Is Final Fantasy VI worth playing?

[Reality]

Final Fantasy 6 has a 2 Player mode in the option menu.

Don't.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

One thing I remember about FF III (VI) was how it pushed the sound and video capabilities of my SNES console at the time. Was kind of startled to hear opera singers and other digitized and synthesized sounds I had never heard before in gaming. Also, the game was heavy story fag-oriented and kind of sentimental but seemed to emphasize the emotion of loss rather than any mawkish romantic feeling, which I appreciated since I despise traditional or romance-centric RPGs (or in any other game genre, like the recent Days Gone which is genuinely sickening sometimes in the sentimentality dept).

However, I incorrectly stated in my above post that it was probably the first turn-based RPG I played which is far from the truth. I had played about 3 of SSI's Gold Box games at least 3-4 years before FF VI. But at the end of the day, I tend to agree that it's a game I would probably never revisit and if my young self could send a message through the temporal flux up the line to my future self, I'd likely say: "Yo, oldbro! I'm enjoying myself now, but trust me on this one - you don't want to play Final Fantasy III past the age of 40 or maybe even 20."

 

[GhostCow]

Everyone always talks about that damn opera scene and how great it is. I think it's shit. It sounds like shit, it's boring, and it feels like it drags on forever. FFVI is absolutely the most overrated game in the series and possibly the most overrated game of all time that isn't some kind of mobileshit or similar shovelware.

 

[Cugel]

It still has one of the best stories in any JRPG but this is more of an indictment of JRPG stories than actual praise.

 

[GhostCow]

It still has one of the best stories in any JRPG but this is more of an indictment of JRPG stories than actual praise.

Big disagree. I can name a bunch of JRPGs with better stories just off the top of my head. FFVII (if you ignore the shitty translation), FF Tactics, FF Crisis Core, SMT Nocturne, Persona 4 and 5, Dragon Quest XI, any of the mainline Neptunia games. And that's just what I came up with in less than two minutes of thinking.

I don't have any problems with FFVI's story. It's fine. It's nothing great though. Many people praise the fact that

Spoiler

Kefka actually destroys the world

, but I get bored and quit the game not long after that every time.

 

[Higher Game]

Everyone always talks about that damn opera scene and how great it is. I think it's shit. It sounds like shit and it's boring. FFVI is absolutely the most overrated game in the series and possibly the most overrated game of all time that isn't some kind of mobileshit or similar shovelware.

1, 4, and 7 were the best of the series and I think it had to do with being the first games on a new system, so they had to be relatively conservative. The later games in a series within the same console always tend towards "full retard" experimentalism and avant-garde as developers get more experienced yet arrogant and egotistical, but the good ideas that come from this get used in the next generation.

The overrated trash of the mid 90's was Goldeneye and Ocarina of Time though.

 

[Cugel]

FFVII (if you ignore the shitty translation), FF Tactics, FF Crisis Core, SMT Nocturne, Persona 4 and 5, Dragon Quest XI, any of the mainline Neptunia games.

I would agree that Tactics, Nocturne and (maybe) Dragon Quest XI have a better story than FFVI but these games are also exceptional compared to the average trash that passes for a story in most JRPGs. But going by the fact that you named fucking Neptunia as an example of a good story I can tell our tastes are basically irreconcilable.

 

[GhostCow]

1, 4, and 7 were the best of the series and I think it had to do with being the first games on a new system, so they had to be relatively conservative. The later games in a series within the same console always tend towards "full retard" experimentalism and avant-garde as developers get more experienced yet arrogant and egotistical, but the good ideas that come from this get used in the next generation.

1 is amazing for it's time, but has some balance issues that keep it from being one of my favorites. Kind of lame that the best way to play the game is with a bunch of red mages. IV was the first I completed and I recognize that it's only one of my favorites because of that. It's really not very good from a gameplay or story standpoint. VII is my personal favorite. It had the best story and characters even if it had some flaws. You could do some pretty wild things with materia that I haven't seen done in any other games. The world of VII is the most interesting one they've created too.

The overrated trash of the mid 90's was Goldeneye and Ocarina of Time though.

