Apex Community Forums - View Single Post - Do-Over: Final Fantasy VI

NCXCStud · 06-March-06, 01:53 PM

The Story, behind the story:
Hmm, do-over? What game(s) got me hooked to this wonderful past time that we all enjoy? I can remember a starting out playing on my dad's Mattel’s Intellivision with graphical marvels 'Pitfall' and 'Major League Baseball.' Also, I had loads of fun on the machine's funky, unresponsive 12 button controller. But, sadly this was not what 'hooked me' on videogames; nor did the Nintendo Entertainment System. In fact, I did not succumb to the digital mistress until the glory years of the Super Nintendo.

It was the summer of 1995, I was 12 and Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers were still my best friends. My brother and I enjoyed our video games, we had quite a few actually. But, we had not found ‘the game.’ You know the one. That mystifying piece of plastic, silicon, and metal with the power inside to take you to new worlds, perform awesome feats, meet countless friends and foes, and finally save a mythical world from impending doom and destruction.

Final Fantasy was the very beginning of my video game crack. This is the game that I stack current games against to prove to me that it’s a ‘good game.’ Only two others have transfixed me in the same way; Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Chrono Trigger.

This game had it all; romance, intrigue, mystery, betrayal. It was a pre-teen’s soap opera. Will Terra find out who she really is? Who are the Espers? Who is the man behind the mask called Shadow? So many questions, so many answers revealed. The true interactive storybook and the only game I wish to see updated to today’s graphical standards.

Introduction:
Final Fantasy VI is a Japanese style role-playing game (RPG) from Square Co. Ltd. Released in North America during the fall of 1994, it is the game that began Square’s sudden dominance in the RPG field in the United States. FFVI was one of those games that took everything before it, expounded upon it, perfected it, and delivered. To me, everything in this game is perfect, or at least as close to perfection as you can get. The game play, sound, graphics, and story are top notch.

Final Fantasy VI Vital Stats
System Requirements (one of the following):

A Super Nintendo
A Playstation
A Playstation 2
A Gameboy Advanced
A Nintendo DS

Recommended Spec (one of the following):

A Super Nintendo
A Playstation
A Playstation 2
A Gameboy Advanced
A Nintendo DS

Game original release date: March 2005
Developer: Square Co. Ltd.
Publisher: Square Co. Ltd.
Setup & Install:

Put in the disk/cartridge and have at it

Simplicity at its finest!

Graphics & Sound:
The visuals of are definitely not the best the system had produced, but they are no where near the worst. It is classic Console RPG graphics at their finest. It’s a top down view and at that point in time, was the ‘norm’ for all RPGs on the SNES. All your characters were represented by a single person (the “head” of your part at that time) and you controlled that character to wander, interact, and talk to anything that the game allowed you to.

Many of the spells and attacks had wonderful effects for the system and were quite “cool” to watch while playing. Nothing too terribly terrific, it got the job done and that’s all that mattered.
The sound in the game also wasn’t the best the SNES had ever produced, but it is still very good. Every spell, item, and attack has its own unique sound. Every new area has a different tune as well. The only thing that “bugs” me and its apparent in just about every RPG I’ve played is that every battle and every boss fight has the same respective tune. This can get quite repetitive in a game that takes 30+ hours to beat.

Story:
The game follows the adventures of a young girl named Terra Branford as she helps a resistant group called The Returners fight against Emperor Gehstal and his empire. Gehstal also has an evil henchman/apprentice (think Darth Vader, but looks like a clown instead of a machine) who operates as Gehstal’s “hand” named Kefka Palazzo.

During her travels, Terra befriends many people, learns about her true self and how important she is to bring peace to the world. However, the story does not just follow the main character, Terra, the entire time. During the game there are many sub-plots that follow storylines for all the characters in the game. So, even though Terra is the “main character” you wont’ spend the entire game learning about her story (though a good chunk of the game revolves around it), you’ll also get to see the romance twists between Locke and Celes, you’ll learn more about the brothers Figaro; Edgar and Sabin, and many more.

The story that this game delivers is phenomenal. It truly exudes passion, mystery, suspense, and comedy. While playing the game, I felt compassion for all the characters, especially for Cyan and his family.

Game play:
FFVI plays like any other RPG before it. Walk around, fight baddies, upgrade your equipment and stats, talk to NPCs, etc… It’s your tried and true formula for this type of game.

What then, did FFVI deliver? They implemented a new magic system where every playable character could ‘learn’ to use any spell. FFVI also gave the player the option of using 14 different characters (two are ‘hidden’ characters). This does not include the 2 or 3 additional characters you could control at one time or another. At this time, it was by far the largest cast for any RPG (the largest for a Final Fantasy game ever, which holds true today) and is only surpassed (and dwarfed) by Chrono Cross’ 44 playable characters on the Playstation 1.

The FFVI featured the same routines as many other RPGs (menu based fighting, walking around towns, talking to NPCs, etc…) it was the games perfect implementation of it that makes it so good.

NOTE: The above image is from the PS1 remake of FFVI where they added CGI sequences in place of many story elements

Conclusion:
As anyone can guess, I think this is a phenomenal gem of a game that can be snagged for a low price at this point! You can obtain it in 3 different (legal) ways right now. You can get it from E-Bay or a mom and pop store on the SNES and Playstation (the Final Fantasy Anthologies disc that also contains Final Fantasy V). Nintendo is also re-releasing it on the Gameboy Advanced later this year (ETA is unknown at this point).

This game is a masterpiece. You owe it to yourself to play it right now! So, this game definitely deserves a Do-Over, or two, or three, or four…

This article comes from GameApex.com
http://www.gameapex.com

More screeshots can be found in the gallery.

