Reverse Design: Final Fantasy VI

The Reverse Design series looks at all of the design decisions that went into classic video games. This is the first installment in the Reverse Design series, looking at Final Fantasy VI. Written in a readable format, it is broken down into six sections examining some of the most important topics to the game:

1. How narrative elements, specifically the design of the fourteen player-characters, was the critical constraint which shaped the game’s production
2. How the game broke with numerous RPG traditions in order to focus on plot and characterization, while still maintaining mechanical depth
3. How the systems were designed to allow the player to use any combination of characters with equal levels of success