THE PLOT:
It's been a thousand years since the world was devastated by the War of the Magi. Magic has faded from the world, and most believe such powers to be the stuff of legend.
The Gestahl Empire knows better, however. Kefka, the villainous court mage, has found a way to fuse magic with technology. With control over a mysterious "witch" named Terra, these Magitek forces invade the peaceful town of Narshe, where a magical being known as an Esper has been uncovered. When they find the Esper, the unexpected happens: The creature frees Terra and destroys the Imperial forces.
This is only the beginning, however. Terra finds herself in the company of Locke, a leader in the rebel Returners. As her past memories slowly return, she realizes how critical it is that Kefka be stopped before he seizes control of the remaining Espers. But even as she and Locke gather together a group of unlikely allies, Kefka draws ever nearer to his goal: Unlimited power!
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| Celes finds herself playing the lead in an opera. |
CHARACTERS:
Final Fantasy VI has the largest cast of playable characters in the entire series, and it manages to serve most of its cast surprisingly well. The first half of the game sees Terra gradually regaining her past; the second half brings out her maternal nature as she bonds with a group of orphans. Locke, who is haunted by a loss in his past, forms a halting attachment to Celes, a former Imperial general; their tentative romance is memorably paralleled by the opera Celes finds herself performing in one of the game's best set pieces. Cyan is a warrior consumed by guilt after losing his family to Kefka's treachery. His loss is explored by two sequences - the first aboard a Phantom Train ferrying the departed to the next world; the second within his nightmare, from which the other characters have to rescue him. Other characters don't get quite as much attention, but all members of the cast get at least one or two moments to show their own personalities.
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| Kefka's insanity, on full display. |
KEFKA: THE JESTER AS SUPERVILLAIN:
"Life... dreams... hope... Such meaningless things... I'll destroy them all!"
-the wit and wisdom of Kefka
For quite a long time, I found myself rolling my eyes at the game's main villain. Kefka is entirely one-dimensional, so over-the-top "Eeeviill" that he almost makes Final Fantasy V's Exdeath seem layered by comparison. He initially seems like a coward and a weakling - a buffoon who spends the entire first half fleeing from every encounter with the heroes.
And then... something happens. He never gains any depth as a character. Kefka is evil for the sake of evil. Instead, it becomes clear that he really is everything he appears to be: a clown and a buffoon. A physical weakling, who pursues ultimate power so that he can destroy in order to feel strong. That gradually goes from irritating to comical... right before it becomes terrifying. When he revels in destruction, celebrating loss of life as "fun?" ...He means it.
At one point, Celes interferes with his plans, inflicting physical pain in the process. Kefka throws himself on the ground, thrashing about like a child throwing a tantrum, and then lets out a wail:
"I hate hate hate hate hate hate... hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE YOU!
The line is comical in its ridiculousness... but at the same time, it's chilling. It's at this moment, which occurs more or less exactly halfway through the game, that we see just how deranged and twisted he is. Kefka cannot be reasoned with, because there is no reason in him. He's a jester, throwing himself a one-man party in hell, presiding over ghastly horrors while hearing music in the screams of his victims.
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| Battling monsters on a flimsy river raft. |
GAMEPLAY:
Is very much the same as in previous Nintendo Final Fantasy titles, with exploration broken up by (too frequent) random encounters. Characters have a combination of physical and magic attacks, and more magic attacks are made available once they equip Espers later in the game.
Each character is also given a special attack. Some are highly effective: Sabin's "blitzes," for example, do devastating damage on higher levels; his brother Edgar's "Tools" can also inflict solid damage. Others are fun for a while as novelties; Setzer the Gambler has a slot machine that can perform a variety of attacks... or do nothing useful at all, depending on the result. Still others are more trouble than they're worth: Tarzan-like Gau goes into Rages that can inflict decent damage, but that also make him impossible to control; Cyan's "Swordtech" ("Bushido" in other translations) takes so long to charge up for his best attacks that powerful enemies might easily kill him before he's ready to go.
The game's first half is very linear, with the story itself forcing which character groupings you use. This is occasionally frustrating, but it has the advantage of making you play as all the characters, allowing you to experiment with them and decide which units you prefer to use. The second half opens up entirely, allowing you freedom to explore the full world map, letting you pick where to go and who to play as - and by that time, you'll probably have decided on your default group. Be sure to level all your characters. You will use almost all of them in the final dungeon; if any of them are underleveled, you will regret it!
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| Terra escapes from the Steampunk-inspired town of Narshe. |
ALREADY OUTGROWING NINTENDO:
Final Fantasy VI marks the end of the series' first era. This was the last of the numbered series to debut on a Nintendo system. Starting with Final Fantasy VII, the series' main range moved to the Sony Playstation. This created a rift between Square and Nintendo that lasted for years, but it's not difficult to see why it happened. The Nintendo systems have a lot of charm, but they have always tended to be more technically limited than those of Microsoft or Sony... and even in this final Nintendo game, it's clear that the series was pushing hard against those limitations.
Final Fantasy VI is a remarkably ambitious game. In addition to the large cast, each distinguished by unique character art, it's a title that takes players through a variety of settings. You start in a town that's just mechanized enough to evoke a steampunk feel. From there, you will cross over and under deserts, run river rapids, and explore a continent that flies through the air.
Then there are the set pieces! The opera scene is a particular high point, with the game designers painstakingly using the limited technology at their disposal to create something that's entirely convincing as an opera. The music score is breathtaking throughout, even better than the excellent compositions in the preceding titles.
In short, it's clear even in this final Nintendo-era game that the series' technical ambitions had outgrown Nintendo's capabilities. In retrospect, it's no surprise that series moved to a more powerful system for their next title.
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| Kefka attacks an allied kingdom. |
BRLLIANT BUT FRUSTRATING:
I genuinely admire the accomplishment of Final Fantasy VI. I would actually consider this nearly 30-year-old video game to be a genuine work of art. I respect it greatly. I want to love it. But for all its achievements, it is also a game loaded with irritations, some large and some small. Every time I got sucked into the story or the set pieces, something would happen to push me away again. At times, it actively felt as if the game was trying to punish me for playing it.
The game is downright miserly with in-dungeon Save Points. In other versions, this is less of a problem, with a "Quick Save" option letting you create a temporary file to reload. I could not figure out any way to "Quick Save" in the PS1 version, however... meaning that I pretty much had to have at least an hour's free time before entering a dungeon. This was probably one of the largest contributors to how long it took me to get through the game; unlike previous series entries I didn't even bother picking this one up unless I had plenty of time to devote to it.
The random encounter rate is high. Not as high as in the first two games, true... but it's more aggravating here, in part because of the meager save points and in part because the encounters disrupt the flow and pace of the story. I found the first half to be awkwardly paced in general, and I felt at a distance from the story for a good third of its running time. My interest picked up considerably in the run up to the midpoint, and I found the second half to be a lot more enjoyable. That said, it took much longer for me to become invested here than in any of the first five games.
OVERALL:
In many respects, Final Fantasy VI is the best of the Nintendo Final Fantasy series. It's the most technically ambitious. It has the most completely developed story, with the events that occur at the game's midpoint almost jaw-droppingly audacious. It has the strongest characters. It has the most effective villain. It even has the best soundtrack.
I commend it as a work of art. There's just one problem: I didn't particularly enjoy playing it. It's an accomplished work, and I feel duty-bound to award a good score. But taken as a game? I'm glad to have experienced it; but at the same time, this is one Final Fantasy that I cannot see myself revisiting.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
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