#Final Fantasy#XII#FFXII#Archadian. So @erlenwald challenged me to draw Judge Bergan in his manly glory and I EAGERLY ACCEPTED and decided he. For Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age on the PlayStation 4, a GameFAQs message board topic titled 'Trial #100'. The Judges have Gabranth and Bergan as the frontline, and Ghis, Drace, and Zargabaath as support. (Meterorite (B) will also inflict Disease). If you have Mist Charges to spare, you may consider unleashing Zodiark’s Final. Final Fantasy XII, a role-playing video game released by Square Enix in 2006, revolves around. Vossler dons an Archadian judge armor to fool the guards and enable them to rescue the Princess, and escape to Bhujerba where they plan to.
Final Fantasy 12 5 Judges
For years, we would gloss over this iconic image of the five antagonists as FFXII continued its six year development cycle (which, prior to FFXV, was the longest time it took for an FF game to release). A considerable amount of hype was built up around these amazingly-designed armored bad-asses, with early reviewers calling them 'Sephiroth times five' (because now and forever, Sephiroth is going to be the main metric to which all FF bad guys are measured.even if you liked Kefka more).Instead, what we got were five mooks that barely got as much development as the Turks, or even Seifer's Disciplinary Committee. Instead, the Judges were more like FFIV's Four Fiends: powerful enemies that came and went the moment they made their appearance as the latest boss to take down.Actually, scratch that.the Judges don't even reach that level, since you don't even fight all of them (and no, the tacked-on boss trial after the fact does not count).Let's run through each Judge one at a time, starting with the one that got the most development as well as a complete arc throughout FFXII's story.
You were expecting Gabranth? Too bad, because that honor goes to Judge Ghis.' But he was the first of the Judges to go down!' , you may protest. Even so, Ghis was also the one Judge to have a complete story that is witnessed to completion by the main cast. The group encounters him engaging in the strong-arm political maneuvers that Archadia is known for, they fight him as the first major boss battle with a party, they continue to engage with him when he's out of the mask (adding an extra bit of character that puts him above a simple faceless underling), and they are even present when he is done in by his own hubris. As villains go, Ghis met all the criteria of a decent threat, brief as though his time may have been.But that's still way more screen-time than Judge Drace got.
And then we get to Judge Zargabaath, who was such a nothing character that his name wouldn't show up in Google's autocomplete. Seriously, how many here even remembered his name?Zargabaath gets an honorary sticker as the one surviving Judge in the game, showing up in the ending CG to bark a single order and.that's it. It was a role that any random imperial mook could have done instead. There is perhaps no other character that perfectly illustrates FFXII's cut narrative, when he literally has nothing to do throughout the story. Finally we get to Judge Gabranth, aka the only Judge anyone liked. Truth be told, Gabranth was a decent antagonist, someone who wasn't entirely evil, but chose the path that he felt was the best for his people and kingdom. He did unmistakably evil things, but there was a deeper purpose to it, and he didn't just mindlessly obey orders.But, much like main antagonist Vayne, he does a 180 in his convictions after a single boss fight.
Despite all the big speeches he makes throughout the battle, he changes his mind and aids the heroes in bringing down Vayne in a final moment of redemption that did not feel entirely earned. Rather, the clock was ticking on wrapping up FFXII's troubled story, so we just whizzed right to the punchline. Also, he probably would have gotten much more development if Basch was the main character like it was originally planned.Also, a special shout-out to Final Fantasy XIV for taking the Judge concept and doing it way better.
They may not have had any actual character development, but they at least functioned as the game's defining mechanic. You got the whole story about their roles in FFTA, and you had to constantly change your gameplay tactics built around their arbitrary Rules. That's a much more consistent concept to deal with than half of the missing baddies in FFXII.Seriously, I'm sure a lot of people are going to argue otherwise, but that's where I stand with them. It's a sore spot that's never going to heal, especially as I'm running through the game gain courtesy of TZA (which I'm enjoying, all things considered).
You can tell how the narrative fell off in the back half of the game by the way Ghis is treated compared to the others. And even that is no excuse for how Drace was handled.These are characters that should have maintained a threatening and consistent presence throughout the game. While much cartoonier and more overtly anime, I think taking a look at Tales of Symphonia's Desian Leaders is a good case study on how to properly treat a group of themed bad guys. Each of them got their Ghis-like arc, each one was fleshed out as a character, and each one had a boss fight with their own unique fighting style.Modern Final Fantasy needs to start delivering on its concepts. The judges, FFXIII's Jihl and Yaag, and XV's imperial baddies are all shameful examples of wasted potential.
