Game Rant looks back at Final Fantasy VI:

30 Years Later, Final Fantasy 6 is Still a Perfect Time Capsule for the Franchise

Looking back at Final Fantasy 6 on its 30th anniversary provides a snapshot of one of gaming's most important franchises at a pivotal turning point.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Final Fantasy 6 released on April 2, 1994 and marked a turning point for the franchise with new graphics and a fresh direction, ending an era of original creators.
• The game is considered a masterpiece, combining ideas from previous Final Fantasy games to create a groundbreaking experience.
• The core development team of Final Fantasy 6 included legendary creators who went on to work on other iconic games in the industry, and it remains an important piece of video game history.

Thirty years ago today, Square unleashed Final Fantasy 6 upon the world, revolutionizing both the franchise and the role-playing game genre. Not only would Final Fantasy 6 end up being the last game in the series to utilize 2D sprite-based graphics, but it would also be the first game in the series to feature direction from someone other than Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. As a result, Final Fantasy 6 represents a monumental turning point for the franchise, signaling the passing of the torch from the first generation of creators to the new luminaries behind the Final Fantasy games. Essentially, Final Fantasy 6 is the end of an era.

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Thanks Couchpotato!

N0sSyndrome looks back at Final Fantasy VI:

So... I played Final Fantasy VI for the first time

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A graphics mod for Final Fantasy VI has been released called 'A World Reborn'.

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Our latest trailer to our mod.. Well actually surprise it's out.. There is still much to do but I hope you guys all like it.. Couldn't have done it without the amazing team we had.. Next update will cover spells, world map and ui... Please have fun and enjoy.. Readme is in the rar files and further credits on steam. Download the mod and the latest fixes at the below steam link..

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ff-modding/discussions/10/2549465882924502312/

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Final Fantasy VI - A World Reborn v1.0 Released!

What is A World Reborn?

This patch replaces all of the games sprites with higher quality
sprites based off of Amano's concept art, while making NPC's more
colorful and diverse. It also replaces all of the game's monsters
and espers to make them more in line with both the concept art for
Final Fantasy VI and with respect to the greater reach of Final
Fantasy lore. The mod also replaces battle UI with custom portraits
that are based on Amano's portraits from previous releases of Final
Fantasy VI; much of the mobile UI clutter has also been delete and the
UI for the Bestiary and the Event Album have been updated to reflect
the changes made in this mod. The entire OST has been reworked with
Orchestral tracks including a fully voiced Opera. The battelbacks have
been reworked to be more visually appealing as well as the font, which
has been replaced with a custom font based on the GBA release. Topping
this all off is a custom ReShade profile that adds a CRT filter and a
recoloring of the game that adds an operatic ambience to the game, which
can also be used to switch beween 4:3 and 16:9 aspect rations by pressing
the TAB button.

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Final Fantasy VI is now moddable thanks to Modder Jed Lang. PCGamer has the full story.

Final Fantasy VI's PC port was definitely not built to be fiddled with. Modders are doing it anyway. And unlike the typical PC port, Final Fantasy VI contains a surprise secret: a pristine copy of the Game Boy Advance ROM buried in its source code.

...From a programming perspective it's a really clever solution to remastering the game, as opposed to remaking everything from the ground up. They just take the data from the old version, and render it out in a supposedly prettier way."

Modder Jed Lang, who goes by the handle Nyxo, has been leading the charge for VI modding with a tool he calls FFVI_Explore. Lang is the reason modders know about that ROM buried at VI's core. FFVI_Explore, which he released the first version of 12 days after the game hit Steam, was the breakthrough that allowed other modders to start digging into FFVI's files. Lang's tool extracts the game's .obb container into its source files, laying bare sprites and tilesets and music and all the rest to be modified.

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As it stands now, FFVI_Explore only allows for replacing files. Modders can use it to completely overwrite the game's sprites and backgrounds, for example, but they can't use it to change game logic or rework the functionality of the UI. That degree of modification is more complex than a file explorer can support. But that GBA ROM nestled inside Final Fantasy VI's port may be key to deeper modifications-even opening the game up to new player-crafted story and gameplay within the Final Fantasy VI engine.

