This is what final fantasy is all about baby
- music was superb
- gameplay is fun and varied due to encouraging you to use all your party members
- basically enjoyed every party members presence
- sprite animations are A++ and make me a little sad that no more 2D FF games were made after this point
- music was superb
- gameplay is fun and varied due to encouraging you to use all your party members
- basically enjoyed every party members presence
- sprite animations are A++ and make me a little sad that no more 2D FF games were made after this point
Great pixel remaster, enjoyed it as much as the original. The CRT filter is also decent.
The new audio tracks partly were amazing, but some SNES originals were better.
The new audio tracks partly were amazing, but some SNES originals were better.
Without a doubt the Final Fantasy with the highest weight of expectations placed upon it thus far in the marathon, Final Fantasy VI had perhaps an unfair battle to fight for me. But the very beginning, at least, immediately delivers. The opening march through the snow to Narshe with Terra's theme playing in the background after the scouting report on the hill is a major level up for franchise in atmosphere and while nothing throughout the rest of the game will match it exactly, atmosphere is probably the most succinct way to put what this FF delivers above its predecessors. A more unhurried pace to taking in its locales and story, at least a slightly more cohesive world vision than the wildly differing spot to spot exploration of ffs prior, (not that it doesnt also have that at times) and a soundtrack that really seems to evoke the spaces it inhabits all come together to elevate this aspect.
The narrative, too, is also a step up, though maybe not quite in accordance with what the hype would have had me believe. In keeping with what is now a very clear pattern established to date of the odd entries putting a plucky band of fairly faceless heroes up against elemental evil itself and the even entries setting actual characters against evil empires, 6 is about a band of more sketched out personalities attempting to thwart the aspirations of global dominance of an empire built on magitek, centered around the potential return of magic to a world lacking it. Indeed, I'd say the first chunk of the game is firmly operating within the expectations set by the franchise thus far- with one notable exception I'll mention later- and the esteemed villains here.... are kind of disappointing? Kefka, in contrast to the headcanon I'd developed over the years from the game's reputation preceeding it of a Joker like figure insidously worming his way up in influence in an imperial court, is actually just a commander who.... dresses like a clown for the hell of it? And early on, doesn't even have much of a personality beyond being a revolting combination of edgelord and ineffectual Team Rocket esque baddie that gets beat every time you fight him. Ultros, a new repeating villain that seems to be this games follow up to Gilgamesh, substitutes creepy misogyny (and hes far from the only one to feature it in this the most weirdly leery of all the FFs thus far?) for funny use of game mechanics, even if he does get a memorably wholesome departure, out of turn with the rest of his portrayal, in the final fight.
Fortunately, the second half of the game drops routine- and those characters in particular- pretty much entirely for what is structurally and narratively the biggest deviation for the entire franchise yet. In the wake of a catastrophic turn of events at the conclusion of the second act, your party is scattered and the world lies in ruins. Instead of what has been the typical quest of trying to thwart the villains at every turn to date, the story turns inward as you attempt to rebuild your disparate party from the first half of the game while overcoming the trials that trouble each of them. It's a familiar formula in the modern day and not something I'd necessarily be so enthralled with in other contexts, but here the interior focus represents a welcome shift forward for the franchise and presents a big step up in active attempts at real character development.
That larger party is also the source of the first half of the game's exception to the rule. Rather than rotate characters in and out on a set basis- something IV did in order to leverage a bigger cast while operating within its standard 4 person party system- VI puts the player in the drivers seat and on several occasions tasks the player with dividing the party up, either momentarily to tackle a dungeon from multiple entry points or in larger story split ups with one party going one direction and another elsewhere. The freedom to pursue re-recruiting each party member in the second half is somewhat present earlier too when the game allows you to choose which branch of the broken up partys story to tackle first. (an ultimately superficial distinction as order will not influence overall story nor your party capabilities but still a welcome freedom) It's a neat development for the franchise and really represents the first attempt at grappling with larger playable parties this next period of Final Fantasy will come to be known for.
Unfortunately, in these early days of handling it, it's also responsible for one of my negative points here. And that is- that it's just plain clunky to handle outfitting and selecting your party. Keeping track of whats in your inventory in multiple copies or attached to characters can be a bit of a pain, and changing out equipment requires lots of menuing and/or leveraging an npc on your airship in the latter part of the game IF you're willing to reequip other party members as he only unequips is batches. (albeit sensible ones- everyone, just current party, everyone not in current party) More than any other pixel remaster, I found myself forgetting one thing or another and needing to go back to the ship to fiddle with party setups. This is exacerbated by the fact that this has a steeper expected level curve than the rest of the FFs to date seemingly and XP is not distributed to party members not in the party, so if you intend to adhere to the same no grind restrictions I've been taking on, you'll need to be very deliberate about getting everyone even exposure throughout the content present in the world of ruin, forcing even more party swapping and equipment managing. (A powerful accessory called the growth egg can really help you catch up party members that have fallen behind here thankfully, as it doubles xp growth for the character using it) Also, while something like the Fork Tower in FFV could be seen as a prototype for the full scale party splitting done in dungeons here, a key distinction is that Fork Tower kind of reveals its gimmick early- one side wants magic users and the other physical. Here, the relevant strategic considerations one might want to think about before assigning party members do not reveal themselves till well into their dungeons- bosses in most cases- so trying to plan your split requires either potentially doing the dungeon then reloading a save and doing it again or using a guide, neither of which is a good solution, whereas in V you could reload immediately at Fork Tower and have enough info. These are all pain points, to be sure, but I do accept that ultimately this is all a necessary starting point for the franchise trying to grow beyond 3 or 4 party members and make the most of it.
Fortunately, managing the progression system of the title- espers- is a bit easier as theres one central screen for all of them and its clearly denoted if the singleton copy of each is in use or not/clicking on them tells you whos using it. Espers themselves are a few different concepts married together- a move list the character using them will learn, a summon that can be used once per combat for an MP cost, and, in some espers cases, a bonus to specific stat growths at level up. Some learned abilities being shared between espers, a fast learning rate, low number of initial espers, and no limit on the abilities from espers one can have learned/equipped at once can lead to the system feeling like more of a homogenizing force than a differentiating one unfortunately. Characters do have their own unique command apart from the standard attack command the magic ones learned from espers to help offset that, but for those whose unique commands are less effective- either early on or later as magic scaling pushes things out of balance- that only goes so far. So despite entries like III and V having jobs accessible to every one and no character specific abilities, those party members did end up feeling more distinct as I developed them in battle than VI's. Now, as the game goes on, the esper pool fortunately does expand and some of the later ones in particular can take a while to master, so that does help specialize the cast. The summon ability too, while technically interchangeable between members, means that, at least for battles where youre planning around them and in that battle specifically, each character can also have a more distinct role. But again, those are only single use per battle so even if putting protect on everyone or rezzing the whole team are pretty potent abilities to have and plan around, its a brief distinction. So, on the whole, I did have some fun with the system and its a welcome progression from 2/4s ideas or lack of progression entirely respectively, I think I still prefer 3 and 5's job systems? But there are some ideas here that maybe in another form could surpass at least the initial job system in 3 and I can already see how such systems might have lead to 7's materia system so the seeds planted here aren't without merit.
