Any game with a bad guy who wears pink must be good, right?
The story is typical RPG fare along the lines of "save the world from the evil emperor and meet a bunch of characters along the way," and as such, I thought the main plot was somewhat boring and unoriginal. However, the back-stories of many of the large cast of characters (14 in all) were engaging enough to make the story somewhat interesting. While it doesn't stand up to the quality of the later Final Fantasies, in my opinion the story of FFVI is better than any of the those before it.
The gameplay is pretty much what you'd expect from a Final Fantasy; walking around towns, dungeons, and the world map, and random battles (as well as some required battles - bosses and the like) that have you waiting for your turn, then browsing through a menu to get to the spell or attack you want to execute. Each of the characters brings unique techniques to the table, though they can all learn the same magic spells through espers. These are the "summons" of Final Fantasy VI, and are equipped to a character, teaching them spells as you acquire enough "Magic Points" (earned in battles like experience points). Also, several of the dungeons feature puzzle-like elements, such as stepping on switches to extend a bridge or pushing a button in a chest to move an obstacle from your path. This spices up the gameplay and breaks the monotony of the dungeon crawls.
Since the game is several years old, the graphics obviously can't compare to anything coming out these days. But such a comparison shouldn't really be made in the first place. Compared to other games with similar pixel graphics, the graphics are very beautiful. A large variety of colorful settings and characters keeps things from looking boring, while magic spells and other special effects look incredible. I was continually amazed by the animations of the characters, surprised by how much emotion was conveyed by their 2D sprites. Also of note is the fact that the PlayStation version includes a couple of FMV cutscenes that play at the beginning and end of the game. They only show certain scenes from the game in full 3D, and don't add anything new to the story, but it is a nice touch all the same.
The music in Final Fantasy VI was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, who has created the music for the entire series. The music is so beautiful it almost makes it worth your while to play the game just to hear it, and the opera scene is one of the best pieces in any video game. The sound effects, which include dogs barking and the antagonist's signature evil laugh, are surprisingly good for a pixel RPG as well.
If you're interested in Final Fantasy VI for an exceptional story, I would recommend looking elsewhere, as many RPGs have stories as good or better than this game. Still, I think it does have the best story out of the pixel Final Fantasies, so if you want a nostalgic trip through a 2D RPG or want to see what the series was like before it became 3D, look no further! Final Fantasy VI is a very enjoyable game as long as you don't expect too much of it.