History Recap / FinalFantasyVI

????? has been brought along because she can cast magic -- which makes her supremely unique: the Empire only has two other people who can do this. The game [[ChekhovsGun doesn't yet explain]] why the Esper is important, but the Narshe citizens are dedicated to keeping their hands on it -- providing the opposition, and eventually the boss, of the game's NoobCave. Between the PurposefullyOverpowered Magitek Armor and ?????'s Cure spell, the trio win through... but when they reach the Esper, "Tritoch," it begins to communicate with ?????. The hapless Vicks and Wedge are vaporized, and ????? blown clear of her Magitek Armor.

The party travel to the town of South Figaro and then through Mt. Koltz, which will take them to the Returners' base. On the way, they encounter Vargas, a martial artist and son of the famed master Duncan... who was snubbed in favor of a different disciple. That disciple, Sabin, joins the group after helping out in the boss fight. Sabin's unique skill is "Blitz," the first instance of a now-common ''Final Fantasy'' skill that requires FightingGame-style inputs but results in astonishing damage.

Locke, who [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl has a pattern]], frees her. Apparently, she [[TheLostLenore reminds him of someone]]. The two set out for Narshe, augmented by Celes' powers: not only is she the second of three human beings who can use magic (the third is Kefka), but she has the "Runic" power which allows her to {{counterspell}} one enemy ability.

Cyan attempts to lead a DecapitationStrike against the invading Imperials, giving him a chance to showcase his character class ({{Samurai}}), his skill ([=SwdTch=]" in the original SNES translation due to character limits; "Bushido" in other translations), which requires the player to [[AwesomeButImpractical sit there charging a meter]]; and his speech patterns, which are meant to be FloweryElizabethanEnglish to befit his character class but ended up being YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe on SNES, complete with an insistence on the word "thou."

Back in the camp, Sabin gets a look at General Leo, who actively dissuades his forces from wasting their lives StormingTheCastle. (Sabin reflects, "He could be my friend, if he weren't my enemy.") Unfortunately, he's recalled to the capitol, Vector, immediately. This leaves Kefka in charge, and he immediately goes forward with his plan to kill everyone by poisoning the castle's water supply. [[TheBadGuyWins It works]], and Cyan is forced to discover the corpses of his wife and son. He comes out for a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, and Sabin joins up with him so that the three can fight their way out.

Still, they need to travel quickly. This leads them to a nearby forest, where the Phantom Train has a station. Of course, as implied by its name, the Phantom Train is a bit unusual: in fact, it ferries the souls of the dead to the afterlife. This leads to a BossFight against the steam engine itself, during which Sabin may [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u84cH_bmTA suplex the train]]. (You may also use the ReviveKillsZombie trick on it, though this is substantially less entertaining.) The group then take a trip through the Baren Falls, fighting a bunch of monsters on the way down.

The party travel to the town of South Figaro and then through the South Figaro Cave, which will take them to the Returners' base. On the way, they encounter Vargas, a martial artist and son of the famed master Duncan... who was snubbed in favor of a different disciple. That disciple, Sabin, joins the group after helping out in the boss fight. Sabin's unique skill is "Blitz," the first instance of a now-common ''Final Fantasy'' skill that requires FightingGame-style inputs but results in astonishing damage.

Kefka sits at the top of the tower, a PhysicalGod lording over his hapless subjects. He is, in short, a nihilist, having embraced the idea that life is meaningless; after the party go through their heartwarming list of reasons for why they are fighting him, he responds, "You people make me sick! You sound like lines from a self-help book!" It should be pointed out that, in some ways, the game agrees with him: You don't fix the world, you don't undo the WorldSundering. You don't restore the World of Balance; you're only here to avenge it. But avenge it you will.

Kefka sits at the top of the tower, a PhysicalGod lording over his hapless subjects. He is, in short, a nihilist, having embraced the idea that life is meaningless. In some ways, the game agrees with him: You don't fix the world, you don't undo the WorldSundering. You don't restore the World of Balance; you're only here to avenge it. But avenge it you will.

