Welcome back to the Wark Digest, your weekly newsletter of new developments and historical insights from the Final Fantasy universe. I’m Chris, aka Hoogathy, and this week we’re discussing the 30th anniversary of one of the series’ best, another roundtable between Square Enix legends, and everything in between. (Plus, a Buster Sword… for dogs?)
This week’s newsletter is 2556 words, a 12-minute read.
Final Fantasy VI at 30
This week marked another momentous milestone for our favourite franchise: the 30th anniversary of Final Fantasy VI’s initial release. At a point where many other titles might have started to fall into tired routine, the 6th game in Square’s flagship series pushed the envelope further… and revolutionized the genre. Let’s start out this week by examining the legacy of the series’ 2D swan song.
Why it matters:
Final Fantasy VI released on the Super Famicom in Japan on April 2, 1994 (followed in North America on October 20, but called Final Fantasy III)
Final Fantasy V had released in December 1992 and immediately shattered sales records for the series, so capitalizing on that success was a huge priority for Square—thus the sprint to get FFVI to market just 16 months later
FFVI simplified FFV’s Job system by giving each character a set job but also broadened the horizons by later granting the ability to permanently learn magic spells… and by featuring up to 14 playable characters!
This also marked the first time series godfather Hironobu Sakaguchi didn’t direct a mainline FF, passing the torch to Yoshinori Kitase, who had worked with him on the scenario for FFV
Narratively, FFVI leaned further into the series’ summonable creatures (in this game, called Espers), making them a vital element of the story through Terra, a mysterious young girl who is part-human, part-Esper
It also took bold risks like having the potential to lock characters out forever if not obtained properly, and the unforgettable shift between the World of Ruin and the World of Balance
The dev team decided to approach each playable cast member as “the protagonist” instead of having one central hero and utilized a “hybrid” philosophy—certain members conceived their “own” characters (like Terra and Locke from Sakaguchi, Celes and Gau from Kitase, for example) and their scenarios, and collaborated under Kitase’s leadership to weave a unified story from their separate contributions
This was the first time where FF characters had a consistent scale and model between the world and field maps, and battle scenes—and ditching the squat sprites for event scenes opened up a broad new realm of expression
Like FFV, FFVI broke Japanese sales records immediately, reportedly selling over 2.5 millions by mid-1994; reception was a little smaller in North America, falling short of a million copies, but nonetheless it made a tremendous impact in players’ hearts, ranking high on “best SNES game” polls and inspiring a generation of future game developers
This would prove to be the last new, main FF on Nintendo consoles; development started on a sequel, FFVII, on both the SNES and N64 consoles before Square broke ties and jumped to Sony’s PlayStation—and FFVI character models were used in the tech demos for both projects
It eventually made its way to Europe in 2002, and since then has been one of the most eagerly-awaited installments when the older games are remastered
What we thought:
Final Fantasy VI was simply a defining moment for Final Fantasy, Square, RPGs, and video games in general, pushing the medium and tech in new directions
The game has plenty of humour (especially thanks to the new size for sprites in events) but also plenty of heavy emotional scenes, with most of your party members having lost the person/people who meant the most to them at some point, and the dramatic shift at the halfway point
Some of its set pieces are among the most iconic in the industry: the Magitech marching on Narshe, the Opera, the Phantom Train…
Gameplay-wise, it offered a tremendous experience for completionists, and a considerable amount of replayability for the time with multiple outcomes to certain events
With 14 playable characters, each with unique skills to use and cultivate, plus the ability to equip magicite to summon or permanently learn magic, FFVI’s world is a sandbox for play around in
Personally, while nostalgia and emotional resonance have pushed others past FFVI to the top of my list of personal favourites, I think it’s a clear top contender for best in the series—perhaps second only to Final Fantasy VII, which made a bigger splash critically and commercially (and arguably pushed the tech harder)
It was also the first stage of the changing of the guard, with Sakaguchi stepping back to let Kitase take the lead, and new staffers like Tetsuya Nomura getting a chance to shine
What’s next? If you’ve never played Final Fantasy VI, you should really check it out at some point—the Pixel Remasters offer an excellent opportunity. If you have played it, have you ever attempted beating it with only three characters?
