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Final Fantasy VI (ファイナルファンタジーVI, Fainaru Fantajī Shikkusu) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) in 1994. The game initially appeared on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and has since been ported by TOSE with minor differences to the Sony PlayStation and the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. It was first released in North America as Final Fantasy III, although the original title has been restored in later releases. The game's story focuses on a group of rebels as they seek to overthrow an imperial dictatorship.

Final Fantasy VI was the first game in the series to be directed by someone other than producer and series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi; the role was filled instead by Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Itō. Originally released to significant critical acclaim, it is still regarded as a landmark of the series and of the role-playing genre. It had a significantly greater number of battle customization options than its predecessors and the largest playable cast in the Final Fantasy series to date, excluding spin-off titles. It remains widely praised for its storyline, characters and non-linear style of play.

Gameplay

Like previous Final Fantasy installments, Final Fantasy VI consists of four basic modes of gameplay: an overworld map, town and dungeon field maps, a battle screen, and a menu screen. The overworld map is a scaled down version of the game's fictional world, which the player uses to direct characters to various locations. As with most games in the series, the three primary means of travel across the overworld are by foot, chocobo and airship. With a few plot-driven exceptions, enemies are randomly encountered on field maps and on the overworld when traveling by foot.

The game's plot develops as the player progresses through towns and dungeons. Town citizens will offer helpful information and some residents own item or equipment shops. Later in the game, visiting certain towns will activate side-quests. Dungeons appear as a variety of areas, including caves, sewers, forests, and buildings. These dungeons often have treasure chests containing rare items that are not available in most stores. Some dungeons feature puzzles and mazes, which require the player to divide the characters into multiple parties.

The menu screen is where the player makes such decisions as which characters will be in the travelling party, which equipment they wield, the magic they learn, and the configuration of the gameplay. It is also used to track experience points and levels.

Combat

Combat in Final Fantasy VI is menu-based, in which the player selects an action from a list of such options as "Fight", "Magic" and "Item". A maximum of four characters may be used in battles, which uses the series' traditional "Active Time Battle", or "ATB", which was designed by Hiroyuki Ito and first featured in Final Fantasy IV. Under this system, each character has an action bar that replenishes itself at a rate dependent on their speed statistic. When a character's action bar is filled, the player may assign an action. In addition to standard battle techniques, each character possesses a unique special ability. For example, Locke possesses the ability to steal items from enemies, while Celes' Runic ability allows her to absorb most magical attacks cast until her next turn. Characters are rewarded for victorious battles with experience points and money, called "gil" ("GP" in the original North American localization). When characters attain a certain amount of experience points, they gain a "level", which increases their statistics. An additional player may play during battle scenarios, with control of individual characters assigned from the configuration menu.

In contrast to previous versions of the Active Time Battle system, the player is able to pick from any character that has a filled action bar and has not yet received any commands, rather than being forced to issue commands to whichever character had his or her action bar filled first. Another new element is the Death Blow, a powerful attack substitution that occasionally appears when the character's health is low. Similar features appear in subsequent Final Fantasy titles under a variety of different names, including "Limit Breaks", "Trances", and "Overdrives".

Customization

Characters in Final Fantasy VI can be equipped with a wide variety of weapons, armor and accessories (known as "Relics") to increase their statistics and obtain special abilities. Most of this equipment can be used by several different characters, and each character may equip up to two Relics. Relics have a variety of uses and effects, some of which alter basic battle commands, allow characters to use multiple weapons, provide permanent status changes during battle or use protective magical spells in response to being near death.

Although only two characters start the game with the ability to use magic, almost every character can learn to do so. Characters may equip magicite, which enables the summoning of espers, this game's incarnation of summoned monsters (including several recurring summons such as Ifrit, Shiva, Bahamut and Odin, along with many new summons exclusive to Final Fantasy VI), as well as that of specific magic spells. If a character has a piece of magicite equipped, he or she will gain "Magic Acquisition Points" after most battles. As a character gains magic AP, he or she gradually learns spells from the magicite equipped and will gain additional statistic bonuses when leveling up, depending on the magicite. Furthermore, equipping magicite allows the player to summon that particular magicite's esper to aid the party in battle.

Plot

Setting

Final Fantasy VI takes place on a large, unnamed world. During the course of the game, its geography and landscape change due to various developments in the game's plot. During the first half of the game, the world is divided into two major continents and referred to as the "World of Balance". The northern continent is punctuated by a series of mountain ranges and contains many of the locations accessible to the player. Halfway through the game, the world's geographical layout is altered, resulting in its two large continents splitting into several islands of various size situated around a larger continent at their center. This altered layout of the game's locations is referred to as the "World of Ruin".

