Final Fantasy VI is the reason why Rpgs were getting released outside of Japan period.
Final Fantasy VI takes place in the World of Balance and in the World of Ruin. The villain of the game is Kefka who was experimented on by using magicytes but he became, well, lets just say insane. Kefca is most famous for splitting the world in half. His thirst for power got the best of him.
The game starts of by seeing three characters near a cliff. The two soldiers in the uniforms were sent to capture an Esper. However the female character ( Terra ) with them is one the most important person in the story. After you go inside the cave to the Espers area. The two soldiers are completely obliterated by the Esper but Terra had a reaction with the Esper and the next thing you know is that you are in someone’s house and that is how the game begins. The story focuses on Terra’s ability to react with espers. The game uses an Esper system which s used by many people to focus on a characters most powerful attributes and level them up to the max like magic or vigor.
The playable characters are Terra, Lock ( he calls himself a treasure hunter but is a thief ) Edgar ( king of Figaro ), Sabin ( Edgars brother who opted to give up royalty after his father died ), Shadow ( a ninja/mercenary with a mysterious background ), Gau ( a wild boy who's father left on the Veldt and rejected him ), Cyan ( protector of Doma ) Strago ( descendent of ancient magi warriors ), Relm ( a young girl who paints portraits ). There are others but are optional like Mog, Gogo, and Mog's slave. I remember all the characters more than other games because the characters growth was evenly distributed and sometimes had to play on different scenes. There many optional side quests to do.