Final Fantasy VI Advance
Gameboy Advance
E 10+ for Everyone 10 and older
5 out of 5
It’s no secret that Final Fantasy VI is tied with Chrono Trigger for my favorite game of all time.
It’s also no secret that a majority of the gaming world agrees with me.
It is, however, a surprise that I never picked up Final Fantasy VI Advance sooner, because it is by far the best incarnation of the game to date.
Before getting into the older stuff, I should point out what’s new. There are two new dungeons added to the game, the Dragon’s Den and the Soul Shrine; a new Esper was added, Diabolos; a bestiary has been included; and, finally, it’s on the Gameboy Advance. The script has also been rewritten to make a whole lot more sense, which is incredibly refreshing. I recently played through the original SNES version, called Final Fantasy III in the States, and it’s really quite silly to read the story.
Those uninitiated to the FFVI world should be aware that it is a turn-based role-playing game with an incredibly in-depth story, an expansive cast of characters and hours upon hours of quests and adventures occupied by a vast amount of bad guys and dungeons. It’s the most engrossing game I’ve ever played.
The storyline kicks off with a mysterious girl able to wield the powers of magic in a world where the art has been long lost. An evil empire decides to use her to gain control of the entire world, so they capture her as a slave. She is rescued by forces plotting against the Empire, and then joins their team to take down the baddies. It’s your traditional story, but all the stuff in between is what makes this game stand out among all others.
With the rate Square-Enix is going, a DS or PSP remake of this may not be far away. They just recently finished a remake of the beloved Final Fantasy IV, known as Final Fantasy II on this side of the ocean when it was originally released. That version has all kinds of new graphics and extra additions, so we’ll see if these get added in a later version of FFVI.
One can only hope.
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Adam Wratten is Resident Gamer and Online Editor for The Monitor and themonitor.com. He also blogs about World of Warcraft at moonkin.freedomblogging.com.