In contrast to the medieval settings featured in previous Final Fantasy titles, Final Fantasy VI is set in a steampunk environment. The structure of society parallels that of the latter half of the 19th century, with opera and the fine arts serving as recurring motifs throughout the game, and a level of technology comparable to that of the Second Industrial Revolution. Railroads are in place and a coal mining operation is run in the northern town of Narshe. Additionally, several examples of modern engineering and weaponry (such as a chainsaw, power drill and automatic crossbow) have been developed in the kingdom of Figaro. However, communication systems have not reached significant levels of development, with letters sent by way of carrier pigeon serving as the most common means of long-distance communication. This is also somewhat of a mystery or a gaffe in the game's setting, as piston-engine or hover-craft propelled aircraft also make an appearance during an important battle scene, which are clearly technological innovations exclusive to the 20th Century both for warfare and transportation.

The in-game historical context of the story is mysterious to the player at the beginning of the game, but over the course of the first half of the game (particularly towards the end of this segment), the characters come to understand the situation as follows. One thousand years before the events of the game, three gods who served as the source of all magic in the world were at war with one another. This quarrel released magical energy into the world, transforming any human touched by it into a magical creature known as an "esper," each under the control of the gods. The gods, known as the Warring Triad, then used the espers as soldiers in their war against one another in a conflict known as the "War of the Magi". Eventually, the gods realized their war had disgraced them, and in order to repent, they returned free will to the espers and turned themselves to stone. Their only request was that the espers ensure their power remain sealed so that it could not be misused again. When the war ended, the remaining humans and espers were burdened with differences in lifestyle, appearance, and beliefs. As a result, the espers departed to another dimension, taking the statues of the gods with them and sealing the entrance to their world.

Gradually, the human race built a society based on technology while the War of the Magi passed into legend. In the present day, the most powerful technology is in the hands of the Empire, a cruel and expanding dictatorship led by Emperor Gestahl and his top generals, Kefka, Leo Cristophe and Celes Chere. Approximately eighteen years before the events of the game begin, the barrier between the human world and the esper's dimension weakens and a human woman passes through. Though most of the espers are untrusting of her and believe that humans cannot co-exist with espers, one named "Maduin" believes that they should at least try before passing judgment. The woman stays in the espers' world, and soon has a child named "Terra" with Maduin. At this time, driven by greed to wield the legendary power of the espers, Gestahl takes advantage of the weakened barrier and launches a strike on the espers' dimension in an attempt to capture as many espers as possible. Despite the esper elder casting a spell to send Gestahl's forces back through the dimensional gateway and to seal the gate once again, many espers are captured, and Maduin, his wife, and infant Terra are also caught in the spell. Maduin and his child are captured, while his wife dies.

Using the espers as a power source, Gestahl initiated a research program to combine magic with machinery and infuse humans with magical powers, the result being a technology known as "Magitek". The Empire allocated this concept of Magitek into large mechanical vehicles known as "Magitek Armor", allowing a soldier to use the power of magic. Additionally, Kefka was infused with magic, becoming one of the prototypes in a line of soldiers called "Magitek Knights" that would later include Celes Chere, though — the process experimental at this time and unrefined — his sanity was impaired as a result. Another Magitek invention was the Slave Crown, a device that allows a person to control another. As Terra grew older, the Empire would use this device to control her actions and use her as a weapon. Though the potency of Magitek is less than that of natural magic, as of the beginning of the game, the Empire is on the verge of rediscovering the full potential of magic by reopening the gateway to the world of the espers. However, the Empire's rule is opposed by the Returners, a group of rebels seeking to overthrow the Empire and free its territories.

Characters

Final Fantasy VI features fourteen permanent playable characters, the most of any game in the main series, as well as several secondary characters who are only briefly controlled by the player. Primary characters include Terra Branford, a reserved half-human, half-esper girl who spent most of her life as a slave to the Empire and is unfamiliar with love; Celes Chere, a former general of the Empire, who joined the Returners after being jailed for questioning imperial practices; Locke Cole, a treasure hunter and rebel sympathizer with a powerful impulse to protect women; Edgar Roni Figaro, a consummate womanizer and the king of Figaro, who claims allegiance to the Empire while secretly supplying aid to the Returners; Sabin Rene Figaro, Edgar's brother, who fled the royal court in order to pursue his own path and hone his martial arts skills; Cyan Garamonde, a loyal knight to the kingdom of Doma who lost his family and friends as a result of Kefka poisoning the kingdom's water supply; Setzer Gabbiani, a habitual gambler and thrill seeker; Shadow, a ninja mercenary, who offers his services to both the Empire and the Returners at various stages throughout the game; Relm Arrowny, a young but tough artistic girl with magical powers; Strago Magus, Relm's elderly grandfather and a Blue Mage; Gau, a feral child surviving since infancy in the harsh wilderness known as the Veldt; Mog, a Moogle from the mines of Narshe; Umaro, a savage but loyal sasquatch also from Narshe, talked into joining the Returners through Mog's persuasion; and Gogo, a mysterious, fully shrouded master of the art of mimicry.

