LTTP: Final Fantasy VI | Feed the Boy Some Meat

[Deleted member 511]

I think I already had a moment early on when Terra essentially switched to Celes and I was like what? She's not the main character? Who's this Celes person I know nothing about, I was getting to like Terra.

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I don't feel like digging for interview quotes directly from Kitase (the director) but according to him, VI was designed to be more of an ensemble cast instead of there being a clear 'main' character like in other FF games. Whether one feels they actually succeed in that is another thing entirely lol. Interested in reading your opinions as you get deeper into the plot.

Also Celes is great.

Spoiler

I'm totally not biased.

 

[the magical kitsune]

Is it strange that out of all of 6's soundtrack the one that puts me in a nostalgia mood is 'mines of narshe'

 

[shoptroll]

Despite the myriad cast members, items, options, or maybe because of them, the game feels a bit distant to me, cold. I mentioned Dragon Quest earlier and I do believe the tonal shift from DQ3 to FF6 was immense. I just got espers, which is even more stuff. There is in fact so much extra stuff in this game that you get just by playing it, so many secrets, concepts it seems to expect you to understand, it almost feels like a game that, when playing for the first time, you are replaying for the seventh.. every single system in the game is startlingly opaque and yet, well, it's kind of fucking easy at the same time.... as if you're doing a 'no Fight run' when that in fact is not just viable, it's perhaps necessary. If the above statement makes no sense, please press Triangle Square Up Down.

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Welcome to the wonderful world of SquareSoft RPGs: none of the mechanics makes sense when explained but totally makes sense after an hour.

Just stay clear of the SaGa games which take the above to the extreme.

 

[Red]

Is it strange that out of all of 6's soundtrack the one that puts me in a nostalgia mood is 'mines of narshe'

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It's a good one, and you hear it a lot. Narshe gets revisited multiple times.

 

[styl_oh]

Thank you all for your replies!

One thing I like about this new continent is that it is entirely Occupied Territory... every single town. And, minor as most of these places are, they do carry an air of oppression, of being tainted. (By the way, is that red logo supposed to bring up echoes of Communism or Naziism?) As usual, this is conveyed strictly through sound and visuals--the dialogue really isn't up to snuff, I have to say. These bulking, glandular monstrosities called soldiers speak volumes more than 'Long live the Empire!' ever could.

Playing the rebel, no, the revolutionary, and sneaking around a town was great--the shock of being recognized as a Returner replaced by relief when you realize you've discovered a sympathizer, often in the strangest of places... a woman in a one-room flat willing to heal you, a stray bartender, a crusty old man hidden in the packing crates...

And now I'm through (?) the Magitech Factory, about to fight some bosses. Here Kefka, while still cartoonish, had a graphically effective bit of villainy--chucking the drained-out espers down the hatch. Right down the meat grinder. And you have to go down there, too. Of course you do.

And while doing that, the number one clown in town threw a cryptic hint--something about statues. What statues?

Stray observations:
- The best attacks to watch are Suplex for obvious reasons and Chainsaw. Is it just me or does he pop on a Jason mask? The very king himself.
- Actually, Flash too. Is that an old, Steampunk interpretation of a camera? I love that. Plus, it wrecks everything. Edgar is my favourite to use.
- I can't wait to meet Cid. He's either a genius or a stone cold moron. He taught some kid in a backwater town how to cast 'Cure' with This One Weird Trick Mages Don't Want You to Know and it fixes 1HP. Good going, kid. No totally, you helped us a lot.
- I thought FFXII introduced this vibe, but playing VI is telling me that someone on the FF team is really, really into Star Wars.
- Outside of the ugliest world map ever, this game really does have incredible graphics. There was even one scene, one effect--where they flew towards the new continent and saw searchlights in the distance--that I didn't even think you could do on a SNES. Wonderful.

