Final Fantasy VI

To be a great game, regardless of genre, in my mind it needs to have a great story, characters with whom you are able to identify and connect, an art style that makes it stand out and a score that evokes emotions. For me, one of my favorite games would have to be Final Fantasy III, which was later localized in America as Final Fantasy VI. The story focuses on a thief ‘treasure hunter’ and rebel leader named Locke Cole, a mysterious young woman with mystical powers who is under the control of the Empire named Terra Branford, and a number of other characters who are all connected in a grand story. This may seem like a simplistic game, but playing through the game, you will feel an entire gamut of emotion, ranging from the pain of losing friends to the joy of loved ones found, and the betrayal that comes from being stabbed in the back. To save the world, you will travel across the lands and seas, through mountains and underground, through different realms and even to a post-apocalyptic wasteland of the world as the story progresses.

One thousand years before the events of the game, three entities known as the Warring Triad initiated a conflict that would come to be called the War of the Magi. This quarrel grew to catastrophic proportions, unleashing magical energy into the world which transformed afflicted humans into espers—magical beings who themselves were used as soldiers in the war. Eventually realizing the horrific calamity wrought by their hands, the Triad returned free will to the espers and sealed their own powers, becoming stone statues. Their only request was that the espers ensure their power remain locked away so it might never be used again. The espers carried their stone gods to a hidden land, sealing themselves off from the realm of humans. The concept of magic gradually faded to legend and myth as mankind built a society extolling science and technology. And this is where your story begins. (Note: This summary was taken from Wikipedia.)

You are able to control as many as four characters in battle. However, it is very strict about which companions you will have at specific points in the game. But this is done organically as various events in each character’s storyline. There will rarely be a point in the story where you feel like you are overwhelmed by the enemies and unable to defeat them with the current party. The customization choices for the characters are fairly extensive. Each character has a specialization, but as you progress through the game, all of the characters gain the ability to learn magic and gain different abilities through equipping various items and relics. 

This game was originally released on the SNES console so it has the 16 bit sprite look similar to that of The Secret of Mana or The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. But that doesn’t detract from the game. There have been several releases and compilations of this game, with the most recent being on the PSN. The soundtrack is similar to that of any game of the SNES era, but you are able to get updates and new compilations of the soundtrack from the original composer. 

There are many scenes that I am able to remember from playing through this game a couple times, and this is after not having played it in about two years. My favorite of those being the opera scene. Interested in finding out what the opera scene is? You should play this title. Even with being an eighteen year old title, I would still give this 9 out of 10 for a grade. And this is why I call Final Fantasy VI one of my favorite video games.