Fran

is a character in the Final Fantasy series of video games. She is a member of the Viera race, a group of rabbit-like humanoid people. She appears in Final Fantasy XII, having left her tribe and worked as a copilot to the pirate Balthier. Her character design was created by Akihiko Yoshida. She is voiced by Nicole Fantl in English and by Rika Fukami in Japanese. Her English voice performance took inspiration from Icelandic singer Björk, which left Square Enix skeptical but eventually sated with their explanations. Fran later appears in the Nintendo DS sequel Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. Fran has received mostly popular reception since her debut and is noted for having popularized the fictional Viera race. She is often regarded as one of the highlights of Final Fantasy XIIs cast and in the series in general and has been praised for her design by multiple critics. She is considered a rare example of a non-white female character in video games, though this assessment is considered by some to be problematic due to racial implications. Concept and creation Fran's visual appearance was designed by Akihiko Yoshida and her story was written by Daisuke Watanabe for Final Fantasy XII, which had a development period of 2001 to 2006. She is a Viera, a humanoid species that resembles rabbits. She is also co-pilot to her friend Balthier and the mechanic to their ship, the Strahl. Like all Viera, she is exceptionally sensitive to the magical mist that permeates Ivalice, the setting of Final Fantasy XII, which can send her into a rage. The decision to feature non-human species in the world of XII was due to wanting to feature different races and social classes and to represent real-world history. Characters' outfits in XII were made to show more skin due to the setting being hot. Fran was voiced by Nicole Fantl in English and by Rika Fukami in Japanese, while her motion capture work was performed by Hiroko Harada and Kouhei Takeda. Fukami had her speak in a "straightforward, slightly gruff" fashion. Localizer Alexander O. Smith took inspiration in writing Fran's English dialogue from Icelandic singer Björk, casting for people who can actualize that inspiration. Smith said that he ideally wanted Björk to be cast.