The Final Fantasy VI Retrospective

As the Japanese RPG market began to oversaturate, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yoshinori Kitase, and the rest of the Final Fantasy team set out to tell a story with an ensemble cast of heroes to keep the series fresh. The result would go on to be one of the most celebrated games ever made.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:08 - Part I - A Crowded Market
10:59 - Part II - Edited for Content
18:08 - Patreon
18:26 - Part III - Balance
24:52 - An Oppressive World
30:17 - The Party
30:47 - Locke
35:38 - Edgar & Sabin
42:24 - Shadow
45:07 - Cyan
50:34 - Gau
52:57 - Celes
55:38 - Setzer
59:40 - Mog
1:01:11 - Strago & Relm
1:06:13 - Terra & the Espers
1:16:01 - Gameplay
1:34:04 - Visually Ambitious
1:37:49 - A Playable Opera
1:51:45 - The Opera House
2:06:08 - Imperialism & Historical Parallels
2:33:10 - Kefka
2:43:21 - The End of the World
2:56:43 - Part IV - Ruin
3:02:53 - Saving Cid
3:05:06 - Sanitizing the Apocalypse
3:07:52 - Open World
3:18:51 - Character Resolutions
3:55:45 - Kefka's Tower
4:04:16 - The God of Nihilism
4:18:24 - The End
4:23:58 - Personal Thoughts
4:25:53 - Part V - Ports & Remakes
4:47:31 - Part VI - Reception & Legacy
4:56:56 - Epilogue & To Be Continued...

NOTE: Due to some oversights, some later sources don't share a number with those displayed in the video. I apologize for the inconvenience.

[topazlight]

For whatever it's worth, Cid's description of what the other survivors did at the cliff in the original SNES localization really reads to me more like Cid himself awkwardly, broken-heartedly dancing around the matter with euphemisms rather than being upfront about it. Everything else about the scenes on the solitary island is so crystal clear about the situation that I find it difficult to believe Woolsey seriously expected Western audiences not to get what was really going out there even with the restrictions foist upon him.

[joshua-wexr]

Celes's theme during the bridge scene with Locke made me absolutely fall in love with Nobuo as a composer. The whole relationship with she and Locke leading up to that scene... The music starts to build and you're expecting this epic synth string version and it just goes into a light music box rendition... You can FEEL their pain, their love blossoming for one another... It was... Perfect.

[Cloudrim]

Someone else mentioned this but it's massively appreciated how, like the others in the video series, this isn't simply a laborious beat-for-beat recap of the plot. This is already one of the highest quality retrospective series on this platform, and it's only getting better.

Getting ahead of myself but I cannot fucking wait for the FF9 video.

[BPTNY]

The more I hear about Woosely's workload and insane deadlines, the more I respect and appreciate Woosely's work no matter how quarky it can be.

Especially considering the technology at the time.

[geovaughan]

Looking back on Edgar’s story makes me wonder if he was in some way based on Louis XVI, the last monarch of France. Like Edgar, Louis had a brother who was meant for the throne, but he wound up inheriting it after his brother died. Louis was also intensely interested in mechanics, and locksmithing was a hobby of his, sometimes to the detriment of his kingdom. During the Revolution, Louis had difficulty balancing his allegiances, at times signaling to the commoners that he was with them while also trying to get help from other monarchs to put down the rebellion in France, which eventually cost him his head. Obviously Edgar came out the other end of his rebellion better than Louis did, but the similarities are interesting to consider.

[Awesmic]

If your previous videos marked your place as part of the Mount Rushmore of Final Fantasy retrospectives, then after this video, you may have shattered expectations and became Mount Everest.

