Time Stamps for this monster of a video Intro - 0:00 2:09 Part I - A Crowded Market 11:00 Part II - Edited for Content 17:02 TV Commercial 18:27 Part III - Balance FF6 Early Analysis - 20:06 21:31 Opening Hour (Narshe/Fígaro) 24:52 Setting & World Building 27:04 South Figaro/Jidoor/Zozo 29:02 Visual Design Characters Intros - 30:18 30:48 Locke 35:40 Edgar & Sabin 42:24 Shadow 45:07 Cyan 50:35 Gau 52:57 Celes 55:39 Setzer 59:41 Mog 1:01:11 Strago & Relm 1:06:14 Terra Game Mechanics 1:16:00 Espers 1:19:24 Multiple Parties 1:22:09 “Job” system 1:30:40 Spellcasting and Other Features 1:33:26 “Difficulty” Presentation and Artistic Direction 1:34:03 Magitech Facility 1:35:22 Overall Presentation & Mode 7 1:37:48 Music Overview 1:42:44 Leitmotif 1:51:24 Opera House & Celes 2:06:06 Star Wars References 2:09:15 Evil Empires & Imperial Japan In-Game Story Analysis 2:23:40 Ghestal’s Empire - Kefka, Leo, Vector, Sealed Gate, Themasa 2:43:20 Floating Continent, Gestahl’s Fate, World’s End 2:56:45 Part IV - Ruin 3:07:51 The New World 3:18:50 Recruiting Old Friends I’ll finish this tonight when I can watch the rest
Someone else mentioned this but it's massively appreciated how, like the others in the video series, this isn't simply a laborious beat-for-beat recap of the plot. This is already one of the highest quality retrospective series on this platform, and it's only getting better. Getting ahead of myself but I cannot fucking wait for the FF9 video.
A retrospective that truly does this masterpiece of a game justice, very well done. 20 years ago, I felt like FF6 was an overlooked game in the franchise, especially when compared to FF7; the only way to really communicate back then with strangers was over IRC chats and message boards, and the FF7 fanfare was always the loudest. Now that we have social media and UA-cam, I believe that FF6 is finally getting the respect that it deserves as the true pinnacle of Final Fantasy.
I think at this point, it's mostly accepted that Final Fantasy VI is the better game, though FFVII is also great. I don't think it's that recent of a development. I'd say that's been the prevailing view for at least a decade. You are right that FFVII had the largest contingent of supporters for a while, but I think that was because it was the first Final Fantasy game for many, maybe even the first RPG. Many of those people have played VI now and recognize it for the masterpiece that it is.
@@gerald216 I think this is a common experience for many gamers, myself included. I played VII first and then probably VIII and IX before I finally played VI, which became my favorite video game of all time. At this point, VII is only my fourth-favorite game in the series behind VI, X and IX in that order. VII is still a great game, though.
@@bigbuffguy9589 I agree that it isn't a recent development; VI has been firmly entrenched as the better game for awhile among RPG fans, but I still remember the early 2000s on sites such as Game FAQs, where VII completely overshadowed pretty much every other RPG in existence. Part of this was due to SE's poor market research and inability to recognize just how popular games like FF6 and Chrono Trigger were, especially in the west, so they continued to feed more and more FF7 content while being ignorant of this. I also think FF7 is a very good game overall, although I will admit that it took years for me to actually come to this conclusion due to its overhype tainting how I viewed it.
Truly my simple point of view is every FF has a different flavor to them, people have all different preferences at the end and I come to the conclusion this "best FF" discussion are honnestly kinda futile, they all offer a different experience, and were made with different ambitions and goals, and resonate with different people for different reasons.
The more I hear about Woosely's workload and insane deadlines, the more I respect and appreciate Woosely's work no matter how quarky it can be. Especially considering the technology at the time.
If your previous videos marked your place as part of the Mount Rushmore of Final Fantasy retrospectives, then after this video, you may have shattered expectations and became Mount Everest.
Celes's theme during the bridge scene with Locke made me absolutely fall in love with Nobuo as a composer. The whole relationship with she and Locke leading up to that scene... The music starts to build and you're expecting this epic synth string version and it just goes into a light music box rendition... You can FEEL their pain, their love blossoming for one another... It was... Perfect.
And it broke the relationship, even if it wasn't for that long. The relationship was temporarily shattered, which was something I had never seen before as a kid in a game. It wasn't just Celes who didn't talk to Locke, but after that, on the ship, when she tries to talk to him, he just leaves without a word to her, leaving Terra to watch her collapse in sorrow. This is one of Terra's introductions to the concept of love, and you can see that she just doesn't know what to do before she runs off after Locke. It was so poignant. This whole game is amazing
For whatever it's worth, Cid's description of what the other survivors did at the cliff in the original SNES localization really reads to me more like Cid himself awkwardly, broken-heartedly dancing around the matter with euphemisms rather than being upfront about it. Everything else about the scenes on the solitary island is so crystal clear about the situation that I find it difficult to believe Woolsey seriously expected Western audiences not to get what was really going out there even with the restrictions foist upon him.
As a kid I thought Cid was being sarcastic in a futile attempt to cheer things up. Like it's clear Woosley couldn't mention suicide during 90s Nintendo guidelines.
