Great Games: Final Fantasy VI
SPOILER ALERT: Plot details for Final Fantasy IV, VI, VII follow.
“Final Fantasy VI came to us just before the series, and gaming as a whole, leapt into a new generation of hardware. What a glorious finale to Final Fantasy’s 16-bit ways. There are too many moments in Final Fantasy VI worthy of celebration to name them all. Biggs and Wedge leading Terra through the snow. The poisoning of Doma. Sandy boots. The destruction of the world. A tragic opera. Ultros! We hold these close to our hearts, and that’s not even including Espers and the most poignant character themes in the series to date. So cheers, Final Fantasy VI. May your name follow us as we all tumble towards the future of art, entertainment, narrative, and everything that keeps us gaming.”
- IGN Top 100 RPG’s Of All Time.
If ever there were a quintessential game to understanding the ever-expanding phenomenon that is Final Fantasy, it would be the sixth installment. Of course, the first, the fourth, and the seventh were all bright milestones in their own rights, but it is Final Fantasy VI that’s the magnum opus of what makes Hironobu Sakaguchi’s series so enchanting. If you the play the first five Final Fantasy games in order, FFVI seems to be a culmination as well as a homage to all that had been accomplished prior. You could tell that the creative team behind these games was constantly trying to improve, building upon the characterization of FFIV and the job system of FFV. In retrospect, FFVI also feels like a last hurrah to Final Fantasy’s 2D relationship with Nintendo before the advent of 3D and the groundbreaking FFVII. The futuristic setting of FFVII would open the road for later games to be far removed from what fans had been familiar with up until this time. Though FFIX would also try to rekindle the nostalgia of the pre-FFVII games, it lacked some of the allure of FFVI. Perhaps it was missing the surreal designs of Yoshitaka Amano, or maybe the 16-bit graphics of the Super Nintendo. FFVI was first released in North America as FFIII, with FFIV having previously been released as FFII. As far as the pre-FFVII games are concerned, North America got the best of the bunch, avoiding the terrible FFII, the lukewarm FFIII, and the exceptional, but flawed FFV. FFVI is probably as good now as it was then, perhaps better, given how sour the series has become.
FFVI is an epic of the Gesthalian Empire and the Returners who stand against them. The series has dealt with this type of narrative before, with FFII being about the struggle of the Palamecian Empire and the Wild Rose Rebellion. FFVI reworks this plot with the breadth of its world and the depth of its characters. No Final Fantasy since has had such a colorful cast. Terra, the Magitek fighter with strange abilities and no memory. Locke, the charismatic thief who cannot forget his lost love. Edgar and Sabin, the twin brothers who live opposite lives. The former a womanizing king and the latter a brash monk. Cyan, a samurai who has vowed vengeance against the Empire for having killed his wife and son. Shadow, a mercenary ninja that would “kill his best friend for the right price”. Gau, the wild child of the Veldt. Setzer, the suave gambler who commands the Blackjack. Strago, an elderly descendant of the magi. His grand-daughter, Relm the annoying brat. Umaro, a Yeti-like creature. Gogo, a mysterious mimic dressed in a variety of fabric. Celes, a former Imperial general who’s moment of glory comes in the opera house. The Moogles even play a prominent role.
Of course, the player gets to try out each of these characters throughout the game and the variety of their abilities is fun to play around with. Like FFIV, each character is in a class that allows them to do different things. Terra and Celes are the best magic users. Sabin’s blitz techniques like “Aura Cannon” and “Rising Phoenix” are among the strongest attacks available. Edgar use of the crossbow can seem mediocre at first, but as the game goes on you can acquire a variety of tools, including a chainsaw. Setzer’s slot is a wild card, which can summon a Chocobo stampede or a bombing from the Blackjack. Relm, Strago, and Gau can all copy enemy tactics like the blue mages from FFV. Furthermore, each character can have an Esper equipped, which teaches them spells and improves their stats. So a remnant of that customization from FFV remains. What bothered me about FFIV was the fact that Ethers (which restore MP) couldn’t be purchased, but had to be found. Yet Ethers were so essential, considering that so many in your party, like Rosa, Lydia, Palom, and Polom, all used magic. FFVI fixes this issue, although the Ethers are quite expensive.
