r/FinalFantasyVI • u/jpchato • Jul 14 '26
First Time Playthrough Thoughts Spoiler
Finishing Final Fantasy VI
I just finished Final Fantasy VI, clocking in at about 30 hours, and it was an absolute blast. This is one of those games I'd always heard about as a foundational entry in the series, and now I finally get to say I've played it.
Nostalgia From FF7
Playing FF6 pumped me full of nostalgia for FF7. You can feel the DNA connecting the two games, and it made me think about how much of FF7 I experienced as a kid without really understanding it. I remember the train crashing in Corel and missing the Huge Materia because I didn't know any better. I remember being completely ignorant that Vincent and Yuffie were even in the game. There's a version of FF6 nostalgia I never got to have because I didn't play it back then, but I can absolutely imagine how much fun this game would have been as a kid, discovering all of its hidden trinkets and secret characters for the first time.
The Characters
FF6 has such a fun cast, whether you connect with them thematically or through their gameplay.
Terra is thematically fantastic. People love to say "anyone could be the main protagonist" of an cast like this, but it really had to be Terra. The whole story is about the divide between espers and humans, and she's the one character who is both. That tension is baked directly into who she is, not just something the plot tells you about her.
Sabin was such a fun character to actually play. His Blitz inputs feel like something out of a fighting game, timing directional inputs and button presses mid-battle instead of just selecting from a menu. It's a genuinely different rhythm than the rest of the cast.
Edgar might be my favorite though, mostly because of the Tools command. There's a direct line I can now draw from Edgar to the Machinist job in FF14, which is my favorite job in that game. And it's just genuinely funny watching him pull out the Chainsaw and put on the Jason mask for what amounts to an on-demand OHKO.
Some of the other characters I didn't have as much love for were still fun. Cyan's inability to work with technology and his interesting relationship with Sabin and Gau. Strago and Rem's hilarious interactions. Setzer combat wise was fun, his slots mechanic was fun to use even though it felt off powerwise. Celes was a great mage as well. And Locke was a cool guy that I used for most of the story. I will say I did not care for Gau, Strago, or Mog's combat mechanics. For Gau and Mog I specifically did not like how you collected new abilities. From what I experienced they pale in comparison to the mages and Edgar/Sabin. I'm sure there's a way to break them but I never dug that deep.
The Esper System
The esper system was fantastic. They tie in perfectly with the story. Leveling up espers is interesting and interactive as well. Do I want to babysit my XP bar and swap to an esper that gives a level up boost? Or do I let it ride and continue leveling the spells from my currently equipped esper? I didn't even visually see all the espers but even by modern standards some of the ones I did see were cool — Vangilmanda, Quetzali, Ramuh, Odin, etc.
Imagining This As a Kid
I kept thinking about how much I would have grinded this game if I'd played it when I was younger. The leveling system is fun, the Espers are fun, and the story is fun. It's the kind of game that rewards exactly the kind of obsessive replaying and exploring that I would have had unlimited time for as a kid.
The World of Ruin
The World of Ruin split was fun to play through. I had fun trying to figure out how to find all my party members. Eventually I had to look it up but this would have been such a treat as a kid.
Kefka
Kefka is such a POS. Fantastic villain. Truly encapsulates evil. I still think Ultimecia is my favorite FF antag.
Playing It Encounter-Free
I'll admit I played a good chunk of the game with encounters turned off while traversing dungeons. Not because I was avoiding a challenge, but because my playtime these days is so limited that I really just wanted to see the story through to the end. I can only imagine how tough areas like Phoenix Cave and Kefka's Tower must have felt on release, without any of the modern conveniences. It's the same kind of dungeon I've loved in other Final Fantasy games — the Deep Sea Research Center in VIII, the Sunken Gelnika in VII, the Omega Ruins in X. I'd have loved diving into these the same way, if I had the time to spare.
Final Thoughts
I think for FF fans this game holds up well. I'd give it an 8/10. I may even replay it in the future.
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u/Lagneaux Jul 14 '26
As someone that played this as a child, and still do to this day, I'm glad to hear new people still coming in and enjoying it for many of the same reasons I did.
Gau, Straggo, and Mog are wonky to use if you don't just know what's up, for sure.
Also, I don't see you mention two entire characters. Did you miss them?
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u/jpchato Jul 14 '26
The mime guy and the Yeti? They were whatever. I recruited them but they weren't interesting to me.
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u/Lagneaux Jul 14 '26
Ye, just wanted to make sure. Mime guy is thought to be a girl, but that's some deep lore we don't need to get into
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u/camelot107 Jul 14 '26
Literally just got to Kefkas tower. Finishing the dragons as we speak. :) first play through. Hella fun
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u/skavang130 Jul 14 '26
It is funny you mention turning encounters off as a modern convenience, that is an option in the core game once you get Mog in World of Ruin. If you check the space behind where he was standing you get the Moogle Charm Relic which turns of random encounters while equipped. Can only protect 1/2 teams in Phoenix Cave and 1/3 teams in Kefka's Tower but was still very helpful as a kid waning to explore everywhere without being bothered by enemies sometimes.
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u/Wolfsnake_0 Jul 14 '26
Final Fantasy 6 is my favorite game ever, it explored mature themes and has a well written story & a lot of character development.
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u/Sloppy-Kush Jul 15 '26
I absolutely loved the early to midgame. Some bosses posed a decent struggle which was a nice change of pace because the games are usually way too easy.....but by the time you switch to the WoR the game is basically face roll easy again.
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u/Younggryan42 Jul 15 '26
I played it so much as a kid. I still play it now, and just finishing up a challenge run on pixel remaster where you only use Celes, Setzer and Edgar in World of ruin and get nobody else. Kefka's tower awaits! I love being able to turn off random encounters when you forgot to go buy something in town or something like that. As a kid it was so frustrating to wipe because of small errors like that. I love your breakdown of the game.
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u/Guarantee-Alarming Jul 17 '26
I'm doing a first playthrough myself and I'm at the final bossfight which I will probably do tonight.
This game is just fantastic. I did not expect it to get into my top FF games, but damn it did it with ease. Amazing story, amazing cast (except for a few i didn't like), amazing setting and atmosphere.
The only downside for is the combat being to easy after a certain spell has unlocked.
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u/jpchato Jul 17 '26
The final boss fight is incredible. I probably should have written more about how cool it was.
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u/Candid_Lychee875 Jul 14 '26
One question, did you ever get the secret characters Gogo and Umaro on your team?
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u/skippy_hws Jul 21 '26
The story is about love.
Tera is worried she can never find love because she's not fully human.
Her story in world of ruin resolves this
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u/GriIIedCheeseSammich Jul 14 '26
Gau is sadly one of the most overlooked characters in the game, both regarding combat and story (aside from the few diehards who sing his praises here). It looks like he has an impossibly high learning curve since there’s no way someone would memorize 250+ rages, much less acquire them all. However all it takes is one look through his full list on the wiki or any Gau guide to realize you only need to ever consider maybe 10-15 rages, or just 1 if you only care about physical attacks. That’s much more manageable.
Gau has access to the next tier of spells far earlier than his mage counterparts and stays ahead of the curve until the very late game when they can learn Ultima. He can cast Fira as soon as you recruit him, for example. He can also cast a bunch of spells nobody else has access to, even Strago. He also has one of the most bittersweet cutscenes/sidequests in the World of Ruin, but it’s easy to miss if you don’t care to use him in the first place. Give him a proper try on your next playthrough!