Misplaced Pages

#795204

65-490: One year after the events of Final Fantasy XII , the protagonist Vaan is a sky pirate , possessing his own airship . He is joined in a quest by his friend and navigator Penelo , other returning characters from the original title, along with new characters such as Llyud, a member of the Aegyl race who have wings protruding from their backs. Their treasure-hunting adventures take them to the purvama (floating continent) of Lemurés and

130-638: A character Square found appealing. Wanting characters who could appeal to long-term fans and new fans, the team incorporated Vaan and Penelo in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift . Vaan's appearance, which was supposed to mirror that of Balthier, was suggested by Hiroaki Kato. In Dissidia , he is featured in his Final Fantasy XII design, while alternative ones depict him as in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of

195-490: A daily basis, for which Dalan gave him the nickname "Vaan Ratsbane". Despite nominally being the protagonist, the majority of the game focuses on the events and conflicts of the world as a whole and of Ashe, rather than Vaan's individual problems, with his character instead used as a narrative device to allow the player to follow the events as an outside observer. During the course of the game, Vaan comes to understand that he has spent his time running from his problems and blaming

260-496: A desire to "extract the pure 'fun' of those games" and bring it to Final Fantasy . Itō based some of his designs on those of Final Fantasy XII character designer Akihiko Yoshida . Itō "traded secrets" with him, with the confidence he gained from Final Fantasy XII creator Yasumi Matsuno 's praise on his tampering with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ' s Moogle designs. For the North American localization, Revenant Wings

325-581: A different character designer than before, he did not feel he could be compared to any other Final Fantasy character. Vaan's inclusion in Dissidia 012 met difficulties due to the fact Takeda was busy with other works to voice him. However, following a Japanese popularity survey, the staff in charge hired Kenshō Ono to replace Takeda as fans wanted him to appear in Dissidia 012 . The similarities between Vaan's design and that of Tetsuya Nomura 's characters have been criticized, which artist Akihiko Yoshida noted

390-508: A lot of character development, it is discovered Velis is, in fact, dead, and actually an esper that the group must battle when the Judge of Wings comes and controls him. After Velis is defeated (as the esper Odin), it is discovered the Judge of Wings is Mydia, but she then flees the island. Tomaj runs to the group, tells them the airship is fixed, and that he has spotted the Strahl , Balthier's ship. When

455-411: A new adventure only to be interrupted by Filo, Kytes and Tomaj with some Yarhi and Cuit Sith in tow. The game was directed and its story written by Motomu Toriyama , who also directed Final Fantasy X-2 and XIII . According to Toriyama, the game is aimed at Nintendo DS owners who are not experienced with Final Fantasy games, and removes overly complicated elements from the battle system, allowing

520-530: A vehicle for players to view the plot through, he compared him to critically acclaimed characters Crono and Link from the Chrono Trigger and The Legend of Zelda series respectively. Bobby Edner 's portrayal of Vaan has been met with mostly positive reception. Cavin Smith praised his acting, stating that he sounds like an actual teenager without sounding whiny. Agustin praised the developers for giving Vaan

585-431: A voice actor, commenting that it prevents any awkward silences from a silent protagonist. He added however that Vaan is "decidedly quiet", owing to many of the conversations not requiring his input, which Agustin called a "brilliant interactive storytelling device". His design change from Final Fantasy XII to Revenant Wings was criticized by RPGFan editor Patrick Gann, for going from a teenage design to what appears to be

650-414: Is 15 years old that knows nothing of the outside world and a philosophy to boil down friendships, he will still be able ti gather around characters on different ages and seeing in him the makings of the leader born despite his youth. Sky pirates Air pirates (or sky pirates ) are a class of stock character from science fiction and fantasy . Such characters typically operate as pirates in

715-596: Is accomplished by using a Summon Gate located in the play field area. The ability to summon the different creatures depend on the Affinity of the player characters. Additionally, two Espers per character are automatically summoned at the beginning of each battle where Espers are allowed. Espers can be linked to battle groups using a system reminiscent of the earlier Square game Bahamut Lagoon . Summons are ranked from 1 to 3, with Rank 1 and 2 able to manifest in large numbers, as opposed to Rank 3 which summons only one entity. Before

