Welcome to the first in what will hopefully be a long running series of bi-weekly megathreads about a specific game in the Final Fantasy franchise. While you’re free to discuss any of the games outside of this thread, please consider taking part in what could be a group conversation here. I’ve created some basic prompts for people to answer and use, so feel free to use them, or not use them at all.
So, without further ado, our first game…
Synopsis
Beings of pure magic once ruled the world with power and command. But power rarely leads to contentment… A dispute amongst these beings turned into an all-out war. Beasts of doom, known as Espers, were created and unleashed to do the bidding of their masters. This “War of the Magi” reduced the world to smoldering rubble. When it ended, the Espers were gone, as were most of the citizens of the world.
Many centuries have passed since the war. Civilizations have been rebuilt with iron, machines and technology. For years the Espers have existed only in ancient legends. Now, an Esper has been discovered and the forces of magic are beginning to return. The risk of another, more devastating war is growing. The future…
More…
Key Releases
- Nintendo SNES
- JP: April 2, 1994
- NA: October 11, 1994
- PlayStation
- JP: March 11, 1999
- NA: October 5, 1999
- PAL: March 1, 2002
- Game Boy Advance
- JP: November 30, 2006
- NA: February 5, 2007
- EU: July 6, 2007
- Pixel Remaster
- Android, iOS, Windows
- February 23, 2022
- Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
- April 19, 2023
- Android, iOS, Windows
Review Scores
| Site | SNES | PSX | GBA | Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metacritic | — | — | 92% | 91% |
Post Prompts
- Which character do you identify most with?
- Where do you rate this game among others in the franchise?
- Is there a piece of music that stands out for you?
- If there is one thing you would change, what is it?
- How many times do you think you’ve played this game?
The story of VI may be the best, but I would agree that the esper system isn’t that great. It is well connected to the story, which is is nice, but otherwise it is a bit simple. Although compared to how dumbed down modern games are, it’s pretty interesting. The importance of the stat effects of the espers is a bit too subtle, though. And tying the effect to level ups makes the optimal strategy include a lot of tedious juggling. Of course, the game is balanced fine for all this being ignored, so it’s the players fault for optimizing the fun out of it. Still, I think it would be better if, for example, the stat gains would arise incrementally from overflowing AP, such that keeping a STR-attuned esper equipped after you have learned all spells from it would increase STR.
On the other hand I love how distinct each character is mechanically, and how parts of their mechanical development are tied to their “companion quests”. There is a lot of pleasing ludonarrative consonance there.