Editing Final Fantasy VI (section)

==Development==
{{multiple image
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| image1    = 
| alt1      = Final Fantasy VI catridge
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| alt2      = Final Fantasy VI in box
| caption2  = The cartridge and box art of the Super Famicom version of ''Final Fantasy VI''.
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===Creation===
''Final Fantasy VI'' entered development after the release of its predecessor ''[[Final Fantasy V|V]]'' in December 1992.<ref name="edge">{{cite magazine |date=March 2013 |title=The Making Of... Final Fantasy VI |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |issue=251 |pages=124–127 |publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]]}}</ref> The development of the game took just one year to complete.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ishaan |title=Final Fantasy VI Took Just One Year To Make Says Director Yoshinori Kitase |url=http://www.siliconera.com/2013/08/06/final-fantasy-vi-took-just-one-year-to-make-says-director-yoshinori-kitase/ |work=siliconera.com |access-date=2014-04-28 |date=2013-08-06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419023620/http://www.siliconera.com/2013/08/06/final-fantasy-vi-took-just-one-year-to-make-says-director-yoshinori-kitase/ |archive-date=2014-04-19}}</ref> Series creator and director [[Hironobu Sakaguchi]] could not be as intimately involved as in previous installments due to his other projects and his promotion to Executive Vice President of the company in 1991.<ref name="edge" /><ref name="1upkitase">{{cite web|author=Parish, Jeremy |date=2010-02-24 |title=Final Fantasy: Kitase's Inside Story |url=http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-kitase-story |work=[[1UP.com]] |publisher=[[UGO Networks]] |access-date=2010-09-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526013632/http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-kitase-story |archive-date=May 26, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=Square USA |title=Hironobu Sakaguchi/Chairman and CEO |url=http://www.squareusa.com/sakaguchi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000511162608/http://www.squareusa.com/sakaguchi.html |archive-date=2000-05-11}}</ref> For that reason, he became the producer and split director responsibilities for ''VI'' up between [[Yoshinori Kitase]] and [[Hiroyuki Ito]]: Kitase was in charge of event production and the scenario, while Ito handled all battle aspects.<ref name="edge" /><ref name="credits" /> Sakaguchi supervised Kitase's cutscene direction and ensured that the project would coalesce as a whole. The idea behind the story of ''VI'' was that every character is the protagonist. All members of the development team contributed ideas for characters and their "episodes" for the overall plot in what Kitase described as a "hybrid process".<ref name="edge" /> Consequently, Terra and Locke were conceived by Sakaguchi; Celes and Gau by Kitase; Shadow and Setzer by graphic director [[Tetsuya Nomura]]; and Edgar and Sabin by field graphic designer [[Soraya Saga|Kaori Tanaka]].<ref name="edge" /><ref name="credits" />

It was Kitase's task to unite the story premise provided by Sakaguchi with all the individual ideas for character episodes to create a cohesive narrative.<ref name="edge" /><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Famitsu|Shūkan Famitsū]] |publisher=[[ASCII (company)|ASCII Corporation]] |title=Interview with Hironobu Sakaguchi |url=http://playstationjapan.tripod.com/Sakaguchi.html |date=1998-06-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717103402/http://playstationjapan.tripod.com/Sakaguchi.html |archive-date=July 17, 2011}}</ref> The scenario of ''Final Fantasy VI'' was written by a group of four or five people, among them Kitase who provided key elements of the story, such as the opera scene and Celes' suicide attempt, as well as all of Kefka's appearances.<ref name="1upkitase" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Dissidia: Final Fantasy Interview |url=http://www.eurogamer.de/articles/dissidia-final-fantasy-interview?page=3 |newspaper=Eurogamer.de |date=2009-05-07 |access-date=2013-04-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207192004/http://www.eurogamer.de/articles/dissidia-final-fantasy-interview?page=3 |archive-date=2015-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Making of Dissidia Final Fantasy—Final Words from the Producer |author=Kitase, Yoshinori |url=http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9002538&publicUserId=6049935 |publisher=1UP |date=2009-08-27 |access-date=2013-04-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012045256/http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9002538&publicUserId=6049935 |archive-date=October 12, 2012}}</ref> The team decided to split the game into two halves, commonly termed the World of Balance and World of Ruin, because they were tired of the common game scenario of the hero narrowly saving the world. When writing the [[post-apocalypse]] second half of the story, the developers decided to let the player choose their favorite characters to emphasize that every character is the protagonist.<ref name="WorldofRuin">{{cite magazine |last=Juba |first=Joe |title=The Best Of An Era: Looking Back On Final Fantasy VI After 25 Years |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/2019/04/02/the-best-of-an-era-looking-back-on-final-fantasy-vi-after-25-years |access-date=2024-02-15 |magazine=[[Game Informer]] |archive-date=2019-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926020320/https://www.gameinformer.com/2019/04/02/the-best-of-an-era-looking-back-on-final-fantasy-vi-after-25-years |url-status=live }}</ref>

