Line #16 Awesome/FinalFantasyXII


1	!As a Moment of Awesome page, spoilers are left unmarked.
2	* Basch's final duel with Gabranth and Balthier repairing the ''Bahamut'' and piloting it away from Rabanastre, respectively, are probably the best.
3	* Vayne makes his entrance to the plot with a passionate speech promising to be a benevolent ruler. Then he manipulates the [[LaResistance Resistance]] to attack him during a banquet, luring them into a trap. A good intoduction for a WellIntentionedExtremist and ManipulativeBastard.
4	* Fran reacting violently to the Mist while captured. After convulsing in pain, she then, after letting out a terrifying scream contrary to her reserved, subtle nature, proceeds to tear the Imperial guard trying to hold her down a new one by ''flipping on them with claws and jumping off each other rapidly single-handedly''.
5	** Fran also gets a special mention for not being held up as a sex symbol depending on how you interpret it, despite her clothing... or lack of it.
6	* In the Pharos, where our princess finally decides to defy her desire for revenge ''and'' the will of the gods, finally and truly becoming heroic:
7	-->'''Ashe:''' Rasler. My prince. Our time was short. Yet I know this: ''(raises her voice)'' You were not the kind to take base revenge! I am no false saint for you to use! In all Dalmasca's history, not once did we rely on the Dusk Shard. Our people resolved never to use it, though their need might be dire. ''(sighs)'' That was the Dalmasca I wanted back.
8	* Vaan telling Gabranth, the man who murdered his brother in cold blood, how revenge is pointless. He's saying this to the man who murdered his guardian and forced him to live on the streets for two years.
9	* And then, at the very end of the game:
10	-->'''Venat:''' They are fulfilled beyond your knowing. The Cryst is sundered, age of Stones complete. From the undying ones the world is freed. You shall not tread this path alone. Together we go. Come.
11	** Until this point, it was ambiguous whether Venat was an ally or a ManipulativeBastard toward Vayne and Cid, but then, while it would have been easy for them to leave and abandon Vayne who ''asked'' for it, the renegade Occuria chooses to stay and die alongside their remaining ally. It definitely proves that they really respected Vayne and Cid, and were truly an idealist ready to give up their immortality for humanity's freedom. We then learn that the bad guys were a legitimate band of TrueCompanions, and we get a very rare example of a RousingSpeech given by the last boss who knows they will not survive this, but accepts their death anyway because they feel that [[DoomedMoralVictor their role is fulfilled]]: making a game when the player can ''respect'' the villains for more than [[DracoInLeatherPants being sexy]] is quite a feat.
12	* Also, Judge Zargabaath's redemption for his earlier failures in the game's closing act. It proves unnecessary, but it was a damn heroic sentiment. It helps that he's voiced by Simon Templeman, who plays Kain in the ''Legacy of Kain'' series, a game series renowned for its voice acting. Anyone who's played those games knows that his voice exudes awesome.
13	* [[HeroicSacrifice "I, Judge Magister,]] [[TakingYouWithMe condemn you to oblivion!"]]
14	* Larsa's comes when, after defending Vayne for the whole game, Larsa finally sees that his brother has [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope gone off the deep end]] and stands up to him. "Though I lack your power, I will still persist." Then Larsa dissolves Vayne's swords, leaving Vayne shocked.
15	* Gabranth finally [[HeelFaceTurn turning against Vayne]] in the final battles. As Vayne [[HulkingOut Hulks Out]] on manufacted nethicite, the injured Gabranth drags himself up the steps. Vayne notices him and gives his command.
16	-->'''Vayne''': Gabranth, you will defend my brother. He will have much need in the Hell to follow.\
17	'''Gabranth''': ''(points sword at Vayne)'' [[ExactWords Yes, I]] ''[[ExactWords will]]'' [[ExactWords protect Lord Larsa.]]\
18	'''Vayne''': [[TranquilFury The hound strays. Treason bears a Price.]]\
19	'''Gabranth''': One I gladly pay.
20	** And then in a cutscene after the fight, Gabranth charges his sword and [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice skewers Vayne]], and then narrowly dodges one of Vayne's Sephira swords aimed at his head, shattering part of his helmet allowing him and Vayne to look each other in the eye.
21	--->'''Gabranth''': Even a stray has pride.
