Long ago, the War of Magi reduced the world to scorched wastelands, and magic simply ceased to exist. 1000 years have passed... Iron, gunpowder and steam engines have been rediscovered, and high technology reigns. But there are some who would enslave the world by reviving the dreaded destructive force known as "magic". Can it be that those in power are on the verge of repeating a senseless and deadly mistake?

It would unfortunately seem so... Two imperial soldiers, accompanied by a woman with the gift of magic, are on their way to Narshe, a mining town that fiercely defends its independence. They are exploring the town in order to confirm reports that an Esper, a creature of magic, has been spotted for the first time in 1000 years. When they find it, the witch strangely reacts to it...

When she wakes up, a man takes out her slave crown, which robbed her of any conscious action. She remembers nothing but her name, Terra. Narshe soldiers quickly find her and she escapes to the time. When she is trapped, she falls into a pit, where she is rescued by Locke the treasure hunter (he hates the word thief) and Moogles. Since Narshe is hostile, they flee south to Figaro, a castle in the desert. King Edgar thinks Terra's magical talent could be the key to win over the Empire. Speaking of which, Kefka, one of their top "representative", arrives at the castle to claim Terra. Since Edgar doesn't comply, he puts the castle on fire! Fortunately, Figaro is a high-tech castle that can plunge under the sand and escape threats.

The team then heads south. After crossing a mountain, Sabin, Edgar's younger brother, joins the team and head to the Returners' hideout, where people plot to overthrown the evil Empire. As Terra tries to decide if she will join the Returners, dire news come: South Figaro has been conquered by the Empire! Locke decides to sneak it in order to slow the Empire's progression. The others flee through Lete River in order to regain Narshe; that's the next step for the Empire. There they meet Ultros, a very annoying octopus. After disposing of it, Sabin doubts it's gone for good and plunges to destroy it.

Will Locke succeed in slowing the Empire in South Figaro? Will Terra and Edgar bring Banon, the Returner leader, safely to Narshe? And will Sabin be able to find his way?

Graphics: 9/10
This game has by far the best graphs of the 16 bits era. Characters have distinguishable features (although Crono Trigger did draw their characters better), they have facial/hand expressions and magic is done nicely. The game uses (and sometimes abuses) 3D effects to their fullest extent, which makes the overworld map look very pretty. And unfortunately, enemies are still static. Nevertheless, battle movement is much more fluid, and enemies instantly dissolve rather than slowly fading away

Music: 10/10
Uematsu does it again. He used the full capacity of the Super Nintendo cartridge and produce some of the most memorable musics of the 16 bits era, even surpassing Final Fantasy VII in many aspects - 6 was much more realistic. The battle theme is the best of the series (and the fanfare too), the three overworld themes each represent the mood of the moment and the final dungeon sounds very epic. And how can one forget the most memorable sound of the 16 bits era: Kefka's laughter. And finally, there's even an opera in the game, which (midi) voices and all!

Addictiveness: 10/10
Like other Square games, Final Fantasy VI has a lot to offer. Espers (those who make you learn magic) are dispersed everywhere on the planet, and some of them hold very strong magic. Characters like Gau and Strago can learn skills from enemies; can you learn them all?
Finally, there are so many sidequests that you will likely spend 40-50 hours completing the game

Story: 10/10
Square apparently spent more time thinking about a good scenario for Final Fantasy VI than Final Fantasy V. The scenario is very complex; Terra's gift of magic, in a world where it ceased to exist 1000 years ago, is such a mystery. Why is it? And even though we know the Empire is evil, the Emperor is NOT the top evil... Finally, every main-plot character plays an important role somewhere in the story. They each have their moment, and having characters at key moment even yields more information on them

Depth: 10/10
As a result of thorough thinking about the scenario, Square was able to develop it like no other game before it - it was only surpassed by Crono Trigger. I remember thinking for myself, Hence the 40-50 hours of playing to get through the game with such sidequests as the Coloseum, finding the dragons and the secret characters. There are also recurring running gags like Ultros, who pops up once in a while. Many other situations can generate laughter, although the translation sometimes make it... weird.

Difficulty: 7/10
Despite the depth of the game, the difficulty level is reasonable. Edgar's tools and Sabin's blitz can all help wipeout enemies in no time, even when you discover magic. However, . And at one point, there is a way to completely avoid fighting!

In conclusion, if you love RPGs, you will love Final Fantasy VI. The graphics will impress you, the music will stick in your head, the story will make you a total addict and the reasonable difficulty level will make you skip meals and sleep!

Good review You did what you needed to do and didn't put too much extra. Great job on the review as you broke it down and put in a good amount of detail. Keep it up man

Nice job with this review man, I think it came out quite nice if I do say so myself. Your review is spaced out, making it look both more professional and also easy to read, and you were also detailed in every category of the review as well. Plus you were generous enough to point out spoilers so it didn't come as a surprise. Your review was long, but it held my interest. I find that reviews 2,000 words and up are harder to read and stay interested in, but yours was the perfect length. 

Overall I think it came out great and I can't really suggest anything to further improve this review, just keep doing what you are doing and keep up the great work. Keep reviewing, I look forward to reading your next one! 

janus : What a great review! It's very long and detailed, you tell a lot about the story and even add spoilers! Keep it up, I like to read your next review!

janus : Great review it's very detailed i'm a huge final fantasy fan the best franchise in the world hope to see another review from you.