SECTION 10

#1733084589796

780-569: Is arrangements from the previous title. While the Nintendo DS has more technical limitations than the PlayStation 2, Sakimoto considers it not particularly noticeable in practice. Unlike in Final Fantasy XII , the music is entirely dynamic and context-dependent. Each track possesses different parts, ranging from musical themes of peaceful moments to frantic battle cries, which are activated when

845-616: Is distinguished according to three types: melee, ranged and flying. Melee characters attack at a close range, and ranged from afar, while flying are able to travel unbound to terrain. The types oppose each other in the manner where melee wins over ranged, ranged wins over flying and flying wins over melee. Summoning magic returns from Final Fantasy XII in Revenant Wings and has a larger role; director Motomu Toriyama said that Revenant Wings has more summons, or Espers, than any previous Final Fantasy game. Summon abilities are learned via

910-458: The air , or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet or moon, and travel by aircraft , as opposed to the more traditional pirates on the high seas, who travel by ship . However, just as traditional seafaring pirates target sailing ships, air pirates serve a similar role in science fiction and fantasy media: they capture and plunder aircraft and other targets for cargo, loot and occasionally steal an entire aircraft, sometimes killing

975-539: The protagonist . Final Fantasy XII establishes Vaan as an orphaned teenager from Rabanastre who dreams of becoming a sky pirate . He and his best friend Penelo join Dalmasca Princess Ashe in her fight against the tyranny of the Archadian Empire. Vaan also takes a more active role in the sequel Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings and has also been featured in few Final Fantasy crossover games. Vaan

1040-633: The Aegyl reside; the Aegyl are a human-like race with wings sprouting from their backs and a life-span of forty years. Due to being shielded within Lemurés, the Aegyl have no knowledge of the outside world but what they learn from intruding sky pirates. The magicite in Lemurés are known as Auracite. Fragments of Auralith, Auracites are used in the Ring of Pacts to summon beasts known as the Yarhi, referred by others of Ivalice as Espers. However, extended use of Auracite can purge

1105-653: The Archadian empire for them, rather than moving on with his life after his brother and parents' deaths. Vaan ends the game as a sky pirate, traveling the world along with Penelo. He also reprises his role from Final Fantasy XII in the manga adaptation by Gin Amou. During the events of Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings , Vaan becomes captain of the Airship Galbana and uses it to travel to Lemurés, meeting old friends while making new ones. By Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of

1170-412: The Archadian invasion of Dalmasca. He makes a living as Migelo's assistant, running various errands for him, while at the same time pickpocketing from Archadian soldiers while claiming to take back what is Dalmasca's. He is a cheerful and energetic boy. Vaan dreams of someday becoming a sky pirate in command of his own airship. He trains to meet this goal by killing dire rats in the sewers of Rabanastre on

1235-509: The Japanese version). The airship is used as a base where the player can check on their current mission and view other tasks, customize equipment in the synthesis shop, or travel between the four islands of Lemurés. The airship's interior can also be customized by the player. Revenant Wings is a real-time strategy game , but with elements reminiscent of the turn-based Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Advance . It can be played entirely with

1300-433: The Nintendo DS stylus . Battles are initiated when the player begins a mission or chooses to fight a melee battle in a particular area. The characters attack automatically once the enemy is within range. The player is given the option to give commands to the characters by tapping on them with the stylus. Possible commands include changing the character's target, setting their gambit, or using various abilities. Each character

1365-597: The Rift Vaan's and Penelo's adventures take them to the Jylland region of Ivalice, where they get caught up in events surrounding Clan Gully and a boy from another world named Luso Clemens , eventually joining up with the clan for a time. Vaan also appears in the PlayStation Portable fighting game, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy , as one of Cosmos' warriors who seek to eliminate creatures known as Maninkins. He returns in

SECTION 20

#1733084589796

1430-420: The Rift , a new one by Yoshitaka Amano and another one featuring him as sea pirate by Akihiko Yoshida. Another Final Fantasy XII centered-title, only known as Fortress , was in plans by Square Enix but was cancelled; in this video game, Vaan would remain with Penelo and live quiet lives due to the plot being more focused on other characters from the previous games, most notably Ashe, Larsa and Basch. Vaan