All totaled, FF6 ended up being a step back from 5 in many respects, but I at least applaud that these regressions came from ambitions rather than simply retreating to earlier FF models. And while I would not put its gameplay alongside V in any regard, the efforts it makes in its world, its fiction, its structure and its atmosphere are truly steps beyond its predecessors even if I hold the core gameplay of V in such regard that I can't give VI the overall title above it. Given that the fanbase has a contingent that places higher value on those components anyways, its not a surprise to me then, after all is said and done, that this title does have the reputation I mentioned at the start. It won't be that for me, but it's still a worthy evolution point in the franchise history worth playing and I feel as though I understand the fanbase love for it having played it in the context of the prior games.
So long 2D Final Fantasy! Now to the world of the PS1.....
The narrative, too, is also a step up, though maybe not quite in accordance with what the hype would have had me believe. In keeping with what is now a very clear pattern established to date of the odd entries putting a plucky band of fairly faceless heroes up against elemental evil itself and the even entries setting actual characters against evil empires, 6 is about a band of more sketched out personalities attempting to thwart the aspirations of global dominance of an empire built on magitek, centered around the potential return of magic to a world lacking it. Indeed, I'd say the first chunk of the game is firmly operating within the expectations set by the franchise thus far- with one notable exception I'll mention later- and the esteemed villains here.... are kind of disappointing? Kefka, in contrast to the headcanon I'd developed over the years from the game's reputation preceeding it of a Joker like figure insidously worming his way up in influence in an imperial court, is actually just a commander who.... dresses like a clown for the hell of it? And early on, doesn't even have much of a personality beyond being a revolting combination of edgelord and ineffectual Team Rocket esque baddie that gets beat every time you fight him. Ultros, a new repeating villain that seems to be this games follow up to Gilgamesh, substitutes creepy misogyny (and hes far from the only one to feature it in this the most weirdly leery of all the FFs thus far?) for funny use of game mechanics, even if he does get a memorably wholesome departure, out of turn with the rest of his portrayal, in the final fight.
Fortunately, the second half of the game drops routine- and those characters in particular- pretty much entirely for what is structurally and narratively the biggest deviation for the entire franchise yet. In the wake of a catastrophic turn of events at the conclusion of the second act, your party is scattered and the world lies in ruins. Instead of what has been the typical quest of trying to thwart the villains at every turn to date, the story turns inward as you attempt to rebuild your disparate party from the first half of the game while overcoming the trials that trouble each of them. It's a familiar formula in the modern day and not something I'd necessarily be so enthralled with in other contexts, but here the interior focus represents a welcome shift forward for the franchise and presents a big step up in active attempts at real character development.
That larger party is also the source of the first half of the game's exception to the rule. Rather than rotate characters in and out on a set basis- something IV did in order to leverage a bigger cast while operating within its standard 4 person party system- VI puts the player in the drivers seat and on several occasions tasks the player with dividing the party up, either momentarily to tackle a dungeon from multiple entry points or in larger story split ups with one party going one direction and another elsewhere. The freedom to pursue re-recruiting each party member in the second half is somewhat present earlier too when the game allows you to choose which branch of the broken up partys story to tackle first. (an ultimately superficial distinction as order will not influence overall story nor your party capabilities but still a welcome freedom) It's a neat development for the franchise and really represents the first attempt at grappling with larger playable parties this next period of Final Fantasy will come to be known for.
Unfortunately, in these early days of handling it, it's also responsible for one of my negative points here. And that is- that it's just plain clunky to handle outfitting and selecting your party. Keeping track of whats in your inventory in multiple copies or attached to characters can be a bit of a pain, and changing out equipment requires lots of menuing and/or leveraging an npc on your airship in the latter part of the game IF you're willing to reequip other party members as he only unequips is batches. (albeit sensible ones- everyone, just current party, everyone not in current party) More than any other pixel remaster, I found myself forgetting one thing or another and needing to go back to the ship to fiddle with party setups. This is exacerbated by the fact that this has a steeper expected level curve than the rest of the FFs to date seemingly and XP is not distributed to party members not in the party, so if you intend to adhere to the same no grind restrictions I've been taking on, you'll need to be very deliberate about getting everyone even exposure throughout the content present in the world of ruin, forcing even more party swapping and equipment managing. (A powerful accessory called the growth egg can really help you catch up party members that have fallen behind here thankfully, as it doubles xp growth for the character using it) Also, while something like the Fork Tower in FFV could be seen as a prototype for the full scale party splitting done in dungeons here, a key distinction is that Fork Tower kind of reveals its gimmick early- one side wants magic users and the other physical. Here, the relevant strategic considerations one might want to think about before assigning party members do not reveal themselves till well into their dungeons- bosses in most cases- so trying to plan your split requires either potentially doing the dungeon then reloading a save and doing it again or using a guide, neither of which is a good solution, whereas in V you could reload immediately at Fork Tower and have enough info. These are all pain points, to be sure, but I do accept that ultimately this is all a necessary starting point for the franchise trying to grow beyond 3 or 4 party members and make the most of it.
Fortunately, managing the progression system of the title- espers- is a bit easier as theres one central screen for all of them and its clearly denoted if the singleton copy of each is in use or not/clicking on them tells you whos using it. Espers themselves are a few different concepts married together- a move list the character using them will learn, a summon that can be used once per combat for an MP cost, and, in some espers cases, a bonus to specific stat growths at level up. Some learned abilities being shared between espers, a fast learning rate, low number of initial espers, and no limit on the abilities from espers one can have learned/equipped at once can lead to the system feeling like more of a homogenizing force than a differentiating one unfortunately. Characters do have their own unique command apart from the standard attack command the magic ones learned from espers to help offset that, but for those whose unique commands are less effective- either early on or later as magic scaling pushes things out of balance- that only goes so far. So despite entries like III and V having jobs accessible to every one and no character specific abilities, those party members did end up feeling more distinct as I developed them in battle than VI's. Now, as the game goes on, the esper pool fortunately does expand and some of the later ones in particular can take a while to master, so that does help specialize the cast. The summon ability too, while technically interchangeable between members, means that, at least for battles where youre planning around them and in that battle specifically, each character can also have a more distinct role. But again, those are only single use per battle so even if putting protect on everyone or rezzing the whole team are pretty potent abilities to have and plan around, its a brief distinction. So, on the whole, I did have some fun with the system and its a welcome progression from 2/4s ideas or lack of progression entirely respectively, I think I still prefer 3 and 5's job systems? But there are some ideas here that maybe in another form could surpass at least the initial job system in 3 and I can already see how such systems might have lead to 7's materia system so the seeds planted here aren't without merit.
