What makes FFVI one of the best in the series?

Seiya Wataru

Seiya Wataru

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I was having a discussion with a friend regarding our favorite Final Fantasy installment. After giving it a lot of thought I decided that it was the 6th installment that I enjoyed the most. Partly because it was one of the first RPG's I'd ever as a child (back to the days of the SNES), and also because it truly was one of the more complete games of the series, whether it be the intense and truly epic storyline, the gritty steel-mill/fantasy setting, the myriad characters and the compelling character development (both in the gameplay and story). the fact that it starred a female protagonist was a first and I think goes a long way in making it special amongst the FF series. I could go on but I'd rather hear from the rest of you: what makes this game what it is? why did you like it?
 
I think you've essentially noted most of how I feel about it in your post.

As a fan of FF, I started with FF7, but soon went backwards and played the earlier games, including the gem that is FF6. FF6 to me does feel the most complete. The greatest experience of my life.

It's a combination of many great aspects... The story and the music are, in my opinion, great aspects that all FF's had at least until 9, and bits and bobs of the games following them.
But... This game takes a massive mammoth sized cake for providing the fullest, most detailed and greatest designed characters ever seen in an FF. Most of them have their past revealed at some point in the game, each with their own heartbreaking story (though, heartbreaking it is, it never feels emo or too depressing). Each of them have distinct ways of talking, interacting etc... And they all get relatively large chunks of the game dedicated to them, apart from characters like Gogo and Umaro.

It also produced two of the greatest villains in FF history... Kefka is my ultimate favourite main villain. FF has yet to see a villain as crazy, powerful and so entertaining as Kefka. The player couldn't wait to see the next scene with him in, a villain you kind of rooted for, and he had quite a lot of character development as well.. He wasn't locked up somewhere for the whole game, but kept showing his face and causing chaos.

The other villain is, of course (for anyone who knows me), Ultros! I LOVE Ultros. A talking purple octopus, with goofy teeth who you keep bumping into is fantastic. Again, my world was lit up when a scene with him in it occured.

But yes, overall this game hit the balance like no other.. A BRILLIANT villain, one you can see rise from being relatively weak, to becoming a supreme being, a god. Music that fitted each of the games rich characters. Edgar and Sabin, Gau, Cyan, Shadow, etc, all had great stories and concepts behind them.

The game also had a brilliant steampunk mixed with Japanese and medieval fantasy feel to it. And the art for the game is, in my opinion, the most beautiful to look at.

So yeah... It's one of the best because of:
Characters
Story
Music
Theme (Steampunk + Medieval and Japanese fantasy)
Superb villain


On the whole, the perfect combination of the above made this game magic to the eyes and ears.

I really want to play this game again.
 
No offence ment to anyone but i feel FFVI is over-rated. It's a decent enough game but to me, it's no better than ANY FF before, or after it. It's just more of the same. The first 6 FF's were very, very similar in terms of gameplay, storytelling etc. FFVI's story was slightly better than most but it's just something about people saying it's one of the best that doesn't sit well with me.

Dont get me wrong, it's a good enough game, but i prefer FF1 and FF2 over FFVI.
 
Are you kidding? How has FFVI been OVER RATED? Whenever there's a discussion on the FF series in general, I rarely hear anyone talk about this game. Understandably the last thing on FFVI was that it was reformatted for the PS1 Anthology package years ago, so it's not the hot topic so to speak. It's only now when two characters from the game are featured in the Dissidia game does it get some attention again, but FFVI is far from being over-rated.

Argor251 summed it up far better that I could have but I personally enjoyed FFVI very much.

The story, the multiple characters that actually had a decent background done on them, the individual abilities that ensured that no one character was the ultimate character. The music was great as well. The way the Espers had an importance to the story and not just a simple battle system to utilize.

And a villain whose actually a villain. How do you not appreciate that?

Really, great stuff here ^_^
 
FF VI is my second favorite game in the series after VII, so Ill try to do it justice in giving reasons why its so great.

For starters we have the story. It begins with a question, who is this Terra girl and where does she come from? Then it moves into an epic struggle against a powerful empire to prevent the same catastrophe that happened 1,000 years ago from occurring again. When Kefka and Gestahl reach the floating continent is when it really takes off though, the world is ruined and it becomes an epic quest to kill the new god of magic.

Then we have the characters. The enigmatic Terra is a source of mystery for the first part of the game, and its nice to see her develop emotions. Locke seems carefree at the beginning, but learning about his past with Rachel and reason for wanting to protect his loved ones gives him good depth. Then my personal favorite, Celes, is an amazing protagonist and gives great emotion. Her attempted suicide after Cid's death is one of the most moving scenes in the FF series.

Moving on we have the villain. Kefka is one of the best antagonists in any video game ever. From his burning of Figaro Castle to his destruction of the world as a god, he portrays nothing but insanity in its purest form. The best thing about Kefka is that while other villains seem quite somber or serious in their quests to rule or destroy, Kefka is having a blast the whole time, doing what he does simply because its fun for him. Who doesn't love a guy who says things like, "what fun is destruction if no 'precious' lives are lost," and, "you all sound like chapters from a self help book"?

