Balthier
Encyclopedia
Balthier, known as in the original Japanese language
version, is a 22-year-old fictional character in the Final Fantasy
series, and a protagonist in Final Fantasy XII
. He was designed by Akihiko Yoshida
, and voiced by Gideon Emery
and Hiroaki Hirata
in the English and Japanese versions respectively. In XII, he is a sky pirate who is accompanied by a member of the fictional Viera
species, Fran. While attempting to steal the "Goddess's Magicite", they encounter protagonist Vaan
, who had already stolen it. This embroiders them into the main plot of Final Fantasy XII. His given name is .
He is one of the most positively received characters in Final Fantasy XII
, compared to famous characters in fiction such as Han Solo
from the Star Wars
series, James Bond
of the film series of the same name
, and Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean
series. He also ranked ninth on IGN
's top 25 Final Fantasy characters list, ranking higher than all other characters in Final Fantasy XII.
, and was voiced by Gideon Emery
in English and Hiroaki Hirata
in Japanese. Emery commented that while voicing the character of Balthier, he developed a "small crush" on Fran, Balthier's partner. He also commented that the biggest challenge of voicing Balthier was having to stay consistent, adding that he spent more than four hours in a small booth while doing the voice, which could cause him to "drift away from the character" if he goes on for too long. He also described him as being similar to the character. Emery auditioned for Balthier, seeing him after he did this and "instantly fell in love with the character". He described him as a cross between Han Solo
, James Bond
, and Jack Sparrow, citing suave yet cocky attitude. He was thankful that he was not aware of Balthier's popularity since his reveal, stating that he would have been "crippled by the fear of not delivering on what the fans expected". He stated that he took no inspiration from anyone else for the role, wanting to ensure that he was unique. Instead, he cited the pictures and animation of the character as his inspiration. Emery cited Jack Fletcher, the voice director, as a great help in voicing the character and setting up the scene for him. A motion capture actor was hired especially for the North American release of Final Fantasy XII
Born , he is the son of Dr. Cid (Cidolfus Demen Bunansa), though he grew weary of his father's madness and obsession with nethicite. Although Cid had made him an Imperial Judge, Ffamran eventually decided to cut his ties with his father and his role as a judge, becoming a sky pirate under a new name. With this new career change, Balthier amounted a sizable bounty on his head, attracting the attention of bounty hunters such as Ba'Gamnan. Unfortunately for Balthier, it took him a while to realize he'd been following his father in pursuing nethicite while he served in the resistance. Though he made peace with his father prior to his death, Balthier went with the group to destroy the Sky Fortress Bahamut as penance for his father's deeds.
Balthier claims to be the "leading man" of the story many times throughout the game, and insists that this status makes him invincible. After the Sky Fortress Bahamut crashed with him and Fran still in it, they remained out of contact until they retrieved the Strahl back from Vaan and Penelo a year later, leaving a note for the new Queen Ashe which held her wedding ring that she used to purchase his services. Both he and Fran intend on finding the Cache of Glabados, which is resolved in Revenant Wings when it turned out to be tied to Eternal. Balthier was at first intent to take Lemures' treasure, the Auracite, but knew the truth behind it and attempted to destroy the Auralith, eventually rejoining Vaan's group to fight the Judge of Wings, letting Vaan be the "leading man" while he himself leaves the limelight. He made a crossover appearance in Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
. He was the first cameo character they added to War of the Lions, with co-producer Shingo Kosuge stating that it was not a conscious decision to add continuity to the Ivalice story. He also appears in Itadaki Street Portable.
, Balthier has received mostly positive reception. When he was first revealed, the fan response was very positive. GameSpy
editor Justin Speer described him as a "clever-bastard type", praising his wry delivery. He has received praise for his masculinity, including from Gaming Trend editor Keith Schleicher who praised him and fellow protagonist Basch for being more masculine than characters such as the males in Magna Carta: Tears of Blood. GameSpot
editor Greg Kasavin called Balthier the best character in the game, describing him as the "Auron of the cast". 1UP.com
editor Jeremy Parish called Final Fantasy XII protagonist Vaan
annoying, placing the duo of Balthier and Fran above him. PSX Extreme editor Cavin Smith commented that while Vaan is the main character, he usually takes a back seat, adding that Balthier is the closest thing to a male lead. PALGN editor Phil Larsen commented that though a lofty prediction, he expected that the duo of Balthier and Fran would "go down in history as one of the greatest duos of modern narrative storytelling". Balthier ranked ninth on IGN
's top 25 best Final Fantasy characters, ranking higher than any other character from Final Fantasy XII. Editor Dave Smith commented that he makes a "convincing case" that he is the main hero, upstaging fellow playable characters due to his "sharp looks and even sharper wit." GamesRadar
editor AJ Glasser listed Balthier and Fran as one of his favourite Final Fantasy couples, describing theirs' as being a well-balanced relationship.
