South Figaro is a major city in Final Fantasy VI. It, along with Kohlingen, is governed by Figaro Castle to the north, and it is a port town with regular ferries to and from Nikeah. Its residents include Duncan's wife, an affluent man, various merchants, and an old man who loves to drink cider. The pub in the south of town is a hangout for thieves and assassins. North of the town is a small dojo where Duncan teaches his students martial arts. It is the first major city visited in the game by the player party.
Story[]
Terra, Locke, and Edgar pass through the town on their way to the Returner Hideout beyond Mt. Kolts. The townsfolk offer information on the Returners and the martial arts master Duncan, who trained his son Vargas and Edgar's brother Sabin. The three also meet the mercenary and assassin Shadow in the pub, but he doesn't offer his services to them.
A rich man living in town acts as an informant to the Gestahlian Empire and advises them on how to efficiently invade the town. While the Returners are meeting, the Empire invades and occupies South Figaro as a staging ground to push further north to Narshe and the Returner Hideout during the Third Gestahlian Campaign. While Terra, Edgar and Sabin flee down the Lethe River with the Returner leader Banon, Locke returns to South Figaro to sabotage the imperials and slow their advance.
While Locke is escaping the town after concluding his business, he finds a former imperial general, Celes Chere, imprisoned in the town after turning traitor. Locke frees Celes and takes her with him out of town through a series of secret passages, and she affirms the Empire is planning to attack Narshe shortly.
South Figaro continues to be held under Imperial rule until the fall of the Imperial capital Vector, when Emperor Gestahl calls a ceasefire. In the aftermath of a banquet with the Returners, Gestahl orders the Empire to withdraw from the city.
Sometime after the cataclysm, Kefka attacks South Figaro with the Light of Judgment, decimating the town. The citizens set aside their differences and rebuild together. Celes and Sabin pass through the city while pursing Edgar, who is using the alias "Gerad" while leading a gang of thieves, the Crimson Robbers. After resupplying in town, the Robbers set off to the South Figaro Cave, Celes and Sabin pursuing.
Layout[]
A balcony runs along the town's entire perimeter, and is accessible by staircases near Duncan's home and near the weapon and armor shop on the east side of town. The town is divided in two by a river spanned by two pathways, though only one is immediately obvious.
The north-west corner of South Figaro is dominated by a large mansion that belongs to the town's wealthiest citizen. While at first look the mansion is a large two-story house, it lies atop a network of secret passages that wind underneath the town. One connects to Duncan's house in the south-east corner of town, another connects to a nearby house a bit to the west. This house, a two-story property build on an elavated area, is the residence of a former servant of the mansion's owner.
In the south-west part of town, the relic shop, inn, and pub occupy a single large building, with the inn in a raised area connecting the other two shops. Outside, a walkway runs beneath the inn. South of the entrance to the pub is the entrance to the docks, and west of the relic ship is a chocobo stable on the entrance of town. The north-east part of town is taken up by the weapon, armor, and item shops.
During the Imperial occupation, a trooper outside the weapon shop will be cleaning his vacant Magitek Armor. For unknown reasons the armor is left behind when the Imperials withdraw from South Figaro, and the armor remains in the street for the rest of the game.
Gameplay[]
Encounters[]
World of Balance[]
World of Ruin[]
- Barrens
- Desert Hare x3
- Cancer x2, Desert Hare x2
- Forest
- Desert Hare x3
- Oceanus
- Oceanus, Desert Hare x3
Shops[]
Note: If Edgar is the lead member of the party, the player gets a 50% discount (World of Ruin only).
