25 years ago, Final Fantasy VI blessed the world with its ambitious story, world setting, and amazing graphics (at the time). A lot of people would consider this game as one of, if not the BEST Final Fantasy and with memorable characters like Terra Branford, Celes Chere, Locke Cole, Cyan Garamonde, and the antagonist Kefka Palazzo (just to name a few of the characters), it's definitely easy to see why it's one of the most well regarded. I, myself, am a BIG fan of Final Fantasy VI and one of its main, Terra Branford/Tina Branford. Though funny enough, I didn't come to know this game as FFVI when I first played it. I knew it as:
And funny enough, I didn't play Final Fantasy "3" until after I finished Final Fantasy VII. Yes, I was a late comer when it comes to gaming, but be that as it may, my love for Final Fantasy grew with every game I played after but there was always something about Final Fantasy VI that truly left a mark in my gaming life.
Maybe it's the lovely Terra Branford (all versions of her), or maybe because there was just the heart that came along with the game, or maybe because Final Fantasy VI was a big part of a pivotal part of my life, I don't know. I can say for sure that Terra Branford is a good reason since I consider her to be one of my favorite Final Fantasy characters. I mean, I have commissioned her a ton in both some pretty distressing scenarios and just overall being sexy and badass all at the same time. She's not the one Final Fantasy character that I can say I can relate to the most, but she does hold a special place in my heart because she's the first Final Fantasy gal that really stole my heart without having to show a whole lot of skin, or at least, it wasn't clear with the graphics. Though there's nothing wrong with skin! I'm obviously a fan of that!
Dare I mention the music? Terra and Shadow's theme to be exact? Though I love the music in general, I can honestly say that those two have the most hypnotizing beat. And I have listened to a dozen remastered/remix that it's insane.
It's true that Final Fantasy VI will never get the fame like FFVII, FFXIII, and FFXV will ever get but this game holds dear to a lot of peoples' heart for a myriad of reasons. Many might echo what I said about characters, story, music, and nostalgia, many others might have exact memories that correlates when they played this game, who knows? All we know is that Final Fantasy VI lives on despite the time that has passed.
It's not like Final Fantasy VI is completely dead today anyways. Like most of the characters of the Final Fantasies that came before and after, Terra, Locke, Celes, Shadow, and even Kefka still get exposures through spinoff games like the Dissidia series from the PSP days, and of course, The Esper, the Adventurer, and the Crazy Clown gets their fair share of exposure in #Dissidia_NT. Opera Omnia also takes it a step further by including someone like Celes, Sabin, Relm, and Edgar... Very obscure characters in the grand scheme of the Final Fantasy fans of today! Then there's Brave Exvius and Mobius that either have some of these characters as playable OR at the very least, have weapons and outfits that pays homage to Final Fantasy VI. Simply put, while it's not the most popular, it's still alive and with that, I'm hoping it gets a remaster with graphics that are good enough for this day and age. I mean, I'd take a Final Fantasy VI "remake" with PS3 graphics for crying out loud! I don't even mind the Dissidia NT graphics!
So with all that said, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Final Fantasy VI! My words can't express how much you have influenced my fandom and my life as a whole!
Until Next Time!
related site: Siliconera
