gambits and hunts the bestiary the lore thats so soooo layered. and the great cast makes its rather simple story way bigger than it needed to be. if ya cant vibe i cant relate the games great vann is a genuinely nice kid and took nothing away from ashe or balthier infact i think his support of them is how they got the will to win. its a found family of people who werent super close like a hiest film my favorite genre of film outside fantasy adventures. theres alot to like. after all final fantasy already did the best turn based system in 10. no reason to keep hammering out entirely turn based combat when technically, every game is turned based. action games just create your turn order with animation and vulnerability windows.
Best PS2 game ever... I wish i can play this game once again... But nah... Let it be memories...
Since we don't have all the time in the world to constantly relive things, memories can be great. Hopefully we can help people refresh their memories with a video like this!
you remind me of maechen from ffx!
High praise indeed!
This is one of the longest ff I ever had to play for finishing the story only it took me more than a week of trying and error this game is brutal back in ps2 but the build up is great it just the ending leaves me more to desire which we get a sequel like 10 or 13
I love how this game brings its political nature into the main narrative, with the characters goals and decisions based on political influence. Its nice after playing FF16 and seeing its politics being used as set dressing
When you hear his voice and think you're watching Animal Planet
Just could never get into this one, glad this is here so i can enjoy the game without playing it entirely. The battle system and everything just felt really bad to me.
I was looking for a FF12 lore video to replay my favourite Final Fantasy game. That's how i discovered your channel and i love it. Keep it up!
PS: Do you make a lore video for the FF13 series? I have played all 3 games and collected all achievements :)
We've already finished the script for the complete story of Final Fantasy XIII, just need time to record and edit it (it takes a while). We're also interested in making a video about the mythology of the game since it's so interesting!
I can't really unhear Valkyria vibes in FF12's soundtrack.
This was a fantastic game, set your squad and gambits up right and you were god like 😂
XII has probably the best cast of any FF game.
The first game i bought for my ps2 was ff 12 at gamestop what a time lmao
Blast from the past!
Sorry but how is the game running so smooth?
It's The Zodiac Age version.
@@BirdsOfPlay on PC right? Just booted my game on PS5 and it sure didn’t look this smooth.
We recorded on PC, yes.
I love how vaan has literally nothing at all to do with the story despite being the main character should have been basch or ashe or balthier or literally abyone else aside from penelo who also plays little to no role 😂
Holy… alright this video is fantastic. The voice of the narrator compliments it perfectly 😭.
Thanks so much! Glad you like the narration!
Best story recap of this game I've seen. Keep up the good work.
My favorite Final Fantasy.
I hate chops.
Chops can chop right off for all I care.
I'm not gonna lie everyone had good character designs terrible story
12 is like..... ok
not a masterpiece but at least a good game.
Just to let you know good sir your video is infected with adverts 👍🏻
Thank you so much for this! Your great summary of the story saved me lots of hours of replay! You rock! Like and subscribed!
This comment rocks!