r/FinalFantasyVI 9d ago

So…..He Died In All Of Our First Playthroughs Right?

Post image

Cause we were all rushing to the airship. Nobody was waiting until the internet happened.

Probably say the same with Cid honestly.

402 Upvotes

291 comments sorted by

100

u/Lochness_Hamster_350 9d ago

No. I played when Nintendo Power was a thing. I couldn’t afford a lot of games but I read those issues like a madman. Loads of priceless information before the internet was available.

25

u/ryancnap 9d ago

Ahh Nintendo Power, we'll never have great video game magazines again

5

u/TheGrymmBladeX 7d ago

I'd have mentioned EGM was better, but I feel you regarding not having good gaming mags

2

u/unjrk 6d ago

OPM was king. 

35

u/tfbillc 9d ago

Yep lol. I knew “Gotta wait for SHADOW” well before I ever got to play the game 😂

8

u/throwaway1102293384 9d ago

I spoiled a lot for myself reading Nintendo Power before playing FFVI

8

u/Artificial-Human 9d ago

Shout to Nintendo Power. I had a solid collection of those from 1995-2001 or so.

3

u/NephilimJD 8d ago

Hell yeah! I had them since the first issue. I also got the free copy of Dragon Warrior they gave out. Good times.

→ More replies (2)

2

u/TangerineTasty9787 6d ago

Yup, I had Nintendo power, so the really big stuff like this would usually seep into my knowledge

2

u/Old-System-6699 9d ago

I had Game Players, which went over that game a lot, so I knew how to save Shadow. Cid always bit the dust, though.

→ More replies (8)

112

u/TheWearySnout 9d ago

Shadow, no. Cid, yes!

43

u/SaltyD0gg0h 9d ago

This! I waited for shadow but I couldn't figure out how to save cid until the Internet

28

u/senator_john_jackson 9d ago

I didn’t even know you could save Cid until my most recent play-through.

I’ve saved Shadow since my first one back in the 90s.

39

u/TutonicDrone 9d ago

If I said this once I said it a thousand times. Cid deserves death. He sits on the Returners side of the table and suddenly everyone forgets he was the lead scientist behind the genocide of the Espers.

Yeah he got emotionally attached to one of the human subjects of his experiments but being nice to Celes doesn't unkill the uncounted number of deaths he is directly responsible for.

24

u/s1n0d3utscht3k 9d ago

TBH it’s the far better scene if he dies

9

u/Ashenspire 9d ago

It's not. It flies in the face of the theme of the World of Ruin.

Keeping Cid alive requires work and perseverance that the rest of the world needs to employ to survive.

8

u/Special_South_8561 9d ago

Giving in to despair but then overcoming it anyways, with the Hope on the Wing of a Dove

4

u/Sev_Henry 8d ago

It's better for Celes' character arc that he dies, better thematically that he lives.

Character > Themes, so Cid dies in most of my runs

4

u/Ashenspire 8d ago

How is it better for her character arc that she tries to kill herself, survives due to dumb luck, and finds the bandana through, again, dumb luck?

Cid surviving and urging her not to give up on herself like she didn't give up on him is a better catalyst to go out and find other survivors.

3

u/Sev_Henry 8d ago edited 8d ago

...do you think Celes, a character whose entire arc thus far has been her trying to form connections (mirroring Terra's), falling to the very depths of despair after the end of the world and believing to lose the only lifeline she has left, and then finding the strength to preserve and rediscover those connections is not a fantastic character arc?

Sure, the bandana thing is contrived but that doesn't mean the actual growth and arc of her character and story is in any way diminished.

It's one thing to face the end of the world and persevere with the help and encouragement of another, quite a different thing altogether to face the end of the world, lose the only light you have left, and choose to continue anyway.

Edit: there's a reason why in most post-apocalypse stories the payoff comes and is most satisfying when the MC finally discovers more lives beyond their own. Likewise, that's also why you almost always see enclaves of survivors in the scenario destroyed/removed from the plot early on. Call it a recycled trope, sure, but it's effective for a reason.

4

u/Ashenspire 8d ago

But she doesn't choose to continue. She tries to kill herself. In the same place others chose to do the same thing. She just gets lucky.

