Final Fantasy VI recently turned thirty years old, and in many ways it hasn’t aged a day. As a fan of the series I’ve played it several times before, but this recent playthrough was the first time I’ve ever fully completed it. In the past I’ve been a critic of its characteristics that are the very same that give it the diehard fanbase that it, frankly, deserves. I’d be lying if this recent playthrough eliminated those critiques, but at this point I’ve sort of come to terms with this friction.

Final Fantasy VI still uses the ATB system pioneered in Final Fantasy IV with little to no changes. The major changes come in the form of magicite; A riff on Final Fantasy V’s job system, except even more flexible. Each magicite, when equipped to a character, allows them to learn a small selection of spells, and certain magicite will also augment the character’s stats upon level up. This mechanic, coupled with FFVI’s massive ensemble cast, leads to a certain kind of “make your own fun” approach to character building that I don’t love. Each character has a side ability that’s wholly unique to them, but many of them feel like little more than ribbon abilities rather than anything incredibly substantial or exciting. Cecil from Final Fantasy IV is a paladin. Which means he has great HP, good offense, defense, low level white magic, and the ability to take hits for party members at critical HP. Between magicite, and certain equipment, it is possible to make a 1:1 analogue to Cecil in Final Fantasy VI, but it feels like a bit of a waste of time when you could just as easily pump a character with Ragnarok magicite and equipment to let them cast Ultima at 1 MP. Rinse repeat for the remainder of the characters. I’m aware that aspect of the game is what endears a lot of people to this game. But personally I just have a hard time reconciling with that fact. Future titles, like Final Fantasy VII, were a little better about distinguishing its cast with its flexible materia system. Or Final Fantasy X, which hides its character homogeny behind postgame challenges.

The cast of Final Fantasy VI is thankfully a very memorable one. Which is a real feat considering there’s over a dozen of them to choose from. Debate rages on to this day about who is the “main character”, with focus being given to a few key members it’s sort of hard to truly gauge (it’s Terra). Barring a few exceptions, every single character gets at least one big moment throughout the story. Some of these being missable, like Shadow’s dreams that explain his bloody past. Or Edgar and Sabin’s decision on who should rule their kingdom. On one hand, I can’t imagine playing the game without having seen these scenes. For many characters these optional scenes are like an oasis for bespoke character interaction, and if they weren’t there said character would be little more than set dressing. But on the other hand I do, to some extent, respect the game’s commitment to letting the player “make their own fun”, even when it comes to the story. For the more sidelined characters, what’s there is good. I think it also helps that the game’s villain is no slouch. Kefka is introduced fairly early into the adventure, and frequently interacts with the characters. There’s a sort of bumbling humor to Kefka. His odd, jester-like appearance, and figures of speech help to disarm the player. This is his greatest trick, however. Because time and time again we are shown just how capable Kefka really is. We laugh when Kefka demands his boots be shined after walking through a desert. And then are caught off guard when he sets fire to Figaro Castle mere moments later. He’s comedically chased through the Imperial War Camp, and then proceeds to poison an entire kingdom’s water supply. Perhaps it isn’t fair to say that the players underestimate him, but the characters in the game certainly do. And nobody underestimates Kefka more than Emperor Gestahl. To first time players Gestahl may appear to be the Man Behind the Curtain, the true villain once Kefka has been dispatched in the final hours of the game. Final Fantasy VI wonderfully subverts this expectation, however, and makes the Emperor little more than a bit role in his own story. By underestimating just how twisted and nihilistic Kefka is, he allows himself to be betrayed when victory is within his grasp. Kefka steals the power of magic for himself, and plunges the world into ruin. The heroes have failed, and now they need to pick up the pieces and try again.

It’s the game’s second half, the “World of Ruin”, where I feel the “make your own fun” philosophy begins to get in the way of meaningful character development. Barring its beginning section, it’s a truly non-linear experience, where Celes and a few other characters must scour the destroyed world for the remainder of their friends to take the fight to the maniacal Kefka. Since the remaining friends can be obtained in any order, the game can’t truly know what cast of characters you’ll be using at any given time from that point in the game onward. Occasionally, a character will have a bespoke line of dialogue or two when reuniting with an old friend. But for the most part, these reunions are given “generic” dialogue that’s meant to be said by anyone in particular. Leaving it up to the player to fill in the blanks, or “make their own fun” I suppose. I feel a little bad complaining about this, to be honest. Since demanding the game be more linear in this second half to accommodate for more bespoke character interaction would snuff the flame out of Final Fantasy VI’s most famous characteristic, it’s non-linearity. But also asking for both non-linearity and significantly more character interactions would balloon the script to an unfathomable degree. The World of Ruin was already supposedly created under a misguided idea that the staff was ahead of schedule, only to have to scramble near the finish line to get everything done. It’s a miracle the game is as feature complete as it is. The result is something pretty unique in the RPG space, even to this day. If I had the choice to change it in development, I don’t feel like it’d be my place to make the call. I would, however, tone the encounter rate down significantly. I know this is a petty complaint but goddamn I can’t believe how aggressive it is.

Frankly, Final Fantasy 6 should not work well at all.

It's a game that hinges on the strength of its cast, but was designed for a system where there was hardly room to explore these characters. Moreover, the actual interactions between the cast are mostly paper-thin. Its combat is mind-numbing sludge, bogging the player down at every turn with unmemorable and tedious random encounters. And for a game about picking up the pieces of a broken world, that very world is so flat and sparsely populated that I struggle to care about it.

But. You see the score. You know I love this game. In spite of all these complaints, I cannot deny the sheer power 6 has over me.

Any time I listen to "Searching for Friends," I remember the Falcon taking flight and skimming the ocean's surface, painted orange by the setting sun. When I listen to the credits theme, I think of Terra letting her hair free, finally unburdened by trauma and having found a reason to live. I often think about the image of the Phoenix superimposed over Locke, a man finally rising from the ashes of his past.

And then there's Kefka. Not much I can say about him that hasn't already been said. A truly special antagonist and probably my favorite thing about 6.

Uematsu's score takes all of these narrative elements and moments to new heights, imbueing them with a real sense of fairytale wonder that I keep coming back to. Frankly, if the soundtrack wasn't as strong as it was, I think this might be a 4 star from me. But no, Uematsu worked his magic.

So yeah, I love this game, despite all my grievances. It's greater than the sum of its parts, with almost every narrative element feeding into its messages on trauma, bonds, and moving on from the past.

It's a truly great thematic tapestry- I just don't hold it to the same pedestal as many others.