Regular series character designer [[Yoshitaka Amano]]'s concept art became the basis for the models in the [[full motion video]]s produced for the game's PlayStation re-release.<ref name="RPGFFFAreview">{{cite web|url=http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/finalfantasyanthology/Final_Fantasy_Anthology.html |title=RPGFan Reviews – Final Fantasy Anthology |last=Musashi |publisher=RPGFan |access-date=2009-10-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801105916/http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/finalfantasyanthology/Final_Fantasy_Anthology.html |archive-date=2009-08-01}}</ref> [[Tetsuya Takahashi]], one of the graphic directors, drew the imperial Magitek Armors seen in the opening scene. By doing so, he disregarded Sakaguchi's intention to reuse the regular designs from elsewhere in the game.<ref name="credits">{{cite video game |title=Final Fantasy VI |platform=[[Super Famicom]] |developer=[[Square (video game company)|Square Co., Ltd.]] |publisher=Square Co., Ltd. |language=ja |date=1994-04-02 |scene=staff credits}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-In-Conversation-with-Takahashi-Sakaguchi/In-Conversation-with-Takahashi-Sakaguchi/1-Reunion-After-Eight-Years/1-Reunion-After-Eight-Years-211179.html |title=Iwata Asks: In Conversation with Takahashi & Sakaguchi |date=2011-11-11 |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |access-date=2013-04-13 |archive-date=June 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130626110611/http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-In-Conversation-with-Takahashi-Sakaguchi/In-Conversation-with-Takahashi-Sakaguchi/1-Reunion-After-Eight-Years/1-Reunion-After-Eight-Years-211179.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[sprite (computer graphics)|sprite art]] for the characters' in-game appearance was drawn by [[Kazuko Shibuya]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.4gamer.net/games/064/G006480/20130227073/index_4.html |title=「最近目指しているのは，洗練された美しいドット絵，ですね」――FF誕生以前から，アルバム「FINAL FANTASY TRIBUTE ～THANKS～」までを，スクウェア・エニックスのデザイナー・渋谷員子氏に振り返ってもらった |publisher=4Gamer |author=Ogura, Masaya |date=2013-03-16 |access-date=2013-04-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508134853/http://www.4gamer.net/games/064/G006480/20130227073/index_4.html |archive-date=2013-05-08}}</ref> While in the earlier installments, the sprites were less detailed on the map than in battle, ''Final Fantasy VI''{{'s}} had an equally high resolution regardless of the screen. This enabled the use of animations depicting a variety of movements and facial expressions.<ref name="Retro">{{cite web | title=Final Fantasy Retrospective Part IV | url=http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/view/gt-retrospectives/102774-Final-Fantasy-Retrospective-Part-IV | publisher=Gametrailers.com | access-date=2008-04-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425160109/http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/view/gt-retrospectives/102774-Final-Fantasy-Retrospective-Part-IV | archive-date=2016-04-25}}</ref> Though it was not the first game to utilize the Super NES' [[Mode 7]] graphics, ''Final Fantasy VI'' made more extensive use of them than its predecessors. For instance, unlike both ''[[Final Fantasy IV|IV]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy V|V]]'', the world map is rendered in Mode 7, which lends a somewhat [[3D computer graphics|three-dimensional]] perspective to an otherwise [[2D computer graphics|two-dimensional game]].<ref name="mode7">{{cite web |author=Otterland |title=Final Fantasy VI—Retroview |url=http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff6/reviews/ff6rdrev14.html |publisher=RPGamer |access-date=2006-07-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023758/http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff6/reviews/ff6rdrev14.html |archive-date=2007-09-30}}</ref>

===Localization===
[[Image:FFVI Siren Censorship.png|thumb|Graphics for the North American releases were edited to cover up minor instances of partial nudity. From left to right: Japanese SFC and GBA, North American SNES, and Western GBA releases.|alt=Images of a female Esper with her back to the screen from three releases of the game; the coverage level of her clothes on the bottom half of her body is different in each one.]]

