In 1994, Final Fantasy VI was released to the gaming market for the Japanese Super Famicom. Revolutionary. Unique. Astonishing. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe the masterpiece that is Final Fantasy VI. Released as Final Fantasy III in the rest of the world, this JRPG lies in the hearts of many classic video gamers. I will be breaking down this review into four parts: Lore, Combat, Overworld, and Aesthetic. Let’s get right into it.

 

Lore

The story of FFVI begins with a girl named Terra marching with two soldiers, all in large mech suits. It soon takes off as the player discovers that Terra is one of the only few people left in the world who is able to cast magic. As the epic progresses, more people join your party and fight alongside you. The overall goal of the game is to help the rebellion group known as The Returners to overthrow the cruel and evil empire. Many plot twists and character developments ensue, making for a very relatable and personal story.

 

Combat

The Final Fantasy games are part of a subgenre of role-playing games known as JRPGs. Better known in the states as turn-based RPGs, these games typically have the player controlling anywhere from one to five party members with somewhat complex menu systems. In FFVI, this is no different. All players have a name, a health stat, and an ATB guage, which stands for Active Time Battle. This is a bar that fills up over time to signify when a party member is able to attack. The ATB guage isn’t too important unless you are playing with the ‘Active’ battle mode as opposed to the ‘Wait’ option. In the ‘Active’ mode, enemies and party members can attack as soon as their ATB guage is full. In the ‘Wait’ mode, however, enemies will wait until all units with an ATB guage filled before them have made their moves.

 

All party members have a total of six options in combat, one of which is specific to that party member. Attack has the unit attack an enemy, or if selected, party member, with whatever weapon they have equipped. The Item command allows a party member to use an item in your inventory such as a potion, which restores HP (Hit Points), or a tincture, which restores MP (Mana Points). If you have throwable weapons, you can also use them this way. The Row and Def. commands are accessed by pressing left and right respectivly. Row allows that party member to by their turn and allow another unit to take their turn, and the Def. command has the unit doing nothing, but guaruntees that they will take less damage if they are attacked. Eventually, all party members can gain the ability to cast spells, but I will not be diving depth to the magic system, as it is so complex that it deserves a review on its own.

 

Finally, each character has a unique command that only they can use. Just to give some examples, Locke, a self proclaimed treasure hunter, has a ‘Steal’ command, that allows him to take one item from an enemy. Edgar, one of two princes of the Kingdom of FIgaro, uses tools. By purchasing tools, he can use them in combat. His repitoire includes an automatic crossbow that attacks all enemies, and a noise blaster, which confuses enemies, making them attack themselves. Sabin, Edgar’s brother, has a very unique command known as ‘Blitz,’ which has the player inputting various button commands to have him attack in various ways. The wide variety of unique commands creates a deep level of thought and strategy later in the game, when the player has 10+ party members to choose from to create a party of four.

 

Overworld

Combat, unless enabled by a specific event, takes place via random encounters while traversing the world. The world of FFVI is a large landmass with a couple of islands. In general, the player walks on the overworld, but other vehicles can be acquired later on. At any point in the game, a Choccobo, a large bird unique to Final Fantasy lore, can be rented, and the player can ride around on the world map without fear of enemy encounters, as well as at a higher speed. At any point in the overworld the player can save, use items, cast spells, or arrange party equipment.

 

Aesthetic

Final Fantasy VI was originally released on the Super Famicom, or Super Nintendo as it is known outside of Japan. This was a 16bit graphics system, which meant very limited game graphics could be used. The somewhat primitive soundcard also meant that most of the music on the system sounded uninspired and simple. Final Fantasy VI, however, revolutionized the way that games were percieved in terms of aesthetic.

 

The soundtrack, created by Nobuo Uematsu, is famous for being one of the first video game soundtracks that sounded like true music. I love the sound of it so much that I purchased the two disc soundtrack myself. The graphics were also incredible for the time, having extremely sharp looking sprites with excellet color direction. Both of these engrossing elements still hold up today.

 

To Conclude

Personally, Final Fantasy VI is one of my alltime favorite games. I own it on 3 platforms, having played it on my phone so much that I ruined the battery on it, I purchased the Playstation One remake, and I even recently purchased a virtual console version of it on my Playstation Vita so that I can play it on the go. The amazingly fun and never dull gameplay is what keeps me coming back, not to mention all of the secrets, new strategies and challenges, and the excuse to listen to the beautiful soundtrack over and over again. I would give Final Fantasy VI a 10 out of 10 score, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys turn-based strategy role-playing games. Due to the drought of these games in recent years, if you haven’t played this masterpiece yet, you’re punishing yourself.