But I will take my time and publish this on Friday. Like my FFVII Job Class Challenge, it’s gonna take a few episodes before anything actually happens. In the meantime, I’m gonna build up to it, and, hopefully, on Saturday, we can get right to the nitty-gritty of the heart of this schedule breaking playthrough.
Final Fantasy VI was one of the first games I ever played, in general. Back when it was FFII for the SNES, and I could barely read, I rented the game from my local rental place. I didn’t get far because I was in Kindergarten and just learning how to spell the word “A” which, in a text heavy JRPG, is a bit of a roadblock. Several years later, I would, unbeknownstly, return to the game when I bought a copy of Final Fantasy Anthology for the Playstation. I played it a little but couldn’t really get into it. Dumb kid me was probably turned off by the graphics and the challenge because I hated the battles for no obvious reason. Oddly enough, I last gave the game a replay in 2016, meaning this will probably the “newest” game I play for this blog. I beat it and loved everything second of it, minus a few I’ll rant about later. But that’s later. Let’s get into the now.
Lightning pierces through dark clouds as a loud, ominous, MIDI organ plays in the background. This was cutting edge animation for 1994. The clouds are replaced by various scenes of steampunk cityscapes behind text telling us about the War of Magi. This was a war fought between man and magical creatures called Espers 1000 years ago. After the battles, magic, once common on the planet, began to disappear. Nowadays, we have an empire building up power on the backs of magic. But how? We learn of a frozen Esper to the north and a small group of three, riding mechanical robots called Magitech Armor, march through the frozen cliffs. The opening credits roll as one of the best songs in the game plays while showing off the SNES’ Mode Seven graphics. I “accidentally” skip it because it lasts too long.
The three people show up in the mining town of Narshe. The two men are named Biggs and Wedge, and the green haired woman isn’t named, but her handlers tell themselves that she’ll do whatever they tell her because of the slave crown on her head. They were sent by the Empire to secure the frozen Esper recently found in the mines. As they march through the town, we quickly learn the Empire is not well liked. We’re attacked by various guards and dogs until we reach the mines.
And here is the first boss of the game. I could never defeat in elementary school. You’re not supposed to attack the Whelk’s Shell, which all I did as a kid. They specifically say don't attack the shell, but my illiterate brain didn't understand that. As a functional adult, he’s easier than a random battle, and I hate my younger self.
Deeper into the cave, we reach the mission target. As the woman gets closer to it, the Esper begins to resonate with her, and light starts to emit from them. Biggs and Wedge are enveloped and never seen again, and the woman passes out. We see a flashback of a man named Kefka placing the slave crown on her, as she then wakes up in a bed in Narshe. She’s woken up to find an Old Man who asks her her name. We then name, in my opinion, the main character of the main character-less game, Terra. She’s an amnesiac who can, secretly, use magic without the Magitech.
The unnamed Old Man informs the girl of what’s happened before some of the surviving guards try to storm the door. The Old Man tells Terra to leave out the back door and head for the castle of Figaro. She does but is quickly spotted and chased into a nearby cave. She ends up getting cornered before the floor beneath her collapses, where she, once more, faints on landing.
The scene returns to the Old Man's room, and we’re introduced to Locke, the not-a-thief but Treasure Hunter womanizer. Old Man tells him about Terra and how he wants Locke to help her. Locke is reluctant at first, thinking she's a witch of the Empire, before OM tells him it was the Slave Crown's doing. Locke then agrees and finds the unconscious Terra before the villagers do.
We now have to protect the girl. Locke is joined by eleven Moogles, for some reason, and we’re tasked with keeping the guards from getting close to Terra. We do this in a Tower Defense like mini-game where we guide three parties through a few hallways. The enemies advance while we can either wait for them to get close or advance ourselves. The goal is to defeat the Commander all the way at the back. He kills us on the first try, which is embarrassing, but future party member Mog and crew save the day. Mog is on the box art, so of course, he wins.
The Moogles leave, and Locke carries Terra out of town. She wakes up as we exit the cave, and we're a party of two now. We can enter the Tutorial House to heal and learn about the game, but I’m confident in my abilities. Our next stop is Figaro Castle.
