Hauntingly beautiful
User Rating: 9.1 | Final Fantasy VI Advance GBA
Final Fantasy VI rivals Final Fantasy VII for the title of greatest game ever in the minds and hearts of many Final Fantasy aficionado’s. Hauntingly beautiful, touching and heart-rendering it was the pre-cursor to the incredible characterisation and story-telling prowess of it’s later sibling, but even more so featured, those elements in depth and style in it’s own right. Final Fantasy VI really stunned in it’s story-telling, far and away above anything seen at the time and an incredible piece of work considering the limited technology there to work with. Whereas earlier Fantasy’s had tended to be incredibly mediaeval in it’s approach, focusing of princess’s and knights, the sixth instalment saw an incredible change of tact delving into romantic concepts of technology and science versus nature and beauty. The depth of the story in it’s themes, context and in it’s own plot stands alone in the 16-bit era. As with Final Fantasy VII the start is astounding, and a prelude to the incredible emotional journey to follow. Starting with two metallic robots shelled around two soldiers, a small interjection of dialogue is followed by the logo of the game and then credits as the two aforementioned soldiers stroll towards the horizon, backed by deeply affecting and dark music (Nobuo Uematsu showing much of the skill that would be used to incredible effect come the 32-bit era). Nothing even came close to rivalling the simple power of the start of Final Fantasy VI at the time (and it’s arguable it has never been matched), being instantly involving and raising the questions that would drive you through the story. The backdrop to the game is that 1000 years ago the war of the Magi decimated the world and it’s technology, as well as all the magic known to man. After a millennium the world has slowly rebuilt and you are thrust into this strange mix of technology and mediaeval (somewhat akin to VII). The Empire, the leading form of authority, remains at war with many factions but has generally brought peace to the land; however, similar to Shinra in the following game, at a more sinister cost than many might presume. The Empire has begun to search for the lost ‘magic’, a myth from the past, that would allow them to conquer and control the world. As one can see, a bit more complex than Robotnik capturing the animals of Mobius or Bowser kidnapping the Princess. The main thrust of the story focuses on ‘Terra’, a young female whom is being controlled by the Empire. On her escape at the start her memory is wiped and she seems to posses a natural power that she fails to understand and control. After a young ‘treasure hunter/thief’ known as Locke helps her escape the story pans out into an emotional epic that is far too complex to even semi-relate in a review. Attached to the story is the depth of characterisation shown throughout the game. The amount of emotional attachment gamers concede to mere sprites is a testament to the company’s story-telling ability. That said the sprites are beautifully presented capable of a variety of expressions that adds much complexity to the conveying of emotional understanding; indeed graphically the standard of the game was maybe never matched on the SNES. (Chrono Cross and Mario RPG [Both Square incidentally] came close but lacked the incredible story and length of this game). All the characters, except some later miscellaneous ones, are all painstakingly and carefully constructed through the game; all have discernable personalities and emotional traits and all have stories to tell. The story of Terra is incredibly heart-breaking and the constant intertwining of each characters story to the game’s main plot adds much emotional depth to game. The fact that Terra herself has no concept of her identity also adds an interesting element to the story, she learns as you do and it is undeniably touching. The game would also spend much time devoted to specific parts for each character. Cyan for example would see his family killed by the empire and at a later stage in the game would converse with the ghost of his dead wife. (Which is one of the most moving moments in the game). All of this is a clear template to Final Fantasy VII which obviously went along with similar concepts of characterisation (For Terra have Aries) although for a reader to presume that the two games are similar would be to err, the two share similar souls and foundations but are totally differing in many aspects. In terms of battles the game is very similar to those before and after it. 4 Characters could fight at any one time and battles were conducted in turn based format. However the sheer depth of attacks, magic and weapons collectable made the game relatively complex in terms of getting the best of the fighting system, and many gamers actually find the game one of the harder in the whole series (V and VII are far easier). Each character, characteristically for Square, had specific abilities. Terra for example would become capable of magic and the use of ‘espers’ (strange summons and older creatures sealed from the current world after the Magi war, the empire now hunts them. Their presence underpins the story). The game really excelled in it’s graphic capability however. Summons were astounding, magic equally well crafted and the game pushed the limited Snes hardware to it’s limits.
Aesthetically the game is probably unique. The game, especially at the start, is cold and seeded with impending doom. It is almost oppressive for the gamer to experience and considering it was coming from a 16-bit system it is easy to see why many claim this game is actually superior to the following instalment. It is very difficult to accurately sum up the experience of the game, especially aesthetically as it sways from easy clarification. It is an experience that is best described by playing the game. One part of the game I have specifically elected to neglect until the end, simply because it is so important, and it is the section of the game where the world is virtually destroyed. In Final Fantasy VI you fail, totally and utterly. Such as in the Aries death during VII it is a case of the nice safety net of gaming being ripped from you as a gamer. You are meant to succeed in games, the world isn’t supposed to crumble. It is one the most shocking moments of any game, because it is unexpected but tangible. After the death of most of the world and it’s inhabitants you wash up on shore as ‘Celes’, until now one of the secondary characters. As she slowly pieces together what’s happened and fathoms a way off her island the game’s emotional power goes up to a level rarely reached in games. The shift of emphasis away from Terra to Celes is not only well pitched, but pivotally important in shifting the emphasis and thought away from one character to the notion that this world is filled with many people, many whom have died due to your inability to act. Following her escape from the island your job is to slowly track down the members of your group and try to re-establish some desperate attempt at saving what’s left. (by destroying your nemesis who now controls the world from a huge tower capable of destroying anything and everything). All of this is heart-wrenching and deeply emotive, something very few games are ever capable of. The endearing nature of the end of the game and the guilt is a direct result of the nature of the story.
Where the game faltered it was minor faults. Some of the later characters being both pointless and petty add-ons; a dense and at times over-complicated fighting system and the famous random battles are also minor squabbles but they are to the credit of the game that they are largely unnoticed. Final Fantasy VI may not have garnered the same support that VII did, and it may not have been as earth shattering, but as a game it stands alone for many Final Fantasy and RPG fans. It was a game that dared to be totally different and dared to push the notion that games can deal with difficult themes and concepts and be successful in doing so. Death, loss, kidnapping, torture and even deep themes of romanticism and war are all dealt with within the game, and dealt with in ever more powerful and endearing ways at the game progresses. For those that play the game the stories of Terra, Cyan and Celes in particular will live with them, such as those of Cloud and Aries will for Final Fantasy VII. This game laid the foundation for what games can achieve and reached a level of emotional sophistication thought impossible with mere sprites. It was maybe the SNES’s crowning glory, and for many Final Fantasy fans also Square’s. 
