Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy VI is the sixth installment in the Final Fantasy series, first released in 1994 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was directed by Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Ito, who took over from series creator and producer Hironobu Sakaguchi, director of the five previous installments of the franchise. Long-time series contributor Nobuo Uematsu composed the musical score, while Yoshitaka Amano contributed to the image design.

Final Fantasy VI was the third installment in the Final Fantasy series to be released in North America (after the original Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy IV). As a result, it was first released in North America as Final Fantasy III to maintain naming continuity. Due to various content guidelines imposed by Nintendo of America at the time, several other changes were made to the original North American version including restrictions against nudity and profanity.

The game's story focuses on a conflict between the Empire, a dictatorship slowly conquering the world, and the Returners, a rebel faction opposed to them. The Empire has acquired its great army through experiments with Espers, magical demi-gods that were thought to be myths. The Returners begin to seek magical power to fight the Empire on equal terms, and an amnesiac former imperial soldier, Terra Branford, eventually proves key to both sides for understanding magic and Espers.

Final Fantays VI features fourteen playable characters, the largest cast of any game in the Final Fantasy series to date, excluding spin-off titles. The game is set in a fantasy steampunk-styled world, at a technological level roughly corresponding to Earth during the Second Industrial Revolution. It is also the last title in the series to be released for the Super Nintendo console and the last title to be renamed

Final Fantasy VI was remade for the Sony PlayStation and released in Japan in 1999, both individually and as part of the Final Fantasy Collection. In North America, this remake is available as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology. In 2002, the PlayStation remake was released individually in Europe and Australia. A new port of the game was released on the Game Boy Advance as Final Fantasy VI Advance on November 30th, 2006 in Japan and February 5th in North America.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Final Fantasy VI is similar in some ways to that of Final Fantasy V. Players can equip Espers that teach spells and give stat boosts, similar to the Jobs of the Job System. What abilities cannot be taught by Espers can usually be learned by equipping Relics, which give abilities like Jump and Two Hands to the equipped party member. The characters can also each equip a weapon, a shield, a helmet and a piece of clothing, each equipment piece often with its own unique properties such as stat boosts or elemental immunities.

Party Swapping
Unlike previous entries like Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V where the playable party is set and characters leave and join as the story dictates, Final Fantasy VI introduces the ability to change the party at almost any given time. Fairly early into the game, in a feature that would be repeated in later installments, players are allowed to form their own party from whatever allies the resistance has gathered. Each of these allies has a specific talent; Cyan is a Samurai, Mog is a Dancer, and so forth. At times, such as the infiltration of the Southern Continent, the storyline demands specific party members be taken along, but for the most part the player can use whichever party they like. This means that a total of fourteen playable characters - the largest playable cast in the entire series - were created for the game, each of them representing a different aspect of the Job System and possessing their own fighting style.

Espers
The only characters to learn magic naturally are Celes and Terra, who even then have a very limited spell pool. The characters as a whole can only learn magic by equipping Magicite. Magicite is the crystalized remains of a dead Esper, mystical creatures with intense magical power. Each character can equip a single piece of Magicite at a time, and each Magicite shard can only be used by a single character at any given time. Once equipped, Magicite teaches magic by way of Ability Points. Each Esper teaches a spell by a certain percentage rate, and winning Ability Points increases the equipped character's aptitude with that spell by the specified amount - once enough Ability Points have been won to put the percentage rate at 100%, the spell is learned and can be cast. Some Espers like Lakshmi teach several basic spells quickly, while others like Valigarmanda teach a small handful of powerful spells slowly. This system means that with patience, any character can learn any spell.

In addition to teaching normal magic, the Espers also give access to Summon Magic. A character can summon their equipped Esper into battle one time, even if they know no magic themselves. At times these summons are merely more powerful versions of the spells they teach, like Ramuh, at other times they are entirely different, such as Quetzalli. Some Espers also give permanent stat boosts when the equipped character levels up. For example, Gilgamesh gives +2 Strength, Fenrir gives an additional 30% boost to maximum MP, and so forth. This means that characters could have their stats changed at will to suit whatever task the player wished them to - even physical fighters like Edgar could be powerful mages with enough leveling to increase their magic power. This system overall gives Summoned Monsters a much larger role in the strength of the party than previous installments, something that later installments like Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII would expand on.

