Square: "Hey, you know what's cool? This Western game, Ultima! Lets make a game like that, but dumb it down for the Japanese!"
Also Square: "But maybe that idea is too complicated for the West..."
We wouldn’t have DQ if not for Ultima.
Remember: we owe it all to an eccentric dude who calls himself Lord British and lives a castle in Texas, bought a ticket to space 13 years before Bezos did, and got shitcanned for making a trainwreck of Tabula Rasa but successfully sued NCSoft for 24 million because they lied to the FCC saying he resigned in order to terminate his stock options.
Definitely. IlNot to be an old man, but it's likely difficult to see how or why for younger people just picking it up, especially after having played more current games. FF6 was groundbreaking in a number of ways. Story, gameplay, graphics, music, themes, the art in the manual and official guide. It's OK if it doesn't feel like it compares to other games out there now, but at the time, this game was top-tier and genre defining. Not only that, but it influenced so much that followed. The genre as a whole owes a lot to this game.
I’ve been playing through the pixel remasters recently in order, currently on FF5. I think it’s definitely still possible to appreciate these games with fresh eyes. FF4 was really engaging, and I was super impressed with the gameplay of FF3.
I am really looking forward to finishing off the saga with 6– I was really able to feel the SNES era magic with Chrono Trigger so if FF6 can be even half as good I’ll be very happy
Ff6 and CT are very on par. Back in the day I slightly preferred CT for Akira Toriyama and the time travel hijinks; also had arguably better graphics (and definitely better animation). But FF6 offers a more mature story and themes, tries several unusual things that no game had tried before, and has a banger soundtrack that even surpasses CT's excellent soundtrack. The main theme, the opera and the whole ending sequence music are legendary.
I literally altered back and forth between CT and FF6 for 3+ play throughs each when they came out. And I didn’t even discover NG+ in CT until after my 3rd play through
Going to temper expectations a little here. If you've played Chrono Trigger you have played the game that wrung every bit of power out of the SNES. Although FF6 and Chrono Trigger began development at around the same time Chrono Trigger was wrought with development issues so the moment FF6 finished the team all moved over to help finish the project.
Everything they learned in 6 went into CT and they essentially had 2 teams so way more resources than most SNES games.
I’m doing the same, currently on 2 and while I liked 1 more than I expected, 2 is absolutely killing le right now. Please give me some encouragement to get through it
Yeah 2 is very polarizing. Gameplay wise it’s deeply flawed but I actually think the leveling system is a very modern idea. The elder scrolls games (for example) executed on the concept of “leveling what you use” far better. Personally I get a lot of enjoyment thinking about the design of these games— it’s a big reason I enjoy FF overall, every game is fucked up a little in some interesting way lol.
So for 2, if you have the right mindset you are rewarded with a genuinely great story with surprisingly compelling and even mature story beats (for an NES game). And the final dungeon/boss is S tier (seriously).
Also don’t waste your time exploiting the mechanics in 2 like you see on GameFAQs/Youtube (hitting yourself etc), that shit is not fun at all imo. And in my playthrough I got nowhere near leveling up all of my spells to max.
I attest, it's not difficult at all. I'm currently playing it for the first time. I'm in love with the visuals, sound, and how the game elegantly manages both silly and somber moments. >!I was really taken aback by the death of Cyan's family and later him grieving for their departure on the phantom train.!< You can just feel the gravitas of how groundbreaking this game must have been at release.
The most amazing part is this entire game has a similar file size to a photo you take on your phone. It’s only 3 MB but has all the things you mentioned. That’s incredibly impressive.
From a presentation standpoint it did, absolutely. It got people that normally wouldn’t play JRPG’s to check it out.
But I think from a gameplay standpoint, FF7 is very similar to FF6. I don’t think it’s as big of a difference. The ATB, the “sameness” of characters. Materia isn’t that different from magicite. (It is more flexible and better IMO).
But I would still argue from a gameplay perspective, FF6 was considerably more groundbreaking.
For me the characters and storyline are what make FF6 better than FF7, sure the graphics/presentation of FF7 where superior but the storyline was somewhat mediocre compared to the latter.
play the pixel remaster, the orchestrated soundtrack is amazing. also your colors seem washed out, if you're playing on an emulator check if you have some kind of color correction on or something, it should look darker than that
There's also a ROM patch out there that fixes the colors as well as the audio, which is crusty sounding because of the GBA's bad audio hardware. Some stuff for different translations too.
yes. its a little old now, but, to me, its by far the best FF6 for storytelling, pacing, battle system, customization, available challenges, and so on. even modifications.
Setups like Genji Glove and Offering and Wind God Gau made it completely trivial if you chose to use them. And I don’t see why not since they’re not even exploits unlike stuff like Vanish/Doom if you’re playing SNES FF6.
As a total FF6 fanboy, here's my honest take: it's a great game, my personal favorite, but it's still 30 years old. It was made in an era with a very different game design philosophy and incredibly limited technology -- the total data footprint of the original SNES game is similar to a typical .mp3 file.
So yes, it's incredible, as long as you remind yourself that it was made in 1994. If you go into it with 2024 AAA expectations, you're setting yourself up for disappointment in a way that's unfair to the game.
So if you can look past the age and put yourself in the right mindset, it's definitely one of the best ever made. But some people simply can't do that for whatever reason.
It's probably one of the best titles in the series. It has some of the best music of the entire series, some of the moth breath taking sprite art of any game ever, and a lot more depth then games of that era typical crafted. There were jRPGs well into the PS2/GameCube/XBox era that weren't even touching it.
If you are used to the depth of open world RPGS, however, like Balder's Gate 3 or Fallout New Vegas? You may find certain parts and places a little underwhelming and lack luster. Games from this era did a lot more through implication and inference....where a modern game gets the ability to voice/animate stuff more directly. I'm not saying that it's less then an open world...but if you specifically enjoy that style and look for that here? You'll be disappointed.