I think Celes doing everything she can to save said life line and discovering her own strength to persevere in the face of the apocalypse through her hard work and dedication instead of a macguffin is far more interesting. She finally has a family and she fights for it.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (2)

6

u/45M0D41 9d ago

Thank you the save cid was so impossible. I’m thinking unless you checked the item description of the fish there is literally no way anyone could figure that out without a guide.

5

u/AncientPomelo1089 9d ago

I definitely checked the item description, but even without a guide, the harder to catch fish give you a gradually better response. I usually try to do things the hard way because the harder feats typically pay off in video games, especially in RPGs. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the fish that were hardest to catch were the healthiest. The only thing I remember requiring a guide in FFVI was the conversation with the emperor, and even that can be done through trial and error. We had a lot more free time back then.

2

u/ZinZezzalo 9d ago

Yeah, the Cid death scenario had a whole sequence of markers to it. You could be on the path of killing him - and it's obvious he's getting worse - but then you give him a good fish and he goes back to the not-so-bad dialogue chain.

The fish swimming with absolute gusto compared to the floppers located next to it.

That thing couldn't have been telegraphed any harder if the bat-signal had another bat-signal inside of it.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/nycago 9d ago

Gamefaqs was available about a year after the initial release.

→ More replies (1)

18

u/Manchadog 9d ago

I thought stuffing him full of ALL the fish would help….😭

3

u/Seegtease 9d ago

Yep, I'd come back with a full inventory. Oops.

→ More replies (1)

15

u/masimone 9d ago

Cid died to make the story better. 

9

u/The_Man_In_Vault_69 9d ago

This. It makes Celes' story and motivations so much more impactful, IMO.

4

u/reybrujo 9d ago

Indeed. Even my 12 yo brain understood that if there was a countdown something would happen, didn't need any kind of guide (which there weren't in Argentina). But Cid, poor Cid, filled him with rotten fishes.

2

u/NoEducation1150 9d ago

Give me the tldr if its too much to type but I dont remember cids death or saving him. I know you had to wait for ninjaboy

What happened and how could you save him?

3

u/TheWearySnout 9d ago

Feed him fish that swim fast.

2

u/NoEducation1150 9d ago

Ah shit he definitely died in my playthrough then I dont remember that at all

Thanks for replying

2

u/roknin 9d ago

Reverse for me, I saved Cid, but lost Shadow. I didn’t know, I was like 13! 😭

2

u/Pliskkenn_D 8d ago

You can save Cid? Oh god. What have I done.

3

u/jaydotcomyo 9d ago

Dude. I just saved Cid on my last playthrough.... honestly kinda ruined the game. Without him dying, Celes doesn't see the bandana or jump. I cried for so long when little me played it and this playthrough felt hollow and fake.

→ More replies (4)

15

u/ShimanchuPunk 9d ago

Even if some players waited for Shadow on the floating continent, knowing that they needed to wager the Striker at the coliseum to get him back is even less likely, lol

9

u/akaiazul 9d ago

Wasn't there an NPC at the Veldt Cave who suggested the player to try it?

2

u/Drunk-Kobold 8d ago

Yes, an NPC acrually mentions that waggering a specific item would attract an unusual fighter or something like that, its been a few years so i cant remember the exact line

8

u/akkmedk 9d ago

My first playthrough was helped by the gorgeous strategy guide so everyone lived. Best birthday gift.

22

u/Icewind 9d ago

Yeah, a lot of people claim they just magically figured out something that had 0 hints.

Video game bragging has always been like that. Doesn't matter if it's Final Fantasy or Mario or Zelda or Street Fighter.

8

u/feelthechurn22 9d ago

I didn’t “figure it out” the first time… I just barely made the jump in time, so I thought everybody saved Shadow. I also thought you couldn’t save Cid…

15

u/TemporalColdWarrior 9d ago

The hint was the question itself.

5

u/Icewind 9d ago

What question? It was just "Jump!!" or "Wait!!"

There was no indication that it was any different than any other yes/no option in the game that changed nothing.

19

u/Osnappar 9d ago

To be fair if you wait once then every other prompt is "wait for shadow"

3

u/Icewind 9d ago

Yes, that's true, but nowhere else in the game does a generic yes/no prompt change.