Items[]
World of Balance | |
---|---|
Item | Price |
Potion | 50 gil |
Phoenix Down | 500 gil |
Antidote | 50 gil |
Eyedrops | 50 gil |
Echo Herbs | 120 gil |
Gold Needle | 200 gil |
Sleeping Bag | 500 gil |
Tent | 1,200 gil |
World of Ruin | |
Item | Price |
Hi-Potion | 300 gil |
Ether | 1,500 gil |
Phoenix Down | 500 gil |
Eyedrops | 50 gil |
Echo Herbs | 120 gil |
Holy Water | 300 gil |
Remedy | 1,000 gil |
Tent | 1,200 gil |
Weapons[]
World of Balance | |
---|---|
Weapon | Price |
Dagger | 150 gil |
Mythril Knife | 300 gil |
Mythril Sword | 450 gil |
Great Sword | 800 gil |
NoiseBlaster | 500 gil |
Bio Blaster | 750 gil |
World of Ruin | |
Item | Price |
Enhancer | 10,000 gil |
Trident | 1,700 gil |
Heavy Lance | 10,000 gil |
Golden Spear | 12,000 gil |
Armor[]
World of Balance | |
---|---|
Item | Price |
Buckler | 200 gil |
Heavy Shield | 400 gil |
Hair Band | 150 gil |
Plumed Hat | 250 gil |
Cotton Robe | 200 gil |
Kenpo Gi | 250 gil |
World of Ruin | |
Item | Price |
Diamond Shield | 3,500 gil |
Green Beret | 3,000 gil |
Priest's Miter | 3,000 gil |
Diamond Helm | 8,000 gil |
Gaia Gear | 6,000 gil |
Diamond Vest | 12,000 gil |
Diamond Armor | 15,000 gil |
Relics[]
World of Balance | |
---|---|
Item | Price |
Silver Spectacles | 500 gil |
Star Pendant | 500 gil |
Jeweled Ring | 1,000 gil |
Knight's Code | 1,000 gil |
Sprint Shoes | 1,500 gil |
World of Ruin | |
Item | Price |
Silver Spectacles | 500 gil |
Star Pendant | 500 gil |
Fairy Ring | 1,500 gil |
Princess Ring | 3,000 gil |
Amulet | 5,000 gil |
Reflect Ring | 6,000 gil |
Hermes Sandals | 7,000 gil |
Angel Ring | 8,000 gil |
Treasures[]
South Figaro has a large number of items hidden in barrels and craters in the field. If these items are left alone, in the World of Ruin they will be replaced with better items.
A barrel next to the chocobo stable constains a Potion that becomes a Holy Water in the World of Ruin, and a crate on the right side of the stable has a Green Cherry that becomes a Tent. South of the stable in a crate against the edge of the dock, there is a Gold Needle that becomes an Elixir. In the barrels to the right are an Antidote that becomes a Tent, and in the craters near them is an Eyedrops that becomes a Remedy. The barrel by the weapon and armor has a Potion that becomes an X-Potion, and finally, a barrel on the balcony overlooking the chocobo stable has a Teleport Stone that becomes a Phoenix Down.
In terms of gathering rare items, the items to leave along are the Gold Needle in the crate in the south-west corner of the town by the town, and the Potion in the barrel by the weapon and armor shop; these items update to a valuable Elixir and X-Potion, while the other items upgrade to items that can be readily purchased at shops. There is one final item, a Phoenix Down in a barrel on the back area of the mansion, but it does not change in the World of Ruin.
The secret area under the mansion holds a hidden staircase to a basement with two relics, Hermes Sandals and Hyper Wrist, and the nearby storage room has four chests containing a total of 3,000 gil. These chests can be acquired on the first visit to South Figaro. During Locke's scenario, the larger secret passage area can be accessed, and chests here contain a Great Sword, Heavy Shield, Iron Armor, and an Earring. A staircase leads to another basement with an X-Potion and a Hi-Ether, and a hidden chest below the chest containing the X-Potion has a Ribbon.
Additionally, the key items Old Clock Key and Cider are obtained during Locke's scenario.
Quests[]
Sabin and Duncan's wife[]
After defeating Vargas on Mt. Kolts and recruiting Sabin into the party, returning to South Figaro and speaking to Duncan's wife will initiate a conversation between her and Sabin, discussing Duncan's fate and Sabin's relation to the couple, who raised him like a son.
This is the only time in the game the player is able to view this conversation; once the player enters the Returners' Hideout and speaks to Banon, the entrance of Mt. Kolts will be blocked off by an Imperial Soldier, and returning to South Figaro later in the game will not allow the scene to trigger.
Locke's scenario[]
Locke's scenario requires him to find a way to sneak out of South Figaro. The player can steal the clothes from Merchants or Cadets to change Locke's sprite to theirs. Figaro townsfolk are more talkative to Locke when he is wearing a Merchant disguise, and Troopers react favorably when he is in a Cadet uniform. If at any time Locke falls in battle while escaping, the player will not receive a Game Over—instead Locke will respawn in his normal outfit at the location the player begins the scenario. This stops once he rescues Celes.
The easiest way to complete Locke's scenario is to enter the item shop and steal a disguise from the Merchant there, then talk to the boy in the basement of the nearby house and he will let them pass. The arched house over the waterway to the left has a hidden path over the water behind it, letting the player reach the pub. In the basement of the pub the player can fight another Merchant and retrieve the Cider key item. Return to the house with the boy guarding the stairs and give the cider to the old man to be told about a hidden passage. Tell the boy downstairs the password "Courage" to open the passage, which leads to the northern mansion.
