FINAL FANTASY VI Reviews

I'm sure other reviewers have said this already, but Final Fantasy VI is one of the most important titles in the history of JRPG's. It greatly refined the formula, with a more consistent presentation, gorgeous visuals, an unforgettable soundtrack and a very touching story that, despite it's age, is remembered very fondly by many. Although I consider the story to be fantastic, it is important to note that this is an old school JRPG! Nowadays we can expect our games to tell a story the same way a film would, with perfectly readable coreography and cutscenes being given more complexity to work with. If you're not used to retro gaming and plan on getting your hands on this game, I recommend looking at it as if you were playing with dolls, let your imagination fly not only in the way you imagine all the scenery and the action playing out, but also explore the personalities of these characters and the dynamics they got with each other, I promise it's a really fun and immersive time. With all this being said, I can't tell you that this is a perfect game, character customization is a bit quirky and restricted, there's plenty of missable treasure you wouldn't know existed, the only two adult women in the main cast are wearing leotards, the world map gets kinda difficult to traverse, a great deal of the mechanics of this game are not well communicated, etc. Thankfully, it's nothing that can't be helped by keeping a few guides on hand and loading a couple mods. Though this is one issues I have with this game, and the Pixel Remaster series as a whole.. they're too "faithful" And by that I mean that this remaster feels a tad undercooked: there's so much QoL that would've been nice to have that just isn't there, UI customization is also more limited than it's predecessors, and I don't see why they can refine things like attack animations but opt to preserve scenes like when characters dance together. I respect the work the developers have put into this port, don't get me wrong, I just think that these games could've had more time to cook before being released. I don't consider the aforementioned to be absolute dealbreakers, and we still have the ability to improve our gameplay experience with the power of modding and guides. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this is not what I'd call the Definitive Final Fantasy VI Version, but don't let all that I said stop you, this is by far the nicest looking version of this game, and you will see just how much love and dedication was put into remastering this game! If you're a newcomer and you would like to enhance this game with modding then I would recommend getting the help of a friend or someone online, you're very, very likely to get spoiled if you look it up yourself, but still, if you're not a picky player like me, you might not even notice the lows that I'm talking about. Just relax and have fun with this wonderful piece of JRPG history, and If you liked what you experienced then I recommend looking into the other versions of this game, I especially recommend T-Edition for those who really end up caring for this game and want more, and hopefully we'll get something like a T-Edition port for this remaster, I think that would be much closer to the definitive FFVI experience.

Before this I hadn't played more than 5 minutes of any Final Fantasy game. I liked this much more than I expected to, genuinely a great game. Also use 4x exp because grinding sux lmao

One of my favorite FF games, up there with one or two others. Played it on SNES back in the day and finally got around to it again playing all the Pixel Remasters. Its the PR game I spent most time with as well. The OST is just legendary at this point, it has the best soundtrack outside of maybe the battle theme only, which I prefer FF4. The cast of playable characters are vast here with 14 of them, yet they are still decently fleshed out with their own personalities etc, of course some get more than others depending on when you first meet them. But I'd say they are more fleshed out than all previous FF games despite those having fewer characters to focus on. That just shows how much more focus there is on story and characters here. Personally I like all of them, especially Celes, Terra, Sabin and Cyan. While FF2 & 4 in particular had decent focus on the story that I enjoyed, with many good character moments and tragic events unfold and so on, nothing really comes close to this game of all the prior ones. There are so many good set pieces here. It has an interesting mix of humour and funny moments with a more serious tone, tragic events, character deaths and so on. There are just alot more going on. Even the villain, while still quite literally a mad clown seeking godly powers, gets some sort of build-up and explanation, unlike previous villains just being pure darkness/chaos incarnate or whatever and usually showing up at the very end. Here you meet him early on and see the events unfold, which is also why I think Kefka is more memorable and often cited as one of the better villains of the franchise. "Bleh! You people make me sick! You sound like lines from a self-help book!" -Kefka Palazzo. He has many hilarious lines like this one, given in response to the protagonists resolve to fight him with the power of friendship and love. Its a very apt and even self-aware description of the franchise' often overly optimistic and naive protagonists (with few exceptions e.g. Cloud and Squall). His theme music is amazing as well. Ahh, gotta love Kefka! In regards to difficulty. It seems FF6 Pixel Remaster have not been made easier compared to older versions of the game, unlike FF1-4 PRs, so the game offers a decent power curve and sense of progression (There are some differences between versions ofc like saving anywhere etc, but the overall balance seems neither easier or harder from what I've gathered). So it should be sufficient to play the game with the default 'Boost' values to keep the "original experience" so to speak. So while I do think FF 1-3 should definitely be played on 0.5x values for something more similar to the originals, FF6 could be left at default values to achieve that, which is good. Me personally though, I continued to play with Boost rates set to 0.5x like I did all PRs, and I found FF6 being much more challenging than FF 1-3 even with these 0.5x rates. I did basically everything in the game and went to the final tower at around level 35, it was pretty brutal but also really fun! All in all, its a masterpiece for its time on the SNES, and still holds up well with the Pixel Remaster. I am biased on this game sure, but I think everyone interested in Final Fantasy should play this to experience one of the best games in its franchise, and one of the best SNES games ever.

A classic, made only better!!! Better quality of life all around, but everything seems easier for some reason. Still, 10/10 in the 90s, and still 10/10 now!