* Terra says goodbye to Maduin one last time.

Terra leads the ''Falcon'' in her Esper form, flying ahead to guide the ship out. But as all magic fades for good and all, she loses her powers and begins to fall from the sky. But Setzer gets the ship below her and catches her, Katarin gives birth to her child and the Returners fly off into the sunset and a well-deserved ending screen.

In the cave to the north, Strago finds something astonishing: The Statues. The Espers made these statues -- Poltrgeist, Doom and Goddess -- to be the source of all magic, and currently they keep the world in balance. Ultros shows up to menace them, but the day is saved by -- of all people -- TagalongKid Relm, who insisted on following gramps around. They also encounter an Esper, Yura, who is apologetic over the Espers' conduct: apparently it's actually rather normal for Espers to lose control over their powers when they enter the human world (Terra has certainly had this problem), and the damage on the civilian population was not intentional. Yura leads the Espers back to Thamasa to discuss the matter with General Leo.

Alas, there's more to: the entire thing was a FalseFlagOperation to lure the Espers out in the open. Kefka and Gestahl arrive to start striking them down. For Leo, this is the last straw, and he is PromotedToPlayable in a short -- and [[KilledOffForReal unsuccessful]] -- attempt to stop Kefka. Undaunted, Kefka and Gestahl use the power of the Warring Triad to reshape the earth, raising an entire landmass into the sky.

* Whilst being recruited, Mog mentions that there's a {{Yeti}} around here somewhere. The party goes to the cliff where we last saw Tritoch (later translation: "Valigarmanda") and obtains it, which reveals the Yeti's Cave dungeon. In this cave they find yet another Magicite, Terrato (later translation: "Midgardsormr"), and are then attacked by the Yeti in question. DefeatMeansFriendship, and the yeti, '''Umaro''', joins. Umaro is a Berserker who cannot be directly controlled in combat, instead either striking with his Bone Club or doing a bodyslam move. If you equip him with special Relics, you can add a new move: the Blizzard Orb allows him to use Snowstorm, and the Berserker Ring allows him to FastballSpecial a random (and unprepared) party member.

Finally, it's time to take on Kefka's Tower. You can only approach it by landing the ''Falcon'' on top of it. The dungeon contains the final example of the game's "control three separate parties" theme, forcing you to split your group three ways. In addition to tons of other bosses, each team must eventually confront one of the three Warring Triad statues, destroying it.

Like any good FinalBoss, Kefka has crafted himself a CollapsingLair that the Returners must escape. Even more than that, Kefka had already absorbed the essence of the Warring Triad within himself. With his defeat, TheMagicGoesAway. One by one, the shards of Magicite owned by the party begin to evaporate. The same thing happens to Terra herself, who will drop in even if not recruited. The credits are dynamic, featuring a segment for each character you've recruited:

Terra leads the ''Falcon'' in her Esper form, flying ahead to guide the ship out. But as all magic fades for good and all, she loses her powers and begins to fall from the sky. But Setzer gets the ship below her and catches her, and the Returners fly off into the sunset and a well-deserved ending screen.

In the cave to the north, Strago finds something astonishing: The Warring Triad. The Espers made these statues -- Demon, Fiend and Goddess -- to be the source of all magic, and currently they keep the world in balance. Ultros shows up to menace them, but the day is saved by -- of all people -- TagalongKid Relm, who insisted on following gramps around. They also encounter an Esper, Yura, who is apologetic over the Espers' conduct: apparently it's actually rather normal for Espers to lose control over their powers when they enter the human world (Terra has certainly had this problem), and the damage on the civilian population was not intentional. Yura leads the Espers back to Thamasa to discuss the matter with General Leo.

