GA101 - Final Fantasy VI

From thecrankyhermit

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Square was founded in 1983, as a producer of adventure games for the NEC PC-8801 computer, and later NES/Famicom games such as Rad Racer and 3-D WorldRunner. Faced with disappointing sales and possible bankruptcy, designer Hironobu Sakaguchi decided to return to adventure games, emphasizing exploration and storytelling, and drawing influence from Ultima, Wizardry, and recent Famicom hit Dragon Quest (which itself was heavily influenced by Ultima and Wizardry). Knowing that if it was not a success, it could mean the end of the company and his career in video games, he titled it "Final Fantasy." The game was developed by a team of Square's best, including composer Nobuo Uematsu, artist Yoshitika Amano, and programmer Nasir Gebelli. It made an enormous splash, selling 400,000 copies, spawning sequels, selling even more copies in North America, and transforming the name into the most infamous running gag in the industry. It was followed by two 8-bit sequels which introduced more involved plots, stronger characterizations, bigger worlds, and deeper gameplay. But of these three 8-bit Final Fantasies, only the original was released for the NES outside of Japan, as Square preferred to focus their efforts on the series' SNES debut.

This SNES debut, Final Fantasy IV, was released in Japan on 1991, and in North America a few months later in the same year. Because it was the second Final Fantasy to be released outside of Japan, it was retitled "Final Fantasy II." The lead designer, Takashi Tokita, had a theatrical background and wished to use the SNES's power to develop drama, character depth, and plot to levels beyond what was possible on the NES. This marked the formula's refinement into the scripted, character-based, story-driven adventure we know today. It was followed by another 16-bit Final Fantasy, which was not released on the SNES outside of Japan.

Final Fantasy VI was released for the SNES in 1994. Series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi relinquished his usual role as director, and passed it down to veteran designers Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Ito. Longtime contributors Yoshitaka Amano and Nobuo Uematsu returned as the lead art designer and composer, respectively. Localization was handled by now legendary translator Ted Woolsey, whose sweeping script changes are controversial, and yet widely regarded superior to Square's in-house translations of previous games. As the third Final Fantasy title to be translated and released the US (excluding unnumbered spinoff Final Fantasy Mystic Quest), it was initially retitled "Final Fantasy III" by Nintendo of America. It would be the last 16-bit, sprite-based JRPG in the series, and was the most polished, developed, and most fully-realized iteration of the formula that Square popularized in 1987.

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For the first time in the series, Final Fantasy VI does not take place in a medieval setting of castles and kingdoms, but in a steampunk-like environment reminiscent of the late industrial revolution. Initially, you play as Terra, a mysterious, magically-imbued, elite imperial soldier, entranced and enslaved by a "slave crown." Tasked with leading an assault on a coal-mining town, the operation goes awry, and the assault team is decimated by an unknown power. Terra survives, and is freed of control, but retains no declarative memory of her past identity or experience as an unwilling soldier, and finds herself confused, anxious, and on the run from Imperial special forces who want her back. Soon, you seek refuge with a rebel force, who welcome your training and powers, and with them, embark on a quest to find allies for the fight against the empire.

At this point, the plot, which had followed Terra from the start, shifts focus to its ensemble cast - the largest in the series. There are 14 permanent allies throughout the game, 11 of whom are fully developed characters with their own time in the spotlight, who not only play unique roles in driving the main plot forward, but have well developed personal stories of their own, which are gradually revealed throughout the course of the game. These segments, where fragments of their backstories are revealed, and eventually concluded, truly bring each character out as an individual and more than just part of a a team, more so than in any previous Final Fantasy title.

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Abandoning the complicated Job system of the then Japan-only fifth game, Final Fantasy VI goes back to the formula established by IV and takes it into a more straightforward direction. As with previous games, your party of adventurers journeys from location to location as the plot demands it, and characters join and leave, also as the plot demands it (especially during the first half of it). Character's combat abilities are pre-defined, and are often reflective of their personalities and stories. For instance, Terra is capable of using powerful magic spells in combat, inventor Edgar can use high tech weapons, and his self-exiled martial arts master brother Sabin can execute fighting game-style special attacks, complete with convoluted button combinations.