Characters


Final Fantasy VI features fourteen permanent player characters all of which are equally developed, the largest number of any game in the series, as well as a number of characters who are only briefly controlled by the player. Most of the main characters in the game are members of the Returners, an underground resistance movement dedicated to overthrowing the Empire, and almost every character is united in holding a significant grudge against said Empire, and against Kefka, one of its leading generals, in particular. Terra Branford (ティナ Tina), for instance, is a half-human, half-Esper girl who spent most of her young life as a slave to General Kefka. Cyan Garamonde (カイエン Kaien), on the other hand, a loyal knight of the kingdom of Doma, watched his family and friends die as a result of Kefka's poisoning of the castle's water supply. Other characters include Locke Cole (ロック Rokku), a treasure hunter (at various points of the game, he demands to be referred to as this instead of as a thief after being called such by several characters) and rebel sympathizer who is close friends with Edgar Roni Figaro (エドガー Edogā), the king of Figaro, who claims allegiance to the Empire while secretly supplying aid to the Returners. Edgar's erstwhile brother, Sabin René Figaro (マッシュ Masshu), has fled the royal court in order to hone his martial arts skills.

Celes Chere (セリス Serisu), a former general of the Empire, joins the Returners following her imprisonment for questioning imperial policies. Believing Celes to be the opera diva Maria, inveterate gambler and womanizer Setzer Gabbiani (セッツァー Settsā) later joins forces with the group, offering the use of his airship to transport the heroes around the world. Shadow (シャドウ Shadou), a high-priced ninja mercenary, offers his services to both Empire and Returners at various stages throughout the game. Shadow shares a mysterious connection with Relm Arrowny (リルム Rirumu), a young girl living in the town of Thamasa under the care of her grandfather, Strago Magus (ストラゴス Sutoragosu), an elderly Blue Mage and heir to a long line of magical warriors.

Gau (ガウ Gau), a feral child surviving since infancy in the harsh wilderness known as the The Veldt, eventually befriends the party, as does Mog (モグ Mogu), a talking Moogle from the mines of Narshe. Mog's fast talking and persuasive attitude convince Umaro (ウーマロ Ūmaro), a savage but loyal sasquatch also living in Narshe, to lend his aid to the party. Rounding out the cast is Gogo (ゴゴ Gogo), a mysterious, fully shrouded master of the art of mimicry who agrees to lend support only when the party finds their way to the lair in the stomach of a giant monster called the Zone Eater.

A handful of Final Fantasy VI characters have reappeared in later games, such as Secret of Evermore and Kingdom Hearts II. A short technical demo, Final Fantasy VI: The Interactive CG Game, produced for the Silicon Graphics Onyx workstation, featured 3D rendered versions of Locke, Terra, and Shadow.

Story
A thousand years ago, the War of the Magi erupted between three gods known as the Warring Triad. Faced with a need of powerful soldiers, the gods turned several groups of humans into magical creatures called Espers. Eventually, the gods realized that their war was having a negative impact on the planet. In order to repent, the gods freed the Espers that they created and turned themselves to stone. When the war ended, the remaining humans and the Espers were burdened with differences in lifestyle, appearance, and opinion. As a result, the Espers retreated to a separate, hidden part of the world. Gradually, the human race has built a society based on technological power while forgetting the existence of the Espers. Now the most powerful technology is in the hands of the Empire, an expanding political power led by Emperor Gestahl and his top generals — Kefka Palazzo, Leo Christophe and Celes Chère — which rules harshly over much of the world. Driven by legends of the immense power of the Espers, Gestahl has initiated a research program to combine magic and machinery, and the result of this program is Magitek. The Empire has channeled the concept of Magitek into vehicles known as Magitek Armor, which allows a soldier to use the power of magic without having Magicite crystals or Esper alignment. However, in order to develop and maintain Magitek, the Empire is forced to use actual Espers. Though the magical energy of Magitek is weak, the Empire seems on the verge of rediscovering the full potential of magic, which Gestahl intends to do by reopening the gateway to the world of the Espers.