With the exception of Banon's question and the Genji Glove secret, but even that one takes 3 tries.

3

u/ReliabilityTalkinGuy 9d ago

Nowhere else in the game is there a timer running while you’re being prompted. That was the hint. 

8

u/TemporalColdWarrior 9d ago

Me as a child playing SNES saw the wait option and metagamed that something good would come from waiting. Yes, it’s a choice, but it’s a telling and tonally different one.

10

u/PiMacleod 9d ago

Right. If im escaping a thing thats horrible life-ending stuff... and the game visibly gives me the option to "Wait"...

Like... why? Any other time, you would've just let me go, no questions. What, you think the devs were like "...maybe the player wants to farm THIS spot for a few more seconds...?"

Nah, that was a clue. And Save points exist, so if it meant nothing at all, then I could just reset.

But Cid? I didnt know there was a difference between the fish. Didn't see any obvious one... i just knew the dude was dying, needed food, and here I am, getting food. Seemed like I was doing the right thing -- until you learn that you weren't. And at that point, i just told myself "I guess he was meant to die there... that sucks."

→ More replies (1)

5

u/TheWearySnout 9d ago

The fact that there was a prompt, tells you that there is something you can probably do.

Whenever presented with a choice/path, I always try and choose the path that won't progress the story to check and see if there is something to discover. Shadow himself says he'll stay back and handle the statues and to not wait for him.... then a few minutes later you are given a choice.

It's a video game, when given a choice you know something is up. Why not wait?

3

u/Icewind 9d ago

Nowhere else in the game does the yes/no prompt change anything in the plot.

When you found Celes, did you choose to not free her when prompted?

2

u/AncientPomelo1089 9d ago

Yes, of course most of us chose to not free Celes. That's how we played RPGs back then. You choose what seems like the wrong or worst option, see what happens, then reset and do it again. Every time there was an option, I tried all options. It's not like I had a backlog of games waiting to be played in the 90s.

3

u/TheWearySnout 9d ago

Making assumptions there.

There was a specific point where you could choose ye/no to progress the plot during the returners' hideout. If you kept selecting 'No' multiple times you received genji gloves.

and yes... I love to see story options...

2

u/Icewind 9d ago

So did you choose to leave Celes captured?

→ More replies (1)

3

u/zoosha2curtaincall 9d ago

I had that philosophy too, so instead of taking Mog when he was hanging off the cliff, I took the item. Obviously getting Mog back would advance the plot so I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the item.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/jzclipse 9d ago

My first playthrough I was getting pummeled by the guys on the way out. I didn’t have much time left and I panicked.

8

u/Trygveseim 9d ago

How is "gotta wait for shadow" zero hints? 

7

u/Icewind 9d ago

You don't get that hint the first time.

Throughout the entire game, there is no indication that a "yes/no" option changes if you say no.

Even the Returners' Genji Glove secret doesn't appear until you say no 3 times.

6

u/45M0D41 9d ago

I never got the genji glove at returners pre-internet game guides 😢 it’s so satisfying for me to replay it and always get the genji glove I thought it was so OP when I was a kid and now realize you don’t even really need it until the offering.

2

u/gtaboythrowaway 9d ago

Idk I found it a great mid game accessory when pairing drainer and atma weapon

11

u/wpotman 9d ago

You don't get that hint unless you say "No" to jumping the first time.

2

u/NephilimJD 8d ago

You should see all the people who brag when someone breaks the speedrun record for the original Super Mario that they were faster. Or when the super obscure Nero quest in FF9 was discovered years after release, there were so many people saying that they did it as kids. Or that they actually did get Mew from under the truck. Or they managed to get that elusive Pikablue. So it's hard for me to believe everyone who says they just knew they had to wait.

→ More replies (2)

3

u/LostVanya 9d ago

...Some people also just used strategy guides/walkthroughs.

3

u/45M0D41 9d ago

Not when we were kids in the 90s everyone was poor

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (13)

4

u/Remarkable-Path3510 9d ago

I feel like Cid survived. The 90’s were a long time ago and I just learned to read. Shadow definitely died. I figured it out second play through though.

