Niktaw's Final Fantasy VI Review

Final Fantasy 6 is unquestionably among the greatest games of all time, and you truly owe it to yourself to play it.

Now you're probably saying, "sure Final Fantasy 6 was great, in it's time, but these days it could never measure up to current gen games." I'm here to tell you that this is simply not true, and that one play through Final Fantasy 6 and you'll agree this it was light years ahead of it's time, and still comes out on top when stacked up against any game.

The main problem you would expect to have with an older game would be the graphics. Fear not my friend, for even though the graphics on FF6 are indeed dated, they were so good back then that they are certainly bearable even today, plus you'll be so involved in the story that after a while you wont even notice them. In short, the graphics do a perfectly adequate job of conveying the story and detract nothing from the experience of the game.

Now you're saying, "you mean to tell me that I won't notice 10 year old graphics because of the story? What story could possibly be that good?" This story is that good. It's better than that good. Final Fantasy 3 features the best story, and overall character development, of any game ever. Period. You thought the plot in Final Fantasy VII was awesome? FF6 puts it to absolute shame. You're tasked with the cookie cutter plot of banding a group of heroes together to save the world from a diabolical villain, but the character development is where FF6 sets itself apart from any other RPG of the time. Playing through FF6, you will grow to love many of the characters, and to truly hate the antagonists. There are almost 20 playable characters, and save for the exception of a few secret ones that appear very late in the game, each one has a very distinct personality. You will find yourself saying, "Yep I knew he/she would do exactly that", or "Yep that is so like her/him." Square found a way to endear the characters to the player in a way that has never been and probably will never be equalled.

In addition to being drawn in by the mesmerizing plot, you will also be serenaded by easily the best game soundtrack ever to grace a cartridge or CD for that matter. Other games have good music sure, but 10 years from now will you still instantly recognize several of the tunes? With FF6 you most certainly will. Also, many of the tracks are tied not only to characters but also certain plot moments in the game, so even years later simply hearing the song will remind you of that memorable moment in the game. If there is another game that has acheived this, I certainly have yet to play it.

The last thing that makes FF6 truly the greatest game of all time is the overall length and replayability. The first time though it, you can expect to spend no less than 30 hours of logged game time, and that number could easily exceed 50 if you are the type that likes to spend time leveling up even the secondary characters and collecting every last secret item. Final Fantasy 6 is chock full of secrets, and most of them reward you with an unmatchable weapon or item. You could spend hours and hours just fighting in the Colusseum trying to earn the secret items that can be won through wagering there. No matter how much time you spend playing it though, there will always be something that you missed or something that you could do better the next time through. Plus in a few months you'll want to play through it again just to live through the story one more time. I love playing video games, it's a true passion of mine, but I can count on one hand the games I have played through more than once. I have played through FF6 4 times, and I can guarantee that I'm not done playing it.