Great foundations for good bad guys in all of them, but nothing more.Gabranth was awesome though. You can tell how the narrative fell off in the back half of the game by the way Ghis is treated compared to the others. And even that is no excuse for how Drace was handled.These are characters that should have maintained a threatening and consistent presence throughout the game. While much cartoonier and more overtly anime, I think taking a look at Tales of Symphonia's Desian Leaders is a good case study on how to properly treat a group of themed bad guys.
Each of them got their Ghis-like arc, each one was fleshed out as a character, and each one had a boss fight with their own unique fighting style.Modern Final Fantasy needs to start delivering on its concepts. The judges, FFXIII's Jihl and Yaag, and XV's imperial baddies are all shameful examples of wasted potential.
Great foundations for good bad guys in all of them, but nothing more. It seems like your complaints revolve around screen time and built up hype rather than their roles in the story. I'm guessing you wanted each judge to have a main villain-esque arc in the game to feel satisfied, but that's obviously not possible.I for one loved that this group of antagonists all had their own ambitions and allegiances. Ghis for himself, Gabranth and Drace for Larsa, Bergan for Vayne, and the neutral Zargabaath for whoever is in charge at the time. If Vayne and Cidolfus are main antagonists, then we could consider the Judge Magisters supporting antagonists.Also, Gabranth had the most development and is really emblematic of the redemption theme in the story, which is why he is the logo of the game. And obviously, he's the catalyst that sets the whole events of the game into motion.Every character isn't meant to have a full character arc in a story. Every character doesn't need to have a full character arc in a story.
Some characters can serve a purpose in the plot and not be needed beyond that purpose. What's next, complaints that Tomaj and Kites didn't get enough backstory? FFXIV in no way uses the concept 'better', in fact it uses it in the exact same way.
In the end we're talking about characters who are wearing really cool armor designed to make them look unique and imposing, but beyond that they are just mostly soldiers who have different reasons to be there. Reasons which aren't always fully explored because they are supporting characters.None of them in FFXIV ever 'live up' to being a true Darth Vader villain or whatever expectations people have of them. They show up in a couple (literally a couple) of cutscenes spread over a 100+ hour campaign. You beat them in boss fights.
They die and talk a bit about themselves, or someone else says something about them later, that's it. FFXIV in no way uses the concept 'better', in fact it uses it in the exact same way. In the end we're talking about characters who are wearing really cool armor designed to make them look unique and imposing, but beyond that they are just mostly soldiers who have different reasons to be there.
Reasons which aren't always fully explored because they are supporting characters.None of them in FFXIV ever 'live up' to being a true Darth Vader villain or whatever expectations people have of them. They show up in a couple (literally a couple) of cutscenes spread over a 100+ hour campaign. You beat them in boss fights. They die and talk a bit about themselves, or someone else says something about them later, that's it. Tbh I never got far in XII and wanted to give it another go in light of this remaster. I probably still will down the line, but this is a discouraging take.I kind of held on to hope of XII being an intensely political take on Final Fantasy, which, well, if you're political actors are largely just window dressing to more rote JRPG plot than it isn't a particularly political game.So I'd hope I'd walk away with a different impression or that there is strong political drama elsewhere in the story. FFXIV in no way uses the concept 'better', in fact it uses it in the exact same way.
In the end we're talking about characters who are wearing really cool armor designed to make them look unique and imposing, but beyond that they are just mostly soldiers who have different reasons to be there. Reasons which aren't always fully explored because they are supporting characters.None of them in FFXIV ever 'live up' to being a true Darth Vader villain or whatever expectations people have of them. They show up in a couple (literally a couple) of cutscenes spread over a 100+ hour campaign. You beat them in boss fights. They die and talk a bit about themselves, or someone else says something about them later, that's it. For me it fell apart shortly after you rescue Basch, around the Sandsea. The story doesn't get bad, it just.
Vanishes for a good while before suddenly resurfacing againOut of XII, XIII, and XV, I think XII actually has the most glaring amount of missing chunks despite telling a more complete story than XV, if only because it's impossible to tell what was dropped in development or never left Matsuno's mind. With XV, even though it was told poorly, we at least know the general gist of what a complete game might have looked like. For me it fell apart shortly after you rescue Basch, around the Sandsea. The story doesn't get bad, it just. Vanishes for a good while before suddenly resurfacing againOut of XII, XIII, and XV, I think XII actually has the most glaring amount of missing chunks despite telling a more complete story than XV, if only because it's impossible to tell what was dropped in development or never left Matsuno's mind. With XV, even though it was told poorly, we at least know the general gist of what a complete game might have looked like.
