About the Game: This game was made by Square, the same company that made Mario RPG, as well as all the other Final Fantasy games. They apparently know a lot about RPGs. This game came out in 1995 for the SNES, and a similar version came out for the PC. It was originally released only in Japan as Final Fantasy 3.
The Story: This is going to be very tough for me to write on. The storyline takes so many twists and turns that I can say hardly anything meaningful without giving away lots of secrets. So, I'm just going to have to tell as little as I can, basically what you know from the beginning. In this world, magic has been exterminated in the War of the Magi a thousand years ago, and technology is coming about. But, the Empire seeks to rediscover magic and take control of the world, despite its destructiveness. Espers seem to have some connection with magic, but what are they, and how are they connected to magic? All you know for now is that the Empire is searching high and low for them.
You start the game as two heavily armored Empire soldiers, Vicks and Wedge, who have a girl with them and are seeking an Esper reported in the mines in back of the town of Narshe. The girl is very powerful and, for some as yet unknown reason, knows some magic. The girl is an enemy of the Empire, but she is wearing the Slave Crown so she must obey. You control the trio for awhile and end up encountering the Esper. Vicks and Wedge are blown away, but the girl merely passes out. You later learn her name is Terra (you can name her something else if you like), and after she passes out you take control of another character, Locke, who seeks to rescue her.
Those two paragraphs told you practically nothing about the game. I'm sorry! As for how the game works, you will go through the world, figuring out what is going on, collecting party members, and dodging the Empire. You join up with the rebels for a while and eventually start collecting Magicite, dead Espers, which you can use to teach your party members all sorts of interesting moves, as well as boost their battle stats. And then, just when it looks like you're about ready for the final battle... well, let's just say, there's much more to go.
Important Characters: Again, it is hard to comment on them without giving away secrets, but I'll do the best I can.
Terra: She's the girl who is enslaved at the beginning. There's something odd about her, and her teammates are shocked to see her use some magic. Her secret? Ok, I'm not giving too too much away if I tell you she's a product of a Human and an Esper. You'll learn that fairly early in the game. Her special skills is to transform into her Esper form, which increases her power.
Locke: He's a thief- whoops, I mean, treasure hunter, who is plagued by a past in which he failed to save a girl who needed him. To make up for his past, he will protect Celes (below) at any cost. His special skill is stealing stuff from the opponent.
Edgar: The king of Figaro loves every woman he sees, and can be identified because he, apparently, is the only one in the world who can say, "My lady." He joins you after his city is sacked by the Empire, who is searching for Terra and learns that he is not actually their ally. His special skill is using nifty tools like Auto Crossbow.
Sabin: Edgar and Sabin are twins, which worked out great for me because I named Edgar LEMMY before I even knew that. Neither of them really wanted to be king after their father died, but Edgar got stuck with it and Sabin took off to make himself stronger. He's certainly succeeded, and he'll help you out with his powerful Blitzes.
Bannon: The leader of the rebels will join you for a short time. I wish he would hang around because he can heal everyone as his special skill. However, if he dies, that part of the mission is a failure.
Shadow: This guy is interested only in his well being. According to the game, he would kill his own mother for a nickel... I named him BOWSER. He joins you when it is convenient for him, and leaves when he likes. Sometimes his dog also helps out in the fight. Sorry, I can't remember what his special move is. In the end he shows a soft side, but will it cost him his life?
Celes: She used to be a general for the Empire but has turned traitor after realizing what is going on. She is getting beaten by her guards, but is saved by Locke. She was instilled with some magic at birth, and can help out by absorbing magic attacks sent at the party. Cyan (below) takes a while before he trusts her, and at several points in the game the Empire tries convince her that she is still on their side and double crossing Terra and the others. She comes through for her real friends every time,
Gau: He lives by himself on the plains. I was tricked into calling him LUDWIG because the game said he was clever, but he doesn't even know proper English. He's my least favorite member of the party because he can't attack and has to use his Rage technique to copy a baddie he's seen before. Not really very strong, but he does know some useful stuff. He's very wreckless.
Cyan: This guy, with the strength of a whole slew of men, has a bone to pick with the Empire because they poisoned his entire city (except him somehow), including his wife and child. It takes some doing to get him to calm down enough to have him join you. Once he does, he'll make himself useful with his powerful Sword Techniques. The guy is subject to really dangerous nightmares.
