Duke Revier's Grand Game Emporium

 So, as it happens, I managed to reexperience some of Final Fantasy 6 through a Let's Play of its Pixel Remaster. On the whole, the game remains enjoyable and entertaining as an experience, despite some aspects that haven't aged very well. But that made me ponder what I liked about it, and I think I have found a rather simple, if seemingly contrarian answer: Final Fantasy 6 is a story about losers. Think about it. Terra, the very first protagonist we're introduced to, is a vacuous woman who constantly struggles with doubts about herself and her decisions. Locke, well, he constantly has complexes over a girlfriend who died ages ago and whose corpse he constantly preserves in a basement attended to by a creepy guy. Edgar? Sabin? Well, they're definitely a touch more adjusted than most of the protagonists, but are by no means flawless beings, and definitely no selfless paladins in shining armor. Edgar is, as is often noted, a smart and capable ruler who also happens to be ...

Video: Nisan We set off for Nisan! But not before Sigurd pondering the presence of Ramsus at Bledavik. He knows that he's not any random general, but the commander in chief of Solaris himself! His existence here meant that the empire had some deeper interest in Aveh beyond his ancestral treasure. At Nisan's secret dock, Citan finally rejoins the team. He and Sigurd both seem rather familiar with Ramsus and Miang, with the latter in particular making Sigurd concerned. It seems like she has some sort of fearful power that she's hiding from the world. They're both hiding their suspicions from Bart, because they don't want to make him worried, not when he has a kingdom to reclaim! The residents of Nisan warmly welcome Bart, and inform him of the military situation. It turns out the town has been gaining lots of supporters from people fed up with Shakhan, but at the same time, news of Aveh's armies marching towards them has made them uneasy, and some of the residents...

Last time we checked, Bart and Margie were in a spot. Ramsus, seeing Bart unwilling to give Margie back, pulls out his sword. But Miang tries to negotiate a deal with him - he could get back his kingdom and oust Shakhan if he gave Margie back to them. She explains that Shakhan is naught but their pawn, and they don't care too much about who rules Aveh, so long as they're cooperative to their interests. Bart, of course, finds such an offer inacceptable, and so squares off against Ramsus! Miang and Margie both stand in the sidelines, being untargetable but offering support to their respective sides. The support comes mostly in the form of small heals, though Miang is also capable of clearing out status effects, thus countering Bart's accuracy debuff. Aside from that little detail, this fight is absurdly simple. Ramsus slashes a few times, then enters a defensive stance. Hitting him during said stance triggers a massive counterattack, so all there's to do is to hold back a...

Video: The Tournament Alright, it's time for a tournament! But not before a nice little nationalist speech by our good friend Shakhan. Like most nationalist speeches, it sounds nice until you start paying attention to the implications. Yeah...he's definitely not a good guy at all... Ramsus hilariously walks in just to curtly wish him goodbye. Shakhan tries to invite him to watch the tournament, but he bluntly refuses, lol. Miang attempts to soothe things over, but Ramsus, continuing to be a sharp aleck, delivers this absolutely amazing line! With Shakhan so thoroughly humiliated, he has no choice but to silently watch him strut away. Thankfully for him, Miang does choose to stick around and offer him some company. She's even impressed by Fei's physique, catching sight of him just before his first match! Heh, well I doubt they're ever going to end up together, but who knows. And so, we begin the first battle of the tournament! Gonzalez here is a fairly straightforwar...