FFVI is the first Final Fantasy that feels very “cinematic” in its approach. This attempt at making video games more like films was fully realized with the advent of FFVII’s 3D visuals. Though having the “cinema” effect in 16-bit technology requires far more ingenuity than with polygons. The cinematic approach is made very clear with the opening scene of the game, with Terra in a steampunk mech known as the Magitek, marching through the snows of Narshe. Her mystical theme music whistles in the background. She is under the control of the Empire at this point, seeking out Espers. The Magitek is a fearsome, but mesmerizing creation of the steampunk age, a titanic beast of science and magic that fires laser beams at its targets. She eventually comes into the arms of Locke, the thief who calls himself a treasure hunter, and can recall nothing from her time in the Empire. In the world of FFVI, magic no longer exists, the War of the Magi saw to an end to that. Terra’s abilities make her a relic from another time. She may very well represent seasoned Final Fantasy players who are used to the medieval worlds awash in crystals. FFVI was the most technologically advanced Final Fantasy at the time, with the Empire’s capital of Vector or the Magitek Research Facility being mechanized aesthetic centerpieces. Terra’s amnesia is so damaging, in fact, that she doesn’t know how to experience emotion properly. There’s a moment in the game when Edgar flirts with her, and Terra says something to the effect of, “Perhaps a normal girl would be flattered by that.”
The boss fights are some of the best in the series, usually set to the emergency ringing of “The Decisive Battle”: Vargas, Ultros, The Phantom Train, Ultima Weapon, and of course, Kefka Palazzo. If there’s a connection between Kefka and Kafka, I don’t see it (no trials or insects to be had). Kefka is often called the best villain in Final Fantasy or video games in general. I haven’t played enough games to attest to the latter, but I can say something in regard to the former. Kefka probably looks so good because Final Fantasy often has had such bland antagonists, all terribly generic in their personalities. Kefka differed from the previous Final Fantasy villains in that he was both humorous and lethal.
Kefka is the court mage of Emperor Gesthal, who can perform spells like Terra and Celes. He looks very much like a jester from a Renaissance fair, with whiteface, feathers, bells, and the rest. We first see him with his cronies in the desert, when he whines about the sand in his boots. We can already see now that Kefka is going to be different from the other past antagonists. So many of the previous Final Fantasy villains took themselves so seriously, whereas Kefka allows himself to be petty and vain. Oh, and there’s plenty more quotable lines, like “Nothing beats the sweet music of hundreds of voices screaming in unison!”, “Read my lips — mercy is for wimps! There’s a reason ‘oppose’ rhymes with ‘dispose’ ”, “Run! Run! Or you’ll be well-done!” among others. His harrowing laughter is signature. Kefka comes off as a sadist who’s initial goals seem to be expanding the Empire, but Kefka holds all in contempt, even Gestahl himself, though this rises to the surface later. In the meantime, Kefka gleefully commits crimes of war against those who oppose the Empire, from the poisoning of Doma’s waters, to the burning of Thamasa.
Kefka’s savagery is contrasted by the humanity of others in the Empire. It would’ve been easy for the writers of this game to turn all those on the side of the Gesthal into brainless spawns of evil. Yet they offer a more nuanced perspective of the enemy. Some of the soldiers are humorous, like the one who has to babysit kids in the mansion or the guard asleep in Celes’s cell. It’s clear that by talking to many of these soldiers, that they just want a salary, and many don’t like Kefka, but are too afraid to confront him. One Imperial who stood out was Cid, the Magitek Researcher, who shows some sympathy for Celes and the other characters. What I recall most about Cid is that he helps your party escape the Magitek Research Facility on a cart chase out of The Temple of Doom. By humanizing the Empire, the game makes Kefka look all the more deranged.