The game begins with two Imperial Soldiers and an unnamed woman on their way to Narshe to steal a frozen Esper there. Although the Narshe defense forces are easily destroyed, the Esper reacts to the presence of the woman, and the resulting magical pulse destroys her Magitek Armor and kills her companions. The woman awakens in the house of a man named Arvis, and remembers her name is Terra, but cannot remember anything else. Terra flees the town in the company of Locke and the two travel to the kingdom of Figaro. The King, Edgar, attempts to hide Terra from the Imperial ambassador Kefka, but Kefka sets his castle aflame. The majority of the castle residents escape safely while Terra, Locke and Edgar travel to South Figaro and then the Returners' Hideout, where the Returner leader Banon convinces Terra to help them fight the Empire. Edgar's twin brother Sabin also joins them along the way.

When the Returners receive word the Empire has attacked South Figaro, Locke goes to stymie their advance while Terra, Edgar, Sabin and Banon sail down the Lete River to Narshe. Sabin is separated along the way after battling an octopus named Ultros, and the next part of the game is split into three quests. Terra, Edgar and Banon continue to Narshe while Locke infiltrates Figaro, and flees after rescuing a traitor Imperial general, Celes Chere. Sabin journies to Doma Castle under the guidance of the assassin Shadow. Here, Kefka poisons their drinking water, and the lone survivor Cyan joins the Returners. The feral child Gau also assists them in escaping the Empire down the Serpent Trench to Nikeah, where they hop a ferry to South Figaro. The scattered party members all meet at Narshe just as Kefka leads a full-scale attack on the town. Although the Returners successfully defeat him, they confront the frozen Esper afterwards and it once again reacts to Terra's presence, turning her into an Esper-like creature that promptly flies away.

Tracking Terra to the western mountains, the Returners find her in Zozo under the care of Ramuh. Ramuh, also an Esper, tells them of the Esper's world and the Empire's usage of them for Magitek. Although Terra merely needs to come to terms with her newly awakened abilities, Ramuh requests the Returners infiltrate the Empire and rescue the Espers trapped there in the meantime. Celes decides to lead the expedition, and Locke accompanies her. At the southern Opera House, Locke convinces Celes to impersonate the opera star Maria in The Dream Oath: Maria and Draco, hoping that she will be captured by Setzer, who owns the Blackjack, the world's only airship. After intervention of Ultros, whom the party battles until the evil squid flees the scene, the plan succeeds and Celes manages to convince Setzer to help them.

On the Southern Continent, the party infiltrates the Imperial capitol Vector and free the Espers there. However, Cid and Kefka appear and mention rumors that Celes' defection was a ruse to spy on the Returners, causing Locke to doubt her loyalty. Celes spirits Kefka away so the Returners can escape to prove herself, and they rendezvous with Setzer and return to Zozo. Here, Terra's memories are restored by Maduin, who is revealed to be her father. Maduin and Terra reveal the details of Terra's birth between Maduin and a human named Madeline, and the Empire's attack on the Esper realm. Returning to Narshe, the Returners plan to lead a two-pronged attack on the Empire with the Espers. Terra, reluctant to help, nonetheless realizes her very existence is proof the two races can co-exist, and agrees.

At the gate to the Land of Espers, Terra pleas for their assistance while the Returners battle Kefka, who has followed them. The Espers that emerge from the gate go on a rampage, damaging the Blackjack and destroying Vector. In the ruins of the Imperial Castle, Emperor Gestahl tells the Returners the rampage has convinced him to call a truce. As a sign of goodwill, he wishes to negotiate peace with the Espers, and requests Terra accompany his forces on a trip to find them. The majority of the Returners remain behind to investigate Gestahl's motives while Terra and Locke accompany General Leo to Thamasa. Also with them are Shadow, who has sold his skills to the Empire, and Celes, who is still at odds with Locke.

