After the brilliant reimagining of Final Fantasy 7 in FF7 Remake and FF7 Rebirth, I have seen many fans asking for the same treatment to be given to one of the best games in the Final Fantasy series: Final Fantasy 6. Despite being a fan of the franchise, I had never played Final Fantasy 6 until recently. After finally playing it, I realized why Square Enix seems reluctant to commit to a remake.

Last year, Yoshinori Kitase, a producer on the new FF7 saga and the original director of FF6 and 7​​​​​, stated in an interview that giving FF6 the same remake treatment as 7 could take as long as 20 years. Now that I’ve played the game, I can see where he’s coming from, especially when considering the difference in scope between Final Fantasy 6 and the original Final Fantasy 7.

FF6's Story Is Full Of Big Events

Adapting Every Part Of Final Fantasy 6 Would Be A Massive Undertaking

Final Fantasy 6’s story is fast-paced, and it feels like there’s always something big happening. Even when the story feels like it might slow down, a big event will happen. A good example is after Sabin, Shadow, and Cyan leave Doma. I assumed traveling to meet the rest of my party would mostly involve getting from point A to B, and I was certainly not expecting to stumble onto a ghost train that I would have to both escape and fight just to get through the woods.

Whenever I found myself in a new action set piece or major narrative moment, I wondered how it would be handled in an FF7-style remake. I imagined my first visit to Figaro would probably involve several side quests and maybe a mini-game from FF7 Rebirth like Queen’s Blood before the story advanced to the point where Kefka arrives and Edgar gives the order to sink the castle. I could easily see this short section of the game lasting hours in a remake.

Final Fantasy 6 also spreads its attention across multiple characters’ journeys. Unlike Final Fantasy 7, where you spend most of your time with Cloud, there are points in FF6 where you choose between multiple branching stories to follow. I was also surprised at the sheer number of characters in the game. Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth took their time to really flesh out each party member, and if a remake of Final Fantasy 6 attempted to do the same, it would mean a much longer runtime.

FF6 Could Easily Be Stretched Across Multiple Games

Final Fantasy 6’s Story Has Enough Content For A Series Of Games

Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth both end at major turning points from the original game’s story. Remake ends after the party leaves Midgar, and Rebirth ends after Aerith’s death at the Temple of the Ancients. While I was playing through Final Fantasy 6, I was trying to divide the game into sections in my head and see where these good stopping points would come from. I could easily see a Final Fantasy 6 remake stretching across three, maybe even four games, if given the same treatment as FF7.

To me, the first game’s stopping point is the hardest to pin down. Part of me thinks it would make sense to end the game when the party is split up at the Returners’ hideout because the game’s world opens up a lot after that. It would be similar to how FF7 Remake ended after the world opened up to Midgar. However, I could also see the first game's ending when Terra goes into her trance and then the second game's ending when she comes out of it, so you wouldn’t have to deal with losing a party member mid-game.

Either way, I could see a second game following the party while Terra is gone and ending when she res. While you could finish the rest of the game in one installment after that, I could easily see a third game ending when Kefka betrays Gestahl and then a fourth game finishing things up. I honestly don’t see this as much of a stretch if the remake fleshed out areas like Zozo, similar to how FF7 fleshed out Wall Market or the Gold Saucer.

If Square Enix wanted to make a Final Fantasy 6 remake and give each area and character the same attention that Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth do, it would require several huge games to accomplish it and about 20 years, as stated by Yoshinori Kitase in an interview with Julien Chièze. Honestly, if they weren’t interested in making a potential FF6 remake as fully realized as FF7’s, I don’t see what the point would be. That said, I’m not sure a Final Fantasy 6 remake is entirely necessary, even if I would gladly sink hundreds of hours into one.

FF6 Arguably Doesn't Need A Remake

Part Of Final Fantasy 6’s Appeal Is Its Current Form

I really enjoyed my playthrough of Final Fantasy 6, but part of that enjoyment came from me imagining how I would have felt had I played it for the first time when it came out in 1997. Moments like choosing what part of the story to experience or splitting between distinct parties during big fights would have felt like magic back then. And then there’s the one thing everyone mentions when discussing Final Fantasy 6: the pixel art.

I’ve spent hours in Aesprite making sprites and maps for my TTRPG group, so I have some understanding of the basics of pixel art. Final Fantasy 6 blew my mind when I saw what it did with the medium. The opera house scene sticks out to me as a clear example of how much time and effort went into perfecting the game’s art and making immersive environments despite being two-dimensional. While I have no doubt a lot of effort and creativity would go into an FF6 remake, I’m not sure it would have the same effect.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is beautiful, so much so that I have to imagine Final Fantasy remakes will be using it as a reference point. While this isn’t necessarily bad, the series might end up feeling a lot more homogeneous in its visual style. I like that all the old Final Fantasy games have their distinct styles, and I can’t help but feel that Final Fantasy 6 just works better as a masterclass of pixel art than it would simply copying Rebirth’s style.

Square Enix is correct in thinking that remaking Final Fantasy 6 would be a massive endeavor, especially if they want to do it right. As much as I’ve enjoyed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, I’m not sure I need a game like it for every game in the series that I enjoy. Final Fantasy 6 is still a lot of fun in its original form, and its pixel art deserves to be appreciated more than it needs to be updated.

Source: Julien Chièze/YouTube