All totaled, FF6 ended up being a step back from 5 in many respects, but I at least applaud that these regressions came from ambitions rather than simply retreating to earlier FF models. And while I would not put its gameplay alongside V in any regard, the efforts it makes in its world, its fiction, its structure and its atmosphere are truly steps beyond its predecessors even if I hold the core gameplay of V in such regard that I can't give VI the overall title above it. Given that the fanbase has a contingent that places higher value on those components anyways, its not a surprise to me then, after all is said and done, that this title does have the reputation I mentioned at the start. It won't be that for me, but it's still a worthy evolution point in the franchise history worth playing and I feel as though I understand the fanbase love for it having played it in the context of the prior games.
So long 2D Final Fantasy! Now to the world of the PS1.....
Pretty enjoyable. I enjoy the ensemble cast concept and that no one is the "main" character even if I only really enjoyed 3 of them mechanically. Played this as my first Final Fantasy because Kefka is a clown, and I was hearing a lot about an opera scene, both were pretty cool (except them gamifying the opera house and having to redo parts, thats just stupid.) It was cool letting everyone learn basically any spell. I did have to cheat at the end because I was under leveled for the final boss and I was not gonna level people.
This game has a really great story with some incredible ideas, but I feel that it doesn't fully live up to a few of them
The game seems to want you to make use of the full cast, which is great because all of the cast members are really good, but nothing in the game really incentivize you to use the main cast except for two minigames at the start and two dungeons at the end. They had the idea of breaking up the game into scenarios, with different groups of characters forming parties and doing different things for the story, which is genuinely amazing, but they only use it once. They hold onto it a little bit for the first half of the game, making certain characters required for certain segments, but the game becomes much more open in the second half. The second half has it's own strengths, but I feel that the character writing takes a significant hit
The gameplay is above average for an RPG. Each character has a gimmick that makes them unique and adds variety to the gameplay. Other than that and the more in-depth skill building system, it's pretty standard
There are some areas where the design can be a bit frustrating, and they really stand out because of how good everything else is. One of the best scenes in the game can be missed based on random chance, and an entire character can be missed by succeeding in a minigame. On top of that, there are two bosses that take place immediately after a series of tedious, unskippable fights that you have to repeat each time you die
The game also has excellent music, good art, and many of the quality of life additions are really great (turning off random encounters is a god send)
The game seems to want you to make use of the full cast, which is great because all of the cast members are really good, but nothing in the game really incentivize you to use the main cast except for two minigames at the start and two dungeons at the end. They had the idea of breaking up the game into scenarios, with different groups of characters forming parties and doing different things for the story, which is genuinely amazing, but they only use it once. They hold onto it a little bit for the first half of the game, making certain characters required for certain segments, but the game becomes much more open in the second half. The second half has it's own strengths, but I feel that the character writing takes a significant hit
The gameplay is above average for an RPG. Each character has a gimmick that makes them unique and adds variety to the gameplay. Other than that and the more in-depth skill building system, it's pretty standard
There are some areas where the design can be a bit frustrating, and they really stand out because of how good everything else is. One of the best scenes in the game can be missed based on random chance, and an entire character can be missed by succeeding in a minigame. On top of that, there are two bosses that take place immediately after a series of tedious, unskippable fights that you have to repeat each time you die
The game also has excellent music, good art, and many of the quality of life additions are really great (turning off random encounters is a god send)
There will be spoilers in this review. I finally got around to playing Final Fantasy VI, widely regarded as one of the greatest RPGs of all time. So what did I think? Well, it's mostly positive, but I definitely don't hold it to as high regard as some other people. Positives first. I loved the visuals and the music. Nobuo Uematsu once again shows why he's the GOAT. The story is great for the most part too, but I did find some flaws. The first half was excellent. I honestly had a great time, then Kefka destroys the world. While definitely an insanely epic moment, I thought it was only going to get better, but then the pacing of the game slows down to a crawl and now you have to explore the whole world on your own with very little indication on where to go. I never use guides for games. It's extremely rare, and I usually only use one to get unstuck from certain parts, but I'm not kidding you when I say I had to use a guide for the last 50% of the game. I had no idea where to go at all. Apparently, half of the game is just looking for your partners. I did not find that terribly exciting, although the stories definitely are good. I was just lost most of the time. I also mostly just used my favourite characters in combat, which became a problem later on. More about that later.
The combat is very fun, although I think there's a bit too many characters to really get into any of them. I only felt like a mastered a few of them, while many of them hardly got used at all, which was a mistake, because you need them all at the end. Or, well, at least 12 of them. And because I had only used my favourites, I had to go level up for a while. How long? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? No, I leveled up for several hours. It took forever, even with boosters on. I can't imagine how long it must've taken on the SNES to get all the characters up to an acceptable level. It's not like I'm bad at RPGs either. I just beat Final Fantasy 1-5 before this, and those didn't require much grinding at all. Well, except FFII. Ugh.
The game also had some annoying parts. First of all, the raft section. Just standing on a raft, choosing left, right or middle while fighting enemies over and over again wasn't very fun to me. Also, later, you fight waves of enemies on an airship, then two bosses, and if you fail at one of the bosses, it's everything over again, and that section takes a while too. I felt like some sections could've been designed better, but there are very few annoying parts at least.
Then there's Kefka. Such an entertaining villain, but I'm disappointed he wasn't more in the game. He shows up a lot during the first half, but you don't see him for pretty much the entire second half of the game, except for a few minutes at the end. I found that extremely disappointing, but he's still a fun villain. I also found Kefka's Tower a bit annoying, spamming bosses left and right, plus a bunch of annoying enemy types. Not exactly the way I wanted the game to end, but the last fight was epic as hell at least. Definitely had a blast with that.
This is actually one of the few times I think people are slightly blinded by nostalgia. I go back to old games all the time and have a ton of fun, and I did have fun with FFVI. Just not one of the greatest games of all time kind of fun. For instance, when I went back and played Chrono Trigger and EarthBound, old RPGs like that, I fell in love and they became some of my favourite games. Their age didn't matter at all. With FFVI, I'm noticing some cracks here and there. For me, Final Fantasy IX is still my favourite, but I'm still very happy to finally have played FFVI. A great game for sure.