This is how I took it as a kid too. Almost making it sarkastically seem like 'the leap of faith' just took the sting out of what people were actually doing. I figured it was toned down, and at the time, had no idea why. I thought it was well done.
1:12:25 I once heard of a suggestion that Celes and Tina may be named after the 1499 Spanish fictional work "Celestina" which came out during the end of the medieval era and beginning of the Renaissance (or modernity) in Spain, tying in with the game's setting.
Currently designing an RPG for the first time, been using this video as background noise, especially since Final Fantasy 6 is my main source of inspiration for my project. I doubt you'll read this, but thanks for giving me something to use while I work, it's a great retrospective!
Looking back on Edgar’s story makes me wonder if he was in some way based on Louis XVI, the last monarch of France. Like Edgar, Louis had a brother who was meant for the throne, but he wound up inheriting it after his brother died. Louis was also intensely interested in mechanics, and locksmithing was a hobby of his, sometimes to the detriment of his kingdom. During the Revolution, Louis had difficulty balancing his allegiances, at times signaling to the commoners that he was with them while also trying to get help from other monarchs to put down the rebellion in France, which eventually cost him his head. Obviously Edgar came out the other end of his rebellion better than Louis did, but the similarities are interesting to consider.
Absolutely amazing video! Tell me you're a historian, an English major and video game in your own words. Thank you for the memories and astonishing video. I'm so happy you were able to include the original music.
I played FFIII and FFIV as a kid, and just recently decided to make a marathon from I to X to see what I miss, and relive some childhood nostalgia. Watching your retrospectives after finishing the games gives me a sense of closure. You manage to offer so many new insights and background knowledge to what I just experienced, and it's an absolute treat. I finished FFVI two weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to this 5 hour journey
i am not even an RPG fan , but your final fantasy retrospectives are one of my favorite retrospectives ever i enjoyed this videos so much that now i want to give this series another shot , maybe with this new found respect that i have for this franchise thanks to you , now this genre can click with me this time that shows how amazing your contents are 👍
Locke's obsession in wanting to protect a loved one and his guilt in failing to do that are like, the things that explicitly make Locke an interesting and likable character. Without those he's a one dimensional nothing I can't imagine someone saying he's a creep or START to not like him because of the things that make him a character at all.
Yeah, it’s the only part of the retrospective I didn’t like. And it kinda surprised me he saying that because even when he says opinions that not every person will agree he will always say that it’s open to interpretation but this time he just said it casually and never touched it again except for brief mentions here and there
So glad you gave "Distant Worlds" a shout-out. I attended a 2010 concert and had a cathartic moment listening to "Aria di Mezzo Carattere," as I was reminded of playing the original SNES version with my Dad helping me. I still have the first two albums saved in my music collection. Great video - the care and detail was amazing.
I find out about this channel thanks to your FFV Retrospective and I have watched all of them now. You are doing an amazing job and you should be proud of the result.
Thank you for making these. You've done an amazing job at helping me relive my favorite games and feel all the same emotions as you talk us through them. You're the best
@@johnle231 That's not what that means. The sin refers to claiming that you're acting on God's behalf or with His blessing when you're actually doing evil. Killing and saying you're doing it for Him, saying that people should give you money for His sake when you're using it to add to your mansion, etc.
I'm so happy we got a conclusion to Sakaguchi's Jump arc. Wonderful video, I learned so much about this game I thought I already knew almost everything about. 6 is my favorite of the mainline series, and Terra is one of my favorite game characters ever, and you did them justice. Really wanna replay the game now 😅
Great video! When you talked about the theme of the airship in the World of Ruin, it would of been neat that each party member you got back/recruited added an extra instrument to the song as if you're building up hope itself.
That would have been cool, and totally doable considering the way music worked on the SNES. They wouldn't have had to store separate music tracks (which would have taken up a ton of valuable memory). The sound chip wove instrument samples into compositions in real time, so turning instruments on and off would only have required a fairly simple line of code.
After sitting for this for 5 hours broken up over many days of watching parts at a time, the last 25 seconds of this gave me goosebumps. If there was a way to like this video twice I would. Thanks for doing so much work in honoring one of the best games and epic stories of all time.
I think my favorite part about these videos is that even after a -thorough- review of the original versions, you still get a comprehensive examination of available ports. That's the cherry on top and it really helps when deciding which version to play.
It is criminal that this only has 24 likes so far. The amount of work that you have put into this is astounding. Personally, I could have listened to you expound on the history of Japan for hours. If only my old teachers could have captured my attention like you did, I would have gotten an A in all my history lessons.
Fantastic retrospective! Unlike those I've watched in the past, you've included related history in detail! Additionally, you site your sources as you go. Thank you so much for that! This alone must have been a monumental effort to create! Thank you!
I'm so glad this is finally out!! This is my favorite in the series and one of my all time favorite games. Thank you Andrew for all the work you put in to make these retrospective videos.
1:05:00 while there isn't any more dialogue between Relm and Shadow, there is dialogue between Strago and Shadow if he is with you when Strago joins your party at the cultist tower. Within which Strago recognizes Shadow, but quickly puts two and two together that Relm does not know and wordlessly agrees to keep the secret.
