Unlike most of the classic Final Fantasy games, which tend to focus on one main protagonist and their allies, Final Fantasy 6 famously took an “ensemble cast” approach to its heroes, giving the player access to fourteen permanent playable characters. Not only is this the most playable heroes of any main Final Fantasy party, but it’s also a distinct departure from almost every series game before it or since, continually shifting the focus of the game’s story from one major character to the next. There’s a case to be made that Terra is the main character of Final Fantasy 6 as the game’s poster child and introductory hero, but memorable and iconic characters like Celes, Locke, and the Figaro brothers get just as much development and screen time to count as the game’s mains.
This approach to the game’s characters also happens to fit perfectly within the context of Final Fantasy 6‘s progression and mechanics, which allow almost every party member to do everything thanks to the Espers/Magicite system. The flexibility of Final Fantasy 6‘s character progression allows seemingly weaker characters like Relm to become major powerhouses, provided players invest the time to develop them in combat, and it ultimately contributes to the game having one of the series’ most satisfying power curves. Still, each character does have their own unique abilities they bring to the table in combat, and it’s those skills and their narrative character arcs that will factor into an attempt at a definitive tier list ranking Final Fantasy 6‘s heroes.
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S-Tier: The ‘Stars’ of Final Fantasy 6
- Terra Branford
- Locke Cole
- Edgar Roni Figaro
- Sabin Rene Figaro
- Celes Chere
The best characters in Final Fantasy 6 are the heroes who excel in terms of their combat prowess and have major character arcs that connect directly to the grander narrative at play. Before players get their hands on their first pieces of Magicite and can begin learning magic spells with any of the playable characters, most of the game’s main cast have a chance to establish their value as party members during gameplay, and the S-tier characters are all powerhouses that could carry an entire 4-member party on their own, not to mention their game-breaking potential when paired together with other S-tier heroes. Notably, four of the S-tier heroes in Final Fantasy 6 are the game’s first four playable characters — Terra, Locke, Edgar, and Sabin — which are then rounded out by the star of Final Fantasy 6‘s iconic Opera House scene: Celes.
In addition to these five heroes’ potency in combat, each of these characters embodies major themes of Final Fantasy 6‘s story, including each of their struggles to understand their place in the world and establish connections that give their lives purpose. Terra spends most of Final Fantasy 6 wondering what it is to be “human” while also struggling to understand what love is. Celes and Locke are drawn together from the shared trauma of past mistakes and a vow to live for each other. The twin Figaro brothers, Edgar and Sabin, are torn between their duty to their country and their family. Each of these character arcs eventually ties directly into Final Fantasy 6‘s main narrative in surprising and impactful ways, cementing these heroes as justifiable candidates for the game’s “main” characters.
A-Tier: Final Fantasy 6’s Supporting Players
- Cyan Garamonde
- Gau
- Shadow (and Interceptor)
The next tier of Final Fantasy 6 heroes is made up of characters who are either mechanically powerful or narratively profound, but not always both. Cyan is a prime example of an A-tier hero in that, while his personal story presents one of the best character arcs in Final Fantasy 6, he is ultimately one of the weaker characters to use in combat. Even with careful attempts at min-maxing his stats with Magicite, Cyan doesn’t come close to the potential power of the S-tier heroes, and his signature character ability, Bushido, pales in comparison to many of the other character-specific abilities in terms of its utility.
On the flip side of Cyan are heroes like Gau and Shadow, who, while not as fully developed in their character arcs, represent two of the most powerful characters in the game when they’re developed correctly. In particular, Gau has several abilities that even the most powerful enemies in the game have no defenses against, which creates plenty of game-breaking potential when using him in combat. The same goes for Shadow, who, thanks to his very strong stat distribution, has the growth potential to become one of the strongest characters in the game purely from a statistical perspective. That is, provided players make sure to wait for him on the floating continent and don’t lose him forever prior to the World of Ruin.
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B-Tier: Understudies of Final Fantasy 6’s Principal Cast
- Setzer Gabbiani
- Mog
- Relm Arrowny
- Strago Magus
Similar to the previous tier, most of the B-tier heroes among Final Fantasy 6‘s party members find themselves lacking in terms of their combat prowess, narrative impact, or both. But unlike the A-tier heroes like Shadow or Cyan, who are either narratively impactful or essential in gameplay, but not both, the B-tier characters amount to a sort of “last resort” party-filler when completing any of Final Fantasy 6‘s multi-party dungeons. Setzer is an interesting character whose character arc only has one interesting development in the World of Ruin and is then completely sidelined in favor of other heroes (one of the downfalls of the “ensemble cast” approach of Final Fantasy 6) and both Relm and her grandfather, Strago, feel similarly wasted in their potential.
However, it’s worth pointing out that, under the right circumstances, using very specific strategies, both Relm and Strago can be incredibly potent party members in combat thanks to their unique character abilities. But that still doesn’t make up for the fact that neither character has much impact on Final Fantasy 6‘s main story outside of being playable heroes.
Coming in at the bottom of Final Fantasy 6‘s playable characters are the game’s two “secret” optional heroes: the mimic Gogo and the yeti Umaro. These two C-tier heroes are completely lacking in both narrative impact and combat prowess, especially when factoring in how neither character can utilize Magicite to improve their stats at level-up or learn magic spells. Neither of these characters has any real narrative impact either, unless one considers the quest to recruit Umaro an important part of Mog’s character arc. That said, Gogo showing up in Final Fantasy 6 is a nice Easter Egg for Final Fantasy 5 players that would completely go over Western players’ heads until many years later.
- Released
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October 11, 1994
- ESRB
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T For Teen Due To Fantasy Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
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Square Enix, Square
- Publisher(s)
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Square Enix, Square