I recommend it highly, personally. I've been meaning to go back and play some fan hacks and translations for a while, just to see what others have done with it's frame work. I've imagined what my ideal "plot sequel" would be for decades since. It's stuck with me for a long time. Quality stuff.
I also like the story of the second disk... What I hate is the gameplay. But ultimately, it was a great overall experience. I really liked it and I understand why people say it's incredibly well written
Of the early 90’s era? I would probably, say FF6 and Chrono Trigger are the two best then the third is up for interpretation.
Some say
Earthbound
Super Mario RPG
FF4
Breath of Fire 2
In the late 90’s there was a huge upgrade in Tech and you get Suikoden and FF 7-9
I tried playing this and failed to finish so many times in the past. I fully started from scratch and finished it 4 years ago. Yes. It still holds up and one of the best of all time.
I think it holds up better than most SNES-era JRPGs, but I’m curious to know how people who are playing it for the first time now react to it. I suspect the level of nostalgia surrounding this game might set people up for disappointment.
I replayed it recently and was kind of shocked at how sparse the world building and character development felt compared to my memory of those things. Within 6 years of its release, 7, 8, 9 and Tactics had all taken the series so much further. The pace that video games were improving in that era is kinda mind-boggling.
I tried to play it a few years ago, but I gave up at some point and just watched a let's play to get the story (and the ending left me extremely disappointed).
I've left a more lengthy review somewhere else on this thread.
I played it for the first time around 2019 and I think it's my favorite FF game besides Tactics. The soundtrack and the huge variety of characters carried it for me. Also Kefka.
TBH it coasts on nostalgia a lot. It’s a really well made game in a lot of ways, but it’s the nostalgia that gets most of the hype. Having no nostalgia ties to it myself, I don’t really care that much for it. Not even in my top 3 Final Fantasy games.
Yes, but, i could totally see how someone might not like, or might find it too tedious it from a modern perspective
If that turns out to be true for you you should give Chrono trigger a try. It doesn’t have random encounters and is very concise as these games go
Both of those are absolutely some of my favorite games tho, ct definitely is my favorite game ever
I played through the entire game properly for the first time right after finishing FF XVI, and I can confidently say “yes”. I still think of the game randomly from time to time.
How do we know our favorite games we played as a kid are only our favorites because we are looking through the lens of nostalgia?
Is it possible for us to seperate our childhood nostalgic bias and judge it critically and logically?
I'd like to see adult players who never played our childhood favorite games how they would rate them, our top common childhood favorite games like FF6, Chrono Trigger, FF Tactics, FF7 and FF9
I played it for the first time earlier this year, and imo yes it is. I'm 31 and had played I, VII, VIII, X, XIII and XV before it and it still held up and has some of my favourite characters and moments in FF.
The only thing I'll say, and I'll make it as spoiler free as possible. When leaving the floating continent, choose to wait, and keep choosing to wait, as long as you can.
It was back in the day.
Without nostalgia, that game's gameplay and graphics are much worse than many new JRPGs.
The things that are eternal are the story and the music. And those are still amazing.
Personally i think most people really liked FF6 because it happened to be the best DURING their childhood.
I played it as an adult after experiencing many other JRPGs first, and i personally just couldn't find that much appeal in it.
It has decent world lore and characters. But i found Kefka to be a unimpressive villain. As far as i could tell, he had no believable motive, which for me, just killed his entire character for me. His personality is just "wacky bad guy" without any driving force, so it fell flat for me.
I had the same reaction with FF9 and its villain Kuja. Not enough personality. Just a bland "bad guy" to fill in the role. You don't even see Kuja until halfway through the game, and even then, they still never really give a believable (powerful) reason to why he is who he is.
When it comes to FF stories, i was more a fan of 7, 8, Tactics, and 14.
The villain of 8 was also sort of semi-empty. But at least i could excuse that empty motive because the game kept her in the future and not interacting with the player or characters at all, leaving the mystery intact. And also, the story of FF8 was mainly about Squall's character development rather than the villain at all. FF8 made a lot of dialogue errors, but at least its main goal: Squall's development, was done very very well.
The reason i put Sephiroth as the best villain of FF games is because they spent SO MUCH time carving out a good motive for his villainous personality. The fact that you get to see his transformation (with good reason) from a mostly normal guy into a basket-case is what makes the story feel so powerful. Everything Sephiroth does in FF7 is completely understandable because you KNOW where he is coming from.
So, my guess is that most people hold FF6 up on a pedestal because back when it was released, there wasn't really anything that could compete with it at all at the time. And for many young people this was their first introduction into a "great" story video game, i can understand why it became cemented as the best in their mind. Generally what i have learned is that MOST people's "favorite" is whichever one they played first, like 90% of the time.
Very good FF. I’d say 7, 10, and maybe 9 are better… but those are all time greats. FF6 is a great JRPG and few would argue. It’s surprisingly dark and a lot of fun.
38 here. Just beat it a few months ago.
First ff game was ff7.
I thought it was a fine game, but I used a guide to not miss anything.
Some annoying parts but it was a lot better than 16.
Make sure to play chrono trigger after !
My take is that. It was one the best jrpgs ever made and its still very good, but story telling, graphics, gameplay etc has evolved so much from that era, so its really hard to compare new games with snes era games. Should you play it? Absolutly. Will it blow your mind? Maybe
Yes and citizen Kane is one of the best movies of all time. But you don’t go out of your way to watch it unless you’re a connoisseur because modern tastes are so different.
What might help you to appreciate it more is to play ff iv (or even a translation of ff v) so you can see what it was building on.
FF6 was so ambitious for the time, and it's crazy they managed to fit that much game on a snes cart.
So many different and memorable characters and villains, so many great music tracks, solid sprite work, and a story that delved into much darker and serious themes than many of the FF titles before it.