I doubt that any villain in FF14 will ever be of Darth Vader status, even Ascians does not fill this role, as FF14 more focused on complex relationship chart than one super-villain.For what they are main cast of armored corps (White Raven, Baltazar, Nero) handled rather well with their stories. Yes, Nero (as only survived member) presence is not that big now, as there are already tons of other NPCs competing for screen time, but it still good to know that he was not simply discarded to oblivion as 'previous expansion villain'(one should remember that ff14 judges were a main force in Legacy, too bad that part is not available now, and 2.0 is only second half of the story).
I agree its a wasted opportunity. The judges as characters present themselves as inherently interesting as soon as you see them. The armor, the voices, the power, the presence ect. Makes the player want more instantly, at least in my case.That said, The Judges were not the main characters or the central antagonist to be dealt with. They definitely left a lot to be desired, especially me and Zagabbath because he was bad ass looking and I was happy he survived. So Im not a hundred percent torn up they got skipped over a bit, but im not happy either. From the cutscene, it looks like she literally gets one-shot-insta-killed by what appears to be an off-hand basic 'Ruin' spell, which is literally the weakest magic possible.Maybe it was supposed to show us just how frail 'regular' humans are, since the playable party is all l'Cie?Then again, she jumps down from that platform that's easily 30 feet in the air and lands like it was nothing, then she faces down the entire party with a gun drawn on her and acts as though it's barely a threat.Didn't stop it from being a massively disappointing anti-climax, though.
It really does have a great setup, its intro is right up there with the best in the franchise, and the Occuria plotline is conceptually very interesting.In my head I wonder if it would have tied into Tactics a bit more had he stayed. Ajora, hints at what caused the calamity that got rid of airships and the non-Hume races, etc. I don't think we would have seen any of this regardless but maybe it would have at least been referenced (and maybe the Occuria had something to do with it). Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I mean, the zodiac themes and the espers/Lucavi demons are there, so.I think we would have seen some of Rozarria at the very least, both physically and as a larger part of the story. The Necrohol of Nabudis (I think that's the name) seemed like a really cool concept that was kind of pasted onto the game, too, so maybe it also had more of a role?There's no way to know though.:/Edit: Reading up on, and the only happens 92 years after FFXII.
I thought there was a much larger gap in time. Ajora would also likely pop up around this time, as mentioned:They say the ruins of a lost civilization lie buried beneath the streets of Goug, the Clockwork City. Relics from the age of Saint Ajora, when airships numerous beyond counting filled the skies, and men of iron walked city streets. But the art of crafting such things was lost—if it ever truly existed at all.—Agrias OaksThe intrigue continues. I was disapointed by the Judges when the game came out on ps2, but part of this disapointement comes from the fact:-They were super importent and a big part of the core gameplay in FFTA (and FFXII was supposed to be related to FFTA)-They were heavily advertised by SE pre-release. So it made me think they would have a central role just like in FFTA (even maybe in terms of gameplay)But in the end they were just some minor characters (save for Gabranth)The same can be said for the Nu-mous: in FFTA, they were one of the main species, and I liked them a lot.
So I expected them to be a big part of XII.but you only see them in 1 town if I remember correctly.
Source: Final Fantasy Wiki GabranthNameGabranthElementComboMax Combo Hits: 12 (Trial Mode)Receive–StealPotion, Hi-Potion, X-Potion, Tournesol (Trial Mode)Poach–Battle Strategy 1st FormProtectga and Hastega will be very useful against Gabranth’s first form. Eventually, Gabranth will become immune to magick, so focus on attacking him with physical attacks and casting buffs on the party. During this phase, Gabranth’s attacks will all deal physical damage. 2nd FormUse Dispel on Gabranth when he casts Haste and Protect on himself.
Be prepared to use Curaja when Gabranth is at 50% health, as he will use Renew on himself and perform a powerful attack called Innocence. At 25% health, Gabranth’s defense will increase and he will use Innocence more frequently. Be careful of his tendency to combo, which also increases in this phase. When he is near death, you can use a Quickening chain to finish him off. Trial ModeThe party will fight Gabranth with the four other Judges. He and Zargabaath are the enemy’s main physcial attackers.
They will also heal each other when either is low on HP.Casting Sleep on Zargabaath is recommended to stop him from dealing damage or helping Gabranth with heals. From here, focus on defeating Gabranth as quickly as possible before moving to Zargabaath.Gabranth can deal high amounts of damage very quickly and can block attacks well. It is recommended to have the Cameo Belt accessory equipped this fight. You can try to obtain a Tournesol by stealing it from him and having a Knight use it in combat. You can also reduce his defense by using the Expose technick.