The combat is very fun, although I think there's a bit too many characters to really get into any of them. I only felt like a mastered a few of them, while many of them hardly got used at all, which was a mistake, because you need them all at the end. Or, well, at least 12 of them. And because I had only used my favourites, I had to go level up for a while. How long? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? No, I leveled up for several hours. It took forever, even with boosters on. I can't imagine how long it must've taken on the SNES to get all the characters up to an acceptable level. It's not like I'm bad at RPGs either. I just beat Final Fantasy 1-5 before this, and those didn't require much grinding at all. Well, except FFII. Ugh.
The game also had some annoying parts. First of all, the raft section. Just standing on a raft, choosing left, right or middle while fighting enemies over and over again wasn't very fun to me. Also, later, you fight waves of enemies on an airship, then two bosses, and if you fail at one of the bosses, it's everything over again, and that section takes a while too. I felt like some sections could've been designed better, but there are very few annoying parts at least.
Then there's Kefka. Such an entertaining villain, but I'm disappointed he wasn't more in the game. He shows up a lot during the first half, but you don't see him for pretty much the entire second half of the game, except for a few minutes at the end. I found that extremely disappointing, but he's still a fun villain. I also found Kefka's Tower a bit annoying, spamming bosses left and right, plus a bunch of annoying enemy types. Not exactly the way I wanted the game to end, but the last fight was epic as hell at least. Definitely had a blast with that.
This is actually one of the few times I think people are slightly blinded by nostalgia. I go back to old games all the time and have a ton of fun, and I did have fun with FFVI. Just not one of the greatest games of all time kind of fun. For instance, when I went back and played Chrono Trigger and EarthBound, old RPGs like that, I fell in love and they became some of my favourite games. Their age didn't matter at all. With FFVI, I'm noticing some cracks here and there. For me, Final Fantasy IX is still my favourite, but I'm still very happy to finally have played FFVI. A great game for sure.
I love Final Fantasy VI. It's one of my favourite SNES games of all times alongside also its other two brothers, IV and V, and many many many others classics.
So why I'm rating this so much low? Because this version, as I played it originally on Steam, was a buggy mess that even with the time it took to develop and all those updates it still remained a glitchy mess.
The opera scena is the only real selling point.
Sadly I still think a proper hack rom of the original SNES game (with all uncensored and readaptation) will still be the definitive version since the PS1 has loadings and GBA has the debatable soundfont (didn't mind tbh) and the brightness.
So why I'm rating this so much low? Because this version, as I played it originally on Steam, was a buggy mess that even with the time it took to develop and all those updates it still remained a glitchy mess.
The opera scena is the only real selling point.
Sadly I still think a proper hack rom of the original SNES game (with all uncensored and readaptation) will still be the definitive version since the PS1 has loadings and GBA has the debatable soundfont (didn't mind tbh) and the brightness.
Now I can see why this FF is so beloved. The theme is one of my faves, as well as how opposite is Kefka to the whole group.
Also, I had so much fun with the different traits between characters and my fav stories were Celes’ and Locke’s!
Boi I just love Final Fantasy.
Also, I had so much fun with the different traits between characters and my fav stories were Celes’ and Locke’s!
Boi I just love Final Fantasy.
The best way to play one of, if not THE best Final Fantasy game. The remastered pixel visuals are fantastic, and much easier to look at than the god-awful mobile ports. The remastered music is also fantastic. When I first heard the battle theme, and the boss theme, I couldn't help but jam out.
Everything else is exactly how you'd want it here. The battle system is the same, the characters are still as great, and the writing is on point. This is really just the best way to play FFVI imo, and same goes for all of these pixel remasters really. If you love FFVI or have yet to give it a try, this is the best way to do so.
Everything else is exactly how you'd want it here. The battle system is the same, the characters are still as great, and the writing is on point. This is really just the best way to play FFVI imo, and same goes for all of these pixel remasters really. If you love FFVI or have yet to give it a try, this is the best way to do so.
I recommend to use mods because the sprites are uglier than other versions
A game that was truly ahead of its time. Final Fantasy VI has so much love and detail poured into it that it's easy to forget this is a game that came out in 1994.
Kefka > Sephiroth, the truth the world just isn't ready for.
And it's finally done.
My month of the Final Fantasy PR has come to an end with an absolute masterpiece. This is by FAR the best game in the series I've played, and [almost] everything about has earned itself a special place for me.
This has easily the best characters thus far, the more open nature of the story allows it to focus on individual backstories unlike the previous games. This made for a cast I became IMMENSELY emotionally invested in, I adored everyone in the main cast (aside from possibly Gogo and the yeti, that's more because they felt like optional side characters than anything else), especially Cyan and Shadow's backstories were particularly emotional, and Terra might be my favorite character in the series.
Kefka might be a little dated by today's standards of villain writing, but what makes him a great villain to me (maybe my favorite FF villain although Exdeath comes close) is that he does actually succeed in his goals (is that a spoiler at this point?), and he has an almost gleeful demeanor that amplifies how intimidating he came across.
The gameplay is the best possible version of the classic FF system, jobs have been replaced again with specialized characters, but you still have enough freedom to build your team any way you want thanks to the magicite system. Everyone has their special uses even if I don't personally use it (for example Gau is a great character, but I really dislike his Rage mechanic), and the wide range of them make me want to replay the game with a different team.
A few things I did not care for included the RNG-based nature of the coliseum (once I filled out trophy requirements I didn't bother with it anymore), the final dungeon had a noticeable difficulty spike (apparently level 40ish is recommended, I was over 50 and still struggled at a few points), and Setzer's infamous joker trophy was a nightmare in RNG (although I got it after changing my farming strategy really quick, maybe it's a coincidence IDK).
These are just nitpicks in the grand scheme of things, they do not detract from the monumental heights the game achieves. This is definitely a game I'll be coming back to and likely find more things to appreciate about it. It's become one of my favorite games ever, and my only regret is not playing it far sooner.
10/10
My month of the Final Fantasy PR has come to an end with an absolute masterpiece. This is by FAR the best game in the series I've played, and [almost] everything about has earned itself a special place for me.
This has easily the best characters thus far, the more open nature of the story allows it to focus on individual backstories unlike the previous games. This made for a cast I became IMMENSELY emotionally invested in, I adored everyone in the main cast (aside from possibly Gogo and the yeti, that's more because they felt like optional side characters than anything else), especially Cyan and Shadow's backstories were particularly emotional, and Terra might be my favorite character in the series.
Kefka might be a little dated by today's standards of villain writing, but what makes him a great villain to me (maybe my favorite FF villain although Exdeath comes close) is that he does actually succeed in his goals (is that a spoiler at this point?), and he has an almost gleeful demeanor that amplifies how intimidating he came across.
The gameplay is the best possible version of the classic FF system, jobs have been replaced again with specialized characters, but you still have enough freedom to build your team any way you want thanks to the magicite system. Everyone has their special uses even if I don't personally use it (for example Gau is a great character, but I really dislike his Rage mechanic), and the wide range of them make me want to replay the game with a different team.
