A look back at: Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy VI is a game I was glad to play and the one game that really gets me back into the franchise. It offered the one thing that IV didn't really offer much of: customization. Combine that with an excellent plot, great villains, and characters which you cannot really distinguish fully as main characters, as well as unique enemies with different ways of defeating them, and you got yourself a fantastic SNES RPG to play.

Trying to explain everything here will take way more than it already is, but for what this game is worth, it's got good abilities for each and every character. Locke's steal works well, who knew? Surely the Blitz command may get some used to, and Cyan's SwdTech is unpopular due to it being a charge up and all. Relm's sketch is also not that well done, and Umaro's completely berserk abilities make him one unpopular character on the whole. But in between those, there are great abilites. Whether it's Terra's Esper transformation, Strago's Lore magic, or Gogo's Mimic ability, there's some fun to be had with just about every battle. Gau's Rage abilities are wildcards, but they are fun wildcards, although I probably won't say the same for Setzer's Slot ability. Even the temporary characters like Banon get some good abilities that help the party often.

The game's storyline is just as well done, from the iconic starting shots of the Magiteks in the snow, to the parts with Terra and her connection with the Espers. The evil empire thing is done really well in this game for an evil empire. Gestahl is a wonderful example of an emperor, one who stands opposed to the resistance, and tricks them by feigning a truce and locking up Kefka. Of course, as a leader you got to put your trust in the right people, and Gestahl failed that when it came to Kefka. The idea that Kefka actually does destroy the world is also quite amazing in its own right. Many other JRPGs put the world in near-destruction at the very climax, FF6 just goes and does it. And it even opens up the game completely when you go and find all your previous party members at your leisure. It sure makes the game a lot easier when you recruit everyone you used to have, instead of fighting Kefka right away with just Celes, Edgar, and Setzer*. The separation of parties is also great, having to follow Sabin, Locke, or Terra/Edgar/Banon in the beginning, as well as the Phoenix Tower subquest, and even Kefka's Tower.

The optional content surely is fantastic enough. The Coliseum may be a gimmick, but it works out for certain things like potentially recruiting Shadow. The auction thing isn't too noteworthy especially if you keep getting the items you don't want. That really long tower is worth the trip, and obviously, you'll want to train up all your Espers to get all the magic, especially Ultima. Bottom line is, anything and everything you can do before the finale of the game is well worth it. There's honestly not a whole lot of this that I can hate, everything is done well and this truly is a fantastic Final Fantasy entry.

*The only three characters that are actually required for the finale.