Cast Thundaga! It’s a Lightning Round
FFVII Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi and Team Asano’s leader, Tomoya Asano, have been appointed as Executive Officers for Square Enix’s board, joining the likes of Kitase and Naoki Yoshida
Asano’s appointment is overdue, given his team’s track record, and Hamaguchi’s promotion is proof of the Remake project’s success to-date
Yoko Shimomura and Nobuo Uematsu have been voted into the 2024 Classic FM Hall of Fame—the former for Final Fantasy XV’s score, and Uematsu for his general work on the series
The FFXVI collaboration event mentioned last week is live now in Final Fantasy XIV, allowing players to cross paths with Clive Rosfield and unlock his gear (up to and including his good boi Torgal)
Fortunately, this is relatively spoiler-free for those who haven’t played FFXVI yet, with only allusions to some earlier events
Cait Sith has arrived in Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, alongside Chapter 6 of the FFVII story and the Easter event
Square Enix has confirmed the existence of a bug affecting progression in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s side quest “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop,” and promises to address it in the next patch—owners of the digital edition are reporting that the trophy is not popping up when it should after the 1.020 patch, while physical editions do not appear to be affected
It may have been April Fool’s Day this week, but this one’s not a gag: Square Enix has announced a line of pet accessories based on some of their biggest properties—like a Buster Sword rope toy, a bed shaped like a Dragon Quest Slime, or a coat to match Sora’s from Kingdom Hearts
No word on availability outside of Japan, but this is impressive just for getting Disney to sign off on the use of KH trademarks
Tetsuya Nomura himself is supervising, which is enough to make me think it actually is a late April Fool’s joke
A Rare Meeting of the Masters
Square Enix Music posted a “Special Talk Section” video this week, featuring composer Nobuo Uematsu, Tetsuya Nomura, and Kazushige Nojima discussing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth—but also reminiscing on the earlier days of the series’ development.
What they’re saying:
Nomura: “I take a lot of comfort in working with the two of them. Fans around the world trust them, so I never really worry when I ask them to do something. I’m totally confident they’ll give the fans what they want, and they’re both just really fun to talk to. I wouldn’t go out of my way to interact with them if they weren’t.”
Back in the days of developing FFVII, they had received paper copies of the scenario, and had received a pile of new technology they personally weren’t acclimatized to yet (part of Kitase’s drive to adapt to modern tech)
The PlayStation allowed Uematsu access to studio-recorded music, but he insisted on using the onboard chipset for the music to avoid having the music stall for loading times
Nomura: “Kitase was really particular about Vincent. I drew him once and that got thrown out. But I don’t think it was a big deal, though, he just wanted the shoes pointier. [laughs] I remember him saying he wanted Vincent to be kinda vampiric. He wasn’t included in the game until halfway through development, so I kinda felt like I had already finished my work when they decided to add him.”
On a character development chart he drew for Nojima, Vincent was listed simply as an “ex-Turk” and Yuffie as “a Shinra spy,” and their characters were filled in later
On the development of “One-Winged Angel”:
Uematsu: “With FFVI, I remember looking at the boss Nomura drew and thinking, ‘where does this thing end?!’ It was hard writing music to fit.”
“But then FFVII comes along, and you want to outdo yourself, right? So I mulled it over, and proposed adding in a chorus”—but to avoid the aforementioned lag of streaming audio, he “compressed and compressed until I couldn’t anymore, then spliced it up to be played on the onboard chipset.”
“Listening back now, the audio quality is horrendous, but having a chorus play during the final boss fight feels good. It was a fun little experiment for the time.”
“After I implemented the piece, I let everyone listen. I forget who it was, but someone told me, ‘I don’t get it.’ [laughs] Can’t you come up with something cooler and befitting the last boss?’ But I told them, ‘It’ll be fine, just wait and see.’”
Nomura: “They were singing in this language I didn’t understand. That was my first exposure to Latin. [laughs] That’s how my Latin kick got started.”