 

[Quinton]

I don't feel like digging for interview quotes directly from Kitase (the director) but according to him, VI was designed to be more of an ensemble cast instead of there being a clear 'main' character like in other FF games. Whether one feels they actually succeed in that is another thing entirely lol. Interested in reading your opinions as you get deeper into the plot.

Also Celes is great.

Spoiler

I'm totally not biased.

Click to shrink...

Celes the best.

 

[McScroggz]

When it comes to party members I always prioritize who I like and who is the most interesting to have in the party over who is the most powerful or who synergizes for the most powerful team (outside of the most difficult battles like optional bosses). So I have never used Gau that much, although his side quest is very charming.

 

[RoninChaos]

God damn, this is the greatest game of all time.

 

[styl_oh]

Well, in the meatgrinder of the factory I'm grinding slimes to get to level 21, because I was hit with the harsh reality that, just up the stairs, there are robots that can kill my entire party instantly if their level is divisible by 5.

I'm not even mad, just... what?

 

[IzzyRX]

- I thought FFXII introduced this vibe, but playing VI is telling me that someone on the FF team is really, really into Star Wars.

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Yep, VI screams Star Wars.

 

[bagandscalpel]

Well, in the meatgrinder of the factory I'm grinding slimes to get to level 21, because I was hit with the harsh reality that, just up the stairs, there are robots that can kill my entire party instantly if their level is divisible by 5.

I'm not even mad, just... what?

Click to shrink...

Ah yes, Lv. 5 Doom. Definitely made me paranoid to keep my characters at levels ending in 5 or 0. Then there's Lv. 3 Muddle and Lv. 4 Flare, if I recall, but those are a lot less frequent and severe.

 

[styl_oh]

This is a bit of a silly unimportant question but here goes.

The PS1 version of FF6 has a 'BONUS' option on the main screen. It has the Bestiary, CGI movies, concept art etc. When I click it, and click 'Slot 1' (my PS Vita virtual memory card) it says 'can't find system file', before I'm even able to choose my savegame.

I can view the bonus without loading a particular file, but obviously more will be unlocked on a real save file.

I'm not super disappointed, I'm sure I can find it all online, more just curious why it won't work. For the record it's a completely legit digital copy on an unhacked Vita.

 

[styl_oh]

I'm also at the Auction House now trying to buy stuff but so far it's Chocobos and Cherry Down all the way down.

 

[nin]

I'm also at the Auction House now trying to buy stuff but so far it's Chocobos and Cherry Down all the way down.

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I really really had fun with that.

 

[Zen_Master]

I posted these in the remaster thread but they may be valuable here also. I really love how this artist (link) took Terra, Sabin and Celes into 3D here. The probabilities of a VI remake are probably very low but if it ever occurs I'd love for it to have a similar character design/style:

 

[Red Fire]

I posted these in the remaster thread but they may be valuable here also. I really love how this artist (link) took Terra, Sabin and Celes into 3D here. The probabilities of a VI remake are probably very low but if it ever occurs I'd love for it to have a similar character design/style:

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Looks dope, Terra needs green hair though

 

[PAFenix]

This is a bit of a silly unimportant question but here goes.

The PS1 version of FF6 has a 'BONUS' option on the main screen. It has the Bestiary, CGI movies, concept art etc. When I click it, and click 'Slot 1' (my PS Vita virtual memory card) it says 'can't find system file', before I'm even able to choose my savegame.

I can view the bonus without loading a particular file, but obviously more will be unlocked on a real save file.

I'm not super disappointed, I'm sure I can find it all online, more just curious why it won't work. For the record it's a completely legit digital copy on an unhacked Vita.

Click to shrink...

I think the bonus you can view without loading are just default extras they allow you to view. If you want to see more, the save file may need to be a Finished save file? I'm not entirely sure as it's been YEARS since I played the playstation version.

 

[styl_oh]

Looks dope, Terra needs green hair though

Click to shrink...