Those are definitely overrated trash but I don't care about the opinion of people who play garbage like that anyway.

I would agree that Tactics, Nocturne and (maybe) Dragon Quest XI have a better story than FFVI but these games are also exceptional compared to the average trash that passes for a story in most JRPGs. But going by the fact that you named fucking Neptunia as an example of a good story I can tell our tastes are basically irreconcilable.

I didn't say it was good. I just said it was better than FFVI. At least Neptunia is funny.

 

[mogwaimon]

Tactics probably has one of the best stories told in a Final Fantasy game period to be fair...

I'm surprised to find myself agreeing with Ghostcow on the opera scene though. I was never a big fan of it even as a kid. To me that isn't even a big draw for the game, but meh. It's like personifying FF7 by the date scenes at the Gold Saucer or something.

everything else is 2edgy4me

 

[Cugel]

I think a lot of people automatically associate opera, classical music, etc with something being "deep" and feel like they have to like it. There's a lot of other sequences in the game that are way more memorable.

 

[The_Sloth_Sleeps]

Good points all.
So many friends(in the past) around me have gushed about FF I feared I was missing out on this masterpiece/experience, but when I look at screen shots FF looks well TBH...shit.
Indeed many take it personally if you don't immediately agree that its awesome even if you haven't played it (is this guy some kind of troll??? or....retard???).
I honestly have a difficult time consolidating the hype, of which this series has so much.

And out of interest whats the opera scene?

 

[Great Deceiver]

I think the comment that these games are only relevant if you played them as a kid and subsequently formed some sort of nostalgic bond is spot on.

FF6 is a good time waster, has some decent tunes, but as everyone else has said, it's the archetypical JRPG. If you're a grown ass man don't worry about missing out on anything. If you played it as a kid you'll get warm nostalgia feelings as you listen to the tunes again. That's about it.

 

[GhostCow]

And out of interest whats the opera scene?

This shit goes on for nearly 10 minutes

 

[mediocrepoet]

The Opera scene is so noted because of how great it was for the time and how it was relatively novel when it was first played on the SNES. It isn't surprising that it hasn't held up well over the years.

The most overrated FF game is 7. All the awful spinoffs, garbage movies, etc. for a ugly early 3D game that was more about watching cutscenes forever both for story as well as mid combat for whatever was being summoned. That game should be buried.

 

[GhostCow]

VII has too many haters to be overrated. I've noticed that pretty much everyone who hates it loves VI too. Also not all of the spinoffs are bad. Crisis Core is one of my favorite games of all time. It has a very likable main character and some good writing.

 

[mediocrepoet]

VII has too many haters to be overrated.

Yeah, I hear you. Like is One Winged Angel the best song ever or is it merely the greatest song of all time?

My favourite part is how deep Sephiroth and his 14' long sword is. And like when Aerith died? Omgholysmokes!!

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Everyone always talks about that damn opera scene and how great it is. I think it's shit. It sounds like shit, it's boring, and it feels like it drags on forever. FFVI is absolutely the most overrated game in the series and possibly the most overrated game of all time that isn't some kind of mobileshit or similar shovelware.

Maybe it was your sound setup at the time that made it sound so tinny 'n' shitty, if you played it on a regular TV and original hardware. When I had my Super Nintendo console in the 90s I used the SNES's analog stereo out cable jacks connected to my AV receiver so got the best possible audio quality for that 16-bit system blasting from my speakers. That's one thing I definitely still like about this game - the soundtrack for FFVI, or at least the main theme.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I only played (or attempted to play) one other game in the series - Final Fantasy IV (hard type), in emulation, but one of the boss battles about a third of the way in required you to be thoroughly familiar with your entire groups abilities and powers and if you didn't use exactly the right powers/magic at exactly the right time, you got your ass kicked. With tail between legs, I quit. Never had the slightest interest in playing any other FF game so perhaps even FF VI felt unsatisfying to me in a way and it didn't compel me enough to want to play others.

 

[Lutte]

VII has too many haters to be overrated.

Yeah, I hear you. Like is One Winged Angel the best song ever or is it merely the greatest song of all time?