1495-526: The Skysea, and they go there to find Rikken, a friend of Vaan's. He says he may know something about the Judge of Wings, but to get answers, Vaan must compete in Rikken's tournament. After saving Rikken, it is revealed that Rikken knows nothing about the Judge, but Tomaj discovers there is an auracite shrine beneath the Skysea. When venturing there, the group encounters Ba'Gamnan who kidnaps Filo, taking her deeper within

1560-559: The actions of the players require it and are looped until the context is changed again. As of August 2008, Revenant Wings has sold 1.04 million units worldwide, with 540,000 units sold in Japan, 220,000 units in North America, and 280,000 in Europe. It was the best-selling Japanese console game in the week of its release, then the second best-selling in the following week. The Japanese version of

1625-577: The air. This occurred in 1917, when the civilian Norwegian schooner Royal was boarded and captured by a boarding party from the German Zeppelin L23 . However, the Royal was carrying contraband material in violation of neutrality, thus her capture and confiscation was legal. There have also been a handful of instances where interceptor aircraft have threatened an airliner or cargo plane, forcing it to land, including cases like Ryanair Flight 4978 where

1690-420: The airship whatever the player decides (default Galbana ) and find themselves on the purvama Lemurés by accident. While looking around the unknown ruins, they meet Llyud of the Aegyl race and learn his people are locked in battle with sky pirates who are raiding the island for treasure. Lemurés is said to possess summoning crystals called Auracite. Deciding to aid the Aegyl in defending Lemurés, Vaan's group learns

1755-513: The auraliths. Once awoken from the illusion, Vaan confronts Balthier, who already knew these newly discovered facts, and Balthier and Fran join the team. The group then finds the Leviathan, the ship of Queen Ashe and Judge Magister Basch, who join the team as they venture through Ivalice, Emperor Larsa also joining. Mydia, as it turns out, is a Feol Viera, more commonly known as an Exiled, of which have white skin and shorter ears and hair as compared to

1820-412: The battle begins, players can select up to five Espers to possibly summon through Esper Gates in the upcoming battle (Esper Troupes); one Rank 3 Esper, two Rank 2 Espers, and two Rank 1 Espers. Summons are also differentiated by varying elements , which are fire, water, earth, and lightning. Recovery and non-elemental are two other types. An element of alchemy and synthesizing is used in the game, where

1885-507: The building begins to collapse on itself. In the ensuing chaos, Vaan loses his airship and are forced to flee the site on Balthier's airship. Balthier soon drops Vaan and Penelo back in Rabanastre where they, along with Kytes and Filo, witness a strange object flying overhead: a derelict airship. After sneaking aboard the airship and defeating the Bangaa headhunter Ba'Gamnan, Vaan and company christen

1950-404: The crew members in the process. Their dress and speech may vary; it may correspond to the particular author's vision of the story's setting, rather than their seafaring counterparts, or they may be modeled after stereotypical sea pirates. Some air pirates are depicted using airborne aircraft carriers as mobile bases from which to conduct raids. Air pirates made early appearances in novels of

2015-495: The design of a 10-year-old Vaan. Rémi Lopez in the book La Légende Final Fantasy XII et Ivalice noted that Vaan is a character who has a chaotic creation that brought him chance to the throne as hero of the main protagonist wothout affecting hois attributes. He further said that despite the cheerful and naivety specific to many of the main characters of the Japanese RPG, Vaan doesn't lack certain characteristics because even if Vaan

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - Misplaced Pages Continue

2080-516: The designs of each Rank are so that there are relations between one Rank and another. Revenant Wings begins a year after the events of Final Fantasy XII , with Vaan flying his own airship with Penelo after Balthier and Fran "stole" the Strahl . The foursome is revisited in Bervenia and decide to accompany each other inside to obtain the Cache of Glabados. While obtaining a treasure, two strange crystals,

