Final Fantasy VI - My Favorite Game

Tags: Video Games

Well I just finished Final Fantasy VI again, and dang, its a good game. I've often said this is my favorite game, and I have been reminded once again why it is. Even though I've put significantly more hours into many other games, the depth this game's story blows me away every time.

Before getting into major spoilers I just wanted to give an overall review of this game.

First off, the story and characters are what drive this game into my #1 spot. Final Fantasy VI's story is one about grief. A pretty heavy subject that few games are willing tackle. There are a couple strong protagonists throughout the story. But really there are 9-10 main characters. And the focus of the story is not strongly centered on any one character. Instead, as the story progresses you get to see the grief each of these characters are dealing with in their life.

It is this sadness that connects us to the characters. More importantly, it is how they are able to overcome grief that inspires us to do the same.

I also quite like the diverse group of protagonists. It turns the normal singular hero role on its head and shows that more often than not it is a group of people working together that makes the difference.

Then there is the villain Kefka. One of the most despicable villains in all of gaming history. I will leave the explorations of what he does to the spoiler section of this article. But he does some pretty crazy stuff. He believes that grief is all there is in the world, and thus by destroying the world, in some twisted way he can make everyone realize how meaningless their temporary lives are.

He misses the point that despite all the grief in the world, people find reasons to continue on, and even find joy.

I must also mention the cinematic nature of this game. This is an incredibly cinematic game, despite the limitations of its hardware. From the march to Narshe at the beginning of the game, to a literal 10 minute opera later on, this game does things most of us don't realize were possible on SNES.

Don't get your hopes up to high though. This game is best enjoyed with a good dose of imagination. The character models are limited by the number of pixels they contain, but if you imagine the scenes as the fully 3d animated scenes we have today. You will more fully realize the depth of the actions being performed on the screen.

There are a few minor blemishes as well though. The only notable one for me was that the story does lose a little bit of wind entering its final act. But it personally wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

The final act is very open in the order that you do things. Just enjoy the short stories you come across while preparing your party for the final battle. Upon getting there the game does a really good job at tieing it all together.

My game ratings before continuing on to the spoiler sections:

These are the two items I thought were most important for this game. And though the gameplay isn't perfect, this game is weighted far more heavily on its story.

Four Story Points That Make FFVI Standout

From here on out expect major spoilers, as I will more or less just be nerding out the parts of this game that gave me chills.

The March to Narshe

This is the best opening credits role I have ever seen. It sets the scene for the game perfectly. You have just learned about a mysterious magic wielder being mind controlled, and these soldiers are taking her to a mysterious cave with magical beings inside. With this you start to understand the mix of fantasy and steam punk.

The march to Narshe it just two minutes of marching with the names of the game's creators being listed overhead. But it is so much more than that. The music by Nobuo Uematsu is beautiful, and the suspense is exhilarating as you see the city of Narshe coming over the horizon. So much mystery waiting to be discovered. Who is this girl, why is she being mind controlled, are her powers really as legendary as the soldier say they are?

The Opera

Everyone has heard about the opera and with good reason. Square Enix was the only company in the 90's with the balls to put a 10 minute opera into an SNES game. Once again Nobuo Uematsu outdid himself with the music.

But it goes beyond the music. It is a very important character building moment for Celes. Up until now she has been the stern imperial general turned traitor. She is not seen a feminine nor vulnerable. This was a key moment of vulnerability for her as she had to do something against her character. In doing so we begin to see that she also is a character with struggles she is seeking to overcome.

Kefka Destroys the World

Spoiler alert, Kefka wins! He betrays emperor Gestahl and achieves his goal of destroying the world. It is here that we see the true madness of this crazed clown general. He truly wanted to see the world destroyed and he made it happen. And you as the player were unable to do anything about it.

For a first play through this catches you off guard. You are expecting the game to almost be over, only to learn you still have many hours to go if you are going to fix the world.

For a more experienced player, this is a super important to the games message. Final Fantasy VI is a game about grief. And the destruction of the world is an important step to convening this message to the player. You then spend the rest of the game going to areas they have already seen, and seeing how this world ending event has affected everyone.

This asks the question, why do people continue on in a world where monsters run rampant and food no longer grows. And the answer is that it's different for everyone. You round up your party again, and as you do you learn everyone's reason for continuing onward. Whether it be love, hope, or plain old perseverance you learn how everyone is dealing with grief and come out better for it.