Most of the main characters in the game hold a significant grudge against the Empire and, in particular, Kefka, who serves as one of the game's main antagonists along with Emperor Gestahl. The supporting character Ultros serves as a recurring villain and comic relief throughout the game. A handful of Final Fantasy VI characters have reappeared in later games, such as Secret of Evermore and Kingdom Hearts II. Additionally, Final Fantasy SGI, a short technology demo produced for the Silicon Graphics Onyx workstation, featured polygon based 3D renderings of Locke, Terra and Shadow.

Story

Final Fantasy VI begins with Terra Branford participating in an Imperial raid on Narshe in search of a recently unearthed frozen esper(later identified as Tritoch) found in the city's mines. However, during the raid, her controllers are killed and the Imperial control over her is broken, but she is unable to remember anything about her past. Locke Cole, a treasure hunter, promises to protect her until she can regain her memories and helps her escape to the hideout of the Returners, a group of militants opposing the Empire. Along the way, they pass through the Kingdom of Figaro and meet Edgar Roni Figaro, the king, and his estranged brother, Sabin Rene Figaro, who join them. Banon, the leader of the Returners, asks for Terra's help in their struggle against the Empire, and she agrees. Just as the resistance is preparing to return to Narshe to investigate the frozen esper, the Empire begins to invade the nearby town of South Figaro. Locke heads to the besieged town to slow the Empire's advance, while the rest of the group makes their way via rafting down the nearby Lethe River. However, they become separated after a battle with Ultros, self-proclaimed "octopus royalty" and a recurring antagonist, forcing the various members of the Returners to find their own ways to Narshe in three different scenarios controlled by the player.

Eventually, the original party reunites in Narshe. Locke brings with him Celes Chere, one of the Empire's own generals, who he saved from execution for defying the Empire's ruthless practices. Sabin brings with him Cyan Garamonde, whose family was killed during the Empire's siege of Doma Castle when Kefka ordered the water supply poisoned, and Gau, a feral child he befriended on the Veldt. In Narshe, the Returners prepare to defend the frozen esper from the Empire. After the player successfully thwarts the Imperial invasion, Terra approaches the frozen esper, prompting her to transform into an esper-like form herself. She flies away, confused and horrified by her own transformation.

The Returners set out to search for Terra and eventually trace her to the city of Zozo, though they are still shocked by her apparent existence as an esper. There, they also meet the esper Ramuh, who tells them that if they free various other espers from the Magitek Research Facility in the Empire's capital, Vector, they may find one who can help Terra. Vector is on the southern continent, which the Empire does not allow maritime access to, so the Returners go to the Opera House and recruit Setzer Gabbiani, who is believed to be the owner of the only airship in the world — the Blackjack. They then travel to Vector and attempt to rescue several espers, including Maduin, who is revealed to be Terra's father. However, the espers choose instead to give their lives to transform into magicite — the crystallized remains of their essences that form when they die and allow others to use their powers — which they bestow upon the Returners. Before the group can then escape, Kefka arrives and causes the Returners, including Locke, to momentarily doubt Celes' loyalty, much to her anguish. However, she provides proof to them of her support by covering for the group while the rest escape. The rest of the group then returns to Zozo, where they show Terra the magicite of her father, prompting her to gain knowledge of her past and accept herself as the half-human, half-esper child of Maduin and a human woman.

After reuniting with Terra, the Returners decide that it is time to launch an all-out attack on the Empire, and Banon asks Terra to attempt contacting the espers' dimension in order to gain their support. Terra succeeds in making contact, and when the espers learn that the others captured by the Empire previously have now perished, they become infuriated and enter the human world, where they destroy much of Vector. When the Returners arrive in the capital, they find Emperor Gestahl claiming to no longer have the will to fight, inviting the Returners to a banquet to negotiate peace. Gestahl asks Terra to deliver a truce to the espers on his behalf, to which she agrees. Accompanied by Locke, Shadow (a ninja hired by the Empire) and Generals Celes and Leo, the player must then guide Terra to the remote village Thamasa in search of the espers, where they meet Strago Magus and his granddaughter, Relm Arrowny, who also accompany them.

