Final Fantasy VI

System: SNES
Release Date: 1994
Published By: Square
Reviewed by: Darien
Rating:

Square's Magnum Opus, Final Fantasy VI is a truly compelling RPG that excels in every respect.

Gameplay first. You get fourteen characters in total to play with, plus a few NPCs who tag along from time to time. Every character has different stats and different special abilites, and can use different pieces of the total pool of equipment. Equipping them with magicite allows them to learn spells (and, to a lesser extent, alters their stats), and there are no restrictions on which characters can learn which spells (except for Umaro, who can't learn spells at all). The enemies are many and varied, and there are plenty of interesting weapons to find the whole way through. Plus, icing on the cake, the second half of the game contains generous tons of side quests and optional treasure hunts. I like to see that in a game.

The game is easily among the best looking on the SNES, and has the best sound. Final Fantasy VI is the only video game I have ever considered buying the soundtrack to. The translation has flaws here and there, but, for all the flak Ted Woolsey receives, it is excellent on the whole, and quite easy to understand. The game also succeeds in creating one of the best villains in the history of video games; Kefka is one of very few who actually have shocked me with how evil they are. The game does an excellent job of making sure you have a pressing, personal desire to kill the hell out of the guy long before you actually get to, while at the same time not slapping you in the face with him every two seconds. For the first half of the game, he shows up at exactly the worst possible times and exceeds everybody's expectations for evilness, and then in the second half of the game he is wholly absent until the precise end. This is a good way to build tension. Games that either push the villain on you constantly or else keep him so mysterious that you don't know who you're fighting or why are just annoying.

If you like anything about RPGs - whether you actually like to play them or you're just in that odd market segment that likes to read books but wants them projected onto the television - you'll like Final Fantasy VI. Highly recommended.

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