Absolutely incredible. I was super excited for this retrospective!- and as expected had to hold back tears of nostalgia lol... Crazy that you alluded to Chrono trigger at the end, seriously can't wait for the next one!!
As good i think ff7 was, THIS game beats it in many ways, call it nostalgic, it was so well done with all the small subtle hidden gems. Great call back and amazing recap.
This video is exceptional. Likely the best video, article or essay I have seen on Final Fantasy 6 anywhere on the internet . Congrats man, you somehow made me love this game even more through your expert analysis
Again, superb work on these retrospectives. Your retrospective videos for Final Fantasy are easily the best in UA-cam in my opinion. VERY excited for the Chrono Trigger retrospective! Thanks for your amazing work and here I'll be waiting for a 10 hours video for Chrono Trigger retrospective haha. Saludos from Monterrey, Mexico!
Thank you so much for this and your other retrospectives of the series you've covered thus far. This was the first of the retrospectives I watched and I then had to immediately go and watch the others you had posted. Absolutely amazing monumental level of work and I can't wait to see the inevitable 7 hour Final Fantasy VII review. (I'M KIDDING--DON'T ACTUALLY FORCE YOURSELF TO DO THAT LONG)
"Jumping off the cliff was a good way to raise ones spirits." I mean yeah it'll definitely do that. Fucking sick video btw. Love this game to death and having this in the ears at work has been a godsend.
You always crush it with these retrospectives! Best videos on youtube, dude! I'm gearing up to run through all the pixel remasters again and already planned out my parties for them... lol. I really appreciate all the details you pack into these and although the videos all have a long run time, they never seem long enough!
Ive been waiting for this eagerly and cannot word my admiration to the standard you continually raise with each subsequent release in this series and this is my personal favourite jrpg.
Five hour retrospective on a game I've never played? I know what my Thanksgiving plans are now. Thanks for your hard work putting this together, can't wait
Gotta respect the channel... It has only been roughly a year since this channel popped up, and this channel has already amassed 11.4K subscribers, as well as 98K views (with a month!) on this video alone!!! Feel like we should be sending more love... 9 out of 10 of you should be tickling the bell. :p Do it for Terra!
This was amazing. I have watched all of the retrospectives up to this point just waiting patiently for you to reach it and the wait was so worth it. As for many here this was my favorite FF game despite all of its flaws Amazing job you get a standing slow clap my good sir.
I've only seen the first of these 6, but once I get around to finishing the games, I'm coming back to watch these masterpieces. Just coming by to drop a like and comment for that sweet algorithm engagement
I'm blanking on when it happened, but as of posting this comment it's key to note that the Pixel Remasters on Steam have been updated to now match the feature parity with the console versions. In addition to that, the Steam releases have been consistently getting patched to fix bugs or visual glitches like screen tearing. One interesting thing to note is how some games have even had the character sprites touched up to be less overly saturated, this is especially seen when comparing Terra's sprites from launch to now.
Took me 3 days to watch it but it was totally worth it. This video was amazing, educational, and entertaining. It gave me a deeper appreciation for most of the characters of the game. I even found myself crying at certain parts, looking back at that moment ingame and appreciating it even more. the quality of your work does not reflect your subscriber count. You should be numbering in the hundreds of thousands I swear.
4:54:50 I thought that was weird too at first, but Setzer pointing at Roxas before exiting with an affirming look made me think that it test for him lul Great vid btw! I found your channel when looking up Stranger of Paradise dev interviews of all things and man this series must be daunting
Took me 4 days to finish it but well worth the time. Thank you for your retrospective on my FAVORITE Final Fantasy and one of my top ten favorite games ever. I learned a few things along the way and the fanboy in me feels you showed the love this game deserves.
The dichotomy between Terra and Celes is so interesting, I never really noticed the parallels between Terra waking up in the first half of the game and Celes waking up in the second half of the game. The contrast in their names being of to earth and sky/heaven is something I never really noted either. I always juggled between Terra and Celes being the main character of the game, but the careful attention to them being foils to one another kind of cements both of them playing major parts to the overall themes and progression of story. I also always associated the Empire with Nazi Germany, but all the close comparisons to the Meiji Restoration from Doma representing the samurai of the Seinan War, Figaro representing Korea, down to the shape of the Southern continent is pretty striking. The attention to detail in this video is amazing, love all the citation to first hand accounts of the developers and the inclusion of their thoughts on certain characters, ideas, and cut content throughout. Learned a lot from it :) This is easily one of the best retrospectives of all time, well done!
I'm 30 minutes in and am finally starting up FF6 Pixel Remaster, thanks to you. Can't wait to dully appreciate this monumental effort you've put forth.
Well-researched and compellingly written and edited. I will say that I'm not sure why there's such a formalist fixation on the idea of quantifying characters with whether or not they have resolved character arcs (I find the discourse a work is engaging in to be more interesting than Campbell's outline being met for each and every member of our ensemble) --but that seems to just be where UA-cam literary criticism is right now. Very good work, one of the few UA-camrs I'm still interested in watching.
