Went into this expecting it to be good but overrated, and was honestly blown away. Even having quite enjoyed most of the previous games, VI is just a huge step up from the previous games in almost every way.
Right from the start, the presentation is just amazing. The cutscenes feel so much more visually involved than any of the previous games (especially the ones that take place in-battle). The map graphics have also been upgraded, now using the same detailed character graphics as the battles instead of simplified ones like in previous games. It's not perfect (there's particularly quite a bit of overuse of Mode 7 graphics), but it's a huge step forward from anything before it in the franchise.
VI's story is also better than anything before it. The characters and world have so much more depth than anything that came before it (even if some of the characters don't get quite as much time as they should due to the enormous cast), and the story is a huge step up from IV (which I honestly think was a slight step down from II, the previous story focused game).
Speaking of IV, the gameplay here is largely based on that game, but it's been greatly improved from there. IV's choice to give characters set abilities honestly takes away a lot of the customization and strategy of the party set-up compared to III, and it doesn't really add as much to the characters as it's probably intended to. While V went back to using III's Job System, VI chooses to go with IV's system, with a new major edition: the Esper System. The Esper System honestly fixes a lot of the biggest problems with IV's gameplay by introducing a way in which the characters can be shaped and customized on top of their set abilities. It's still not quite as good as the Job System, but it accomplishes what IV's gameplay was trying to without completely sacrificing party customization and strategy.
This game is honestly just great. It's a huge step forward for the franchise, and it also contains the basis of a lot of the ideas and concepts that I really liked in Xenogears, which I hope will continue to be expanded and built on by the future Final Fantasy games.
Right from the start, the presentation is just amazing. The cutscenes feel so much more visually involved than any of the previous games (especially the ones that take place in-battle). The map graphics have also been upgraded, now using the same detailed character graphics as the battles instead of simplified ones like in previous games. It's not perfect (there's particularly quite a bit of overuse of Mode 7 graphics), but it's a huge step forward from anything before it in the franchise.
VI's story is also better than anything before it. The characters and world have so much more depth than anything that came before it (even if some of the characters don't get quite as much time as they should due to the enormous cast), and the story is a huge step up from IV (which I honestly think was a slight step down from II, the previous story focused game).
Speaking of IV, the gameplay here is largely based on that game, but it's been greatly improved from there. IV's choice to give characters set abilities honestly takes away a lot of the customization and strategy of the party set-up compared to III, and it doesn't really add as much to the characters as it's probably intended to. While V went back to using III's Job System, VI chooses to go with IV's system, with a new major edition: the Esper System. The Esper System honestly fixes a lot of the biggest problems with IV's gameplay by introducing a way in which the characters can be shaped and customized on top of their set abilities. It's still not quite as good as the Job System, but it accomplishes what IV's gameplay was trying to without completely sacrificing party customization and strategy.
This game is honestly just great. It's a huge step forward for the franchise, and it also contains the basis of a lot of the ideas and concepts that I really liked in Xenogears, which I hope will continue to be expanded and built on by the future Final Fantasy games.