Celes Loses Cid

This was personally the most influential moment of the game for me. Our first interaction in the world of Ruin is Cid taking care of Celes. Cid then promptly falls ill and dies. Everyone else on the island had already died, and Celes lost the last person in the world that she cared about (thinking everyone else including Locke had died).

All hope was truly lost in this moment, and Square Enix showed this magnificently with the tears the Celes sheds. It is obvious that she is broken and sees no reason for living anymore.

She solemnly walks to the northern cliffs of the island and upon arriving sees a bird that has died. Showing once again the broken state of the world she lives in.

She then throws herself off the cliff. The tears streaming behind her are a magnificent accent to the direness of the situation.

Few games are willing to show characters in a state this low. But the reality of life is that many of us can find ourselves in a similar state from time to time.

Luckily Celes was given a second chance. And she washes up on the shores of the island again to find a bird that has a bandage resembling Locke's bandana. This gives Celes a reason to continue on. And she finds the raft Cid had prepared for her. Another demonstration of love in a world of ruin.

Honorable Mentions

Of course I couldn't leave out these key moments. There are so many amazing moments in this game that I can only briefly mention these.

Figaro Going Under

My steampunk nerd thought it was awesome to see Figaro go under the sand for the first time. It shows how far the mechanical creations of the world have come since the disappearance of magic. It also helps to build Edgar's character as the mechanic king.

Kefka Poisons Doma

This is the first point in the game where we see the true nature of Kefka. This is what establishes him as the worst villain in the game.

The Phantom Train

This is the best dungeon in the game. It is unexpected and unique. It just has such a great atmosphere, and in many ways helps to lighten up the mode after seeing the atrocities performed by Kefka against Doma.

Even still this is a moment for reckoning as Cyan must watch is wife and daughter be escorted to the afterlife. Something that was difficult for him to come to terms with.

Terra's Children

Terra finds reason for living in a world of ruin by protecting a village of children who lost all of their parents during the destruction of the world.

At the end of the game two of the older children (teenagers) give birth to a new child. Showing that life has returned to the world. What a great message.

The Characters

For the last part of this article I wanted to review the amazing stories of its characters so you can get a feel of the hardships each one of them goes through, and how the overcome them in the end. These characters are what convey the amazing message of overcoming grief this game gives.

Terra

As the first protagonist in the game she plays an important role. She is the link between the esper and human world. But having been controlled since a child she doesn't know where she belongs. She struggles throughout the game to know if she is even capable of love.

Locke is the first character that shows her she is worth something and shouldn't give up. And she does eventually learn to love the children of Mobliz. This is what gives her reason to fight on even in the world of Ruin.

Even after magic is fading away she uses the last of her powers to save her friends from Kefka's collapsing tower.

Celes

Many argue that Celes is the true protagonist of the game. And they are right to an extent, but it is important to realize that this games focus is on a large group of protagonists all trying to save the world

Even so, Celes is probably my favorite character. She is an imperial general turned traitor. Her powers are not inherently hers, they are instead robbed from captured espers. And thus she struggles to come to terms with who she truly is, and wonders why anyone would forgive her.

Once again our boy Locke plays an important part in helping our protagonist realize they have value even if their story isn't perfect. He rescues her from prison, even though she would rather just be executed.

This is shown best at the opera. Celes character is broken down a bit, and we realize that Locke has feelings for Celes. This surprises her, but is an important step on her journey to realizing she can still be loved.

As I mentioned earlier in this article. Losing Cid was an incredibly impactful moment for her. But it is also her final realization that she does indeed belong in this world even if her past caused pain to others. Locke is her reason for continuing onward.

It is a tragedy that we don't get to see more of a final profession of love between Locke and Celes at the end of the game.

Locke

Looking back, Locke is probably my second favorite character. In many ways he helps many of the other characters to feel good about themselves and find their reasons for continue on.

He does this in spite (or perhaps because) of his own personal struggles. Because of him, the love of his life Rachel was injured, lost her memory and later died. Being removed from her home while she was sick because she didn't recognize him was devastating.

He went through great personal expense to preserve her body in hopes of one day bringing her back to life. And later in the world of ruin he is found looking for a mystical treasure that could bring her back to life. It works only for a moment, and he realizes that he needs to move on from Rachel and find new meaning in the world.

Celes becomes that meaning.

Edgar and Sabin

These two royal brother are amazing. And more than the other characters, they did not need the end of the world to teach them how to overcome grief. They have already learned, and in many ways are stable anchors for the group to rely on.

This does not mean we don't see the grief they went through before. As young heirs to the throne, their father unexpectedly died. Leaving the kingdom to them.