A few things I did not care for included the RNG-based nature of the coliseum (once I filled out trophy requirements I didn't bother with it anymore), the final dungeon had a noticeable difficulty spike (apparently level 40ish is recommended, I was over 50 and still struggled at a few points), and Setzer's infamous joker trophy was a nightmare in RNG (although I got it after changing my farming strategy really quick, maybe it's a coincidence IDK).
These are just nitpicks in the grand scheme of things, they do not detract from the monumental heights the game achieves. This is definitely a game I'll be coming back to and likely find more things to appreciate about it. It's become one of my favorite games ever, and my only regret is not playing it far sooner.
10/10
I was really enjoying this one until I reached the World of Ruin, when everything became slightly too overwhelming and confusing for me. Still have massive respect for this game, but I just lacked the motivation and drive to continue on with this one.
Es la culminación de toda la saga hasta este punto.
desde la mismísima intro, el juego tiene una cosa muy clara: te va a dar una experiencia que supera los limites de su consola, y te lo vas a tomar en serio.
desde la estética más oscura que acompaña el tono de la historia, hasta la presentación y el estilo artístico. tiene los mejores personajes, siendo todos empatizables y con historias y arcos muy definidos, la historia general es la más definida y elaborada hasta el punto, la ost está repleta de bangers...
también tiene su parte mala. el combate empieza más lento que en V, hay cositas estúpidamente enrevesadas, es más fácil que en otros juegos quedarte atascado sin escape en algunos jefes, hay un par de jefes que son NEFASTOS y el juego se alarga un poco de más hacia las ultimas 5 horas antes de la mazmorra final.
pero merece bastante la pena, me parece un juego especial, en su punto más bajo tiene cosas molestas de RPG viejo, pero en sus puntos más altos, consigue traspasar la pantalla y las limitaciones del hardware.
se nota que tenían mucho cariño a este proyecto y que se propusieron romper limites.
Y lo consiguen con creces.
desde la mismísima intro, el juego tiene una cosa muy clara: te va a dar una experiencia que supera los limites de su consola, y te lo vas a tomar en serio.
desde la estética más oscura que acompaña el tono de la historia, hasta la presentación y el estilo artístico. tiene los mejores personajes, siendo todos empatizables y con historias y arcos muy definidos, la historia general es la más definida y elaborada hasta el punto, la ost está repleta de bangers...
también tiene su parte mala. el combate empieza más lento que en V, hay cositas estúpidamente enrevesadas, es más fácil que en otros juegos quedarte atascado sin escape en algunos jefes, hay un par de jefes que son NEFASTOS y el juego se alarga un poco de más hacia las ultimas 5 horas antes de la mazmorra final.
pero merece bastante la pena, me parece un juego especial, en su punto más bajo tiene cosas molestas de RPG viejo, pero en sus puntos más altos, consigue traspasar la pantalla y las limitaciones del hardware.
se nota que tenían mucho cariño a este proyecto y que se propusieron romper limites.
Y lo consiguen con creces.
#RelmSweep
Wife’s Reaction:
“Hokay, so… it’s ze end of ze world.”
The Final Final Fantasy:
After many years I’ve finally finished all of the singleplayer Final Fantasy games, and FFVI was a perfect finale. The game has a fun, diverse cast all swept up in a dramatic story filled with plenty of light-hearted moments. FFVI lived up to the hype I’ve heard over the years; I loved it all and just wish I had more time with the characters.
“Hokay, so… it’s ze end of ze world.”
The Final Final Fantasy:
After many years I’ve finally finished all of the singleplayer Final Fantasy games, and FFVI was a perfect finale. The game has a fun, diverse cast all swept up in a dramatic story filled with plenty of light-hearted moments. FFVI lived up to the hype I’ve heard over the years; I loved it all and just wish I had more time with the characters.
Enjoyed the game throughout, especially the World of Balance portion, I thought that was great. World of Ruin was good but at times felt a bit overwhelming for me personally, though me pulling an all nighter to do it in one sitting before the end of the year could've contributed to that
As someone with no nostalgia for this title, and only finally played it with the release of this iteration; what a fantastic game. The character writing is a bit weak, especially due to having such a massive cast, but each character manages to stand apart in terms of gameplay and overall makes teambuilding and strategy feel personal and fun. The story is great as well in the way it subverts nearly every trope of a traditional JRPG and pulls it off so convincingly, genuinely could be considered groundbreaking for the time period in which it was written.
It was very easy to see why this is such a beloved title.
It was very easy to see why this is such a beloved title.
Final Fantasy VI is one of the most pivotal video games ever. Most attribute the rise in cinematic storytelling in videogames to this game's successor, Final Fantasy VII, but the level of balance THIS game achieved between story and video game design is nothing short, of contemporary genius.
Developed as the last hurrah of Final Fantasy's retro era, VI saw its development occur after FIVE previous entries. This meant that, at this point, Squaresoft was pretty much at a level of expertise that few other game studios had at the time. Enix was close with their Dragon Quest series, but in the overall scope of storytelling in video games, Square was peerless.
V may have taken a backseat towards gripping narrative, a downgrade from its predecessor, but that was done purposefully -- a lighthearted, well-designed adventure at its core, V was everything you could possibly expect about Final Fantasy at the time.
But. What of Final Fantasy VI?
Well, for the sake of not mincing words, I must say that Final Fantasy VI is one of the most important video games ever, and one of the greatest video games ever at the same time. My most favorite games, Mass Effect 2, The Witcher 3, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Assassin's Creed IV, Bioshock, Disco Elysium, God of War, KotOR, and yes, EVEN THE LAST OF US owe so much to this game.
Now that's a tall order, right? Well, lemme explain. Prior to FFVI, the gaming industry was typically made up of action-packed 2D platforming romps save for the occasional exploration-heavy Legend of Zelda game. Before VI, the closest thing people had to an AMAZING video game story was FFIV, and Dragon Quest V. And its needless to say that, comparatively, FFVI blows those two games, and literally every other video game before it out of the water. This is THE video game of the 2D graphics era in my opinion.
We owe that accolade to its story. FFVI sports the most gripping narrative in the series' entire catalogue, save for a few personal favorites of mine like FFXIV's various expansions, XVI, and maybe even VII on a good day. But I try to say this in the eyes of a critic, because ultimately, FFVI's story progression, character development, and worldbuilding is the best the entire industry would ever see, up until either TW3 or TLOU. Every single dramatic video game owes its story to this one -- because FFVI offers so, SO many innovations in storytelling at its time that following it, implementing an actually FANTASTIC story into a video game became SO much more common.