I hate to be that guy. But. This is one of the things that depends on which script you're reading. In the original Japanese script the old man from the basement describes Rachel as "remains" and says that they'll be "preserved just like that forever" due to the use of a potion he had on hand. Woolsey's localization flipped this detail into the implication that Rachel was revived but comatose. So in the original English localization, yes, she is meant to be comatose I think. I don't remember if Slattery preserved that detail. Other than that, I do agree. I don't think Locke is a creeper either way. Wanting to bring back a lost loved one is pretty human, the difference being magic _is confirmed to have been a thing_ in Locke's world. He has more reason than we would to believe there actually is a relic out there that can potentially undo death.
Considering that Fenix Down consistently brings back dead PCs over and over, I don't think that looking for a relic to bring back an NPC is creepy at all. And for someone to criticize a fantasy character looking for a relic to bring back the dead seems weird to me. The quest to bring a love back from death is quintessential to the fantasy genre, and it is the main theme of multiple myths throughout history and the world!! To say it's creepy is to denounce literally thousands of years of stories, plays, and poems from multiple cultures on multiple continents.
I am 30 hours into this game and almost done, I'll be sure to check it out once i'm done. thank you for making this. Edit: just beat the game, this video and the game are both so beautiful.
Fantastic video. Final Fantasy VI is my all time favorite game, and there were quite a few interesting things I learned from this video. Incredible work.
Oh boy, i just found the FF's retrospectives a couple of weeks ago and i'm diligently devouring them. The quality is astounding. Just went in and supported you on Patreon. Majestic work. PD: for some reasons, the timestamps aren't working on this one.
You came out of no where with these final fantasy retrospectives. I watched your ff4 video and I honestly didn't expect to see anymore. After I saw that it was you again with ff6, I honestly can't wait to see your videos on 10 and 12! Keep it up!
Thanks for this. Well-considered, thorough, and engaging, to the point where a segue into the history of imperial Japan isn't out of place. Growing up in the UK, I never experienced Final Fantasy until 7 - I went back to 6 a lot later on in the early 2000s. It felt staggering even then. Learning about the development and release history and having all of that information in one place is genuinely valuable. This series is obviously a labour of love and I've enjoyed and been educated and entertained by every video so far. Wishing you all the best for the next one, given the sheer amount of stuff to cover.
1:27:30 I remember Gau absolutely CARRYING my last run of the game, because he learned a Rage that could cast something of the same effect as *meteor*.
Time Stamps for this monster of a video
Intro - 0:00
2:09 Part I - A Crowded Market
11:00 Part II - Edited for Content
17:02 TV Commercial
18:27 Part III - Balance
FF6 Early Analysis - 20:06
21:31 Opening Hour (Narshe/Fígaro)
24:52 Setting & World Building
27:04 South Figaro/Jidoor/Zozo
29:02 Visual Design
Characters Intros - 30:18
30:48 Locke
35:40 Edgar & Sabin
42:24 Shadow
45:07 Cyan
50:35 Gau
52:57 Celes
55:39 Setzer
59:41 Mog
1:01:11 Strago & Relm
1:06:14 Terra
Game Mechanics
1:16:00 Espers
1:19:24 Multiple Parties
1:22:09 “Job” system
1:30:40 Spellcasting and Other Features
1:33:26 “Difficulty”
Presentation and Artistic Direction
1:34:03 Magitech Facility
1:35:22 Overall Presentation & Mode 7
1:37:48 Music Overview
1:42:44 Leitmotif
1:51:24 Opera House & Celes
2:06:06 Star Wars References
2:09:15 Evil Empires & Imperial Japan
In-Game Story Analysis
2:23:40 Ghestal’s Empire - Kefka, Leo, Vector, Sealed Gate, Themasa
2:43:20 Floating Continent, Gestahl’s Fate, World’s End
2:56:45 Part IV - Ruin
3:07:51 The New World
3:18:50 Recruiting Old Friends
I’ll finish this tonight when I can watch the rest
Time stamps are in the description. UA-cam's chapter feature is just really finnicky and inconsistent.
And he was never seen again
Literally lol
Someone else mentioned this but it's massively appreciated how, like the others in the video series, this isn't simply a laborious beat-for-beat recap of the plot. This is already one of the highest quality retrospective series on this platform, and it's only getting better.
Getting ahead of myself but I cannot fucking wait for the FF9 video.
Yeah, it's great after seeing so many "analysis" videos basically being very condensed Lets Plays.
I can't wait to see them all. I got my notifications on and everything.
It is the finest retrospective on the internet. You cannot prove me wrong.
FF9 fans can suck it
A retrospective that truly does this masterpiece of a game justice, very well done. 20 years ago, I felt like FF6 was an overlooked game in the franchise, especially when compared to FF7; the only way to really communicate back then with strangers was over IRC chats and message boards, and the FF7 fanfare was always the loudest. Now that we have social media and UA-cam, I believe that FF6 is finally getting the respect that it deserves as the true pinnacle of Final Fantasy.
I played 7 first but once I finally got around to playing 6 it became my favorite in the series.
I think at this point, it's mostly accepted that Final Fantasy VI is the better game, though FFVII is also great. I don't think it's that recent of a development. I'd say that's been the prevailing view for at least a decade. You are right that FFVII had the largest contingent of supporters for a while, but I think that was because it was the first Final Fantasy game for many, maybe even the first RPG. Many of those people have played VI now and recognize it for the masterpiece that it is.
