Author: Game Infliction

Final Fantasy XII was a marvel when it was originally released on the PS2 in 2006. However, it also had an infamously challenging development cycle for its key developers, including game director Yasumi Matsuno.

Though the true extent of how challenging development was on the game is not publically known, one prevailing rumor about Final Fantasy XII’s early production that stuck with fans was that protagonist Vaan wasn’t the initially planned hero of FFXII.

On Twitter, the game director took time to respond to a fan’s comment about Bacsh fon Ronsenburg — a disgraced knight and eventual party member in FFXII — being the original protagonist of the game. This comment came from a thread about Clive, the hero of Final Fantasy XVI, who is set to become the oldest main character in an FF game.

In the plainest terms, Matsuno denied that Basch was the original hero of Final Fantasy XII in the early production, writing, “That rumor is a fake story. Thank you.”

That rumor is a fake story.
Thank you.

— 松野泰己 (@YasumiMatsuno) April 18, 2023

A long-standing rumor

According to the long-standing rumor, the original pitch for Final Fantasy XII was a dark fantasy story more in the vein of Vagrant Story or Final Fantasy Tactics on the PS1, which Matsuno also directed.

The rumor that made the rounds for nearly 20 years suggested that Final Fantasy XII’s original vision changed to be more approachable for all players, with Vaan, an energetic street rat who bore a striking resemblance to Tidus, being introduced as the core protagonist.

What made this particular rumor about the game stick with fans over the years was that Vaan was not well-received upon release. While the more extensive cast of characters was very popular, including Balthier, Fran, Basch, and Ashe, Vaan’s place in the core story seemed more set as a perspective character rather than someone with a major role in the larger plot.

That said, Vaan eventually came into his own throughout the game, and he even starred in an FFXII spin-off game on the Nintendo DS called Final Fatansy XII: Revenant Wings. Fans have also taken more of a liking to him over the years, thanks to memes about the quest where Vaan had to shout in the streets, “I’m Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg of Dalmasca!” or “Don’t listen to Ondore’s lies.”

Don’t listen to Ondore’s lies!
I’m Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg of Dalmasca! pic.twitter.com/gYDXso2J8S

— Victor Hunter (@victorehunter) April 9, 2022

In IGN’s original review for FFXII, former editor Jeremy Dunham gave the game a 9.5, and stated “Final Fantasy XII is a fantastic RPG. It blows all of its PS2 competition this year right out of the water and is among the all time elite role-players ever made for the system.”

In the years since its release, publisher Square-Enix have re-released FFXII as Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, which updated the visuals, introduced revised combat and character growth mechanics, and added new encounters that were only in the Japan only enhanced edition of the game from the PS2. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is currently out on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and the Nintendo Switch.

Alessandro Fillari is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @afillari.

Sports gamers took to the polls in April for IGN’s Ultimate Sports Video Games Showdown Contest (presented by the U.S. Army) and after 624,620 votes, Mario Kart 8 has been crowned as the #1 sports game title from a competitive field of 32! When Nintendo’s powerhouse racer was released in 2014, it was lauded for its twisting U-turns, blistering sense of speed, and thrilling antigravity transformations — not to mention its robust tournament and online features. A total package that led to Mario Kart 8 not just winning our tournament, but lapping the competition.

In Round 1, Mario Kart 8 was up against the Wii’s innovative, launch-day phenom, Wii Sports, which lured casual gamers with its wand-waving tennis, bowling, golf and more. Mario Kart won by 68% of the vote to advance to the next round.

In the Sweet 16, Mario Kart 8 faced off against Rocket League, the wonderfully absurd, hyper-powered, cars meet-soccer competition. And while over five billion Rocket League matches have been played online, Mario Kart 8 made a statement by getting 77% of the vote (at the time, the highest margin of victory of any of the matchups).

In the Elite 8, Mark Kart 8 took on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, Neversoft’s wildly addictive skateboarder that topped the original by allowing users to create their own skater (not to mention the skate-park creator). But Tony Hawk was no match for Mario Kart 8, which cruised into the Final 4 with a no-doubt victory, winning 73% of the vote.

In the Final 4, it was racer-vs.-racer as Mario Kart 8 took on Forza Horizon 5, an adrenaline junky’s dream set in Mexico and wowed gamers by opening with cars being dropped out of an airplane!!! But it was no match for Nintendo’s juggernaut as Mario Kart drove away the winner, earning 65% of the vote.

