FFVI: Session 1 Part 1

Lindsey Dohse

08 Mar 2026 — 10 min read

Here we are! Honestly this game is what I've been waiting for since I started this project years and years ago: I know this game is supposed to be really, really good. And I've played 2 other RPGs from Square from that era (that is Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger) and I gotta say, I love an SNES RPG.

You know, I typed that sentence and realized I completely forgot that the game that I just finished, Final Fantasy IV, is also a SNES RPG. Hmm. I think some inner feelings about that game are starting to emerge.

Originally when I wrote this post covering my first 4-ish hours of play, it ended up being over 5,000 words long! It turns out a lot happens in these games. So, I will be breaking this play session up into 3 different parts.

Also, please note that while I did my best to take screenshots during my first two sessions, I got a little bit too absorbed into the game and didn't end up getting as many screenshots as I should. In the future, I'm going to record my playthroughs so that I can play them back to get as many screenshots as I need after the fact. But for now, I will be supplementing with screenshots from NintendoComplete's FFVI playthrough. I thank this hero for their service to the gaming community.

Before Playing

I rushed and tried to brainstorm my prior conceptions of this game before starting the first playthrough, and I did it without looking at my original post from 2018. Here they are:

I played maybe 20 minutes of this before; there were robots and a lady.
I think the lady is important? maybe like THE main character? Her name might be Tera.
Moogles appear in this! (I know this because there is a picture of one on the SNES cartridge)
This IS the one I'm the most interested in. I don't want to hype myself up too much, though.

Now that I've written that down, let's take a look from my 2018 post:

Calling it now, I bet this one will be my favorite, because I am a huge 16-bit-era-nerd
I think the main character in this is a Girl??
I played this for 3 minutes in like 2012 and I think there were robots in the beginning and I think the girl had some special powers
There is an opera scene! I know this because there is a part in Undertale where they parodied it. I bet it is important.
Kafka! Is this the one with Kafka? Isn’t he a clown? Nevermind, I’m not looking forward to this
Moogles!

Well friends, I'm nothing if not consistent. Though I did forget about the Opera Scene and Kafka.

Let's! Start! This! Game!

Before we get fully into the game, we are given a little bit of backstory: a thousand years prior to our story, humanity went a little too crazy with magic and it resulted in the War of the Magi, which all but destroyed the world. Since then, humanity has rebuilt using iron-based technology. But uh-oh, looks like some power-hungry people are looking to use magic again and repeat history!

We see some characters appear on the screen and, okay, so it looks like they aren't robots, they are guys in mech suits. Whatever. There is still a lady, and she DOES seem important (and is currently being mind-controlled.) The soldiers names are Vicks and Wedge but one of my friends does a quick Google and confirms that it the translation should have been Biggs and Wedge. I ask, "isn't that a Star Wars reference?" There is silence as he does another search, and he confirms. Meanwhile, we get an intro credits roll? Ooh, how cinematic!

*Ted! How could you miss the Star Wars reference?*

We then arrive at a town and start wrecking shit. At this point, I'm pretty sure I played this game for only 3 minutes in the past, because I remember absolutely none of this. Immediately, I notice how OP I am: not only are my attacks doing a ton of damage and 1-hit-KO'ing everything, but it doesn't look like I'm using any sort of MP or other consumable resource. As I reflect on this section I realize I didn't really try using any other attacks besides Fire Beam. I am maybe not the most experimental person.

I'm aware we're looking for an "Esper" as we continue into some tunnels: at this point, I'm guessing it is some kind of power source. Anyway, we start fighting a giant snail and the game warns me that "this creature eats lightning and also don't attack its shell." So, naturally, I attack its shell with a lightning attack. In fact, I accidentally do it twice, and 2/3 of my characters are KO'ed. I hobble along with one character for awhile and get really bored, so I restart from a nearby save and fight the snail as intended.

We find the Esper-- which appears to be a powerful critter, though I guess that doesn't mean it's not not a power source-- and it zaps the girl (but nicely?) Bright lights happen and suddenly she wakes up in a bed. An old man has rescued her, and we re-establish she was being mind-controlled by what appear to be the Bad Guys, and she has lost her memory.

She gets a neat little introductory screen and, thanks to the name input screen, we get confirmation that her name is Terra! I was missing an 'r' but it was close! Also, the music right now is really damn good. I should put a link to it here.

Anyway the villagers seem (understandably) angry that she roflstomped through their town and killed a bunch of folks, so the old man sends her off to flee through the mines. Eventually the town's militia catches up to her, she gets cornered, falls through the floor, and loses consciousness again. We are then treated to a flashback scene! (You can tell because it has a sepia filter over it.)

Okay, well I guess his name is Kefka, not Kafka (which, now that I think about it, is actually an event messaging system and also a famous author.) But I was close! Anyway Kefka starts sending Terra to kill a bunch of stuff and is constantly laughing, which is very irritating.

We are then introduced to the emperor Gestahl and some other people that seem to have their own sprites, but aren't yet named. Gestahl is hyping up the crowd in a very dictator-y kind of way, and it sounds like they are trying to harness magical powers for what is likely world domination. Fun!