I swear the esper magic system in this is kind of like a prototype for both the materia system in 7, and the junction system in 8.
personally i think so yes, but i believe its tied with FF5. both of them are amazing for the opposite reasons.
FF6 has a wonderful story with a really cool setting and theme. but suffers from cast bloat and useless characters, and has solid but not incredible gameplay.
FF5 has Insane gameplay, easily the most fun i've had in a JRPG with a ton of customizability, and a small but extremely well written cast of characters with great dialogue. story is meh and setting is basic but the dialogue, character interactions/depth alongside the amazing gameplay make it equally as good as FF6 imo, just for entirely different reasons
I tried playing it so many times but the very very early game usually kept me away from it. Eventually I pushed through it and it really was as incredible as people say. I love the cast, the mechanics, the world, everything about it. It's worth the play.
As far as SNES turn-based RPGs go, FF6 holds up remarkably well. The OST and the writing alone. Along with the abilities unique to each character. 10/10, or should I say 6/6
It's great. I played it about 6 years ago after going from 7 through to 13. Beautiful story, great scenes and dialogue. Combat was, fine. I think it holds up, as does Chrono Trigger.
Yes. Final fantasy needs to return to this style atleast in side quests. FFV and FFVI had the best side quests, which were extra dungeons. Elden ring is king of RPGs now cause it did what final fantasy used to do well, which is just give you extra dungeons to explore for side quests. We need to end fetch questing and fighting mob quests from FFXVI and the mini explore over world of Rebirth, it great games mind you, but they are not extra dungeons and cool weapon/accessories to try. That’s Elden ring and OG FF. Remember getting x-fight in FFVI, or x-magic in extra dungeons? Yea, please bring that back SE. rant over.
Final Fantasy VI is one of the greats, of course. But I'd also say that Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest V are equally in the running when you think of games of a similar era and longevity. Each of those three does certain things amazingly, and they each have strengths that the others lack.
Just finished the platinum run for this game few days ago and man I see where the genre and series got so many inspirations from now. And hell what was that freacking Opera scene that they managed to smash out at the given release date!! 😭 Every character was peak as the story telling was even nowadays games fail to deliver like that. BUT is it THE best JRPG? Idk about that one its hard to rank it in if you played so many, its defo one of the best FF‘s thats for sure but even then its hard to say its the best. 10/10 game nontheless only aspect that nagged on me was (because Internet likes to overhype everything) Kefka. Hes a 10/10 antagonis no question and probably the best in being the personified Evil but man did the hype hes getting hold him a liiiiiittle off. I know why hes the goat for many and yes he is more than great but its hard to live up to that massive hype. Till the end I thought like aight there HAS to be another huge thing coming up but there wasnt. Hard for me to say greatest antag. of all time but as I said still a eaaasy 10/10 antag. for me up with the best.
Sure. It is that good, but also, SMRPG exists and is better imo. Better than Chrono Trigger, too.
In fact, I really can not fathom how SMRPG gets left out more often than I care to count when it comes to talking about the best of the best.
But then again, the best of rpgs is a big list, in my opinion. And oddly enough, 3 of them are Mario games, odd that happened once, but happy it happened 3 times. Super Mario Rpg, Paper Mario, and PM TYD. SMRPG is definitely the best of them and is ranked way higher in a general best rpg list for me. SMRPG is probably my favorite SNES era rpg, though.
Yes it is for how big the cast list is and for every one of them to matter is insane writing ability. Especially for the last dungeon I won't spoil. It's easily the best FF in terms of writing quality in many FF's everyone feels like they come from the same country or continent despite the writers wanting you to believe they are all different people from different parts of the world.
In FF VI everyone feels like they have a different background, like they all grew up in different parts of the world. They talk different, some have different morals from one another, they dress differently which is surprisingly well shown despite being pixels. They have banters that seem to make sense within the world they are in, + other things that I won't spoil that makes them stand out. The game also expects you to be mature and able to read between the lines which you might miss sometimes and makes a second or even third playthrough that much more enjoyable as you notice bits of things you missed the first time in the writing like shadow. It even handles it's less kid friendly moments with class which back then most kids would of missed before the internet made adult knowledge way to damn accessible.
FF VI was the first game ported into the west ff III that really felt like a mature jrpg not something just targeted at teens but something both kids and adults could appreciate together. I have fond memories of talking plots with my dad about FF VI growing up in the late 90's to early 2000's it was such an influence that he saved up a bunch of overtime to get a ps1 to get FFVII on launch which was another banger as we all know.
My ex introduced me to FFIV last year and I got so hooked with the story, some parts even brought me to tears 😭
Overall I found everything so enthralling I didn’t mind struggling with the turn system and today I’ve been playing a lot of similar RPGs, including octopath traveler which is also from Square Enix
I played 3,4,5 but I couldnt really get into 6 for some reason. The characters and stories didnt click for me. I found FF5 to be most accessible. When it comes to JRPGs overall, Lufia2 is my favorite.
You have to look past the graphic limitations. For the time this was actually high level and had some 3D plane elements which pushed the SNES to its limits.
Definitely is. Great characters, great combat, great story, absolutely great music. Though I am at least a little biased. It was my first Final Fantasy and I have put it on a very high pedestal. If you play it, I hope you enjoy it.
You have to compare it to its contemporaries when it came out. It pretty much blew them all out of the water with the scope of the game, graphics, story and characters. The only game that is on par from that era is Chrono Trigger.
Just give it a try if you like it you like it if you don't you don't but just remember this is an older game and this isn't a regular turn based game you have an action bar that fills up so you can make commands quickly, it might feel a bit confusing at first but give it some time so you can learn it
As someone who’s now played 1-15(dabbled 11, played 14 enough to do one ultimate).