2145-502: The first game. Kytes and Filo appeared as a NPCs in XII , while Ba'Gamnan had been a recurring antagonist. All three characters gain larger roles in this game. Summon designs have also been changed. The lizard design of Salamander, for example, was changed to be boar-like to ensure the designs would come out well and distinguishable within the DS' graphical capabilities. Each summon has three Ranks, and

2210-404: The game not focusing on just one character, Vaan "spends the entire game as an observer of the events unfolding in front of him", adding that it is a "far different take on the protagonist compared to Nomura's egocentric tendencies". Daily Collegian was harsher to the point of listing him as one of the most useless characters in the franchise due to his lack of appeal most notably in comparison to

2275-403: The game scored 32/40 in the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu . The game also received praise from reviewers of Dengeki DS & Wii Style . Praise was given to the mission-based storyline and battles for being "simple and more involved". The large number of characters who can enter the fray at one given time gives a sense of involvement for the player as if they were "close to the action", and

2340-403: The game where every group leader is involved. In the end, Llyud deals the final blow to Feolthanos, releasing all the remaining stored anima. After the end of the battle with Feolthanos, the game ends, and the characters are shown going their separate ways as the credits roll. If 100% game completion is reached there is an extended ending which shows Vaan and Penelo leaving together as a couple on

2405-717: The game's combination of role-playing and strategy, but criticized the screen size relative to the amount of action. IGN named it Nintendo DS Game of the Month for November 2007. Vaan (Final Fantasy) Vaan ( Japanese : ヴァン , Hepburn : Van ) is a character in the Final Fantasy series from Square Enix . Created by Yasumi Matsuno and designed by Akihiko Yoshida , he first appeared in Itadaki Street Special and then appeared in Final Fantasy XII as

2470-594: The game's difficulty may appeal even to those who "do not normally play role-playing games". The only criticism found was with the usage of the stylus, as its usage in selecting areas on the battlefield can be difficult. The North American version of the game scored mainly positive reviews. Nintendo Power gave it a 7.5/10, IGN gave it an 8.3/10, 1UP.com gave it a B+, GameSpot and GameZone both gave it an 8.5/10. Electronic Gaming Monthly also gave it generally favorable reviews, with staff giving it scores of 8, 7.5, and 6 (all out of 10). The reviewers praised

2535-465: The game's focus on "political intrigue" and Vaan trying to understand it all. Cyril Lachel of GamingNexus said that while he was not a fan of Vaan, he was surprised by how his story turned out. 1UP.com editor Andrew Pfister stated that while everyone was expecting to hate what he describes as an "angsty teen", this is "tempered by the presence of Balthier and Basch", two fellow characters. Kotaku ' s Jason Schreier considered Vaan and Penelo

2600-470: The game's sequel, Dissidia NT , as one of Materia's champions. He is also featured in the rhythm game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and its sequels, Curtain Call and Final Bar Line , as the main character representing Final Fantasy XII . Yasumi Matsuno added Vaan and Penelo to be male and female avatar characters for the player in Final Fantasy XII . They would see and learn about Ivalice in sync with

2665-444: The game's weak points as they compared them with other characters such as Balthier and Asche whose actions were "interesting". Christian Nutt of GamesRadar made fun of the character in an article about the best Final Fantasy heroes stating that Vaan would definitely not be included. Meanwhile, USGamer simply described him as a stereotypical character often seen in anime series aimed at young people. Schreier went harsher, to

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - Misplaced Pages Continue

2730-550: The god, is, himself, the last auralith. When the team ventures all the way to the seat of Feolthanos' power, they battle him and the anima-stripped Aegyl he commands. When he is almost defeated, he summons Bahamut to do battle with the team. After his giant shrine is destroyed, there is a one-on-one battle between Vaan and Feolthanos in which Feolthanos is apparently stronger, but as Vaan begins to lose, his friends come to back him up: first Ashe and Basch, Balthier and Fran, then Filo and Kytes, Llyud, and finally Penelo---the only battle in

2795-509: The ground below, where the story begins. Revenant Wings is the first title announced in the Ivalice Alliance series of video games. The North American release of the game was rebalanced to be more difficult than the Japanese version, and was released on November 20, 2007. After completing a prologue sequence, the player starts the game with an airship , named after their clan (with a default name of Galbana, or Beiluge ( ベイルージュ ) in

