Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy VI is the sixth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, developed and published by Squaresoft. It was released in April 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan, and released as Final Fantasy III in North America in October 1994. It was co-directed by Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Itou, taking over from Hironobu Sakaguchi, with Nobuo Uematsu composing the score and Yoshitaka Amano providing image design. Final Fantasy VI is the last game in the main series to feature two-dimensional graphics, and the first game that does not revolve around crystals.

Like its predecessors, Final Fantasy VI has received several reissues, including on PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, iOS, Android, and Microsoft Windows. In North America, the PlayStation release was only included on the compilation, Final Fantasy Anthology. The Game Boy Advance remake is titled Final Fantasy VI Advance.

Final Fantasy VI focuses on a conflict between the Gestahlian Empire conquering the world and a rebel faction opposed to them known as the Returners, taking place in a fantasy steampunk-style world. The Empire has acquired great power by experimenting on captured Espers, magical creatures of legend. The Returners seek magical power to fight the Empire on equal terms, and an amnesiac former imperial soldier, Terra Branford, proves key to both sides for understanding magic and espers.

Gameplay
Like the previous Final Fantasy installments, Final Fantasy VI consists of four basic modes of gameplay: a world map, town and dungeon field maps, a battle screen, and a menu screen. The world map allows the party to travel 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. Enemies are randomly encountered on the world map if the party travels by foot. The menu screen is where the player decides which equipment the party will use, the magic they learn, and to track their experience points and levels. The game allows for up to fourteen playable characters, the largest cast in the series. A party can have up to four characters at once, although some events require the player to assemble three different parties and switch between them.

In towns, the party can talk to citizens to learn useful information and be given hints that help them on their journey. Many towns have shops, such as an Item Shop, which sells various items, a Weapon Shop, which sells weapons, and an Armor Shop, which sells armor. Most towns have an inn, which the party can rest at to fully restore their HP and MP.

Dungeons take place in a variety of settings, including caves, forests, and buildings. Many dungeons have uncommon items that are not sold in Item Shops. Most items are obtained from treasure chests, which are found in both subterranean and town areas. Sometimes an item can be found in an urn. Some homes have an Elixir (an item that fully restores the HP and MP of one character) inside of a.

During battle, the player must decide on commands for each character, such as Fight, Magic, and Items. From the Config menu, the player can decide on whether the battles are Active Time Battles or turn-based. They can also select the "Defend" command in a submenu to have a character skip a turn during battle. 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 a command to that character. If more than one action bar is filled, the order in which character's command is selected is based on whose action bar filled up the soonest. Each character has a unique command ability, such as Terra's Trance, Locke's Steal, Edgar's Tools or Sabin's Blitz.

Final Fantasy VI is unique for its Desperation Attack, a powerful attack substitution that occasionally appears when a character's health is low. Characters are rewarded for victorious battles with experience points and. When characters attain a certain amount of experience points, they gain a level, which increases their statistics. The game also introduces Relics, which have a variety of uses and effects, and are almost entirely interchangeable among party members. Many Relics are sold in Relic Shops, which are found in certain towns.

At first, only two playable characters start with the ability to use magic, which can later be taught most other playable characters through Magicite and the powerful being contained within, known as an Esper. Magicite can be equipped to individual party members, who can only summon the contained Esper once per battle. Each Magicite has a specific set of magic spells that a character can learn from earning AP during battle. Some Magicite also grant a statistical bonus to a character when they gain a level.