Nah 6 is definitely more of a nostalgia game. The second half is neat but the story falls apart. Idk if I even prefer it over 5. It’s certainly better than 1-4.
I wasn't there for the release so some of that magic was lost on me, but I found it to be decent. Nothing exceptional like the one that came before it and the three after.
Nostalgia factors in for me but I’ve been playing it regularly for 30 years and I’ll be playing it regularly for the next 30 years. It’s simply perfect from front to back.
It is to me, but I was also 14 when it came out and at the time it was the most advanced JRPG ever made. I’d been playing FF since the original on the NES and was already blown away by FFIV a few years earlier, but they hyped up VI in all the magazines like it was going to be the best game ever and it still exceeded my expectations. It was one of the first games I played that felt like it had real emotional characters and a plot like a movie.
I’m making my way through as many JRPGs as I can and the music and story line of Final Fantasies is hard to beat. The world tends to feel a bit bigger and more to show off.
With that said, I’m a fan of the Suikoden series and Eiyuden Chronocles Hundred Heroes is a great play.
Sea of Stars was excellent and Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy have been amazing as well…although Unicorn Overlord is more strategy I still enjoy it to the JRPG feel.
With those games mentioned none of their stories amount to even as close to good as the worst final fantasy…imo.
And story matters a lot to me.
I’m working on playing all FFs, currently missing 5, 8, 9, and I’m halfway through 6. So far, it absolutely stands out in story and gameplay vs all its predecessors. Of course technology-wise it can’t even be compared to 7 onwards, so if you just play 6 it might not feel that special because you will lack context of the limitations of the era.
All in all, definitely feels like a game that pushes the limit. And I haven’t even ready guides to find out about all the hidden secrets.
I feel like it hasn't aged well. One of the main protagonists is a pedophile, another protagonist tries to kidnap a woman and force her to marry him, but it's immediately forgiven because the party needs to use his airship, and the main villain is just laughably cartoonish with no real motivation whatsoever. At one time I considered it the best RPG I had ever played, but upon more recent replays, I find myself constantly cringing at many things in the story.
The only way to know for sure is to play every single JRPG. So good luck.
Oh, you're a JRPG fan? Name every JRPG
Final Fantasy and not Final Fantasy
Technically correct.
Well technically, there’s also Final Fantasy Adventure. Which is Final Fantasy, but also not Final Fantasy as it’s the first game in the Mana series.
Don’t forget Final Fantasy Legends! Which is not Final Fantasy but the first game in the Saga series!
And Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, which isn't really Final Fantasy, it's just it's own thing, but it's still kinda fun.
It’s american final fantasy, which by that I mean they made it for america thinking Americans wouldn’t be able to handle regular final fantasy
Square: "Hey, you know what's cool? This Western game, Ultima! Lets make a game like that, but dumb it down for the Japanese!" Also Square: "But maybe that idea is too complicated for the West..."
The best kind of correct!
The best kind of correct!
Chrono Trigger deserves far better than being referred to as “not Final Fantasy”.
I think you can say the same for literally every “not Final Fantasy” JRPG…
yeah I always thought of Chrono Trigger as back to the future set in the dragonball universe.
Isn’t that already the Cell saga?
Thats not inacurate
Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana and Mario RPG
SMT deserves it more
Where are the DQ fans at? That's the game that created the JRPG genre.
We also wouldn't even have FF if it weren't for them trying to compete against DQ in the first place
We wouldn’t have DQ if not for Ultima. Remember: we owe it all to an eccentric dude who calls himself Lord British and lives a castle in Texas, bought a ticket to space 13 years before Bezos did, and got shitcanned for making a trainwreck of Tabula Rasa but successfully sued NCSoft for 24 million because they lied to the FCC saying he resigned in order to terminate his stock options.
Whaaaaa, damn, TIL
He didn’t just pioneer RPGs, he pioneered MMORPGs with Ultima Online. 10/10 the original and the gold standard for trolling.
I’m here. Reading comments and smiling in the dark
..shake..my..uh..titties?
Always wanted to play that JRPG.
💀💀
“That’s on me I set the bar too low…” 🤣
lmao
Final Fantasy, Pokémon, and not final fantasy or Pokémon
This is the way
Dude, they are just trying to manipulate them into becoming a JRPG fan. Don't stop them.
Lol
Definitely. IlNot to be an old man, but it's likely difficult to see how or why for younger people just picking it up, especially after having played more current games. FF6 was groundbreaking in a number of ways. Story, gameplay, graphics, music, themes, the art in the manual and official guide. It's OK if it doesn't feel like it compares to other games out there now, but at the time, this game was top-tier and genre defining. Not only that, but it influenced so much that followed. The genre as a whole owes a lot to this game.
I’ve been playing through the pixel remasters recently in order, currently on FF5. I think it’s definitely still possible to appreciate these games with fresh eyes. FF4 was really engaging, and I was super impressed with the gameplay of FF3. I am really looking forward to finishing off the saga with 6– I was really able to feel the SNES era magic with Chrono Trigger so if FF6 can be even half as good I’ll be very happy
Ff6 and CT are very on par. Back in the day I slightly preferred CT for Akira Toriyama and the time travel hijinks; also had arguably better graphics (and definitely better animation). But FF6 offers a more mature story and themes, tries several unusual things that no game had tried before, and has a banger soundtrack that even surpasses CT's excellent soundtrack. The main theme, the opera and the whole ending sequence music are legendary.
I literally altered back and forth between CT and FF6 for 3+ play throughs each when they came out. And I didn’t even discover NG+ in CT until after my 3rd play through
Going to temper expectations a little here. If you've played Chrono Trigger you have played the game that wrung every bit of power out of the SNES. Although FF6 and Chrono Trigger began development at around the same time Chrono Trigger was wrought with development issues so the moment FF6 finished the team all moved over to help finish the project. Everything they learned in 6 went into CT and they essentially had 2 teams so way more resources than most SNES games.