This game has been spoiled to hell and back. I will not be divulging details here, because its true -- you have to have a blind eye to truly be mindblown by certain moments of story this video game has. But just know -- these moments that do exist are the best story moments in video game history. And when these moments happen, they occur linearily and in a nice, tight package alongside LEGENDARY characters like Locke (who is now my all-time favorite FF character) that its so obvious that games like TW3 look up to its story design for inspiration.
As for the game itself, FFVI returns to FFIV's static job system, but this time with a little more innovation. It is by no means simplistic, but VI offers a lite-job system mainly through new magical pseudo-skill trees with the Esper system, alongside a relic system that gives hints towards the jobs of old. But mainly, each character has a clearly defined focus, whether it be tools, martial arts, bushido, or just plain magic -- you still get a lot to play with. Sure, thanks to the Esper system, you could make your whole party ultima-casting maniacs, but for what its worth FFVI's game system is about as solid as it could get. I think I honestly still prefer the MEGA-simplicity of FFIV's static job system, but overall the system here is NOT a failure. It complements the story immensely well and does nothing short of offer another satisfying retro FF experience.
But, all things truly must come to an end. If you played this game, you know that by now haha. By the time FFVI released, Squaresoft was through with creating the same game over, and over, and over again. They needed to take FF into a direction that transcended its silly, chibi-esque qualities of the 16 and 8-bit eras. While I appreciated FFVI's art design in-game, it became so increasingly obvious that the limitations of a 2-Dimensional space weighed on its story. No facial animations aside from a few rudimentary ones, impactful character acting and in-game design was a zone of improvement Square was desperately trying to improve with each new entry of this series, whether in some ways or others.
Ultimately, this drive to create an even more massive and sprawling video game adventure would culminate in the form of one of the most legendary video games of all time... Final Fantasy VII.
But, this game's imprint must not be forgotten. While its legacy seems to have been forgotten by Square nowadays, I can so clearly see the impact this game's storytelling had on literally the entire video game industry. Its absolutely legendary. And while it did not feel like I was gaining as FLOORING an experience as The Witcher 3's entire story while playing this game, I have so, so much respect for it nonetheless.
Final Fantasy VI is, arguably, the most important game when it comes to what I personally find in video games. Sprawling worlds, amazing and lovable characters, a gripping plot, and a tearjerking end that all ties together offering one of the best narrative experiences you could ask for in video gaming.
For what this game did for me, and by proxy millions of others, the score must be clear by now. Final Fantasy VI is one of the greatest video games ever made.
100/100
Developed as the last hurrah of Final Fantasy's retro era, VI saw its development occur after FIVE previous entries. This meant that, at this point, Squaresoft was pretty much at a level of expertise that few other game studios had at the time. Enix was close with their Dragon Quest series, but in the overall scope of storytelling in video games, Square was peerless.
V may have taken a backseat towards gripping narrative, a downgrade from its predecessor, but that was done purposefully -- a lighthearted, well-designed adventure at its core, V was everything you could possibly expect about Final Fantasy at the time.
But. What of Final Fantasy VI?
Well, for the sake of not mincing words, I must say that Final Fantasy VI is one of the most important video games ever, and one of the greatest video games ever at the same time. My most favorite games, Mass Effect 2, The Witcher 3, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Assassin's Creed IV, Bioshock, Disco Elysium, God of War, KotOR, and yes, EVEN THE LAST OF US owe so much to this game.
Now that's a tall order, right? Well, lemme explain. Prior to FFVI, the gaming industry was typically made up of action-packed 2D platforming romps save for the occasional exploration-heavy Legend of Zelda game. Before VI, the closest thing people had to an AMAZING video game story was FFIV, and Dragon Quest V. And its needless to say that, comparatively, FFVI blows those two games, and literally every other video game before it out of the water. This is THE video game of the 2D graphics era in my opinion.
We owe that accolade to its story. FFVI sports the most gripping narrative in the series' entire catalogue, save for a few personal favorites of mine like FFXIV's various expansions, XVI, and maybe even VII on a good day. But I try to say this in the eyes of a critic, because ultimately, FFVI's story progression, character development, and worldbuilding is the best the entire industry would ever see, up until either TW3 or TLOU. Every single dramatic video game owes its story to this one -- because FFVI offers so, SO many innovations in storytelling at its time that following it, implementing an actually FANTASTIC story into a video game became SO much more common.
This game has been spoiled to hell and back. I will not be divulging details here, because its true -- you have to have a blind eye to truly be mindblown by certain moments of story this video game has. But just know -- these moments that do exist are the best story moments in video game history. And when these moments happen, they occur linearily and in a nice, tight package alongside LEGENDARY characters like Locke (who is now my all-time favorite FF character) that its so obvious that games like TW3 look up to its story design for inspiration.
As for the game itself, FFVI returns to FFIV's static job system, but this time with a little more innovation. It is by no means simplistic, but VI offers a lite-job system mainly through new magical pseudo-skill trees with the Esper system, alongside a relic system that gives hints towards the jobs of old. But mainly, each character has a clearly defined focus, whether it be tools, martial arts, bushido, or just plain magic -- you still get a lot to play with. Sure, thanks to the Esper system, you could make your whole party ultima-casting maniacs, but for what its worth FFVI's game system is about as solid as it could get. I think I honestly still prefer the MEGA-simplicity of FFIV's static job system, but overall the system here is NOT a failure. It complements the story immensely well and does nothing short of offer another satisfying retro FF experience.
But, all things truly must come to an end. If you played this game, you know that by now haha. By the time FFVI released, Squaresoft was through with creating the same game over, and over, and over again. They needed to take FF into a direction that transcended its silly, chibi-esque qualities of the 16 and 8-bit eras. While I appreciated FFVI's art design in-game, it became so increasingly obvious that the limitations of a 2-Dimensional space weighed on its story. No facial animations aside from a few rudimentary ones, impactful character acting and in-game design was a zone of improvement Square was desperately trying to improve with each new entry of this series, whether in some ways or others.
Ultimately, this drive to create an even more massive and sprawling video game adventure would culminate in the form of one of the most legendary video games of all time... Final Fantasy VII.
But, this game's imprint must not be forgotten. While its legacy seems to have been forgotten by Square nowadays, I can so clearly see the impact this game's storytelling had on literally the entire video game industry. Its absolutely legendary. And while it did not feel like I was gaining as FLOORING an experience as The Witcher 3's entire story while playing this game, I have so, so much respect for it nonetheless.
Final Fantasy VI is, arguably, the most important game when it comes to what I personally find in video games. Sprawling worlds, amazing and lovable characters, a gripping plot, and a tearjerking end that all ties together offering one of the best narrative experiences you could ask for in video gaming.
For what this game did for me, and by proxy millions of others, the score must be clear by now. Final Fantasy VI is one of the greatest video games ever made.
100/100
The reigning king of “oh that game was a lot shorter than i remember”.
I really like this game, and i think there is so much done well with it, so thats why i wont say anything good about this game here in this here review.