06-March-06, 01:53 PM		#1 (permalink)
NCXCStud Apex Tech Fanatic Supreme	Do-Over on FFVI... The Story, behind the story: Hmm, do-over? What game(s) got me hooked to this wonderful past time that we all enjoy? I can remember a starting out playing on my dad's Mattel’s Intellivision with graphical marvels 'Pitfall' and 'Major League Baseball.' Also, I had loads of fun on the machine's funky, unresponsive 12 button controller. But, sadly this was not what 'hooked me' on videogames; nor did the Nintendo Entertainment System. In fact, I did not succumb to the digital mistress until the glory years of the Super Nintendo. It was the summer of 1995, I was 12 and Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers were still my best friends. My brother and I enjoyed our video games, we had quite a few actually. But, we had not found ‘the game.’ You know the one. That mystifying piece of plastic, silicon, and metal with the power inside to take you to new worlds, perform awesome feats, meet countless friends and foes, and finally save a mythical world from impending doom and destruction. Final Fantasy was the very beginning of my video game crack. This is the game that I stack current games against to prove to me that it’s a ‘good game.’ Only two others have transfixed me in the same way; Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Chrono Trigger. This game had it all; romance, intrigue, mystery, betrayal. It was a pre-teen’s soap opera. Will Terra find out who she really is? Who are the Espers? Who is the man behind the mask called Shadow? So many questions, so many answers revealed. The true interactive storybook and the only game I wish to see updated to today’s graphical standards. Introduction: Final Fantasy VI is a Japanese style role-playing game (RPG) from Square Co. Ltd. Released in North America during the fall of 1994, it is the game that began Square’s sudden dominance in the RPG field in the United States. FFVI was one of those games that took everything before it, expounded upon it, perfected it, and delivered. To me, everything in this game is perfect, or at least as close to perfection as you can get. The game play, sound, graphics, and story are top notch. Final Fantasy VI Vital Stats System Requirements (one of the following): A Super Nintendo A Playstation A Playstation 2 A Gameboy Advanced A Nintendo DS Recommended Spec (one of the following): A Super Nintendo A Playstation A Playstation 2 A Gameboy Advanced A Nintendo DS Game original release date: March 2005 Developer: Square Co. Ltd. Publisher: Square Co. Ltd. Setup & Install: Put in the disk/cartridge and have at it Simplicity at its finest! Graphics & Sound: The visuals of are definitely not the best the system had produced, but they are no where near the worst. It is classic Console RPG graphics at their finest. It’s a top down view and at that point in time, was the ‘norm’ for all RPGs on the SNES. All your characters were represented by a single person (the “head” of your part at that time) and you controlled that character to wander, interact, and talk to anything that the game allowed you to. Many of the spells and attacks had wonderful effects for the system and were quite “cool” to watch while playing. Nothing too terribly terrific, it got the job done and that’s all that mattered. The sound in the game also wasn’t the best the SNES had ever produced, but it is still very good. Every spell, item, and attack has its own unique sound. Every new area has a different tune as well. The only thing that “bugs” me and its apparent in just about every RPG I’ve played is that every battle and every boss fight has the same respective tune. This can get quite repetitive in a game that takes 30+ hours to beat. Story: The game follows the adventures of a young girl named Terra Branford as she helps a resistant group called The Returners fight against Emperor Gehstal and his empire. Gehstal also has an evil henchman/apprentice (think Darth Vader, but looks like a clown instead of a machine) who operates as Gehstal’s “hand” named Kefka Palazzo. During her travels, Terra befriends many people, learns about her true self and how important she is to bring peace to the world. However, the story does not just follow the main character, Terra, the entire time. During the game there are many sub-plots that follow storylines for all the characters in the game. So, even though Terra is the “main character” you wont’ spend the entire game learning about her story (though a good chunk of the game revolves around it), you’ll also get to see the romance twists between Locke and Celes, you’ll learn more about the brothers Figaro; Edgar and Sabin, and many more. The story that this game delivers is phenomenal. It truly exudes passion, mystery, suspense, and comedy. While playing the game, I felt compassion for all the characters, especially for Cyan and his family. Game play: FFVI plays like any other RPG before it. Walk around, fight baddies, upgrade your equipment and stats, talk to NPCs, etc… It’s your tried and true formula for this type of game. What then, did FFVI deliver? They implemented a new magic system where every playable character could ‘learn’ to use any spell. FFVI also gave the player the option of using 14 different characters (two are ‘hidden’ characters). This does not include the 2 or 3 additional characters you could control at one time or another. At this time, it was by far the largest cast for any RPG (the largest for a Final Fantasy game ever, which holds true today) and is only surpassed (and dwarfed) by Chrono Cross’ 44 playable characters on the Playstation 1. The FFVI featured the same routines as many other RPGs (menu based fighting, walking around towns, talking to NPCs, etc…) it was the games perfect implementation of it that makes it so good. NOTE: The above image is from the PS1 remake of FFVI where they added CGI sequences in place of many story elements Conclusion: As anyone can guess, I think this is a phenomenal gem of a game that can be snagged for a low price at this point! You can obtain it in 3 different (legal) ways right now. You can get it from E-Bay or a mom and pop store on the SNES and Playstation (the Final Fantasy Anthologies disc that also contains Final Fantasy V). Nintendo is also re-releasing it on the Gameboy Advanced later this year (ETA is unknown at this point). This game is a masterpiece. You owe it to yourself to play it right now! So, this game definitely deserves a Do-Over, or two, or three, or four… This article comes from GameApex.com http://www.gameapex.com More screeshots can be found in the gallery.