Soon, they find the espers and Terra convinces them to accept a truce with Gestahl. However, during the negotiations, Kefka attacks the espers, killing each of those still alive and capturing the magicite their essences become. Additionally, he kills General Leo, who is appalled by Kefka's dishonorable tactics and attempts to defend the espers. The Returners reunite, now aware that the peace was a ploy for Gestahl to obtain magicite and the stone statue remains of the Warring Triad within the espers' now-unsealed dimension. Kefka and Gestahl travel through the open gate to the esper world, find the Warring Triad, and prompt the island on which the gateway to the esper world is located to detach and fly in the sky as an ominous Floating Continent. The Returners attempt to stop them from causing further damage, but despite their efforts, they are unable to prevent Kefka and Gestahl from gaining the power of the statues. Now empowered, Kefka promptly kills Gestahl and moves the statues out of their proper alignment, upsetting the balance of magical power and causing the destruction of most of the surface world. In the disaster, the Returners are separated from one another as Setzer's airship is torn apart.

One year later, Celes awakens from a coma on a deserted island and learns that the world has been devastated by Kefka. Much of its human population has died and its plant and animal life are slowly being killed by sickness to punctuate humanity's despair. Celes sets out from the Solitary Island to try and reunite with as many of her friends as she can find. One by one, in a series of mostly optional side-quests, the gamer has the opportunity to reunite the group, all still alive, as well as new allies Umaro and Gogo. Together, the reunited Returners launch a new offensive against Kefka, using the Falcon — an airship that belonged to a deceased friend of Setzer's — to reach Kefka's tower and infiltrate it. Inside, the Returners battle their way through Kefka's defenses and destroy the three statues, the source of Kefka's newfound power. When destroying the statutes, once the source of all magic, does not cause any noticeable reaction, the party realizes that Kefka has successfully drained the Warring Triad of power and has become the source of all magical power.

Making a final stand against Kefka, the characters successfully destroy him, but since the gods' power had come to reside in him all magicite begins to shatter and Kefka's magically maintained tower begins to crumble. Terra leads the characters out as she begins to weaken due to her half-esper heritage. However, before her father's magicite shatters, his spirit informs her that by holding to the human side of herself, she may survive the passing of magic. In the end the party escapes Kefka's Tower aboard the Falcon, Terra lives and they observe the world's communities rejuvenating themselves.

Development

Audio

The soundtrack for Final Fantasy VI is the work of long-time series contributor Nobuo Uematsu. The score consists of themes for each major character and location, as well as music for standard battles, fights with boss enemies and for special cutscenes. The "Aria di Mezzo Carattere" is one of the latter tracks, played during a cutscene involving an opera performance. This track features an unintelligible synthesized "voice" that harmonizes with the melody, as technical limitations for the SPC700 sound format chip prevented the use of an actual vocal track (although some developers eventually figured out how to overcome the limitation a few years later). The orchestral album Final Fantasy VI Grand Finale features an arranged version of the aria, using Italian lyrics performed by Svetla Krasteva with an orchestral accompaniment. This version is also found in the ending full motion video of the game's Sony PlayStation rerelease, with the same lyrics but a different musical arrangement. In addition, the album Orchestral Game Concert 4 includes an extended version of the opera arranged and conducted by Kousuke Onozaki and performed by the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Wakako Aokimi, Tetsuya Oono and Hiroshi Kuroda on vocals. The piece "Dancing Mad", accompanying the game's final battle with Kefka, is 17 minutes long and contains a lengthy organ cadenza. The ending theme, "Balance Is Restored", reintroduces various motives from the game, lasting over 21 minutes.

The original score was released on three Compact Discs in Japan as Final Fantasy VI: Original Sound Version. A version of this album was later released in North America under the title Final Fantasy III: Kefka's Domain, available exclusively through mail order from Square Co. Additionally, Final Fantasy VI: Grand Finale features eleven tracks from the game, arranged by Shiro Sagisu and Tsuneyoshi Saito and performed by the Ensemble Archi Della Scala and Orchestra Synfonica di Milano (Milan Symphony Orchestra). Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VI, a second arranged album, features thirteen tracks from the game, performed for piano by Reiko Nomura.

Graphics

Yoshitaka Amano, another long-time contributor to the Final Fantasy series, returned as the image and character designer. Amano provided concept sketches to the programmers, who converted them into the sprites featured in the game due to technical limitations of the time. Liberties were taken during the conversion, such as changing Terra Branford's hair from blonde to green, and changing Celes Chere's outfit entirely. Amano also designed the title logo. The graphics were directed by Tetsuya Takahashi (graphic chief), Hideo Minaba (background graphics), Kazuko Shibuya (object graphic) and Tetsuya Nomura (designer for some characters). In the full motion videos (FMVs) produced for the game's PlayStation rerelease, the character designs featured are based on Amano's designs.

