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Final Fantasy 6..... So many of the RPGers who've played this game think it is a
classic. Many people thought that FF6 was so good that they loathed FF7 for
not living up to their expectations. However, I have
slightly different views. Let me start with the good points.
The graphics are SPLENDID, unbeaten in the special effects or the scenery
category in my opinion until the releases of Chrono Trigger and Seiken
Densetsu 3. Spells are dazzling, and the summon monsters were the equivalent
of those on FF8 back then. The game has a lot of detailed areas and well
animated characters, though some of the characters and Mode-7 scenes (The
equivalent of FMVs on PSX) looked a tad bit pixellated. But other than that,
Square did a good job with this game's visuals, paving the paths for FF7 and
8..
The music is also great, if not breathtaking. It sets the mood for any event
perfectly, from saving a Diva from an Octopus and his anvil to the building up
of anticipation in the last level. FF6 not only sucked in new FFers, but it
sucked em' in with a great soundtrack too. Even today, gamers stick by FF6s
soundtrack as the ultimate music composed for a video game ever..... I
just think it's a great soundtrack.
Now FF6 seems great in the audio and visuals department but it falls back a
little in the other two departments. First, gameplay. For the first half of
the game everything seems good in there, but..... After you get into WoR
it seemed to show that gameplay was of little concern at that point of
development. It was easy to find all the spells that would put the Last Boss
through eternal Damnation (Heck you could even kill him in 3 turns if you had
the right spells and equipment....), and the ultimate magic that does about
9999 to all enemies can be attained by getting Locke back (Through a mildly
difficult dungeon, not a danger-filled labyrinth) and simply unlocking a door
(At least in FF7 you had to go through the task of chocobo breeding before
getting KOTR...).
And as for the story, it was nice but a total cliche'. Basically, it's Secret
of Mana's storyline with a few events added in and taken away. Nonetheless you
will be dealing with ANOTHER greedy empire who's emperor gets gypped in the
end by an evil dude with powers. And worst: WoR (Second half 'o' the game)
doesn't seem to carry on a plot at all, it doesn't matter if you gather the
characters together or not in the end (Heck, you could just skip to the final
battle after you get the airship, the ending is just an empty showcase that
adjusts to which characters you get to join the party again.).The characters
are OK, but I find them a bit one-dimensional in comparison with Lunar 2 and
Xenogear's cast, but those are my views on how a character should be...
All in all, I wouldn't say FF6 was a poor game. It had good visuals and
music, and despite the flaws of its gameplay and story, FF6 is a solid RPG I
would recommend to anyone.
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