Locke has connections to the king and is allowed in. He introduces Terra to King Edgar, who promptly hits on her. Why are so many men womanizers in this game? He wants her to join his cause but won’t force her. She then walks around the castle and learns that Edgar has a brother named Sabin, who left the castle after their father died and created a minor succession crisis. Sabin hasn’t been seen since. She comes back to the throne, and Locke escorts Terra to her room.
And then we meet Kefka. He’s complaining about the sand, seeing as we’re in a desert, and wants his subordinates to dust off the sand from his boots. The three then enter the castle and talk to Edgar, who publicly supports the Empire, and gives them the runaround. Kefka wants Terra back, but Edgar feigns ignorance about who that is. Sometime later, Kefka attacks the castle. As it begins to burn, Edgar, Locke, and Terra jump on some Chocobos, while the castle, in true steampunk nonsense, submerges itself into the desert. The subordinates attack us, we kill them, and Kefka yells his well-known phrase, “Son of a submariner.“ As we plan to go to the city of South Figaro, I called it a night.
Why are these always longer than I’d hoped. Curse day one plot dumps! You’ll see all three parts on Friday, so here’s the end of part one of the JCC prologue.
Day Two:
The party of Terra, Edgar, Vacant, and Locke go through the Figaro Cave. It’s quick because I skip the treasures, as they're better stuff in them if you wait for your third time through. We carry on to the city of South Figaro, where the inhabitants are worried about the potential of an Empire invasion. In the inn is a man who would “slit his own mother’s throat for a nickel.” We have the option to name him, Shadow, but nothing more comes from it. I wander around for a while and loot the place of their miscellaneous tonics and such. Eventually, I leave and head north to a small cottage on the World Map.
Inside, Edgar draws our attention to a bouquet of flowers, tea, and special dishes. They all remind him of someone. Outside the cottage is a lone man who tells us Master Duncan has been slain by his son. Duncan was Sabin’s master, and Edgar thinks we may find something. The man says Vargas, the son, fled to the mountains in the east.
Mt. Kolts is home to various animals and humans called Brawlers. You can steal a better headgear from them with Locke, but Locke sucks, so good luck. I should have talked about this before the cottage, but the backgrounds in this game are legendary. You don’t think of SNES graphics being advanced, but VI made a massive leap in graphical quality over what came before. The mountains and clouds around Figaro give me wanderlust, and the actual mountains themselves are relaxing in this borderline warzone. We chase after a shadowy figure the whole time. Eventually, we find him waiting for us, and the first boss battle tonight begins.
Vargas has us confused for someone else and summons his pet bears to protect him. We have to kill the Ipoohs to attack the man, so we do just that. I have Terra heal most of the time, while Edgar Bio Blasts and Locke attacks because that’s all he can do, and he can barely do that. Eventually, a new ally shows up. It’s the man Vargas thought we were, Sabin. Vargas does his ultimate attack, Blizzard Fist, which kicks everyone but Sabin out of the battle. Despite Sabin telling his former ally he's wrong, The Patricidal maniac doesn’t listen. To end the battle fast, we use a Blitz Command, Sabin's unique skill that functions like a fighting game combo, and quickly kill Sabin's former classmate. I don’t know how new players are supposed to know how to Blitz, but maybe if the battle runs long, he’ll tell us. I also don’t know how often I’ll be able to use them since my controller is bad.
After the brawl, Sabin completely ignores his kill and joins us to go to the Returners hideout in the Sabli Mountains.
The hideout is a short walk from the exit. Inside, we meet a man named Bannon, the leader of the anti-Empire faction the Returners. He knows that Terra can communicate with Espers and has incredible power, being able to kill 50 imperial troops in minutes. Using that power can turn the tide of war against the Empire. Terra doesn’t want to fight, though, as she’s been forced to kill her whole life. Barron can’t force Terra to fight, or else they’re no better than the Empire who did the same, so the party splits up, and Terra talks to everyone who wants to convince her.
Locke says someone he cared for was imprisoned and died.
Edgar just says the Empire is evil.
I don’t remember what Sabin said.
Whenever we’re ready, we can talk to Barron and give him our responsibility. We eventually have to say yes, but we get a Gauntlet if we say do it on the first attempt. We passed over the Genji Glove because I like an upcoming character more than Sabin, who can’t properly use it now anyway. The entire resistance gathers together until an emissary from South Figaro arrives and says the Empire has attacked and is on their way here. Our characters split up, with Locke going to the town to investigate and everyone else going the backway to Narshe via a raft on the Leth River.