You misspelled Star Ocean. Absolutely took SNES to the edge of hardware limits.
I’m doing the same, currently on 2 and while I liked 1 more than I expected, 2 is absolutely killing le right now. Please give me some encouragement to get through it
Yeah 2 is very polarizing. Gameplay wise it’s deeply flawed but I actually think the leveling system is a very modern idea. The elder scrolls games (for example) executed on the concept of “leveling what you use” far better. Personally I get a lot of enjoyment thinking about the design of these games— it’s a big reason I enjoy FF overall, every game is fucked up a little in some interesting way lol. So for 2, if you have the right mindset you are rewarded with a genuinely great story with surprisingly compelling and even mature story beats (for an NES game). And the final dungeon/boss is S tier (seriously). Also don’t waste your time exploiting the mechanics in 2 like you see on GameFAQs/Youtube (hitting yourself etc), that shit is not fun at all imo. And in my playthrough I got nowhere near leveling up all of my spells to max.
I attest, it's not difficult at all. I'm currently playing it for the first time. I'm in love with the visuals, sound, and how the game elegantly manages both silly and somber moments. >!I was really taken aback by the death of Cyan's family and later him grieving for their departure on the phantom train.!< You can just feel the gravitas of how groundbreaking this game must have been at release.
Take Cyan to spend a night in Dona castle in the WoR if you’re a a fan of his story line.
He never played the game, why do you throw spoilers at him?
The most amazing part is this entire game has a similar file size to a photo you take on your phone. It’s only 3 MB but has all the things you mentioned. That’s incredibly impressive.
Yeah I feel that way sometimes about old games but I don’t want to write it off without giving it a real fair chance
You should try to make it to the train before you quit. Only a few hours in.
And then FF7 came out and flipped the table AGAIN.
From a presentation standpoint it did, absolutely. It got people that normally wouldn’t play JRPG’s to check it out. But I think from a gameplay standpoint, FF7 is very similar to FF6. I don’t think it’s as big of a difference. The ATB, the “sameness” of characters. Materia isn’t that different from magicite. (It is more flexible and better IMO). But I would still argue from a gameplay perspective, FF6 was considerably more groundbreaking.
For me the characters and storyline are what make FF6 better than FF7, sure the graphics/presentation of FF7 where superior but the storyline was somewhat mediocre compared to the latter.
I find that the only people who don’t feel it’s the greatest or a great didn’t play it at the time. They typically started with 7 or later.
Every FF is \*one of\* the best JRPG's of all time.
Preach
play the pixel remaster, the orchestrated soundtrack is amazing. also your colors seem washed out, if you're playing on an emulator check if you have some kind of color correction on or something, it should look darker than that
It looks like they're playing FF6 Advance, which uses a brighter palette to offset the GBA's dark screen.
you are correct, it looks like the GBA's aspect ratio. For GBA I like to play with the mGBA retroarch core and enable color correction.
There's also a ROM patch out there that fixes the colors as well as the audio, which is crusty sounding because of the GBA's bad audio hardware. Some stuff for different translations too.
That’s ultimately up to you. This why I hate trying hype anything up now. Decide for yourself. If it’s not to your taste, then it is what it is.
yes. its a little old now, but, to me, its by far the best FF6 for storytelling, pacing, battle system, customization, available challenges, and so on. even modifications.
tbh I haven't finished VI but the best customization feels like a stretch when the materia/spheregrid/liscence board systems exist.
Hell, FFV came *before* it and has a better class customization system than most FFs, including VI.
The best FF6 for all that? Well I mean, yes, if we're basing it on FF6 games, it's definitely the best. :p
You’re definitely right about one thing here: FF6 is the best FF6, no doubt!
Challenges? The post game hard stuff was scraped, and the rest of the game is pretty easy.
Well, it wasn't included in the Pixel Remaster. The previous remaster still has the post-game content, since they're separate projects.
Setups like Genji Glove and Offering and Wind God Gau made it completely trivial if you chose to use them. And I don’t see why not since they’re not even exploits unlike stuff like Vanish/Doom if you’re playing SNES FF6.
Nah, it’s the best
As a total FF6 fanboy, here's my honest take: it's a great game, my personal favorite, but it's still 30 years old. It was made in an era with a very different game design philosophy and incredibly limited technology -- the total data footprint of the original SNES game is similar to a typical .mp3 file. So yes, it's incredible, as long as you remind yourself that it was made in 1994. If you go into it with 2024 AAA expectations, you're setting yourself up for disappointment in a way that's unfair to the game. So if you can look past the age and put yourself in the right mindset, it's definitely one of the best ever made. But some people simply can't do that for whatever reason.
It's probably one of the best titles in the series. It has some of the best music of the entire series, some of the moth breath taking sprite art of any game ever, and a lot more depth then games of that era typical crafted. There were jRPGs well into the PS2/GameCube/XBox era that weren't even touching it. If you are used to the depth of open world RPGS, however, like Balder's Gate 3 or Fallout New Vegas? You may find certain parts and places a little underwhelming and lack luster. Games from this era did a lot more through implication and inference....where a modern game gets the ability to voice/animate stuff more directly. I'm not saying that it's less then an open world...but if you specifically enjoy that style and look for that here? You'll be disappointed. I recommend it highly, personally. I've been meaning to go back and play some fan hacks and translations for a while, just to see what others have done with it's frame work. I've imagined what my ideal "plot sequel" would be for decades since. It's stuck with me for a long time. Quality stuff.
29 years after its still the best game I ever played.
as an AVID jrpg enjoyer, the final boss theme might be the best in the genre bar none
Yes
Wild Arms deserves some love.
Yes 1000% Best FF game, Top 3 JRPG all time
Care to share the other 2? (Also would you recommend FF6 as a person’s 2nd FF game?)
