Welcome to the first in what will hopefully be a long running series of bi-weekly megathreads about a specific game in the Final Fantasy franchise. While you’re free to discuss any of the games outside of this thread, please consider taking part in what could be a group conversation here. I’ve created some basic prompts for people to answer and use, so feel free to use them, or not use them at all.
So, without further ado, our first game…
Synopsis
Beings of pure magic once ruled the world with power and command. But power rarely leads to contentment… A dispute amongst these beings turned into an all-out war. Beasts of doom, known as Espers, were created and unleashed to do the bidding of their masters. This “War of the Magi” reduced the world to smoldering rubble. When it ended, the Espers were gone, as were most of the citizens of the world.
Many centuries have passed since the war. Civilizations have been rebuilt with iron, machines and technology. For years the Espers have existed only in ancient legends. Now, an Esper has been discovered and the forces of magic are beginning to return. The risk of another, more devastating war is growing. The future…
More…
Key Releases
- Nintendo SNES
- JP: April 2, 1994
- NA: October 11, 1994
- PlayStation
- JP: March 11, 1999
- NA: October 5, 1999
- PAL: March 1, 2002
- Game Boy Advance
- JP: November 30, 2006
- NA: February 5, 2007
- EU: July 6, 2007
- Pixel Remaster
- Android, iOS, Windows
- February 23, 2022
- Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
- April 19, 2023
- Android, iOS, Windows
Review Scores
| Site | SNES | PSX | GBA | Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metacritic | — | — | 92% | 91% |
Post Prompts
- Which character do you identify most with?
- Where do you rate this game among others in the franchise?
- Is there a piece of music that stands out for you?
- If there is one thing you would change, what is it?
- How many times do you think you’ve played this game?
We are almost at the 30 year reunion for this game. While this wasn’t the final fantasy I grew up knowing, I’m actually going through it right now for the first time.
I’ve seen articles recently talking about how internal square employees want to remake this game. I am all for it, I would love to see this given a full remake treatment.
I’m upset this didn’t get a 3DS remaster but maybe that is because they had something bigger in store. This was one of my firsts. My timeline is a but muddy but 7 was my first, followed by either Anthology or 8.
Recently read an article about it’s 2 ‘main characters’, both of which I tended to neglect as the story went on. Considering playing again with at least one of those in my party as the game progresses.
5 and 6 need a 3d remaster, 4 is my favorite FF short of 7 and the 3d remaster makes my heart melt.
Chrono needs one too, obviously, just hope they don’t go overboard like ff7r, we just want a fresh 6, not an all-consuming world that swallows you whole.
As a huge fan of the first 6 games I find myself biased against VI. When I talk to certain FF fans they seem to think its the only pixel FF game worth anything. Its obviously a fantastic game but I would personally rank it lower than IV and V.
I thought the Eidolan system in this game wasn’t great, and the game felt stiff in a way that is hard to put into words. Still it’s one of the best games on the SNES.
The story of VI may be the best, but I would agree that the esper system isn’t that great. It is well connected to the story, which is is nice, but otherwise it is a bit simple. Although compared to how dumbed down modern games are, it’s pretty interesting. The importance of the stat effects of the espers is a bit too subtle, though. And tying the effect to level ups makes the optimal strategy include a lot of tedious juggling. Of course, the game is balanced fine for all this being ignored, so it’s the players fault for optimizing the fun out of it. Still, I think it would be better if, for example, the stat gains would arise incrementally from overflowing AP, such that keeping a STR-attuned esper equipped after you have learned all spells from it would increase STR.
On the other hand I love how distinct each character is mechanically, and how parts of their mechanical development are tied to their “companion quests”. There is a lot of pleasing ludonarrative consonance there.
Nostalgically my favorite FF. To this day I still think about it too much.
Brave New World is a fantastic mod with modern balance sensibilities, if you’re looking for a reason to do a new play-through. I haven’t played it in a couple years at least however, maybe it’s changed or gone.
I wrote the first chapter of a fanfic for this game years ago, focusing more on magitek armor combat.
Terra was done dirty.
spoiler
My minimum suggestion for changes should have Kefka still show some interest in her. Like maybe trying to turn her into magicite in Thamasa since she is a half esper. It’s implied she was at least something of a toy of his, he went to great length to track her down in the first quarter of the game. It should have been her who shows up on the Floating Continent, with Kefka offering to rule the world with her or something. Dragging back Celes for a 2nd surprise betrayal was always hollow to me, even as a kid. They should’ve handed the reigns off to Celes at the WoR instead.
Also, for a long time I thought of Terra as a badass from her opening description and how she learns spells without espers, with the finding herself stuff as just window dressing. And then Dissidia forever ruined my impression of her character haha.
- I always liked Locke.
- I would rate this right below the golden three from the PS1 era.
- Terra’s theme, the world map music from the world of ruin.
- I would make the esper system more interesting. It’s been years since I played, so I may be forgetting something, but:
- Give some espers abilities that affect the character-specific mechanics. eg. a stealing boost for Locke, an imaginary beast for Gau, etc.
- Make the stat effects of Espers arise from AP overflow, that is, from keeping them equipped after you learn all their spells. Connecting the effect to level ups makes the optimal strategy include too much juggling.
- I think I’ve played it two and a half times. First time the PS1 version, later the original on an emulator.
A few things I love about VI
- The distinctness of the characters, narratively and mechanically.
- How wildly effective some accessories could be.
- The story.
This game gave me false hope that Final Fantasy games would continue to get more open and less linear.
I’m guessing you mean more divergent with character plots? 6 is extemly unique by giving the illusion of picking which story to learn first. While we really have never had a proper FINAL FANTASY story with highly divergent character plots, 8 and 12, in my view, became extremely open to the point of getting lost from the plot if you were keeping a close eye on where to go.
