Final Fantasy VI - The FIRST Profound Story Told in a Video Game?

Is it safe to say that Final Fantasy VI had the first "deep" story in gaming? When I have looked at lists of the greatest video game stories, I have never seen one mention a game before FF6. When I have done my own research, I found games with good stories and cool worlds, but none of them seemed to coalesce into perfection like it did with this game. With this video, I explore what FF6 did differently with it story-telling... focusing on things that were innovative at the time as well as things that, in some respects, remain innovative to this day.

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#finalfantasy #squareenix #squareenix

[maxderrat]

Had a lot of respectful alternatives suggested in the comments. If anybody wants to elaborate on why they feel games like Earthbound, Ultima or Phantasy Star are greater, please do!

[TerryHesticles]

I always thought of Terra as the main character of Act 1 of FF6 and Celes being the main character of Act 2 after a certain event happens. I love this game, and how you can view the story through ALL of them equally.

[pesmerga]

Kefka lives on in my memory as a true, memorable villain. That mfr was crazy. Period. No existential god is dead or humans are a plague blah, he wanted power, he got power, end of story.

Sometimes simplicity is the best option.

[SergioLeonardoCornejo]

I might be saying something controversial but..
FF VI deserves all the praise FF VII gets.

[darshio]

I think even nowadays, this game has one of the best plots ever made for a videogame.

[jon-umber]

This game was an incredible thing to experience as a young teen in the '90s. It was a sign of the growth of the medium; that games weren't limited to bleeps and bloops and high scores and could tell emotionally resonant, impactful stories, despite the lack of graphical fidelity we take for granted today.

[teenprez]

FFVI absolutely changed my life. Before that, I enjoyed games, but they were more of a fun diversion or activity. FFVI showed me the first glimpse of narrative art in games and made me fall in love forever with the medium.

[uncleflansy]

6 is and has always been my favorite game of all time. One of the main reasons is that the bad guy wins. By the time the heroes finally regroup and kill Kefka, he's been a tyrant that's accomplished all his goals, destroyed the planet, and is feared by all. He's bored of it, and the party finally killing him after over a full year of him ruling the remains of the planet is almost an afterthought. People focus on the 'crazy clown' part, but once you realize how the story actually goes, he's unlike any other villain in any game, movie, or book that I'm aware of. 6 was seen as the FF without a 'main' character, but nobody realizes, Kefka is the main character of FF6. You just don't get to play as him.

[Stratelier]

I was a teen of the 90s playing this in the day ... simply spectacular. The twist of ACTUALY failing to "save the world" and being forced to play through the aftermath of it wasn't just indescribable, it was more like _inconceivable._ Stranded on a lone island where _even the random encounters are dying, _ then Cid dies, then Celes...

And then there's the music accompanying that moment. Celes's Theme is forever associatd with _this_ moment over any other for me, and it's followed by the gut punch that is "Forever Rachel" (aka. Sad Locke's Theme). I don't remember at what point (or which playthrough) I took Locke to Kohlingen early on, but I was not prepared for the revelation that he failed his girl friend (and how he blamed himself for it) either.

[RWUltima]

It had a profound impact on me. The MUSIC was so amazing too. Coupled with everything you mentioned, I was deeply moved many times. From trading at Rachel and Lock’s scene to sitting up and getting excited hearing the boss music against Whelk.

[LordWargus]

Favorite game ever, IV was also decisive though, my first RPG. I'll always remember the twin's sacrifice, Cecil becoming a paladin, Kain's betrayal, Rydia's deus ex machina as a grown teen. So many memorable tales.

[RiobasTayem]

I played FF6 through 12 and 14 in the past like two years and 6 is by far still my favorite. My biggest gripe with the game is that I didnt play it sooner. And Kefka cemented himself as one of my favorite video game villains.

[Amocoru]

FFVI always gets the immense respect it deserves within the JRPG community but no one else realizes how important it is for basically all modern story telling. This is the reason dark stories are so incredible in modern games. FFVI paved the way for everything we have today. Kefka is the greatest villain of all time because he played his cards close to his chest and he won. He just won. He accomplished his goals and made everything feel pointless and unachievable. Peace unattainable. It is the most impactful moment in gaming for my 39 years of life so far. Kefka is perfection.

[Anark]

This game was one of the most important things that ever happened to me. The lessons embedded in its story set the stage for my later adoption of existentialism and anarchism. It seeded the understanding in my young mind that _hope_ is what transforms all things, no matter how deep the darkness. The world could become nothing but wastes reigned over by a dark god and yet still it would be right to struggle to overturn the way of things. I have analyzed the plot and the characters and the world numerous times over the years and found new nuances each time I have returned. Also, the soundtrack is a transcendant masterpiece. Uematsu has said it was his magnum opus and I agree with him. It is probably one of the most cohesive, wide-spanning, and heart-wrenching scores ever created.

I have never succeeded in conveying the depth and beauty of the game to people in my life. Few understand its foundational importance to my current worldview. Yet without it, I would not be who I am.

[jjstarrprod]

This game is definitely a cornerstone of videogame history.
Having played it at 15 when it came out, I can attest, there is no game prior to it that made me FEEL for the characters. And this is coming from someone who, by that time, has played almost all the big NES and SNES games of the time since my childhood. FF6 came at the perfect timing, after Zelda A Link to the Past and Secret of Mana, the 2 games that trained teenager me to delve deep into a game, and it definitely opened my eyes to the fact that games can be life-changing inspiring work of art instead of just pure fun afternoons or nights.

[cashnasty]

FFVI is still my favourite game of all time. The story, the music, the characters, the set pieces. All of it was super impactful to my 10 year old brain

[Mid-AirMan]

Great job on the video. FF6 had a huge impact on me, but so did 4. My brothers and I took turns playing it and we each had our favorite characters. I can't express what we felt when the world got destroyed, it's something you have to experience. The game basically makes you start over in a new world with the sense of wanting to put your party back together. It's like they wanted to give the player a sense of loss and see how they react. Makes the characters and their stories relatable. It is interesting to see how they all dealt with the end of the world differently. Most of them accepted that they couldn't do anything but go on with their lives.

If they ever remake it I hope to don't try to change it. Just redo it with modern graphics, but keep the gameplay and stories intact.

[bassventurafretdetective]

FFVI and Chrono Trigger are my favorite RPGs, but FFVI was first and the nearest and dearest to me. It was definitely the first profound and impactful story I had experienced in a video game at the time. It still holds up today.

[iAmTheWagon]

Very happy to see this game being covered. It’s always been my g.o.a.t. and that’ll probably never change. Makes me cry tears of mixed emotions every time.

[ENVE]

Okay, Excuse me bro...

I've never heard of you, seen anything you have posted on any social media or watched anything you have made...
This video is exceptional. FF6 holds a very, VERY dear spot in my heart and for somebody to capture a part of what I felt when playing this game and translate it into a media I can watch is super alien and amazing. What a great video. Thank you for doing this life changing game justice.