World of Ruin

Michael Lee

"That sweet little girl stopped coming around once the world ended…"
-South Figaro bartender

Over 30 years ago, Final Fantasy VI told us a tale of a world pitched into ruin by a megalomaniac bent on world domination. With the backing of an evil empire, Kefka Palazzo brings death and destruction to the World of Balance. In its wake, the World of Ruin begins.

The 1994 SNES classic is, at its core, a simple narrative of plucky rebels fighting a big bad empire and its psychotic leader. A good versus evil parable with fantasy and light sci-fi tropes guiding the way. If this is all there is, then perhaps there isn't a need to interrogate the game any further. And surely at this point, enough has been said about Final Fantasy VI's place in video game history. There's no real need to reexamine the long settled discourse of forum dwellers from the internet of decades past.

But, there is something about Final Fantasy VI that still resonates, and it has to do with the way in which the world is flipped from Balance to Ruin. It doesn't feel like a Thanos snap, despite having a clear tipping point moment, no, the game presents the player with a creeping feeling of dread that builds, even in the supposedly ideal World of Balance, before careening off the edge into the World of Ruin. And in the aftermath of humanity's downfall, interactions with the people left reveal a horror that I feel like I'm living through right now. That things just kinda suck worse.

Kefka is certainly made out to be an evil dude in the lead up to plunging the world into despair, but his big move to set the world into the state of ruin is literally pulling a couple statues out of their holy trinity alignment. And THAT is what everything feels like these days. While there was a nagging feeling that we were slowly creeping towards the World of Ruin, something was suddenly pulled out of alignment—a switch was flipped and it sent us hurtling onto a new world line—and the dread, the suffocating, stifling air of rot and decay rushed in. And there is no escaping it. It is the decline of empire facing its own mortality and dragging us down with it. The stranglehold of late capitalism slowly squeezing the air from our lungs. Scraping and scrounging for profit wherever it can, like a ravenous dog.

There is no longer even a facade of righteousness in politics or positions of power (let alone actual compassion and conviction), there is only malice and contempt. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on a hot mic saying the members of parliament in his Liberal Party are nothing more than votes to him. American Vice President JD Vance quickly turning on a protestor at a North Carolina rally, implying the protestor must have been an illegal immigrant.

The rich have grown too comfortable in their positions of power and now outwardly express their disgust for those beneath them. They control the narrative, they have everything they could ever want, they are in the ear of every politician (if they aren't a politician themselves), and yet it's still not enough. They want to make us miserable because they're monsters.

"I can't get used to the Imperial Troopers walking the streets of Maranda,
but otherwise things are okay."
-Lola, a citizen of Maranda

In Final Fantasy VI, the World of Balance is supposed to be the world our heroes want to live in. But, you don't even need to scratch the surface, you need only dust it lightly, to see that the World of Balance is itself nearly as rotten as the World of Ruin we see in the game's second half.

The Empire's aggression is in full force, slowly occupying more territory, absorbing more of the world's little towns and cities. Its war machine moving along in deranged perpetuity, crushing resistance and murdering innocent civilians. The bloodlust is unquenchable. Everyone seems to be talking about what the Empire is doing, but no one is doing anything about it, at least on a geopolitical level.

Besides the fear that the Empire might invade their town, folks otherwise putter about their days, while jaunty town music plays. It creates a disconnect that while the hero party may have just been in Albrook, the occupied city on the Southern Continent, and witnessed the cruelty of the Empire first hand, back in Jidoor, on the western edge of the world, the rich bid on found treasures at an auction house and attend the opera, completely unbothered when the party informs them of what is happening elsewhere. This is Manhattan versus ICE Invaded Minneapolis. Bogus shit is happening even if you personally aren't affected by it. The people of Jidoor don't have to be bothered, they even cast out the impoverished people who once lived among them, telling them to kick rocks, and exiling them into the nearby mountains where the town of Zozo would take shape. Of course Zozo is a 'shithole' compared to your precious Jidoor, you literally created the conditions for their permanent underclass status.

Some Hannibal Directive from Kefka

"The Empire invaded and made me join their army."
-Injured lad in Mobliz

How is this not like our own world?