Though it was not the first game to utilize the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 graphics, Final Fantasy VI made more extensive use of them than its predecessors. For instance, unlike both Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V, the world map is rendered in Mode 7, which lends a somewhat three-dimensional perspective to an otherwise two-dimensional game.

Localization

Template:Frame right The original North American localization and release of Final Fantasy VI by Square for the Super Nintendo featured several changes from the original Japanese version. The most obvious of these is the change of the game's title from Final Fantasy VI to Final Fantasy III; because the previous installment, Final Fantasy V, wasn't localized in North America at the time, Final Fantasy VI was distributed as Final Fantasy III to maintain naming continuity, as they did with Final Fantasy IV. Unlike Final Fantasy IV (which was first released in North America as Final Fantasy II), there are no major changes to gameplay, though certain editorial adjustments exist in the English script. In a January 1995 interview with Super POWER magazine, translator Ted Woolsey explained that "there's a certain level of playfulness and ... sexuality in Japanese games that just doesn't exist here , basically because of Nintendo of America's rules and guidelines". Consequently, objectional graphics (i.e. nudity) were censored and building signs in towns were changed as well as religious allusions. (i.e. The magic spell Holy was renamed Pearl).

The localization also featured changes to several names, though some of these — in the case of characters — were necessitated by technical restrictions of only six letters per name (e.g. "Stragus" was shortened to "Strago"). Other changes were made for the game to meet Nintendo's aforementioned content guidelines (which Nintendo of America did to most games before the founding of the ESRB and its rating system) and simply due to differences between Asian and North American cultures. For example, Terra's Japanese name, Tina, sounds exotic to Japanese people, but is a common English Anglophone name. Finally, dialogue text files had to be shortened due to the limited data storage space available on the game cartridge's read-only memory. As a result, additional changes were rendered to dialogue in order to compress it into the available space. This translation was done in only 30 days by Woolsey alone.

The PlayStation re-release featured only a couple of minor changes to the English localization. First, the title of the game was reverted back to Final Fantasy VI instead of Final Fantasy III, as the decision had apparently been made to unify the numbering scheme of the series in North America and Japan with the earlier release of Final Fantasy VII. Second, a few item and character name adjustments were made, such as the expansion of "Fenix Down" to "Phoenix Down". Unlike the PlayStation rerelease of Final Fantasy IV included in the Final Fantasy Chronicles compilation, the script was left essentially unchanged. Finally, while many fans continued to refer to the first "world" as the "World Of Balance" and the destroyed world as the "World Of Ruin", Square had begun to refer to the destruction event (that turns the Balance World to the Ruin World) as the "cataclysm" event, and in the bestiary unlockable, the game sorts the monsters as "Pre-C" (monsters that appear before the cataclysm) and Post-C (those that appear afterwards). This would continue throughout future translations, with the word being used more frequently to refer to the "world ending".

The Game Boy Advance re-release featured a new translation by a different translator, Tom Slattery. This translation preserved most of the character names, location names, and terminology from the Woolsey translation, but changed item and spell names to match the conventions used in more recent titles in the series. The revised script preserved certain quirky lines from the original while changing or editing others, and cleared up certain points of confusion in the original translation.

Reception and legacy

Upon its release in 1994, Final Fantasy VI received a positive reception from most major gaming publications of the time. GamePro gave it a perfect 5 out of 5 score, while Electronic Gaming Monthly granted a 9 out of 10 in its October issue and named it game of the month over Earthworm Jim and Mortal Kombat II. Additionally, Electronic Gaming Monthly later ranked the game ninth in its 1997 list of the 100 greatest console games of all time, and when it was re-released for the PlayStation, the same magazines rated it 4 out of 5 and 9.5 out of 10, respectively. For their part, Nintendo Power declared the game "the RPG hit of the decade", noting its improved sound and graphics over its predecessors, as well as the game's scope. Moreover, they suggested that "with so much story and variation of play ... fans may become lost in the world for months at a time". They also ranked it in the top 40 in their "Top 200 games on a Nintendo Platform" saying "Is this the best Final Fantasy ever?... Quite Possibly"

Today, multimedia news website IGN ranks Final Fantasy VI as fifty-six on their list of the one hundred greatest games — placing it as the second highest ranked Final Fantasy title on the list after Final Fantasy IV — describing its graphics in a review of the PlayStation rerelease as "beautiful and stunning in context", as well as surprisingly emotive for its time period. Additionally, IGN commented that, at the time of its release, "Final Fantasy III ... represented everything an RPG should be and bumped up the standards in gameplay...", inspiring statistic growth systems "under different guises in games like Wild Arms ... and Suikoden ...". Moreover, they praised its gameplay and storyline, claiming that these aspects took "all ... preceding RPG concepts and either came up with something completely new or refined them enough to make them its own", creating an atmosphere in which " won't find it difficult to get past the simplistic graphics or seemingly out-dated gameplay conventions and become involved ...".