@@gerald216 I think this is a common experience for many gamers, myself included. I played VII first and then probably VIII and IX before I finally played VI, which became my favorite video game of all time. At this point, VII is only my fourth-favorite game in the series behind VI, X and IX in that order. VII is still a great game, though.
@@bigbuffguy9589 I agree that it isn't a recent development; VI has been firmly entrenched as the better game for awhile among RPG fans, but I still remember the early 2000s on sites such as Game FAQs, where VII completely overshadowed pretty much every other RPG in existence. Part of this was due to SE's poor market research and inability to recognize just how popular games like FF6 and Chrono Trigger were, especially in the west, so they continued to feed more and more FF7 content while being ignorant of this.
I also think FF7 is a very good game overall, although I will admit that it took years for me to actually come to this conclusion due to its overhype tainting how I viewed it.
Truly my simple point of view is every FF has a different flavor to them, people have all different preferences at the end and I come to the conclusion this "best FF" discussion are honnestly kinda futile, they all offer a different experience, and were made with different ambitions and goals, and resonate with different people for different reasons.
The more I hear about Woosely's workload and insane deadlines, the more I respect and appreciate Woosely's work no matter how quarky it can be.
Especially considering the technology at the time.
i don't. i respect woolsey, he tried, but i don't respect his work. it's truly awful.
No it's not
@@mattb6616 Compare the localization of FFIV and FFVI, FFVI was a massive improvement.
@@mattb6616as Realm would say, "what a fuddy duddy" lol
@@mattb6616I'd like to see you manage what Woolsey did with the same circumstances.
If your previous videos marked your place as part of the Mount Rushmore of Final Fantasy retrospectives, then after this video, you may have shattered expectations and became Mount Everest.
100% agree!
Definitely a great Thanksgiving gift!
And Chrono Trigger will follow. How do you top Everest?
@@MegaMato Sky's the limit.
@@MegaMatoMount Fuji 😂 🤷🏻♂️
Celes's theme during the bridge scene with Locke made me absolutely fall in love with Nobuo as a composer. The whole relationship with she and Locke leading up to that scene... The music starts to build and you're expecting this epic synth string version and it just goes into a light music box rendition... You can FEEL their pain, their love blossoming for one another... It was... Perfect.
And it broke the relationship, even if it wasn't for that long. The relationship was temporarily shattered, which was something I had never seen before as a kid in a game. It wasn't just Celes who didn't talk to Locke, but after that, on the ship, when she tries to talk to him, he just leaves without a word to her, leaving Terra to watch her collapse in sorrow. This is one of Terra's introductions to the concept of love, and you can see that she just doesn't know what to do before she runs off after Locke.
It was so poignant. This whole game is amazing
For whatever it's worth, Cid's description of what the other survivors did at the cliff in the original SNES localization really reads to me more like Cid himself awkwardly, broken-heartedly dancing around the matter with euphemisms rather than being upfront about it. Everything else about the scenes on the solitary island is so crystal clear about the situation that I find it difficult to believe Woolsey seriously expected Western audiences not to get what was really going out there even with the restrictions foist upon him.
As a kid I thought Cid was being sarcastic in a futile attempt to cheer things up. Like it's clear Woosley couldn't mention suicide during 90s Nintendo guidelines.
This is how I took it as a kid too. Almost making it sarkastically seem like 'the leap of faith' just took the sting out of what people were actually doing. I figured it was toned down, and at the time, had no idea why. I thought it was well done.
Finally after half years of wait, another Retrospective is back!!
Final fantasy vi is one of the best game I have ever played.
1:12:25 I once heard of a suggestion that Celes and Tina may be named after the 1499 Spanish fictional work "Celestina" which came out during the end of the medieval era and beginning of the Renaissance (or modernity) in Spain, tying in with the game's setting.
LoL, nunca se me había ocurrido.
That seems unlikely? Probably just random western names that seem exotic to Japanese.
Currently designing an RPG for the first time, been using this video as background noise, especially since Final Fantasy 6 is my main source of inspiration for my project. I doubt you'll read this, but thanks for giving me something to use while I work, it's a great retrospective!
Looking back on Edgar’s story makes me wonder if he was in some way based on Louis XVI, the last monarch of France. Like Edgar, Louis had a brother who was meant for the throne, but he wound up inheriting it after his brother died. Louis was also intensely interested in mechanics, and locksmithing was a hobby of his, sometimes to the detriment of his kingdom. During the Revolution, Louis had difficulty balancing his allegiances, at times signaling to the commoners that he was with them while also trying to get help from other monarchs to put down the rebellion in France, which eventually cost him his head. Obviously Edgar came out the other end of his rebellion better than Louis did, but the similarities are interesting to consider.
Yeah but at least Edgar fucks
Absolutely amazing video! Tell me you're a historian, an English major and video game in your own words. Thank you for the memories and astonishing video. I'm so happy you were able to include the original music.
My gosh, this is amazing! I love it! ❤ Thanks for this masterpiece of retrospective!
I played FFIII and FFIV as a kid, and just recently decided to make a marathon from I to X to see what I miss, and relive some childhood nostalgia. Watching your retrospectives after finishing the games gives me a sense of closure. You manage to offer so many new insights and background knowledge to what I just experienced, and it's an absolute treat. I finished FFVI two weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to this 5 hour journey
Thank you for such a diligent and comprehensive look at the game. You're doing great work here. Keep it up!
