This is, by a significant margin, my favorite game in the series. It is just too amazing for words. A lot of people will think I'm crazy for liking this game better than the Playstation's Flavor-of-the-Month title Final Fantasy VII, but I think people who like FF7 best are a little crazy, too. While FF7 did have what could be argued to be the best storyline so far, stunning graphics, and memorable music, it all seemed like too much at times - it was too flashy for its own good, as it was trying more so than the other games to attract a huge following. Now there is a whole army of zombies who have only played Final Fantasy VII and assume it is the best.
But back to the game itself. Final Fantasy VI was released in the United States as Final Fantasy III, as it was the third game in the series to be published here. Released in 1994, it came out during the Super NES's glory days, when it had the best games of all. It was and still is one of the best-looking games on that platform. It has what I believe to be the perfect blend of elements for the ideal Final Fantasy game - not too futuristic, but not so medieval that airships and Magitek armor seem completely out of place. It has the best graphics of any Final Fantasy game, including FF7 if you ask me. The reason is that they are not too flashy or over the top. The need for complex, fully rendered animation is not there.
The story is classic, with all kinds of branches and twists with the perfect blend of linear and non-linear elements. It's also an absolute blast to watch for little elements here and there, including a number of Star Wars tributes (Vicks and Wedge, Locke rescuing Celes in a soldier's uniform, etc.).
Simply put, this game tells the tale of the destruction that can result from the search for absolute and infinite power. Along the way, it addresses several issues such as every person's need to love and feel needed, which is most prevalent in Locke and Celes's relationship and Terra's examination of her own humanity.
This game is my all-time favorite on any platform. The music is what I view to be Uematsu's best overall work, and a perfect complement to the surreal, neo-Victorian artwork of Yoshitaka Amano. The effect is total immersion. If you haven't played this game, and most people haven't, you are missing something major. I think everyone should play it, but I can only hope that you can appreciate the game as much as I do.
Here you might expect me to link to an emulator and ROM of the game. Not for this one. Its graphics and sounds are too advanced to work on even the best emulator. Only the cartridge itself can do it justice.
MIDI Music
Selected Songs from Final Fantasy VI: Composed by Nobuo Uematsu - ZIPped for your convenience.
Images
Screen Shots
FF6 PSX screenshots: Taken from the FMV sequences. In a 743K WinZip file.
The Title Screen: From the U.S. version.
The Magitek Armor trudging through the snow toward Narshe.
The Orchestra Pit: As seen at the Opera House.
The Mystery Scene: Can you figure out where/when this happens in the game? E-mail me with your answers!
More to come!
Characters
Terra: Drawn by Yoshitaka Amano.
Locke: Drawn by Yoshitaka Amano.
Edgar: Drawn by Yoshitaka Amano.
Sabin: Drawn by... I'll give you three guesses!
More to come...
These are pages dedicated to individual characters in the game, most of which are still under construction.
But did you know that most characters in our Final Fantasy III were inspired by one of the twenty-something classes in the Japanese Final Fantasy V? For example, Strago was inspired by the Blue Wizard class, and Relm was inspired by the Monster Trainer class.