We flash back to the old man's house, and another character with a unique sprite appears. We get another introductory splash screen; I think this means he is either Important or Important-And-Also-A-Player-Character. His name is Locke. I didn't know about this guy before! We're learning new things!

There are some jokes because Locke isn't a thief, he is a treasure hunter. Anyway the old man convinces Locke to go find and save Terra, because he thinks they need to get her on their side, and to take her to Figaro (I do not know if this is the name of a place or a guy.) We cut to an unconscious Terra on the floor of the mines and Locke heroically swoops down to aid her. Some more of the village militia has come to get her. And then suddenly, Moogles appear!

We experience a really cool segment where we are controlling 3 different parties of Moogles (1 of them with Locke in it) and heading off the approaching guards. This is, genuinely, super cool and unexpected. Thanks to Locke and the Moogles, the guards are beaten and Locke takes Terra to the exit. She wakes up, Locke learns she has amnesia, and they leave through a secret passage. The town doesn't seem friendly at this point, so we leave and get to the world map, where we are immediately treated to some sweet, sweet, Mode 7 background effects.

I immediately notice what I consider a vast improvement over the previous games-- a mini-map! And it shows me where I am! Bless the technological advances of 1994 (or whenever this game came out.) This is great, because if there is anything I have learned during my playthroughs of FFI and FFIV, it is that I am very good at getting lost. Anyway, we fight some murder-bunnies that are eating some lettuce and I keep going South because that is the only direction I was given. I find a cave that says it goes to South Figaro, but it's closed. (Okay so Figaro is a place's name, not a guy's name, got it.) I get confused (because am I not supposed to be going South to Figaro?) and continue wandering around lost until I find a castle in the desert.

Oh, this castle is called Figaro Castle! Great, mission accomplished. Everyone is telling me to go see the King, so I keep walking until I find him. Locke leads the way, and the man who I am assuming is the King circles Terra and eyes her up and down, which is definitely not creepy. Just as I am thinking this, we suddenly get another introductory screen, so it looks like I will be spending a lot of time with this man.

His name is Edgar. After this introduction Locke peaces out and Edgar tells Terra to not worry about her being an imperial soldier and all that, because Figaro and the Empire are allies. This confuses me, because isn't the Empire the bad guy? Terra, understandably, wants to know why this guy is helping her and if it's just because she can do magic. Edgar tells her that it's because 1. she's pretty, 2. he wants to date her, and 3. because she can do magic (but don't worry, it's a distant 3rd.) Terra rationally responds to this incredulously and Edgar laments that he might not actually be good at flirting, so at least he has some self-awareness. As he leaves, Terra reflects that she might Not Be Your "Typical" Girl (sad version.)

We are now left to wander/loot the castle with only Terra in the party. We learn about the castle, which is in the desert and also is technologically advanced. Right now the only technology I'm really seeing in this castle is a lot of fans, but I guess air conditioning is pretty clutch when you live in a desert. After enough wandering we run into a lady, who (without any prompting) tells Terra that Edgar had a twin brother that ran away. We are regaled with more flashbacks, and we get another one of these:

Turns out his name is Sabin, and it looks like we will be finding him later. They also keep referring to Sabin as both Edgar's twin brother and as his younger brother, and I am not sure which is the case. It could be some Mario and Luigi situation. It seems that since we've now seen Edgar's kinda-sad past we can continue with the game, because now when I go back to the throne room some more Plot happens. Kefka is coming to visit! He's looking for a ""girl of no importance."" Hmmmmm. Edgar acts dumb, and Kefka makes a thinly-veiled threat and leaves. Terra is sent to go take nappies, but before she does Locke explains to her that Edgar only pretends to side with the Empire, and that Locke is Edgar's contact to a secret resistance group called "The Returners." This is still a lot for Terra, who barely remembers her own name, and only knows that she was an Imperial Soldier while she was being mind-controlled. Locke tells her she'll figure it out, and I think everyone goes to bed.

Edgar is awakened either the next day or later that afternoon by the Empire attacking his castle (you can tell because the castle is on fire.) Kefka appears and makes another demand for the girl. Edgar responds that he "has no choice." He whistles for some chocobos, jumps off the castle onto one, loops around so that Locke and Terra can also jump off of the castle onto the remaining chocobos, and takes off. This is objectively a Cool Moment. Just as I am getting concerned about the King abandoning the people in his castle to the Empire, the castle goes into "Submarine Mode" and submerges itself protectively in the desert. +1 Cool Point for Edgar, and +3 Technology Points for Figaro Castle.

*I made this a gif to properly capture the Cool Factor(tm)*

Some soldiers in mech suits catch up with the trio on their chocobos. Terra is up first and since I'm guessing regular physical attacks aren't going to be great against mechs, I opt to use her fire attack. This results in a neat cutscene on the battlefield where Locke and Edgar are stunned by seeing Terra do real magic. This was actually a pretty cute interlude, and I really liked how they were able to emote this scene. After defeating the soldiers the party makes their daring escape, and we get a bunch of exposition while they ride away on their chocobos. This is also really cool! Plot exposition feels better while everyone is riding a chocobo, I think.