-Prof. Greenberg
i am not even an RPG fan , but your final fantasy retrospectives are one of my favorite retrospectives ever
i enjoyed this videos so much that now i want to give this series another shot , maybe with this new found respect that i have for this franchise thanks to you , now this genre can click with me this time
that shows how amazing your contents are 👍
Locke's obsession in wanting to protect a loved one and his guilt in failing to do that are like, the things that explicitly make Locke an interesting and likable character. Without those he's a one dimensional nothing
I can't imagine someone saying he's a creep or START to not like him because of the things that make him a character at all.
Yeah, it’s the only part of the retrospective I didn’t like. And it kinda surprised me he saying that because even when he says opinions that not every person will agree he will always say that it’s open to interpretation but this time he just said it casually and never touched it again except for brief mentions here and there
So glad you gave "Distant Worlds" a shout-out. I attended a 2010 concert and had a cathartic moment listening to "Aria di Mezzo Carattere," as I was reminded of playing the original SNES version with my Dad helping me. I still have the first two albums saved in my music collection. Great video - the care and detail was amazing.
A 5 hour long retrospective of my favourite Final Fantasy! I’m only 2 hrs in and I had to stop to comment. Absolutely brilliant so far! Thank you!
Im obsessed with these, please keep going I can't wait to see you cover the whole series!
I find out about this channel thanks to your FFV Retrospective and I have watched all of them now. You are doing an amazing job and you should be proud of the result.
If retrospective videos for FF6 on UA-cam had a final boss, this would be it. Everybody else needs to pack it up and head out 😅
This man gets the Black Mages cover of Dancing Mad
But kefka was so weak
Somebody tell the Snorerunner this is how you make an FF6 video
nah clement did it better
Brave New World got mentioned: I'm happy enough.
Astounding job. Thank you for your hard work!
Thank you for making these. You've done an amazing job at helping me relive my favorite games and feel all the same emotions as you talk us through them. You're the best
Jesus fucking christ, I just watched a five hour you-tube video and was captivated for every minute. Grats!
Don’t say the Lords name in vain
@@johnle231 That's not what that means. The sin refers to claiming that you're acting on God's behalf or with His blessing when you're actually doing evil. Killing and saying you're doing it for Him, saying that people should give you money for His sake when you're using it to add to your mansion, etc.
@@thomasderosso5625 no. What you’re talking about would be using falsehood, not using Gods name in vain
@@johnle231 You are mistaken.
I'm so happy we got a conclusion to Sakaguchi's Jump arc. Wonderful video, I learned so much about this game I thought I already knew almost everything about. 6 is my favorite of the mainline series, and Terra is one of my favorite game characters ever, and you did them justice. Really wanna replay the game now 😅
Great content, thank you.
Great video! When you talked about the theme of the airship in the World of Ruin, it would of been neat that each party member you got back/recruited added an extra instrument to the song as if you're building up hope itself.
That would have been cool, and totally doable considering the way music worked on the SNES. They wouldn't have had to store separate music tracks (which would have taken up a ton of valuable memory). The sound chip wove instrument samples into compositions in real time, so turning instruments on and off would only have required a fairly simple line of code.
Great job, I really loved your analysis and the way the video is structured
After sitting for this for 5 hours broken up over many days of watching parts at a time, the last 25 seconds of this gave me goosebumps. If there was a way to like this video twice I would. Thanks for doing so much work in honoring one of the best games and epic stories of all time.
"My life is a chip in your pile. Ante up!" is still one of my favorite lines from anything ever. The BALLS.
I think my favorite part about these videos is that even after a -thorough- review of the original versions, you still get a comprehensive examination of available ports. That's the cherry on top and it really helps when deciding which version to play.
It is criminal that this only has 24 likes so far. The amount of work that you have put into this is astounding. Personally, I could have listened to you expound on the history of Japan for hours. If only my old teachers could have captured my attention like you did, I would have gotten an A in all my history lessons.
Another thing about Relm in the world of Ruin is that if Shadow is dead, she's the one laying unconscious in the cave where Shadow would have been.
Thank algorithm this was recommended.
I love these in depth retrospectives. Thanks for your hard work. :)
Fantastic as always! Thanks a lot for your hard work doing these amazing retrospectives! Looking forward for what you have in store for us!
Fantastic retrospective! Unlike those I've watched in the past, you've included related history in detail! Additionally, you site your sources as you go. Thank you so much for that! This alone must have been a monumental effort to create! Thank you!
I'm so glad this is finally out!! This is my favorite in the series and one of my all time favorite games. Thank you Andrew for all the work you put in to make these retrospective videos.
1:05:00 while there isn't any more dialogue between Relm and Shadow, there is dialogue between Strago and Shadow if he is with you when Strago joins your party at the cultist tower. Within which Strago recognizes Shadow, but quickly puts two and two together that Relm does not know and wordlessly agrees to keep the secret.
Just wow. This must’ve taken forever to put together. Thank you
Great job. I'm just in awe of the quality of these retrospectives.
Absolutely incredible. I was super excited for this retrospective!- and as expected had to hold back tears of nostalgia lol... Crazy that you alluded to Chrono trigger at the end, seriously can't wait for the next one!!
