Name a more iconic RPG series than Final Fantasy. I’ll wait. Few series are as widely known as Final Fantasy, and there aren’t many JRPGs that are as beloved as Final Fantasy VI. This game is one of the best entries in this decorated franchise. Why is this? Well, how much time do you have? Final Fantasy VI has an incredibly deep story, with a wide and varied cast of complex characters, not to mention deep and fun turn-based combat.
Did I mention the characters? The characters in Final Fantasy VI are incredible. The most impressive part about them is the amount. Final Fantasy VI is home to fourteen total party members, a staggering number for the series. It hasn’t been topped since in a main series game. This is due to a ton of these party members being optional, which if you ask me, just makes them that more special. I’m going to pick three characters from the game in total and gush over why they’re so great.
Final Fantasy VI Character: Edgar Roni Figaro
For the first character, I’m starting with Edgar. Edgar is a super charismatic and likable character. He’s multi-faceted. He’s a ladies’ man, or, he tries to be to little to no effect. He’s an engineer, so his gameplay style is all about making crossbows and weapons on the fly and using them to attack monsters and foes alike. Lastly, he is the king of the Figaro nation. Why is this so important? Well because of how he inherited the throne.
He and his twin brother Sabin were supposed to decide who became King after their father passed. They both didn’t want to take the mantle. Edgar decided a coin flip would be the way to decide who rules the kingdom. He flipped a coin and lost. Unknown to his brother, Edgar used a double-sided coin. No matter what the outcome would have been, Edgar gave his little brother the freedom he wanted, while he stayed to rule over the kingdom. If that’s not a lovable, selfless character, I don’t know what is.
Final Fantasy VI Character: Celes Chere
Our second character is Celes Chere. She is an interesting character because she actually starts out as an enemy. Well, technically when Locke, one of the party members meets her, she is an enemy general who is taken prisoner by her leaders, so go figure. Celes is a war general who has only known war her entire life. She was raised to be a soldier. This leads to many identity issues and some real emotional existential moments.
There is an infamous opera scene in the first half of Final Fantasy VI where the characters sneak into a theater, and Celes sings an opera. It’s this beautiful moment where she realizes she is more than just a dog of war. Later in the game, she even tries to take her own life but fails. Celes is such a nuanced character, and her journey of going from a hopeless, battle-focused general, into a hopeful warrior who fights for peace is just masterful. Her romance with Locke is cute as hell too.
Final Fantasy VI Character: Kefka Palazzo
Last but certainly not least, we got Kefka Palazzo, the main antagonist from Final Fantasy VI. Yes, he isn’t a party member, but the Final Fantasy VI community would kill me if I didn’t include him. What is there to be said about Kefka? He’s like the Joker. He is so charismatic, comedic, and oddly charming, yet horrific and cruel. He poisoned a city’s water supply, for fun, killing Cyan’s family. He goes from cracking jokes one second to ordering his soldiers to kill innocents the next.
Kefka is a legendary antagonist for a reason. His nihilistic view of the world is so horrifying that he even wins! In the last third of the game, he uses the light of judgment on the world and throws it into chaos. The heroes don’t get a do-over, they just reunite a year later, and try to pick up the pieces. Kefka was the villain who WON. How many villains other than Thanos can say that? Not many. When a game like Final Fantasy VI has such great characters like these, it’s no wonder why it has such an incredible, long-lasting legacy.
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