History VideoGame / FinalFantasyXII

* TwinSwitch: Deconstructed and justified with Basch and Gabranth. The reason that Gabranth was able to frame Basch for King Raminas's assassination was, precisely because people would find this trope implausible. The only people who would believe Basch would be those who know that the two are brothers. Even the party only really believes Basch because they'd seen Gabranth's face. [[spoiler:After Noah's death, it works just as easily in the other direction, allowing Basch to [[LastRequest protect Larsa in his place]].]]

** Some feel the same about Quickenings. They look awesome, but figuring out how to chain them together can be a headache, and even the damage they deal is somewhat random. In the early-to-mid game, they're a great way to finish off tough foes (or at least greatly weaken them), yet by the late game you'll generally deal just as much damage using your party's normal attacks, as they unfortunately don't scale with you.

* LipLock: International versions of the game don't edit the Japanese-matching lip flaps. This can be distrcting, but it's somewhat tempered by the fact that many minor cutscenes use [[GoingThroughTheMotions simple open-and-shut lip flaps]] that don't match the Japanese dub either.

** Additionally, the Archadian Empire isn't evil -- despite their leaders' actions in the war, many Imperials are usually decent guys who uphold the safety of the Empire's citizens, even in conquered territories, and the Archadian people are as sympathetic and human as anyone from Rabanastre. That doesn't change the fact that Vayne is still a megalomaniacal asshole who wants to rule the world, nor does it change the fact that the Empire conquered other realms for power. It's more of a case of both sides having issues. The good guys are just a lot better.

--->'''Vaan''': I'm just along for the ride.

** Firemane is boss battle at the end of Garamsythe Waterway, which pops and goes away just like that. [[HappyEndingOverride Cut to the Archadians arresting you]].
** Mimic Queen. Probably the only hint to its appearance is a foreshadowing [[ViewersAreGeniuses rooted in your knowledge of animal organization]]. Barheim Passage is populated by the insect-like Mimics. They have to have a queen somewhere.

* EventFlag: The game is structured around them. Essentially, a bunch of things are unlocked after different stages of the game. They are as follows: the Consul Parade, scaping from Barheim Passage, visiting Marquis Ondore's estate at Bhujerba, the events of Raithwall's Tomb and the immediate aftermath, defeating Judge Bergan at Mt. Bur-Omisace, escaping Draklor Laboratories, leaving Giruvegan, and the events at the Pharos at Ridorana.

** A new player going into the game with no prior knowledge could reasonably assume Prince Rassler to be the main character, given that he's a handsome, young, [[HeroesPreferSwords sword-wielding]], white-haired pretty boy in a Japanese role-playing game. That same player will then likely be surprised when Rassler bites the dust ''before the opening cutscene is even over''.

* ImprobableAimingSkills: [[{{Mook}} The Imperial Trooper]] who kills Rassler does so by shooting him with an arrow. Through the one unarmored spot on his body. While Rassler is mounted. In the middle of a pitched battle. Across the span of a bridge. ''At night''. If it wasn't for the fact Basch kills him, the man would probably be deserving of a promotion.

** A new player going into the game with no prior knowledge could reasonably assume Prince Rassler to be the main character, given that he's a handsome, young, [[HeroesPreferSwords sword-wielding]], white-haired pretty boy in a Japanese role-playing game. That same player will then likely be surprised when Rassler buys the farm ''before the opening cutscene is even over''.

** Following the prologue, Reks's brother Vaan serves as the main character for the first act of the story. While Vaan doesn't die, he gets shoved into the background almost immediately after Ashe, the "real" main character, joins the party, and the most relevance he serves from this point forward is as a MoralityPet for Ashe. This is despite him having been the focus up to this point, and [[MagneticHero his actions having been solely responsible for bringing all of the heroes together in the first place]]. The sudden shift in focus can be quite jarring.

** Espers' designs are awesome, but in the end they are just simply weaker and more limited than not summoning them at all and sticking with your regular party. Many players go through the game without summoning a single one.
** Same problem with Quickenings. They look awesome, but in the end they aren't worth it. Simply figuring out how to use them and chain them together is a headache. The game doesn't explain it, so many players resort to the Internet. Turns out there is a lot of randomness involved: the odds of forming a chain is random, and even the damage they deal is somewhat random. By the time the long and awesome-looking attack animation finishes, you could probably have dealt just as much damage simply using your party's normal attacks. Worst of all, they do not scale. Once your characters reach a high enough level they will surpass their own Quickenings in damage output, making using them a waste of time.

*** Particular mention to the Tournesol, another of the most powerful weapons in the game, because it encompasses all of the above. It can only be obtained by purchasing it at the Bazaar by selling three each of three particular pieces of loot. You get one each of them from Montblanc for doing various tasks, so how do you get the other two each? You have to track down more very rare loot items, three for each loot piece, most only obtainable from one or two enemies, often times Rare Game. Hoard those nine very rare loot items, sell them to the Bazaar in the right quantities to unlock the Tournesol's trade components, buy those trade components, and then sell ''them'' back to unlock the sword at last. Again, ''nowhere'' is the player told what, where, when, or in what order to do any of this - or even what their reward will be if they happen to do it correctly.

* AnAesop: Revenge solves nothing. If you get revenge on someone, you're no better than them.

* BrokenAesop: At the end of the Gil Snapper hunt, Elder Brunoa gives a speech about how it's wrong to kill animals to sell parts of them at market, in a game where this is your primary source of income, at the end of a mission where you killed an animal just because someone was willing to pay you to do so. In an area not too far away from packs of Worgen, which occasionally drop a loot item worth more than a thousand gil, no less.

* MultiMeleeMaster: The entire cast has twelve different melee weapon types to choose from: [[CoolSword Swords]], Axes, [[DropTheHammer Hammers]] [[CarryABigStick Maces]], [[DeviousDaggers Daggers]], [[{{BFS}} Great Swords]], [[KatanasAreJustBetter Katanas]], [[ReverseGrip Ninja Swords]], Spears, Poles, [[MagicWand Rods]], and [[MagicStaff Staves]]. Each character can wield them with near equal efficiency largely only dictated by the characters stats.

* StayInTheKitchen: Notes about the Viera state that they practice a GenderFlipped version of this - Viera males live separate from the women and generally do not leave their villages except for meeting with the Viera females that are generally seen.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The mark in the Rabanastre sewers is translated (correctly) as "Orthros", in reference to Greek myth. However, that obfuscates it's a MythologyGag to '''Ultros''', the recurring inept boss from ''Final Fantasy VI''.

''Final Fantasy XII'' is the twelfth main game in the [[RunningGag butt-blisteringly]] popular ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' {{RPG}} series, released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 in 2006. In a first for mainline games, ''XII'' isn’t set in its own new universe, but rather takes place in an existing setting, namely the land of VideoGame/{{Ivalice|Alliance}}. It's a standalone prequel to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' and takes place many, many years before in an Ivalice with technology and nations more grand than anything seen there.

An HD UpdatedRerelease for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, ''Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age'', was released in July 2017 in all major regions (July 11 in Western regions, July 13 in Japan), implementing the ''International Zodiac Job System'' release and all of its changes and features, including a high-definition retexturing and orchestrated music tracks. A UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} port was released on February 2, 2018 worldwide, and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and UsefulNotes/XboxOne ports were released in April 2019 (April 25 in Japan, April 30 in the West).