HALF: the possibilities

[LocoColt04]

Come with me for a walk through my imagination.

Final Fantasy VI. Arguably the greatest of all of the FF games. Some agree, some don't. Those people are entitled to their opinions, so let them keep 'em.

But imagine this: FFVI with half the characters. Seven. Seven characters.


Would the story be drastically affected? Who goes and who stays? Or would the characters change altogether? No one will ever know, but for the time being, we sure as hell can imagine it, can't we?

Keeping Terra is a must. There's no doubt about that. To avoid changing the story too much, these are the characters which I feel would have to be in the game. And yes... I'm not including Sabin, my favorite of them all.

Terra, Locke, Edgar, Cyan, Celes, Setzer, and a variable. This last character could be one of the original 14 or perhaps someone different altogether. However, these six make up the bulk of the storyline, and are necessary to avoid actually changing the game. (Sabin isn't needed just because he's the king's twin. That can be omitted without changing things.)

Now, if you want to keep Thamasa in the game, you need to have Strago or Relm, or possibly Shadow. Any could work, or you could cut Thamasa altogether.

So, with our six solid characters and a variable, this is what I propose:


FFVI + JOB CLASSES = w00t!!!

Each character could have two job classes.
How would they fall? Follow along.

Terra: Mage Knight and Esper (primary black mage)
Locke: Thief and Archer (we need one, and Locke's quick)
Edgar: Knight/Paladin and Lancer (level into pally; add dragoon abilities)
Cyan: Ninja/Samurai (level into samurai; he's too cool to have two classes)
Celes: Mage Knight and White Mage (a party must-have)
Setzer: Gambler and Time Mage (it seems fitting)
xxxx: Monk and Blue Mage (combine Sabin and Setzer... yum)


So, we have a topic.

Would you choose the same six/seven characters?
Would you use job classes?
Would you change the story, or keep it as close to the original as possible?

It's your turn.

[psychosyd]

Alright lets see... my party would include

Terra- Mage Knight/Black Mage
Edgar- Knight
Cyan- Samuri
Sabin- Monk
Shadow- Theif/Ninja
Strago- Blue Mage
Celes- White Mage

I think thats the kind of story line Ill look at with those characters, sorry im watching triple x and unable to make a fully focused intellegent post

[Elf]

Well, you need Terra, or else there wouldn't be a game. Locke and Celes are important, as are Edgar and Setzer. Overall, these are the only ones that really can't be replaced. Special characters like Umaro, Gogo, and even Mog and Shadow could be easily removed. Sabin isn't really important, and taking him out pretty much automatically removes Cyan and Gau. That leaves Strago and Relm, and Relm isn't really important to anything besides leeking out Thamasa's secret. So I guess I would go with...

Terra: Black Mage/Esper (superior magic power)
Locke: Theif/Monk (quick and strong)
Edgar: Knight/Archer (valent king doing it all)
Celes: Mage Knight/Red Mage (runic is just begging for magic sword)
Setzer: Dragoon/Gambler (he spends most of his time in the air anyway)
Strago: White Mage/Blue Mage (good magic, but is too old to seriously injure someone.....intentionally)
Shadow: Ninja/Assassin (the self-sacrifice alone is worth the final spot; speed and death in one)

With these characters, the game would stay pretty much the same (at least in the first half, but most of the second half is optional anyway), sans Sabin's scenario. You'd still have the main conflict, the main love story, and plenty of transportation via airship/castle. All that you really lose is Doma, the Veldt, and the build-up of Leo's character, and that could be incorperated into Figaro during Locke's scenario.

[Rossferatu]

Notes:

-- New menu selection, Job, would be added. Characters will have to progress to a certain point in their respective storylines until their alternate Job class is available.
-- All of the playable characters that are not included below would be NPC in their respective areas.
-- The story wouldn't be changed insofar as the main story-line leading up to the defeat of Kefka in Kefka's Tower, but Narshe will be slightly tweaked.
-- In the World of Ruin, the lack of playable characters will give more time to develop the existing playable characters since you don't have to collect every character and do all of the sidequests related to them.
-- Narshe Kefka fight would be tougher with only 7 characters, so the monsters would be 25% easier and their ranks would be decreased by 3 (so 3 less encounters).
-- Sabin still saves the party from Vargas, only he doesn't join afterwards.
-- Bow/C.Bow weapons would be added, along with more weapons and armor of existing categories.
-- Phoenix Cave and Kefka's Tower, which require two and three parties, would have to be reworked.
-- MoogleCharm wouldn't be accessible since Mog isn't recruitable. He'd still stand there looking at the wall in the Narshe caves. Instead, an equivalent item would be added to the mix: 4-LeafClover, equippable by Locke or Setzer. The 4-LeafClover is obtainable by defeating Lone Wolf in a hidden boss fight.
-- Gau will still lead the party to the Underwater Apparatus, but his assistance is triggered by encountering him on the Veldt and going through the whole Mr. Thou sequence. He doesn't join the party, but instead waits for you at the cave.
-- World of Ruin locations for characters would be consistent with the storyline. Sabin would still be in Tzen holding up that house, and entering the town would still trigger the rescue scene, but Sabin would not join the party. He'd be an NPC.