Still, they need to travel quickly. This leads them to a nearby forest, where the Phantom Train has a station. Of course, as implied by its name, the Phantom Train is a bit unusual: in fact, it ferries the souls of the dead to the afterlife. This leads to a BossFight against the steam engine itself, during which Sabin may [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u84cH_bmTA suplex the train]]. (You may also use the ReviveKillsZombie trick on it, though this is substantially less entertaining.) The group then take a trip through the Baran Falls, fighting a bunch of monsters on the way down.

The party arrives at the Veldt, a huge plain that, for whatever reason, gives no ExperiencePoints. If Shadow has not already left the party by this time (which he may have done, as you pay for a certain amount of battles -- he'll remain with you through the entire Phantom Train and Baran Falls arc solely because it's not like he ''can'' leave), he will do so now. At the town of Mobliz, Sabin can buy some Dried Meat, which is good, because there's a party member out there to recruit:

To retrieve her, the party -- at this point you are allowed to choose any four of the six characters you currently control -- set out for Figaro Castle, which will be used to travel between deserts on different continents and get you closer to where you need to be. At the town of Kohlingen, which has the world's Coliseum, you can encounter Shadow, but you can't hire him if you have a full party, and he leaves when you reach Zozo anyway, so he might not be worth it. The party also have a chance to visit Jidoor, another important town because it has the world's Opera House, before reaching Zozo.

To aid the party, Ramuh offers up four pieces of Magicite: Kirin (teaches healing magic), Siren (teaches StatusEffects and KillItWithFire magic), Stray (teach StatusEffects; renamed "Cait Sith" in later translations of the game), and [[HeroicSacrifice himself]] (teaches ShockAndAwe magic).

Setzer flies the party to Vector, and Locke and Celes break into the Magitek Research Facility. There they find Kefka, happily draining Espers. The Espers show their disapproval by instead consigning their mortal remains to Celes; the team walks out with ''eight'' more shards of Magicite: [[AnIcePerson Shiva]], [[KillItWithFire Ifrit]], [[WhiteMage Unicorn]], Maduin (teaches ''all'' the level-2 spells; summons for non-elemental damage), [[StatusEffects Shoat]] (renamed "Catoblepas" in later releases), [[StatusEffects Phantom]], Carbuncle and Bismark. Alas, they are happened upon: first by Cid, the head researcher and one of Celes' mentors; and then by Kefka himself. Celes performs a HeroicSacrifice by surrendering to the Empire, allowing Locke, Cid and the remaining party members to escape.

Back in the camp, Sabin gets a look at General Leo, who actively dissuades his forces from wasting their lives StormingTheCastle. (Sabin reflects, "He could be my friend, if he weren't my enemy.") Unfortunately, he's recalled to the capitol, Vector, immediately. This leaves Kefka in charge, and he immediately goes forward with his plan to KillEmAll by poisoning the castle's water supply. [[TheBadGuyWins It works]], and Cyan is forced to discover the corpses of his wife and son. He comes out for a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, and Sabin joins up with him so that the three can fight their way out.

Setzer flies the party to Vector, and Locke and Celes break into the Magitek Research Facility. There they find Kefka, happily draining Espers. The Espers show their disapproval by instead consigning their mortal remains to Celes; the team walks out with ''eight'' more shards of Magicite: [[AnIcePerson Shiva]], [[KillItWithFire Ifrit]], [[WhiteMage Unicorn]], Maduin (teaches ''all' the level-2 spells; summons for non-elemental damage), [[StatusEffects Shoat]] (renamed "Catoblepas" in later releases), [[StatusEffects Phantom]], Carbuncle and Bismark. Alas, they are happened upon: first by Cid, the head researcher and one of Celes' mentors; and then by Kefka himself. Celes performs a HeroicSacrifice by surrendering to the Empire, allowing Locke, Cid and the remaining party members to escape.

