Blackjack (Final Fantasy VI)

The Blackjack is an airship in Final Fantasy VI. It is one of two airships in the world, the other being the Falcon. The Blackjack marks a notable design change from the airships of previous games: while previous crafts were simply flying ships with propellors and wings, the Blackjack is more in-line with real aircraft.

Story
Before the game events, Setzer Gabbiani, the owner of the airship, raced Blackjack around the world against his girlfriend Darill, the owner of the Falcon. The Falcon proved the faster ship, but Darill crashed and perished while racing it. It isn't specified if this was its original purpose, but the Blackjack was a flying casino with an item shop and a healer making their services available.

The Returners contact Setzer because they need the Blackjack to get to the southern continent, to the Imperial capital Vector. Celes challenges Setzer to bet his allegiance and use of the ship on a coin toss - if she won he'd help the Returners, but if she lost she'd marry him. Using two-headed coin from Edgar, Celes wins and Blackjack's use falls to the Returners. Setzer waits on-board the ship near Albrook while the Returners raid the Magitek Research Facility to free the imprisoned Espers. Setzer flies the ship to Vector to rescue them, and the party fights off the Cranes to escape Vector airspace. After this the player is free to use the Blackjack to travel the overworld.

When Terra pleads to the Espers for help at the Sealed Gate, the Espers attack the Blackjack and the ship crashes near Maranda. Cid Del Norte Marquez helps Setzer repair it, after which Setzer flies it to Thamasa to warn the group the Empire's supposed ceasefire is a lie. The airship is used to attack the Floating Continent and during the Apocalypse, the Returners leap off the continent onto the airship to escape, but the world's destruction tears the ship apart, and the Returners are scattered.

In the World of Ruin, an airship model that looks like the Blackjack scaled to 1/1200 its original size, is being sold at the Auction, but winning it is impossible.

Areas
Top Deck: The Blackjack's controls lie here. All battles aboard the airship take place on the main deck. Casino: The area directly below the deck that makes up a great deal of the ship. The casino area features roulette and blackjack tables set in a lower area ringed by a balcony. Waiting room: The area below the casino, it is where the characters wander while not in the party. A single blackjack table sits here. Engine room: A small area adjacent to the waiting room, it leads to the lounge and holds the airship's mechanic elements. Setzer's room: An area through the engine room, it has chairs and a sofa, and looks down on the ground through a hatch set into the floor. Entrance: The lowest deck of the ship below the waiting room, it had a healer and an item shop.

Music
"Setzer's Theme" is used as the background theme for the Blackjack's cabin, while "Blackjack" plays as the player travels the skies with the Blackjack and on its deck.

Final Fantasy Tactics
One of the Errands in Final Fantasy Tactics, "Storm of 777", mentions the Blackjack.

''The Blackjack, the casino ship is at the port. The slot machine at the left end of the ship is said to be loose. You should try it out!''

The outcome is as follows:

''The Casino ship Blackjack is at the port Limberry castle. The slot machine on the left hand side gave us 777, the jackpot. Nothing happened so we asked Setzer about this. He said he deliberately lowered the pay-off rate. "Gambling's not fun unless there's some risk."''

Trivia

 * The player can view an extra scene within the Blackjack of Cid and Setzer fixing it, if, after leaving Emperor Gesthal's banquet; instead of heading to Albrook, the player heads for Blackjack's crashsite instead.
 * Lines exist in the game data for Shadow, Umaro and Gogo as if they were talked while onboard the Blackjack, however, the player can never board the Blackjack with any of these characters in the current party, so they never get to hear the lines. Strago and Relm have lines in the game data that speak of Blackjack's crashing near Vector, however, the two only join after that event, so these lines can never be viewed in the game either.

Blackjack (FFVI)