Nostalgia Factor: High. This was one of the first Final Fantasy games I ever played.
Difficulty: Easy to medium. Not too grindy. A basic understanding of RPG mechanics should carry you through.
Note: Final Fantasy 6 was first released as Final Fantasy 3 in the US. Final Fantasy 4 was originally released in the US as Final Fantasy 2. It’s all a big mess.
While FF6 is not my favorite in the series (that honor belongs to FF7), I must concede that FF6 is truly the best game in the series. Ranking the FF games is always highly subjective, and is almost entirely dependent on nostalgia or console preference. Still, it’s fun to debate and spell out your reasons for preferring certain entries in the series over another.
FF6 is just an impeccable game on all fronts – fantastic RPG mechanics and gameplay, a very well written story with a big cast of well developed characters, great pixel art with a whimsical steampunk vibe (some of the best looking “tile sets” on the SNES), and a phenomenal soundtrack from Nobuo Uematsu.
In many ways, FF6 has become the standard that many other RPGs are set against. For me, FF6 is the peak of the classic FF formula. The ATB (Active Time Battle) system has been basically perfected, the character-specific abilities add a ton of variety, and the Esper magic system is one of my favorites from the whole series. My only complaint about the gameplay is that the encounter rate is a bit too high.
The engrossing story is really the highlight of this classic RPG. There’s a huge cast of playable characters (not Chrono Cross huge, but still), and they are all well developed to the point that I have a sense of attachment. I care about their stories. Some games introduce too many characters with so little depth that you find yourself asking, “Why do I care about this character?” The way that FF6 has you split your party into groups later in the game means these characters are important in gameplay as well.
FF6 has one of the greatest villains in the whole series — erratic, unhinged, unpredictable. In the interest of keeping these reviews as spoiler free as possible, I’ll say no more. There’s a crucial point about halfway through the game that brings a massive change in the tone of the story. This shift shocked me the first time I played this game, and it shocked me again when I recently played through FF6. These kinds of high-impact story beats are incredibly memorable.
Nobuo Uematsu’s soundtrack is utterly remarkable. Of course, there were many standout tracks from his earlier FF scores (including classics like the title theme and the chocobo theme), but there’s something about the FF6 score that signaled a shift. Many of these tracks capture the melancholic and moody sound that we’ve come to know and love from Uematsu. Some favorites include “The Mines of Narshe,” “Awakening,” “Phantom Forest,” “The Serpent Trench,” “Terra’s Theme,” and so many more.
FF6 is a must play for fans of the series and any RPG gamer wanting to experience some of the best that the SNES has to offer.
Super cool FF6 gif from Bryan Heemskerk.