Relm is a BrattyHalfPint whose ability, "Sketch," is glitched and can crash the game, fill the inventory with rare items, warp the party to a later dungeon and -- on occasion -- even do what it's supposed to do, which is to create a magical copy of an enemy and then use one of its attacks. Both she and Strago are descended from people who used Magicite during the War of the Magi, which is why they have such powerful latent magic. Curiously, Shadow's dog, Interceptor, likes Relm -- which is not true of anyone else in the game.

Alas, there's more to: the entire thing was a FalseFlagOperation to lure the Espers out in the open. Kefka and Gestahl arrive to start striking them down. For Leo, this is the last straw, and he is PromotedToPlayable in a short -- and [[KilledOffForReal unsuccessful]] attempt to stop Kefka. Undaunted, Kefka and Gestahl use the power of the Warring Triad to reshape the earth, raising an entire landmass into the sky.

Terra, Edgar and Banon sneak back into the Narshe mines using the secret exit Locke used to get Terra out again, and end up in the house of the Old Man who rescued Terra. That old man finally gets a name, "Arvin." He reports that Narshe remains neutral, despite his (Arvin's) efforts to get them to ally with the Returners. The party settles down to wait for the other plotlines to resolve.

Edgar is a GadgeteerGenius whose innate skill is "Tools," which grant him various abilities but require one-time purchases from various shops. Relatedly: All characters in ''FF6'' have set classes, and each has a unique skill in addition to the "Fight" and "Item" commands. Locke's as covered already, is a Thief and has "Steal." Terra has no unique skill, but can cast magic. Weirdly, "(Skill)" and "Magic" are on different lines in each character's command panel, suggesting they might one day co-exist. {{Foreshadowing}}?...

Banon asks Terra to help the Returners. (Say no at least once if you want them to bribe you with valuable loot.) Plans are interrupted by the arrival of a Figaro soldier, who claims the town has been taken by the Empire and that they are coming here next. Locke is detailed back to South Figaro to slow them down, while Sabin, Edgar and Terra, with Banon as a GuestStarPartyMember, flee down the Lete River on a raft, with the ultimate intent of ending up in Narshe. (This is an effective PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling, because the river includes an infinite loop of random encounters and Banon has an ability that casts Cure2 on everyone ''for free''.) A purple octopus named Ultros shows up to provide a BossFight, and Sabin is tossed overboard in the ensuing chaos.

Every time one of the ([[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters fourteen]]) playable characters are introduced, there's a quick one-sentence blurb about them before you get to [[HelloInsertNameHere rename them]], and we are going to quote (the original SNES translations of) them all. Here's the first one:

Relm is a BrattyHalfPint whose ability, "Sketch," is glitched and can crash the game, fill the inventory with rare items or warp the party to a later dungeon. Both she and Strago are descended from people who used Magicite during the War of the Magi, which is why they have such powerful latent magic. Curiously, Shadow's dog, Interceptor, likes Relm -- which is not true of anyone else in the game.

To aid the party, Ramuh offers up four pieces of Magicite: Kirin (teaches healing magic), Siren (teaches StandardStatusEffects and KillItWithFire magic), Stray (teach StandardStatusEffects; renamed "Cait Sith" in later translations of the game), and [[HeroicSacrifice himself]] (teaches ShockAndAwe magic).

Setzer flies the party to Vector, and Locke and Celes break into the Magitek Research Facility. There they find Kefka, happily draining Espers. The Espers show their disapproval by instead consigning their mortal remains to Celes; the team walks out with ''eight'' more shards of Magicite: [[AnIcePerson Shiva]], [[KillItWithFire Ifrit]], [[WhiteMage Unicorn]], Maduin (teaches ''all' the level-2 spells; summons for non-elemental damage), [[StandardStatusEffects Shoat]] (renamed "Catoblepas" in later releases), [[StandardStatusEffects Phantom]], Carbuncle and Bismark. Alas, they are happened upon: first by Cid, the head researcher and one of Celes' mentors; and then by Kefka himself. Celes performs a HeroicSacrifice by surrendering to the Empire, allowing Locke, Cid and the remaining party members to escape.