Playable characters that cannot be recruited in this rendition of FFVI still have a use!

Locations (WOB/WOR):
Sabin (Mt. Koltz/Tzen), Strago (Thamasa/Thamasa), Relm (Thamasa/Jidoor), Umaro (Narshe/Narshe), Gau (Mobliz/Old Man's House), Gogo (---/Triangle Island), and Mog (Narshe/Narshe).

Abilities:
-- Gau will show you a bestiary of monsters you've fought and defeated.
-- Strago will drop hints as to what monsters use what Lore and will give the party a slightly greater chance of finding these monsters on the Veldt (effect lasts 10 minutes). He only gives hints for one Lore at a time.
-- Umaro would still fight you after obtaining Terrato, and after the fight Mog will come in and convince Umaro to clear Narshe of monsters so that people may inhabit it again (the shopkeepers carry upgraded stuff, as well). Moogles would also return.
-- Relm will still be painting the Chardanook, which will still lead to obtaining Starlet. After defeating Chardanook, she will return to Owzer's House (non-dungeon) and offer to paint portraits (artwork) of playable characters, bosses, memorable NPCs, and memorable scenes from the game. Obtaining all of them will take time, however, since she can only paint one at a time and it will take 30 minutes to complete. Something to do while leveling up.
-- Gogo will give the party a bunch of new items, including a Relic that would grant the wearer the Mime ability (takes place of Fight). Afterwards, he will remain idle a little longer.
-- Sabin will take on a pupil (flagged in the Status screen) where the pupil would gain +1 to Stamina, +1 to Vigor, or +10% to HP per 2 levels. Stat gains are cumulative with equipped Esper's stat gains. Sabin's ability would be accessible only after you help save the boy. Only one playable character can have one instructor at a time, and no playable character can be taught by both instructors at once.
-- Mog will be similar to Sabin, only level benefits would be +1 to MgPwr, +1 to Speed, or +10% to MP per 2 levels. If you choose the GoldHairpin over Mog at that point in the game, Mog will still train but the stat increases would be effective every 3 levels, instead (you pissed him off!). Stat gains are cumulative with equipped Esper's stat gains. Mog's ability would be accessible only after Umaro has cleared Narshe of monsters and the Moogles return to the cave. Only one playable character can have one instructor at a time, and no playable character can be taught by both instructors at once.

***

I am including magic-related classes even though Espers teach magic to everyone anyway. These job class would benefit magic, I think, so that it does more damage or it factors in an equation to boost MgPwr. Therefore, Celes would have greater success in curing and Terra would have greater success in attacking while their respective job classes are active. Likewise, everyone who is not innately a magic-user will see their initial MgPwr base drop 30% to keep things interesting. Stats can still be increased via Espers and the two trainers.

Playable Characters:

Terra: Mage Knight (MgPwr + 10, Vigor - 10) / Esper (MgPwr + 10, Vigor + 10 [MgPwr + 20, Vigor + 20 while Morphed])
Skills: MagicSword / Morph
- MagicSword casts an element on Terra's sword and powers her next attack. If her sword is already elementally augmented (ThunderBlade, FlameSabre, Blizzard) casting a like element would do double damage on her next attack and casting a negating element would do zero damage on her next attack.
- Morph remains unchanged

Locke: Thief / Ranger
Skills: Steal OR Capture / Aim
- Steal and Capture are unchanged.
- Aim is like Rosa's ability in FFIV if a bow is equipped (2x damage or so). If a bow is not equipped, ranged weapon does 1.5x damage. Time for attack takes a little longer than a normal attack.