The original North American [[Internationalization and localization|localization]] and release of ''Final Fantasy VI'' by Square for the Super NES featured several changes from the original Japanese version. The most obvious of these is the change of the game's title from ''Final Fantasy VI'' to ''Final Fantasy III''; because only two games of the series had been localized in North America at the time, ''VI'' was distributed as ''Final Fantasy III'' to maintain naming continuity. Unlike ''Final Fantasy IV'' (which was first released in North America as ''Final Fantasy II''), there are no major changes to gameplay,<ref name="EGM63">{{cite magazine|title=Final Fantasy III|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|issue=63|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|date=October 1994|page=172|url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_63/page/n177/mode/1up}}</ref> though several changes of contents and editorial adjustments exist in the English script. In a January 1995 interview with ''[[Super Play]]'' magazine, translator [[Ted Woolsey]] explained that "there's a certain level of playfulness and ... sexuality in Japanese games that just doesn't exist here [in the USA], basically because of [[Nintendo of America]]'s rules and guidelines".<ref name="SPWoolseyint">{{cite journal |date=September 1994 |title=Fantasy Quest: Interview with Ted Woolsey |journal=[[Super Play]] |volume=1 |issue=23 |publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]] |issn=0966-6192}}</ref> Consequently, objectionable graphics (e.g. nudity) were censored and building signs in towns were changed (such as Bar being changed to Café), as well as religious allusions (e.g. the spell ''Holy'' was renamed ''Pearl'').<ref name="RPGFF6retroreview">{{cite web |url=http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff6/reviews/ff6strev3.html |title=Final Fantasy VI – Staff Re-Retroview |last=Beckett |first=Michael |publisher=RPGamer |access-date=2009-10-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913140835/http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff6/reviews/ff6strev3.html |archive-date=2010-09-13}}</ref>

Also, some direct allusions to death, killing actions, and violent expressions, as well as offensive words have been replaced by softer expressions. For example, after Edgar, Locke and Terra flee on chocobos from Figaro Castle, Kefka orders two Magitek Armored soldiers to chase them by shouting "Go! KILL THEM!", in the Japanese version. It was translated as "Go! Get them!" Also, when Imperial Troopers burn Figaro Castle, and Edgar claims Terra is not hidden inside the castle, Kefka replies "then you can burn to death" in the Japanese version, which was replaced in the English version by "Then welcome to my barbecue!". Similarly, as Magitek soldiers watch Edgar and his guests escape on Chocobos, Kefka swears in Japanese, which was translated by Ted Woolsey as "Son of a submariner!".<ref name="RPGFF6retroreview"/> The localization also featured changes to several names, such as "Tina" being changed to "Terra". Finally, dialogue text files had to be shortened due to the limited data storage space available on the game cartridge's [[read-only memory]].<ref name="SPWoolseyint"/> As a result, additional changes were rendered to dialogue in order to compress it into the available space.<ref name="SPWoolseyint"/>

