I’m about to head to Figaro in the World of Ruin. The grey and yellow overworld isn’t very easy on the eyes, I’m already missing the greens of the World of Balance. I get that that’s what they were going for though.

As for the recent discussion about dialogue, WoR South Figaro has some real gems in it, including “We may be thieves, but at least we have goals in life!” from one townsperson. :D

FFVI has no main character.

I will say, however, that despite all the flak we’re giving the dialogue (and also what I consider to be a pretty wonky tone between serious and silly that I feel 7 and 9 strikes far more poignantly), there are a few great lines. “Here’s to a couple of confused adults” being one of them.

I do agree that Celes has the most touching and sad story if Cid dies… she even attempts suicide. She dips so deep into depression she tries to kill herself which is more apparent in the Japanese version of course.

Meanwhile Terra is trying to find where she belongs- she wanders and struggles with her very being. She is lost in a world that hates what she is and at the same time uses her against her will. Terra’s story I think is even more sad and I can relate to her more being a bit of an outcast.

Also consider that Celes is forced on you from the moment you reach the end of the Floating Content until you reach the shore from the raft off the island. From that moment on you are only required to obtain two more members of the game but every one you obtain makes completing the game easier. Lastly you could also say that due to the fact that they take Celes away for a fairly good part of the first half it’s made up for when they start you back with her.

Every character gets pretty good face time and is balanced fairly well depending on the player’s choices.

While I wish there was no dispute about Terra at all I do respect people for loving each of the characters because THAT is how you tell a story. You don’t put somebody on a mine-cart and push it down a hill. You have to let the person explore and find out exactly what they want to find out. If you do a good job then they will look for every event and line of text.

FF6 despite it’s bugs and flaws that we have all learned and probably exploited a few times is still the best Final Fantasy. Some will disagree and say 7 or 9. Some weirdos will say 13. I say that for the story- the gameplay- the villian- the music…. you cannot find a better experience.

@Epy: I would gladly watch an FFVI anime and pay good money for a Blu-ray or DVD. I actually just saw this video for the first time about a week before we started the playthrough. The “Dancing MaDonald” that showed up in related videos afterwards was a little WTF though.

And I agree with Epy that Terra is at least the prime mover of WoB, and it’s Celes for WoR. There is not a single “main character” per se, but they definitely hold the reins with regard to what moves the story forward.

I really like the theme that plays during the Atma Weapon fight. One thing that Final Fantasy games always seem to do well is have good “special boss” music. Jenova from FF7 and Four Fiends from FF4 are also really, really good.

I’m sure everyone already saw it, but this seems fitting:

Even though we now have Lightning it was Terra who paved the way for this very strong female lead. While you may say that Terra wasn’t very strong you have to look at the things she did and how whenever the chips were down and her friends needed her, she came. Even though she did lose her way, eventually she finds the strength to fight again and protect the ones she loved. This was what endeared her to me. I always live each day hoping that it will be a better one. Hoping that I will be able to share my love and be loved.

Tune into the first podcast of 2013 to claim your ‘prize’! ;)

@DefChaos: I’m at 37842 right now and I just finished the mountains after Thamasa. I need to pick up a few lore spells and then I’m off to the Floating Continent.

I’m playing the PS1 version, and I’ve seen quite a few errors recently. Apparently they renamed the Memento Ring the Safety Ring, which is bad enough, but on top of that, they spelled it Safty. Also, in the cave between the Imperial Base, there were mislabeled treasure boxes. One said it had 20k gold, but only had like 200 or so. I know the game was buggy and had some typos here and there, but one would think that later versions would have FEWER typos, not more of them. I’m still enjoying the game a lot, but my older, more critical eye is definitely noting a lot more flaws as compared to when I played it a 15 years ago. I still love the battle system and the overall plot in general, but I have to agree with the recent comments that the dialogue does suffer quite a bit.

I agree about the dialogue, it can be awkward at times, and in some cases is incorrect (at the banquet in Vector, if Cyan is in your party, General Leo refers to him as the liege to the king of Doma). But since it did come out such a long time ago, I tend to give it a pass. It’s not so bad that it takes away from the story, at least for me.

One of the things the game does exceptionally well is concurrently develop so many different characters. There are a few like Gau that don’t get many scenes, but almost everybody else gets a pretty significant amount of time in the spotlight. It’s more of an ensemble/team effort than any other RPG that comes to mind at the moment. I don’t really look at FF6 as just “Terra’s story”, especially since she’s out of the action for such a long time.

FF6 is not a difficult game, especially once you get to the point in the game where, thanks to Magicite, anybody can be a healer in a pinch. I am also making sure that when characters level up, they have an esper equipped that bump up their stats. I put Bismark on the more physically focused characters, and either Stray or Maduin on the magic users.

How many steps has everyone taken in the game so far? I am about to go inside the burning house in Thamasa, with 30,543 (!) steps taken.

Alrighty, time for a little write-up of some things I’ve noticed.

1) The battles are very quick, especially compared to the PS1 games, all of which are much slower than FFVI. In fact, these battles are the fastest until FFXII, which is a relief. FFXIII spoiled me forever so that long random battles are now viewed with intense dislike.

2) So far, no one has managed to guess my choice party, however everyone has included Edgar in the list, which is correct. Some other clues: a) all of the characters in my ideal party have been guessed, though not all at once, and b) only one character in my party is female. Given the guesses so far, and the earlier information I gave, it should now be possible to figure out my party (I think).

3) The actual story is surprisingly general, and people have very stereotypical reactions to things. I seem to recall the game being a bit more in-depth than it is–the dialogue is especially trite. Part of this has to do with the constraints of the medium: there simply isn’t room for hugely detailed and sophisticated dialogue. The other has to do with the time of the game: in 1994, this plot was actually quite elaborate. At least there are hints of the political intrigue subplots that will later become quite pronounced (I’m thinking of Tactics as a game which really brings that to the forefront).

4) FFVI is far, far, far easier than I remember it being, and I remember it being very easy indeed. Part of this is that I know every trick in the book, part of it is that I know where every hidden item is, and part of it is that Final Fantasy is generally pretty easy as a matter of course. But wow, this game is easy.

I spent the weekend putzing around in the airship, collecting things I missed on my way through. I haven’t played again until today. Now, I’ve set off to pick up Mog and learn some of the dances now. I should probably get back on track, though, so I can retain my place of honor for staying on pace.

FF6′s system is relatively simple but very balanced and versatile. I like how it takes the pressure of by letting everyone learn Cure and Life spells through Espers, in a pinch, but some characters are better magic users and all have unique abilities none of the others do.