Like a lot of people my age in the UK, my first experience of the Final Fantasy series was the PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII. Whilst this was my first real taste of a J-RPG, it wasn't my last, and it quickly developed a love of the genre, and the Final Fantasy titles in general. As such, it wasn't long before I branched out to try other titles; and one of those was Final Fantasy VI.
Whilst Final Fantasy VII may have been the game in the series that got the most attention, and is often called on of the best, that's not to mean that it's predecessor was not successful. Final Fantasy VI is often cited as one of the best in the series, and was lauded for it's gameplay improvements, graphics, and storytelling.
Despite not having as much direct involvement from series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, who had directed the five previous games, development began on the new game in December 1992 under co-directors Hiroyuki Ito and Yoshinori Kitase. Elements of the game development were split between the two directors, with one focusing on the story and plot elements of the game, whilst the other developed new battle mechanics and gameplay. The results is a game that feels somewhat unique amongst the series, where there is not only a huge roster of characters for players to choose from (fourteen in total), but that none of them are the direct, singular protagonist.
Due to the large number of protagonists, each of which has their own story and motivations, describing the plot of Final Fantasy VI is a little more complex than other titles in the franchise, but deals with a steam-punk fantasy world with warring empires, slave trades, and cataclysmic events that alter entire continents.
As with previous games in the series, Final Fantasy VI uses a similar gameplay mechanic of exploring locations and the over world, battling monsters that appear in randomly spawned encounters. The title saw the return of the Active Time Battle feature, which sees each character in the team recharge their chance to attack at different rates based on their stats, rather than a fixed turn based system. It did, however, create a new feature called the Desperation Attack, in which a character is able to unleash a powerful attack when their health is low. This feature would be used across several future entries, though under different names, and would become something of a staple of the series, allowing players to do more damage in certain fights, but having to weigh that boost with a greater chance of being knocked out.
Whilst the game was releases under the title of Final Fantasy VI in Japan, it was changed to Final Fantasy III in the United States, as there had only been two other entries in the series released there to that date. There were no major changes to the gameplay itself (something that had been done in a previous release), but some censorship was done in order to remove things deemed sexual or adult. Some nudity was removed, and locations like bars were changed to cafes. Some references to death and killing were altered, changing character's lines. And most unusual of all, the spell Holy was re-named Pearl in order to not offend religious groups.
At the time of release in Japan the game sold well, and received critical acclaim. It sold more than 2 million copies in Japan alone, and became the country's biggest selling game of 1994. Whilst it did not receive as much attention in other countries, it still sold well, and topped the charts in the US for sales in October, and became the 8th overall selling NES game of the year. Despite this, the game did not sell anywhere near as well outside of Japan, and the vast majority of the game's overall sales occurred there. However, over the years people's views on the title have changed, and the game has gone on to be considered a classic.
Some of this was down to a number of re-releases. The first of these was a re-release on the PlayStation in 1999. Thanks to the popularity of both Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII on the console previous games in the series were given a re-release. Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI were released together in the US as the Final Fantasy Collection whilst the game was released on it's own in Europe. This re-release was the edition that I owned, and my first experience with the game. This port also included brand new FMV sequences for the opening and conclusion of the game, but remained largely untouched and unaltered.
A handheld version of the game was released on the Gameboy Advance, which lost the FMV's of the PlayStation release, but improved upon the graphics, and featured a new translation that brought the game more in line with the original script and names. It also featured a few new additions such new summons, dungeons, and spells. 2014, the 20th anniversary of the game, also saw it released onto mobile devices. And last year saw a release on the Nintendo Switch.
The number of re-releases of the title, along with it's high critical acclaim places it as an important title in the franchise. Whilst it's the final 2D game in the series, and some younger gamers are quick to dismiss most 2D games, it shouldn't be held back by such views. Final Fantasy VI is perhaps one of the most enduring games in the series thanks to the chances it took. It's sprawling, non-linear story was ahead of it's time, and the new features it introduced informed many in later games. Whether it's a game that you played upon first release, or have only recently discovered, it's hard to argue that it's not a game that very much deserves attention.
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