With a huge cast of likable heroes and an extraordinary story, FFVI proves to be a big success.
THE GOOD
-Gripping story and exciting characters
-Excellent leveling system
-Superb soundtrack
-Fun battle system
-Plenty of weapons, Espers, and other equipment
-Fun extras
THE BAD
-Some characters (late game) are weak
OVERVIEW
Final Fantasy VI goes away from the medieval times, like its predecessors, and puts you in a world that's well into an Industrial Revolution. Steam power, railroads and coal mining are the main forms of technology. People, in this world, enjoy the comfort of airships, the opera and high tech magic armor. Now, long ago there were three gods (triad) that contained massive amounts of magical power. The three gods were in constant conflict so they created Espers (human's with magic power) to fight on their respective sides. This was called the War of the Magi. After years of constant fighting, the three gods finally realized that what they were doing was wrong so they turned themselves to stone and freed the Espers from their control. A time of peace followed but it didn't last very long because the humans and Espers were starting to resent each other. So, the elder Espers decided to gather up all their kind and move to a distant land which was sealed by a great gate. Hundreds of years later, as humans progressed, an emperor named Gestahl found out that they can turn Espers into Magicite. This Magicite can be infused into machinery to give it extraordinary power. Magitek Armor is a large suit of armor infused with Magicite making it an unstoppable force in the Emperor's hands. Fearing that Emperor Gestahl was getting too powerful, a group of rebels called the Returners are trying to overthrow his rule. Little do the Returners know that Gestahl, had one of his top generals, Kefka, kidnapped the first half Esper half human girl named Terra. Gestahl knows that Terra can wield enormous amounts of magical energy so he enslaves her and uses a mind control device on her. This is where the game begins.
The opening scene pictures Terra with two Imperial solders all riding Magitek armor. They are on a mission, from Kefka, to recover a strong esper from the town of Narshe. When plans fall through, Terra ends up with the Returners after being saved by Locke the treasure hunter. Now that Terra has been freed from the mind controlling device, the Returners need her help in defeating the Emperor.
Final Fantasy VI depicts the struggle between the Returners and the Empire. Terra will meet up with a huge cast of characters each with compelling side stories. You'll meet Locke the noble treasure hunter, Edgar the royal king of Figaro and ladies man, Sabin the tough martial artist, Celes the stoic former imperial general, Cyan the noble defender, Shadow the ninja mercenary, Setzer the gambling airship pilot and a few others. So yeah, like I said, a huge cast of playable characters, although some characters are disappointing on the battlefield. You'll find out more about each hero and how their lives intertwine. The story is incredible and will easily draw you in and make you feel like you are a part of the story.
GAMEPLAY
The story is well worth your time and so is the game play. The leveling system has part customization and part class structure. Each character has their own skills like Locke with his ability to steal and Cyan with his sword techniques but you can customize which magic spells everyone gets. This is done by infusing your heroes with Magicite that you find later in the game. Each Magicite lets the user learn certain spells like Fire and Cure. As your party gains experience, they will gain levels (which increases HP and other physical attributes) and earn points towards learning (permanently) spells from their Esper. This is a really cool feature for FFVI because each character is part unique and customizable. It's the best of both worlds.
Battling in Final Fantasy VI utilizes the active time battle system. There are random battles that can occur just about everywhere, in the game, but there are a few fights that are location specific. These location specific battles typically are your boss confrontations. In FF6 the bosses can prove to be quite a challenge with a reward that is worth your time and effort. When a battle occurs, the setup can follow one of four configurations: Preemptive, Normal, Back Attack and Pincer. Preemptive gives you the upper hand by surrounding the enemy and having a quick first action. Normal puts your party on the right side of the screen and the enemies on the left with each side having an equal opportunity to act first. Back Attack puts your party on the left and your enemies on the right. This can make the fight much more difficult because your enemy has the upper hand because they can act first and all your front / back row characters are switched. Lastly, the Pincer attack puts your entire party in the middle surrounded by the enemy with the same disadvantages as the Back Attack. Like I said before, FF6 uses the active time battle system which means that your characters can make actions (fight, item, skill or spell) when their time gauge fills up. The rate that this gauge fills up is based on the characters speed. There are spells that can hinder or accelerate this process (haste, slow, etc…). Another new feature to the Final Fantasy series is the chance for your character to perform a "super attack". This random attack can be completed by anyone if their health is critical. You'll probably get frustrated with the random battles from time to time but overall the fighting in Final Fantasy VI is easy, fun and strategic.
Final Fantasy VI offers plenty of extra content. First, the weapons and armor are abundant and character specific which makes those side quests worth perusing. This is also true with finding Espers throughout the game. Some of the mini games pass the time quite nicely like riding a Chocobo, gambling at the Coliseum, or putting up some money at the auction house. There are also many puzzles to solve along the way that aren't too difficult but provide enough challenge to keep you entertained. Another awesome feature (which was in FFIV) is the ability to play the game with a friend. This only happens on the battlefield where the two of you split up the characters and conquer enemies together.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
That graphics aren't by any means superb but they are good in their own right. There is a good amount of detail in the characters and environments and the vibrant colors make for an appealing picture.
FF6 offers a beautiful score with plenty of memorable tracks like the opening, Opera House, and the battle music. Also, the sound effects really make the game much more intense.
CONCLUSION
Final Fantasy VI has a huge class of likable characters, a well written story with plenty of depth and other fun extras to make this game extremely fun to play. If you are an RPG or Final Fantasy fan you really need to play this game. Also, for all you casual gamers and non-RPG players, I would recommend this game to you as well because the story alone is so extraordinary that makes it worth a try. The Final Fantasy series just keeps getting better and better with FF6 as gaming proof.