OK how did this Terra green/blonde thing happen? She has green hair in the game... did she not in the concept art, or later appearances? I certainly prefer green because... it's green! And the game already has a a blonde. As does like every Final Fantasy.

I think the bonus you can view without loading are just default extras they allow you to view. If you want to see more, the save file may need to be a Finished save file? I'm not entirely sure as it's been YEARS since I played the playstation version.

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Ah, that makes sense. I assumed I could view things like the Bestiary as I progressed but I could see this being the case.

 

[styl_oh]

Also, I just read that Kitase's inspiration for the Opera scene was Hitchcock's the Man Who Knew Too Much--I KNEW IT! The second I understood the setup to that scene, that film was on my mind. I was legit thinking, 'this is SO like the Man Who Knew Too Much, I'm Jimmy Stewart right now'. The man has good taste in literature and film.

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

Maybe if I played the game earlier I'd enjoy it but it bored me. I can't play SNES games

Plus the characters did seem kind of one-note

I never finished it tho I got maybe 1/4th into the game

 

[PAFenix]

OK how did this Terra green/blonde thing happen? She has green hair in the game... did she not in the concept art, or later appearances? I certainly prefer green because... it's green! And the game already has a a blonde. As does like every Final Fantasy.

Click to shrink...

When the game originally released, I believe they couldn't code Terra blonde because the colors being used were so limited (and that color was being used elsewhere). So, despite the original Amano art has her blonde, they gave her sprite green hair. At least, that's how it was explained to me. Someone more versed could probably give you more details.

But that's why you usually see Terra in Dissidia and other official Square products promoted with her 'original' blonde hair reinstated with the green hair being an alternate outfit.

 

[antitrop]

Yep, VI screams Star Wars.

Click to shrink...

VI was also the first one to introduce Biggs (Vicks) and Wedge as recurring characters.

 

[styl_oh]

Someday I'll write an essay on why Ultros is the main character of this game

 

[styl_oh]

FF6 Kiwami: Ultros Everywhere

 

[CrunchyFrog]

FF6 Kiwami: Ultros Everywhere

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Minor spoilers for a late game area:

 

[styl_oh]

So I got Strago and Relm and I'm on the floating continent.

Relm's 'Sketch' move seems... bad. Does she ever get good? I'm not sure I like Strago either, because learning Lores reminds me too much of learning Rages... well, not that annoying.

 

[styl_oh]

Minor spoilers for a late game area:

Click to shrink...

I beat him and his friend Chupo in a cave, for the LAST TIME, definitelyTM

I do wonder though. If nothing else I need to finish this game to see if he makes it to the World of Ruin (I know about that event, probably unavoidably). God I hope so

 

[MegamanFreak]

Keep going, Love the floating continent theme btw.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

So I got Strago and Relm and I'm on the floating continent.

Relm's 'Sketch' move seems... bad. Does she ever get good? I'm not sure I like Strago either, because learning Lores reminds me too much of learning Rages... well, not that annoying.

Click to shrink...

So in the 1.0 SNES release (fixed in all subsequent releases) you can trigger some pretty funky glitches (and potentially brick your cartridge) with sketch, but otherwise yeah it's another pretty niche gimmick with excessive trial and error, frankly even worse than Gau's rages. HOWEVER, there is an item that can be found later which changes the way this ability works and makes it a little more useful, so don't write off Relm entirely just yet.

As you surmised, Strago's in the same "Gamefaqs required" category as Gau when it comes to fully utilizing his Lore magic, though he does get some REALLY good stuff if you manage to happen upon them/know where to look. Actually, learning lores is one of the few areas where Sketch can come in handy.

As for your progress, fair warning, as you probably know some major stuff is about to go down, so make sure you don't have any unfinished business before completing the floating continent (don't worry, you'll have an opportunity to leave/come back after you get there). And again, remember, your choices have consequences.

