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A Decent Port of a Fantastic Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 65 / 68
Date: February 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

As a fan of the original "localized" version of Final Fantasy VI (named Final Fantasy III to keep with the American Final Fantasy numbering scheme), I have long awaited a portable release of this game. I can say, with certainty, that Final Fantasy VI is and always has been one of the best (if not the best) games in the series. While I'm overall very pleased with this re-release, there are a few caveats to the port that fans of the original might notice.

To speak of the game itself, it is a masterpiece.

The story is captivating, keeping the player interested to the very end. The plot involves many of the traditional Final Fantasy themes (balances of natural forces, quests for power, a floating continent), but weaves them in subtly without being overbearing.

The characters are very memorable and grow as the story progresses. Each of the protagonists has their own quirks and weaknesses, and many of them have to overcome their personal demons in order to face the final challenge of the game. In addition, Final Fantasy VI provides a quirky antagonist. While the Final Fantasy predecessors all served up vague, devil-like antagonists with little personality other than to state that they are the source of evil, Kefka is quirky. His dialogue is written with a sense of humor where necessary, and his back story provides further impetus for the protagonists. Kefka is the first Final Fantasy villain that fans truly love to hate. Also, the gameplay is fun and varied. The esper system (used to learn magic in the game) is powerful and customizable, yet still simple enough for everyone to pick up and understand. The addition of a special armor / accessory class (relics) provides a simple way for players to know what equipment will cause what effects. The dungeons are challenging but not frustratingly long or inaccessible.

With all that said, this port of the game is decent enough but does have its drawbacks.

The graphics are just as beautiful as in the Super Nintendo / Famicom version and don't suffer a significant slowdown as with the Final Fantasy IV advance remake. The sharper screen of a Nintendo DS best showcases the visual beauty of this game, and those playing on an older Gameboy Advance or even SP might miss some detail.

The soundtrack to this game is one of Uematsu's masterpieces, and the port does a decent job of recreating the experience with the Game Boy's limited hardware. The music has been slightly remixed to fit in the fewer channels that the portable system allows. While many of the tracks have been "jazzed up" to cover the lack of extra instrumentation, the transferred soundtrack is still a slight downgrade from the original. While new fans of the game are not likely to notice, old schoolers who played the original incarnation will stand to be slightly disappointed.

Lastly, the game has been retranslated and relocalized, overwriting some of the heavily criticized decisions made by original translator Ted Woolsey. In many aspects, this serves to help the game. The vagueness that came from Woolsey's Western-interpretation of the plot has been somewhat cleared up. In addition, some of the character interactions that would have once seemed vague and misleading now show clear direction. Not all of the changes are for the better, however. The new translation also censors a few of the games scenes, seemingly for brutality (ie, Celes's incarceration). Also, and this will probably only affect those familiar with the original, the new translation has changed the lyrics of "Aria di Mezzo Carattere." While the new translation better fits with the music, the Aria is considered one of the most memorable moments in the series, and the difference is likely to irritate old fans.

Final Fantasy is a brilliant series with many brilliant games, but in my opinion, the true beginning of Final Fantasy as a dynasty is here. The game is more grown-up in many aspects than those before it and still shines as brightly as some of those that have come after. While this is an imperfect port of the original, porting a game always requires some sacrifices. The developers made decent choices, given the options that they had.

Whether you're an old fan back to reminisce or new to the series, Final Fantasy VI Advance will provide hours of intrigue and fun.

The classic RPG is finally on the GBA

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: February 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