Major metropolitan areas are, by-and-large, unaffordable to most working class folks. 200,000 black New Yorkers have been forced out of New York City in recent years, pushed out by an housing affordability squeeze. And what do these trollish tech bros say you should do as a poor person, move somewhere else. How about a bombed out rust belt city with no industry and a population that has been in decline for decades. Well, yes, homes in a fading former steel town in Ohio are reasonably priced, but there is nothing functional about these forgotten cities. Infrastructure is crumbling, essential services are strapped, there are no local jobs so you better be remote. A strong, compassionate federal government might try to fund revitalization in towns like this, but that's not our current reality. They're telling you to get out of Jidoor because Zozo is where you belong poor scum.

All the while, there's a genocide ongoing in the Palestinian Territories right now, with a rogue nation state murdering innocents and taking their land. And yet, the plight of the Palestinian people hardly registers with 'normies' these days. It makes you feel crazy when someone seems disinterested in talking about it. The Empire is doing unthinkable, evil shit and people can't be bothered.

And instead of standing up for the Palestinians, world leaders and titans of industry seem to be hedging their bets that siding with the rogue nation state has better Polymarket odds to cash than standing up for humanity. It is ghastly.

And if needless, heartbreaking slaughter wasn't enough, that same feeling of encroaching dread can be felt in the decision making of those at the top of the capitalist pyramid right now. Everything in our late capital hellscape is done to maximize stockholder value. Investing in something purely for the betterment of humanity doesn't lead to maximized ROI. Private equity will shutter a beloved video game studio for a tax write off. Algorithmic pricing in grocery stores syphons as much money as it thinks it can get from a person. Nothing is made to last because capitalism demands that we buy a new fridge every 3 years, just as that warranty expires. AI is running amok threatening the financial system, threatening the foundation of the internet itself, and accusing citizens of crimes they didn't commit using data gathered from a Flock/Axon web of cameras filming us at all times.

All of this is to enrich the wealthy. So the people in power can consolidate and insulate.

Fnal Fantasy VI's world is in a similar state. The World of Balance is, in fact, a World of Imbalance.

World of Balance (L) & World of Ruin (R) | www.fantasyanime.com

"Everything changed on that day…"
-Villager of Albrook

 Panem et Circenses

Then when things tip over into the World of Ruin, the game gives us a look at what our future will look like. And besides Kefka threatening everyone with his death laser at all times—which definitely has the same vibes as the inevitable surveillance drone warfare that awaits us— what is noticeable is how mundane the end of the world is.

There is a deflated sense of acceptance akin to "welp, I guess this is my life now." as folks repair their homes after the latest dust up with the Empire. People lament that things used to be fun. And while the material conditions of the majority seem to be unchanged, there is a precarity to it all. A sense that what folks are holding on to could slip through their fingers at any moment. This is a world that is definitely struggling with supply chain issues (caused by the weathly imperialists of course).

The Opera House no longer holds performances on account of a giant dragon (unleashed by Kefka) that has made the stage its home. Kinda has the same energy as the current state of the Kennedy Center. A storied institution closing its doors because a tyrant is having a fit and causing chaos. There is no room for the arts in the World of Ruin (or our AI slop infested world).

The only form of entertainment comes from the newly erected Coloseum. Not at all surprising that the World of Ruin would turn to blood sport as the spectacle of choice. In a world of violence, why not replicate that violence in the circus. Inure the people, deaden them to the sight of death, so when it comes for them, or when asked to turn on one another, they give in to it. Call of Duty. UFC on the White House lawn.

"Mother's fallen ill, but we can't afford the medicine…"
-Lola, a citizen of Maranda

The World of Ruin is also one of decimated nature. A beautiful planet doesn't serve Kefka's military objectives. He wants to dominate everything, and that means the natural world must be subjugated as well. The World of Ruin suffers from increased desertification, less forests, and an apparently complete lack of a surface freshwater system (all lakes and rivers have vanished in the World of Ruin). Military conquest, much like the pursuit of capitalist gains, does not see nature as something to be preserved and respected, it is something to be destroyed and exploited.

We see this in our world when Google cuts down a quarter of a million trees in Finland to make way for a fucking data center. When the Trump administration removes pollutant regulations on coal and gas power plants, opens up old-growth national forests for logging contracts, and refuses to embrace renewable energy. When wastewater from data centers contains rare bacteria and forever chemicals leaching into soil and waterways, it is clear that the late capitalist death cult does not care what happens to our planet if it hurts their bottom line. So long as they are wealthy enough, they can live somewhere that won't be crippled by pollution or climate change and the more severe weather patterns that will bring.

