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Balthier

CBUB Wins: 0
CBUB Losses: 1
Win Percentage: 0%

Added by: krealorn

Read more about Balthier at: Wikipedia

Official Site: Square-Enix

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.

Balthier was designed by Akihiko Yoshida, 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.

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.

CBUB Match Record:

Result Opponent My Score   Their Score
Loss Seifer Almasy 6 to 14