22	* Vaan picking up one of Gabranth's swords, charging Vayne, and mortally wounding him in the process.
23	* There's more than a few, notably Balthier's Hovercycle escape, but one that stands out would have to be Balthier and Cid atop the Pharos at Ridorana. It's the sort of scene you can watch again and again, undoubtedly silly but still so awesome.
24	** Any scene involving a Judge Magister, or them talking and debating with each other. Few and far between though.
25	** Reddas going out by tanking a Mist nuke to save the party and atone for Nabudis. The people in Balfonheim who knew him call it a so-so death for him, which says a lot about about the guy; a ''tactical nuke to the face'' was a "so-so" death. Exactly what would qualify as an epic death!?
26	* When the party reaches reach Eruyt Village the Viera are all ignoring you and telling you to piss off in not-so-rude words. Vaan's paraphrased response is "I don't care what you want", and continues browbeating them until they finally give in - even Balthier admits that he didn't think they would get anything out of the Viera. More awesomely, once it is revealed the Viera don't care about Mjrn anymore because she left their village, he then points out that pointing them in the right direction will see them gone as well, and so they're all better off if the Viera help them (whereas if they don't, they might just stay). He didn't so much pester them as he ''manipulated'' them into helping.
27	* Judge Drace gets one when she attempts to strike down Vayne for the murder of his father, even when Bergan informs her that by doing so, she is raising her sword against the army itself. Even though the scene leads to Bergan effortlessly throwing her aside and Gabranth being forced to execute her so that he might stay in Vayne's service to protect Larsa, it's still pretty awesome. She gets even more awesome when rather than protesting her fate, she calmly orders Gabranth to get on with it while extracting a promise from him to protect Larsa.
28	* The ''Leviathan'' exploding after Ghis tests the Dawn Shard by sticking it in the ship's drive. Awesome in that "wrath of God" type way.
29	* Judge Bergan's insane and truly awesome rant against the Gods and the Power of Man as he stands over the corpse of Ivalice's High Kiltias. His delivery is simply glorious and Creator/GaryMartin, who like Templeman has a extensive résumé of awesome voices, is having a ball hamming it up with oozing theatricality. The boss fight that follows is disappointingly easy, but the scene and the monologue itself are some of the best writing in the series.
30	* All [[LimitBreak Quickenings]] count due to their eye-catching animations and the pure awesome these characters can do, but a few truly take the cake:
31	** Vaan's Lv. 2 Quickening, White Whorl, where he summons a veritable cyclone upon his target.
32	** Vaan's Lv. 3 Quickening, Pyroclasm, has Vaan summon two very large fire orbs as his [[GlowingEyesOfDoom eyes briefly glow blue]]. After throwing one, he launches the other into it with such force that the sky basically '''lights on fire''', raining hell upon the target.
33	** Basch's Lv. 2 Quickening, Ruin Impendent, has the man punch the target several times, ''cracking the fabric of reality''. One more strong strike causes it to collapse upon itself like a black hole.
34	** Penelo's Lv. 3 Quickening, Resplendence, whereupon she essentially ''freezes reality itself and then shatters it'' just to cause damage to the enemy.
35	* For the Espers, Zodiark's Final Eclipse qualifies due to how overblown the whole thing is. The entire sequence clocks in at nearly a minute and chronicles Zodiark's growth from a baby to an adult winged serpent. And despite being a dark elemental Esper, the attack is not dark elemental, though it ''does'' shatter reality on a grand scale. In the original game, it'll always defy the damage cap of 9,999 (unlike other Espers' final attacks); in fact, the base damage of Final Eclipse is ''50,000'' (60,000 in TZA).
36	* Once you defeat the ultimate MarathonBoss, Yiazmat, a cutscene shows Montblanc and all five of his siblings, Sorbet, Nono, Hurdy, Gurdy, and Horne, coming into Clan Centurio's hideout to congratulate you for not only killing their master's murderer, but also for becoming the greatest hunter in all Ivalice.
37	* After the party breaks out of prison, Vossler reluctantly entrusts Basch with the Sword of the Old Order. Before he leaves, Vossler warns him of his mistrust, which Basch turns into a chilling BadassBoast:
38	-->'''Vossler''': Listen to me, Basch. Your cage may have no bars, but it is a cage. The eyes of the Resistance watch unblinking.

Context Awesome / FinalFantasyXII