Lastly there's the great game play. This FF has the best selection of player characters, so you have a wide variety of parties you can form for any task you might need to perform. The esper system is amazing as well, allowing for great customization of abilities and summons while being tied directly to the main story.

Its just a fantastic game, I just beat it a few weeks ago but I'm tempted to start a new game after writing this piece on it.
 
Because IT IS has an awesome story, yes the graphics isn't that good but I never cared much about that, the characters were awesome, Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin . . . etc and the Villian was actually a Villain. xD he was able to do something that the others wasn't able to. :gasp:
 
Shyne said:
No offence ment to anyone but i feel FFVI is over-rated. It's a decent enough game but to me, it's no better than ANY FF before, or after it. It's just more of the same. The first 6 FF's were very, very similar in terms of gameplay, storytelling etc. FFVI's story was slightly better than most but it's just something about people saying it's one of the best that doesn't sit well with me.

Dont get me wrong, it's a good enough game, but i prefer FF1 and FF2 over FFVI.
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Lmao, but that's a pretty sad explanation. It certainly is better then the ones before it, I mean, come on - not many of those titles, ESPECIALLY 1 and 2 could ever match VI in terms of quality. Your characters had tonnes of personality, there was plenty of stuff for you to do, optional and non, and the story was and probably is better then the previous 5 titles and VII, and some more of the other recentish titles.

Very similar in terms of gameplay? Well, most FF's were up to pretty much XII. Obviously there's a bit more to the recent games of course, but we're talking about SNES titles vs PS titles, which could inevitable have more to it.

Storytelling? Don't most games follow the traditional style of storytelling, and have a similar thing to do with crystal and all that other FF stuff?


ANYWAY, seeing as this WAS a thread to do with the good stuff to do with FFVI, the characters personalities were a big plus, and although it seemed a lot, I loved the display of Espers, graphics are pretty awesome for it's time, each character had a moving storyline, music added that extra special effect, and the optional stuff (inc pre-GBA bits), provided a lot of entertainment. For a game of it's time, it certainly had everything going for it.
 
Shyne said:
No offence ment to anyone but i feel FFVI is over-rated. It's a decent enough game but to me, it's no better than ANY FF before, or after it. It's just more of the same. The first 6 FF's were very, very similar in terms of gameplay, storytelling etc.
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Most FF has been near the same in terms of gameplay. The thing about storytelling, there was only so much that could be done with it on the NES and SNES. It was easily one of the best looking SNES games, little touches like hand gestures, facial expressions and sounds, like Kefka's laugh made VI stand high above anything that came before it. My opinion on that part any who

But like the second poster said, this game does feel the most complete, it didnt try to make the story super difficult, it just made it feel real, the characters are some of the best in the series, and to have such a large cast of interesting and tragic characters like Celes, Terra, Locke, Setzer, Sabin and Edgar, and Cyan, that is seven right there most final fantasy games have about that number of characters and a few of them can easily be forgotten. Then Kefka, he puts pretty much all other bad guys to shame, he not only accomplished his goal, but had some great lines too

There was a lot to be done in this game, this was the first FF game to make thee world feel like it was alive.

All and all, this is my favorite final fantasy game and one of my favorite games of all time, the story and the charm of the presentation along with the characters are all top notch
 
I would have to say this game is great because you dont even know who the main character is and each character has a detailed storyline. Kefka is awesome I really love this villain he adds a new taste of tyrany to the series and desinvolves well in the storyline.
 
I can't say is FF6 is the best game of the anthology series. But it doesn't have many weakpoint in my opinion.
The music is great
the story of the characters are well thought up
the villains are truely villains (the laughter of kefka freaks me out...)
the world is really well made with the towns being cozy or destoyed by the empire, the random chocobo stables in forests,...
So it is a really good game in my book.
 
I think FFVI is the last really challenging FF game, and because of that it's one of the best. Compared to the other 5 pre-playstation FF's FFVI is the only FF (bar FFII) not to have the elemental crystals in the storyline - and it had better characters than those in FFIV. The battle system was less rigid, and there's more flexibility to develop your characters how you see fit.

I think FFVI introduced many staples to the FF series, and it remains the last truly difficult FF game. It has an awesome storyline and a wide selection of characters - so everyone is pleased. All these make FFVI one of the best in the series.
 
Story and music.

No, it doesn't compare to some of the later games in terms of graphics and detail but like an old book , its simply a classic that could probably outsell most modern novels.

The Terra story, not bad for an older game. Terra, the product of two worlds, taken hostage by an Evil Empire bent on using her inherent abilities to destroy the world. Terra breaks free and tries to rediscover her identity and makes the living bridge between human and esper. ( Could've done it better in the game though)

Locke : An emotionally scared man who wants to do good but is constantly plagued by the past. Meets an enemy general only to fall in love with her.

Celes: Trained to be a stone cold Imperial general, Celes rediscovers her emotions in Locke's deep gaze. The fact that people would be willing to sacrifice for her changes her perspective on things. She becomes the ultimate protagonist in the story and is one of the two main cast that actually fall in love.

