Final Fantasy VI

As a fan of the original "localized" version of Final Fantasy VI (named Final Fantasy III to keep with the American Final Fantasy numbering scheme), I have long awaited a portable release of this game. I can say, with certainty, that Final Fantasy VI is and always has been one of the best (if not the best) games in the series. While I'm overall very pleased with this re-release, there are a few caveats to the port that fans of the original might notice.

To speak of the game itself, it is a masterpiece.

The story is captivating, keeping the player interested to the very end. The plot involves many of the traditional Final Fantasy themes (balances of natural forces, quests for power, a floating continent), but weaves them in subtly without being overbearing.

The characters are very memorable and grow as the story progresses. Each of the protagonists has their own quirks and weaknesses, and many of them have to overcome their personal demons in order to face the final challenge of the game. In addition, Final Fantasy VI provides a quirky antagonist. While the Final Fantasy predecessors all served up vague, devil-like antagonists with little personality other than to state that they are the source of evil, Kefka is quirky. His dialogue is written with a sense of humor where necessary, and his back story provides further impetus for the protagonists. Kefka is the first Final Fantasy villain that fans truly love to hate. Also, the gameplay is fun and varied. The esper system (used to learn magic in the game) is powerful and customizable, yet still simple enough for everyone to pick up and understand. The addition of a special armor / accessory class (relics) provides a simple way for players to know what equipment will cause what effects. The dungeons are challenging but not frustratingly long or inaccessible.

With all that said, this port of the game is decent enough but does have its drawbacks.

The graphics are just as beautiful as in the Super Nintendo / Famicom version and don't suffer a significant slowdown as with the Final Fantasy IV advance remake. The sharper screen of a Nintendo DS best showcases the visual beauty of this game, and those playing on an older Gameboy Advance or even SP might miss some detail.

The soundtrack to this game is one of Uematsu's masterpieces, and the port does a decent job of recreating the experience with the Game Boy's limited hardware. The music has been slightly remixed to fit in the fewer channels that the portable system allows. While many of the tracks have been "jazzed up" to cover the lack of extra instrumentation, the transferred soundtrack is still a slight downgrade from the original. While new fans of the game are not likely to notice, old schoolers who played the original incarnation will stand to be slightly disappointed.

Lastly, the game has been retranslated and relocalized, overwriting some of the heavily criticized decisions made by original translator Ted Woolsey. In many aspects, this serves to help the game. The vagueness that came from Woolsey's Western-interpretation of the plot has been somewhat cleared up. In addition, some of the character interactions that would have once seemed vague and misleading now show clear direction. Not all of the changes are for the better, however. The new translation also censors a few of the games scenes, seemingly for brutality (ie, Celes's incarceration). Also, and this will probably only affect those familiar with the original, the new translation has changed the lyrics of "Aria di Mezzo Carattere." While the new translation better fits with the music, the Aria is considered one of the most memorable moments in the series, and the difference is likely to irritate old fans.

Final Fantasy is a brilliant series with many brilliant games, but in my opinion, the true beginning of Final Fantasy as a dynasty is here. The game is more grown-up in many aspects than those before it and still shines as brightly as some of those that have come after. While this is an imperfect port of the original, porting a game always requires some sacrifices. The developers made decent choices, given the options that they had.

Whether you're an old fan back to reminisce or new to the series, Final Fantasy VI Advance will provide hours of intrigue and fun.

I loved FF6 when it was released on the Super Nintendo. Despite a lot of bugs (some of which I actually gre fond of), the game was incredibly impressive, over-topping the previous FF entries (and, IMHO, over-topping subsequent entries as well).

I then purchased the PS version, and while I still loved the game, the presentation was lacking (incredibly long load times really marred the game).

Thus, fast-forward to the cartridge version of FF6, which is fantastic. Forget the surface additions, such as a bestiary, additional levels and espers, and a remixed soundtrack - the selling point here is a return to the game you knew and loved as a teenager. FF6 has the goods, and I'm glad non-PS owners can once again enjoy this classic. What more needs to be said?

Before Final Fantasy VII, there was Final Fantasy VI. An RPG that at the time of its release truly defined epic. Originally released in the states as Final Fantasy III, it is still one of the most popular RPGs of all time, and has garnered a cult following that describe it as the best Final Fantasy in the series. Now the finest fantasy has gone portable.

The storyline in Final Fantasy VI is fairly simple. 1000 years ago the war of Magi happened, and after that war the power of magic simply ceased to exist. Now the Magitek Empire has found a way to revive the dreaded power known as magic, and they tend to use this power to enslave the world. A small resistance group has come forth to stop this empire, and magic may very well be the key to stopping the Empire. But is it really such a good idea to rely on the power of magic once more? Or is history just going to repeat itself?