Comparisons between Kefka and the Joker come naturally. Both are psychopathic clowns who destroy for destruction’s sake. The difference being that the Joker never seemed very interested in power, whereas Kefka aspires to godhood. Of course, the Joker wanted a degree of status to get things done, but ultimately, his wish isn’t to take over Gotham, but screw around with it. Kefka also becomes an outright nihilist, after becoming a god, he sits on his throne ruining various cities, until desiring to destroy the world itself. Kefka is not a Joker rip-off, but rather, he stands on his own as an impressionable character.
While many consider Kefka to be the best villain in Final Fantasy, I have to yield to FFVII’s Sephiroth. Even though I think that FFVI is a better game, Sephiroth is just more interesting and fleshed out. Richard Eisenbeis praises Kefka as the best villain in gaming for the sheer amount of havoc he leaves on the world, “Kefka becomes god, remakes the world by killing millions (if not billions), and leaves your party beaten, broken, and scattered to the four corners of the post-apocalyptic wasteland he has created. From then on, he just chills on the top of his enormous tower, killing randomly with his god powers whenever it strikes his fancy, just because he can.” This is contrasted with Sephiroth, who fails to even get his Meteor on the ground. Kefka’s problem, though, is that he’s psychotic for the sake of being psychotic. There’s not all that much to him than that. Kefka is made so colorful and entertaining in contrast with the blandness of the past antagonists that we don’t really care. Kefka catches one off-guard because he doesn’t treat everything with gravitas, perhaps aspects of FFV’s Gilgamesh were drawn for him.
Sephiroth, however, isn’t psychotic for the sake of being psychotic. We learn that Sephiroth was once a hero admired by no less than Cloud, who turned insane after learning the ugly truth about his dark origins. There’s an element of tragedy in Sephiroth that we don’t see enough of in Kefka, which grants him more nuance. Sure, we get a line or two about how Kefka was experimented on by the Empire, which probably made him the way he is now, but we don’t get much deeper than that. For Sephiroth, we get a whole flashback sequence. It is arguable that Sephiroth is such a great villain because many aspects of Kefka are reused for him. Kefka exercises control over Terra. Sephiroth exercises control over Cloud. Kefka kills General Leo. Sephiroth kills Aerith. Kefka has an attack called Fallen One which reduced your party’s HP to 1. Sephiroth has an attack called One Winged Angel which does the same. The tragedy element could’ve been played up when Kefka devolves into nihilism, but he instead seems to revel in his hopelessness.
After her freedom from Kefka, FFVI opens as the story of Terra’s identity. Identity is a theme that is carried over from FFIV and further explored in FFVII. Terra has to learn from scratch what it means to be human. This is further complicated by the fact that she’s half-Esper. This came as a genuine shock to me, during my first playthrough of the game. Terra is covered in glowing white fur, with a purple tinge and hair untamed. At the start, she flies around, berserk, but with the help of the Espers, is able to control and accept that this a part of who she is, too. Though can someone like her find love in this world? She asks General Leo that very question, and he believes so, though she is uncertain. His death leaves her without a clear answer.
One of the finest moments in FFVI is when the party goes to the Opera House. The gambler Setzer Gabbani threatens to capture the beautiful singer Maria to be his bride. A real phantom of the opera. The Returners want control of Setzer’s airship, the Blackjack, so they choose to disguise Celes as Maria. She’s first reluctant to play the role, saying, “I’m a former general, not some opera floozy!” She eventually concedes with encouragement from Locke. This moment is a high point in their romance. Locke freed her from the prison cell after being caught for treason. The thief just seems like another playboy like Edgar, though Celes later learns that she bears a resemblance to Locke’s dead girlfriend, Rachel.