The users of the gaming website GameFAQs chose Final Fantasy VI, in its translation as Final Fantasy 3 for the Super Nintendo, as the tenth greatest game of all time in 2005, while readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu voted it as the twenty-fifth best of all time in early 2006. RPGamer gave a perfect rating to both the original game and its PlayStation rerelease, citing its gameplay as "self-explanatory enough that most any player could pick up the game and customize their characters equipment" and its music as "a 16-bit masterpiece". Alternatively, they describe the game's sound effects as limited and the game itself as lacking in replay value due to having "one ending, one path through the plot, and ... sidequests". Additionally, they regarded the game's English translation as "unremarkable", being "better than some but worse than others", and offered similar comments for its gameplay difficulty. However, they referred to the game's storyline as its "... most unique aspect", citing its large cast of characters, "nearly all of whom receive a great deal of development", and "surprisingly large number of real world issues, the vast majority of which have not been addressed by any RPG before or since, ranging from teen pregnancy to suicide". Overall, RPGamer regarded the game as an "epic masterpiece" and "truly one of the greatest games ever created".

Additionally, the North American rerelease on the PlayStation has sold approximately 364,000 copies.

In 2007, the Game Boy Advance re-release was named 8 best Game Boy Advance game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the Game Boy Advance's long lifespan.

Interactive CG Game

Final Fantasy VI: The Interactive CG Game (also known as the Final Fantasy SGI demo, or Final Fantasy x (not related to the actual 10th game in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy X) was a short demonstration produced by video game developer Square Co. using characters and settings from Final Fantasy VI. Produced using new Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) Onyx workstations acquired by Square, the demo was Square's first foray into 3D graphics, and many assumed that it was a precursor to a new Final Fantasy title for the Nintendo 64 video game console, which also utilized SGI hardware. Square, however, had not yet committed to Nintendo's console at the time of the demo's production, and much of the technology demonstrated in the demo was later put to use in the rendering of full motion video sequences for Final Fantasy VII and subsequent games for the PlayStation. The demo itself featured Terra Branford, Locke Cole, and Shadow in a series of battles. The game was controlled largely through mouse gestures: for example, moving the cursor in the shape of a star would summon a dragon to attack.

Re-releases

PlayStation

Final Fantasy VI was ported to the Sony PlayStation by TOSE and re-released by Square in Japan and North America during 1999. In Japan, it was available both individually and as part of Final Fantasy Collection, while it was only available as part of Final Fantasy Anthology in North America. During 2002, this rerelease became available in PAL territories and was the first time that the game had seen an official release in those countries.

Final Fantasy VI's PlayStation rerelease is very similar to the original Japanese release as seen on the Super Famicom. With the exception of the addition of two FMV opening and ending sequences, the graphics, music and sound are left unchanged from the Japanese version. The only notable changes to gameplay involve the correction of a few software bugs from the original, the creation or oversight of other bugs and the addition of a new "memo save" feature, allowing players to quickly save their progress to the PlayStation's RAM. The rerelease included other special features, such as a bestiary and artwork gallery.

Game Boy Advance

Final Fantasy VI was ported a second time by TOSE and re-released as Final Fantasy VI Advance (ファイナルファンタジーVIアドバンス, Fainaru Fantajī Shikkusu Adobansu) by Square Enix in Japan on November 30, 2006 and by Nintendo of America in North America on February 5, 2007 on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. Its EU release date is June 29, 2007. It includes additional gameplay features and enhanced visuals. Four new espers appear in this re-release - Leviathan, Gilgamesh, Cactuar, and Diabolos; along with a new dungeon called the Dragon's Den (which includes the CzarDragon, here known as Kaiser Dragon, coded but not included in the original), as well as a Soul Shrine, a place where the player can fight monsters continuously. Three new spells also appear: Flood, Valor, and Gravija, and several bugs from the original (such as the Vanish/Doom glitch) are fixed. In addition, like the other handheld Final Fantasy re-releases, a bestiary and music player are included. The package features new artwork by series veteran and original character and image designer Yoshitaka Amano.