Final Fantasy VI may not have the most complex story in the series, but the story comes alive through some of the most well developed characters in the history of the series. In fact, Final Fantasy VI excels in character development more so than any other game in the series, and easily has the best ensemble cast. Each character is distinct and has a personality of his or her own, and join up with your group to fight the empire for their own reasons. Even so, however, these characters manage to come off as completely different from one another. Final Fantasy VI also has the luxury of having the largest cast of playable characters in the series. There are twelve standard characters and two hidden characters.

The battle system is the basic ATB that was introduced in Final Fantasy IV. Your characters line up on the left side of the screen while your enemies populate the right side of the screen. As the battle progresses, everyone's ATB gauge fills up. When a character's gauge is full you can select commands for them to do. To keep Final Fantasy VI from being a bore fest in battle, however, each character has a distinct skill that only he or she can perform. Locke, for example, can steal while Edgar has a set of tools he can use. This not only gives some battles variety, but also let's you set up a strategy. There are moments in the game where your characters will be split up, and you'll have to decide who should go with who, and you'll be forced to switch between parties.

To add to the experience, Final Fantasy VI never forces you to run around with a full party. You can have up to four characters in one party, but you don't have to use four at a time. You could simply run around with just three characters in... or even just one if you're looking for a challenge. Even better, there is no central leader in Final Fantasy VI. This means that there is never anyone character you have to have in, and the game rarely forces you to use any specific characters. This gives the player a lot more freedom.

A Final Fantasy game would not be complete without some sort of complex system. Here, you're given a complex way to make your characters learn magic. As you progress through your adventure you'll find espers, which are the summons found throughout the game. You must equip an esper in order to use it. Each esper has a set of spells they can teach your characters at a certain rate. As you battle through the game, you'll gain experience points as well as magic points from your enemies. Magic points go toward learning a certain spell. It's no where near as complex as Final Fantasy V's job system, Final Fantasy VII's materia system or Final Fantasy X's sphere grid, but it's simple to pick up on. The only problem with it is that the later espers offer spells that you'll have to spend a lot of time battling around to learn.

In addition to spells, having a certain esper equipped can also give you stat bonuses at level up. For example, some espers will allow your character to gain 30 percent more HP at level up than he or she normally would. Others may increase speed, MP, etc. So just because you learned every spell from an esper doesn't mean they don't have other uses.

Graphic wise, Final Fantasy VI doesn't really look all that different than it did back on the Super Nintendo. There are a few changes to the translation, but nothing major, and some characters now have a portrait when they speak. The font is also easier to read. There were a couple of moments of slow down in battle, however, mostly when casting spells, but it's not really too much of a burden. The overall visual look however is really not all that different. Most fans probably won't too many differences here.

Final Fantasy VI is probably best known for its amazing soundtrack. Even today there are fans who label it Nobuo Uematsu's greatest accomplishment. Unfortunately, the game just doesn't sound nearly as good coming from your GBA as it did when it came from your Super Nintendo. Some tunes its hardly noticeable, but for the most part, the game doesn't sound nearly as good as it used to, especially if you played the SNES original over and over again. Those who fell in love with the soundtrack years ago probably won't take too kindly to the GBA port. That doesn't mean it sounds bad. It just means it isn't the original music some fans know and love.

What's new in Final Fantasy VI Advance? About the same thing that was new in the previous re-releases. There's a new dungeon and more bosses. As the game's treat, there are also four new espers and some new spells to go along with it. Much like Final Fantasy IV and V, the extras are not much to write home about, and they don't really increase the length of the game by very much. That's not so bad in Final Fantasy VI's case because it can easily keep you busy for over 50 hours.

If you are a Final Fantasy fan, then you owe it to yourself to play Final Fantasy VI. It is one of the most compelling games in the series. It's absorbing storyline, fantastic characters and dedication to fun gameplay make this worth a buy. Final Fantasy VI was, at one point in time, a text book example of how to make an RPG, and even years later, it has aged very well and still holds up well today. Play it, remember it, and you'll understand why Final Fantasy VI is one of the greatest RPGs ever made.

The Good

+Simple, yet absorbing storyline
+Very well developed characters
+There's a lot of freedom to the battle system
+Tons of secrets to unearth
+There are some extras here
+Lots of playable characters
+Thirteen years later, and it's still one of the most memorable RPGs ever made

The Bad

-The music doesn't sound nearly as good as the SNES original
-If you still own your original SNES copy (released as Final Fantasy III), or even Final Fantasy Anthology, it's hard to say you'll be sold on the GBA version for the extras alone

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