Relm is a BrattyHalfPint whose ability, "Sketch," lets her paint magical clones of monsters. Both she and Strago are descended from people who used Magicite during the War of the Magi, which is why they have such powerful latent magic. Curiously, Shadow's dog, Interceptor, likes Relm -- which is not true of anyone else in the game.

* If he is alove, '''Shadow''' is found in a cave on the Veldt, Interceptor guarding him. (If he's dead, you find Relm instead.) He's been after a particular sword, and was chasing it when he got wounded. After you nurse him back to health, he [[StealthHiBye super-window-jumps away]] when you're not looking. You have to lure him out of hiding by going to the Coliseum and betting that particular sword. DefeatMeansFriendship, and he'll join your party -- pernanently.

Celes learns that Cid was wrong: humanity ''does'' survive. In the town of Tzen, she finds Sabin laboring to keep a collapsing house stable while kids evacuate inside; Celes, of course, ducks in to help. As they travel past Mobliz, they find Terra, who founded an orphanage after Kefka obliterated the place with with The Light of Judgment. She apparently lost the will to fight, as evidenced by a HopelessBossFight. In Nikeah they run into a guy who looks just like Edgar, though he claims his name is [[SignificantAnagram Gerad]], leading a bunch of thieves to try to break into Figaro Castle -- so that he can get the submersion machinery working again, because of course it's [[PaperThinDisguise actually Edgar]], and now you can use the castle to travel. Finally, the party track down Setzer, who is in Kohlingen and is able to furnish the team with a new GlobalAirship: the ''Falcon'', which was owned by his [[TheLostLenore Lost Lenore]] Daryl.

While the World of Balance is relatively linear, stopping you from pursuing {{Side Quest}}s for much of its runtime, the World of Ruin is one of gaming's first WideOpenSandbox experiences. From this point on, you have basically free roam of the world map to facilitate PuttingTheBandBackTogether: you can recruit as many former party members as you like -- or as few; in point of fact, you could fly to Kefka's Tower right now and (attempt to) defeat the FinalBoss with just Celes, Sabin and Setzer. Therefore, there isn't really a canon order for any of the following:

* '''Edgar''', as mentioned, is pretending to be Gerad. Apparently, once you fix Figaro Castle, he joins you; and you need to fix Figaro Castle to get to Kohlingen. Despite this, Internet apocrypha insists that he does not need to be recruited. Further research is needed to resolve this PlotHole.
* (We covered Sabin.)

Finally, it's time to take on Kefka's Tower. You can only approach it by landing the ''Falcon'' on top of it. The dungeon contains the final example of the game's "control three separate parties" theme, forcing you to split your group three ways. (Hopefully you aren't going in with only [[MinimalistRun Celes, Sabin and Setzer]]. In addition to tons of other bosses, each team must eventually confront one of the three Warring Triad statues, destroying it.

Kefka sits at the top of the tower, a PhysicalGod lording over his hapless subjects. He is, in short, TheNihilist, having embraced the idea that life is meaningless. In some ways, the game agrees with him: You don't fix the world, you don't undo the WorldSundering. You're only here to avenge it. But avenge it you will.

While the World of Balance is a relatively linear experience, stopping you from pursuing {{Side Quest}}s for much of its runtime, the World of Ruin is one of gaming's first WideOpenSandbox experiences. From this point on, you may choose to recruit as many former party members as you like -- or as few; in point of fact, you could fly to Kefka's Tower right now and (attempt to) defeat the FinalBoss with just Celes, Sabin and Setzer. Therefore, there isn't really a canon order for any of the following:

Banon asks Terra to help the Returners. (Say no several times if you want him to bribe you with valuable loot.) Plans are interrupted by the arrival of a Figaro soldier, who claims the town has been taken by the Empire and that they are coming here next. Locke is detailed back to South Figaro to slow them down, while the rest flee down the Lete River on a raft. (This is an effective PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling, because the river includes an infinite loop of random encounters.) A purple octopus named Ultros shows up to provide a BossFight, and Sabin is tossed overboard in the ensuing chaos.

