I (finally!) finished FFVI tonight. Epic game, it's taken a while. With the full impressions coming up in the next few days then, I thought I'd take a moment to talk a bit about the main characters. The massive 14-piece party in FFVI has some of the series' all time best characters, and some of the dumbest and most one-dimensional. Just thought I'd give my impressions on each one here, since I probably won't have time to go so in-depth when I put the video together...
Not so much the main character (this game doesn't really have a single main character) but the central catalyst for the game's plot. She has a really great story arc, starting off as an amnesic girl who can't decide where her allegiances lie. She was being used as a weapon by the Empire, and yet the Returners were nice to her. Then, after the world is destroyed, she finds a real life's purpose: helping out the kids of Mobliz, being their "mother." In battle she's pretty darn awesome too. Not only is she a natural mage, but she's physically strong as well.
STORY: A BATTLE: A
LOCKE
The token loveable thief. He starts out being the cheeky, outspoken rogue, but you soon figure out that he's got some demons in his closet. He is attracted to Terra, but Celes reminds him a lot of Rachel, his long-lost love. Poor Locke. Conflicted by all the beautiful females in his life. What an unfortunate situation to be in...
In battle he's got the "Steal" ability which is always good.
STORY: A BATTLE: A
MOG
Who wouldn't love a moogle? Mog's tho tute! Unfortunately, he really doesn't have much personality and comes across as a mere "token" character. His battle abilities are certainly interesting to experiment with: he's essentially a Geomancer, by FFV reckoning. He casts spells based on environments. Collecting all of his dances
can be a bit of a pain, but some of them are pretty powerful. It's a shame you don't have any control over him once he starts dancing. I don't find myself using him much.
STORY: D BATTLE: C
EDGAR
The King of Figaro! A king who loves to tinker with machinery and has a reputation for loving more than a few women in his time. When I think of Edgar I mainly think of his relationship with his brother Sabin. The optional "coin toss" scene is pretty great FF drama. Edgar is one of the most powerful characters to have in battle (especially in the first half of the game) due to his super-powerful tools. Drill, Flash and Chainsaw (when it works) overpower almost anything else in the World of Balance. I use him a lot.
STORY: B BATTLE: A
SABIN
The "other" Prince of Figaro, who could have been king, had he not run away from his responsibilities. Sabin's the token muscle-head and he gets some cool scenes to act out. I suppose if Sabin was given a traditional Final Fantasy job, he would be a Monk. But he doesn't play at all like the Monks in FFIII or FFV. Using his "Blitz" moves becomes second-nature once you memorise the combos of some of the best moves. He's a pain if you can't remember what buttons to press though.
STORY: B BATTLE: B
SHADOW
Token ninja. Shadow is just too cool. He speaks rarely, has a killer dog that follows him around and if you rescue him from the falling island, you have the chance to see into his dreams and relive his backstory
as a thief called Clyde. He's got the Throw ability in battle as any good ninja should, which is a cool thing to have, provided you stock up on enough items. He also has a really cool theme song.
STORY: A BATTLE: A
CYAN
The well-spoken royal knight of Doma. It's a shame that the original translation had his method of speech working so inconsistantly. He has a few decent scenes, mainly dealing with the death of his entire kingdom at the hands of Kefka, including his wife and son who he sees leaving on the Phantom Train. Having said that, he's not very crucial to the main plot. He just kind of tags along for lack of anything better to do. Some of his battle abilities are quite powerful, but who could be bothered waiting long enough to charge them up? I never use him much.
STORY: C BATTLE: C
GAU
Wild boy. Berserker. Whatever. Apart from a strange scene with his father in the second half of the game, Gau doesn't really affect the story at all. He's a bit of a nothing-character. As for battle, he's kind of a blue-mage, I guess, in that he takes the abilities of enemies. But I always found getting them a royal pain. Not to mention that once he starts mimicking said enemy, you lose all control over him. I'll be honest, in all the times I've played through FFVI, I've never once put in the effort to use Gau. He could be really powerful for all I know, but he just seems annoying to me.
STORY: D BATTLE: E
CELES
Has one of the most tumultuous emotional plots in the game. Starts of as a chief general standing by the evil Emperor Gestahl's side, but when she begins to question his methods, he has her locked away and beaten. She secretly falls in love with Locke, but feels betrayed by him when he begins to doubt her allegiance. Her role is that of the one who knows how the enemy is working. Then after the world is destroyed, she becomes the lead character, regrouping the companions together again. Great character. In battle she's okay. She's strong physically and magically, but I always found her Runic ability kind of useless.
STORY: A BATTLE: B
SETZER
The super-suave gambler man with an airship. He's worked pretty well into the plot and has a tragic backstory to explore in the second half of the game. He's a fairly one-dimensional character though, and in battle his Slot ability is just too unpredictable, and the potential results are pretty crappy.
STORY: C BATTLE: C
STRAGO
Dotty old man and loving grandfather. Doesn't have a great deal of plot to speak of. He loves his granddaughter, that's about all that he's about. Meanwhile, he's a genuine Blue Mage. (as opposed to Gau)
He sees enemies casting spells and learns to cast them himself. Can be useful, but as with all Blue Mages, you've got to put in a lot of effort collecting all the spells to make him useful enough.
STORY: C BATTLE: C
RELM
Strago's cute little granddaughter. She's an artist, apparently. And (SPOILERS!!) she's Shadow's daughter. She basically tags along with the group, offering little plot points here and there. She's pretty unnecessary though. Her Sketch ability in battle has the potential to be pretty awesome, but it also might be crap. You're limited by the enemy that you happen to be fighting at the time, which is why I never really use her much.
STORY: C BATTLE: D
GOGO
Living in a cave for who-knows-how-long. I think Gogo
has perhaps only one scene of dialogue for the entire game? He/she/it doesn't affect the story at all, it's just a cool character to have in battle to copy all of the most powerful attacks.
STORY: F BATTLE: B
UMARO
Umaro doesn't talk. He doesn't really enter into the plot at all. He just follows Mog like a puppy if you find him towards the end of the game. He's super-strong, being a sasquach and all, but you have no control over his actions at all in battle. To that end, he is a true Berserker.
STORY: F BATTLE: C
