In Response to "Was I Playing Star Wars?"

by John McLean

In response to Jamal Pliska's editorial, "Was I Playing Star Wars," I think that Mr. Pliska was interpreting the plot of FF6 to be unoriginal based on a hasty scrutiny. Yes, there are slight similarities between the plots of FF6 and Star Wars, but the similarities are just that, slight. There are definite parallels between "The Force" in star wars and Magic in FF6, and this is the strongest correlation between the two pieces. Jamal is right to point out that in both, the supernatural force in question is dying out, and the evil side in both stories are scrambling to revive it. Also there are strong correlations between the characters of Terra and Luke Skywalker in that they both have control of this supernatural force, and as such are sought by the evil empire. In these points the two plots do correspond strongly, and if one was to stop their comparison here, a case could be made for FF6 being unoriginal. But when one looks deeper into the plot of FF6 I think that it becomes obvious that the similarities are no more than cursory.

First of all, lets go back to the argument of Magic being the same as "The Force." The first difference between these two powers is that the background of Magic is explored to a much greater degree than the background of the force is in Star Wars. In Star Wars, the force merely exists- little thought or story is given as to why it exists (except for a few words from Yoda in "Empire.") But in FF6, as one plays the story through, the subject of the origin of magic becomes a crucial part of the story. The capture of the Espers and the exploitation of their powers by the humans was, I thought, one of the strongest parts of the FF6 story. This brings us to the subject of Terra. As a half-esper herself, she becomes (and we become through the playing of the game) inexorably involved in this exploitation. Both the Empire and the Returners need her power to be successful in their respective causes. And Terra simply wants nothing to do with it. She dosen't want to have a supernatural power, and she dosen't want to be exploited. All she wants is to be is normal, and in fact for a good portion of the game she leaves your party for this reason. In the end she does use her powers for good in a situation of great need. But her reluctance distances her character from Luke Skywalker. Terra wants to be normal- Luke wants to embrace his powers and become a Jedi knight. Luke is eager to use his powers, despite warnings that rash use of the Force could lead to the dark side. The characters both have a power, but the way they embrace the power is much different. This goes back to the much deeper backstory of Magic in FF6.

After this, I see few other similarities between FF6 and Star Wars. I guess Locke and Han are somewhat similar in character. But while Locke is one of the most ardent supporters of the Returners from the start, Han seems merely out for profit. Yes, the character of Han does grow into a loyal good guy, but Locke starts out as the most loyal good guy. Also it seems to me that Han's past is of little note while Locke's past is what drives his "Treasure-hunting." I don't think Celes can be compared to Leia either. Celes is a general and former member of the evil empire, who has repented. Because of this, her character's motives are in question throughout much of the game. In Star Wars, Leia is the "goodest" of the good guys so to speak. Her character's motives never come close to being in question. Plus, Leia is a princess, Celes a general. Except for playing the "Beautiful woman" and love interest of the Han/Locke character in both games I don't see much correspondence between these characters.

As for Kefka and Gestal vs. Vader and the Emperor- one again there is little similarity. In FF6 Kefka is a deranged maniac who is bent only on personal gain. He defies and kills his own emperor and empire to achieve his goals. Vader has total allegiance to the Emperor and Empire almost all through Star Wars. It is not until the end that he defies them to save his son...and redeem himself. Vader's motives for defying his empire are good- to save his son. Kefka's motives are totally self serving- he kills his emperor so he can rule to earth alone, as a god of sorts. I cannot imagine Kefka doing anything good like Vader does at the end of Jedi. Yes, Kefka and Vader do both kill their emperor in the same way (by throwing him off a cliff) but saying that the characters are similar because of this is like saying that Marilyn Manson and the Eurythmics are similar because they both sang "Sweet Dreams." I can see absolutely no similarities between Kefka and Vader other then they are the main bad guy in either story.

As for themes...Yes, there are some similar themes between Star Wars and FF6- the small rebel band overthrowing the large evil empire. But wait- in FF6 the small rebel band didn't destroy the empire...Kefka did. A full half of the game dosen't even deal with the empire. For Star Wars to correspond, Return of the Jedi would have been about 6 hours longer, in which Darth Vader would have become a deranged maniac who rules over a shattered universe with the death star at his command. The first half of this game does have the small rebel band theme versus large evil empire theme, but this dosen't mean the story is unoriginal, or that it is copying Star Wars. Look at other places you see this theme- FF7 (Avalanche vs. Shinra), or FFTactics (Ramza vs. his brothers and the church) for example. Because these themes are similar to Star Wars, does it mean that these stories are un-original copies of Star Wars?

What I am trying to say here is that in no way should the plot of FF6 be criticized as "not original in any way, shape, or form" as Mr. Pliska says. If one looks past the few surface similarities- such as both stories having large furry characters (which is not really a similarity- Chewie is an integral part of the Star Wars movies, while Umaro may not even be found by many gamers) you will see that there are few actual similarities between the stories. I think that comparisons like this take away from the great and deep plot FF6 actually has. Actually, I think that I'll go dust off the SNES and play it right now. :)

Original Editorial: Was I playing Star Wars?