THE ENDGAME: Final Dungeons of the Final Fantasy Series Part VI

Final Fantasy VI: Kefka’s Tower

Ever since he torched the world, Kefka has been sitting atop his tower blasting cities that show any hint of opposition with the conservatively named “Light of Judgment.” What does he intend to do? Why is he just sitting up there? Why did he stop where he did? Well it is probably not a good idea to just wait and see, so we’re just gonna have to go up and find out.

Which is to say, kick his ass. 

Unlike the last few dungeons, Kefka’s tower hasn’t been built up over the course of the game as a dread or wondrous location. It doesn’t even show up until the last act of the game. All the foreboding created by the tower is how much time you spend trying to find enough friends to even stand a chance of defeating the enemy – who displayed his power in spectacular fashion at the close of the last act.

I know, it’s “another tower.” RPGs love towers. In an interesting little twist, you actually enter this tower from the airship. So you climb down the tower, I think. Honestly, it’s not very clear that you’re in a tower once you enter. You do not appear to make clear progress in any one direction, vertically or horizontally.

Anyway, this is similar to the Rift in that elements of previous dungeons are present throughout the tower, with significantly less variety. It would appear that Kefka fashioned his abode with parts belonging to the old Empire. As I said this does not have quite the same impact, as it feels more like a retread of Vector and the Magitek Factory. It makes sense in-universe though, so what do you want?

The music definitely steps up to the plate here, like the rest of the soundtrack. It returns to that “go forth!” sound to which a badass could walk slowly and determinedly forward. And, though by no means unique to the final dungeon, I just love the boss music so freaking much.

Kefka’s tower is shorter than the moon in FFIV and the boss gauntlet is not quite as extensive as the Rift in V. There are several optional boss monsters to take on, from the last of the dragons you may have started on the outside or Atma, but the true gauntlet comes in the form of the Warring Triad – the three statues which are the creators and source of magic in the world. Whoa. So, here, what the bosses lack in quantity they make up for in gravity.

Did I mention the enemy design for these three is amazing?

I do find this dungeon a bit difficult and it can very easily catch you woefully unprepared, as it did to me. The random encounters here combine many types of enemies in some tricky layouts which seem designed to punish you until you put together effective strategies for each setup. However, all final dungeons do that to an extent, what really can make Kefka’s Tower so difficult is its unique approach. Final Fantasy VI has the biggest cast in the series, so big that even players who like to keep their characters balanced are likely to leave someone to the dogs. If you are a player that tends to focus on your favorite characters (as I did in my first playthrough), then you may as well go home. This dungeon forces you to use every single character in three parties. Having to use your shunned characters against the random encounters here would be bad enough, but each party must take on bosses, the Warring Triad in particular. This means you have to split your best characters up, weakening your position further.

“We don’t want Umaro, you pricks!”

Gameplay-wise: a veritable pain in the neck for young ForceStealer. Story-wise: very cool. It makes the most sense; how many characters sit uselessly in the sidelines in RPGs for no logical reason? Furthermore, taking out one of the statues before the others could alert Kefka in enough time to interfere – this way, the entire party wipes out the sources of magic simultaneously. It adds to the grand scale of the whole affair, and makes their reunion just before the final battle that much more awesome than the half-hearted attempt at this the next dungeon will make.

All in all, it is a solid dungeon to conclude a masterpiece of a game. However, other games have done the final dungeon better, and were I to list my favorites in the series, I don’t know how high the Tower would place (remember, the final bosses are not being considered).

Next up, from high into the air to deep underground.

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