Returner Hideout

VI

The Returner Hideout, also known as Returners' Hideout, is a location in Final Fantasy VI where the Returners, a resistance group formed to counter the Empire, has its headquarters. It is located in the Sabre Mountains, and contains a shop and an inn. The Lethe River flows past the hideout, and the Returners keep rafts so they can escape in an emergency.

Story Edit

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Edgar, Locke, and Sabin bring a girl named Terra to the hideout so they could show her to Banon, head of the resistance group. Banon offers to have her join the Returners, but he does not want to force her. Terra eventually makes up her mind and the Empire invades South Figaro soon after. Worried that Imperial forces may be heading towards the hideout, Banon makes an escape down the Lethe River with Terra, Edgar, and Sabin. Locke heads to South Figaro to investigate the Imperial presence there. The player can return to the hideout any time in the World of Balance and board the raft to Gau's father's house.

In the World of Ruin, the approximate location of the Sabre Mountains is covered by ocean, and the Returner Hideout has presumably sank beneath the waters during the end of the world.

Spoilers end here.

Quests Edit

Scrap of Paper Edit

When Terra is alone in the party, a Scrap of Paper can be found hidden next to the table in the Returner Hideout prior to the meeting that takes place with Banon. The player has the choice of either leaving the piece of paper on the floor or tossing it in the trash. Choosing the former will make Banon say a few more lines before the start of the meeting which will make Terra chuckle. The Scrap of Paper is a key item and because of it being associated with an event, regardless of the player's choice, it is not added to the key item inventory.

Terra's choice Edit

When the player reaches the Returner hideout, they ask Terra to consider joining them to help combat the Gestahlian Empire and perhaps learn more about her powers. After speaking to Locke, Edgar and Sabin throughout the hideout, the guard at the door lets her step outside to speak to Banon, who asks if she will aid them. If the player agrees, Banon will give Terra a Gauntlet.

If the player refuses three times, or if they refuse once and then speak to the Returner in the storage room, they receive a Genji Glove. The game proceeds the same either way, but there is a lengthy plot-relevant scene if they agree to join that is not witnessed if they refuse, and the player can get the Genji Glove but still see the scene by saying no once, receiving the Genji Glove from the Returner, then speaking to Banon again and saying yes. They will not, however, receive both Relics this way.

While the gameplay merits of either Relic can be argued, the Gauntlet comes in very limited quantities, only two others existing in the game far into the World of Ruin, while the Genji Glove can be farmed from Dragons for an infinite supply.

The White Cape Edit

The White Cape, a powerful Relic early in the game, is hidden in the hideout. In the supply room in the back, there is a hidden passage in the upper-right corner of the room leading to a chest with the cape.

Mog's Dances Edit

The player can return to the hideout after recruiting Mog and take the raft down the river to learn the Water Harmony Dance. This is one of only three ways the Dance can be learned, the third way being exclusive to the Advance and mobile and Steam releases (the battle with Leviathan). Outside of this third way, the Dance can never be learned in the World of Ruin and must be learned in the World of Balance.

Items Edit

• Hi-Potion
• Ether
• Phoenix Down x2
• Antidote
• Green Cherry
• Air Knife
• White Cape
• Knight's Code
• Genji Glove / Gauntlet

Shop Edit

Sells items.

Musical themes Edit

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"The Returners" from Final Fantasy VI
Trouble with the audio sample?

"The Returners" is used as the main background theme for the Returner Hideout. "Awakening" replaces this theme during Terra's recruitment by the Returners.

Gallery Edit

Etymology Edit

[view · edit · purge]Returner means "to go" or "come back", as to an earlier condition or place.

The Returners are trying to return things to the way they were before the empire's conquests, and return it to peaceful times. In the World of Ruin, the Returners' "spirit" lingers, with Celes saying she wants to return the world to the state before Kefka ruined it. Kefka brings death and destruction, while the party wants to return life into the dying world, finally materializing it in the ending.

The word "returner" is used throughout the game not simply referring to the organization, but many NPCs in the World of Ruin mention their wish to return to the "good old days" (the World of Balance).