This was particularly hard on Sabin who did not feel prepared nor willingly to rule the kingdom. Edgar brought it to a coin toss. Heads and he would stay to rule the kingdom. Tails and Sabin would stay to rule the kingdom. This was an immensely self sacrificial action for Edgar as he used a coin with two heads. He provided Sabin with his freedom.

This shows that Edgar deals with his grief through self-sacrifice. Though this does cause a divide between the brothers that we get to see healed throughout the game.

Sabin used his grief to become a better person, and likewise also develops my self-sacrificing attributes.

I would also like to mention that Edgar would be a very difficult character to include in a remake. His uhhh, flirtatious tendencies may come off a little strong in today's culture.

Setzer

Another character that might be difficult to remake as he is introduced by kidnapping a fine young maiden to marry him. The issue is that his character would not be the same without this introduction. He his a free flowing renegade who takes what he wants, and avoids responsibilities with the wings of his airship. The airship often touted as the fastest airship in the world, its also the only airship in the world.

But we also see that even though he is a free flowing spirit. His connection to his airship isn't just because of that.

Many years ago he had a lover who also had an airship. She tragically died in a flying accident though. This broke Setzer. He created a tomb for her and perfectly restored her airship as a tribute to her. Ever since then he has been using his own airship to run away from his problems.

His grief is further enhanced when his airship is destroyed by Kefka. His free spirit can no longer escape to the skies. The party later finds him wallowing in a bar.

It is then that he is forced to confront his grief as losing his lover. He goes back to his tomb, and revives her airship so the party can make it to the top of Kefka's tower. In doing so he has an amazing realization. Even though his lover is dead, she lives on in him. She even gave him her wings, allowing his free flowing spirit to fly higher than ever before.

Relm

I mostly liked Relm because of her class. Pictomancer is a unique and very underused class in RPGs.

I gained a love for her towards the end of the game when you are forced to use all the characters. While I was reluctant to do this, it turned out great. I learned how to play all the characters and honestly got to know them all a lot better.

Figuring out how high Relm's magic stats was a super cool realization for me, and it makes a lot of sense as she is the descendant of the original magis.

It should also be noted that she helps Shadow to open up a little bit.

Gau

He wasn't my favorite character. But his little side story of finding his dad who still rejects him is moving. Even though he is rejected, he is just happy to have friends, and know that his family is okay.

Cyan

A lot of people don't give credit to the depth of Cyan's story.

His loss is perhaps the most relevant to the story. Kefka poisoning castle Doma directly lead to the death of Cyan's wife and daughter. It shows Cyan discovering them dead. It shows him rolling his daughter's lifeless body out of her bed. Let that sink in... It is easy to gloss over as the graphics were limited. But this is one of the scenes that producers would simply be too scared to include in any modern remake.

Cyan has a more recent and personal loss because of Kefka than anyone else in the story. And he struggles to cope with it.

After the destruction of the world he doesn't know what to do. He discovers Lola who doesn't know if her lover survived the end of the world or not (he didn't). Having felt the immense pain of losing loved ones Cyan can't stand to let someone else feel that pain.

He craft silk flowers for her (as normal flowers won't grow anymore), and send her letters on behalf of her lover. But ultimately he is living a lie. He is not her lover, and he is deceiving her.

Once recruited by the party he realizes he can't let his past pains continue to hurt him. His wife and daughter live on through him, and he can't let his life go to waste on their behalf.

Shadow

Apparently he has some good story points, unfortunately they are pretty easy to miss, and I didn't come across them in my play through.

Also didn't realize you could save him halfway through the game. So I just let him die. :(

Ultros

Though he serves no purpose other than comedic relief throughout the story, this makes him endearing.

Kefka

I feel like I've covered him pretty well throughout the rest of the articles. But more often than not a good villain makes a good story.

He does awful things throughout the story, but he is also a clown. This indicates that he is truly crazy, and anything he says should not be taken seriously.

His laugh is also iconic, and evil. This all helps to make him a truly irredeemable villain.

Conclusion

I love this game. From its bold messages, to its incredibly diverse and deep cast, I can think of no other game that gives me more chills than this one.

Of course, I would love to see a modern remake of it, but I also believe its just not feasible. Just as Yoshinori Kitase (Square Enix game directory) said in an interview, it would probably take 20 years to make. To properly convey the stories being told would take dozens of hours of intensely animated cinematics. An endeavor costing probably over a billion dollars.

Until then, I will be giving Final Fantasy IX a go. So look out for a post on that in a couple of months.