Duke Reivier'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 ...

 Today, while discussing the stories of Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross with a friend, I hit upon what is a hitherto unexplored angle regarding Kato's writing - Kato writes mainly about proud and grand empires falling to ruin. Seen in this light, the connections between CT and CC become a lot clearer, and CC's narrative choices look considerably more plausible. Take, for example, the Zeal arc in CT, Masato Kato's biggest contribution to that game's story. Now I know from interactions and general posts by CT fans that it is usually considered to be one of the game's highest points. Much less talked about, however, is what its central theme is - that being a grand, if decadent civilization falling into ruin, and its survivors coping with the loss. If we look at CC through this lens, then a fair number of its plot points snap neatly into place. For example, Guardia and Chronopolis fall because they are grand kingdoms, and Masato wanted to write about grand kingdoms fal...