For a while now, Sqaure has been porting their classic 16-bit Final Fantasy titles to the GBA, which have been pretty faithful and provided all kinds of RPG goodness on Nintendo's never say die handheld. Final Fantasy VI wraps up Square's 2-D RPG series, and in what a way it does. For those of you who don't already know, Final Fantasy VI is actually the Final Fantasy III that was released for the Super Nintendo way back when (not to be confused with the Final Fantasy III released recently for the DS, the numbering of the series differs from shore to shore, which explains the gap from III to VII over here), and for the most part, the game is excellently recreated on the GBA. Anyone who played Final Fantasy III for the Super NES back then most likely has fond memories of the game being one of the best RPG's possibly ever made, and for those fans, this GBA conversion won't disappoint. The first thing you'll notice is that the game has the kind of deep and involving story that the Final Fantasy series is known for, along with colorful characters that you actually end up caring about. The battles are fluidly animated and the game isn't hard to get into one bit either. It also goes without saying that Final Fantasy VI Advance features some of the best music and sound effects you'll hear in a portable RPG. Like the previous GBA conversions in the series, Square threw in some extras for longtime fans to enjoy too. There's a music player that can be accessed once you complete the game, along with new espers, spells, and a new dungeon as well. While a majority of the extras don't really add up to much, the bonus music player alone is fantastic for fans of the series. If there's any real negatives about the game, it's that some of the graphics look pretty dated, and the game can be slow (especially the battles) to get into for newer gamers. All that aside, Final Fantasy VI Advance is still an excellent RPG classic that feels right at home on the GBA, and fans of the series new and old should definitely pick this up.

The Finest Fantasy Goes Portable

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: February 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Before Final Fantasy VII, there was Final Fantasy VI. An RPG that at the time of its release truly defined epic. Originally released in the states as Final Fantasy III, it is still one of the most popular RPGs of all time, and has garnered a cult following that describe it as the best Final Fantasy in the series. Now the finest fantasy has gone portable.

The storyline in Final Fantasy VI is fairly simple. 1000 years ago the war of Magi happened, and after that war the power of magic simply ceased to exist. Now the Magitek Empire has found a way to revive the dreaded power known as magic, and they tend to use this power to enslave the world. A small resistance group has come forth to stop this empire, and magic may very well be the key to stopping the Empire. But is it really such a good idea to rely on the power of magic once more? Or is history just going to repeat itself?

Final Fantasy VI may not have the most complex story in the series, but the story comes alive through some of the most well developed characters in the history of the series. In fact, Final Fantasy VI excels in character development more so than any other game in the series, and easily has the best ensemble cast. Each character is distinct and has a personality of his or her own, and join up with your group to fight the empire for their own reasons. Even so, however, these characters manage to come off as completely different from one another. Final Fantasy VI also has the luxury of having the largest cast of playable characters in the series. There are twelve standard characters and two hidden characters.

The battle system is the basic ATB that was introduced in Final Fantasy IV. Your characters line up on the left side of the screen while your enemies populate the right side of the screen. As the battle progresses, everyone's ATB gauge fills up. When a character's gauge is full you can select commands for them to do. To keep Final Fantasy VI from being a bore fest in battle, however, each character has a distinct skill that only he or she can perform. Locke, for example, can steal while Edgar has a set of tools he can use. This not only gives some battles variety, but also let's you set up a strategy. There are moments in the game where your characters will be split up, and you'll have to decide who should go with who, and you'll be forced to switch between parties.

To add to the experience, Final Fantasy VI never forces you to run around with a full party. You can have up to four characters in one party, but you don't have to use four at a time. You could simply run around with just three characters in... or even just one if you're looking for a challenge. Even better, there is no central leader in Final Fantasy VI. This means that there is never anyone character you have to have in, and the game rarely forces you to use any specific characters. This gives the player a lot more freedom.

A Final Fantasy game would not be complete without some sort of complex system. Here, you're given a complex way to make your characters learn magic. As you progress through your adventure you'll find espers, which are the summons found throughout the game. You must equip an esper in order to use it. Each esper has a set of spells they can teach your characters at a certain rate. As you battle through the game, you'll gain experience points as well as magic points from your enemies. Magic points go toward learning a certain spell. It's no where near as complex as Final Fantasy V's job system, Final Fantasy VII's materia system or Final Fantasy X's sphere grid, but it's simple to pick up on. The only problem with it is that the later espers offer spells that you'll have to spend a lot of time battling around to learn.

In addition to spells, having a certain esper equipped can also give you stat bonuses at level up. For example, some espers will allow your character to gain 30 percent more HP at level up than he or she normally would. Others may increase speed, MP, etc. So just because you learned every spell from an esper doesn't mean they don't have other uses.

