As the 16-bit era started to come to a close with the release of the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn, role-playing games were firing on all cylinders. Leading the pack was Squaresoft, bringing several major titles like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. However, the company remained best known for their continued works with the Final Fantasy series, and by this point, they'd honed their craft to perfection. The result was Final Fantasy VI.

In my opinion, Final Fantasy VI is the greatest RPG story ever told, with one of the best - and largest - casts of characters ever and a truly epic tale. There's twists, turns, and a bit of genuine magic at play when it comes to this title. While it's not my favorite video game ever - that honor goes to the aforementioned Chrono Trigger - it is, for my money, the greatest Final Fantasy ever made.

Today, I'm going to talk about the lore behind some of the non-Commander cards from the Magic: the Gathering - Final Fantasy set. Hop into your Magitek Armor and let's dive in!

Final Fantasy VI begins with a trio of magitek soldiers marching through the snowy fields to the mining town of Narshe. There, the soldiers force their way through the town in search of the frozen esper - a being of powerful magical energy - to recover for the Gestahlian Empire. When the esper makes contact with the mind controlled girl, Terra, in their midst, it obliterates the other soldiers. Only Terra remains, and she is recovered by a local who happens to be a member of the Returners, a rebel group going against the Empire.

The thief (who prefers to be called a treasure hunter) Locke Cole is a member of the Returners and aids in getting Terra to their leader. When the party meets with the Returners, Locke leaves to go on his own and sneaks into the town of South Figaro to investigate the Empire's takeover of the town. To get around, Locke steals the clothes from merchants and soldiers, which the card Stolen Uniform represents well.

At a military encampment outside the Kingdom of Doma, the monk Sabin and ninja Shadow discover the samurai Cyan. He grieves for the death of his kingdom following the poisoning of Doma's water supply by the wicked Kefka. The group cuts through the Imperial forces and make their way into the Phantom Forest where they soon board the mysterious Phantom Train. After making their way through the spooky train, the train comes to life and attacks them, with the ensuing battle causing the group to run as they attack it. Suplex is a famous maneuver Sabin can use with his Blitz ability and lift the train into the air before slamming it to the ground. It's just silly enough to have become a meme.

At roughly the midpoint of the game, Terra makes contact with the frozen esper at Narshe again, causing her to morph into an esper, lose control, and fly away. The party tracks her down in the extremely sketchy town of Zozo, home to thieves, liars, and killers. There she lies under the care of the thunder esper Ramuh, who she was drawn to due to their similarities as espers. Terra remains unconscious and immovable, but recovers when she later comes into contact with the magicite remains of her father, the esper Maduin. There is then a flashback to Maduin and Terra's mother, Madeline, meeting in the Esper world and giving birth to her as a half-human, half-esper child.

In their efforts to try and save Terra after her second contact with the frozen esper the party needs to reach the capital of the Gestahlian Empire, Vector. Unfortunately, they lack the means to get there. Soon, they arrive at Jidoor and discover the airship-riding gambling man Setzer is looking to steal the leading actress of the upcoming opera - Maria. Celes takes her place and performs in the opera before it's interrupted by recurring enemy Ultros. When Ultros is defeated, Setzer whisks Celes away while the rest of the party joins on board. Setzer joins the party and they continue onward to Vector.

The young girl Relm comes from the land of Thamasa, a hidden town where descendants of the powerful Magi reside. Why do they live in solitude? Because they're capable of using magic, and it's feared that if word reached others of their abilities, they'd be used as tools of war. Relm is an artist and uses her magical abilities to copy various monsters and fling their attacks right back at them. The card also contains another lesser nod in that Relm is sketching a dinosaur - a reference to the game's Dinosaur Forest where players can face some of the fiercest enemies in the game.

This is my personal favorite design of this set. It's meant to look like the battle menu players typically find throughout the Final Fantasy series. Let me show you what I mean:

This is the sequence depicted in the art (though the art itself features more characters). You face off against the demon Humbaba who is threatening the village of Mobliz that Terra is trying to protect. The art represents the visual battle sequence, while the textbox refers to the actions a player can take, with "ability" representing a different unique ability available to each party member in Final Fantasy VI.

----

If you've enjoyed this write up and want to read more about Final Fantasy VI, don't worry, there's plenty to cover! That's why I wrote about the game's entire story in an article detailing the lore of the cards in the Revival Trance Commander precon. Give it a read, or better yet get yourself a copy of the game and check that out first. Final Fantasy VI is considered one of the greatest games of all time for a reason and it's worth every penny.

Paige Smith

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/themaverickgirl.bsky.social

Twitch: twitch.tv/themaverickgirl

YouTube: TheMaverickGal