At Thamasa, Shadow, Terra and Locke recruit Strago from the village, which was founded by the survivors of the War of the Magi. With Strago's help, they enter a nearby cave where they find a magical shrine to the Warring Triad. After fighting Ultros again and agreeing to take along Strago's granddaughter Relm, they find the Espers and return to Thamasa. Negotiations between the Esper Yura and Leo are cut short when Kefka arrives. Kefka promptly slays the Espers and Leo, and when the Sealed Gate opens and more Espers attack, Kefka again dispatches them. The repaired Blackjack arrives with the Returners just as Gestahl and Kefka find the Warring Triad and raise the Floating Continent. The Returner's then find Shadow's dog, Intercepter, wounded, leading the group to believe Shadow is dead. At the continent's summit, Gestahl attempts to have Celes kill the Returners and side with him. When she refuses, Kefka dispatches Gestahl and seizes the Triad for himself. With the assistance of Shadow, who joins the Returners at last, the Returners escape to the Blackjack, only to see it destroyed as Kefka uses his newfound powers to shift the face of the world.

A full year later, Celes awakens on a deserted island with Cid, who tells her it has been a full year since Kefka came to power. Using a raft he has built, Celes returns to the mainland and quickly recruits Sabin and Edgar. Now believing that the rest of the Returners are alive, the three find Setzer in a bar at Kohlingen, who leads them to the Falcon, a second airship belonging to a lost friend. Using the Falcon, the four travel around the world and find the scattered ranks of the resistance, many of whom have attempted to make new lives for themselves in the new world, while others have become haunted by past demons the new world has dredged up.

With their ranks reassembled, the Returners attack Kefka's Tower and confront Kefka at the summit. Here it is revealed that Kefka has become the God of Magic itself, and if he should die, Espers and magic will vanish from the world. Undeterred, the Returners battle Kefka and kill him, and without his influence, Magicite shatters and the world shifts back to its original state. Terra promptly is weakened, but due to her finding love in the orphaned children of Mobliz, her human emotions allow her to survive as a full human being. The game ends as the Falcon flies around the world in triumph with the Returners enjoying the new freedom and life Kefka's defeat has brought to it.

Music


The soundtrack for Final Fantasy VI is the work of long-time series contributor Nobuo Uematsu. The score consists of themes for each major character and location, plus music for standard battles and fights with boss enemies, as well as for special cutscenes. The "Aria di Mezzo Carattere" is one of the latter tracks, played during a cutscene involving an opera performance. This track features an unintelligible "voice" that harmonizes with the melody: the technical limitations of the Super Nintendo hardware prevented the use of an actual vocal track. The orchestral album Final Fantasy VI: Grand Finale features an arranged version of the aria, featuring Italian lyrics, performed by Svetla Krasteva with orchestral backing. This aria is also found in the second full-motion video in the PlayStation re-release with the same lyrics but a different musical arrangement. In addition, the album Orchestral Game Concert 4 includes an extended version of the opera. Arguably the most famous sequence in the game, Electronic Gaming Monthly declared the opera scene one of the "20 Greatest Moments in Console Gaming" in 2002.

Final Fantasy VI: Grand Finale features eleven tracks from the game, arranged by Shiro Sagisu and Tsuneyoshi Saito and performed by the Ensemble Archi Della Scala and Orchestra Synfonica di Milano. Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VI, a second arranged album, features thirteen tracks from the game, arranged and performed for piano by Reiko Nomura.

Additionally, the original score was released on three compact discs in Japan as Final Fantasy VI: Original Sound Version. A version of this album was later released in North America under the title Final Fantasy III: Kefka's Domain, available exclusively through mail order from Square Soft.

Development
Yoshitaka Amano, also a long-time contributor to the Final Fantasy series, returns as the image designer. Amano provided concept sketches to the programmers, who converted them into the Sprites that feature in the game. Some liberties were taken during the conversion, such as the changing of Terra's hair from blond to green. The PlayStation release includes full motion video produced specifically for the re-release: the character designs in these video sequences are based on Amano's designs, rather than the sprites in the game.

Though not the first game to utilize the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 graphics, Final Fantasy VI made much more extensive use of them than either of its two predecessors. Unlike both Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V, for example, the world map is rendered in Mode 7, which lends a somewhat three-dimensional perspective to an otherwise two-dimensional game.