Uematsu picked Latin for Sephiroth’s battle theme in response to pressure to write lyrics in English instead of Japanese—”I figured only a handful of people around the world could understand it; if no one understands the language, then it’s fair for everyone—thus I went with Latin”
Nojima: “When we were making Advent Children and Crisis Core, I didn’t think they’d connect to something like [Remake]. Hindsight’s 20-20 and all, but I wish I’d planned things out a bit better. [laughs]
As an interview for SE Music, “No Promises to Keep” was a key focus:
Nomura knew he wanted part 1’s theme to be about Cloud and sung by a Japanese male artist, and part 2’s theme to be about Aerith and sung by a “foreign” female artist—and Loren Allred was his example
Nojima: “This song represents Aerith’s feelings, but I made sure it didn’t sound like she was singing about Cloud or Zack, or anyone specific.” While it has elements of a love song, “it’s also about the burden of her destiny as the last of the Cetra. That fate is its own ‘promise,’ if you will, one she’s been held captive by—one she wants to escape. […] Really, it’s about everyone she’s loved. […] It’s a heartbreaking song about wanting to hold on to those you’ve grown close to.”
Uematsu was reluctant to add the “Aerith’s Theme” leitmotif at first
Uematsu: “Honestly, it made me realize that someone my age just can’t keep up with the Final Fantasy series, or the effort required of its developers. You need to be in peak condition, physically and mentally. It’s like running a marathon full-speed the whole way. […] Of course, it’s great to see new people giving this series their all and making great games, but I was happy to get back in the saddle and contribute again.”
“In 10, 20 years, when it’s my time to go, I’ll look back on this moment with tears in my eyes. That’s just how happy I am with this song.”
Nomura offered a “gentleman’s agreement” that Uematsu will return to contribute to the third game of the trilogy as well, which he accepted (“It’d be my honour”)
What we thought:
SE has been wise to arrange these more intimate roundtables between series veterans—just a couple longtime collaborators sitting around and talking shop—and hopefully they continue to do so
It’s rare now to see Nomura in these circumstances, and he almost seems as aloof as Yoko Taro (minus the helmet) with the way he’s facing away from the camera and talking about his hesitance to commit to such a huge project
The dynamic between them is fun (with Nomura being a junior creative who has surpassed Uematsu’s position, and two of them having left SE proper to freelance), and the laughter between their anecdotes is genuine—there’s a lot of respect and history between them
Final Fantasy is known for pushing the technological envelope (just as FFVI did on SNES), but sometimes its biggest innovations or impacts come from the team’s old-school backgrounds—as “One-Winged Angel” proves
Cramming in innovations is only worth so much if it doesn’t mean anything; you can cram in new tech like streaming audio but it can easily take a backseat to the intensity of OWA’s Latin chorus or the more deliberate camera cues Kitase mentioned in his recent BAFTA speech
Now we know who to blame for some of the gobbledygook Latin-ish game titles we’ve gotten over the years: Uematsu, by way of Nomura
Imagine being the guy who told Uematsu that OWA should be “cooler”
Though I can’t help but wonder if some of this effect was lost in the English translation, “No Promises to Keep” really does live up to Nojima’s non-committal, generalist interpretation—it’s not about one particular relationship but the sum of her love for her friends, her family, the Planet, and everyone on it
If Remake had Cloud’s perspective, and Rebirth had Aerith’s… will part 3 be Tifa’s moment to shine, or could Sephiroth steal the focus? And what form will that song take?
What’s next? Uematsu is looking forward to seeing the audience react to his latest ballad at future concerts, and hopes to perform the Japanese version soon as well. In the meantime, check out the full video for more of these legends’ banter and anecdotes beyond these highlights. (And for more on the development of Vincent and Yuffie, you can check out issue #3 of the Kupo Chronicle, our premium newsletter!)
Around the Union
This week we delve into another corner of the franchise’s gameplay systems to call out “7 Items That Ended Up Being Almost Completely Useless!” (And we don’t mean the stockpile of Elixirs that you can’t bring yourself to use, even when the final boss has your back against the wall.) Do you have any other examples of underutilized sundries that didn’t make the cut? Let us know in the comments!
And lastly, per the poll in our last issue, the majority of you who are playing FFVII Rebirth are in its back half: 33% somewhere in chapters 9-12, 32% having completed the story, and a brave 1% having already achieved that elusive Platinum! (Congrats!)
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Until next time, kupo!
VI wasn't directed solely by Kitase either, but co-directed by Hiroyuki Ito. One or the other would direct all the following games all the way through the PS2 days, except for XI. Also, Nomura wasn't totally new with VI, as he'd done monster design in V as well.