Note: This entry contains slight spoilers for the game.

Not So Final

In 1994, SquareSoft got to work on making the next Final Fantasy game, the sixth installment in the RPG series, on the Super NES computer (which was called the Super Famicom in Japan)¹. SquareSoft has the habit of successfully exceeding their previous results each time they make a Final Fantasy game, and Final Fantasy VI was no exception.

The game is set 1000 years after the War of the Magi from previous games; it ended with magic being eradicated from the world. Technology has now been rediscovered and employed by the Empire, along with a bizarre combination of something suspiciously like magic, and technology - called MagiTech.

A girl named Terra is kidnapped by a General Kefka for her magical abilities. She is freed by a thief named Locke², and they join the Returners, an underground organization rebelling against the Empire.

The Good

One of the more interesting things about Final Fantasy VI is that there isn't really one 'main' character. Each character is unique and so integral to the story that when someone asks who the main character is, you should do the same thing as if someone asked which Final Fantasy game is the best: leave the room³.

• Terra is the greatly overused girl-with-magic-powers-and-emotional-problems stereotype, but SquareSoft manages to make it look good.

• Locke is a 'treasure hunter' and adventurer who is trying to get over the death of his lover, Rachel.

• Edgar is the womanizing king of Figaro; his brother, Sabin, gave up the throne of Figaro for his freedom.

• Shadow is a bandit who joins the rebellion for money.

• Cyan, retainer to the throne of Doma, wants revenge against General Kefka for poisoning his family.

• Gau is a child, abandoned at birth to be raised by wild animals - another stereotype, prevalent in many stories.

• Celes is a former general of the Empire who turned against it when she found out about its evils.

• Setzer is the owner of an airship. He joined the party because he thought Celes was a famous opera singer.

• Strago and his granddaughter Relm lived in a village of magic-users... until Kefka decided to burn it down.

• No list of the heroes would be complete without General Leo, a definite good guy who is fighting on the wrong side. About halfway through the game, he is killed by General Kefka.

The Bad

The Emperor was described by one reviewer as 'bland and uninteresting'. He wants to rule the world, but what RPG villain doesn't?

General Kefka, however, is absolutely fascinating. While the Emperor is boring because he wants global dominion with a side order of godhood, Kefka would actually use those exact words if it occurred to him. Most RPG villains never appear until the end of the game, when they express their hatred of the hero(ine)(s) and then attack. Kefka, however, is right in the middle of the stage from Act 1, Scene 2. He has hilarious one-liners that most villains would (ahem) kill for, and he makes the player almost sorry when in the end of the game, he is eventually killed.

Another bad guy who must be mentioned is Ultros, an insane octopus that has a sweet tooth for adventurers and who is also completely and utterly insane. He has even more ridiculous lines than Kefka, and he has to be fought four times. 'No, really,' he says at the beginning of the fourth battle, 'this is our last battle! Trust me!' - halfway through that last battle, he is joined by Chupon, a bizarre monster whose trademark ability is to sneeze at everyone, forcing them out of the fight.

The Ugly

There's not much that actually fits under this section, because Final Fantasy VI is fantastic⁴. The creators pushed the limits of what the Super NES could do, and rather successfully. For instance, the pixellated sprites had animated faces and could express surprise, anger, laughter, and more. Final Fantasy VI touched on several themes that most games wouldn't dream of doing: losing loved ones⁵, suicide, a touch of racial bias, and there's even a 17-year-old girl near the end named Katarin who's pregnant⁶.

All in all, you must not say that this is the best game in the series, because then you'll have to fight people who say that they prefer other Final Fantasy games. But you might find yourself championing it anyway...