Zargabaath

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The Empire's debts grow legion.
Judge Zargabaath

Judge Zargabaath is a non-player character in Final Fantasy XII. He is a Judge Magister, the highest rank possible in the Archadian Empire. A quieter Judge, he is a voice of moderation and reason among more passionate judges, such as Drace, Ghis, and Bergan. His loyalties lie with Archadia as a nation and idea itself, rather than any individual. He leads the Imperial 12th Fleet aboard his flagship, the Alexander.

Profile

Appearance

As with all the Archadian Judges, Zargabaath wears steel plate mail armor with a black cape, the symbol of the Empire on the back in red. His helmet bears a pair of horns pointed forward on a downward angle, and his armor bears symmetrical red markings down the chest and helmet. When he is seen without his helmet, Zargabaath is shown as an older man with short grey hair. His weapon is a dual-bladed sword that, like the weapons of the other Judges, can be separated and the two halves dual-wielded. One of the blades, which serves as Zargabaath's primary weapon when separate, bears a long, complex blade mechanism, while the other hand, held in a reversed grip, bears a smaller mechanism with blades on both edges.

Personality

Zargabaath is loyal to the Empire rather than a specific Emperor, and though he does not speak out against Vayne openly, he is aware of the carnage he inflicts upon his enemies in the Empire's name. He acts as the voice of reason among the Judges, warning Drace about speaking against Vayne and asking Vayne to spare her when he orders her executed for baring her sword at him.

Zargabaath's actions in battle with the Resistance show him to be a noble man with no taste for needless destruction.

Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Final Fantasy XII manga

In the manga adaptation, Zargabaath used a Teleport Stone to move into the Nalbina Fortress in the battle of Nalbina Fortress, overseeing the Archadian objective to destroy the Fortress's Paling.

Final Fantasy XII

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You would do well to mind your tongue, Drace. That matter is long past.
Judge Zargabaath

First seen warning Judge Drace not to dig too deeply into matters that do not concern her, Zargabaath is reserved, only speaking when he needs to.

While Zargabaath did not object to Vayne's becoming autocrat as he wanted to avoid internal strife within the Empire, he tries to get Vayne to spare Drace's life, but Judge Bergan is more than willing to help out in Drace's execution.

Commanding the Alexander, Zargabaath leads the newly-formed 12th Fleet to Mt Bur-Omisace where he does not engage in combat, as he is simply transporting troops. Later, Zargabaath regrets leading the assault to the Holy Mountain.

Zargabaath on alexander — Zargabaath volunteers to ram the Sky Fortress.

Zargabaath later leads the Imperial fleet defending the Sky Fortress Bahamut. It is up to him to block all Resistance fire while the Bahamut's cannon charges. After Vayne is killed, the Bahamut starts to fall onto Rabanastre. Zargabaath volunteers to ram the Alexander into the Sky Fortress to save the people of Dalmasca, but at the end does not have to, thanks to interference from sky pirates Balthier and Fran. As such, Zargabaath is the only Judge Magister to survive the events of the game.

Spoilers end here.

Gameplay

Main article: Zargabaath (boss)

Judge Zargabaath can be fought in the International Zodiac Job System Trial Mode, at Stage 100. He focuses on buffing Judge Bergan.

Creation and development

Voice

Template:Listen In the English release of Final Fantasy XII, Zargabaath is voiced by Simon Templeman, famous as the voice of Kain in the Legacy of Kain series. In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Ryūzaburō Ōtomo, who, among many other roles, has voiced Uka Uka in Crash Bandicoot, and Astaroth in Soul Calibur.

Other appearances

Fortress

Zargabaath was to appear in the cancelled Final Fantasy XII spin-off sequel game as an Archadian Judge who would help Basch fon Ronsenburg defend a magickal fortress from the forces of an invading sea king. Zargabaath was to initially act antagonistic toward Basch because of their past on different sides of the conflict in Final Fantasy XII, but he—as well as other Judges—would help him out of respect.^[1]

Gallery

Trivia

Of the three judges on the cover art of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the one on the left shares the appearance of Judge Zargabaath.
Although Zargabaath is the only Judge Magister to survive the events of Final Fantasy XII, he is not seen or mentioned in the sequel Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings.

References

↑ The Canceled Final Fantasy XII Sequel: Narrative and Gameplay Revealed (Accessed: UnknownError: See this for how to archive.) at Gamespot

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[1] The Canceled Final Fantasy XII Sequel: Narrative and Gameplay Revealed (Accessed: UnknownError: See this for how to archive.) at Gamespot

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