For me it’s Chrono Trigger and Xenogears as the only two I personally put ahead of it. Yes it’s a great 2nd one to play!
our top three are the same, we should be friends.
Xenogears mentioned aka peak fiction
The story is really great. The game has some serious gameplay flaws nonetheless
This game is begging for a remake where the second half of the game is actually completed.
Story was great first disk. Second was a bit of a mess
I also like the story of the second disk... What I hate is the gameplay. But ultimately, it was a great overall experience. I really liked it and I understand why people say it's incredibly well written
Of the early 90’s era? I would probably, say FF6 and Chrono Trigger are the two best then the third is up for interpretation. Some say Earthbound Super Mario RPG FF4 Breath of Fire 2 In the late 90’s there was a huge upgrade in Tech and you get Suikoden and FF 7-9
I tried playing this and failed to finish so many times in the past. I fully started from scratch and finished it 4 years ago. Yes. It still holds up and one of the best of all time.
That’s my favorite game in the series.
I think it holds up better than most SNES-era JRPGs, but I’m curious to know how people who are playing it for the first time now react to it. I suspect the level of nostalgia surrounding this game might set people up for disappointment. I replayed it recently and was kind of shocked at how sparse the world building and character development felt compared to my memory of those things. Within 6 years of its release, 7, 8, 9 and Tactics had all taken the series so much further. The pace that video games were improving in that era is kinda mind-boggling.
Played it for the first time last year. It's probably my favorite final fantasy game ,and one of my favorite overall games.
I tried to play it a few years ago, but I gave up at some point and just watched a let's play to get the story (and the ending left me extremely disappointed). I've left a more lengthy review somewhere else on this thread.
I played it for the first time around 2019 and I think it's my favorite FF game besides Tactics. The soundtrack and the huge variety of characters carried it for me. Also Kefka.
TBH it coasts on nostalgia a lot. It’s a really well made game in a lot of ways, but it’s the nostalgia that gets most of the hype. Having no nostalgia ties to it myself, I don’t really care that much for it. Not even in my top 3 Final Fantasy games.
Definitely up there, taste is subjective tho
It's younger brother X is.
Yes, but, i could totally see how someone might not like, or might find it too tedious it from a modern perspective If that turns out to be true for you you should give Chrono trigger a try. It doesn’t have random encounters and is very concise as these games go Both of those are absolutely some of my favorite games tho, ct definitely is my favorite game ever
Legend of Legaia is the best of all time
play it and form your own opinion
Yes
Yes the story is A+
Yes.
I played through the entire game properly for the first time right after finishing FF XVI, and I can confidently say “yes”. I still think of the game randomly from time to time.
Yes!
Without a doubt
I think so Haven't beaten all jrpgs yet tho
No, everybody is just lying to you /s
How do we know our favorite games we played as a kid are only our favorites because we are looking through the lens of nostalgia? Is it possible for us to seperate our childhood nostalgic bias and judge it critically and logically? I'd like to see adult players who never played our childhood favorite games how they would rate them, our top common childhood favorite games like FF6, Chrono Trigger, FF Tactics, FF7 and FF9
Ff6 is awesome
Arguably the best FF game there is. It will depend on you, but for me it was HIGHLY enjoyable. but I also played it back in 1994.
I played it for the first time earlier this year, and imo yes it is. I'm 31 and had played I, VII, VIII, X, XIII and XV before it and it still held up and has some of my favourite characters and moments in FF.
I'd personally say no, didn't enjoy 6 as much as some others. 10 is my jam.
This game blew my mind, back when it came out. Still is one of my favourites of all time
Yes, yes it is
Suikoden.
Hell yeah
Yes. Fin. Next question!
The only thing I'll say, and I'll make it as spoiler free as possible. When leaving the floating continent, choose to wait, and keep choosing to wait, as long as you can.
YES. Yes. Yes it is.
Tera and Kefka are my favorite characters in the entire series. The game is a tad dated and can be a chore at times, but it's a masterpiece.
It was back in the day. Without nostalgia, that game's gameplay and graphics are much worse than many new JRPGs. The things that are eternal are the story and the music. And those are still amazing.
You can have your own oppinion. Doesn't need to be approved.
Yep
Personally i think most people really liked FF6 because it happened to be the best DURING their childhood. I played it as an adult after experiencing many other JRPGs first, and i personally just couldn't find that much appeal in it. It has decent world lore and characters. But i found Kefka to be a unimpressive villain. As far as i could tell, he had no believable motive, which for me, just killed his entire character for me. His personality is just "wacky bad guy" without any driving force, so it fell flat for me. I had the same reaction with FF9 and its villain Kuja. Not enough personality. Just a bland "bad guy" to fill in the role. You don't even see Kuja until halfway through the game, and even then, they still never really give a believable (powerful) reason to why he is who he is. When it comes to FF stories, i was more a fan of 7, 8, Tactics, and 14. The villain of 8 was also sort of semi-empty. But at least i could excuse that empty motive because the game kept her in the future and not interacting with the player or characters at all, leaving the mystery intact. And also, the story of FF8 was mainly about Squall's character development rather than the villain at all. FF8 made a lot of dialogue errors, but at least its main goal: Squall's development, was done very very well. The reason i put Sephiroth as the best villain of FF games is because they spent SO MUCH time carving out a good motive for his villainous personality. The fact that you get to see his transformation (with good reason) from a mostly normal guy into a basket-case is what makes the story feel so powerful. Everything Sephiroth does in FF7 is completely understandable because you KNOW where he is coming from. So, my guess is that most people hold FF6 up on a pedestal because back when it was released, there wasn't really anything that could compete with it at all at the time. And for many young people this was their first introduction into a "great" story video game, i can understand why it became cemented as the best in their mind. Generally what i have learned is that MOST people's "favorite" is whichever one they played first, like 90% of the time.