We must protect Bannon, who should just spam his Health Command. It fully heals everyone, so why not? We’re given options to change direction while traveling, but I don’t think it matters. Eventually, we reach a beloved reoccurring mid-boss, Ultros! He can blind our characters, but the PS version still has the evasion bug, so it doesn’t matter. Have Barron use Health, while Terra uses Fire, Edgar uses Auto-Crossbow, and Sabin either Pummel or basic attack. In time, Ultros will dive, and Sabin will jump in after him. He’ll try to get back on the raft but overshoots. The two groups are now split up into a total of three, which we’ll do tomorrow. Controlling Mog in a black emptiness is a good place to end.
I’m noticing another peccadillo about the JCC: gear. Swords can be equipped by nearly everyone, so I’m gonna have to figure out who gets what weapons and, probably, armor. I mean, I already have, so now I need to follow through.
Day Three:
Edgar and Terra are up first because they’re the shortest. They keep following the river until it reaches Narshe. They enter the city but are physically repelled by guards. Not even Bannon can talk their way in. Instead, we follow the cave system Locke used to get them out of Narshe. I think I got lost and found the Moogles, but nothing big happens. They reach the Old Man, Arvis, and we go over the plan again because video games! “The Esper will either save us...or doom us...”
Locke is alone in South Figaro. He’s been sabotaging the machinations of the Empire and now needs to leave. To do so, he steals a merchant's and a soldier's clothes and uses them to sneak his way out. Inside the richest man’s house is a back way out. It’s also being used as the Command Center. There’s also a prison, for some reason, but I’m not one to kink shame. Inside, Locke finds a former general turned traitor, Celes Chere. He releases her from prison, using the same words he said to Terra, and they escape. They walk out through the Figaro Caves after learning the Empire is going to destroy a place called Doma and attack Narshe again. En route, we learn Celes can use magic and her unique ability Runic absorbs magic. After they beat the boss, Tunnel Armor, they skip back to Narshe. FYI, I pronounce Celes as “Saras.”
Sabin’s quest is sooooooo long. He beaches near a lone cottage where he meets a crazy man. Outside is Shadow, who guides us back to Narshe via Doma. The two travel south until they find an Imperial Encampment that's laying siege to the Returner Sympathizers, Doma Castle. As the two hide, they overhear a lot of things with their amazing hearing ability. We see two soldiers discussing their fears of Kefka, who interrupts them. We then meet General Leo, who is highly respected and far more merciful than the clown. The scene skips to Doma, and we’re playing as Cyan, our samurai, who’s tasked with killing the enemy commander. He does, and we return to Sabin and Shadow. Suddenly, a carrier pidgin delivers a message saying Leo is to be recalled and Kefka is in charge. While Leo wanted to play the long game and save lives, Kefka pours poison into the river, killing friend and foe alike. Cyan, seeing his king, wife, and child die, becomes overcome with rage and counter-attacks into the heart of the camp. Sabin and Shadow help out, and the three escape.
They then travel south through the Phantom Forest. There they encounter the game's most memorable dungeon, The Phantom Train. Onboard, they get chased by ghosts until they get to the Conductor and stop the train. We also make a new friend named ??????, who’s a nice ghost but leaves before the boss. When we get to said boss, Sabin suplexes a moving train. Afterwards, when the train stops, we see Cyan's family board the train. The two say farewell to their dad/husband, while he wishes they could stay. Cyan grieves, inconsolably, as the Phantom Train carries off the dead of Doma to the other world.
We then jump down the Barron Falls, wave farewell to Shadow, meet an orphan named Gau, and buy some meat in Moblitz. I wanted to finish this portion tonight, but Sabin’s story is long.
And thus ends the preamble of Final Fantasy VI Job Class Challenge. I have my route planned out, and everything is falling into place with equipment and whatnot. I just need to reach the area where I’ll be learning magic and gaining stats. But I’ll talk more about that when the time comes, hopefully, tomorrow! I dread editing this enough as is. I rushed way too much just to get here and I kinda hate it. Sorry.
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