Setzer: This gambler is weird. You encounter him as he is trying to kidnap an opera diva, but in actuality you have replaced the real diva with Celes, making for an interesting scene. He doesn't want to help you at first but he loses a coin toss thanks to Celes' trick (heads he helps Celes, tails Celes will marry him), so then he has to help. His special skill is playing the slots, which could result in any number of things, but you need him because he's the only one who owns a flying ship. His past is plagued by the loss of his girlfriend, I believe.
Strago: Though he doesn't want to admit it, this old man knows some magic. That's because his village never actually lost all of it a thousand years ago, although they have become weaker since. He is forced to disclose his secret when a house gets set on fire because his granddaughter is inside. He can use Lore to copy strong enemy techniques at will.
Relm: The mischievous granddaughter of Strago, who is never afraid to speak her mind, is always getting herself into trouble. After rescuing her from the burning house, Strago joins the party and Relm wants to as well. Strago says no, but Relm follows them anyway. You can see her following, but the party doesn't seem to notice... good thing she's not an enemy. After proving herself, she earns herself a spot in the party. She Sketches pictures of her enemies, which somehow hurts them. She offers to draw a picture of Strago, who gets frightened. She really likes Shadow's dog. Wow, I wrote a lot on such a little kid!
General Leo: Likes Celes, Leo is a general for the Empire. He doesn't quite turn traitor, but he doesn't embrace the Empire's tactics either. He refuses to resort to magic or brutality, preferring to use old fashioned battle strategies. At least he fights fair. At the end he realized the Empire has tricked him and he takes on Kefka but... well, let me leave it as he ends up unable to join your party.
Mog: Mog is a mystical creature called a Moogle. He's not supposed to be able to speak English, but times are desperate. His biggest role is allowing you to get another party member, Umaro. He can Dance during battle, and hopefully he won't trip and stumble. If he doesn't, it can do a number of useful things.
Umaro: This guy is STRONG!!! The sasquatch doesn't speak much, and he can't use magic or special skills. You can't even choose what he does! That's ok, though, because he can only do one thing, and that's bash an enemy for MAJOR damage! If you don't find this guy, you'll be sorry.
Gogo: This is the last member who could join your party, but not mine, because I missed him... or her... actually, no one knows which. I'm told its very weird, and its obviously hard to find.
Ultross: This bad octopus will make life miserable for you on a number of occassions. But at the end, you get the last laugh. Despite how strong he is in battle, it takes him four minutes to push a 4-ton weight a couple of inches. You can do it in a few seconds!
Kefka: Never have I hated an enemy this much! Wait... well, there is Pokey from Earthbound. Hm, tough call. Anyway, I knew from the first time I saw him that I really needed to teach him a lesson, cuz he has a really evil laugh. He does all sorts of nasty things, but how far will he go? I wish I could name him like you can all the party members. I'd name him Idiot, or DumbDumb, or maybe even Mario... nah, not even Kefka deserves that.
Emperor Gestahl: As the ruler of the Empire, he, of course, is your main target and the final boss of the game... or is he? You'll just have to play and find out!
Whoo, I think that's a long enough introduction! And I didn't even say much of anything, because I am really restricted as to what I can say. Sorry about that, but if you really want to know more you should have no trouble finding an online walkthrough or discussion.
Anyway, on to the Review! I will be grading on a scale of seven because there are seven... uh... well... Fine, I admit it! I just like the seven point scale!
Storyline: 7+?
The storyline is so absolutely perfect that I have put it first in my list of categories. A perfect score is hardly good enough. The story, as I mentioned before, takes so many twists and turns that you just have no idea what is going to happen next. The story is misleadingly long, as there are many times when I thought the game was about to end. For example, at one point in the game I had visited every area on the map and was in one final place. The enemies were tough and it made me think of Smithy's factory from Mario RPG. At the end there was a boss who received different music from most bosses, and after him I saw Kefka and Emperor Gestahl, and I was sure that this was going to be it. Well, I'm not going to say what did happen, but that was not it, not by a long shot. Excellent, excellent story. Well done, Square!
Graphics: 7
No question about it. Square pushed the limits of the system, and made the game look really nice. Some parts of the game looked like they could have been for the N64. Granted, on the N64 the graphics here wouldn't receive a 7, but they could still be accepted without too much grumbling. Most of the game didn't look quite as good as that, but it sure wasn't shabby. Some of the magic moves you can use look brilliant.
Sound: 5
From a technical standpoint, the music is great. It is well varied, and very well themed. The sound effects also do the job, although I wish I wouldn't have to hear the noise for Mob stumbling quite so often. I took off points because none of the music files were so good that I would want to hum them, or anything like that. They were ok but not the best I've ever heard, despite their doing the job they need to.
