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Final Fantasy was the last of the ‘old school’ Final Fantasy games, and it would be the last numbered entry on a Nintendo system (barring the remakes). When it was released over here, it was re-titled Final Fantasy 3 as it was the third FF game to be released in North America. It’s graphics, characters, and story stand out as one of the greatest RPG epics even to this day.

FF6 starts with two soldiers escorting a young girl to Narshe, a frozen ice town. She’s there to awaken an esper, which is a strange spirit creature that can grant powers to others after it’s turned into a crystal called magicite. However, things go haywire, and before long, the world is caught up in a plot involving an evil empire, an ancient island, and oh yeah, the END OF THE WORLD.

You’ll meet several characters in the story. Each has their own background, so it’s almost as if there is no central character to Final Fantasy 6, as each of the characters contribute to the story equally. The game also moves away from FF5’s job system, as each character has their own set of abilities, loosely resembling the traditional Final Fantasy class archetypes. Terra, the game’s red mage can transform into a fiery form, Sabin, the game’s monk can access various special movies via Street Fighter-style control pad motions, and Cyan, the game’s knight can charge his meter to use more powerful sword techniques.

The game’s plot line changes the formula in ways you never thought were possible in an RPG. About a fourth of the way into the game, the party splits in three directions, with each sub group having their own separate tale. Other times you’ll find yourself in an RTS meets Heroes of Might and Magic meets early tower defense battle as you switch between parties to confront enemies. Still another time you’ll find yourself in an opera having to memorize lines from a song. Then there’s that aforementioned end of the world; not only will your characters survive it, but you’ll spend the second half of the game trying to reunite your party and make things right by defeating Kefka. Speaking on Kefka, he is perhaps one of the most vile bosses in video game history, and you’ll face him in one of the coolest final battles in video game history.

Final Fantasy 6’s graphics and music were also high points of the series. Although it wasn’t as pretty as DOnkey Kong Country, it produced some of the best visuals on the SNES, especially for a role playing game. The music is also memorable as well, and it’s soundtrack pushes the SNES sound system to its limits. Final Fantasy 6 has been released in nearly every possible form, so if you have yet to experience this RPG classic, now is the time to do so, wether it’s the SNES original, or the PSN/Virtual Console re-release.

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