As good i think ff7 was, THIS game beats it in many ways, call it nostalgic, it was so well done with all the small subtle hidden gems. Great call back and amazing recap.
5 HOURS? Dude you're insane. I'm really looking forward to this, thankyou for all your hard work!
Two and a half hours in myself.... And yeah it's worth it to play this.
This video is exceptional. Likely the best video, article or essay I have seen on Final Fantasy 6 anywhere on the internet . Congrats man, you somehow made me love this game even more through your expert analysis
Your work on this series is trully outstanding dude, huge congrats
Again, superb work on these retrospectives. Your retrospective videos for Final Fantasy are easily the best in UA-cam in my opinion. VERY excited for the Chrono Trigger retrospective! Thanks for your amazing work and here I'll be waiting for a 10 hours video for Chrono Trigger retrospective haha. Saludos from Monterrey, Mexico!
2:52:56 the result is not the same
you can leave shadow behind and you've lost him as a playable character forever if you hop on the Airship
Thank you so much for this and your other retrospectives of the series you've covered thus far. This was the first of the retrospectives I watched and I then had to immediately go and watch the others you had posted. Absolutely amazing monumental level of work and I can't wait to see the inevitable 7 hour Final Fantasy VII review. (I'M KIDDING--DON'T ACTUALLY FORCE YOURSELF TO DO THAT LONG)
These retrospectives are phenomenal, thank you for your work!!
Leaving this comment here so the video gets recommended to more people by the algorithm. You channel is criminally underrated and needs to be noticed!
I also agree, this guy not being hyped up more is criminally underated! He talks my childhood.
Holy hell this video essay was amazingly well researched, structured and presented.
Been anticipating this for so long. Your content is incredible. Thanks for all the hard work you put into these.
Listening to you talk about my favorite game of all time for five hours has moved me to tears. You my friend have gained a subscriber.
Amazing stuff, Andrew. I am an hour in and loving it! One of my top 3 games of all time and your retrospectives are the best.
"Jumping off the cliff was a good way to raise ones spirits."
I mean yeah it'll definitely do that.
Fucking sick video btw. Love this game to death and having this in the ears at work has been a godsend.
Man if this was 5 hours of awesome deep diving, I am really looking forward to the Final Fantasy VII video
What an AMAZING retrospective! And that post credits scene 😭
One of my favorite games of all time. So glad this is finally out, thanks for all the hard work!
You always crush it with these retrospectives! Best videos on youtube, dude! I'm gearing up to run through all the pixel remasters again and already planned out my parties for them... lol. I really appreciate all the details you pack into these and although the videos all have a long run time, they never seem long enough!
Ive been waiting for this eagerly and cannot word my admiration to the standard you continually raise with each subsequent release in this series and this is my personal favourite jrpg.
Five hour retrospective on a game I've never played? I know what my Thanksgiving plans are now. Thanks for your hard work putting this together, can't wait
I hope this video inspires you to give it a try.
Gotta respect the channel...
It has only been roughly a year since this channel popped up, and this channel has already amassed 11.4K subscribers, as well as 98K views (with a month!) on this video alone!!!
Feel like we should be sending more love...
9 out of 10 of you should be tickling the bell. :p
Do it for Terra!
This was amazing. I have watched all of the retrospectives up to this point just waiting patiently for you to reach it and the wait was so worth it.
As for many here this was my favorite FF game despite all of its flaws
Amazing job you get a standing slow clap my good sir.
Content like this is what UA-cam was made for. Great job dude this is a land mark video you should be proud of.
I've only seen the first of these 6, but once I get around to finishing the games, I'm coming back to watch these masterpieces. Just coming by to drop a like and comment for that sweet algorithm engagement
Been waiting for this, great Retrospective. The longer the better. Excited to see VII
I'm blanking on when it happened, but as of posting this comment it's key to note that the Pixel Remasters on Steam have been updated to now match the feature parity with the console versions. In addition to that, the Steam releases have been consistently getting patched to fix bugs or visual glitches like screen tearing. One interesting thing to note is how some games have even had the character sprites touched up to be less overly saturated, this is especially seen when comparing Terra's sprites from launch to now.
Fantastic analysis on this, my favorite game of all time. Thank you so much!
Andrew, this is retrospective is an absolute masterpiece. Thank you for the history, and the memories.
This made my holiday week! Can't wait to dive in.
Took me 3 days to watch it but it was totally worth it. This video was amazing, educational, and entertaining. It gave me a deeper appreciation for most of the characters of the game. I even found myself crying at certain parts, looking back at that moment ingame and appreciating it even more. the quality of your work does not reflect your subscriber count. You should be numbering in the hundreds of thousands I swear.
This might be the best scripted video I’ve ever seen. My favorite game. And I learned so much. Thanks for this!
4:54:50 I thought that was weird too at first, but Setzer pointing at Roxas before exiting with an affirming look made me think that it test for him lul
Great vid btw! I found your channel when looking up Stranger of Paradise dev interviews of all things and man this series must be daunting
Took me 4 days to finish it but well worth the time. Thank you for your retrospective on my FAVORITE Final Fantasy and one of my top ten favorite games ever. I learned a few things along the way and the fanboy in me feels you showed the love this game deserves.
