My all time favorite game ever!!!!! The greatest and most incredible game of all time!!!!
The story is what makes this game the most memorable. The War of the Magi was fought 1000 years ago, and the outcome was so terrible that it sent mankind back ages in technology, all because the forbidden atrocity of 'magic' was used as a deadly weapon. Now, after harnessing steam power and using technology once again, the world is on the verge of making the same mistake again. In the beginning, two imperial soldiers, Biggs and Wedge, accompany a 'witch' with magical powers, who is under the influence of a slave crown, to a city called Narshe, where rumor has it a magical being called an Esper is located. They travel with hopes of being able to extract the Esper so the evil Empire Ghestal can use it. Soon, this 'witch' named Terra, finds herself in the middle of a worldwide conflict against the Empire for the sake of humanity and preservation of the world. For what, you find out in the game. I won't say anything mProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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e about the story, but you'll see for yourself. There comes a point mid-game where a cataclysmic event takes place, completely changing the game and leaving the player shocked. Every single cutscene is beautifully executed, never stepping out of bounds and always achieving the desired effect, whether to make the player laugh, cry, or simply shock. This story, of all the Final Fantasy stories, is the one that will remain the most dear to my heart.
Another reason, and the main reason really, for the success of the story, is the strength of the characters. Every single character has a unique personality, has their motives for fighting the Empire, and has extreme strength of character and depth. You learn about every single characters background and learn to love every one of their quirks. I love a story that is character driven and doesn't depend on the plot to cover up the shallowness of an undeveloped static character, and this story, I'm happy to say, is 150% character driven! You have Terra (or Tina, depending on which version you have), who's special abilities come with the price of not knowing who she really is. Locke, adventurous, brave, loyal, and a thief. Cyan, a kick-butt samurai whose strength surpasses all and whose family gets basically screwed over by the Empire. Celes, an ex-general for the Empire who joins the cause against the Empire after being rescued from prison. Shadow, the mysterious assassin who comes and goes when he pleases and hardly speaks a word. Edgar, the king of the Figaro Kingdom and a ladies man, and his brother, Sabin, a martial artist who decided to train his body and learn kung fu. Strago, Relm, Mog, Gogo, Umaro, Setzer, the list goes on and on and on, and every single character is lovable and makes you root for them.
Now, the villain of this game deserves a paragraph of his own. Kefka. The man who makes Sephiroth seem like a winy pansy. Kefka is sick, Kefka is ruthless, Kefka will stop at NOTHING and will do ANYTHING it takes to get what he wants. He does this and operates like this because he simply has no morals and no heart. All he wants is power, pure power. His twisted and sickenly charming personality makes him just as entertaining sometimes as he is evil. As soon as you're introduced to him, you know he just is one bad dude. He's different than the other main villains from other Final Fantasy games. He has a definite and developed personality, and is a much more rounded out character than Sephiroth or Ultimecia or Sin or X-Death or Zeromus or whoever, in my opinion, because he is definitely the most dynamic. Kefka is my absolute favorite video game villain ever.
I also love the leveling up system and the magic learning system. It's so simple yet so effective. You simply equip an Esper, who has certain magic you can learn. Only one Esper could be equipped at a time. For example, if you equip Ifrit, you can learn fire magic. However, the more difficult and powerful the magic, the longer it will take to learn. Learning Fire will take much less time than learning Fire 2. It is a very basic system, but one I found to be extremely satisfactory and well done.
The combat was always fun, and the lag time between things was never an issue for me. I can say, with an older frame of mind as opposed to my much younger 9 and 10 year old perspective, that it is still as amazing now as it was years ago. Walking around never produced too many battles, and the battles were always just hard enough to be a challenge, but easy enough to not be frustrating. I remember spending hours and hours of leveling up all my characters and making them learn as much magic as I could with the fantastic Esper system.
The music itself is absolutely the best I have ever heard for any video game soundtrack. It doesn't take a full blown orchestra or a crazy rock band to create a soundtrack that can bring a tear to the eye. I even went and ordered the hard copy of this soundtrack after saving up my allowance for four months back at 10 years old. From the majesty of the Prologue, to the catchy tune of the Magitek Factory, to the funky Zozo theme, to the tear jerking, breath taking, and beautiful Aria Di Mezzo Carattere (part of one of the most famous scenes in video game history, the Opera House scene), this soundtrack is nothing short of perfection. It blows my mind to think that someone could produce so much amazing music with just a dinky little synthesizer. Every song helps match the mood of the location or scene that is attached to it, seamlessly integrating with the thick plot to create the proper setting and advance the story.
What makes this game a classic is the flawless storytelling. Obviously the graphics aren't mind blowing. The timelessness of this game doesn't depend on spectacular graphics nor gorgeous cinematic scenes. The strength of the story is so incredible that even after playing countless games with lush scenery and simply stunning graphics, none of them could hold a candle to the majesty and beauty of this story. Theme after theme, from redemption to salvation to vengeance to retribution and forgiveness (the list goes on and on), are introduced and interwoven, taking this game from not just a simple fantasy game, but a look into the lives of others in an imaginary world, with concerns, problems, and feelings that we all can relate to. What makes a classic a classic is when it contains things that will never die, and themes that can't be shaken by time. This game is nothing short of flawless, perfect storytelling.
In short, if you have yet to play this game, please play it. An easier way to obtain a copy of it is to buy Final Fantasy Anthology for the PS1. It contains both FFV and FFVI, and has some goodies. However, if possible, if you can play FFIII (technically FFVI, but for the Super Nintendo Version, it was named FFIII because it was the third Final Fantasy to come out in America) on the original Super Nintendo, do so. It will be one of the most worthwhile and satisfactory video game experiences of your life.
This game, from the first moment I played it at 9, until the end of time, will never cease to be anything short of perfection to me. It will forever remain a classic among the ages.