Very impressive visually and in terms of direction, a bit of a fucking nightmare to play. All the usual cinematic platformer stuff applies, unresponsive controls, cryptic problem solving, frustrating trial and error gameplay. I hit my breaking point when I realized that one of my deaths hadn't sent me back to the beginning of an area but HAD reset some of the earlier puzzles in said area, unbeknownst to me. I can forgive a lot when you're pushing boundaries like this but flagrantly misleading the player like that is too much.

One of the greats of the Japanese Role Playing Game genre, Final Fantasy VI lives up to its pedigree with a wide-reaching, multi-faceted narrative centered around an ensemble cast and enough charm and personality to sail a ship. The combat is solid and has some pretty interesting gimmicks here and there, although it, much like the game's structures, starts to go a bit squiffy toward the end, as characters become less differentiated due to the ability to use Magicite to teach any spell to any character, somewhat unbalancing the game and incentivizing a heavier grind during a segment with much weaker and more slapdash pacing and pathing. All that said, it sticks the landing with a hopeful and inspiring ending, and it cannot be overstated how much this game set the bar for what could be done in an RPG story at the time, not to mention the excellent use of the Super NES's hardware. Highly recommended overall, but maybe break out a walkthrough once you reach the World of Ruin.