Fans ofFinal Fantasy 12would fondly remember the charming Balthier and his airship, the Strahl. However, technical gamers would also not miss the grace and versatility of Fran, the viera partner of Balthier throughout their journey in Ivalice. Whereas Balthier specialized with the gun, Fran could wield almost any weapon she desired. And in anyFinal Fantasygame, a character who can use any weapon has a considerable edge as battles became more difficult in theSquare Enixstory.
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However, it seems Fran has more to hide in her viera exterior than meets the eye. As it turns out, this quiet warrior has interesting stories to share regarding the viera race and her role inFF12as a whole.
10Introduced The Viera Race
Fans might not be strangers to Fran’s unique appearance as a playable character. After all,Final Fantasy 10already introduced Kimahri, who belonged to the Ronso race of feline humanoids. In the case of Fran, her character formally introduced the viera. Serving as one of Ivalice’s many races, the Vieraseparate themselves from Mooglesand Humans with their leopine features. As such, a lot of players describe viera as humanoids with bunny ears.
Interestingly, Fran becomes the first to introduce the Viera race to players ofFinal Fantasygames. Thanks to her popularity, the Viera race became more prominent in otherFinal Fantasymedia. These include minor appearances in other games, as well as becoming a playable race inFinal Fantasy 14. In particular, the viera’s starter outfit inFF14is based on Fran’sFF12appearance.
9Exiled In Exchange Of Freedom
InFF12’s world of Ivalice, people might find it rare to see viera interacting with other races due to their isolationist society. As “People of the Wood” in Ivalice culture, most of the viera live in woodland areas they refer to as “Wood.” Viera ears give them such an augmentation in hearing that they can hear even the Wood speak to them via the Green Word. In turn, viera can use the Green Word to empower themselves to communicate with the world around them, cast magick, or evensummon otherworldly creatures.
Unfortunately, given this special ability, viera isolate themselves from much of civilization. When a viera ventures outside their village to mingle with other races, they are outcast. In turn, their senses slowly dim and become incapable of hearing the Green Word.
8Much More Sensitive To Mist
When Fran goes into a berserk state at some point inFF12, players might feel as though her rare display of emotion is odd. However, this display isn’t just Fran being sensitive to the Mist, but rather something all viera can display. InIvalice’s lore, magick comes from an interdimensional phenomenon known as the Mist.
While most people can utilize the Mist naturally or via magicite, viera are especially sensitive to them. In turn, viera can “sense” the Mist in a way people detect things via smell. And unfortunately, too much Mist exposure can make them go berserk, like Fran.
7A Wood-Warder Viera
Fran seems to have a particular specialization when it comes to fighting techniques. While all party members inFF12can tackle any combat style via licenses, Fran seems more inclined to fight with a wide range of weapons, befitting her title “Master of Weapons.” Interestingly, her role in vieran society seems to explain this.
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In vieran culture, villages often offer two roles to those who wish to participate in community affairs. One of these roles is the Salve-Maker, tasked with making powerful potions and reagents for medicine. Meanwhile, the other role is the Wood-Warder, tasked to protect the village and the Wood from outsiders. It seems Fran might have been a Wood-Warder prior to her exile.
6Complicated Sibling Relationships
Despite her cold appearance, Fran does seem to have an extremely caring nature to her allies and most especially, her family. As explored in the game, Fran has two siblings back in Eruyt Village, Mjrn and Jote. In the story, Jote currently leads Eruyt Village and shows dismay over Fran’s exile. Meanwhile, Mjrn seems to admire Fran and wants to explore Ivalice just like her, much to Fran’s discouragement.
Interestingly, the game doesn’t exactly indicate which sibling is older or younger, or if they’re even blood siblings. However, through dialogue, fans can safely assume the latter, and that Mjrn is the younger sibling while Jote is older than Fran.
5The Most Mysterious Of The Cast
WhileFF12does explore the backstories of all its party members, Fran still remains the most mysterious of all of them. Due to her quiet nature, she rarely speaks and shows emotions. In turn, playersas Vaanor other characters can’t quite discern her true feelings, even in extremely emotional encounters.
Additionally, this does pose some questions. For instance, Fran made no mention of whether her relationship with Balthier has become romantic. Moreover, it’s never revealed how the two of them met and got to become partners in Balthier’s crew.
4Weapon Specialist, Generally Weaker
Players who get Fran in their party for the first time won’t besurprised to see this bow-toting Viera have her bow licenses unlocked. Interestingly, she and Balthier do share the slowestbow action time. Additionally, Fran at the beginning already has her licenses close to Quickenings, giving her access to a lot of the game’s version of Limit Breaks very early on.
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Unfortunately, players of the original version might notice Fran also having low stats, with no specialization. For instance, she shares some of the lowest total Strength, Vitality, and Magick Power. TheZodiacversion does balance this, now giving her the highest Vitality of all members by Level 99.
3Special Interactions With Viera
Players can interact with 31 Viera in total acrossFF12. However, fans might realize that having Fran as party leader will actually result in different dialogue when speaking to them. This tidbit reflects the innate privacy of viera, even when speaking with someone treated as an outcast.
Moreover, even the translation team paid particular attention when building the interactions with these viera. For instance, given that the JapaneseFF12viera didn’t have accents, localization teams had to build their own iteration in them. Basing off Fran’s Icelandic accents, all Viera had this as well.
Players of the Japanese version ofFinal Fantasy 12might remember Fran’s very distinctive voice. This voice came courtesy of Rika Fukami, a popular voice actress and singer who gave voices to a lot of characters across TV, anime, and games. Aside from her medieval tone, Fran’s unique voice became a trademark of her character inFF12’s release. In turn, the localization crews had the freedom to choose the kind of inspiration they wanted for Fran. Eventually, they chose the Iceland-based singer, Björk, to become Fran’s inspiration.
Interestingly, the localization’s take on Fran’s voicebecame an issue for Square Enixat first due to the drastic differences. However, Square Enix finally approved the change when the localization team explained this will help “sell the new take” on the viera race.
1References To Fran In Other Media
As with otherFinal Fantasycharacters, Fran alsomakes appearances outsideFinal Fantasygames. For instance, members of the Square Enix Members Virtual World can actually get their avatar to look like Fran. They simply need to buy her hair design and her clothes design, which cost 130 crystals and 480 crystals, respectively. Likewise, while she doesn’t appear in the mobile game,Final Fantasy All The Bravest, she does appear in Balthier’s description. In it, it’s told that he’s often seen with “a giant bunny.”
Meanwhile, Fran and Kimahri are referenced in the manga,Final Fantasy Lost Stranger. In this story,Final Fantasyfan Shogo Sasaki finally becomes a Square Enix employee. Unfortunately, he seems nowhere near his dream of producing aFinal Fantasygame. What’s worse, his life gets turned around when he and his sister get in the way of a runaway truck, and Shogo wakes up in a newFinal Fantasyworld. In his journey, Shogo references that other regions must have other races similar to viera or ronso, referring to Fran and Kimahri’s races in their respective games.
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