The "Lawrence of Arabia" of RPG's, an epic.
.....On the SNES there are atleast four other RPGS that people recall the most memorably. Those games would be Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasy 4. Take the highlights of all these games and your result will be Final Fantasy 6. It has a complex story with couple ending differences like Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG's humour, Secret of Mana's adventure and lastly Final Fantasy 4's great cast of unique characters. Mind you it came out before two of these games but now onto the game itself.
.....The aspect of the game that requires the most praise isn't the game play, story, or visual. It's the audio, the music and character themes of the game are great. Every main character has their own theme music, which often plays before their entrance as almost a hint of who's coming on stage, very operatic.
The music is almost always set to the mood of the characters at the time. Without spoiling any plot or character trials, the music can change from sad, sorrow felt music to jazzy, or comedic music (for which there are many).
.....In Final Fantasy 6 there are a total of 18 playable characters (largest Final Fantasy Cast to date). Some of which are hidden (a few of the mains), others that are used temporarily and a huge group of the total that are in for the majority of the game. As said earlier, each of the main characters have theme music, a couple characters share a tune. but for the most part, they are all unique. Each character has also has a special ability that they only they alone can use. It takes a great game to make you care about the characters, this is something that Final Fantasy 6 exceeds at. With characters each having back stories and their own set of problems, on the first play through it's hard to know what to expect. This is the driving force behind completing the game.
.....The story is too deep to describe, but is another key aspect of the game. Summarily it's about a group of Rebels trying to take down a evil Empire, very much like "Star Wars". But it's woven into one of the greatest stories ever told in game history. There are heroes and villains on both sides.
.....The game play of Final Fantasy is top-notched. It has everything Final Fantasy 4 had and more. There is a form of Co-op in the game, allowing player two to use designated characters. There is no steep learning curve for how to battle or move. The menu has many customizable settings for those who don't like the blue backgrounds. Spells can be organized by preference as well, but only by type, *effect, *white, *black. There is also a memory option, that will make it easier to have character use same ability as they used last turn.
.....The last part of Final Fantasy 6 to note is the impressive graphics. The games visuals have aged very well. This does not imply that it's more graphical than the systems of today, but it certainly won't have you staring at mis-formed pixels (common in older SNES games) or wondering what that something on screen is supposed to be. The ending is done in great detail and probably among the highest points of the game.
.....What "Lawrence of Arabia" is to film, is what Final Fantasy 6 is to RPGs. It excels on all points, but I still can't give the game a ten. Even though it is a gem. I'd like to give a 9.9. There is only one game worthy of a ten in my opinion, but perhaps that's a review for another time ("Ocarina of Time").
Thanks for reading.