1994, Game of the Year

[Jaicee]

Hiku said:

 

Seeing as you have Terra as your avatar, I was looking for your post to see if you'd chose something other than FF6. And I see you did, for understandable reasons.

While I've played several games I'd describe as formative experiences, I think I only played one game that helped me take my mind of things when I really needed to, and that was Persona 3.
I don't remember particularly identifying with a character in any game, but in that case the main character being a silent protagonist did add a bit to the immersion of being in that setting and forgetting about my real life setting.

I have a question though. How much of what you described in your post did you see in Super Metroid and FF6 at the time?
Because I only played FF6 once (in 2001), and I pretty much took in everything about the story at face value, and don't remember pondering the meaning behind character's action and motivations, etc.

Perhaps as a result, FF6 didn't make a strong impression on me. I had a friend who had it as their favorite game at the time, and I played it for that reason.
But what I got out of it was a good FF game that didn't really stand out much compared to the ones I had already played. I liked Celes quite a lot in terms of design, but sadly I don't remember much about her story. I think my only real negative opinion of the game was disagreeing with how Kefka turned out in the 2nd act.

I thought he was a very interesting and menacing villain before that.
And due to how the story had shaped up until that point, I expected the showdown with him to involve a confrontation of ideals.

*FF6 Spoiler*

Spoiler!

But at that point he was just a mindless shell of his former self, as I recall. So it didn't feel like a satisfying confrontation to me.

 
But I do want to go back and replay the game again at some point and see if I feel differently about certain things now.

Oh Persona 3, 4, and 5 are all masterpieces, in my mind! Those rank high on any sane person's list of most and moving JRPGs ever made. For me, Persona 4 in particular.

Anyway, as to your question, at first I took FF6's story at face value until she and Locke spoke at the Returner's hideout. Their exchange was brief and to the point and didn't overstay its welcome, but something about it really got to me. Terra was talking about how there are no loved ones in her life to care about like the others around her do, seeming to just feel lost in the world, wondering what to live for. Then Locke reassures her that yes, she is capable of loving other people and that must be others who care for her. It was far from the conclusion of her character arc (closer to the beginning, in fact), but somehow it felt like, in that moment, Locke was talking to me. That's when I started to feel a special connection to Terra as a character and to Locke as well in a different way.

Maybe it's just me and the way my brain processes shit. I'm told I'm a sensitive person. Specifically, I'm told I'm too sensitive a lot. Many of the exchanges between the characters in FF6 made me tear up even back then. Even things like Cyan chasing the Phantom Train as it carries the spirits of his wife and son away that don't always get to just everyone.

As to Kefka's fate...

Spoiler!

Today's me kind of wishes for a different resolve for him too, to tell you the truth. But at the same time, I do actually read it as a contest of ideas in essence. Kefka I read as a sort of warning of how people can wind up without social connections. The whole game is about the importance of social connections.

So kind of in summary, I'd say about maybe 40% or half of what I see in the game now thematically I understood at the time. I feel like my understanding has evolved over time on many repeat plays over the decades, but there was always a foundational connection that I felt had on some level or other to Terra and Kefka in particular in different ways.

Do replay it. Your sensibilities and sensitivities are likely different at this point in life.

Last edited by Jaicee - on 13 October 2023