Final Fantasy VI Advance

There are games that spark endless debates in bars, pubs and on the internet, and Final Fantasy VI is one of them. For a lot of players it is simply the best Final Fantasy ever made — and the 2007 Game Boy Advance version is the best way to reach that legend on a small screen.

The original game from 1994 (released in the West at the time under the confusing name Final Fantasy III on the SNES) was Square's crowning achievement of the 16-bit era. The GBA port by studio Tose under the Square Enix banner brought a new, far more faithful translation, two new dungeons, four new Espers and several bonus bosses. It is essentially the definitive edition — the complete content of the original game plus things fans had awaited for years.

What makes Final Fantasy VI so exceptional is its boldness. It has no single main hero. Instead you juggle an ensemble of fourteen playable characters, each with their own story, motivations and personal demons — from the repressed mage Terra to the gambler Setzer to a little boy caring for an abandoned grandfather. The storytelling thus resembles a mosaic of fates rather than a classic tale of a chosen one.

And then there's Kefka. A mad clown who works his way up from an annoying henchman to something rarely seen in video games of that time: a villain whose plan actually succeeds. Halfway through the game the world falls to ruin and you have to gather your scattered heroes across a bleak, apocalyptic landscape. This audacity makes VI the most emotionally powerful entry in the series.

The opera scene is legendary too — a pixel songstress on stage, Nobuo Uematsu's music and the moment when a 16-bit console suddenly tugs at your heartstrings in a way no one expected. The combat system with Magicite and the ability to teach characters almost any spell gives you enormous freedom in building your party.

Why play: Because it is the peak of classic JRPG storytelling in its most complete portable form — a story that will stay in your head for years.