7 Worst Uses Of Video Game Plot Armour

Plot armour is nothing new in the world of Final Fantasy. After all, we are talking about a franchise where you frequently pick a fight with literal Gods and only get knocked out for your troubles. Final Fantasy XII is no exception to this rule, and its the deliciously suave sky pirate Balthier who dons some narrative chainmail for this game’s final act.

A slight oddity in the Final Fantasy canon, FFXII both eschews the turn based battle system and unfolds the story from the perspective of Vaan, a character who has little bearing on the narrative other than being a member of the party set to save the world.

Charismatically professing his role as the leading man throughout, it’s Balthier who elects to stay behind to save his friend Fran when the Sky Fortress Bahamut plummets to its destruction in the finale.

Sure enough, a letter from the lovable rogue at the coronation of Princess Ashe during the ending cutscene confirms his daring escape from the jaws of death, and his friends fly through the skies to meet him.

Although not the first FF character to get away without a Phoenix Down in sight (more on that later), Balthier’s own proclamation that the main character can’t die seems so on the nose that his fate would surely be sealed. We’ll never know how he survived, but it could very well be out of sheer arrogance.