The PlayStation re-release featured only minor changes to the English localization. The title of the game was reverted to ''Final Fantasy VI'' from ''Final Fantasy III'', to unify the numbering scheme of the series in North America and Japan with the earlier release of ''[[Final Fantasy VII|VII]]''. A few item and character names were adjusted, as in the expansion of "Fenix Down" to "Phoenix Down". Unlike the PlayStation re-release of ''Final Fantasy IV'' included in the later ''[[Final Fantasy Chronicles]]'' compilation, the script was left essentially unchanged.<ref name="RPGFFFAreview" /> The Game Boy Advance re-release featured a new translation by a different translator, Tom Slattery.<ref>{{cite web|year=2007 |title=Final Fantasy VI advance info |website=[[GameFAQs]] |url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/gba/930370-final-fantasy-vi-advance/data |access-date=2007-05-03 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513220851/http://www.gamefaqs.com/gba/930370-final-fantasy-vi-advance/data |archive-date=2010-05-13}}</ref> This translation preserved most of the character names, location names, and terminology from the Woolsey translation, but changed item and spell names to match the conventions used in more recent titles in the series.<ref name="IGNFF6Areview">{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/02/15/final-fantasy-vi-advance-review |title=IGN: Final Fantasy VI Advance Review |access-date=2009-01-12 |website=IGN |author=Dunham, Jeremy |date=2007-02-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104043613/http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/02/15/final-fantasy-vi-advance-review |archive-date=2012-11-04}}</ref> The revised script preserved certain quirky lines from the original while changing or editing others, and it cleared up certain points of confusion in the original translation.<ref name="Schreier2007">{{cite web |author=Schreier, Jason |year=2007 |title=Final Fantasy VI Advance Staff Review |publisher=RPGamer |url=http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff6gba/reviews/ff6gbastrev2.html |access-date=2007-05-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203128/http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff6gba/reviews/ff6gbastrev2.html |archive-date=2007-09-27}}</ref> The [[Wii]] [[Virtual Console]] release used the ''Final Fantasy III'' name of the Super NES game.

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Final Fantasy VI}}
The soundtrack for ''Final Fantasy VI'' was composed by long-time series contributor [[Nobuo Uematsu]]. The score consists of themes for each major character and location, as well as music for standard battles, fights with [[Boss (video gaming)|boss]] enemies and for special cutscenes. The extensive use of [[leitmotif]] is one of the defining points of the audio tracks. The "[[Aria di Mezzo Carattere]]" is one of the latter tracks, played during a cutscene involving an [[opera]] performance. This track features an unintelligible synthesized "voice" that harmonizes with the melody, as technical limitations for the [[Nintendo S-SMP|SPC700]] [[Timeline of audio formats|sound format]] chip prevented the use of an actual [[vocal music|vocal track]] (although some developers eventually figured out how to overcome the limitation a few years later, and in the ''Pixel Remaster'', it is voiced by opera singers<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nightingale |first1=Ed |title=Final Fantasy 6 pixel remaster opera scene will have real singing |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/final-fantasy-6-opera-scene-will-have-real-singing |newspaper=Eurogamer.net |date=February 25, 2022 |access-date=31 May 2022 |archive-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531004207/https://www.eurogamer.net/final-fantasy-6-opera-scene-will-have-real-singing |url-status=live }}</ref>). The orchestral album ''[[Final Fantasy VI Grand Finale]]'' features an arranged version of the [[aria]], using Italian [[lyrics]] performed by Svetla Krasteva with an orchestral accompaniment. This version is also found in the ending [[full motion video]] of the game's [[Sony Computer Entertainment|Sony]] [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] re-release, with the same lyrics but a different musical [[arrangement]]. In addition, the [[album]] ''Orchestral Game Concert 4'' includes an extended version of the opera arranged and conducted by Kōsuke Onozaki and performed by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, featuring Wakako Aokimi, Tetsuya Ōno, and Hiroshi Kuroda on vocals.<ref name="extaria">{{cite web|author=Farand, Eric |title=Original Game Concert 4 |url=http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ogc4/index.html |publisher=RPGFan |access-date=2006-08-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060913161006/http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ogc4/index.html |archive-date=2006-09-13}}</ref> It was also performed at the "More Friends" concert<ref name="daetrin">{{cite web | title=Uematsu's Music—More Friends | url=http://www.square-enix-usa.com/uematsu/concert/more_friends.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409141558/http://www.square-enix-usa.com/uematsu/concert/more_friends.html | archive-date=2008-04-09 | publisher=Square Enix USA | access-date=2007-06-20}}</ref> at the [[Gibson Amphitheatre]] in 2005 using a new English translation of the lyrics, an album of which is now available.<ref name="daetrin2">{{cite web|author=Gann, Patrick |title=More Friends music from Final Fantasy ~Los Angeles Live 2005~ |url=http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ffmorela/index.html |publisher=RPGFan |access-date=2007-06-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611174032/http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ffmorela/index.html |archive-date=2007-06-11}}</ref> "[[Dancing Mad (Final Fantasy VI)|Dancing Mad]]", accompanying the game's final battle with Kefka, is 17 minutes long and contains an [[organ (music)|organ]] [[cadenza]], with variations on Kefka's theme. The "Ending Theme" combines every playable character theme into one composition lasting over 21 minutes.<ref name="osv">{{cite web |author=Schweitzer, Ben |author2=Gann, Patrick |title=Final Fantasy VI OSV |url=http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff6ost/index.html |publisher=RPGFan |access-date=2006-08-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908024435/http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff6ost/index.html |archive-date=2006-09-08}}</ref>