Characters: 7
As you saw earlier, there are a whole slew of characters who join your party. There are many, many enemies, and lots of characters bumbling about. Many appear more than once in your adventure. One thing I like is that your party members aren't restrained to certain abilities. Any member in your party can learn any magic attack (your choice), and even characters that are supposed to have low HP or other stats can lead the party because you could give them an Esper that boosts that stat. If you find all the characters (some are optional), it gives you even more choices.
Items: 6
This game has many, many items. Some you can buy, many you have to find. There are items for all kinds of purposes. Each character can use up to six items at a time as well as an Esper, so you can really boost their abilities. I took off a point because your list of items is in no particular order, so when you get a new item and want to see what it can be used for it is very difficult to actually find it in your list. I wish it were alphabetical.
Field Mode: 6
This is the part of the game where you talk to characters, pick up items, and piece together the story. Really very good, with varied locations, lots of characters, surprises, funny stuff, and all kinds of other things. I took off a point because your party walks slowly unless someone is wearing something to speed them up, and you can only get one item to do that, so if your party is split into two or three groups some will have to go slowly. Oops! Did I just say the party splits up? Uh... no? Field Mode runs into Battle Mode when you walk enough paces to bring on a fight. Enemies don't appear onscreen, so the occurance of battles is random.
Battle Mode: 5
The graphics here are amazing, but that goes into the graphic section. You can do so many things on your turn, like attack, use an Esper (But I never figured out how to use an Esper to attack!), use any of your magic spells or an item, or use your character's special ability (which sometimes leads to another option list). I took off points because the battles can get confusing sometimes, and you really have to pay attention to what's going on. The problem is that all the party members are so different they're hard to control, plus you can never be sure which one you'll need to input a move for next. Sometimes the enemies are just really nasty too.
Length: 7
Although the game may look short at first, in the end it is actually very long. It took me over 40 hours to beat this game, so no one should be complaining that the game is too short. Not only did it take me 40 hours to beat but I also missed all kinds of things, which leads me to...
Replay Value: 7
Many players will be deterred from playing again because of how long the game is. Do you really have the time to spend another 40 hours playing the game through? Since it's an RPG, and therefore requires extensive training for your party members, you won't be all that much faster the second time. However, there are so many extras in this game that you may not be able to help yourself from playing again. I found ouit about a lot of stuff that I missed by looking through a walkthrough afterwards. For example, there are eight dragons hanging around, but I only killed seven of them. If I'd found the eighth, I'd have earned something cool. As I mentioned earlier, I completely missed Gogo. In my game, Shadow died and was gone for good, but you can save him. I missed tons of items and didn't find all the Espers, thus losing out on some really cool magic spells. I did find a lot of extra things... actually, finding Mog and Umaro are among them, but there is so much that I missed.
Difficulty: 3
The game had some problems here. Some parts of the game were actually incredibly easy, because your characters are really all very strong. However, despite their strengths, some areas and bosses were incredibly hard. I didn't like how the game varied so much in this regard, or that the game went so far towards both extremes at various times. Some more consistancy towards a manageable challenge would have been nice.
Ending: 5
I don't usually judge the ending, but the ending for this game was excellent. The graphics in it are quite possibly the best I've ever seen for the SNES, maybe even N64 worthy. It is very funny, and very long, and tells a lot. Why did I take off points then? I consider the final battle to be part of the ending, and the final battle was just really confusing. It had four parts, and before you start you have to decide an order for your party. The first four members fight, and if at the end of any of the first three parts of the final battle anyone is dead they will be replaced by the next party member in line. I dunno, it was just really weird and I never got the hang of what was going on, but I did manage to win anyway. I'm sure I would have been creamed but I ended up going to the final boss many levels higher than that strategy guide advised.
Fun Factor!: 7
Whoops, I nearly forgot this section! Once I got started, I never wanted to stop. Once in a while I would reach a relatively low point in the action and would be willing to take a break, and then I would be afraid to start up playing again unless I had a lot of free time coming because I knew it would trap me again. This game is lots of fun to play, except for a few annoying spots, mostly tough bosses, but when you get past them you feel great.
Recommendation:
Final Fantasy
6 is the last Final Fantasy game that was made for a Nintendo system, which
is a shame because it is a very popular series and I won't play any of
that Sega stuff. If you haven't played this game, you are missing out on
a great experience. Don't dare call yourself an RPG fan or expert if you
haven't played this game, unless you have a really good excuse... actually,
forget the excuse, just play. This game is funny, looks good, has an excellent
storyline, and will keep you busy for hours. Find it, get it, and play.
Don't forget to eat and sleep!