Summary
Thirty years ago today, Square unleashedFinal Fantasy 6upon the world, revolutionizing both the franchise and the role-playing game genre. Not only wouldFinal Fantasy 6end up being the last game in the series to utilize 2D sprite-based graphics, but it would also be the first game in the series to feature direction from someone other thanFinal Fantasycreator Hironobu Sakaguchi. As a result,Final Fantasy 6represents a monumental turning point for the franchise, signaling the passing of the torch from the first generation of creators to the new luminaries behind theFinal Fantasygames. Essentially,Final Fantasy 6is the end of an era.
But the title also represents the pinnacle of the series' first 7 years of existence, culminating ideas and innovations spread out across thefirst 5Final Fantasygamesto present what stands asSquare’s masterwork on the SNESand one of the greatest games ever made. The consensus among gamers who grew up during the 4th console generation is that the SNES features some of Square’s greatest output ever, andFinal Fantasy 6is a revolutionary gamethat pulls out all the stops to represent the series' pinnacle in storytelling, visuals, audio, and gameplay ahead of the massive paradigm shift thatFinal Fantasy 7represented.
The Final Fantasy 6 Team is a ‘Who’s Who’ of Legendary Creators
One of the most impressive legacies thatFinal Fantasy 6leaves behind is thepedigree of its core development team. In addition to featuring direction from Yoshinori Kitase, the first person other thanseries creator Hironobu Sakaguchito direct a mainlineFinal Fantasytitle, thegame features a Square Enix “Hall of Fame"in terms of its designers. And, along with Kitase (who would go on to directFinal Fantasy 7andFinal Fantasy 8and now serves as a VP of Square Enix and theFinal Fantasybrand manager),Final Fantasy 6’s direction features the talents ofHiroyuki Ito, creator of theActive Time Battle (ATB)system that practically revolutionized the franchise’s turn-based combat.
One of the most impressive legacies thatFinal Fantasy 6leaves behind is the pedigree of its core development team!
Two ofFinal Fantasy 6’s designers would also go on to helm their own groundbreaking games.Tetsuya Takahashi, who had started at Square as a creature designer and eventually became one of theprincipal designers onFinal Fantasy 6, would begin development on the now-legendaryXenogearsas soon as production onFinal Fantasy 6wrapped. Joining him isTstsuya Nomura, who would become themain character designer forFinal Fantasy 7and then go on to spearhead the creation oftheKingdom Heartsfranchise. Before this team would splinter off to create other amazing titles, they pooled their talents together to make one of the most important entries in Square’s flagship franchise.
Final Fantasy 6’s Story and Gameplay Are Still Series Exemplars
Similar to the long and impressive list of future creators who lent their talents to the development ofFinal Fantasy 6, the game features a staggering number ofpoignant and memorable moments in its story.Not only isFinal Fantasy 6’s antagonist, Kefka, often considered to be thegreatest villain in the franchise, but the game’s “ensemble” approach to its protagonist helps each of the iconic characters in the main adventuring party get a chance to shine in their respective development arcs. Terra’s self-discovery and acceptance of her Esper heritage, Locke’s emotional reunion with Rachel, Celes' performance at the opera; each of these moments rank as some of themost emotional story beats in the series, and they’re all contained within a single title.
It’s the series' last 2D entry that stands the test of time by mixing great ideas from the first 5Final Fantasygames!
And that’s to say nothing of the gameplay, which mixes thefreeform character progression ofFinal Fantasy 5with the set classes and character abilities ofFinal Fantasy 4to provide players with a group of protagonists that can be min/maxed to become insanely powerful by game’s end. Thanks to theEsper and Magicite systems, every character can learn magic, and the stat bonuses the Magicite provides at level up give players agency over their party’s stat growth. Ultimately, it’s the series' last 2D entry that stands the test of time by mixing great ideas from the first 5Final Fantasygames and becoming something greater than the sum of its parts.
