My Favorite and Least Favorite Things in Final Fantasy VI

Plot and Setting

• Favorite main quest: I loved the whole Opera House quest, especially the opera itself and the scene where the Returners win Setzer's support and the Blackjack using that two-headed coin.
• Favorite side quest: Although I'm not sure whether it really counts as a quest since it didn't involve much gameplay, I loved the optional cutscenes where Sabin and co. prepare Gau to meet his father. I find it touching how invested they are (especially his adoptive dad Sabin) in trying to teach Gau how to make a good impression, even if their efforts didn't pay off when Gau's biological father didn't recognize him (not that it bothered Gau, who was just happy to see him alive). I like to think that, at some point after the events of the game, their efforts paid off in some way, with Gau using the etiquette they taught him to move up in the world and make a name for himself. The scenes also show that, even though the world is half-destroyed and even though the despot in charge is finding pleasure in destroying things and people for the hell of it, life still goes on and people still do ordinary everyday things like shop for clothes and visit their families. When I played through those scenes in January 2025, they gave me hope that I would still be able to find joy and normalcy in our own "World of Ruin," and they still do as of the day I uploaded this page (9/1/25).
• Least favorite side quest: While I didn't hate the quest overall, I felt like my party members were trapped in Cayenne's dream for way too long. The quest just dragged on...and on...and on...
• Favorite town: Jidoor, which quickly became my favorite place to restock my items. I also loved visiting the auction house. Zozo's layout is super cool with all the high-rises and secret doors, but I really wish that most of the people there would have stopped trying to kill me after the world fell into ruin.
• Favorite optional dungeon: The Zone Eater was delightfully weird and creepy. I loved it.
• Least favorite optional dungeon: I did not enjoy having to collect coral for that hungry chest in the cave north of Thamasa. Feeding a hungry chest is a cute idea in theory and the idea of switches that sent my party members to random parts of the cave was really creative, but the execution IMO was poor because of how much coral the chest demanded.
• Biggest disappointment: The scene where Relm tells Strago to leave the Cult of Kefka and he immediately obeys, as though nothing was keeping him in the cult besides loneliness and maybe boredom. The scene itself was funny (I particularly love Strago's "bless your heart"), but I was hoping to learn what had compelled Strago to join a cult dedicated to a man he saw slaughter espers in his village in the first place. It really is a pity in a series where the characters' psychology is otherwise usually very realistic.

Characters

• Favorite character overall: Kefka! God, I love Kefka as a villain so much it isn't funny!
• Favorite protagonist (as a character): Toss-up between Setzer, Celes, and Edgar. I'm also very fond of Sabin, although I find Setzer and Edgar far more physically attractive.
• Least favorite protagonist (as a character): Gogo (if they count, being a secret character unimportant to the plot). What even is their backstory? Will we ever even find out how they ended up in the belly of the Zone Eater?
• Favorite protagonist (to play): I love using Setzer's slots and have used him in so many quests that he's super OP compared to most of my other party members. He's also eye candy, even in his sprite form, which makes me enjoy playing as him even more. (I can only imagine how gorgeous he would be in an FF6 remake: I imagine him looking a lot like Sephiroth, but with brown/violet eyes and a scarred face with a slightly more chiseled jawline. *sigh* Just, please, no awful hedgehog hair like his redesign in Kingdom Hearts II! That redesign is so awful, and I don't like the way they turned him into a villain either!) Gau is probably my second favorite to play because of all the different attacks he can learn; I like collecting them like I collected Enemy Skills (which I loved) in FF7. Gau get stronger on Veldt, all time! Third favorite to play would be Strago, again because of the whole Enemy Skill thing (or, rather, Lore/Blue Magic).
• Least favorite protagonist (to play): I like Locke just fine as a character, but I do not enjoy using him in battle. In my experience, his Steal/Mug command is hardly ever worth using, and his attacks are weak. My second least favorite character to play as is Mog, mostly because he tends to stumble and doesn't have much attack power even when he dances without stumbling. When I played Kefka's Tower, I left Mog on the airship, because I found his Dance command so disappointing.
• Least favorite character: The owner of the Coliseum pisses me off for being a nauseating Kefka-leghumper, but, at the same time, I almost like him as a character (key word: almost), because he shows that Kefka has supporters in the World of Ruin, averting the Zero Percent Approval Rating cliché that's so common for villains.
• Least favorite name: I do not like the name Cyan. It doesn't suit the character, being the name of a shade of blue that doesn't exactly scream badass. What makes the name even worse is that they changed it from his name in the original Japanese, Cayenne, which is infinitely cooler. They changed his namesake from a hot pepper to a wimpy shade of blue. Make it make sense!
• Favorite alternate names for protagonists: Darius for Cyan (after the Big Warrior from The Cat's Meow, a hilariously bad fantasy novel I read back in 2019 that, sadly, is no longer available) and Rhaegar for Edgar (I have nothing against the name Edgar, but felt that Rhaegar suited him better). Next time I play, I will probably name Cyan Cayenne, now that I know that's his original name. Also, although I'm not sure it counts as a name change, I called Shadow "The Shadow," because I thought it sounded cooler and I'm always looking for an excuse to make a Blackadder reference. (While I'm aware that the character of The Shadow predates Blackadder by several decades, I associate them with the Blackadder episode "Amy and Amiability.")
• Best fashion sense: Setzer, without a doubt! That coat of his is only slightly less gorgeous than all that flowing silver hair. I decided that, after my hair starts coming in gray at the roots, I'm going to dye the rest of it silver to match and become a real-life Setzer cosplayer (though probably minus the scars, unless I'm doing a photoshoot or something as Setzer). I like how his style is clearly influenced by the way the noblemen in Jidoor dress, but with his own spin on it. (Also, is that black lipstick or purple? Either way, it looks good on him.)
• Worst fashion sense: Dr. Cid. WTF is he wearing? Is that a raincoat, a hazmat suit, a candy corn costume, or something else entirely? Whatever it is, I hate it.
• Funniest NPCs: That filthy-rich dad in Jidoor with his little spoiled brat who wants everything. I visited the auction house all the time, and I swear that, at approximately 45 hours into the game, that little shit must have had a talking chocobo, five robotic imps, and about a dozen model airships taking up an entire wing of his family's mansion. The dad always tells the boy not to tell his mother, but he can't keep the millions of gil he's blown on expensive toys secret forever. Most people hate the two of them, but I find them hilarious.
• Favorite Kefka line from the World of Balance: The part where he insulted Emperor Gestahl right after killing him ("Well, I guess I was a bit hasty in calling you a useless old man before... NOW you're useless!") chilled me to the bone. While I already knew that Kefka was no buffoon despite his appearance, that line underscored for me how evil and depraved he was and how he had no respect for anyone (rather like a certain real-life head of state who acts a lot like him and looks only slightly less ridiculous). Second place would be his gloating when he poisons Doma's water supply, "Nothing beats the sweet music of hundreds of voices screaming in unison!" (Also reminiscent of the aforementioned person. You can't tell me that thoughts like that haven't also crossed his mind.)
• Favorite character to write dialogue for: Kefka, followed by Gau.