My favourite part is how deep Sephiroth and his 14' long sword is. And like when Aerith died? Omgholysmokes!!

Dunno man, at least Shinra's brand of corporate fascism was cooler to see than LULZ EVIL KILL ALL THE THINGS from Kefka and the Empire.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Ok. It's still overrated shit. It has more spinoff crap than even 13 or 15 and a remake thing and it wasn't very good to begin with unless you (surprise) happened to be at the proper impressionable age for it, just like every other title in the series.

 

[Lutte]

Ok. It's still overrated shit. It has more spinoff crap than even 13 or 15 and a remake thing and it wasn't very good to begin with unless you (surprise) happened to be at the proper impressionable age for it, just like every other title in the series.

I'd say, things like the countless spinoff shit and remake have more to do with Square's inability to make something palatable even for people of said impressionable age these days and resorting to going back to the only thing they seem to know now, rather than FF7 receiving too much love. I mean, just look at FF8's reception. It sold well because, like any other game in the franchise, it has the FF name, but it was also universally hated and since then such sentiment has been the case more often than not with the FF. Of the post FF7 games, the only game that hasn't received a consistent stream of mainstream backlash is FF9. As fas as I recall, its reception was just mild.

The most impressively overrated thing, in the end, is not any game of the franchise, but the name itself. I mean, it's impressive how they continue to manage to sell these games despite the immense amount of popular hatred they get.

 

[Higher Game]

Dunno man, at least Shinra's brand of corporate fascism was cooler to see than LULZ EVIL KILL ALL THE THINGS from Kefka and the Empire.

To be fair, Kefka is supposed to be a deliberate cliche villain character to emphasize the lack of any real protagonist. There's a sense of detachment in FFVI that makes it feel more like, well, a fantasy. The other games of the series usually treat characters either as generic roguelike archetypes or as more complex personas as fitting an "adventure game with stats", the more conservative games of the series.

The emphasis was on the world of FFVI, not the characters, which made the destruction of the world more meaningful. The characters were kept as interesting as they needed to be, never any more. When you think about it, it's probably the most appropriate game for children in the series, following the typical weird/art path typical of progression within a console but in a less mature direction, and they pulled it off.

 

[Thac0]

I only played (or attempted to play) one other game in the series - Final Fantasy IV (hard type), in emulation, but one of the boss battles about a third of the way in required you to be thoroughly familiar with your entire groups abilities and powers and if you didn't use exactly the right powers/magic at exactly the right time, you got your ass kicked. With tail between legs, I quit. Never had the slightest interest in playing any other FF game so perhaps even FF VI felt unsatisfying to me in a way and it didn't compel me enough to want to play others.

FF IV is fun. Since there is no real customisation system they balanced the bosses around either playing near perfectly, or grinding as a safety valve. It also never gets easier, Rubicante and after that Moon are some of the hardest parts of the game. Second hardest mainline FF imo, first is FF III.
Still not overly hard however, no FF is difficult compared to gameplay heavy JRPGs or CRPGs.

 

[[UCHIHA]XxDarkSasuke420xX]

you can skip the game and just listen to the ost on youtube

 

[mogwaimon]

Also misses that Kefka was the only real 'LULZ EVIL' part of the Empire. The Emperor himself is all about tapping into the ancient powers of Espers to solidify his dominion over the world, which was ultimately his undoing because his experiments with Magitek were what birthed Kefka to begin with. It's revealed through a line by an NPC in Vector that Kefka was the first subject to undergo the experimental process of becoming a Magitek Knight and that's pretty much what caused him to go mad to the extent that he did. Celes straight up defected, and General Leo was your standard honorable soldier fighting for a cause he believed in but the cause betrayed sort of deal. Not only that, Shinra had its own 'LULZ EVIL' moments like, I dunno, dropping an entire section of their city onto the slums just to kill like 5 people?

The real comparison should have been Sephiroth himself vs Kefka. And when you do that you get 'waaaaahhhhh mommy issues' vs 'lulz EVIL' so really, is that much more complex in the end? And this is coming from someone that doesn't hate FF7, I would rank FF7 as my second favorite FF game and FF1 as my third.