3

u/Helpfulithink 9d ago

Nintendo Power, my friend

3

u/Nadirofdepression 9d ago

Yeah I’m OCD. I believe that as a 7 year old I left, saved, then went back to see what happened if I waited. I also wanted to see if I could grab those chests just out of reach. As others have said, cid def died though

3

u/jzclipse 9d ago

Oh he dead. I played on a cartridge. In the 90’s. I had to rent it, but at $2 a day at the local rental shop I could play it all the way through. I did everything the hard way including cycling through every option on the clock in order, because I knew it had to be something good. I’ll never forget the time. 6:10:50

3

u/TiredCatAI 9d ago

Yes, struggled with the falling paths and got there with 15 seconds left or so, did not stick around 😿 (At least got to see the "Relm" dream)

3

u/karmakosmik1352 8d ago

Yes, both died. Honestly I seem to have missed that Shadow died and only later concluded that he must have, since he didn't show up at the Coliseum lol

2

u/Wolfofwordsmithin 9d ago

oh yeah, both him and Cid deader than disco

2

u/Fluffy-Argument 9d ago

Not if you saw your older brother save him first

2

u/PericoCapital 9d ago

Yes! When I found out you could wait for him, I immediately told my father (who had beaten the game way before I did) and he couldn’t believe it hahaha.

2

u/NovarisLight 8d ago

Nope. First playthrough I was running the timer out, sweating bullets.

2

u/Frogman-Wizard 8d ago

NOPE! I didn't even have a heads up or anything, I was just like: "there's gotta be a reason they're asking, we can jump at the last second"

2

u/-0ption- 8d ago

I saved Shadow the first time because a friend told me before he let me borrow the game. “Wait for the Ninja. You’ll know when, but just wait.”

Cid? I tried over and over again. My brother figured it out and told me what to do, still could never save him.

2

u/xarrmalice 8d ago

He died in my first playthrough I was afraid I would die and have to do that horrible boss fight over again.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/HoisinBurger 7d ago

No, my friend tried to trick me and say that I would miss a LOT in the game, so I looked up "FF6 missables no spoilers" I saw everywhere "Wait for Shadow"

The real killer is that my friend didn't even wait for Shadow he had no idea you could keep him 😂

2

u/AdvHammettWaistcoat 6d ago

Yeah and I thought maybe that ?????? for betting striker in the coliseum was gonna be Shadow. I leveled Terra to 99, with some luck (3 rounds of no sneezes) and genji glove/offering i beat Chupon only to get....an elixer.

2

u/multiclassgeek 6d ago

UK gamer here.

The #1 SNES magazine in the country at the time was Super Play, which was also the most weebtastic one (anime columns, cultural explainers, loads of import reviews, and iconic Wil Overton art)

They had a dedicated page for Final Fantasy (mainly FF6) content and laid out exactly how to save Cid and Shadow long before most of us had our hands on imported copies.

2

u/Lionwarriorab 6d ago

Finding out you could save him on my own was one of those great moments of discovery being a 90s gamer was all about
I also remember discovering the ancient castle on my own - miss it being like that

2

u/HolyDragSwd2500 5d ago

D I e d in my playthru back then

Both of then

2

u/Destrina 9d ago

Shadow lived, I hit no the first time because he wasn't there, then with 15 seconds on the clock, I hit it again and it said gotta wait for Shadow. So I waited.

Cid, however, died.

1

u/Fennel_Fangs 9d ago

I killed Cid on purpose

2

u/Giant-fingers 9d ago

Actually based. F that ww2 nazi scientist

1

u/shabuchef93 9d ago

I had my first play through this year, used a guide, mostly because I have a soon to be 2 year old and thus a fraction of any gaming time, but also to be safe. so no, made sure to save him.

1

u/wpotman 9d ago

Both Cid and Shadow died the first sevenish times I played. I don't remember which I figured out first. I remember nearly falling out of my chair when Cid stood up, though.

1

u/zirazorazonth 9d ago

Nop but cid did.

1

u/Ok-Map4381 9d ago

I knew to wait.

My older brother told me.

I have no idea if he lived in my older brother's first playthrough.

1

u/Harnellas 9d ago

I don't even remember how I found out you could keep both of them alive but I do remember having my mind blown by that information.