Balthier has been compared to other characters in fiction. Simon Wigham of Console Obsession called Balthier his "favourite by quite a wide margin", comparing him to James Bond
due to his "humorous lines". RPGFan editor Stephen Harris compared his voice to that of Ian Fleming
's depiction of Bond. 1UP.com
editor Andrew Pfister compared the duo of Balthier and Fran to that of Han Solo
and Chewbacca
, two characters from the Star Wars
franchise, adding that they are far more interesting than any other character in the "modern FF era". Video Gamer editor Greg Vallentin made a similar comparison, calling him a "Han Solo-like sky pirate". 1UP.com
editor Jeremy Parish compared Balthier to one of the characters from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
, stating that they share a physical resemblance, adding also that Balthier was awesome.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
version, is a 22-year-old fictional character in the Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
series, and a protagonist in Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XII
is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2006, it is the twelfth title in the Final Fantasy series and the last in the series to be released exclusively on the PlayStation platform...
. He was designed by Akihiko Yoshida
Akihiko Yoshida
is a Japanese video game designer working for Square Enix. Yoshida was born in 1967 and joined Square Co. in 1995, before the company merged with Enix. He is well known for his work on the Final Fantasy series...
, and voiced by Gideon Emery
Gideon Emery
Gideon Emery is an English actor and voice actor, known for his stage work in South Africa and for providing voices in video games. He lives in Los Angeles.-Early life:...
and Hiroaki Hirata
Hiroaki Hirata
is a male seiyū from Tokyo. He stands at 175 centimeters , and is a member of Gekidan Subaru.He is most known for the roles of Sanji , Sha Gojyo , and the Narrator of Digimon Adventure...
in the English and Japanese versions respectively. In XII, he is a sky pirate who is accompanied by a member of the fictional Viera
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
species, Fran. While attempting to steal the "Goddess's Magicite", they encounter protagonist Vaan
Vaan
is a fictional character in the Final Fantasy series, and the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XII.-Concept and creation:Fellow Final Fantasy XII characters Balthier and then Basch were initially meant to be the main character of the story, but the focus was eventually shifted to Vaan when the...
, who had already stolen it. This embroiders them into the main plot of Final Fantasy XII. His given name is .
He is one of the most positively received characters in Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XII
is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2006, it is the twelfth title in the Final Fantasy series and the last in the series to be released exclusively on the PlayStation platform...
, compared to famous characters in fiction such as Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
from the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
series, James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
of the film series of the same name
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, and Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a series of films, a theme park ride, and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications. The franchise originates with the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which opened at Disneyland in...
series. He also ranked ninth on IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's top 25 Final Fantasy characters list, ranking higher than all other characters in Final Fantasy XII.
Concept and creation
Balthier was designed by Akihiko YoshidaAkihiko Yoshida
is a Japanese video game designer working for Square Enix. Yoshida was born in 1967 and joined Square Co. in 1995, before the company merged with Enix. He is well known for his work on the Final Fantasy series...
, and was voiced by Gideon Emery
Gideon Emery
Gideon Emery is an English actor and voice actor, known for his stage work in South Africa and for providing voices in video games. He lives in Los Angeles.-Early life:...
in English and Hiroaki Hirata
Hiroaki Hirata
is a male seiyū from Tokyo. He stands at 175 centimeters , and is a member of Gekidan Subaru.He is most known for the roles of Sanji , Sha Gojyo , and the Narrator of Digimon Adventure...
in Japanese. Emery commented that while voicing the character of Balthier, he developed a "small crush" on Fran, Balthier's partner. He also commented that the biggest challenge of voicing Balthier was having to stay consistent, adding that he spent more than four hours in a small booth while doing the voice, which could cause him to "drift away from the character" if he goes on for too long. He also described him as being similar to the character. Emery auditioned for Balthier, seeing him after he did this and "instantly fell in love with the character". He described him as a cross between Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
, James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, and Jack Sparrow, citing suave yet cocky attitude. He was thankful that he was not aware of Balthier's popularity since his reveal, stating that he would have been "crippled by the fear of not delivering on what the fans expected". He stated that he took no inspiration from anyone else for the role, wanting to ensure that he was unique. Instead, he cited the pictures and animation of the character as his inspiration. Emery cited Jack Fletcher, the voice director, as a great help in voicing the character and setting up the scene for him. A motion capture actor was hired especially for the North American release of Final Fantasy XII
Appearances
Balthier is a Hume sky pirate who pilots the Strahl, a small airship, around the skies of Ivalice. He and his companion, Fran, prefer to remain outside of the war between the kingdoms of Ivalice. However, their attempt to steal the Goddess's Magicite—later revealed to be the Dusk Shard—from the Dalmascan Royal Palace goes bad; Vaan steals it first, and, caught in the fray of a rebel assault against the Imperial Palace, Balthier and Fran find themselves embroiled in the conflict against Archadia.Born , he is the son of Dr. Cid (Cidolfus Demen Bunansa), though he grew weary of his father's madness and obsession with nethicite. Although Cid had made him an Imperial Judge, Ffamran eventually decided to cut his ties with his father and his role as a judge, becoming a sky pirate under a new name. With this new career change, Balthier amounted a sizable bounty on his head, attracting the attention of bounty hunters such as Ba'Gamnan. Unfortunately for Balthier, it took him a while to realize he'd been following his father in pursuing nethicite while he served in the resistance. Though he made peace with his father prior to his death, Balthier went with the group to destroy the Sky Fortress Bahamut as penance for his father's deeds.