Fluent checked out the Final Fantasy VI port on his NVidia Shield and penned down his impressions of the game.

When you start the game, you will immediately notice that the intro, largely considered one of the best intros in RPG gaming history, is better than ever. It sounds great, as the audio in the port had been freshly polished and run through higher quality equipment, a theme that will stick with the rest of the port experience. Nobuo Uematsu's timeless work is on full display here as the dark, ominous tones of the intro theme ring through your ears, getting you prepared for the epic journey that is about to begin.

Not only does the intro look and sound better than ever, but the rest of the game does, too. Battle backgrounds have been fully realized in HD and look wonderful, while character sprites look great with a charming and expressive art style. The overworld map has been realized in higher resolution and looks inviting, complete with new graphics and processing effects that make things shine. Character portraits look better than ever with a highly detailed, hand-drawn style that makes them appealing to look at, and can tell a story without using a single word. The user interface is simple, functional and works wonderfully on my tablet (I'm playing with a bluetooth gamepad). In short, the graphics are upgraded and go a very long way into making this experience what it is.

Very few Final Fantasy VI fans have been happy with the recent PC release, namely the badly distorted graphics.  Apparently, there's a fix in the works.

We've seen some good remasters on PC this year: Resident Evil, Homeworld, Grim Fandango. Final Fantasy VI is not one of them. It seems to be a port of the mobile edition, complete with reworked visuals that bleach the original sprites into a brighter, almost rasterised style. That might not be an issue for many, but if you're looking for a faithful recreation of the original—not so great.

Modders are on the case. Jed Lang in the Steam forums has already found a way to repeal the filter that smooths the sprites' pixellated edges out, and you can see the results above. There's a download on this thread.

Work is ongoing, and modders hope to eventually replace the sprite sheet with the original SNES artwork to turn this FFVI release into the definitive version.

More information.

Fortress of Doors gives their thoughts on doing an HD remake the right way, and they're specifically talking about the controversial new PC release of FFVI. Thanks, Caidh!

So Final Fantasy VI -- a beloved classic that contends with Final Fantasy VII for the title of best Final Fantasy game of all time -- is releasing on Steam this Wednesday. This game is the crown jewel of the SNES era of JRPG's and deserves the utmost care and respect.

Instead, Square Enix bungled it and everybody is complaining about the art style.

The problem with the Final Fantasy VI remake has much more to do with graphics programming than art style.

More information.

The classic JRPG Final Fantasy VI has been released on Steam:

Final Fantasy VI is Out Now!

Happy launch day!

Final Fantasy VI, the last FF game of the SNES era and one of the most beloved games in the FF franchise is now available on Steam!

New features to the Steam version of FFVI include painstakingly recreated graphics by veteran character designer Kazuko Shibuya, updated controls and active-time battle system optimized for fluid combat on PC, and Steam achievements and trading cards.

If you purchase the game before the December 23, 2015 you'll also get a 10% discount.

Join the Returners and suplex a train!

About This Game

FINAL FANTASY VI first debuted in 1994 as the sixth instalment in the iconic FINAL FANTASY series. Innovations included the ability to play all the main characters as the game's protagonist, and to this day, its epic story intertwining each of their fates is still highly rated and wildly popular.

With plenty of abilities available and the magicite system for controlling spells/summoning, players can develop their characters any way they want. This was also the first FINAL FANTASY game to include the Ultima Weapon, the most powerful sword of all and a recurring item in subsequent titles within the series.

Story
The War of Magi left little but ashes and misery in its wake. Even magic itself had vanished from the world. Now, a thousand years later, humankind has remade the world through the power of iron, gunpowder, steam engines, and other machines and technologies.

But there is one who possesses the lost power of magic--a young girl name Terra whom the evil Empire has kept enslaved in an effort to harness her power as weapon. This leads to a fateful meeting between Terra and a young man named Locke. Their harrowing escape from the Empire's clutches sets in motion a series of events that touches countless lives and leads to one inevitable conclusion.

Key Features

• Veteran character designer Kazuko Shibuya has painstakingly recreated the graphics, bringing the world of FINAL FANTASY VI to your PC for the very first time!
• Updated controls and active-time battle system are optimized for fluid combat for PC
• Includes Steam achievements and Trading cards.