 

[styl_oh]

So in the 1.0 SNES release (fixed in all subsequent releases) you can trigger some pretty funky glitches (and potentially brick your cartridge) with sketch, but otherwise yeah it's another pretty niche gimmick with excessive trial and error, frankly even worse than Gau's rages. HOWEVER, there is an item that can be found later which changes the way this ability works and makes it a little more useful, so don't write off Relm entirely just yet.

As you surmised, Strago's in the same "Gamefaqs required" category as Gau when it comes to fully utilizing his Lore magic, though he does get some REALLY good stuff if you manage to happen upon them/know where to look.

As for your progress, fair warning, as you probably know some major stuff is about to go down, so make sure you don't have any unfinished business before completing the floating continent. And again, remember, your choices have consequences.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I've been following a couple guides--in particular this one overly verbose, coke-fuelled rant of a guide that I quite like--in order not to miss things, but... I've started to resent myself for doing that a bit; that's not how people played it back in the day, and it's certainly an effect of this generation's games that need you to see everything, collect everything, it's compulsive... I'd like to have beaten this game and found something out later and gone 'what?! that can happen?'

I'm glad I know about 'Wait' but other than that... eh. I already missed that first genji glove, so I fucked up anyhow!

So I think from now on, or when I get to the World of Ruin, I'm going to piddle around on my own rather than slavishly follow a guide.

(I do need maps/location guides though. God do I suck at navigating Final Fantasy overworlds. Everything looks the same and how the fuck am I supposed to remember which speck on the map is Albrook.)

 

[Modest_Modsoul]

I'm playing VI Advance & the translation is good compared to Ted Woolsey.

And trying to complete Gau's Rage list of I can... 😑

 

[Deleted member 511]

Relm's 'Sketch' move seems... bad. Does she ever get good?

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

She's one of the only good kid characters in FF so she gets a pass!

 

[styl_oh]

I'm playing VI Advance & the translation is good compared to Ted Woolsey.

And trying to complete Gau's Rage list of I can... 😑

Click to shrink...

I'm curious about that translation.

I like the Ted, or I respect the Ted, I recognize the strain he was under... but it's a fucking mess and the writing is not so hot. Dropped periods, random scare quotes, lack of explicit indication in regards to who's talking (this is a feature, not a bug, in the Japanese language, but it comes off inconsistent in a game where most dialogue is preceded by a name and a colon... at times I've wondered if a hidden Narrator is speaking, or perhaps the entire party as one)

Son of a submariner is a great line though

 

[styl_oh]

Spoiler

She's one of the only good kid characters in FF so she gets a pass!

Click to shrink...

I mean, I enjoyed her scene with Ultros

nobody:
relm: i must paint you

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Yeah, I've been following a couple guides--in particular this one overly verbose, coke-fuelled rant of a guide that I quite like--in order not to miss things, but... I've started to resent myself for doing that a bit; that's not how people played it back in the day, and it's certainly an effect of this generation's games that need you to see everything, collect everything, it's compulsive... I'd like to have beaten this game and found something out later and gone 'what?! that can happen?'

I'm glad I know about 'Wait' but other than that... eh. I already missed that first genji glove, so I fucked up anyhow!

So I think from now on, or when I get to the World of Ruin, I'm going to piddle around on my own rather than slavishly follow a guide.

(I do need maps/location guides though. God do I suck at navigating Final Fantasy overworlds. Everything looks the same and how the fuck am I supposed to remember which speck on the map is Albrook.)

Click to shrink...

As long as you've got one genji glove, there's a crazy powerful combo with one other item you can get later in the game that totally shreds.

Early FF's had a real nasty habit of locking significant content behind easily missable or practically inscrutable conditions, so I wouldn't sweat using a guide all that much at least for what you've done so far. However, you'll be hitting a point relatively soon where the game opens up and you'll have much more room to mess around without worrying about missing out on stuff by accident, though you'll still be presented with some consequential choices.

 

[Jubern]

So nice to read someone with a fresh take on FF6! I don't have much advice to give or anything to say really but enjoy the trip!

