Squaresoft/Square-Enix's Final Fantasy VI is a game that wears the label of a 'classic' game, somewhat overshadowed by Final Fantasy VII in terms of commercial success, and prevalence to the average gamer. It is also a game that can be judged from many angles: Being twenty years old it can be judged to today's standards, or judged as an example of the time, for instance. This review will strive to approach the game from both how it holds to the modern day, and how it stands as an example of the 16 bit era.
The storyline of the game is an area that I personally regard as one of the more important aspects of a Final Fantasy game, and VI's story, judged both by today and merits of the time, can be classed under the trope of 'seinfeld is unfunny', IMO. To a modern audience it may seem predictable and cliché - but VI represents a refinement of what the FF series had in terms of story. From most Western perspectives at the time it followed what was actually FFVI, a game which had sprawling plots and subplots, themes of loyalty and duty, self-identity, and many of the subjects that are hallmarks (or clichés) of the Final Fantasy series.
The main character, or at least, the initial character, is Terra Branford, a mysterious amnesiac with powerful magic. She was a brainwashed slave of the Empire, and is rescued by members of a resistance group known as the Returners. They then travel the world seeking a means to defeat the Empire. There is then a twist, where the apparent lackey of the Emperor betrays his master and becomes an immensely powerful threat to the entire planet, changing the very layout of the continents and decimating the cities.
To modern views, par for the course, but at the time, not an approach many games took, not something present in the previous five games much, nor have any FF games truly had the bad guy apparently win since.
In fact, even with an apparently female lead character the game already stands out as unusual to both modern and past categories - Only FFX-2 plus XIII and her bastard offspring have ever repeated that in the main FF series. Yet the truth is there is another thing also rare in the FF series then and now: a large ensemble cast. Terra is just the FIRST character you play as, and has a character arc closely tied to some of the main story thread, but so do many others. She is merely "a" main character, not THE main character. Few other FF games have a wider focus on the other party members: Most of the plot of other FFs is the main myth arc of the protagonist, with secondary characters defined often in relation to the protagonist.
FFVI develops each character strongly, and while the medium does not allow for quite the kind of impact one could achieve with good voice acting, a real sense of emotion and reality is felt by each character's words and actions. One aspect of character that seems cliché in modern terms that is of note here is the romantic sub-plot. It has been important in many Final Fantasy games since, and one before. Yet here? The "lead" character is not a part of it. It is Celes and Locke who are the only real signs of a romance in this game. Yet they are, thanks to the nature of the cast, arguably joint-lead characters thanks to their importance to events, alongside another dozen people.
It is thanks to making the plot define the characters that the game is strong today. Events drive the characters as much as they drive events, rather than feeling like a series of excuses to get characters into certain situations, and without relying on an encyclopaedia of side details and trivia one must refer back to. The story and characters both stand strong by being relatively well-developed, coherent, and robust for it. Though complex at times the characters and events are by no means convoluted, and rarely does the game feel like it is undergoing padding or an excuse plot - even at the parts where it arguably is adding things that could have been left aside.
The pacing of events is handled well, spending just enough time with each sub-plot to develop the main arc and the main character arcs. We get a good sense of the scale of events, and we get a good feel for the world as a whole - making a mid-game development all the more powerful in terms of impact for that.
In retrospective, one can see VI as a refinement of IV in many ways, and VII as a further refinement of VI, and so on. Yet, for being the second or first to start developing what would be cliché to later games, it manages to still be some of the strongest uses of the tropes and ideas within.
Gameplay and Graphics however are both the most obvious immediate differences that a modern player will see. The former will feel familiar enough to any FF player at the core though, other than perhaps players only of the game that was unlucky for some. The feel between VI and VII in terms of gameplay is very much similar, though the magicite system is one major difference. Able to teach magic to a character permanently, or used for a summon in-battle, one can see retroactive similarities between FFIX and VII's item ability and materia systems.
Graphically however is the area that, like many classic games, FFVI gets an unfair short straw. Yes, 16-bit does not look as polished as FF13... but looks are not truly all that important. The visuals are sufficient to get across the story and the game, the truly important aspects. And for their day, they were the top of the line. In terms of the graphics of the day it is beautiful, and the way they are used is something perhaps lacking in modern games. Sprites manage to excellently help convey story and emotion within their limits, complimenting the main developments. The limits of the graphics are worked within rather than trying to skirt around them or being 99% of the effort. Here the visuals are meant to enhance and support the story and game.
Yet it honestly may be the case the game has the reverse problem from later games. Newer games may distract from the flawed story based on their visual spectacle, but VI can suffer from people not looking past the older appearances. IMO, dismissing this game on graphics alone is a mistake - but a mistake many make. It is therefore unfortunate, but must be noted, that the only major "flaw" the game has is one that really shouldn't mean anything. Graphics are, in my view, not a valid means of retrospective criticism. Graphics should be compared to contemporaries, for a book is judged on more than just the cover.
In summary, the game stands tall in both older and newer approaches. Plot and gameplay stay strong, characterisation is some of the best in the series, and while the graphics look older, they are by no means "worse" than the modern version. They are simply from a different time and a different set of limitations. I urge anyone who was deterred by the visuals to try again, and understand this is both a different sort of approach - and yet, not vastly different from what the later FF games try to do. This is the game that set the benchmark, at best equalled by VII, and IMO, only just surpassed by IX.
And missed entirely by many newer installments.