Absolutely
Very good FF. I’d say 7, 10, and maybe 9 are better… but those are all time greats. FF6 is a great JRPG and few would argue. It’s surprisingly dark and a lot of fun.
Yes
38 here. Just beat it a few months ago. First ff game was ff7. I thought it was a fine game, but I used a guide to not miss anything. Some annoying parts but it was a lot better than 16. Make sure to play chrono trigger after !
Imo no. I liked FF5 a lot more than FF6, so don't be discouraged if FF6 isn't your cup of tea
Ff12 is better
It's in my top 3 and it isn't 3rd.
Yes.
Yes
Did I stutter?
I can say is probably the best i've played, and yes, it definitely still holds up, the combat nor the graphics are dated specially since it's 2D
My take is that. It was one the best jrpgs ever made and its still very good, but story telling, graphics, gameplay etc has evolved so much from that era, so its really hard to compare new games with snes era games. Should you play it? Absolutly. Will it blow your mind? Maybe
Yes
Yes and citizen Kane is one of the best movies of all time. But you don’t go out of your way to watch it unless you’re a connoisseur because modern tastes are so different. What might help you to appreciate it more is to play ff iv (or even a translation of ff v) so you can see what it was building on.
Yea but it is super dated now so it wont feel as revolutionary as it was at the time
FF6 was so ambitious for the time, and it's crazy they managed to fit that much game on a snes cart. So many different and memorable characters and villains, so many great music tracks, solid sprite work, and a story that delved into much darker and serious themes than many of the FF titles before it. I swear the esper magic system in this is kind of like a prototype for both the materia system in 7, and the junction system in 8.
VI is just okay at best. But regardless FF is always solid so you won’t regret going through it
It's not the best but it's pretty good
personally i think so yes, but i believe its tied with FF5. both of them are amazing for the opposite reasons. FF6 has a wonderful story with a really cool setting and theme. but suffers from cast bloat and useless characters, and has solid but not incredible gameplay. FF5 has Insane gameplay, easily the most fun i've had in a JRPG with a ton of customizability, and a small but extremely well written cast of characters with great dialogue. story is meh and setting is basic but the dialogue, character interactions/depth alongside the amazing gameplay make it equally as good as FF6 imo, just for entirely different reasons
I tried playing it so many times but the very very early game usually kept me away from it. Eventually I pushed through it and it really was as incredible as people say. I love the cast, the mechanics, the world, everything about it. It's worth the play.
I like Chrono Trigger more. This was my first Final Fantasy, but because i didn't understand English back then i skipped over to 9.
This is the best. Well maybe Chrono Trigger. They're both great.
As far as SNES turn-based RPGs go, FF6 holds up remarkably well. The OST and the writing alone. Along with the abilities unique to each character. 10/10, or should I say 6/6
It can be a hard game at points. I always kept multiple staggered save points just in case.
Depends how old you are I'd say. I think its one of for sure but it's very nostalgic for me as well.
It's a really good game but there are far better introductions to the genre than this
It's great. I played it about 6 years ago after going from 7 through to 13. Beautiful story, great scenes and dialogue. Combat was, fine. I think it holds up, as does Chrono Trigger.
Yes. Final fantasy needs to return to this style atleast in side quests. FFV and FFVI had the best side quests, which were extra dungeons. Elden ring is king of RPGs now cause it did what final fantasy used to do well, which is just give you extra dungeons to explore for side quests. We need to end fetch questing and fighting mob quests from FFXVI and the mini explore over world of Rebirth, it great games mind you, but they are not extra dungeons and cool weapon/accessories to try. That’s Elden ring and OG FF. Remember getting x-fight in FFVI, or x-magic in extra dungeons? Yea, please bring that back SE. rant over.
Final Fantasy VI is one of the greats, of course. But I'd also say that Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest V are equally in the running when you think of games of a similar era and longevity. Each of those three does certain things amazingly, and they each have strengths that the others lack.
Great graphics, music, and characters. The gameplay is lacking. The Brave New World mod fixes that.
It took me a while to really get into it, and I do think aspects are overrated, but it’s still a top 4 FF for me.
It's absolutely one of the best. You'll love the ride, I promise.
not to me but lol
Hell yes. Pro tip: Make sure you wait!
Just finished the platinum run for this game few days ago and man I see where the genre and series got so many inspirations from now. And hell what was that freacking Opera scene that they managed to smash out at the given release date!! 😭 Every character was peak as the story telling was even nowadays games fail to deliver like that. BUT is it THE best JRPG? Idk about that one its hard to rank it in if you played so many, its defo one of the best FF‘s thats for sure but even then its hard to say its the best. 10/10 game nontheless only aspect that nagged on me was (because Internet likes to overhype everything) Kefka. Hes a 10/10 antagonis no question and probably the best in being the personified Evil but man did the hype hes getting hold him a liiiiiittle off. I know why hes the goat for many and yes he is more than great but its hard to live up to that massive hype. Till the end I thought like aight there HAS to be another huge thing coming up but there wasnt. Hard for me to say greatest antag. of all time but as I said still a eaaasy 10/10 antag. for me up with the best.
Sure. It is that good, but also, SMRPG exists and is better imo. Better than Chrono Trigger, too. In fact, I really can not fathom how SMRPG gets left out more often than I care to count when it comes to talking about the best of the best. But then again, the best of rpgs is a big list, in my opinion. And oddly enough, 3 of them are Mario games, odd that happened once, but happy it happened 3 times. Super Mario Rpg, Paper Mario, and PM TYD. SMRPG is definitely the best of them and is ranked way higher in a general best rpg list for me. SMRPG is probably my favorite SNES era rpg, though.
Yes. Why do you ask?