2860-426: The group finds the ship, they find Fran, who says Balthier is within a mountain on the island they are now on. Once inside, the group discovers an auralith, and the group plus Fran must defeat Mydia and the esper Mateus while protecting Balthier. Once defeated, Mydia flees without destroying the auralith, but Balthier then turns on the group and destroys the auralith, which sends the party into an illusion. While within

2925-447: The illusion, the team discovers the Aegyl are so emotionless because they are deprived of anima, which is harvested by their god, Feolthanos, and stored in the auraliths. This illusion is the world of the espers, and they find Velis, who makes everything clear: Mydia is a body, stripped of its anima, controlled by Feolthanos to reap anima for him, and if the auraliths are destroyed, the Aegyl's anima will return and as such, they must destroy

2990-422: The late 19th century, as well as silent films, comics and pulp magazines , and have since appeared in a variety of media, including alternate history , steampunk , and dieselpunk works. In real-life use, the phrase " air piracy " more often refers to the hijacking and illegal seizure of an aircraft. However, there has been at least one occasion of an act of nautical-type ship capture being conducted from

3055-415: The most uninspiring character in the game". Play.tm editor Andrew Macarthy described Vaan as an "undescribing figure". Eurogamer editor Rob Fahey opined that while "players may initially be somewhat dismayed to find themselves largely following around the cheerful prettyboy Vaan", the game introduces new characters who "fill out the cast superbly". PSX Extreme editor Cavin Smith commented that due to

3120-455: The new Ring of Pacts system, which is used to allow the summoning of Espers. Each slot in the Ring of Pacts is placed with an Auracite to create a pact with the Esper. The number of summons available to the player is fifty-one, and they are classified in different categories, with each character able to summon a large number depending on the party's combined capacity. Summoning Espers to aid in battle

3185-522: The normal Viera who are darker-skinned and longer-haired. While in Roda Volcano, the team battles Mydia and the esper Chaos, and, as Mydia takes her dying breath, requests the team go to Feolthanos' palace above Lemurés and kill him. Her anima guides them up as they prepare to open the final chapter of their story. Above Lemurés, the team battles reincarnations of dead Aegyl, and then battle the reincarnated form of Mydia's anima, while discovering Feolthanos,

3250-503: The official website as a legendary purvama (floating continent) raised into the skies by the god Feolthanos long before the events of the game. Because of the effect of Cloudstones or "Auraliths", magical stones used to erect barriers, this purvama is shielded from the rest of the world. In time, the "Legend of the Floating Land" became an ambition for sky pirates who seek the island and what riches are on it. The ruins of Lemurés are where

3315-411: The party members from his game. PALGN editor Phil Larsen called him a "rogue-ish bad boy with a heart of gold", adding that "while this may seem clichéd at first, Vaan is always presented as extremely young and never tries to control every situation", citing Tidus as an example of someone who does. Worthplaying editor Agustin described the set-up as being " Dragon Quest -like", and that while he acts as

SECTION 50

#1733084589796

3380-439: The pirates were recruited by the mysterious Judge of Wings, who seeks out the three Auraliths, grand masses of Auracite that protect Lemurés from the outside world. When the group confronts the Judge of Wings at the site of the first auralith, the Judge of Wings destroys the auralith, leading Vaan and his friends to have visions of Balthier confronting the Judge of Wings and losing, after which they hear sky pirates are gathering at

3445-457: The player obtains recipes and materials necessary for the synthesis process. Only leader characters can obtain the materials, of which can be synthesized into weapons and armor and the stats of being dependent on the materials' grade. A few locations in the Ivalice of Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance return in Revenant Wings , along with a new setting: Lemurés, described in

3510-480: The player over the course of the game but would not be deeply connected to the story. The development team explained that their previous game, Vagrant Story , which featured a "strong man in his prime" as the protagonist had been unsuccessful and unpopular; the change regarding Final Fantasy XII from a "big and tough" protagonist to a more effeminate one was thus decided after targeting demographics were considered. Although originally conceived as more "rugged", Vaan