[JokerDoom]

Time Stamps for this monster of a video

Intro - 0:00
2:09 Part I - A Crowded Market
11:00 Part II - Edited for Content
17:02 TV Commercial
18:27 Part III - Balance

FF6 Early Analysis - 20:06
21:31 Opening Hour (Narshe/Fígaro)
24:52 Setting & World Building
27:04 South Figaro/Jidoor/Zozo
29:02 Visual Design

Characters Intros - 30:18
30:48 Locke
35:40 Edgar & Sabin
42:24 Shadow
45:07 Cyan
50:35 Gau
52:57 Celes
55:39 Setzer
59:41 Mog
1:01:11 Strago & Relm
1:06:14 Terra

Game Mechanics
1:16:00 Espers
1:19:24 Multiple Parties
1:22:09 “Job” system
1:30:40 Spellcasting and Other Features
1:33:26 “Difficulty”

Presentation and Artistic Direction
1:34:03 Magitech Facility
1:35:22 Overall Presentation & Mode 7
1:37:48 Music Overview
1:42:44 Leitmotif
1:51:24 Opera House & Celes
2:06:06 Star Wars References
2:09:15 Evil Empires & Imperial Japan

In-Game Story Analysis
2:23:40 Ghestal’s Empire - Kefka, Leo, Vector, Sealed Gate, Themasa
2:43:20 Floating Continent, Gestahl’s Fate, World’s End
2:56:45 Part IV - Ruin
3:07:51 The New World
3:18:50 Recruiting Old Friends

I’ll finish this tonight when I can watch the rest

[bigtimetimmyjim]

A retrospective that truly does this masterpiece of a game justice, very well done. 20 years ago, I felt like FF6 was an overlooked game in the franchise, especially when compared to FF7; the only way to really communicate back then with strangers was over IRC chats and message boards, and the FF7 fanfare was always the loudest. Now that we have social media and YouTube, I believe that FF6 is finally getting the respect that it deserves as the true pinnacle of Final Fantasy.

[REVOLVERE]

If retrospective videos for FF6 on YouTube had a final boss, this would be it. Everybody else needs to pack it up and head out 😅

[shivamchouhan]

Finally after half years of wait, another Retrospective is back!!
Final fantasy vi is one of the best game I have ever played.

[hibanacigam]

1:12:25 I once heard of a suggestion that Celes and Tina may be named after the 1499 Spanish fictional work "Celestina" which came out during the end of the medieval era and beginning of the Renaissance (or modernity) in Spain, tying in with the game's setting.

[ypsilonick]

I played FFIII and FFIV as a kid, and just recently decided to make a marathon from I to X to see what I miss, and relive some childhood nostalgia. Watching your retrospectives after finishing the games gives me a sense of closure. You manage to offer so many new insights and background knowledge to what I just experienced, and it's an absolute treat. I finished FFVI two weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to this 5 hour journey

[WinterionGameStudios]

Thank you for such a diligent and comprehensive look at the game. You're doing great work here. Keep it up!
-Prof. Greenberg

[hoseinbmr]

i am not even an RPG fan, but your final fantasy retrospectives are one of my favorite retrospectives ever
i enjoyed this videos so much that now i want to give this series another shot, maybe with this new found respect that i have for this franchise thanks to you, now this genre can click with me this time
that shows how amazing your contents are 👍

[kuysification]

Jesus fucking christ, I just watched a five hour you-tube video and was captivated for every minute. Grats!

[digitaldevilgirl]

I'm so happy we got a conclusion to Sakaguchi's Jump arc. Wonderful video, I learned so much about this game I thought I already knew almost everything about. 6 is my favorite of the mainline series, and Terra is one of my favorite game characters ever, and you did them justice. Really wanna replay the game now 😅

[adamwhite]

Great video! When you talked about the theme of the airship in the World of Ruin, it would of been neat that each party member you got back/recruited added an extra instrument to the song as if you're building up hope itself.

[Crausefin]

Brave New World got mentioned: I'm happy enough.

Astounding job. Thank you for your hard work!

[ES-kwhq]

It is criminal that this only has 24 likes so far. The amount of work that you have put into this is astounding. Personally, I could have listened to you expound on the history of Japan for hours. If only my old teachers could have captured my attention like you did, I would have gotten an A in all my history lessons.

[Calum_Chrystal]

This video is exceptional. Likely the best video, article or essay I have seen on Final Fantasy 6 anywhere on the internet . Congrats man, you somehow made me love this game even more through your expert analysis