The original score was released on three [[compact disc]]s in Japan as ''[[Final Fantasy VI Original Sound Version|Final Fantasy VI: Original Sound Version]]''.<ref name="osv"/> A version of this album was later released in North America as ''Final Fantasy III: Kefka's Domain''. This version of the album is the same as its Japanese counterpart, except for different packaging and small differences in the translation of some track names between the album and newer releases.<ref name="kefkadomain">{{cite web|author=Thomas, Damian |title=RPGFan Soundtracks—Final Fantasy III: Kefka's Domain |url=http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff3kefka/index.html |publisher=RPGFan |access-date=2006-07-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817145206/http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff3kefka/index.html |archive-date=2013-08-17}}</ref> Additionally, ''Final Fantasy VI: Grand Finale'' features eleven tracks from the game, arranged by [[Shirō Sagisu]] and [[Tsuneyoshi Saito]] and performed by the Ensemble Archi Della Scala and Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano (Milan Symphony Orchestra).<ref name="grandfinale">{{cite web |author=Space, Daniel |author2=Gann, Patrick |title=Final Fantasy VI Grand Finale |url=http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff6finale/index.html |publisher=RPGFan |access-date=2006-08-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116213334/http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff6finale/index.html |archive-date=2013-01-16}}</ref> ''[[Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VI]]'', a second arranged album, features thirteen tracks from the game, performed for [[piano]] by Reiko Nomura.<ref name="piano">{{cite web |author=Space, Daniel |author2=Gann, Patrick |title=Final Fantasy VI Piano Collections |url=http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff6piano/index.html |publisher=RPGFan |access-date=2006-08-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116213259/http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff6piano/index.html |archive-date=2013-01-16}}</ref> More recently, "Dancing Mad", the final boss theme from ''Final Fantasy VI'', has been performed at [[Play! A Video Game Symphony]] in [[Stockholm]], Sweden on June 2, 2007, by the group [[Machinae Supremacy]].<ref name="playsymphony">{{cite web|publisher=Play! A Video Game Symphony |title=Play! A Video Game Symphony Upcoming Concerts |url=http://www.play-symphony.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207043300/http://www.play-symphony.com/ |archive-date=2010-02-07 |access-date=2007-06-20 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Nobuo Uematsu's former rock band, [[The Black Mages]], released a [[progressive metal]] version of Dancing Mad on their [[The Black Mages I|eponymous first album]] in 2003. Their third album, subtitled ''[[The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight|Darkness and Starlight]]'', is so named after its premiere track: a [[rock opera]] version of the entire opera from ''FFVI'', including the Aria di Mezzo Carattere performed by Etsuyo Ota.

In 2012, a [[Kickstarter]] campaign for [[OverClocked ReMix]] was funded at $153,633 for the creation of a multiple CD album of remixes of the music from ''VI''. [[Zircon (composer)|Andrew Aversa]] directed the creation of the album, ''Balance and Ruin'', which contains 74 tracks from 74 artists, each with its own unique style. The album is free and available at the OverClocked ReMix website.<ref>{{cite web|author=Aversa, Andrew |title=Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin OC Remix |url=http://ff6.ocremix.org/ |publisher=OCRemix |access-date=2014-09-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904104336/http://ff6.ocremix.org/ |archive-date=2014-09-04}}</ref> [[Video Games Live]] composer [[Jillian Aversa]], Andrew Aversa's wife, created a music video tribute to Aria di Mezzo Carattere, together with cellist [[Tina Guo]], expanding on the arrangement from ''Balance and Ruin''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Final Fantasy VI Opera Scene Gets A Moving Music Video Tribute|url=https://comicbook.com/news/final-fantasy-vi-opera-scene-gets-a-moving-music-video-tribute/|access-date=2020-06-06|website=Comicbook.com|date=September 6, 2017 |language=en|archive-date=June 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606174831/https://comicbook.com/news/final-fantasy-vi-opera-scene-gets-a-moving-music-video-tribute/|url-status=live}}</ref>