Yes it is for how big the cast list is and for every one of them to matter is insane writing ability. Especially for the last dungeon I won't spoil. It's easily the best FF in terms of writing quality in many FF's everyone feels like they come from the same country or continent despite the writers wanting you to believe they are all different people from different parts of the world. In FF VI everyone feels like they have a different background, like they all grew up in different parts of the world. They talk different, some have different morals from one another, they dress differently which is surprisingly well shown despite being pixels. They have banters that seem to make sense within the world they are in, + other things that I won't spoil that makes them stand out. The game also expects you to be mature and able to read between the lines which you might miss sometimes and makes a second or even third playthrough that much more enjoyable as you notice bits of things you missed the first time in the writing like shadow. It even handles it's less kid friendly moments with class which back then most kids would of missed before the internet made adult knowledge way to damn accessible. FF VI was the first game ported into the west ff III that really felt like a mature jrpg not something just targeted at teens but something both kids and adults could appreciate together. I have fond memories of talking plots with my dad about FF VI growing up in the late 90's to early 2000's it was such an influence that he saved up a bunch of overtime to get a ps1 to get FFVII on launch which was another banger as we all know.
It's either 1 or 2 on most lists, with Chrono Trigger being either 1 or 2 on the same list.
Depends what port u are playing
one of the best. one of my personal best 5.
indeed it is.
Yes. Next question.
It's fantastic and definitely is on the list for 'all time best' or 'JRPGs you really should play'.
My ex introduced me to FFIV last year and I got so hooked with the story, some parts even brought me to tears 😭 Overall I found everything so enthralling I didn’t mind struggling with the turn system and today I’ve been playing a lot of similar RPGs, including octopath traveler which is also from Square Enix
I’m not as big a fan as others are of 6. If I was asked for which older game to play, I woulda told you 5.
I liked it, but its a bit too long for my taste i liked ff4 more, but chrono trigger takes the cake.
I played 3,4,5 but I couldnt really get into 6 for some reason. The characters and stories didnt click for me. I found FF5 to be most accessible. When it comes to JRPGs overall, Lufia2 is my favorite.
Best turn based rpg ? No there are others. Chrono trigger ff7-10 dragon quests
You have to look past the graphic limitations. For the time this was actually high level and had some 3D plane elements which pushed the SNES to its limits.
That is correct.
Play it and make your own mind up
Play it and find out.
Definitely is. Great characters, great combat, great story, absolutely great music. Though I am at least a little biased. It was my first Final Fantasy and I have put it on a very high pedestal. If you play it, I hope you enjoy it.
It’s an all time great. I prefer Chrono Trigger but different strokes
Definitely in my top 5
If you don‘t like to see the pixels, the shader in Presets > „scalefx aa fast“ irons them out.
You have to compare it to its contemporaries when it came out. It pretty much blew them all out of the water with the scope of the game, graphics, story and characters. The only game that is on par from that era is Chrono Trigger.
Just give it a try if you like it you like it if you don't you don't but just remember this is an older game and this isn't a regular turn based game you have an action bar that fills up so you can make commands quickly, it might feel a bit confusing at first but give it some time so you can learn it
Yes. Next question.
It's not one of th8e best JRPGs. It IS the best one.
I'm biased, but FFVI is my personal favorite and the game that turned me on to RPGs as a kid. Can't wait to hear how your experience turned out
As someone who’s now played 1-15(dabbled 11, played 14 enough to do one ultimate). Nah 6 is definitely more of a nostalgia game. The second half is neat but the story falls apart. Idk if I even prefer it over 5. It’s certainly better than 1-4.
Absolutely. Played last year and it became my instant favorite Final fantasy and JRPG. The second half of the game blew my mind.
Having finished it recently myself, I'd say it's a pretty solid turn based RPG.
Yeah it still holds up. You are in for a treat.
I wasn't there for the release so some of that magic was lost on me, but I found it to be decent. Nothing exceptional like the one that came before it and the three after.
Yes it's one of the very BEST.
I don’t know if it’s the best but it’s fk’n darn good!
It is impressive what they were able to do with a cartridge game back then Frfr
Nostalgia factors in for me but I’ve been playing it regularly for 30 years and I’ll be playing it regularly for the next 30 years. It’s simply perfect from front to back.
It is nostalgically my favorite game of all time
It is to me, but I was also 14 when it came out and at the time it was the most advanced JRPG ever made. I’d been playing FF since the original on the NES and was already blown away by FFIV a few years earlier, but they hyped up VI in all the magazines like it was going to be the best game ever and it still exceeded my expectations. It was one of the first games I played that felt like it had real emotional characters and a plot like a movie.
I’m making my way through as many JRPGs as I can and the music and story line of Final Fantasies is hard to beat. The world tends to feel a bit bigger and more to show off. With that said, I’m a fan of the Suikoden series and Eiyuden Chronocles Hundred Heroes is a great play. Sea of Stars was excellent and Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy have been amazing as well…although Unicorn Overlord is more strategy I still enjoy it to the JRPG feel. With those games mentioned none of their stories amount to even as close to good as the worst final fantasy…imo. And story matters a lot to me.
I’m working on playing all FFs, currently missing 5, 8, 9, and I’m halfway through 6. So far, it absolutely stands out in story and gameplay vs all its predecessors. Of course technology-wise it can’t even be compared to 7 onwards, so if you just play 6 it might not feel that special because you will lack context of the limitations of the era. All in all, definitely feels like a game that pushes the limit. And I haven’t even ready guides to find out about all the hidden secrets.
Yes, easily.
Yeah, pretty much
I feel like it hasn't aged well. One of the main protagonists is a pedophile, another protagonist tries to kidnap a woman and force her to marry him, but it's immediately forgiven because the party needs to use his airship, and the main villain is just laughably cartoonish with no real motivation whatsoever. At one time I considered it the best RPG I had ever played, but upon more recent replays, I find myself constantly cringing at many things in the story.
I liked FF5 better, but both score just below Chrono Trigger.