The game doesn’t cop out of giving an opera. We are treated to an overture with a full orchestra, and the first act, where Draco sings “O Maria” for his lost love. It is in the second act that Celes gets her turn. Her character yearns for Draco to save her from a marriage she doesn’t want in “Aria Di Mezzo Carratere.” Anyone who’s even remotely familiar with FFVII knows that the opening melody of this song would later be reused for “Aerith’s Theme.” As Celes sings on the balcony, with the best vocals that the SNES can offer, we are audience to a sensitive, almost magical moment of artistry rarely seen in video games at the time. If I may expand on this note, FFVI is probably the best of Nobuo Uematsu’s scores for the Final Fantasy series, from the allure of “Mystic Forest”, the sliding drama in “Searching For Friends”, the traditional Japanese in “Cyan Theme”, the strangeness in “Strago’s Theme”, the creeping unfriendliness of “Phantom Train”, and the merry-go-round nostalgia of “Kids Run Through A Street Corner.”
They later get Sezter’s compliance by tricking him into a bet with a two-sided coin. After joining he says, “My life is a chip in your pile! Ante up!” He’s a captain that’s no stranger to risks. The Blackjack was the most luxurious airship to appear in Final Fantasy at the time, with a parlor room for pool and two elegant musical themes to boot. What’s most impressive is that flying around the world is played in three dimensions, such as the moment when the Blackjack flies over the waters, as the Imperial capital rises into view. One of best scenes in the game comes when Setzer catches Terra with his later ship, the Falcon. Everyone is surprised he achieved the feat, and he boasts, “Didn’t I say it before? This is the world’s fastest ship!”
The second half of the game puts the focus on Celes. Note that in the Japanese version of this game, Terra’s name is Tina. So why did they change it? Well, the translators probably wanted to better contrast her with “Celes” whose name is connected to the word “celestial”, whereas “Terra” is connected to the word “terrestrial.” Both of these women were former fighters of the Empire starting new lives. When Terra began, she knew nothing and had to forge a new identity. When Celes begins, she has to recover her fractured identity. Rarely before in Final Fantasy have the women played such a fundamental role in weaving the game’s narrative.
The state of the world is rather hopeless at this point. Kefka has overthrown Emperor Gesthal and sent the world into ruin with his beams of judgement. Celes is on a island alone with a dying Cid. He leaves her with a raft to explore the rest of the world. Celes initially gives up, attempting suicide on the island cliff. What saves her is Locke’s bandanna. It gives her the hope to reform the Returners. Throughout we see characters stuck in their pasts, such as Locke with Rachel and Setzer with Darill, but they need to find a new reason to live. This makes them into a fierce counterpoint to Kefka’s nihilism, as he asks them, “Why do people insist on creating things that will inevitably be destroyed? Why do people cling to life, knowing that they must someday die? …Knowing that none of it will have meant anything once they do?”
The final battle against Kefka is rivaled only in sheer enjoyment, by using the Metal Gear to fight Metal Gear Ray in Metal Gear Solid 4. Indeed, there may be no better boss fight in Final Fantasy history. To defeat him, you have to cut down each segment, climbing from the inferno, through purgatory, and into paradise. The imagery may have be the most overtly Christian I have yet seen in Final Fantasy, with aspects of the tower taken straight from Michelangelo’s Pieta. The majestic piece that plays during the end is “Dancing Mad”, with each part of the music growing more complex and religious with the organ pipes. The organ finale expresses the tone of Kefka’s nihilism better than any words could.
Final Fantasy VI was the swan song for the Nintendo era Final Fantasy games, as well as the whimsical designs of Yoshitaka Amano. The ending sequence which features the Falcon soaring over the world and a liberated Terra letting her hair flow freely, gives a sense triumph to that end. The Final Fantasy series would build off of the groundwork set by FFVI to tell more complex narratives. This worked to some success in FFVII and to some confusion in FFVIII. In a time when Final Fantasy is getting all the more awful, FFVI represents what this series once was, and what it still could be.
Originally published at http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com on January 10, 2016
