With its incomparably distinct atmosphere, Final Fantasy VI Advance is an adequate farewell to GameBoy Advance.
Final Fantasy VI has its background 1000 years after The great magic battle, after which witchcraft and wizards had totally disappeared and mankind started a new era with the development of machinery. Time flies, until a day the appearance of the mysterious girl Terra, who can use magic, changes everything. Knowing about her ability, the emperor Gestahl of the Empire conspires to use Terra as his tool to conquer the world without knowing that he is but a puppet of Kefka, the one with an even greater ambition: Destroy the whole world. During this fatal time, a force called The Returners is established with the goal to sweep away all hazards to peace and human kind. It's the beginning of a long-running story that you will participate in.
Unlike many of its brothers, FFVI story is not built around a name-part, but instead follows a line of characters, each of whom will play the centre role in an episode of the game. Every character have his or her own history which is a small part of the big fresco FFVI. That is the reason why there are not only one, but many memorable personalities through out the game: Edgar, the young king with profound thoughts inside shallow appearance; Shadow, a kind-hearted man under the disguise of an ill-reputed assassin, and many more. However, the most successful persona in terms of fictional art is the villan Kefka. Some may be misled by his hilarious looking, but his true nature of evil will be inevitably revealed along with the story line, and at the last stage, become utterly horrific. If Sephiroth (FFVII) is considered the most adorable villan in FF world, Kefka undoubtedly plays the most hateful role, but also the most successful one from the aspect of character building art. His ambition throws those of other villians into shadow. Sephiroth (FFVII) wants as much power as possible; Kuja (FFIX) only lusts for vengeance; Yu Yevon (FFX) dreams about immortality; even Ultimecia (FFVIII) has the ambition of ruling over mankind. But Kefka, the only thought in his mind is to destroy all lives except for himself! Such an extreme characteristic is conveyed by a facial feature that can be considered the icon of the character: his smile, the most impressive one Square ever designs.
As for the game play, Job Skill system of prior version has been replaced by different Special Skills for each role. Since every character has strong and weak points, combine them to gain greater power is critical. Celes is a perfect shield with her Runic skill to dampen all kinds of magic powers. Sabin has powerful Blitz attack to finish the battle. Gogo with Mimic skill to imitate the most recent hit is very useful and versatile. Bushido of Cyan can destroy any opponents in a round if properly exploited. Combat system of FFVI has now become the yardstick for any classic RPG. However, the shortcoming of the game is contingent battles which easily distract you from the main quest.
Sound is always an advantage of any FF game when undertaken by Nobuo Uematsu - one of the most experienced composers for game. FFVI is one of his favourite composition when the sound tracks are considered top of classic RPG, besides Chrono Trigger. The pieces outside world map or during battle are wonderful, especially the episode in the opera theatre. Aria di Mezzo Carattere, the main track of this episode, is such a masterpiece that few can resist listening to it again and again. Any flaw, if there is one, belongs to the sound system of Gameboy Advance, not the game itself. Graphics is designed under the direction of Yoshitaka Amano, the artist behind the success of FFVII. No doubt all characters have strong personality and lively movements. Monster models on GBA screen are small, but still detailed, especially the bosses. Interior an external architectures are very gorgeous, suitable to GBA screen.
The last word: FFVI is not merely a game, but another world of prestige and heroism available for us to escape our daily routine.