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Caves of Narshe Forums > Final Fantasy VI > Why is Cyan first in the ending?


Posted by: Spooniest 3rd May 2018 07:37
... Um, topic title.

I'm listening to Balance is Restored at 50% speed here, and I'm trying to think while music is on...

Cyan, Setzer, Edgar and Sabin, Mog, ....

Ok I had to shut it off

Cyan, Setzer, Edgar and Sabin, Mog, Umaro, Gogo, Gau, Celes and Locke, Terra, Relm, Strago.

It's the stages of life, maybe is one interpretation?

Every kid wants to be a warrior. They then learn that people gamble on warriors, and then they want to be the king of all warriors, because they are afraid of people losing bets on them and being angry with them. Then they try to relax and find their inner child when that doesn't work, but more anger comes as they get older and their body reaches its full strength. So they then start trying to learn anything, any way, to make themselves whole again, they don't want to be a monster, so they learn to mimic not-monsters. Then they get comfortable mimicing monsters again. That's when they're ready to get married, say goodbye to the past, and have kids, grow old and die full of years yet. smile.gif

Whatcha think?

And of course I forgot Shadow. Everyone does.

Posted by: JTrigger 3rd May 2018 11:52
Why did you change your portrait? Now you dont seem so...you.

I cant answer why Cyan first. I just want to understand why everyone likes Terra so much.

Posted by: Locke Unlocked 10th May 2018 12:48
That's a valiant effort, Spooniest! I think it's loony toons but it's amusing.

I see the cast call patterned around general categories and molded together for maximum emotional resonance.

1) Start with characters upon which a fair amount of plot focuses and that are logistically central to the game but that aren't quite at the emotional core. Cyan, whose tragic development is a big deal but is dealt with and hopefully conquered outside the ending (hence the comedy about his mechanical ineptitude); Setzer, whose wings are completely essential and whose own dramatic backstory could use an extra scene; and the Figaro brothers, who have been with us pretty much since the beginning without quite the same focus as the "leads" but whose unique relationship deserves that awesome crescendo.

2) Get the comic relief characters out of the way. Starting with them would be weird (hence, category 1) but we want the rest of the cast call to build something big. Mog, pretty much the game's mascot, and the most playful character by far, makes sense to kick off the interlude with a huge contrast from the majesty (pun intended) of the Figaro theme; Umaro then Gogo, the optional characters we don't really empathize with but hey Umaro is at least a logical follow-up to Mog; and, to some degree Gau, who has no shortage of poignant backstory but to be frank deals with it--if at all--in an adorably optimistic way despite its unchangeability and who is thus still basically comic relief with a prettier theme.

3) The big three. Celes's theme is a perfect follow-up to Gau's from a pure musical perspective and her pairing (musically, sequentially, and actually) with Locke is a guaranteed fangasm creator. Whatever frustration is associated with Gau's seemingly incomplete story melts away with the more definite (albeit still beautifully subtle, at least when compared to the likes of Cecil and Rosa) romantic connection, even if it is just more definitely in Celes's head because you never made it through the Phoenix Cave. And, even though this is supposedly a protagonist-free ensemble cast, and Celes and Locke seem to get at least an equal amount of focus, Terra is thematically pretty much the heartbeat at the game's center. Heck, the cast call sample from her theme is mostly that which is only heard in the version that plays as the main WOB theme. If anyone can follow Celes & Locke combined, it's her.

4) The Thamasa three. We care about them, but they're a step down from the centrality of Celes, Locke, and Terra (well, maybe except for one of them...). Relm's theme makes the most sense to follow the other two female characters. Shadow, as ancillary as he normally seems, is clearly the tragic crescendo of the last three with a soaring, tearjerking version of his normally wistful western take-off theme. Whether he dies here or died at the Floating Continent, his sacrifice made the survival of the Returners possible. The idea of an antihero so morally bankrupt but so important at the right time that only death can realistically redeem him is such a powerfully bittersweet notion, it's easily possible to surpass even the sentimentality of the big three. Strago finishes it all for the simple reasons that ending on Shadow's theme would be depressing and because the heavy implication is that Strago's book of "lore" is the storybook from whence we after-the-fact read the tale of our heros.

Posted by: Spooniest 11th May 2018 03:49
Quote (Locke Unlocked @ 10th May 2018 07:48)
Terra is thematically pretty much the heartbeat at the game's center. Heck, the cast call sample from her theme is mostly that which is only heard in the version that plays as the main WOB theme. If anyone can follow Celes & Locke combined, it's her.

I am not sure why, but the reprise of Terra's Theme which plays in the scene you mention seems more or less the wrap-up to the entire story of the game, and seems to state the primary theme in totality, for me; coming of age.

And the fantasy epic is generally speaking, pretty wrapped up in the Hero's Journey/Coming of Age themes...so for me, the game gets kinda misty from there.

Being, ahem, as foolishly sentimental as I am.

Posted by: Elena99 13th May 2018 22:45
It might have more to do with the music than the characters. Maybe they liked the way the music flowed in that particular order?

Posted by: Rangers51 14th May 2018 13:41
Quote (Elena99 @ 13th May 2018 16:45)
It might have more to do with the music than the characters. Maybe they liked the way the music flowed in that particular order?

I like that theory. I think it would make sense that Uematsu had done his work before the ending sequence was fully storyboarded, and probably had a lot of say in how it played out; I'm sure it took him a great deal of time to work out his arrangement, whereas the ending scenes would have been fairly easy to reconfigure as needed to match the medley.

Posted by: Spooniest 14th May 2018 22:17
... It could be that the music department did the storyboarding for the ending, since it does seem to sync to onscreen motion, the same way the opera scene did.

Posted by: Locke Unlocked 15th July 2018 06:51
Hey Spooniest. Just surfing the boards again and saw my reply to your initial post, That was a real jackass comment! Your theory is pretty cool. Instead of "loony tunes" I could say something like "doubtful to be the original intent." Instead of "amusing" I could say "enlightening". I really didn't mean to be that much of a jerk. And despite that, you still had a great comment on something I said. You were the classier act by far.

Posted by: Spooniest 15th July 2018 07:33
user posted image

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Posted by: Eagle Caller 25th April 2020 01:46
Normally I wouldn't revive an older topic. Though I'm doing it to state the obvious. Having someone go first in something doesn't make them more important. Take Chess I've been playing over 30 years. I know someone goes first but it is the second player that can also determine how the game is played.

Cyan could have a special reason to be picked first or not. If no particular reason then he was chosen arbitrary a.k.a at random.

Mathematically they could have been presented in reverse order in which they join the party. It would turn it into a palindrome of some kind.

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