How Final Fantasy VI kept my hope alive

So, to begin with, let me give you a little background about my early childhood.

I wasn’t doin’ so hot as a kid

I was born premature, very sick all the time, and I was deaf until 3 years of age because of ear infections. I went to speech therapy school at 3 and had to do things like wear masks and they would use AlphaBits cereal to help me learn to read. I really didn’t like reading until I was able to make associations properly with words. I picked up very quick, and my parents have said, “For the longest time, you just babbled a little but didn’t talk. Now, we can’t get you to shut up!”

My parents divorced when I was 5, but I remember it all being a long, drawn out series of events, from 5 to 8.

See, shortly after the divorce, my mom got remarried under a year to a new guy, who was extremely tall, blonde, and scary. Fake smile to the public, angry monster behind closed doors. You know the type. He was a real piece of work, and would pick on me, and encourage his friends to do the same. He made fun of my name in creative ways, he hurt me physically, he would yell at me for things like chewing with my mouth open when I had a cold because I couldn’t breathe through my nose… it was a gross overreaction what he did, no matter how you look at it.

During that time, my mom had gotten kittens, and gave me one of my own. Punkinpuss. He was a stripey tabby, and very friendly.

He looked a lot like this

My stepfather carried him over to my mom and me one day, with blood coming from his head. He claimed that he found him like that and he must’ve gotten run over or something. Years later I confirmed that, no, he killed my cat when he got mad at it.

I got used to living with a tall, imposing man who could hurt me or my mom at any time and get away with it. My world had a tyrant in it, that would choose to destroy on a whim key parts of it.

You know the type

Shortly after the marriage, my mom’s parents died. In the same year. It was weird for me. I didn’t know how to feel or comprehend it. Just like when Punkinpuss died. I was just a child watching everything change and get worse around me. Losing stability and safety. Having to pretend like I was okay with things.

My father accidentally got a woman he met at AA pregnant.

Oh, right. So, my dad had been in Alcoholics Anonymous, and I was well aware of this because I was brought to the meetings. Mom did very well with them, hasn’t had a drop in my entire life. Dad just kinda started smoking cigarettes, picked up chicks and then eventually stopped going. I had a little half-sister when I was 8. It felt like my father was leaving me, and I saw him less and less.

So, around the age of 9, I’m spending a weekend at dad’s house, my cousin is there too, and we’re playing Super Nintendo and going through Gamepros and Nintendo Powers.

These things were awesome!

OH, yeah. My dad and my uncle ran a business together, so my cousin would often show up because, y’know. They were like the Mario brothers to be honest; my dad was the short, stocky one and my Uncle was the taller, slimmer one. I also grew up watching the Super Mario Bros. Super Show so… that might’ve influenced things.

That weekend was when my cousin brought over Final Fantasy III (VI) for the SNES, popped it in, and showed me his save file.

The graphics looked INCREDIBLE compared to everything else I had seen so far. The music was so catchy, and I loved the Techno de Chocobo theme. It was a big musical exposure for me, compared to hearing… I d’no, Billy Joel on the radio and Queen.

Then, he turned to me and said, “I’ll let you borrow it Danny. Here, use the other save file.”

My excitement was palpable

So I did. I started a new game of Final Fantasy III. It started out with the most incredible scene, and I was immediately drawn in, ready to read every little bit of text and follow this story.

I followed Terra’s journey as she was trying to find her place in the world. Sabin and Edgar, the two brothers brought back together, reliable and strong. Gau, and being tossed away by his father, having to learn from the beasts around him to survive.

Gau was particularly relatable for me. I remember in the World of Ruin, when you reunite him with his dad, how he was happy just knowing his dad was alive. Just knowing he was still out there somewhere. Even Gau as a character was relatable.

Speaking of the World of Ruin.
The story really had me gripped. Watching Kefka gain unspeakable power, the world shattering in front of my eyes. Seeing every party member get flung to the winds. Waking as Celes, alone with the only person she ever considered family, dying.

Everything was wrong

It was such a tonal shift, and the overworld music had even changed. Everything felt lonely, and scary. I felt very small in a way. I did my best to try and find food for Celes’ dying granddad, Cid. I actually managed to save him, and he showed Celes a way to keep going and find her way forward. It was a small sense of hope.

I managed to get to a town, and after a series of events, ran into Sabin, the trustworthy monk, trying his best to save a town from Kefka.

Because Kefka is now a tyrant who can destroy the world on a whim, whenever and wherever he wants, because he can. Simply because it makes him laugh.

Something something tall blonde clown

So, as Celes, I slowly found Sabin, then Edgar, and then finally Setzer.
Setzer was a team member who owned an airship, and it allowed me to travel and go anywhere in the world. The ship was destroyed with the world.

However, when I found Setzer again, the game pulled toward finding a new method of transportation. That’s when I found out about Daryl, another airship owner.

After a rather sorrowful scene for Setzer, the party finds themselves with a new airship, and as its revealed, the music suddenly changes to a tune of inspiration; of decisiveness. Instead of the dreary sounds of the broken world, walking on foot, I found the sea parting, as a beautiful airship pierced the water and took to the sky, an incredibly uplifting tune playing with it.

I later found out the tune is called “Searching For Friends”.
That was a moment that stayed etched in my mind since then.

This hopeful inspiration, to keep going in a destroyed and broken world, and finding your friends, the people who will help see you through it. Helping others. Not being alone.

Found family is still family

I didn’t get to beat the game as a kid, but I revisited it later on in life and beat it, including watching some incredible parodies as well. I was enamored by this title, but more importantly, it inspired me. It gave me ideas, and it made me feel like I could fix my life. It’s kept me going.

Final Fantasy VI is a game that’s kept me hopeful my entire life, and I find it more relatable every time I revisit it. Aside from my personal experiences with it, I just think it’s a story that’s worth your time. Though, if you’re reading this, you’re probably well aware of this.

So, if you’re trying to sum up what makes this game great, maybe you can just use my thoughts on that.

It’s a game about Hope, and surviving, even in a broken world.