Localization and censorship
The English language localization for the Super Nintendo includes a number of changes to the original Japanese game. The most obvious of these changes is the alteration of the game's title, which was changed to reflect the fact that it was only the third Final Fantasy title to be released in North America. Unlike Final Fantasy IV (originally released in North America under the title Final Fantasy II), there are no major changes in gameplay, though certain editorial alterations exist in the English script. In a January 1995 interview with Super POWER magazine, translator Ted Woolsey explained that "there's a certain level of playfulness and... sexuality in Japanese games that just doesn't exist here [in the USA], basically because of Nintendo of America's rules and guidelines." Some of the game's graphics are subtly changed to cover up instances of nudity.

In addition, the English localization features several name changes. Some such alterations were necessitated by length restrictions (e.g. "Stragus" was shortened to "Strago"). Other changes were made in order for the game to meet Nintendo's aforementioned content guidelines, which, for instance, placed restrictions on the use of religious imagery, leading to the rechristening of the magic spell "Holy" to "Pearl." A number of changes were made simply because of cultural differences between Asian and North American audiences. For example, Terra's Japanese name, Tina, sounds exotic to Japanese speakers, but is a common Anglophone name. Finally, the text files had to be shortened because otherwise they simply could not have fit into the available data storage space of the cartridge ROM.

The North American and European PlayStation remake retains the bulk of Woolsey's original translation, with a few minor changes, including the return to the original Japanese title of Final Fantasy VI, uncensored graphics, and a number of character and item names alterations.

PlayStation
Final Fantasy VI was the third and last of the Super Nintendo Final Fantasy titles to be remade for the Sony PlayStation, and was released exactly one year after a similar remake of Final Fantasy V, and two years after a remake of Final Fantasy IV. It was followed by a remake of the original Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II in the compilation Final Fantasy Origins. In Japan, the PlayStation remake was released individually and alongside both Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V as a part of a limited edition boxed set titled Final Fantasy Collection. In North America, the remake was released alongside Final Fantasy V as part of Final Fantasy Anthology. In Europe, the game was released individually (along with a Final Fantasy X demo), making it the first time the game had ever been officially released in PAL-based territories.

Technically, the PlayStation remake is very similar to the original Super Nintendo version. Aside from the addition of a few new full-motion video cutscenes before the original opening and after the original ending, the graphics and sound are unchanged from the original version. Unlike the re-release of Final Fantasy IV in the Final Fantasy Chronicles compilation, the script for the North American PlayStation release was essentially left unchanged (gil remained as "GP", Ultima Weapon remained as "Atma Weapon"). The only notable changes to gameplay involve the correction of a handful of computer bugs left in the original game, and the addition of a new "memo save" feature which allows players to quickly save their progress to the PlayStation's RAM. Because of the volatile nature of the system's memory, memo saves are lost if power to the console is interrupted. Finally, the remake includes a number of bonuses, including a bestiary and artwork gallery that can be accessed from the game's main menu, and are revealed as the player progresses through the game.

Game Boy Advance
A port of Final Fantasy VI for handhelds had been considered by Square in early 2001. However, the project failed due to the absence of an appropriate platform--the WonderSwan Color was not powerful enough to run the game, and Nintendo did not allow Square to develop on the Game Boy Advance, despite Sakaguchi's wish.

Years later, after relations between Square (now Square Enix) and Nintendo improved, it was announced that Final Fantasy VI would be re-released on the Game Boy Advance under the title Final Fantasy VI Advance. This is consistent with the re-releases of Final Fantasy IV (released in North America on December 12, 2005) and Final Fantasy V (released in North America on November 6, 2006). Final Fantasy VI Advance was released on February 5, 2007. Like the other Game Boy Advance re-releases, several extra features were added:


 * Four new espers: Leviathan, Gilgamesh, Cactuar, and Diablos
 * A new three-party dungeon known as the Dragons' Den, featuring the originally dummied enemy, Kaiser Dragon.
 * New equipment for each character.
 * New Translation, more faithful to the original Japanese but retaining Ted Woolsey's changed names and some of the lines regarded by the fans as his best.
 * A new Soul Shrine Arena.
 * Bestiary
 * Reworked Soundtrack