The characters are all pretty neat but the issue with the “there is no real main character” is that this is an snes game. Anybody that isnt terra celes or locke can go eat shit. Celes is my favorite character but i feel like she gets more screentime than either of the other two. Terra is more widely considered the mc for spinoffs and whatnot which i dont really mind, per se, its just that shes not in your party for like half the damn game.
Gameplay wise, i hate the magicite system. It just leads to every character being a homogenized beast that doesnt matter in any way shape or form outside of their main gimmick. The figaro twins are so obscenely broken because of this, sabin in particular. Gau’s gimmick is PROBABLY the best but once i got the achievement i noped the fuck out of the veldt, probably one of the worst mechanics to get greenlit in the series. Most others are either totally worthless or just straight up outclassed.
Kefka is a lame ass villain. Dancing mad rules but hes not that fucking guy. Hes evil because he got the evil injection from banana cid and wants to end the world because hes evil. FF villains (usually) kinda stink but kefkas the only one i feel gets blown so out of proportion.
After this im probably returning to the ff14 mines. I fought kefka by accident before i could get the bestiary, but luckily setzer replaced locke on my final boss team and because setzer is a bald moron he used jokers death on my team and i could go back and get the last few entries.
I really like this game, and i think there is so much done well with it, so thats why i wont say anything good about this game here in this here review.
The characters are all pretty neat but the issue with the “there is no real main character” is that this is an snes game. Anybody that isnt terra celes or locke can go eat shit. Celes is my favorite character but i feel like she gets more screentime than either of the other two. Terra is more widely considered the mc for spinoffs and whatnot which i dont really mind, per se, its just that shes not in your party for like half the damn game.
Gameplay wise, i hate the magicite system. It just leads to every character being a homogenized beast that doesnt matter in any way shape or form outside of their main gimmick. The figaro twins are so obscenely broken because of this, sabin in particular. Gau’s gimmick is PROBABLY the best but once i got the achievement i noped the fuck out of the veldt, probably one of the worst mechanics to get greenlit in the series. Most others are either totally worthless or just straight up outclassed.
Kefka is a lame ass villain. Dancing mad rules but hes not that fucking guy. Hes evil because he got the evil injection from banana cid and wants to end the world because hes evil. FF villains (usually) kinda stink but kefkas the only one i feel gets blown so out of proportion.
After this im probably returning to the ff14 mines. I fought kefka by accident before i could get the bestiary, but luckily setzer replaced locke on my final boss team and because setzer is a bald moron he used jokers death on my team and i could go back and get the last few entries.
Arguably one the best RPG's of all time and my personal favorite Final Fantasy in the 2D genre. This game, while limited in its 2D approach, was magnificently written and designed. Each and every element in this game is flawless and one I wish could be remade like Final Fantasy 7. Don't be fooled by the 2D graphics, this game is finer than most in the market today.
Alright I think it's safe to say classic Final Fantasy is not my cup of tea unfortunately. This is now the third turn-based FF game that I ended up putting down. For what it's worth, I definitely enjoyed this one a lot more than FFVII or FFIX. I played 20 hours of this before I got tired of it.
While I was very much invested in the story because of Terra, Locke, and Celes, that's pretty much the extent of it I could get into. This game has too many damn characters and most of them are not important after their introductions. I can appreciate the ambition, as it's definitely impressive for an SNES game, but too many of these characters feel half-baked. They DO all have their unique attributes...kinda. The game clearly wants you to use the esper system to build up your characters with magic spells, but this makes them all feel the same. Why bother worrying about specific character abilities when the game makes it very obvious very early on that spamming magic is infinitely more effective? There are also instances where you have to use specific characters for story moments, and if you haven't built those characters up enough, good luck! I was stuck on one section for a good while just because I needed ice magic, and I couldn't use the character I had built up ice spells on, how fun! Creating a team with so many characters to pick from should be a fun experience, but the game ruins this with its own battle system. Switching out the characters you've put time into is a bad idea, and it absolutely sucks when you have to. It just makes things take longer than they should.
I do want to make it very clear that I was enjoying the story a lot, as bloated as it is. I'm a little bummed that I won't see the end of Terra or Celes's arcs, but this gameplay is just not doing it for me unfortunately. I was super into this game in the beginning, but the more I played, the more the mechanics bothered me . It being an SNES game, it has plenty of "old game-isms" that are annoying too. The pixel remaster doesn't help with these either which just confuses me. I really appreciate what it did for the time, but it's not a game I like all that much.
What will stick out the most about this game to me is the opera house segment, because the performance scene is HD-2D and nothing else in this release is. It's beautiful and I love it, but like...why?
While I was very much invested in the story because of Terra, Locke, and Celes, that's pretty much the extent of it I could get into. This game has too many damn characters and most of them are not important after their introductions. I can appreciate the ambition, as it's definitely impressive for an SNES game, but too many of these characters feel half-baked. They DO all have their unique attributes...kinda. The game clearly wants you to use the esper system to build up your characters with magic spells, but this makes them all feel the same. Why bother worrying about specific character abilities when the game makes it very obvious very early on that spamming magic is infinitely more effective? There are also instances where you have to use specific characters for story moments, and if you haven't built those characters up enough, good luck! I was stuck on one section for a good while just because I needed ice magic, and I couldn't use the character I had built up ice spells on, how fun! Creating a team with so many characters to pick from should be a fun experience, but the game ruins this with its own battle system. Switching out the characters you've put time into is a bad idea, and it absolutely sucks when you have to. It just makes things take longer than they should.
I do want to make it very clear that I was enjoying the story a lot, as bloated as it is. I'm a little bummed that I won't see the end of Terra or Celes's arcs, but this gameplay is just not doing it for me unfortunately. I was super into this game in the beginning, but the more I played, the more the mechanics bothered me . It being an SNES game, it has plenty of "old game-isms" that are annoying too. The pixel remaster doesn't help with these either which just confuses me. I really appreciate what it did for the time, but it's not a game I like all that much.
What will stick out the most about this game to me is the opera house segment, because the performance scene is HD-2D and nothing else in this release is. It's beautiful and I love it, but like...why?
🐐
There's a reason why Final Fantasy VI is considered a classic. It's tight cast of characters, well thought out battle system, and memorable story really make this a complete package. The pixel remaster adds new visuals and voice acting to the opera scene, which while nice, kinda clashes with the rest of the package. Not really a detriment, but this one definitely had more time put into it since it's so beloved
Final Fantasy VI is a truly stellar, almost unparalleled game...which has historically been cursed with releases that always had something wrong with them
The SNES original had a shoddy translation
The GBA port fixed the script but had a poor sound chip
The original mobile and PC ports looked terrible
But here? We got the improved script, excellent new sprite work, and a soundtrack to match or even surpass the original.