Graphic wise, Final Fantasy VI doesn't really look all that different than it did back on the Super Nintendo. There are a few changes to the translation, but nothing major, and some characters now have a portrait when they speak. The font is also easier to read. There were a couple of moments of slow down in battle, however, mostly when casting spells, but it's not really too much of a burden. The overall visual look however is really not all that different. Most fans probably won't too many differences here.

Final Fantasy VI is probably best known for its amazing soundtrack. Even today there are fans who label it Nobuo Uematsu's greatest accomplishment. Unfortunately, the game just doesn't sound nearly as good coming from your GBA as it did when it came from your Super Nintendo. Some tunes its hardly noticeable, but for the most part, the game doesn't sound nearly as good as it used to, especially if you played the SNES original over and over again. Those who fell in love with the soundtrack years ago probably won't take too kindly to the GBA port. That doesn't mean it sounds bad. It just means it isn't the original music some fans know and love.

What's new in Final Fantasy VI Advance? About the same thing that was new in the previous re-releases. There's a new dungeon and more bosses. As the game's treat, there are also four new espers and some new spells to go along with it. Much like Final Fantasy IV and V, the extras are not much to write home about, and they don't really increase the length of the game by very much. That's not so bad in Final Fantasy VI's case because it can easily keep you busy for over 50 hours.

If you are a Final Fantasy fan, then you owe it to yourself to play Final Fantasy VI. It is one of the most compelling games in the series. It's absorbing storyline, fantastic characters and dedication to fun gameplay make this worth a buy. Final Fantasy VI was, at one point in time, a text book example of how to make an RPG, and even years later, it has aged very well and still holds up well today. Play it, remember it, and you'll understand why Final Fantasy VI is one of the greatest RPGs ever made.

The Good

+Simple, yet absorbing storyline
+Very well developed characters
+There's a lot of freedom to the battle system
+Tons of secrets to unearth
+There are some extras here
+Lots of playable characters
+Thirteen years later, and it's still one of the most memorable RPGs ever made

The Bad

-The music doesn't sound nearly as good as the SNES original
-If you still own your original SNES copy (released as Final Fantasy III), or even Final Fantasy Anthology, it's hard to say you'll be sold on the GBA version for the extras alone

Good game, honors the original in a portable format, but not without flaws.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: June 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

As a previous reviewer stated, if you enjoyed the SNES version, you'll enjoy playing this one. However, it does leave some things to be desired.

The dialogue has changed, and as a result, Kefka isn't as funny. Kefka's funny-ness was one of the things that made the SNES version great! Who would have thought that a character could be the ultimate evil villain and the comic relief all in one? That didn't quite happen here.

The other thing that irked me was the final battle music, although there were musical snags that bugged me in all of the GBA remakes. (And I'm a musician, so I would notice this) During the final battle, the music was programmed such that even when you beat one stage of the crawling tower, the music kept playing until it reached the end of the section and _then_ started the new section, so that it felt like you were hearing one continuous piece of music. Not here. In this case, when you finish one section, the music immediately switches. It would be analagous to if the conductor, in the middle of a repeating section of music, just suddenly had his orchestra jump to the next one.

Finally, the bonus features got rather confusing, like when I was trying to figure out how to get Gilgamesh to appear in the Coliseum. And don't get me started about the Dragon's Den!

So yeah, I bought it, I enjoyed it, I don't regret that I did, and there were some things I didn't like about it. Not all that uncommon, I suppose. But if you really want to see what FF6 was about, play the SNES version.

A great version of the best FF game of them all

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: February 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I loved FF6 when it was released on the Super Nintendo. Despite a lot of bugs (some of which I actually gre fond of), the game was incredibly impressive, over-topping the previous FF entries (and, IMHO, over-topping subsequent entries as well).

I then purchased the PS version, and while I still loved the game, the presentation was lacking (incredibly long load times really marred the game).

Thus, fast-forward to the cartridge version of FF6, which is fantastic. Forget the surface additions, such as a bestiary, additional levels and espers, and a remixed soundtrack - the selling point here is a return to the game you knew and loved as a teenager. FF6 has the goods, and I'm glad non-PS owners can once again enjoy this classic. What more needs to be said?

