Final Fantasy: 25 Greatest Heroes

Vaan is the official ‘leading man’ of Final Fantasy XII, whilst Basch takes the title from a narrative standpoint. Just to confuse things further, Balthier makes a number of declarations throughout the game that he holds it, with statements such as ‘You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies’ and ‘I am the leading man. Might need to do something heroic’, throwing cheeky nods at the tropes of fiction in general.

He certainly has a number of stereotypical ‘leading man’ qualities, being confident, witty and immediately able to command the attention of those around him. Throw in the ‘coolness’ factor of him being a sky pirate and the notions of freedom associated with it and you have a captivating character, who also makes for quite a humourous pairing with the more stoic and less conversational Fran.

His chequered past as an Archadian Judge Magister and the adversarial relationship that he holds with his villainous father Cid as a result is intriguing to explore, but little can top the true heroics he finally gets to experience and relish in during the game’s finale, where he both saves Fran and diverts the plummeting Sky Fortress Bahamut.

Leaving his fate ambiguous would’ve been a bold move, but Balthier’s final hurrah in stealing back his ship from Vaan after being presumed dead finishes proceedings on a great note, one that is completely true to his character and nature.