Completed Writing Commissions

Final Fantasy VI (Media Review)

We live in a world without magic.

There are no wizards that brew powerful potions that cure all diseases, no magic spells that can destroy all the world's evildoers, no flick of a wand that can instantly fix your problems, no wishes for happiness that can be fulfilled simply by wishing. That is the reality we live in.

For a long time, in the world of Final Fantasy VI, that was also the case...until it was rediscovered, one thousand years after a war caused it all to disappear. Immediately, it was fashioned into weapons of war by the monstrous Gestahlian Empire, who sought to use its power to take over the world.

That is the backstory the player is greeted with upon starting the game. Where this idea came from, I cannot say. But where it went was into the hearts of many, including my own. I will share why I, and perhaps many others, find this game not only fun, but meaningful.

You are thrust into the game at a town known as Narshe, but not as an innocent civilian. You are invading it as members of the Gestahlian Empire, consisting of a small force of three characters riding in weaponized exosuits infused with magic, which serve as examples of magitek—imperial weaponry made up of both technology and magic. Your party consists of two soldiers known as Biggs and Wedge, and a nameless young woman who was forced under their control with a device known as a Slave Crown. As the name implies, the woman is utterly brainwashed and has no control of her actions. Nothing is known about her past, other than she can use magic naturally—as opposed to the imperial forces, whose power of magic is artificial.

This young woman is our main protagonist, who, after being freed from the imperial forces, comes to be known as Terra—or whomever the player names her. Because of the effects of the Slave Crown, or perhaps the way the mind control was broken, she loses all her memories, only knowing her name and that she is capable of using magic naturally. With nowhere to go, and to avoid falling back into the Empire's hands, she meets up with a contact of the Returners—a resistance group that opposes the Empire's worldwide conquest—and joins them in their fight against the imperial forces.

A fairly standard fantasy story premise, I'd say. But every story must start somewhere, and this story uses its premise to its full advantage. It introduces us to villains and heroes alike, illustrates what the world has become with the return of magic and the advent of the Empire's magitek army, and gives the player both a clear goal and a motivation to continue with the story. It creates a simple, familiar premise that's quickly built upon as it slowly eases the player into the later twists and turns of the narrative, complete with a cast of characters with a variety of designs and differing personalities that join together for a common cause—as is typical of the RPG genre, but a common element that's handled fairly well.

The gameplay, much like the story premise, is also familiar to many who play the RPG genre—especially for those who play Final Fantasy. You encounter random monsters, fight them for rewards, level up to become stronger, find items, equip new gear to improve your fighting performance, come across new party members and explore dungeons and towns as you navigate through the game. Each character comes with their own set of abilities that allow them to stand out, such as Locke's ability to Steal enemy items, or Cyan's Bushido that allows him to break through defenses or hit an opponent several times among other effects, or Shadow's Throw which lets you throw unneeded weapons or shurikens at enemies for massive damage. These are all fairly standard, and expected, elements for an RPG to have. Final Fantasy VI is straightforward with a lot of gameplay tropes that have come to be associated with the genre. But that's not a bad thing at all. If anything, it truly does work with the game. It makes it easier to play for experienced RPG fans, but intuitive enough for newcomers to figure things out on their own—the latter statement I can say with confidence, as Final Fantasy VI was one of my first RPGs.