#3 best FF after 9 and 7 for me. There's so many iconic scenes and musical arrangements that continually influence the rest of the series. Celes, Locke, Cyan, Terra are some of the best written characters in gaming. This pixel remaster is 1000x better than the old mobile port on steam. Along with FF9, 7, 5, 10 and Tactics, this is one of my mainstay game replays ever since I had it on the SNES

One of the best rpgs ive ever played. The mix of industrial and high fantasy is done in a very natural and creative way and with some of the best pixel art everything pops out. I started FF with FF7 and everything I loved in 7 started in 6.

This is going to be one of the hardest reviews I've ever made because I know my personal feelings on this installment are very different from the fan base but here goes. Final Fantasy 6 is honestly a fan favorite for a ton of reasons, from the sprite work, to the variety of characters to recruit to the improved sound design to one of the most well-loved and iconic villains in the franchise and gaming wholesale. The game also introduced some more updates to the classic ATB battle system from the ability to toggle between active characters who have a full ATB bar which became a staple in later games but also remakes/re-releases of FF4 and FF5, to the Limit Breaks that the series is also known for. These Limit Breaks aka Desperation Attacks as their known randomly trigger when the Attack command is confirmed with a character Near Death. They are usually Non-elemental AoE (usually) Magic based attacks that ignore the enemies' defense stats and can inflict Instant Death with some of them. However, the chance is fixed and super low and also only happen ONCE per battle compared with later games. That said, most players especially those back in the day never knew they existed since people's first reactions are to heal up immediately. This game also introduced the ability for the player to form their own party line-up from the roster of characters they player has met previously which contrasts previous entries where the line-up was completely scripted and based on the story. FF6 starts off like this but gradually introduces this later in the story once enough characters have been added and they introduce it to the player through a tower defense style mini game. The story echoes Final Fantasy 2 albeit in a grittier steam punk fantasy world marking a major departure in setting from previous entries which a had a more 80-20 or 60-40 balance of traditional fantasy elements and traditional science fiction elements. Final Fantasy summons play more an active role in the story in their current role as summons (I only say that to distinguish Leviathan's and Bahamut's roles in previous games). The story also echoes the original Star Wars trilogy as well at various points. However, in spite of its simple scenario, the game's biggest strength and weakness comes into play here: the roster. Operatic in nature, the game follows various characters as the focal point of each act and scene. While soliloquy are not super common, the game follows a very play like format. There's a robust amount of characters to be sure but this leads to a problem: Focus and cohesion. The main drawback is that it's hard to do this well and with another problem I will mention in a moment, it creates characters with varying degrees of development and growth almost like a casserole where some parts are burnt, some are still frozen and some are somewhere on that spectrum. What doesn't help is that, while the earthy and metallic tones help sell the atmosphere and setting, it damages the various castles and city-states and villages in question. It leads to many of them feeling samey and with barely any of the cast having a home town with friends and family the player can talk to and other sprites and tile work that give off some hint of environmental story telling, they don't feel like actual locations. Instead, they're different stage sets that the characters are "acting" on/ in front of. Previous games used the the console's limitations to their fullest. Often locations would vary in color theory, varying tile sets and proper use of NPCs to distinguish each location and make the setting itself feel like a character and feel vibrant and alive. Now, there's the main villain, Kefka Palazzo. My issues aside for the moment, he's an effective villain and his jester outfit is a nice contrast to his dark and twisted nature (a dynamic that would come to define Kuja's design in FF9) and his later role is complemented nicely with the iconic final boss sequence. This actually makes me sad in part because he gets actual soliloquy when they are used and he has the most development in terms of his personality and why he's the main villain. However, he has no direct foils or contrasts with any of the cast save for one and he gets random power ups off screen with no real explanation and he has a TON of main protagonist plot armor!! Anyway, despite my personal issues with this game, there are a ton of positives as it is HIroyuki Ito's and Yoshinori Kitase's first directorial role and it continues FF5's work on modernizing the series' mechanics and even reimagines what FF2 tried to do with the Esper system that came to define the game. This system is the basis for the epic Junction system in FF8 that refined and greatly expanded on this game's battle mechanics and character development system. On top of that, it's one of the few games in the series and in general at this point in time where canonically, the villain actually mostly succeeds in their goals. The others are Chaos, Emperor Mateus, and Exdeath. at least at this point in the series. All in all, FF6 CAN be a good time for some. Even I can appreciate a lot of it. So, far be it from me to dissuade you from trying this game for first time. It's a classic RPG that influenced and inspired a ton of people for one reason or another. As always, Enjoy and Good Luck!

Final Fantasy VI is a timeless classic. It stands apart from most JRPGs of its era thanks to its deep story, refined gameplay mechanics, unique structure that puts no single character at the center of the narrative, and its iconic nihilistic villain. Some say it's the best game in the series. That's debatable, but it's certainly one of the most important and beloved entries. A must-play.

There's a reason that Final Fantasy 6 is at the top of the list when media outlets rank Final Fantasy. It's hard to have so many characters with so many different struggles that all relate to the themes. Love, grief, empathy. All things I felt and were explored in this game. This game is great in pixel form, but I can't help but feel a little jealous of Final Fantasy 7 fans. Final Fantasy 7 is awesome, and the remakes are superb, but Final Fantasy 7 definitely didn't need more time to explore most of the cast. Final Fantasy 6 DOES.

Bought during the Summer Sale + Updated pixel art and OST + Added QoL and increased battle rewards if you're re-beating the game + FF6 stays a classic Final note: 10/10 FF6 is a classic in the series and a game everyone should play. Compelling characters and story, one of the greatest villains, and overall an excellent experience. The Pixel Remaster adds a a new OST (you can switch to the old one), many QoL features, the classic XP boosts, while keeping the original experience. Guaranteed 15-20h of pure JRPG.