As with previous games, your characters can be equipped with weapons and armor, which you can buy in stores or find in treasure chests, and your finds tend to get higher in quality as you get further into the game. New to the series are Relics - rare accessory items which grant unique buffs to the character who equips them. And eventually, you will discover the Espers - magical extra-planar beings, which the empire seeks to exploit the power of. Each Esper is unique, and can be "equipped" by any character. Doing so grants that character access to the Esper's devastating magical power, and also, over time, allows that character to learn whatever spells the Esper is able to teach.

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And just as with Final Fantasy IV, the gameplay is almost peripheral to the experience. From the start, it is a prime example of excellence in gaming narrative. The aesthetic is distinctively dark from the very beginning, and communicates a stark, desolate world compared to the vibrant fantasy worlds of Square's past games. Dialog, though not a direct translation from the Japanese original (at least not in the SNES/PS1 versions), flows well and effectively communicates information and character personalities. Characters, now 24 pixels tall, are bigger and more detailed than ever, and can emote through simple but effective animations which convey facial expressions and body language. More importantly, the plot is *shown*, and not just told or implied. When the empire is laying waste to a town that is guarding something it wants, you are there taking point as the lead shock trooper. When the main villain kills hundreds of innocents by poisoning a water supply, you are there as a surviving knight, walking around his home and discovering his lord and his family among the piles of bodies, and you remain in control of his resulting vengeful rage. When the most dire events in the series to date occur, they play out before your eyes, and you are powerless to stop it despite your efforts.

And these events mark a drastic shift in the game's narrative and structure. Up until then, FF6 had delivered a focused and directed plot, brimming with heroics, politics, tragedy, and mythic themes. At this turning point, the central plot is all but resolved - the villain's campaign is complete, and there is nothing more for this plot thread but for you to fight your way through his tower of evil and destroy him. But the characters' personal stories still have several loose ends; Terra must come to grips with her identity, and others likewise have pasts to overcome and personal demons to conquer. But the linear structure is gone; the world is yours to explore at your own pace, and the quests which drive these stories forward are scattered across the world, waiting to be discovered at your own pace and discretion. This stage of the game is also where the more powerful Espers can be found, and their abilities quickly become far more powerful than character's innate abilities. In a way, by resolving the individual character studies, and by replacing their unique abilities with a common set of spells, they lose their individuality, and can truly come together as a singular force to combat a great evil.

Final Fantasy VI is the ultimate realization of the JRPG template, which combines stat-based gameplay, dialog, visual storytelling, and adventure game elements into a streamlined, accessible package of RPG-lite gameplay mechanics and adventure game presentation and design for a platform where neither is common. The overworld exploration, dungeon crawling, monster slaying, and puzzle solving are all competent, but serve as a functional backdrop for the narrative, which is conveyed through dialog, set pieces, cut-scenes, and sometimes just the visuals and music. When most console games had little to no plot or characterization, Final Fantasy VI delivered an elaborately crafted storyline, memorable characters, and a grand, cohesive adventure.

An emulated SNES version of Final Fantasy VI (still called "Final Fantasy III" as per Nintendo policy) is available on the Wii's Virtual Console.

Beginner tips:

  • Stock up on healing items early on, and use them to heal in between battles. Eventually you'll have enough MP to use Cure spells for routine healing, but until then save it for emergencies.
  • Later on, when you have Espers that can teach healing magic, make sure EVERYONE learns as many Cure spells as possible.
  • Don't quit or reset if you die. You'll return to the last save point you used, and you'll get to keep any experience and levels you gained since then, and if you used any items, you'll get them back too. Just make sure you re-save, or else you will lose your experience points.
  • Edgar's Bio Blaster is effective against most humanoids. Against everyone else, use the Auto Crossbow or Chainsaw.
  • When you meet Banon at the hideout, refuse to join him three times. Your indecision will be rewarded with a powerful artifact.
  • If you have trouble executing Sabin's blitzes with circular motions, you can tap orthogonal directions instead. For instance, Aura Bolt's "hadoken" motion can also be performed by tapping down, down, left, A.
  • Edgar's Chainsaw is hidden in the inn at Zozo. Talk to everyone in town for clues to find it. Also, remember that everyone in town is a filthy, lying degenerate.
  • The Osmose spell is a cheap way to replenish your MP reserves. Abusing this can make your life much easier.
  • Before leaving the Floating Continent, make sure you WAIT for Shadow to return. Leave too hastily and he will be stranded there forever.


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