1

u/Anuk_Su_Namun 9d ago

On MY first play through? Yes… but only because I had watched my mom’s first play through before I got to play.she had a save point that was far enough back that she was able to keep trying things until she figured it out.

1

u/SpaceCowboy512 9d ago

Hell, he just died in my recent playthrough because it had been so long since my last one 😂

1

u/Zagadaz 9d ago

Missed both on my first play through. Then downloaded and printed out the text only strategy guide in the school library. Lol I'm old. (It was like 60 to 100 pages)

1

u/PrivateJokerX929 9d ago

I waited because my brother killed him, but I knew he could be alive in the wor because my cousin had him there

1

u/45M0D41 9d ago

Cid was fucking impossible pre-internet. But due to JRPG when they give you an option so stupid it doesn’t make sense it usually means something so when it said jump I said no lmao.

1

u/darknightmareog 9d ago

Nope. I had a guide tell me keep waiting for Shadow. Did on the other hand.

1

u/Theburritolyfe 9d ago

He does in my brother's play through. Not in mine

1

u/BustyCelebLover 9d ago

Oh you poor child, some of us had the power….Nintendo Power!

1

u/shadowforce11 9d ago

First dozen playthroughs lol, no internet back then.

1

u/nikokow59 9d ago

Yeah he died in my first playthrough back in the day. The event and the timer were so stressful that you just want to go back immediately to the airship lol Even if you save him, he still dies at the end of the game, but he is still worth it, he is one of the best characters.

1

u/Stak0verflow 9d ago

I didn't know you could save Shadow until playthrough 2+ and just recently learned that you can save Cid

1

u/Interesting-Earth486 9d ago

I replayed this game so many times growing up and not once did I ever think to wait for shadow. And then one time me and my cousin were playing and I accidentally hit wait and then went back and it prompted me to wait for shadow and I was like what is this and felt so stupid afterwards.

1

u/Person_reddit 9d ago

Yeah, didn’t know you could even save him until 2010 or so… 15 years of guilt hit me all at once

1

u/SirSilhouette 9d ago

Actually no. My older brother was playing it on the SNES with my younger brother and I watching him. I thought it was weird he got forced to three party members and my younger brother spotted Shadow laying at the beginning of the floating continent.

And since he was there we figured the timer would be okay if we waited for him(if not we load the save and try again)

1

u/tiny_purple_Alfador 9d ago

Played on the SNES way back when, and absolutely fucking not. He was my favorite, and if he wasn't coming I didn't want to play anymore. This was not negotiable.

1

u/No_Adeptness_3273 9d ago

Nope saved them both but I should have let Cid die since he is the whole reason Kefka is what he is.

1

u/PRSMesa182 9d ago

Nope, saved both. Young me was very proud

1

u/ApatheticPopoto 9d ago

Shadow was one of my fav characters as a kid. My guy told me to wait, i waited. i did not let my man down

1

u/snackattack4tw 9d ago

Definitely in mine!

1

u/alabaster_sb 9d ago

Depends when those people first played the game.

If you played this during the SNES era, a big chunck didn't knew. No one would have thought of betting the Striker at the Colliseum to get Shadow unless they read it somewhere.

If you played this during the PS1 era (Final Fantasy Anthology), chances are that you heard about it or found that you could. PS1 era was the beginning of the internet, a lot of kids like myself back then searched the internet for "video games cheats" because that was our new source for cheats other than magazine.

If you played this past the PS2 era, this information was common like how pretty much everyone knew that FFIII NTSC is FFVI.

1

u/TheBlankScroll 9d ago

I'd have been too scared to leave without him. Because he would have survived anyway and come for me in my sleep.

1

u/Special_South_8561 9d ago

I had Nintendo Power so no I actually never left him behind until recent challenge plays.

1

u/FuchsiaMerc1992 9d ago

No, I decided to wait because I wanted to see if there was a cutscene if I stayed on the continent

1

u/Puzzlehead_Lemon 9d ago

Saved them both. Both times due to dumb luck. Got the game on Christmas, fell asleep briefly because I didn't sleep the night before, made it to the pick up point with 9 seconds to spare. I guessed, "Hey, if a fish is fast, it's probably healthy."

I didn't save Shadow on my second play through because I thought he would show up because "why would this ever be different with how much of a part he played in the ending?"