 

[kamineko]

replayed this not too long ago... middle of last year. it was maybe my fourth full playthrough.

for the first time, i played on an emulator so i could abuse save states and juke the randomizer for veldt encounters, was pretty cool

i know i know gamefaqs and all but they really come through with that shit. i kind of miss the faq days, there's so much personality in those docs

 

[styl_oh]

replayed this not too long ago... middle of last year. it was maybe my fourth full playthrough.

for the first time, i played on an emulator so i could abuse save states and juke the randomizer for veldt encounters, was pretty cool

i know i know gamefaqs and all but they really come through with that shit. i kind of miss the faq days, there's so much personality in those docs

Click to shrink...

Yeah, definitely. Some of them, there's definitely some of that Old Internet stuff, could be kinda cringey, but sometimes they're the only place to find thorough info on this stuff. I can't believe the work some of those guides must have taken... and when you see a guide made completely out of text pass the kilibyote mark into megabytes... whoo boy

 

[styl_oh]

I finished part 1! Some snazzy graphics there at the end, with the statues nuking the earth. That shot reminded me of so many Japanese films--Miike Takashi's Dead or Alive for a weird example--that zoomed out perspective of the world, or a good portion of it, effectively or literally being nuked.

One of the aftermath shots really hit me: the pigeon walking around alone on the beach. That shot, of all the others, truly reminded me of a film, in a game that's been aiming, in its 16-bit way, toward celluloid the whole time.

I've only just woken up as Celes, and one thing I want to note here is the lack of music. That was a fantastic choice; all you hear are waves lapping. I kind of like the idea of Celes and Cid never really knowing--just ekeing out an existence on that island, granddad and granddaughter. Speaking of, I didn't realize Cid was supposed to be that old! And now I'm in a rather adorable 'you took care of me, now it's my turn to take care of you' moment. Time to find some fish.

 

[Deleted member 511]

I always found that aspect of Celes and Cid's relationship kind of random and unearned. We don't really get any context on their relationship before this moment and suddenly she wants to call him dad/granddad or whatever. If VI is ever remade, I would like to see more development between the character dynamics especially. Terra and Celes' not really having a lot of interactions during the WoB was a real missed opportunity as well imo. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the world of ruin!

 

[styl_oh]

CW: suicide.

Cid's dead. I'll admit I was still glancing at guides and saw that he could be saved based on certain fish. Normally in games I try to save everyone, but the fish that were coming just weren't good enough.

I have to say I loved the scenes that followed, right down to the letter (no pun). I looked up what happens if you save him and... I mean, I liked the guy, but... that's so lame. It feels like his death was meant to be.

I will say this is the one time the translation truly FUCKED UP. Cid saying 'the other survivors passed away of boredom or despair' is actually fine; suicide is a pretty obvious subtext.

But not the famous flashback where he states they took a 'leap of faith to perk themselves up'. Even with my terrible Japanese-parsing skills, I can tell it's something like 'group of people, living remainders on this island, one by one hope/wishes lost, cliff, from, throwing oneself (身投げ--with a sense of 'into the water/to commit suicide')

I know this has been gone over to death but man... what a mood killer.

I always found that aspect of Celes and Cid's relationship kind of random and unearned. We don't really get any context on their relationship before this moment and suddenly she wants to call him dad/granddad or whatever. If VI is ever remade, I would like to see more development between the character dynamics especially. Terra and Celes' not really having a lot of interactions during the WoB was a real missed opportunity as well imo. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the world of ruin!

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I don't remember there being a lot between them previously. Maybe there was some stuff and I forgot... all I can think of is they were both part of the Empire, whether they wanted to be or not, so maybe they knew each other from work, so to speak, haha

 

[super-famicom]

I finished part 1! Some snazzy graphics there at the end, with the statues nuking the earth. That shot reminded me of so many Japanese films--Miike Takashi's Dead or Alive for a weird example--that zoomed out perspective of the world, or a good portion of it, effectively or literally being nuked.

