Final Fantasy VI

Released in the United States as Final Fantasy III originally, this role playing game contains a combination of drama, science fiction, and action into something resembling an independent film noir turned into a video game.

The story starts by explaining what has happened in the world up to that point in an intro story, and we are then introduced to three soldiers of the Empire in their mechanical Tek Armor: Vicks and Wedge, two bland troops, and Terra, a brainwashed prodigy. They enter the frozen Northern city of Narshe in search of a creature called an Esper. They fight through the city's defenses, but get more than they bargain for once they discover the creature in the caves to the North of Narshe. Since this is a video game, seeing the story progress depends on you being successful in the game, and you can achieve slightly different outcomes depending on your actions.

Terra is the center of the game, with Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, and Cyan also as lead characters (did I mention the cast is big?). Supporting characters include Shadow, Gau, Strago, Relm, Umaro, Gogo, Mog, Setzer, General Leo, Getsahl, and Ultros, with Kefka as the resident villain.

I am a big fan of film, television, literature, and video games (I have no life), and am familiar with all four mediums. I have to say, Final Fantasy III is better than most movies I have seen, and I have seen a lot of good movies. Although the dialogue can be cheesy at times, and the scene at the Opera House is awful, there are many good points. The overall plot is astounding, but I do have to say it could only work in video game format, not film or television. Maybe literature. Still, the writing is great and original. The art direction is fantastic. The design of the backgrounds, characters, and monsters (especially in the battle scenes) is the most creative I have seen.

The best part, however, is the soundtrack. The music for this game is just amazing. Excluding the Opera House scene, every track for this game is something I would listen to, and i'm generally not even into instrumental music. I could start naming names, but everyone who worked on this project did a good job, so I won't pick and choose. Easily the best video game of all time, and better than most movies.

From the moment you power on your SNES or PSX to the moments the final credits crawl across your screen this game will hold you under it's spell for hours at a time. The quality of this game can be seen in every part of it be it the music, Uematsu Nobue the Character design Yoshitaka Amano or simply the amazing story this game shines above all the rest even through it's age. Simply put for those who never had a chance to play this masterpiece back in 1994 do yourself a favour and buy the rerelease on the Sony Playstation because if you can enjoy a good movie you can enjoy this game.

I'm a big fan of the Final Fantasy series and this is one of my favorites. Definitely one of the best games on the SNES with its gorgeous visuals, sweeping musical score (courtesy of Nobuo Uematsu), engrossing narrative and a memorable cast of ensemble characters (my favorites include Terra, Edgar, his bro Sabin, and Celes), and one of the most unforgettable villains in video game history: Kefka. From his diabolical laugh, his power, and a feat I won't mention here in case anyone hasn't played it yet, you have to play it to find out, though I will say you'll never forget it. I haven't found all the secrets, but I've come back to this one time and time again. Add this to your VG bucket list if you haven't already done so.

This Final Fantasy was the second one released here in America and was the third overall released here. It made me kind of mad when later I found out that there were three games never released here. Granted, in retrospect the three never before released were all a bit off. This one is also quite different and a good FF game. I do not enjoy this one as much as IV, VII, IX and X, but I find it is a bit better than VIII and a V and there is no question it is better than the last two I have played in XII and XIII. It starts out very strong adding many cool features that at the time I had not yet experienced in a role playing game. The story was also very strong and I do believe this FF still has the most playable characters of any in the series. It is just at a certain point in the game, it just kind of weakens a bit as the story tails off for a bit and nothing new and inventive really comes into play anymore. Still a very fun and strong game overall, it just falters a little bit the second half of the game. Obviously, I do not think it falters too much as I still give this game a nine as a score.

The story has an empire that is trying to gain the powers of magic to rule the world. They enslave a mysterious girl named Terra, who is quickly the center of attention. Soon, the empire is attacking on all fronts as your party who consists of a good deal of people must fight back. Just as you think there is going to be a peaceful end, the world is thrown into absolute chaos by one of the Emperor's subordinates, a hateful man named Kefka who wishes nothing more than to destroy!

The game play is that of your typical FF game; however, they do add some interesting things here. Every character in the game can learn all the magic spells as you equip summons (here called Espers) and they help you learn many spells. Every character though has a unique ability akin to the limit break in the next three games. Granted, you do not have to build these up, and can use them anytime. Bad news for any monsters as some characters special abilities can do massively insane damage, like Sabin's blitz the bum rush! The story is strong and features great villains, that is until the second half of the game in a place called the world of ruin where the bad guys just consist of monsters and you do not see Kefka again until you face him in the final battle.

So this game is very fun and one of the best role playing games on the SNES. I would rank only FF II (IV in Japan) and Chrono Trigger as stronger ones. I like the many characters and I like the fact that despite the fact that even though they all can learn the same magics they still have unique qualities and skills. Unlike, say part XII where everyone can pretty much do what everyone else can do. So despite the fact the game does weaken a little during the second half of the game, it is still a very strong role playing game. I would take this game and its style over the last two FF games I have played (XII and XIII).

Disregard other's comments on this masterpiece, for it truly is the greatest game of all time. Final Fantasy VI was the first game to truly realize the potential of games as a storytelling medium. It's characters (particularly Celes and Terra) face true hardship and identity crises. This was also the first game to tackle such issues as teen pregnancy, suicide, and death in the family. It's not a light-hearted romp like 10, or a sweeping love story like 8. It's just the best.

Dark at times, light at others. Sakaguchi balanced the tension of Terra's slow descent into madness and her inevitable rise to destiny with stories of her search for love. Celes and Locke both face pain dead on, with Cid and Rachel both falling before their times. The most powerful moment in the game, in fact, is easily Celes' decision to end it all when the world goes to hell (though the opera scene is truly emotional as well).

This game changed gaming. All the plot twists and grandure of 7-10 could not exist without 6. It's 16-bit graphics often tell more story and emotion than the others can even hope for, and it's got the best villain ever (Kefka is the man). If you haven't played it, do yourself a favor. I just finished my 5th time through, after beating 10 so thoroughly, and I find myself loving it more and more.