In the Championship, it was Mario-against-Mario, as Mario Kart 8 took on Mario Golf World Tour, an accessible, joy-making golfer that sent players to the links with loads of power-ups to get you close to the pin. But in the end, Mario Kart dismantled its brethren, winning it all by a stunning 94.9% of the fan vote, making them not only a decisive winner, but clearly the best sports video game of all-yime.

Congratulations to Mario Kart 8, which amassed 79,159 votes across the competition, and 16,216 votes in the final round to decide the champion.

And further congratulations go out to the winner of our Bracket Building Contest! They’ll take home a prize package valued at over $2,000, which includes an Xbox Series X, a PS5, 32 sports genre game titles and a one-of-a-kind IGN champion’s jersey!

Finally, congrats to the contest’s 10 runners-up, who will each receive a $100 gift card to the digital video game store of their choice.

Sports gamers took to the polls in April for IGN’s Ultimate Sports Gaming Showdown Contest (presented by the U.S. Army) and after 624,620 votes, Mario Kart 8 has been crowned as the #1 sports game title from a competitive field of 32! When Nintendo’s powerhouse racer was released in 2014, it was lauded for its twisting U-turns, blistering sense of speed, and thrilling antigravity transformations — not to mention its robust tournament and online features. A total package that led to Mario Kart 8 not just winning our tournament, but lapping the competition.

In Round 1, Mario Kart 8 was up against the Wii’s innovative, launch-day phenom, Wii Sports, which lured casual gamers with its wand-waving tennis, bowling, golf and more. Mario Kart won by 68% of the vote to advance to the next round.

In the Sweet 16, Mario Kart 8 faced off against Rocket League, the wonderfully absurd, hyper-powered, cars meet-soccer competition. And while over five billion Rocket League matches have been played online, Mario Kart 8 made a statement by getting 77% of the vote (at the time, the highest margin of victory of any of the matchups).

In the Elite 8, Mark Kart 8 took on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, Neversoft’s wildly addictive skateboarder that topped the original by allowing users to create their own skater (not to mention the skate-park creator). But Tony Hawk was no match for Mario Kart 8, which cruised into the Final 4 with a no-doubt victory, winning 73% of the vote.

In the Final 4, it was racer-vs.-racer as Mario Kart 8 took on Forza Horizon 5, an adrenaline junky’s dream set in Mexico and wowed gamers by opening with cars being dropped out of an airplane!!! But it was no match for Nintendo’s juggernaut as Mario Kart drove away the winner, earning 65% of the vote.

In the Championship, it was Mario-against-Mario, as Mario Kart 8 took on Mario Golf World Tour, an accessible, joy-making golfer that sent players to the links with loads of power-ups to get you close to the pin. But in the end, Mario Kart dismantled its brethren, winning it all by a stunning 94.9% of the fan vote, making them not only a decisive winner, but clearly the Best Sports Video Game of All-Time.

Congratulations to Mario Kart 8 which amassed 79,159 votes across the competition, and 16,216 votes in the final round to decide the champion.

And further congratulations go out to the winner of our Bracket Building Contest! They’ll take home a prize package valued at over $2,000, which includes an Xbox Series X, a PS5, 32 sports genre game titles and a one-of-a-kind IGN champion’s jersey!

And finally, congrats to the contest’s 10 runners-up, who will each receive a $100 gift card to the digital video game store of their choice.

When Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma revealed what would become The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2014, he said the new Zelda game would be all about “revisiting the conventions of the Zelda series.” Breath of the Wild absolutely delivered on Aonuma’s promise — from a gameplay perspective, at least.

The 2017 game’s story, on the other hand, stuck very close to the rest of Zelda history: Ganon returns, and Link and Zelda must combine their powers to seal the ancient evil away… Again. But with Tears of the Kingdom on the horizon, some fans think the Breath of the Wild sequel could shake up the long-standing power struggle between the Triforce’s three main wielders.

Potential Spoiler Warning: This story goes deep into theories about what could end up happening in Tears of the Kingdom. If you don’t want to know anything ahead of the game’s release, turn away now!

Some Zelda fans on Reddit are convinced that Ganondorf could end up being the hero of Tears of the Kingdom’s story. This theory has been floating around in many fan’s heads (including my own) since some of the earliest trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, but Ganondorf’s proper reveal in the latest story trailer has the speculation picking up even more steam.

To properly explain the theory, we’ve got to go back to a key moment in Breath of the Wild. Early on in the game, Impa shares a legend with Link from the first Great Calamity that took place 10,000 years ago. There’s an image of a hero wielding the Master Sword and a Princess or Goddess figure fighting Calamity Ganon. The hero has red hair and has a green body/outfit, both of which line up with new official Ganondorf art.