Balthier claims to be the "leading man" of the story many times throughout the game, and insists that this status makes him invincible. After the Sky Fortress Bahamut crashed with him and Fran still in it, they remained out of contact until they retrieved the Strahl back from Vaan and Penelo a year later, leaving a note for the new Queen Ashe which held her wedding ring that she used to purchase his services. Both he and Fran intend on finding the Cache of Glabados, which is resolved in Revenant Wings when it turned out to be tied to Eternal. Balthier was at first intent to take Lemures' treasure, the Auracite, but knew the truth behind it and attempted to destroy the Auralith, eventually rejoining Vaan's group to fight the Judge of Wings, letting Vaan be the "leading man" while he himself leaves the limelight. He made a crossover appearance in Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the Sony PlayStation Portable and iOS. The game is an updated version of Final Fantasy Tactics for the PlayStation video game console....
. He was the first cameo character they added to War of the Lions, with co-producer Shingo Kosuge stating that it was not a conscious decision to add continuity to the Ivalice story. He also appears in Itadaki Street Portable.
Reception
Since his appearance in Final Fantasy XIIFinal Fantasy XII
is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2006, it is the twelfth title in the Final Fantasy series and the last in the series to be released exclusively on the PlayStation platform...
, Balthier has received mostly positive reception. When he was first revealed, the fan response was very positive. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
editor Justin Speer described him as a "clever-bastard type", praising his wry delivery. He has received praise for his masculinity, including from Gaming Trend editor Keith Schleicher who praised him and fellow protagonist Basch for being more masculine than characters such as the males in Magna Carta: Tears of Blood. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
editor Greg Kasavin called Balthier the best character in the game, describing him as the "Auron of the cast". 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
editor Jeremy Parish called Final Fantasy XII protagonist Vaan
Vaan
is a fictional character in the Final Fantasy series, and the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XII.-Concept and creation:Fellow Final Fantasy XII characters Balthier and then Basch were initially meant to be the main character of the story, but the focus was eventually shifted to Vaan when the...
annoying, placing the duo of Balthier and Fran above him. PSX Extreme editor Cavin Smith commented that while Vaan is the main character, he usually takes a back seat, adding that Balthier is the closest thing to a male lead. PALGN editor Phil Larsen commented that though a lofty prediction, he expected that the duo of Balthier and Fran would "go down in history as one of the greatest duos of modern narrative storytelling". Balthier ranked ninth on IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's top 25 best Final Fantasy characters, ranking higher than any other character from Final Fantasy XII. Editor Dave Smith commented that he makes a "convincing case" that he is the main hero, upstaging fellow playable characters due to his "sharp looks and even sharper wit." GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
editor AJ Glasser listed Balthier and Fran as one of his favourite Final Fantasy couples, describing theirs' as being a well-balanced relationship.
Balthier has been compared to other characters in fiction. Simon Wigham of Console Obsession called Balthier his "favourite by quite a wide margin", comparing him to James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
due to his "humorous lines". RPGFan editor Stephen Harris compared his voice to that of Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's depiction of Bond. 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
editor Andrew Pfister compared the duo of Balthier and Fran to that of Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
and Chewbacca
Chewbacca
Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
, two characters from the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
franchise, adding that they are far more interesting than any other character in the "modern FF era". Video Gamer editor Greg Vallentin made a similar comparison, calling him a "Han Solo-like sky pirate". 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
editor Jeremy Parish compared Balthier to one of the characters from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, known in Japan as , is the third Nintendo DS installment of the Castlevania franchise, developed by longtime Castlevania developer Koji Igarashi.-Gameplay:...
, stating that they share a physical resemblance, adding also that Balthier was awesome.