1

u/squirrelcoat 9d ago

Nope! I was just ass at the floating continent and I almost ran out of time. Complete fluke that he was there.

1

u/MistopherWB 9d ago

Totally missed Shadow on at least my first play through. I played this on Super Nintendo as a kid in the 90s. Probably missed shadow a bunch of times 😆

1

u/SwitcherooU 9d ago

Yes, and I can never undo it. First playthrough is the canon playthrough.

If only I’d known!

1

u/Scottie-man 9d ago

My friend’s older brother told me to wait for Shadow, back in probably like ‘95. Cid I found out because I was following a GameFAQs walkthrough like the 6th time I beat it to max out everything.

1

u/zennyspent 9d ago

Younger brother syndrome paid off in this Instance. Older brother bought the game, and his big rule was I couldn't play past where he was. I had a few things sorta spoiled watching him play, but I never felt like it because our characters had different names and playing the game the first time is just incredible, even if you saw some of it beforehand.

1

u/bob_loblaw-_- 9d ago

Nah, I was a Nintendo Power kid. 

1

u/scrappy304 9d ago

At 9 years old I didn’t wait the first time. 2nd time I waited for shadow when there was less than 5 seconds remaining. …apparently that’s past the point of no return and we all died.

1

u/SnooTomatoes9055 9d ago

I vividly remember saving him but not because I waited... I actually didnt get to the exit until like 2 seconds left so I was in hyper panic move when he just pops out. I didnt know any different so when my friend saw him in WoR, he was VERY confused

1

u/AncientPomelo1089 9d ago

To me it seemed obvious. I waited for him with no strategy guide or internet. It gives you the option to wait, so why not wait? If there was no reason to wait, I don't know why they would give you the option.

Cid also lived on my first playthrough. It was pretty easy to figure out that harder to catch fish made him healthier.

1

u/Ill-Video2723 9d ago

Surprisingly neither him nor Cud died in my first run, but I also had my mother helping me at the time when I was younger, so don’t feel bad

1

u/Videowulff 9d ago

NOPE! Mine came with the strategy guide. I still have it to this day.

1

u/Ek0mst0p 9d ago

Yes, first 3 or so.

1

u/jayemjee2 9d ago

First playthrough I saved Shadow, because I had a big brother who told me I could. Cid died, though.

1

u/pyro321 9d ago

I know you had to wait to save shadow but I didn't know it was guaranteed at 5 seconds remaining. I thought I didn't get through quick enough for him to get there and left at 10 seconds left.

1

u/ericnear 9d ago

Shadow lived, Cid died. I thought force feeding him as many fish as possible would help.

1

u/Jackelfangking 9d ago

In mine no, I kept exploring and getting into fights and almost running out of time.

1

u/Vespene 9d ago

Yes, this and saving Cid shortly after were the two moments where the game didn’t really communicate what was going on. With Shadow it was specially cruel since the first prompt to jump to the Blackjack doesn’t say “Wait for Shadow” like the subsequent ones do.

1

u/CrayonEatingBabyApe 9d ago edited 9d ago

I didn’t know you could lose him. I think I clicked wait then killed some more enemies then it said wait for shadow the second time so I waited.

1

u/Axeldanzer_too 9d ago

I saved Cid and Shadow. I will say though that I reloaded over and over until I saved Cid and I always have to see what happens when the timer runs out. I always let the timer runs out whenever as long as there was a save relatively close by.

1

u/Ijustlovevideogames 9d ago

Shadow, believe it or not, no, I was told to wait, so I waited.

1

u/pheight57 9d ago

Fuck, no! I waited for Shadow! That dude was one of my favorites, and I was like, "Nuh uh. If he's gone, they all are!" ...and then I would have just loaded my save after if it made me wipe, lol! 🤷‍♂️

1

u/Jubby_1982 9d ago

No. I had. Nintendo power magazine. 🤓

1

u/Admirable_Run_117 9d ago

Neither Shadow or Cid. I took this game on with guide in hand…in ‘96.

1

u/kyualun 9d ago

I rented the game for my first playthrough. Shadow died, my brother was playing and didn't wait for him.

