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Terramagitek

Terra Branford riding a Magitek Armor by Yoshitaka Amano.

Magitek armor (魔導アーマー, Madō Āmā?, lit. Magic Armor) is a technological innovation in Final Fantasy VI, a bipedal mechanical frame a pilot can steer and use its powerful weapons. It is the primary strength of the Gestahlian Empire.

Terra Branford riding a Magitek armor is the logo of the game.

Appearance[]

MagitekArmor-enemy-ffvi-ios

Magitek armor has two designs. In Yoshitaka Amano's concept art and in FMV sequences, it is draconian in appearance, with the front of the armor where magical attacks are emitted being shaped like a head with the emitter in the mouth, and the construct is mounted on two legs. The rider sits on the back of the "neck" of the machine, tilted forward.

As an enemy in-game, Magitek armor is either a green, yellow and brown exo-suit with a humanoid design, the pilot riding in the torso of the armor. It has two arms ending in two-pronged hooked claws, and exhaust pipes on the back. The emblem of the Gestahlian Empire is on the chest. When piloted by the party, Magitek armor retains this basic design, but is entirely brown and yellow. Different models of Magitek Armor can be painted to stand out less in urban environments.[1]

Story[]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Magitek armor, along with the rest of the Empire's Magitek, was developed by Cid Del Norte Marguez. Magitek armor units are produced in the Magitek Research Facility at Vector. Magitek armored troops appear in all territories and cities occupied by the Empire, though they are not as numerous as the imperial foot army. Because of the Magitek armor's high-intensity magical energy, only Imperial soldiers who have received magic infusions are able to harness its full potential.[1]

To mitigate the Empire's ability to use Magitek, and to gain insight on espers, Locke Cole and Celes Chere infiltrate the Magitek Research Facility and free the trapped espers the Empire was draining magic from. This, combined with the Empire's discovery of magicite, results in them foregoing Magitek use outside of troops already stationed. The Magitek Research Facility is dismantled and the armor is being refurbished.

Spoilers end here.

Enemy[]

The basic Magitek Armor enemy is fought as a boss at Figaro Castle and then later in the Imperial Camp. The palette swaps Heavy Armor, Mega Armor, Pluto Armor, and Duel Armor, appear in the rest of the game. Proto Armor is an early prototype of Magitek armor and the oldest model still employed by the Empire.[1] It has a single palette swap, Fortis, which appear within Kefka's Tower.

Ability[]

Mtek soldier front

Wearing Magitek armor gives access to the Magitek command, although there are limited occasions where Magitek armor is usable; the first time is at the beginning of the game, where the player controls Terra, Biggs and Wedge. The second time is at the Imperial Camp near Doma Castle, where Sabin, Cyan and Shadow—if the player recruited him—escape in stolen Magitek armor. The third time is within Cyan's soul during the sequence that takes place in a mine.

Terra alone can use the full arsenal of Magitek abilities. If Gogo has the Attack command assigned to his/her battle menu list, and s/he's also in the party, all eight commands will be available to him/her.

Other appearances[]

Magitek armor has become a staple of the Final Fantasy series and appears in many games, oftentimes using its original Final Fantasy VI design, either from concept art or in-game sprites. The series has also come to generally refer to suits of magical armor.

Behind the scenes[]

FFVI-opening-iOS

The opening scene (2014 mobile/Steam).

The opening of Final Fantasy VI uses a different in-game sprite of the Magitek armor than the rest of the game. The game's producer, Hironobu Sakaguchi, wanted to make the Magitek armor in the opening identical to the Magitek armor that appears elsewhere in the game, but Tetsuya Takahashi, a graphics director for Final Fantasy VI, redesigned it his own way, which Sakaguchi felt was even better than the original.[2]

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

"Magitek" is a portmanteau of "magic" and "technology".

References[]

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