Nikeah

Nikeah is a town in Final Fantasy VI. It is a port city located at the north end of the Serpent Trench and the mouth of the Lethe River. It has a large marketplace, and its shops are street vendors standing among the crates of goods in the port. Ships sail regularly between Nikeah and South Figaro, and later in the game, the player can choose to board ferries from Nikeah to South Figaro and back as they wish.

Story

Layout

As a port town, much of Nikeah's township is focused on the docks. The only interior businesses in town are the inn, pub, and chocobo stable, and all merchantile business is conducted among the rows of trade goods. This makes Nikeah the smallest town in the game in terms of interior locations. The merchants patrol in set locations with signs on the ground to advertise their services. The main port of the town lies south of the inn and marketplace.

On the world map in the World of Balance, Nikeah is situated on a penninsula in the far north, with the Lethe River running north-west. The town is geographically close to Narshe, but cut off by mountains and rivers. The town has a land route to Doma Castle east along the base of the mountains. During Sabin's scenario in the game, a landslide has blocked off this route, and on the world map, an outcropping of mountain blocks the path. Once Sabin's scenario is completed, the landslide is cleared out and the land route is accessible.

In the World of Ruin, Nikeah still rests at the end of the Serpent Trench, but the sea has receded and the land been raised, making the trench the only means of reaching Nikeah on foot. The trench also lives up to its name now, as the land around Nikeah is shaped like a pair of jaws. Nikeah still runs ferries to South Figaro, and the two towns are now much closer on the world map.

Gameplay

Encounters

Plains

• Unseelie x2
• Unseelie, Mu x2
• Belmodar
• Belmodar, Mu x2

Shops

Items

The one item to find in Nikeah is an Elixir in the clock in the inn.

Quests

Gerad and the Crismon Robbers

When the player arrives at Nikeah in the World of Ruin, they learn a band of thieves called the Crimson Robbers are in the pub, and escaped from Figaro Castle. Speaking to all of them causes them to leave the pub for the dock, and also causes their leader to appear in town - a man bearing a suspicious resemblance to Edgar that calls himself "Gerad". Speaking to him causes him to walk through the market, and he will eventually stop at the entrance to the docks when Celes accuses him of being Edgar. Gerad rebuffs her and departs with his men on the ship, while Celes and Sabin sneak on board to follow.

Leviathan

In the Advance and the 2014 mobile/Steam releases, as soon as the party arrives at Nikeah in the World of Ruin, a former Returner will mention that prior to their infiltration to the Magitek Research Facility, four espers had escaped, and that they could help the party in their journey. This is to inform the player of the four new espers introduced in the GBA version: Leviathan, Diabolos, Gigantuar, and Gilgamesh.

Once the party has raised the Falcon, speaking to a man in South Figaro near the chocobo stable will have him mention seeing a shadow while fishing, triggering the side quest to cause Leviathan to attack the party when boarding any ferry between Nikeah and South Figaro. Defeating him earns the party the Leviathan magicite.

Map

Musical themes

"Kids Run Through the City" is Nikeah's background theme in the World of Balance.

"Under Martial Law" is Nikeah's background theme in the World of Ruin.

Other appearances

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade

Behind the scenes

According to Final Fantasy VI Settei Shiryō-hen, Nikeah was founded as a free city (自由都市ニケアーム, Jiyū Toshi Nikāmu?) approximately 700 years prior to the start of Final Fantasy VI. While most of the northern continent was divided between the nations of Doma, Figaro and Jidoor, Nikeah and Narshe retained their independence.^[1]

There is a dummied line where, if Sabin was in the party when speaking to "Gerad" at the entrance to the docks, he would speak up. In the SNES and PSX versions, he says "What's going on, here? Brother!!" and in the GBA and subsequent versions, his line is "Is this some kind of joke, Edgar?" As the game has numerous other instances of optional additional dialogues that trigger depending on the current party, it is unknown why Sabin's line was not implemented.

Gallery

Etymology

Nikeah is probably based on Nicaea. It was the original Greek settlement name for what are now the modern cities of İznik, Turkey and Nice, France.

In early development the location was referred to as Nikeahm (ニケアーム, Nikeāmu?).^[2] This was changed to its current name (ニケア, Nikea?) at some point in development. The old name is used in the game's lore established in supplementary guides as the historical name for the location.^[1]

Citations