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11. ^ "Final Fantasy III for SNES Reviews - SNES Final Fantasy III Reviews". GameSpot. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
12. ^ Vestal, Andrew. "Final Fantasy Anthology Review". Gamespot. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
13. ^ Reyes, Francesca. "IGN: Final Fantasy Anthology". IGN. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "ign" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
14. Square Enix staff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy Anthology instruction manual. Square Enix. p. 39. SLUS-00900GH.
15. Square Enix North America site staff (2002). "Final Fantasy VI - Battle Systems". Square Enix. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
16. Square Enix staff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy Anthology instruction manual. Square Enix. p. 49. SLUS-00900GH.
17. Square Enix staff, ed. (1999). Final Fantasy Anthology instruction manual. Square Enix. p. 47. SLUS-00900GH.
18. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft. (NPC in Jidoor) You like art? No? Philistines!
19. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft. Left statue: The birth of magic... three goddesses were banished here. In time they began quarreling, which led to all-out war. Those unlucky humans who got in the way were transformed to Espers, and used as living war machines. / Right Statue: The goddesses finally realized that they were being laughed at by those who had banished them here. In a rare moment of mutual clarity, they agreed to seal themselves away from the world. With their last ounce of energy they gave the Espers back their own free will, and then transformed themselves... ...into stone. Their only request was that the Espers keep them sealed away from all eternity. / Center Statue: The Espers created these statues as a symbol of their vow to let the goddesses sleep in peace. The Espers have sworn to keep the goddesses' power from being abused.
20. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft. (Game opening) Long ago, the War of the Magi reduced the world to a scorched wasteland, and magic simply ceased to exist. 1000 years have passed... Iron, gunpowder and steam engines have been rediscovered, and high technology reigns...
21. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft. Madonna: But humans and Espers can never coexist...! Maduin: How do we know for sure unless we observe for ourselves?
22. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft. (NPC in Vector) That guy Kefka? He was Cid's first experimental Magitek Knight. But the process wasn't perfected yet. Something in Kefka's mind snapped that day...!
23. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft. Wedge: Not to worry. The Slave Crown on her head robs her of all conscious thought. She'll follow our orders.
24. Locke: On the surface, Edgar pretends to support the Empire. The truth is, he's collaborating with the Returners, an organization opposed to the Empire. I am his contact with that group... The old man you met in Narshe is one of us. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
25. Sutherland, Kenny (2003). "Elusions: Final Fantasy 64". LostLevels. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
26. RPGamer site staff. "Final Fantasy SGI Demo". RPGamer. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
27. Terra: You... saved me? / Locke: Save your thanks for the Moogles! / Terra: Uhh... I can't remember anything... past or present... / Locke: You have amnesia!? Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
28. Banon: Have you made a decision? Will you become our last ray of hope? ... / Terra: I'll do it! Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
29. Locke: ...Where's Terra? / Celes: She changed into a...something, and...took off. She looked like... She looked like...an Esper... Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
30. (Unidentified character) Terra looks like she's in pain. / Ramuh: Her very existence strikes fear into her own heart. / (Unidentified character) How can we help her? / Ramuh: When she accepts this aspect of herself, I think she'll be all right. / (Unidentified character) We have to help her! / Ramuh: Then free those of my kind imprisoned in Gestahl's Magitek Research Facility. One of them can surely help her. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
31. Ramuh: Gestahl's method is incorrect. You can't drain a live Esper of all its power. It is only when we are reduced to Magicite that our abilities can be transferred in total... / Unspecified character: Pardon!? / Ramuh: When we transform into Magicite, our power can be relocated. / Unspecified character: Magicite...!? / Ramuh: That's what's left of us when we... pass away. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
32. (An Esper) Our friends are all gone... We haven't much time left... We have no choice but to entrust you with our essences... / Esper: You want to help me... But... I haven't long to live. Just as Ifrit did before me, I'll give to you my power... Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
33. Kefka: So that's it! Magicite... ... / Kefka: General Celes!! The game's over. Bring me those Magicite shards! / Locke: Celes! You... deceived me!? / Celes: Of course not! Have a little faith! / Kefka: G'hee, hee, hee! She has tricked you all! Celes, that's so... YOU! / Celes: Locke... Please believe me... / Locke: I... ... ... / Kefka: NOW!! / Kefka: Exterminate all of them! / Celes: Locke... Let me protect you for once... Maybe now... Now you'll believe me... / Kefka: Celes! W... What are you doing? Stop it!!! Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
34. Terra: Father...? I remember it all... I was raised in the Esper's world. ... / Terra: I'm the product of an Esper and a human... That's where I got my powers... Now I understand... I finally feel I can begin to control this power of mine... Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