Rebirth of a True Classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: March 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was apprehensive about yet another port of this, my all-time favorite console game. Rumors of censorship, script moderation, and audio changes led me to approach the Game Boy Advance version with considerably trepidation, but I am happy to report that I have derived from the new version the same enjoyment I experienced playing it for the first time in 1994.

The censorship is limited to the scene in the South Figaro dungeon, in which Imperial soldiers interrogate a captive. In the original edition this character is viciously beaten, but in the new edition this is omitted (but hinted at in dialogue). Also, one enemy graphic has been modified to eliminate a bare bottom. However, much of the religious imagery and innuendo excised from the original US version have been reinstated, and so, in my opinion, the material lost is insignificant.

The new translation of the script is also not an issue. In fact, the new script more closely follows the original Japanese text (I have played both editions and can read Japanese). Software and hardware limitations prevented the original port from including as much detail due to the nature of Japanese and English text. Awkward and unclear lines from the 1994 translation, which was done by Ted Woolsey alone in 30 days, have been clarified, and the characters are much better developed. Also, the famous opera now closely follows the music and the original Japanese lyrics. I therefore consider the translation an improvement.

The sound quality is somewhat different from the original, but this is mostly due to differences in sound emulation on different game systems. I do prefer the SNES soundtrack, but this is more due to nostalgia than to any superior qualities. In the case of the opera, the new audio in fact sounds more natural.

All in all, I am extremely pleased with this port of Final Fantasy VI. I recommend it to older gamers who are eager to revisit an old friend as well as to newer players who have yet to experience the adventure.

I don't get it..

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Why are all these people saying that the sound is not that great? I've played the SNES version and yes I do notice that it sounds different; but it's not BAD at all. Some tracks may sound a bit goofy; but it's just different. There's nothing wrong with the sound of this game at all.

The only problem I have with it is the texture of the graphics.. It's too bright for me. The SNES version had a darker more earthy feel to it; this is just bright and in your face!!

I do love this game; it's quite possibly my favorite game of all time.. but I was expecting more.

The additions are nice; 4 new espers, a fully rehauled game script, item names, spell names, hey you can even see full item descriptions now! No idea that a Plumed Hat had a "chocobo plume" in it!! Nice additions all around! :)

The best RPG on the market.

A classic RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This was the first RPG I ever played on any video game system. I remember my friends and I spending the Christmas holiday playing this game. The story is deep, the characters are rich, and you find yourself thinking about how you can build up each of the many various charcters in the game.

Now we have the Advanced version and I have to admit except for the size of the screen this is just as good as the SNES version if not better. FF6 was the RPG that got me hooked as a RPG fanatic, and this will not let you down. The graphics are crisp and they have even added a freshness to the game.

If you enjoyed the original then this will bring back all those great memories. Enjoy this RPG classic!

Excellent

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have begun playing this game this evening, and spent a few hours on it. So far it has been fantastic. The music has been very close to the original, and in most places spot on with the older SNES version. The graphics are just as good as they were on the SNES, and I would even venture as far as to say they are even better in some places. The story is just as good, and if I am not mistaken, I think there might be an extra line or two here and there.
I would definitely recommend this game to any Final Fantasy fan out there. It's a must own. I was a bit nervous that a lot would be lost in the transition from the SNES version to the GameBoy Advance version, but it is identical, if not better. I am very happy with this, and I think any Final Fantasy fan would be too.

Believe the hype

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

... because this really is one of (if not the) best RPGs ever made. And more importantly, it will probably end up being one of your favorites, too, for all of the reasons that sound like cliches but are, in this case, actually there: unforgettable characters, epic story, legendary soundtrack (probably the best in VG history), and solid gameplay. If you've never played FF6, you've been deprived; if you've played it in the past, here's your chance to experience a new, often more accurate, sometimes less playful (for better or worse) translation. Whatever its incarnation, though, and whatever your own level of skill or interest in video games, I could not recommend this game more highly. Get it get it get it!

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