Is Final Fantasy VI the greatest Final Fantasy game ever made? There’s a pretty convincing argument that it is. But there’s a difference between the best game in a series and the one that means the most to you.

★

Retro Replay Review

Graphics78%

78%

Sound84%

84%

Gameplay78%

78%

Story / Presentation84%

84%

Replay Value76%

76%

80%

Retro Replay Verdict

A memorable RPG with a rich cast and an adventure strong enough to challenge any personal Final Fantasy favorite.

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On 11 October 1994, Final Fantasy III arrived in North America for the Super Nintendo. Of course, we know it today as Final Fantasy VI. The numbering confusion came from several earlier Japanese releases never making it to North America, leaving American players with a rather unusual sequence of titles.

I didn’t actually play VI until years later, which means I missed experiencing it during its original SNES heyday. But even without that nostalgia, it’s difficult not to appreciate what Square accomplished.

Fourteen permanently recruitable characters, an incredible soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu, the unforgettable opera sequence, and one of gaming’s most wonderfully unhinged villains in Kefka. And then there’s the World of Ruin, which turns the traditional RPG adventure on its head and gives players an unusual amount of freedom to rebuild their party and finish the story.

For the record: Final Fantasy VI doesn’t really have a single traditional protagonist. Terra might be the face of the game, but the ensemble cast and their individual stories are what make the adventure so memorable.

Still, Final Fantasy IX remains my personal favorite. Not necessarily because I think it’s mechanically or narratively superior, but because of the memories I associate with playing it. Sometimes the circumstances surrounding a game matter just as much as the game itself.

If I were judging these titles strictly on their own merits, VI might very well deserve the crown. But IX will probably always hold that special place for me.

What’s your verdict? Is Final Fantasy VI the best in the series, or is your favorite Final Fantasy tied to something more personal?