35. Arvis: I see... Your plan would combine Narshe's money with Figaro's machinery to storm the Empire... not enough manpower, though... / Banon: We have to open the sealed gate... Terra!? / Terra: To the Esper World...? / Arvis: We'll never beat the Empire without them. / Banon: When the gate has been opened, the Espers can attack from the east. We'll storm in at the same time, from the north. No way around it. We MUST get the Espers to understand. We have to establish a bond of trust between humand and Espers. Only one person can do this... Terra... / Terra: Half human, half Esper... My existence is proof that such a bond CAN exist... I'll do it. I'm the only one who can! Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
36. Gestahl: I've lost my will to fight... ... / Gestahl: I've ordered this war to be over! Now I must ask for a favour... After they devastated my Empire, the Espers headed northward, towards Crescent Island. They must be found...! We must tell them we're no longer their enemy. After all that I have put them through, it is up to me to set things right. That is why... I need to borrow Terra's power. Only Terra can bridge the gap between Esper and human. We must make for Crescent Island aboard the freighter from Albrook. Will you accompany me? Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
37. Kefka: G'ha, ha, ha! Emperor's orders! I'm to bring the Magicite remains of these Espers to his excellency! Behold! A Magicite mother lode!! Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
38. Setzer: We've been had!! The Emperor is a liar! ... / Edgar: I got to know the gal who brought us tea. After a while, she just blurted out the whole crooked plan. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
39. Cid: Celes... at last...! You're finally awake... / Celes: I... feel like I've been sleeping forever... / Cid: For one year, actually... ... / Cid: We're on a tiny, deserted island. After the world crumbled, I awoke to find us here together with... a few strangers. / Cid: Since that day, the world's continued its slide into ruin. Animals and plants are dying... The few others who washed up here with us passed away of boredom and despair. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
40. Celes: Terra! What's wrong? The Magicite... Magic is disappearing from this world... / Edgar: The Espers... They no longer exist... / Celes: You mean Terra, too? / Terra: Come with me. I can lead you out with my last ounce of strength. Square Co (1994-10-11). Final Fantasy III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft.
41. Farand, Eric. "Original Game Concert 4". RPGFan. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
42. Schweitzer, Ben & Gann, Patrick. "Final Fantasy VI OSV". RPGFan. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
43. Thomas, Damian. "RPGFan Soundtracks - Final Fantasy III: Kefka's Domain". RPGFan. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
44. Square Haven staff. "Square Haven Albums Final Fantasy VI - Original Sound Version". Square Haven. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
45. Space, Daniel & Gann, Patrick. "Final Fantasy VI Grand Finale". RPGFan. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
46. Space, Daniel & Gann, Patrick. "Final Fantasy VI Piano Collections". RPGFan. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
47. Mat. "Interview with Yoshitaka Amano, Concept Illustrator for Final Fantasy IX". E Boredom. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
48. "ファイナル ファンタジー6 FINAL FANTASY VI". FINAL FANTASY 2000 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-02-02.
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53. Tom. "Final Fantasy Anthology - Playstation Game Review". Absolute-Playstation. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
54. Djibriel. "Final Fantasy VI Review 4". Caves of Narshe. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
55. West, Neil (1994). "SUPER PLAY-Fantasy Quest: Interview with Ted Woolsey". Shadow Madness Classic. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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59. Chris (2007). "Transcript of Ted Woolsey Interview - Player One Podcast". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |access monthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |access year= ignored (help)
60. Simon Parkin (2007). "Eurogamer: Final Fantasy VI advance review". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |access monthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |access year= ignored (help)
61. "GameFAQs: Final Fantasy VI advance info". 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |access monthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |access year= ignored (help)
62. Schreier, Jason (2007). "RPGamer: Final Fantasy VI Advance Staff Review". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |access monthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |access year= ignored (help)
63. "Final Fantasy Anthology for PlayStation Reviews - PlayStation Final Fantasy Anthology Reviews". GameSpot. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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65. Now Playing. Nintendo Power. October , 2004. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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External links

• Square Enix's Official Final Fantasy VI website
• Square Enix's Official Final Fantasy VI Advance website (Japanese)
• Nintendo's Official Final Fantasy VI Advance website (English)
• Template:Nintendo.com
• Template:Nintendo.com
• Final Fantasy VI at Wikia
• Lost Levels Online "Elusions: Final Fantasy 64"
• FantasyAnime. "The REAL Final Fantasy VII?." FantasyAnime. Accessed on August 26, 2005.
• RPGamer media
• Video part 1
• Video part 2
• Video part 3
• Final Fantasy VI Technology Demo for SGI on YouTube

Template:FFVI

• 1994 video games
• Final Fantasy VI
• Final Fantasy games
• Game Boy Advance games
• IRIX games
• PlayStation games
• SGI
• Steampunk
• Super NES games
• Technology demos
• Video games developed in Japan