Edgar & Sabin : Twin brothers , heirs to thriving kingdoms. One is a charismatic young king, feels its his duty to carry on the name, enjoys the splendors of the royal life, while the other is a free spirited wanderer.The only thing Edgar loves more than his kingdom is his younger twin brother. Edgar let his younger brothers' craving for freedom decide both of their fates. They reunite.

Cyan : Honorable warrior and protector of his King. Had everything taken from him including his own child. Plagued by nightmares the valiant knight pushes on in the loving memory of his wife , child , and homeland.

Gau: Abandoned Child , raised in the wild , masters the very essence of nature. Curious teenager with great potential.

Relm, Strago, and Shadow: One of the best stories. Shadow , due to past circumstances, has 'killed his emotions' but gets them back again. He is Relm's biological father. Relm, left by her parents ( dead mom , missing dad - Shadow) raised by her Grandfather, Strago , an old wizard who loves dearly loves her and has a connection to a 1,000 year past.

Mog & Umaro : Legendary creatures , probably all that remains of their kind from their golden era in the past in a world more in tune with magic. They live in the deep mines of industrialization trying to fit in with a changing world geared to technology and less on magic.

Setzer : A wealthy traveler that is looking for meaning in life. The rest of the characters offer it to him and he rights some wrongs in his past. Setzer realizes money alone can't by true happiness.

Gogo : ???? , really has no place in the story line. Gogo is what you want him to be.
 
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Greatness

This Title really stands out in the series to me for a number of reasons one of them being Kefka. By the time I actually got to fight Kefka and not have him run away I couldnt wait to unleash the wrath of god on him for being such a turd. I liked the whole Idea of how magic wasnt common practice and that it was coveted practiced and conceiled by the empire. also i liked the whole fusion of magic/technology that was prevalant in the empires fortress. Also thought that the whole idea of the espers and the bonus attributes they give you when you level up was a neat idea. Not to mention just an overall good job of a storyline and a great musical score.
 
I think it's the best because you actually care about the characters. I especially remember sympathizing with Locke because of his past.
 
BEST game in the series, in my opinion. It was epic, powerful, and overall fulfilling. The only downside was the fact that a few things were deducted from the original version, but that's not HARDLY enough to hamper the gameplay whatsoever. It was just plain epic when i played it for the first time, despite how old i was when it came out (like 4 or 5)
 
Wow Final Fantasy 6? Let me give you people a reason to love this game.

First off, I love this game. It cannot be badmouthed by ANYONE. This game is the closest thing to perfection in a FF game. Undeniably, it has the best storyline in the entire series. It is cunning, unique, creative, and stunning. The music is downright otherworldly, although as we all know, FF4 has the best music out of all FFs. This game's music can compare to FF4's. The characters are magnificent! Perfect amount of details, perfect backstory, perfect development. There are so many things to write about I don't know where to begin. This game holds many elements of literacy and it holds many universal allegories. I cannot even begin to list the plathora of greatness. This game is just unique, take my word for it. Don't try to fathom my words and play it for yourself to find out.
 
I don't think it's the best; au contraire, I think it's the worst. <.<

There's far too much faffing about in the game to actually be grabbed my the plot or characters at all. Interesting though it may be, if it can't hook me then I don't like it. There were far too many characters to use and pitiful attempts at characterisation just made their backstories sound pathetic and forced. The sole villain of the game is quite a shallow one; there's no motive behind his actions, he's just a downright cunt, and who likes them anymore?

I liked the music but it left a lot to be desired, tbqh. <.<

The battles felt horrible, I hate the entire battling system up until VII, where the graphics improved enormously. Speaking of which, the graphics in VI don't exactly make up for its shit gameplay.

To top it all off, after the complete ball ache of getting to the end, you're treated with...oh, wait, that's not a treat, it's just a really shit scene that does nothing but contribute to the desire I have to pull the plug.

Atma said:
First off, I love this game. It cannot be badmouthed by ANYONE.
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Woops. :wacky:
 
Ifrit said:
I don't think it's the best; au contraire, I think it's the worst. <.<

Woops. :wacky:
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What is your point? The point I made is still valid. Nobody can badmouth FF6.
 
Yes, they can. Accept it. Dave made justifiable reasons there, and if you don't like it, tough. People are entitled to think differently, just because you say noone can bad mouth, doesnt mean that it won't happen. Some people think it's a terrible game, and give decent enough reasons. I might not agree with Dave, but he makes good points.
 
Atomos said:
Yes, they can. Accept it. Dave made justifiable reasons there, and if you don't like it, tough. People are entitled to think differently, just because you say noone can bad mouth, doesnt mean that it won't happen. Some people think it's a terrible game, and give decent enough reasons. I might not agree with Dave, but he makes good points.
Click to expand...

There is no such thing. People cannot badmouth FF6 because it is a good game. That is a fact. If you think otherwise then you're wrong. It's not an opinion that FF6 is bad, it's a damn lie.
 
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