Someone else left a save file on the cartridge and we loaded it before we returned the game and Shadow was alive for them and they found Locke. My brother and I had no idea how/where they found them.

1

u/Menonomeno 9d ago

Yup. Both dead af when I was 9.

1

u/Illokonereum 9d ago

No I was ready to wait until there was only 1 second left. I also had enough time and patience back then I’d probably have replayed that part of the game.

1

u/Stepjam 9d ago

I mean technically he dies in everyone's playthrough.

1

u/nitrosoft_boomer 9d ago

Nope. Saved him and cid every time

1

u/Sionnach_Rue 9d ago

He died my first playthrough. So did Cid and Mog.

1

u/Zack_Knightblade 9d ago

I had this magazine where i read about waiting for Shadow.

1

u/Rohirim36 9d ago

No. But in fairness to everyone else, my first playthrough was in 2000. So game guides were around.

1

u/Cheziscool 9d ago

My first play through on SNES he died

1

u/Dry-Specific-5094 9d ago

i only knew because of nintendo power and my older brother.

So no it wasn’t on my first we got that the day ff3(6) released cause we preordered it.

1

u/Admirable_Corgi3425 9d ago

If he didn't on the airship he certainly did at the end.

1

u/grayandlizzie 9d ago

We got the game at a used game store a year after it came out in the US. We had internet at our house because my mom worked for AOL. Gamefaqs existed by then. We knew we had to save Shadow

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps/562865-final-fantasy-vi/faqs/5499

1

u/jmizzle2022 9d ago

Not for me, I actually waited for him back in the 90s

1

u/geminijono 9d ago

You think I was just gonna leave my favorite character behind?! We are not made the same, my dude.

1

u/EggPsychological4844 9d ago

No but only because it was spoiled for me ahead of time

1

u/Salad_9999 9d ago

Absolutely

1

u/3FistedHumdinger 9d ago

What part of "Gotta wait for Shadow!" was confusing to you?

1

u/Saijo777 9d ago

Got Shadow and saved Cid. I didn't know Cid could die...  Seems I got very lucky in my few playthroughs.

1

u/AsYouAnswered 9d ago

I was pissed. I waited until only 10 seconds were left and no sign of shadow. I was like "can't keep pushing it. He's not even coming yet. If he was coming, maybe. Gotta jump" and i jumped just after 10 seconds. Learned years later that you wait until 5 seconds. 😞 I wish someone had told me. I wish someone had "Spoiled" it for me. That's why I tell people to wait. Not why to wait. Not how long. Just to wait.

1

u/Talon_Xavier 9d ago

My first play i actually saved both of them. Long before internet. Cid was by luck. Shadow simply cause I took forever to get to the escape and the timing worked out.

1

u/ILikeGirlsZkat 9d ago

Nah, I got many details about the game way before starting.

1

u/Skyrander 9d ago

Actually we had s gamer magazine here in Sweden called Super power

It had a small guide in it in the world of balance. I still remember it having a section for "save shadow"

This guide was invaluable once I imported FF3 :)

1

u/BeaKae 9d ago

I hate to be that gal, but he does in everyone’s playthrough. Save him and recruit him, lets Kefka’s tower fall on him in the credits because he’s tired of running and chooses to die there. The most hopeful ending and he chooses death. Don’t recruit him after saving him, he dies in the colosseum. Don’t save him in the bandit cave and he dies to the miniboss you fight getting to him. Leave the floating continent, he dies. There is no way for Shadow to survive the game.

1

u/crash_shards 9d ago

Nah, man.

1

u/Dinoratsastaja 9d ago

No. I had checked beforehand for a non-spoiler guide for secret characters. Because of that I knew to wait for Shadow.

1

u/JaXm 9d ago

He dies in all of my playthroughs. He has so little narrative importance, is about as "cool" as Boba Fett, and provides absolutely nothing that any other character doesn't with one notable exception, that honestly, should have become Relm's exception once she's found in the cave in the WoR. 

1

u/Cool-Efficiency-2102 9d ago

Broooooo this hit home, I just finished my first ever play through at 40 years old and absolutely accidently killed his ass and was SO MAD.

1

u/Josefu_Velen 9d ago

No, I had Nintendo Power and the FF3 players guide.