3575-444: The player to defeat the enemies with minimal controls. The game was the second and the last game developed by Think & Feel, their first game being The Con on the PlayStation Portable . The game features a sprite-based graphics engine with 3D backgrounds and character designs by Ryoma Itō ( Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ). Producer Eisuke Yokoyama cited Warcraft and Age of Empires as sources of inspiration and expressed

3640-480: The point of making a podcast titled "Vaan Really Sucks" as he and his partner interacted about video games. DualShockers thought that Vaan was one of the "most misunderstood Final Fantasy protagonist" and stated that it "was actually the most important character in his story." His lessened involvement with the plot compared to protagonists from preceding Final Fantasy titles was met with mixed reception. Destructoid editor Aaron Linde described him as "arguably

3705-502: The shrine. When the group catches up with him, Rikken agrees to help rescue Filo, and once she is rescued, the party moves on to confront the esper Belias, the Gigas, that was summoned by the Judge of Wings. Once defeated, the Judge summons the massive esper Bahamut, who destroys the Skysea, and the party becomes island-trapped. While stranded, the group meets Velis, a man who was at Nalbina and got lost while searching for his lover, Mydia. After

3770-419: The user of his or her anima, which becomes a new Yarhi and continues the cycle until the user becomes a soulless shell. Revenant Wings adds four main playable characters to the six in Final Fantasy XII : Kytes and Filo, two orphans from Rabanastre; Llyud, a resident of Lemures; and Ba'Gamnan, a sinister bounty hunter who has a grudge against Vaan and company for having involved themselves in his affairs during

3835-433: Was changed during development of the game to be more effeminate after "taking into consideration the target demographic". He was designed by character designer Akihiko Yoshida to look Asian. In response to criticism from Western fans regarding Vaan's design executive producer Akitoshi Kawazu noted that while several members from the development team were not feeling Vaan was the right main character owing to his young age, it

3900-473: Was common for Japanese RPG to start with an inexperienced characters who grow across the game. Motomu Toriyama , the writer and director of Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings , picked Vaan as his favourite character in the game. In the making of the high-definition of XII , the staff reflected on how "weak" and unreliable he was in the original game. However, they jokingly discussed together that ten years later, he could become more appealing than Balthier ,

3965-403: Was conceptualized as the main character for Final Fantasy XII in order to contrast the older hero from Square's previous title Vagrant Story as a result of negative feedback received by fans. Critical reception to Vaan's character has been mixed as a result of his lack of involvement with Final Fantasy XII ' s plot, although various video game publications still found him likable. Vaan

SECTION 60

#1733084589796

4030-528: Was first introduced in the 2004 crossover board game Itadaki Street Special for the PlayStation 2 . He also appears in Itadaki Street Portable for the PlayStation Portable . The protagonist of Final Fantasy XII , Vaan is a 17-year-old orphaned street urchin who lost his parents in a plague when he was 12 years old. His only brother, Reks, died two years prior to the start of the game, during

4095-475: Was likely due to the similar colours used. In the book Final Fantasy and Philosophy: The Ultimate Walkthrough , he is described by Greg Littmann as a pick pocket and, unlike many of Final Fantasy ' s protagonists, lacking in a "sense of honesty and justice". GameSpot editor Greg Kasavin described Vaan as the "token androgynous male lead", also describing him as an " Aladdin -type". G4 TV editor Greg Orlando described him as "eminently likable" due to

4160-455: Was rebalanced to make it more difficult because the North American market is judged as "more familiar" with the real-time strategy genre. They also added a dungeon and a boss from Final Fantasy XII . Revenant Wings was scored by Final Fantasy XII composer Hitoshi Sakimoto , joined by Kenichiro Fukui , who had arranged the English version of " Kiss Me Good-Bye ". Most of the music for the game

4225-529: Was voiced in Final Fantasy XII by Bobby Edner in English and by Kouhei Takeda in Japanese. With the casting of Takeda for the voice acting and motion capture, Vaan became a little less feminine and more "active, upbeat bright and positive" than planned. In the making of the English version, some lines involving Vaan had to be changed for its release but without the loss of the real information. When asked how he compares to other Final Fantasy protagonists, Hideo Minaba said that due in part to being designed by

#795204