Great videos, been waiting especially for this one! Thanks for all your work on your great videos!
The dichotomy between Terra and Celes is so interesting, I never really noticed the parallels between Terra waking up in the first half of the game and Celes waking up in the second half of the game. The contrast in their names being of to earth and sky/heaven is something I never really noted either. I always juggled between Terra and Celes being the main character of the game, but the careful attention to them being foils to one another kind of cements both of them playing major parts to the overall themes and progression of story.
I also always associated the Empire with Nazi Germany, but all the close comparisons to the Meiji Restoration from Doma representing the samurai of the Seinan War, Figaro representing Korea, down to the shape of the Southern continent is pretty striking.
The attention to detail in this video is amazing, love all the citation to first hand accounts of the developers and the inclusion of their thoughts on certain characters, ideas, and cut content throughout. Learned a lot from it :)
This is easily one of the best retrospectives of all time, well done!
Just unreal man! So worth the wait! You’ve really outdone yourself! Eagerly awaiting the behemoth that is the ff7 retrospective!
I cant begin to express how much i appreciate your work. Thanks boss
Absolute unit of a video here. Very well done
You are actually insane dude. I'm taking a day off work just to watch this.
These videos are incredible achievements. Every time I watch them I am given a deeper appreciation of some of my favorite games.
I love how this is titled "The Final Fantasy VI Retrospective" and not "A Final Fantasy VI Retrospective".
Very fitting 👏
I'm 30 minutes in and am finally starting up FF6 Pixel Remaster, thanks to you. Can't wait to dully appreciate this monumental effort you've put forth.
Was this your first time playing ff6?
Well-researched and compellingly written and edited. I will say that I'm not sure why there's such a formalist fixation on the idea of quantifying characters with whether or not they have resolved character arcs (I find the discourse a work is engaging in to be more interesting than Campbell's outline being met for each and every member of our ensemble) --but that seems to just be where UA-cam literary criticism is right now. Very good work, one of the few UA-camrs I'm still interested in watching.
You're like that guy who does Doctor Who retrospectives very detailed and very much appreciated.
Locke isn't some creeper, keeping the corpse of his mom. He kept her body alive, basically comatose.
This dude has the worst takes, his FFV vid is unwatchable
I hate to be that guy. But.
This is one of the things that depends on which script you're reading.
In the original Japanese script the old man from the basement describes Rachel as "remains" and says that they'll be "preserved just like that forever" due to the use of a potion he had on hand.
Woolsey's localization flipped this detail into the implication that Rachel was revived but comatose.
So in the original English localization, yes, she is meant to be comatose I think. I don't remember if Slattery preserved that detail.
Other than that, I do agree. I don't think Locke is a creeper either way. Wanting to bring back a lost loved one is pretty human, the difference being magic _is confirmed to have been a thing_ in Locke's world. He has more reason than we would to believe there actually is a relic out there that can potentially undo death.
so hot
Considering that Fenix Down consistently brings back dead PCs over and over, I don't think that looking for a relic to bring back an NPC is creepy at all. And for someone to criticize a fantasy character looking for a relic to bring back the dead seems weird to me. The quest to bring a love back from death is quintessential to the fantasy genre, and it is the main theme of multiple myths throughout history and the world!! To say it's creepy is to denounce literally thousands of years of stories, plays, and poems from multiple cultures on multiple continents.
I am 30 hours into this game and almost done, I'll be sure to check it out once i'm done. thank you for making this. Edit: just beat the game, this video and the game are both so beautiful.
So excited by this notification, can't wait to make some time in my week to watch this!
Perfect recommendation within hours of upload? I'll take it. Awesome editing and analysis.
I believe that dancing mad and the closing track that weaves the 16 character themes together are uematsu's greatest work.
The Ending Theme for me, particularly the arrangement of Relm’s Theme.
5 HOURS DAMNNNNNNN. Im here for it!
Fantastic video. Final Fantasy VI is my all time favorite game, and there were quite a few interesting things I learned from this video. Incredible work.
Oh boy, i just found the FF's retrospectives a couple of weeks ago and i'm diligently devouring them. The quality is astounding. Just went in and supported you on Patreon. Majestic work.
PD: for some reasons, the timestamps aren't working on this one.
You came out of no where with these final fantasy retrospectives. I watched your ff4 video and I honestly didn't expect to see anymore. After I saw that it was you again with ff6, I honestly can't wait to see your videos on 10 and 12! Keep it up!
Thanks for this. Well-considered, thorough, and engaging, to the point where a segue into the history of imperial Japan isn't out of place. Growing up in the UK, I never experienced Final Fantasy until 7 - I went back to 6 a lot later on in the early 2000s. It felt staggering even then. Learning about the development and release history and having all of that information in one place is genuinely valuable.
This series is obviously a labour of love and I've enjoyed and been educated and entertained by every video so far. Wishing you all the best for the next one, given the sheer amount of stuff to cover.
1:27:30
I remember Gau absolutely CARRYING my last run of the game, because he learned a Rage that could cast something of the same effect as *meteor*.
You, and those who keep history, are held high in my heart. Thank you
This. Is amazing. Thank you for your hard work. This is my favorite game and I have learned SO much here
Five hours is a good start when talking about Final Fantasy VI.