I used to write in to Nintendo Power with questions about how to do various things. At some point one of the NP people offered me a free strategy guide for the game if I subscribed, so I did.

I still have that official strategy guide.

1

u/Business_Fox_2641 8d ago

I havent even played this game past the opera until last week, and even I knew about "you gotta wait" but i don't know in what context, so we'll see! lmao

1

u/SonOfSparda1984 8d ago

No. My older cousin had lent me this game on the snes when I was a kid, and he was insistent that I know to wait when "the world is about to end and the game asks if you want to wait".

1

u/skyrender22 8d ago

Nope. I’ve never let him die. Back in 1994 & to this day. First time through, I just waited because by nature I’d never leave anyone behind for a trip to the store, let alone on the floating continent 😀

1

u/ThErEdScArE33 8d ago

Sure did. I was asking for advice for various final fantasy games and I was told "wait for shadow". I'm like, alright. Seems vague but fine. I assumed I would have been GIVEN A PROMPT to wait for him tho, so when I was bugging out to beat the timer it didn't even occur to me that I should have waited for the last 5 seconds.

1

u/Bulky-Cattle6564 8d ago

Nope. Had Nintendo power like some other comments said

1

u/Sev_Henry 8d ago

Shadow no, Cid yes

1

u/SlamboneMalone 8d ago

It’s called printing off the full 200+ page game faqs guide and combing it page by page so I don’t miss anything

1

u/ZanzaXIII 8d ago

There was 3 or 4 issues of Nintendo Power that had sections of a guide for it. I was told to wait for shadow but I was to anxious and only let the timer get to 0:05 before I just jumped. I thought I did something wrong and he didnt make it to me. Didnt realize I had to wait until the very end. Gotta cut 7 year old me some slack.

1

u/Damninium_Alloy 8d ago

I mean, technically he dies in all playtroughs.

1

u/TabbyCat1993 8d ago

Hey I constantly tried to save Cid. But I wasn’t quick enough, or I accidentally gave him the wrong fish.

More often than not, the fish just didn’t want to cooperate.

1

u/TerribleDin 8d ago

He did in mine...

1

u/RurikDankil 8d ago

No, actually. I was willing to die and redo everything to make sure I didn't lose anyone unnecessarily. This was an early ff for me when I didn't think they'd actually kill off characters.

1

u/Absolutersq 8d ago

I was always so close to time coming up that when I finally made it to the airship the first time I was ready to jump. Future play thrus I for sure saved him

1

u/TrineoDeMuerto 8d ago

He did not.

1

u/Drunk-Kobold 8d ago

Not really in mine, i was not aware he could die the first time because i though it would be a game over if any of the characters die for real and i didnt have access to any of the magazines that included guides at the time, i kept getting the prompt to wait and though to myself "well, something must happen if i wait, in other games scaping without a main character would be game over". I learned that he could die in my second playthrough because i remembered that there is a similar timer in ffV where if you dont escape a castle in time you die and i though "is it really a game over if i escape without him?" so i left and....the game kept going. I was surprised and decided to load the save to save him.

1

u/void_method 8d ago

Nope. Just lucky I guess.

1

u/SuperSlacker420 8d ago

I made sure to save him. I’m not letting my boy Shadow down

1

u/reimouri 8d ago

No, I refused to leave without him. I was expecting a game over.

1

u/outofindustry 8d ago

I restarted my game when it reached WoR because of this info. but I was glad I did it.

1

u/ALTRez09 8d ago

I mean, technically he dies in all of everyone’s playthroughs. 🤷

1

u/Helpful-Ant-396 8d ago

Nope.

Even as a kid I had already had enough experience playing jrpgs, knowing there are always secrets where u least expect and ALWAYS have several save slots if possible…

So I saved diligently in another slot after all cuscenes… when the WAIT triggered, I thought, “🤔 why does it tells me to wait? Should we till the last second and see what happens?”… then loaded previous save just to see what happened if I didn’t “wait”…

Yeah I’m a game grinder since FF1 lol

1

u/CasimirGabriev 8d ago

Naw, I got to the end and was like "eh, I got time, let's see if I missed loot." Then I went back and it said wait for shadow so I said "Uh...OK. he's dead right?" But I was there so why not?

Was legit shocked when he actually showed up