Inside the mansion on the second floor, there is a hidden passage behind the bookshelf that leads to a hidden basement. Down here, Locke will rescue Celes from the imperials, and can take the Old Clock Key from her sleaping guard. The key can be used to wind a clock in the nearby storage room that isn't ticking, revealing a secret door. The large network of passages here contain enemies, and at the far end Locke and Celes emerge behind Duncan's house and can exit the town to the world map.
At the mansion a hidden passage behind the bookcase in an upstairs room leads to a new series of secret passages. The player is given the option to remove their disguise, and will shortly after rescue Celes. The guarding soldier has an which unlocks a maze of hidden walkways leading to the outskirts of town and the world map.
In addition to the mentioned Cadet and Merchant locations, the player can find a Cadet south of the inn and a Merchant on the second floor of the pub. This allows the player to change their disguise at any time, though there is no need to break from the sequence listed above.
Pursuing Edgar[]
Celes returns to South Figaro with Sabin in the World of Ruin. The stop is brief but necessary; Edgar, disguised as "Gerad", is in the inn, and he must be spoken to in order to advance the story in the South Figaro Cave. Until he is spoken to, his men will loiter around town and leave with him after he is spoken to.
Leviathan[]
After acquiring the Falcon in the Advance and the 2014 mobile/Steam versions of the game, the player can return to South Figaro and speak to a man near the Chocobo Stable who mentions seeing a shadow in the water while fishing. Boarding the ferry to Nikeah after speaking to him will result in an encounter with Leviathan on the journey. Defeating him in battle earns him as a piece of magicite.
Maps[]
- Town
Other appearances[]
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy[]
South Figaro appears as the Battle Music Sequence for "The Decisive Battle".
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call[]
South Figaro returns as the BMS for "The Decisive Battle".
Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade[]
Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]
South Figaro appears as a dungeon in the Challenge Event Back to the Skies.
Musical themes[]
"Kids Run Through the City" is South Figaro's background theme. As with other cities in such a condition, "Under Martial Law" plays during the occupation of South Figaro by the Empire.
Behind the scenes[]
The use of passwords to open up a hidden passage in Locke's scenario is an allusion to Final Fantasy II and its use of Key Terms, particularly the use of the term "Wild Rose" to communicate between members of the rebellion. The Japanese version of Final Fantasy VI gives "Wild Rose" as one of the password options when speaking to the boy that opens the secret passage. The term was translated as "Rosebud" in the original North American release and is retained in subsequent versions. The choice of word by translator Ted Woolsey may be a reference to the 1941 Orson Welles film Citizen Kane).
During the scene where Locke sees Celes imprisoned in South Figaro, she is no longer being beaten by the guards since the GBA version. The censoring of Celes's beating was done in the original Japanese Advance version as well. The reason is that the original Final Fantasy VI was created before the Japanese ratings board, CERO, existed. Violence is rated strictly in Japan, and Square wanted a CERO A rating for the Game Boy Advance version, which would have been impossible if the game depicted violence against a restrained human. To accomodate this change, the troopers merely taunt Celes and do not strike her, and when the trooper leaves Celes' room she collapses. When Locke frees her, the dialogue box is changed to mention her hands are bound and give the option to untie her, removing any implication she is chained up.
The hidden path over the waterway near the inn and pub seems to be a developer oversight insofar as planning Locke's scenario. The passage removes a sustantial amount of time from the scenarion, allowing players to get to the mansion within a couple of minutes and eliminating any need for a Cadet disguise. Were this hidden path to be removed, the player would need to go onto the balcony above town to steal a Cadet disguise from a Cadet there, speak to an imperial near the mansion to get them to move so the inn and pub can be accessed, and there steal back a Merchant disguise to get past the boy guarding the stairs while also getting the Cider needed for the old man. This may have been the intended method for moving through the town, but the developers overlooked the hidden walkway access.
Two glitches can be performed during Locke's scenario. The walking through walls glitch can be performed in the basement of the rich man's house. In the storage room of the house, if the player enters the secret door to the passages out of town, but does not exit to the next area, and opens the menu, when they close the menu the sprites of the wall and record player will be glitched and the player can walk through them to the right.
The bypass event glitch lets the player leave town without recruiting Celes. It is performed by waiting for the trooper patrolling near Duncan's house to walk to the top of his patrol route, then as he is coming back down, walking up onto the same tile as him while opening the menu; when the menu is closed, the trooper will walk past Locke and the path out of South Figaro is open. By doing this, during the Battle for the Frozen Esper, Celes will be replaced by Moghan of the Ten Moogles This event can also be used while Locke is in disguise as a Merchant or a Cadet, and while he will revert to his normal sprite in the field, he will continue to wear his disguise in battle. Both of these glitches persist for the rest of the game.