Characters of Final Fantasy VI - Reception and Legacy

Reception and Legacy

In its review of the Game Boy Advance release, IGN says Final Fantasy VI's "cast of characters is huge and varied, and though several of them do draw from traditional RPG archetypes, this was the game that helped define those archetypes in the first place." In the Gamespy review of the Game Boy Advance Version, it is said that "the large cast of characters, that is one of this game's hallmarks, is most impressive because of their individuality, both from a story and from a gameplay perspective, as well as the amount of effort that was put in to exploring their personalities, motivations, and histories." Nintendo Power described the characters as some of the more memorable Final Fantasy protagonists ever, citing the ending's great character moments.

Several characters from the game have received stand-alone praise, such as Kefka who has been repeatedly named one of the franchise's greatest villains. In 2008, IGN placed him sixth on their list of the "Top 25 Final Fantasy Characters" with similar sentiments, but also included several other characters from Final Fantasy VI on the list. Ultros, who placed twenty-fourth, was praised for bringing "much needed" comic relief for the title, described as being augmented by Ted Woolsey's translation for the North American localization. Celes placed fourteenth, and was stated as providing one of the greatest memorable scenes and musical pieces in the game through the impromptu opera scene. Setzer placed twelfth, described as having "that most crucial of qualities in a hero, an unshakable sense of humor", as well as introducing the Gambler job class that would appear in later titles in the series. Nintendo Power listed Shadow as one of the best ninjas on Nintendo consoles. In an article on Dissidia Final Fantasy, IGN editor Ryan Clements called Terra one of the most recognizable and well-loved characters to join the army of Cosmos. In another poll the same year, eight of the characters–Locke, Edgar, Celes, Setzer, Terra, Shadow, Sabin, and Relm–were named among the fifteen most popular characters in the Final Fantasy series.