Ya the leaders were all humes.

Moogle Empire!

You get Bangaa's and Seeq's as 'Support' characters in Hunts but thats it, I would have loved a shady Bangaa and a clumbsy Seeq to make up numbers because 6 just isn't enough. Also a No Mou, WHY IS EVERYONE FORGETTING THE NO MOU!!! They would be awesome mages

Does it really have to follow the theme? The Bangaa could always have a weak reason for being with the party (not like it hasn't been done before) yet still have a use in the story.

Actually, I do think adding a different race to the main party can be beneficial to the atmosphere and thematics of FFXII. In previous Final Fantasies, while it might not have been explicit, the non-human characters definitely give each world its character - it seems like the creators of FFXII had already packed Ivalice so full of other race characters that the fantasy ambiance was intact without having to include them in the party. However, considering how flat the characters could be at times, adding a different race might have really enriched the story considering how a non-Hume, and the concept of race, can resonate with the themes.

The theme of duty and responsibility (in my opinion the most important theme of the game) really might be carried out to greater lengths had other races been included as a major plot element. The fact that Ivalice is dominated by Hume kingdoms reflects on the social status of Bangaa, Moogles, etc.; a new kind of tension emerges when the theme of duty is seen in the context of race and class.

The theme of family and relationships (this concept seems to emerge unplanned by the creators, which probably explains how undeveloped it is) also finds a new complex angle when thinking about race. This of course would likely deal with thinking about friendship, blood, love - and how essential, or perhaps less essential than we think, these aspects are in defining the boundaries of relationships.

I don't think it would drag, you could have the Bangaa/Seeq/No Mou's story as one that breaks away from the whole 'stop the Empire' thing to add a bit of variaty, may not even be interily mandatory. It could be done in a similar sense to Yuffie and Vincent from VII who had a diffrent reasons to stick with the group essentialy but got involved with it all anyway whilst keeping they'er heads down for much of the 'real plot' of the game. Or maybe just have them as controllable guest-like characters, only taking part in certain parts of the game. I don't mind piss poor reasons as long as they would be useful.

I'd just liked to have played more of the diffrent races and with only 6 perminant characters I feel like we at least should have done.

Adding side-quests does drag the story, though. Anything that detracts from the main story inevitably will cause the plot to slow down. And Yuffie and Vincent would probably have had more of an impact on the main story had the programmers and writers been able to work out glitches involving optional characters.

However, plot movement isn't necessarily everything. While I think that Yuffie and Vincent's sidestories - and sidequests in general - can completely halt the action of the plot, when a player finds them and includes them into the party, it enriches the story as a whole. Look at Shakespeare - he's got plenty of scenes that don't seem to advance the plot, but in the most incredible way delve into the greater implications (a really good example is the scene from Henry V that is completely in French). Narrowing the scope to the Square-Enix universe, examine the Yojimbo sidequest in FFX; while the immediate details of Yuna's journey get pushed the backburner, the insight into Lulu's backstory greatly resonate with that main plot, developing the story without advancing it.

Getting back to the original point of the thread, adding Bangaa/Moogle/Nu Mou/Seeq characters could potentially derail the main plot for a moment. However, this doesn't have to be a problem. If FFXII were a pure commercial action thriller, it would be; but as an adventure epic - and even more pertinently a game, i.e. a vastly interactive epic - the creators would want to include as many intricate story facets and possibilities of fun, without going overboard. Otherwise, the story would be straightforward, which isn't necessarily bad (see Pixar), but doesn't accomplish the highly constructed otherworld effect which Square-Enix seems to be attempting in FFXII.

Basically, thinking about FFXII teleologically shouldn't only have to do with plot movement, but also with how other elements which potentially disrupt the plot can potentially enrich the overall narrative. Therefore, it shouldn't matter if the inclusion of other races potentially derails the plot - as long as their sidestories still find resonance.

Good example. Like I said in my previous post, the character's backstory need not advance the main plot, so long as it somehow enriches the story. Red XIII's backstory with his father doesn't change much about the plight to end ShinRa or stop Sephiroth, but the reversal in identity echoes Cloud's eventual identity reversal, and also reiterates the family theme.