If you were to ask a long-time, hardcore
Final Fantasy fan which game of the series was his or her favourite, chances are good that he or she would would suddenly break into his or her version of
Aria Di Mezzo Carattere, a famous
opera song from
Final Fantasy VI.
Well, probably not. But if they could, I bet they would. A 22-minute version of this song appears on Orchestral Game Concert 5, recorded live, in front of a large audience, with a full orchestra and singing, in Italian! From this fact alone, you can probably determine the success of this game, and the importance and seriousness that some people attach to it. It represents the pinnacle of the series in terms of story, music, game play, fandom, and fun. When this came out, there were no old-school hardcores complaining about the series' changing paradigms, like there are with every release now-a-days. Why? Because it's a fucking good game, everything that we'd been asking for.
In my opinion, Squaresoft made the right choice when they chose to only bring over Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy IV, and this game,
VI. Up to this point, they had only given us their best. Final Fantasy VII, though it had a much wider playing-base, was to me a less successful game. Things of course have only gotten worse since then. And so, this is why we revere this game so much: it was our last taste of true Final Fantasy ambrosia, which I doubt we'll ever get again.
Well, I just said "Final Fantasy ambrosia". Because of this fact, I have been officially graduated into full, Squaresoft fanboy status, so take this writeup with a grain of salt (or sugar!).
The coolest part of the game occurs during the five minutes before you are even able to play; the opening is a work of near genius. We are introduced to the darkish setting of the game and catch a glimpse of a few characters (including the final villain), while in the background the very ominous opening theme plays. And then, the trudging walk through the Mode 7 snow field, with the city of Narshe rising up in the background. The beginning credits rise, as if this game were a movie, and then the beautiful Terra's Theme begins to play. Undisputedly, this is Nobuo Uematsu's single best piece. Grand and haunting, especially now while we watch these three unknown figures drudge through the snow.
And then, the game starts.
I won't get into that. It's long and good. You'll enjoy it.
Best music. Best story. Longest playing time. Best ending. Best villain. Largest cast of characters.