Gameplay

• Favorite enemy: The Tyrannosaurs, because of all the experience points you get when you defeat them. (Now, if only I could have gotten Gau to learn Tyrannosaur rage. I tried to get him to learn it on the Veldt, but, for some reason, it didn't show up in his list of rages afterwards.)
• Least favorite enemy: Typhon! I've tried repeatedly to battle him at the Coliseum, but he always uses Snort to blow me away before I even get the chance to attack.
• Favorite tool: The chainsaw! I'm so glad I looked up what time to set the clock in Zozo to, or else I would have struggled so much more with so many battles.
• Least favorite tool: The noiseblaster. I could never get it to do anything to anyone.
• Favorite rage: Stray Cat! Mrrreeeeooooww! Gau look cute and tear up enemies with claws! Gau also love Holy Dragon rage! Shoot lots of Holy beams at enemies! Uwaooooo!
• Favorite Lore: Grand Delta! As soon as Strago learned it, I started having him use it on everything, much like I did after Tifa and Red XIII learned its FF7 equivalent, Trine, in my second playthrough of that game.
• Dumbest gameplay mistake: Letting Shadow die. I still don't know how I screwed up so badly with him. Letting him die also made the Coliseum completrely unplayable; no matter what I bet or which party member I chose, I always ended up fighting against Typhon, and he blew me out of the arena every time.
• Second dumbest gameplay mistake: Taking Umaro with me to train Gau on the Veldt. Stupid yeti kept attacking my boy and scaring him away.

Fandom

• Favorite canon pairing: I like both Locke/Celes and Daryl/Setzer.
• Least favorite canon pairing: Locke/Rachel, especially the way he was having that dodgy old guy watch over her in that basement. Very creepy. I was relieved when he finally moved on and started reciprocating Celes' love.
• Favorite non-canon pairing: Edgar/Setzer, mostly because I think they're both hot and would be even hotter together. I also ship Relm with Gau, because I think that their personalities complement each other well and I can see them staying close after the events of the game and getting together as teens/adults.
• Least favorite non-canon pairing: Edgar/Relm. She's ten! Leave her alone! Enough said. I also think that Sabin/Gau is a rather disturbing perversion of the adoptive father/son relationship they have in canon. (I don't ship Sabin with anyone, mostly because I've headcanoned him as having taken a vow of celibacy as a monk.)

Miscellaneous

• Favorite music: Toss-up between Celes' theme and all the tunes associated with Kefka. I also love "Kids Running Through the City," which I find very calming. It perfectly captures the relief of reaching a peaceful town or other safe place after getting torn apart in the overworld.
• Least favorite music: I felt like "Techno de Chocobo" was completely unfitting for the game. IMO, FF6 and techno don't mix.