Edgar: Engineer / Dragoon
Skills: Tools / Jump
- Tools are unchanged, though a few more tools are added. 1) Hammer, which takes on the GabbleDak's Wrench animation but with a Hammer sprite instead. Does moderate damage to one enemy and has a chance of stunning the enemy. 2) NailGun, which is like a souped up AutoCrossbow. Defense-piercing nails shoot out at all enemies on the screen, doing moderate to above average damage. Can only be used once per battle.
- Jump doesn't take place of Fight

Cyan: Knight / Samurai
Skills: SwdTech / SwdGrab
- SwdTech is unchanged and obtaining SwdTechs is unchanged.
- SwdGrab is like a True Knight/Black Belt combo that works 100% of the time. It blocks a physical attack against anyone in the party (no damage taken to Cyan), and Cyan counters after successfully blocking a physical attack.

Celes: Mage Knight (MgPwr + 10, Vigor +10) / White Mage (MgPwr + 20, Vigor - 20)
Skills: Runic / Health
- Runic is unchanged, except it only draws enemy magical attacks.
- Health is exactly like Banon's Health ability, only more powerful due to the MgPwr bonus.

Setzer: Gambler / Blue Mage
Skills: Slot / Lore
- Slot is unchanged
- Lore is unchanged, though a few more lores are added (Tentacle and Sneeze come to mind).

Shadow: Ninja / Monk
Skills: Throw / Blitz
- Throw is unchanged
- Blitz is unchanged. Bum Rush is still obtained from Duncan, but since Shadow isn't his student in the storyline, it carries a hefty price.

[Sean]

I'm too lazy to go into full detail right now, so I'll just add my two cents on the seven characters I'd keep.... Uhm... yeah, it's 6:00 in the morning and I've yet to go to bed, so... yeah, I'll fix it later. -_-;

Terra
Setzer
Sabin
Edgar
Shadow
Gogo
Cyan

[Destruction666]

Ok since I have to have them
Terra: Mage Knight/Paladin
Locke: Thief/Treasure hunter
Edgar: Engineer/Dark Night
Cyan: Knight/Pirate Is it just me or does Cyan look an
astounding ammount like Fargo from Chrono Cross?
Celes: Magitek Knight
Setzer: Gambler/Thief

and for the pies de resistance

Shadow:Ninja/Assasin, The greatest ninja in the history of FF's

[Cloud Strife X]

If it was up to me, i'd include the following characters: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Celes, and Strago. Unless there's something i'm forgetting, Setzer's not necessarily a vital character - he can lend you his airship when you first find him in the WoB, and then let you use the Falcon in the WoR. So basically, he's now an occasionally playable NPC. Beyond that, I think that the characters mentioned provide a decent mix of abilities. And yes, I think Sabin's a core character, because without him, you couldn't have Cyan, and Cyan's a badass who absolutely needs to be included.

And as for job classes? I've already done something of the sort with the help of your friendly neighborhood Game Genie, and it turned out to be an interesting (and somewhat more difficult) game. Basically, I just gave each character that I decided to use two abilities (for example, Locke had Steal and Throw) rather than one skill and "Magic". So instead of including "jobs" per se, i'd rather just pick out two abilities for each character and roll with that. Let's see...

Terra:
She remains unchanged. Maybe she'll have a little better magic power.
- Morph
- Magic

Locke:
He'd be the stereotypical "quick" guy. I'd add in Bows for him to equip, though, to go with the "Aim" skill.
- Steal (can be changed to Capture with the appropriate Relic)
- Aim (like Rosa's skill in FF4)

Edgar
This is the setup he got in my Game Genie-modified file.
- Tools
- Jump

Sabin
He'd be powerful, but have some decent speed as well.
- Blitz
- Meditate (or something to that effect, it would basically double your attack power during his next turn)

Cyan
The slow, heavy powerhouse with ass-kicking katana skills.
- SwdTech
- GP Toss (the Samurai skill in FF5)

Celes
Also unchanged... Runic is obviously much better in an FF6 in which only three (counting Strago) characters can use magic, though.
- Runic
- Magic

Strago
You gotta have the blue mage. That's all I have to say. But I can't figure out a second ability. Perhaps a version of "Meditate" that affects magic instead? Or maybe Relm's "Control" ability?
- Lore
- ???