This, right here, is perfection.
The SNES original had a shoddy translation
The GBA port fixed the script but had a poor sound chip
The original mobile and PC ports looked terrible
But here? We got the improved script, excellent new sprite work, and a soundtrack to match or even surpass the original.
This, right here, is perfection.
Remains the absolute perfect video game
Out of all classic FFs, this one feels the most complete and closest to the modern games. The first half was an absolute blast to play through, I did not expect such heavy story beats. The second half was a bit overwhelming, but ultra fun nonetheless. At first I didn't like how many party membery they threw at you, but playing with 3 teams for the final dungeon was genius. Nuking Kefka with Ultima after Ultima was something else.
GREETINGS FINAL FANTASY ENJOYERS, JRPG lovers, gamers from all around the world!
Having finally beat the evil tin can man and saved a merged world in Final Fantasy V; it is time to embark on the next iteration of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy VI (FF6)!
Boy, what an absolutely phenomenal game this is.
I think this story is best experienced firsthand as it's got very interesting beats and points that shouldn't fail to entertain or immerse. The first scene of the game starts with a dark and brooding cutscene, setting the appropriate tone for this entry, quite similar to FF4. My initial impression is that it's FF2 but more expanded, but I was proven wrong early on. It also has a lot of drama and/or dramatic influences and it's very blunt about it.
Unlike the previous entry, the cast is rather large! If you do all the quests your cast should top at 13 characters I think (at least that's how many I had). Each of them is rather unique and they even have their personal backstories integrated into the story or via some sidequest when you acquire them, all neat stuff. They're all great characters, I love them all dearly :)
Rather early on you unlock quite a lot of them and you can mix and match your party however you see fit, which is great but also kind of a bog as you still need to level everyone, as the game requires multiple parties to progress sometimes.
As far as gameplay goes... Once again, FF6 departs from FF5 job system, with each character having a predetermined job specific to them.
Cross job skills are no more, and instead relics make an appearance, which are basically accessories that add abilities, statuses or enhance your already present abilities, like turning Steal to Mug or granting 100% accuracy.
Another new addition is the summon system, which now everyone has access to. Depending on the summon equipped, levelup stats are influenced and the character can unlock that summons spells. Basically everyone can be a healer now, which is neat!
Additionally, every character has their own unique mechanic such as: Terra's trance which powers her magic, Celes' runic which absorbs spells for healing or Sabin's martial arts that require button inputs. This more or less makes each character different in playstyle and how you approach the summon system.
Visuals this time have a lot more details, showing how FF6 was a late SNES era game. This time around Pixel Remaster actually has some noticeable additions: most striking being the Opera scene, completely different from the original game! It was really good!
Another yay is that character portraits are back, yet again by yours truly Amano Yoshitaka! WOO!
The game overall is very pretty and I think for any 2D JRPG the level of beauty FF6 achieved should be their baseline.
Music is great, absolutely banging in fact! A lot of the music, similar to the story, is more "fine arts" in my opinion. My favourite pieces are the Opera song, Terra's theme, Cyan's theme, Celes' theme and the train area song.
Overall, if FF4 is too old for you, FF6 is a must play if you want to at least experience the Final Fantasy series at one of its apexes.
"X Y down up!" [meteor strikes this review] I'll see you in Final Fantasy VII, soldier.
Having finally beat the evil tin can man and saved a merged world in Final Fantasy V; it is time to embark on the next iteration of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy VI (FF6)!
Boy, what an absolutely phenomenal game this is.
I think this story is best experienced firsthand as it's got very interesting beats and points that shouldn't fail to entertain or immerse. The first scene of the game starts with a dark and brooding cutscene, setting the appropriate tone for this entry, quite similar to FF4. My initial impression is that it's FF2 but more expanded, but I was proven wrong early on. It also has a lot of drama and/or dramatic influences and it's very blunt about it.
Unlike the previous entry, the cast is rather large! If you do all the quests your cast should top at 13 characters I think (at least that's how many I had). Each of them is rather unique and they even have their personal backstories integrated into the story or via some sidequest when you acquire them, all neat stuff. They're all great characters, I love them all dearly :)
Rather early on you unlock quite a lot of them and you can mix and match your party however you see fit, which is great but also kind of a bog as you still need to level everyone, as the game requires multiple parties to progress sometimes.
As far as gameplay goes... Once again, FF6 departs from FF5 job system, with each character having a predetermined job specific to them.
Cross job skills are no more, and instead relics make an appearance, which are basically accessories that add abilities, statuses or enhance your already present abilities, like turning Steal to Mug or granting 100% accuracy.
Another new addition is the summon system, which now everyone has access to. Depending on the summon equipped, levelup stats are influenced and the character can unlock that summons spells. Basically everyone can be a healer now, which is neat!
Additionally, every character has their own unique mechanic such as: Terra's trance which powers her magic, Celes' runic which absorbs spells for healing or Sabin's martial arts that require button inputs. This more or less makes each character different in playstyle and how you approach the summon system.
Visuals this time have a lot more details, showing how FF6 was a late SNES era game. This time around Pixel Remaster actually has some noticeable additions: most striking being the Opera scene, completely different from the original game! It was really good!
Another yay is that character portraits are back, yet again by yours truly Amano Yoshitaka! WOO!
The game overall is very pretty and I think for any 2D JRPG the level of beauty FF6 achieved should be their baseline.
Music is great, absolutely banging in fact! A lot of the music, similar to the story, is more "fine arts" in my opinion. My favourite pieces are the Opera song, Terra's theme, Cyan's theme, Celes' theme and the train area song.
Overall, if FF4 is too old for you, FF6 is a must play if you want to at least experience the Final Fantasy series at one of its apexes.
"X Y down up!" [meteor strikes this review] I'll see you in Final Fantasy VII, soldier.
Well well well, this Pixel Remaster was definitely a better job than the previous ones, not only the reorchestrate music but also some cutscenes in 2D-HD, the sprites despite wanting to be faithful to the originals, they also tried to have more details
Unfortunately... being this my favorite FF, I would have preferred a 2D-HD remake than this "pixel remaster" the cutscenes in 2D-HD have given just a hint of how FFVI could be with that graphics, that is magnificent leaving only to the cutscenes suggests that it is a work left in half, also the lack of exclusive Advance content suffers to increase the longevity of the product
In summary, it is a job done really well but unfortunately it is left in half in my opinion
Unfortunately... being this my favorite FF, I would have preferred a 2D-HD remake than this "pixel remaster" the cutscenes in 2D-HD have given just a hint of how FFVI could be with that graphics, that is magnificent leaving only to the cutscenes suggests that it is a work left in half, also the lack of exclusive Advance content suffers to increase the longevity of the product
In summary, it is a job done really well but unfortunately it is left in half in my opinion