-->Edgar and Terra race toward Narshe while protecting Banon... ...but what about Sabin, who was swallowed by the raging waters...? And... ...how is Locke faring, after having penetrated the Empire's defenses in South Figaro... Is all going according to plan...?

The player may now choose to play any of these ThreeLinesSomeWaiting. There is no canon order, so we'll just go from shortest to longest:

Terra, Edgar and Banon return to Narshe, as Banon wishes to meet Tritoch face-to-face. They sneak back into the mines using the secret exit Locke used to get Terra out again, and end up in the house of the Old Man who rescued Terra. That old man finally gets a name, "Arvin." He reports that Narshe remains neutral, despite his (Arvin's) efforts to get them to ally with the Returners.

Locke has had some offscreen heroics and is now trying to get out of town. His main strategy is to steal clothes from merchants and disguise himself. Whilst creeping about the town, he discovers that one of the Empire's highest-ranking generals has been imprisoned for being honest about the fact that Kefka plans to commit war crimes by poisoning the entire kingdom of Doma.

Setzer flies the party to Vector, and Locke and Celes break into the Magitek Research Facility. There they find Kefka, happily draining Espers. The Espers show their disapproval by instead consigning their mortal remains to Celes; the team walks out with ''eight'' more shards of Magicite: [[AnIcePerson Shiva]], [[KillItWithFire Ifrit]], [[WhiteMage Unicorn]], Maduin (teaches ''all' the level-2 spells; summons for non-elemental damage), [[StandardStatusEffects Shoat]] (renamed "Catoblepas" in later releases), [[StandardStatusEffects Phantom]], Carbuncle and Bismark. Alas, they are happened upon: first by Cid, the head researcher and one of Celes' mentors; and then by Kefka herself. Celes performs a HeroicSacrifice by surrendering to the Empire, allowing Locke, Cid and the remaining party members to escape.

Almost immediately, Imperial soldiers show up and demand Terra's return. The old man hustles her out the back door and into the mines (though she can raid his grandfather clock for an Elixir, the first instance of a RunningGag that continues throughout the game), where she is trapped and falls into a pit during a cave-in. Once unconscious, she's treated to a {{Flashback}} of a MonsterClown named Kefka putting the Slave Crown on her, and then honing her into a PersonOfMassDestruction. She also witnessed TheEmperor, Gestahl, declaring that the Empire will soon succeed at [[TheMagicComesBack bringing magic back]] into the world. After this, she passes out.

Up in the home of the old man who rescued her, a new character appears. He is a GentlemanThief -- pardon, a "''[[InsistentTerminology treasure hunter]]''." (He does come with the "Steal" skill.) The old man called for him (the new character) to come help Terra escape, knowing he (the new character) has ChronicHeroSyndrome.

Celes awakens on a tiny island. Cid, her caretaker, announces that she's been out for a year, and that the world is dying, plants and animals withering away; so far as he is aware, they may be the last two humans alive. Meanwhile, Kefka has erected himself a VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, "Kefka's Tower," and is using a WaveMotionGun, the "Light of Judgment," from atop it to terrorize the world. Cid himself is in poor shape, having developed an IncurableCoughOfDeath lately. Celes, determined not to lose her adopted grandfather, runs out to participate in a Fishing minigame. Cid may or may not survive, depending on which fish you catch and how quickly you catch them. Either way, however, Celes learns of the project that has kept him alive this entire time: a raft, which will allow her to sail back to the mainland.

Finally, it's time to take on Kefka's Tower...

(to be concluded!)