The game even tackles the theme of isolation felt when the world collapses. The major narrative thread in the World of Ruin chapter of the game is searching for friends—also the name of the overworld theme for the World of Ruin. The hero party has been physically separated in the wake of the vibe shift between World of Balance and World of Ruin, and one by one the heroes must reunite, their collective action necessary to topple Kefka and the Empire.

"I just want to be left alone…
This world is too chaotic for me."
-Setzer Gabbiani

This same isolation is being experienced today, as it is one of the key goals of late stage capitalism and fascist politics, to weaken collective power by cordoning us off in silos of hyperindividual lived experience. The algorithm optimizes everything for us, so we never have to poke out of our little bubble and experience anything new or different or feel compelled to challenge authority. DoorDash your dinner, stream your favorite shows, Spotify has your playlists ready, Instacart your groceries. There is no need to go to third places, bars are too expensive and beer tastes gross anyways. Everything is on the phone. Even love. Have ChatGPT talk to you, tell you a bedtime story, who needs friends?

This is all by design. This is the rich and powerful controlling technology, controlling the narrative. This is the world they want you to feel comfortable in, it is literally bread and circuses. We get to exist in this world, and for most of us, we have just enough to get by and enjoy a drip feed of slop entertainment, surviving on its minimal dopamine hit. That Disney+ subscription or Xbox Game Pass. Don't think about Gaza, look Adam Sandler movie on Netflix. He do funny voice like Herlihy Kid from classic Bad Boys SNL era. Gas prices through the roof? Don't worry, there's a token boost on FanDuel right now, same game parlay on the Ravens v. Steelers this Sunday, bet $30 and double your odds. You'll be filling up your F-150 you're in debt up to your eyeballs for with premium after that bet cashes. Foot-ball! Foot-ball!

"Those beautiful days will never return…"
-Townsperson in Kohlingen

 

We used to live in the World of Balance, even though as we've discussed, the World of Balance was far from perfect. But somewhere in the last decade or so, we fell into the World of Ruin, and the rich and powerful were emboldened to no longer even feign magnaminity, let alone do genuine good in their elevated position. No, the mask has come off now, and the elites outwardly despise us. It is a race to the bottom, to loot and plunder, and claim the last spoils as the system buckles under the weight of shareholder demand and a dying planet.

You see it in all of them. The maniacal thirst for power, for dominance. It comes with all the money that gets jizzed on them constantly. It breaks their brains. Kefka too was once just a little guy in the Empire, then that first taste of power hit and it was over. He immediately wanted to turn Espers into energy and genocide people. Palmer Luckey is a prime example of this. He's a chucklefuck engineer who made Oculus for Zuck, got that taste, and now he wants to genetically modify dogs for the military and put all of humanity under constant surveillance to serve the AI Empire.

Dario Amodei is Kefka. Elon Musk is Kefka. Sam Altman is Rapist Kefka. Trump is Pedophile Kefka. Kushner is Kefka. Carney is Kefka. Netanyahu is Kefka. Larry Ellison is Kefka. Marc Andreessen is Kefka. Peter Thiel is Kefka. Sundar Pichai is Kefka. Alex Karp is Kefka. Sergey Brin is Kefka. Bill Gates is Kefka. Jeffrey Epstein is Zombie Kefka. Jeff Bezos is Kefka. Zuckerberg is Kefka. Jensen Huang is Kefka. The Sacklers are a family of Kefkas. Bernard Arnault is Baguette Kefka. Michael Bloomberg is Kefka. The Waltons are Hick Ass Kefkas. Michael Dell is Dude You Got a Kefka. Palmer Luckey is Kefka. Ben Lamm is Kefka. James Taiclet is Lockheed Kefka. Mohammed bin Salman is Bonesaw Kefka. Milei, Noboa, Bukele, Putin, Macron, Merz, Kefka, Kefka, Kefka, Kefka, Kefka, Kefka.

Our world is filled with Kefkas. The Epstein Class who have lost their humanity in pursuit of wealth, power, and perversion. They are evil. There are no two ways about this.

How do our heroes in Final Fantasy VI end up saving their world?

They kill Kefka.

Just saying.