>>723364168
The game had troubled development with Matsuno stepping away and Ito filling in to essentially proceed with the directives given by the SE heads, namely pushing Vaan/Penelo and going after the teenage audience. They felt Matsuno's XII was too dry and wouldn't sell well. Not sure how Japan received the game, but over in the West, it was initially disliked because of Vaan's loose ties to the plot and forced MC status.