One of the aftermath shots really hit me: the pigeon walking around alone on the beach. That shot, of all the others, truly reminded me of a film, in a game that's been aiming, in its 16-bit way, toward celluloid the whole time.

I've only just woken up as Celes, and one thing I want to note here is the lack of music. That was a fantastic choice; all you hear are waves lapping. I kind of like the idea of Celes and Cid never really knowing--just ekeing out an existence on that island, granddad and granddaughter. Speaking of, I didn't realize Cid was supposed to be that old! And now I'm in a rather adorable 'you took care of me, now it's my turn to take care of you' moment. Time to find some fish.

Click to shrink...

Did you wait for Shadow before jumping off the Floating Continent?

 

[styl_oh]

Did you wait for Shadow before jumping off the Floating Continent?

Click to shrink...

I did, just as I remember waiting for him on another cliff, long ago (I think?)

The first time I had to run and kill that super easy boss I actually fucked up. I don't know how, I had 6 minutes, but I somehow didn't know which way to go (it's virtually linear... I have directional insanity) and I was getting ton of those random encounters--at the VERY END I decide to futz around in my menu and equip the ring that lessens encounters, and I swear to god that was the tiebreaker. If I hadn't done that I woulda made it ma, I coulda been a contender. I got maybe one hit on the boss and game over.

So I had to fight Atma etc again, and this time I think I finished too fast. Just, like, it's a bit awkward just standing there for 2 minutes while the world explodes. Would have been much more dramatic if I only had 10 seconds to spare.

So yes, I got my boy Shadow.

 

[super-famicom]

I did, just as I remember waiting for him on another cliff, long ago (I think?)

The first time I had to run and kill that super easy boss I actually fucked up. I don't know how, I had 6 minutes, but I somehow didn't know which way to go (it's virtually linear... I have directional insanity) and I was getting ton of those random encounters--at the VERY END I decide to equip the ring that lessens encounters, and I swear to god that was the tiebreaker. I got maybe one hit on the boss and game over.

So I had to fight Atma etc again, and this time I think I finished too fast. Just, like, it's a bit awkward just standing there for 2 minutes while the world explodes. Would have been much more dramatic if I only had 10 seconds to spare.

So yes, I got my boy Shadow.

Click to shrink...

Oh thank goodness!

 

[styl_oh]

I gotta say, I don't love all the timed sections. I get it, it's a risk/reward thing, do you try and get all the loot while escaping the burning building etc, but it's too stressful, mostly because of random encounters.

Do most FF games have timed sections like this? I've only finished IV, previously.

 

[styl_oh]

I have a question that maybe some of you FF experts can answer:

Celes can run. I don't have running shoes on; I have the usual ribbon and a black belt. Why am I able to hold O and sprint? I mean, I dig it, but usually someone in the party would have had to equip running shoes.

 

[Alvaro]

Best game every, i wish i could go back in time to replay it for the 1st time.

 

[styl_oh]

I liked this dialogue from an Albrook NPC, as the town gets even more destroyed: 'Monsters nowadays are using spells like ZOMBIE and PETRIFY...'

Like, 'Kids nowadays are all on that TikTok app... do you have your Relics equipped?'

 

[super-famicom]

I have a question that maybe some of you FF experts can answer:

Celes can run. I don't have running shoes on; I have the usual ribbon and a black belt. Why am I able to hold O and sprint? I mean, I dig it, but usually someone in the party would have had to equip running shoes.

Click to shrink...

That got added in the PSX collection. In the original version, you needed Sprint Shoes equipped to move faster.

 

[styl_oh]

That got added in the PSX collection. In the original version, you needed Sprint Shoes equipped to move faster.

Click to shrink...

...

i feel like you just told me i spent 30 hours wasting a relic slot on sprint shoes

oh my gooood lol