Celes learns that Cid was wrong: humanity ''does'' survive. In the town of Tzen, she finds Sabin laboring to keep a collapsing house stable while kids evacuate inside; Celes, of course, ducks in to help. In Nikeah they run into a guy who looks just like Edgar, though he claims his name is [[SignificantAnagram Gerad]], leading a bunch of thieves to try to break into Figaro Castle -- so that he can get the submersion machinery working again, because of course it's [[PaperThinDisguise actually Edgar]], and now you can use the castle to travel. Finally, the party track down Setzer, who is in Kohlingen and is able to furnish the team with a new GlobalAirship: the ''Falcon'', which was owned by his [[TheLostLenore Lost Lenore]] Daryl.

* '''Terra''' has founded an orphanage outside the town of Mobliz, which Kefka obliterated with The Light of Judgment. She apparently lost the will to fight, as evidenced by a HopelessBossFight. Only when she embraces her Morph ability can she defeat him. Fortunately, the kids still see her as "Mama" even in her Pink Gorgeous Gorgon form. She joins the party.

* '''Shadow''' is found in a cave on the Veldt. He's been after a particular sword, and was chasing it when he got wounded. If you nurse him back to health and then let him compete in the Coliseum, he'll join your party. For once, you don't need to pay him.

* While exploring Triangle Island, the party can be swallowed by a large worm called a Zone Eater. They awake in the Zone Eater's Belly, a large underground cave system. In the back of the cave is '''Gogo''', who offers to join them. Gogo is a Mime; their ability, "Mimic," allows them to copy the last skill used. Gogo can also equip the Commands of any other party member via the Status menu. Gogo has AmbiguousGender and is implied to be a ShoutOut to the character of the same name in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''.

Celes awakens on a tiny island. Cid, her caretaker, announces that she's been out for a year, and that the world is dying, plants and animals withering away; so far as he is aware, they may be the last two humans alive. Meanwhile, Kefka has erected himself a VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, "Kefka's Tower," and is using a WaveMotionGun, the "Light of Judgment," from atop it to terrorize the world. Cid himself is in poor shape, having developed an IncurableCoughOfDoom lately. Celes, determined not to lose her adopted grandfather, runs out to participate in a Fishing minigame. Cid may or may not survive, depending on which fish you catch and how quickly you catch them. Either way, however, Celes learns of the project that has kept him alive this entire time: a raft, which will allow her to sail back to the mainland.

* '''Locke'' is back to his treasure-hunting ways. He's heard that there's a "Phoenix" Magicite that can restore the dead. He's just finished retrieving it from a cave when you pick him up. You must then take him back to Kohlingen, where he uses it to revive his lost love, Rachel, whose death he blames himself for. Rachel forgives him, and you gain both Locke and the Phoenix Magicite.

* While exploring Triangle Island, the party can be swallowed by a large worm called a Zone Eater. They awake in the Zone Eater's Belly, a large underground cave system. In the back of the cave is Gogo, who offers to join them. Gogo is a Mime; their ability, "Mimic," allows them to copy the last skill used. Gogo can also equip the Commands of any other party member via the Status menu. Gogo has AmbiguousGender and is implied to be a ShoutOut to the character of the same name in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''.

Gau's VerbalTic is to howl "Uwaoo!!" He also likes to make fun of Cyan's archaic speech patterns, immediately dubbing him "Mr. Thou." His unique skill is "Rage," which comes in two components. Whilst on the Veldt -- a special region of the world that is populated by ''every monster you've ever fought'' -- Gau's command panel gets a new command, "Leap," which causes him to join the monster in question and temporarily leave your party. Wander around a bit and, after your next fight, he'll return, having learned the "Rage" of the monster in question. The "Rage" command itself puts Gau in an uncontrollable state where he uses the abilities ''of'' the monster in question. This level of MagikarpPower rewards a lot of research and development -- not just [[GuideDangIt looking up]] which Rages to learn and which to avoid, but then going through the trouble of actually running into that mob and learning them.

'''[[TimeSkip One Year Later...]]'''

(to be continued)