I would resist drastically changing the storyline - just change the now-unused characters like Shadow and Umaro to NPCs that you can occasionally use in storyline-necessary battles (such as when Relm has to sketch Ultros). So, now we have to figure out what to do with the Espers. What i'm thinking is to let everyone equip them, and when you do, your character gets a fifth "Summon" command. Of course, i'd keep the stat bonuses, even though I never cared about them, because everyone else would crucify me if I didn't. Oh, and Terra and Celes can still learn magic from the Espers, but nobody else can - they're all restricted to summoning and stat bonuses.

I think that about covers it. If given the chance, I wouldn't change a thing about the game (except maybe changing the "FenixDowns" in my SNES version to "Phoenix Downs" like they should be), but you asked, so whatever.

[Climhazzard]

Here are the characters that I would chose....

Terra: Mage Knight/Morph
Celes: Mage Knight/Runic
Locke: Ranger/Thief
Sabin: Monk/Focus....makes his attacks stronger
Edgar: Dragoon/Engineer....Chainsaw Divebomb just think about it
Cyan: Knight/Paladin... most protective and best swordsman
Shadow: Ninja/Assassin...mysterious badass

I wouldn't change the story at all. It is just too good to change too much.

[T.G. Oskar]

Ooooooo, tempting... Guess its time to bring my hammer of mixing +5 and develop some stuff from it. Perhaps some D&D, some FF, bits and pieces of other stuff...

Before I do anything, I want to thank first LocoColt, for the thread (and for giving Terra the importance she deserves!!!). Second, I like Destruction's idea (mixing Terra and the Paladin class) because I like both things. Finally, I'll go with Cain's idea of not allowing Espers to teach magic (y'know, like the FF6/FFT hack. That's why I mention it's his idea, even though he's nowhere to see. Gotta handle it to him.)

With that said, I'll proceed with my choices:
--Terra: Eldritch Knight/Sorceress/Half-Esper template. The Eldritch Knight allows for a near-perfect combination of martial combat and swordsmanship (think Mageknight without the magic sword spells, but able to cast other spells). The Sorceress class would be like Kletian's from FFT. And the Half-Esper template is the only way to explain why she has the Morph ability: an alternate form. And also to explain her above average stats.

Skills: Morph/Magic

--Locke: Rogue (Yes, just Rogue. Perhaps also Swashbuckler). The Rogue class defines more what Locke is (remember, he's not a thief, he's a TREASURE HUNTER. Rogues think of themselves the same). Of course, the Rogue class would add the tried and true Steal skill, and the ability to sneak upon an enemy and strike him. Hide, next turn strike. After the strike, the battle becomes a side battle at your favor. Of course, it will not always work, especially on bosses.

Skills: Steal/Hide->Sneak

--Edgar: Engineer/Dragoon. Same as in the original. Except more Tools, and perhaps hammering an alternate-produced, non-Esper-killing Magitek Armor scheme ('cause if the Espers can infuse their powers on humans, why not in machines? How would you explain how magic weapons and armor, except the Ragnarok, come from?)

Skills: Tools/Jump

--Celes: Runeknight/Esper-infused Template (Runeknight not the same as Mageknight. Definitely not). The Runeknight would grant her the Runic ability,and perhaps some swordspells like Shock, or Stasis Sword (which would go with the Magic command, before the spells). The template (tailored to the story itself) would grant her the ability to cast spells, but more like the one's she would learn by herself in the original (White Magic spells, Ice spells, many status-affecting spells, etc.) In essence, she would sacrifice some spells for the sword skills.

Skills: Runic/Magic

--Cyan: Samurai (you'd kinda figure that out, right?). Same as original, add more techniques). Also add the break skills of the FFT knight separately, with each lowering a particular stat.

Skills: SwdTech/Sunder

--Setzer: Gambler/Gunner(?). I don't like Setzer so much, he has cool skills but mostly depends on the luck. So, thinking that he's such a technology whore, why not add him the FFTA Gunner class? Of course, with a less powered Stopshot. And perhaps more shot skills. Also that would mean guns would be available at the game. As for the dice...I think its better if it goes as a skill rather than a weapon. So are the darts.

Skills: Gamble/Shot

And the 7th character...
--Shadow: Ninja/Assassin. The classes were made to complement each other, for God's sake!!!! It's a no-brainer, rivaled only by the Ninja/Rogue combo. Keeps his throw, yet gains the ability to use ninjutsu. So no more skeans or scrolls: he can use those spells anytime he wants. Add some more cool ninjutsu/genjutsu. The assassin skills are the final jutsu, which he can't learn that easily...think Duncan can teach him those moves, perhaps...

Skills: Throw/Jutsu

And...that's about it...