The Final Fantasy III (VI) "review" | Every SNES RPG #33 

I'm an old enough fart to have bought the original game. It came with a two-sided world map with Side A titled the World of Balance and B, the World of Ruin explaining the origin of the terms. Regardless, I fully embrace the Little Caesar's update. Awesome video as always.

The paper map included with the game lists it as World of Balance and World of Ruin.

Good lord, the overuse of dubbing the "3" and "6" is amazing. Just completely randomly thrown in here and there, and that's what makes these videos so great.

I think one of the most difficult things to do while discussing anything as influential and popular as this game is to prevent your personality from becoming overshadowed by the enormity of the topic, and I think that's exactly what you've managed to do here. It would've been easy to go down the list of features and moments that make FFVI (THREE) such a big deal (and I wouldn't have blamed you, there was surely some pressure to deliver with this one), but, as ever, you've totally made it your own (can't say I went in expecting around four minutes of Clown History, but I wouldn't change a thing). Awesome job getting this far, I'm looking forward to what comes next. Nobody asked, but if there's anything I'd add about this game, it's that FFVI uses its framework of RPG concepts for storytelling and characterization possibly more effectively than any Final Fantasy before it. Touches as small as Terra's uncharacteristic (for a sorcerer) ability to wield greatswords, or Relm's amulet being equippable by Shadow, or the alterations in dialogue when certain characters are (or were) present for specific events add up dramatically across the entire game to create a real sense of cohesion between the ongoing narrative and player interaction. Really, Shadow by himself is a monument to Square's mastery of this stuff circa 1994; they use every trick in the RPG bag to tell his story and express his personality, and he requires a great deal of player investment to unravel. Where FFIV almost exclusively used its rigid classes for characterization and FFVII did away with a lot of character-specific gameplay traits, FFVI strikes a fantastic balance between the two (albeit at the cost of some streamlining), aided further by the player's control over their party composition and the level of exploration on offer. The story is well told by itself, but I think it's these many, tiny layers which elevate it into greatness.

Im here to blast process the algorithm

FYI - "World of Balance" and "World of Ruin" are what the folded world map that came with each copy of the original SNES cartridge called them. I was a 16 year old High Schooler the first time I played this game back in 1994, and I remember that folded up map that came with the game very well.

Man, _Actraiser_ music while describing classic clown/jester archetypes was on-point. Amazing sound design.

Just hearing the start of that intro sequence is still enough to send the chills through my body knowing what I am getting myself into.

A friend of mine who only spoke Spanish learned enlglish to play this game. it belongs at the very top of this list. the first time you hear "Searching for Friends" is going to be one of the greatest moments in your video game playing life.

"Edgar, the more civilized brother, uses technology" *Edgar rams an 8 foot drill bit through his opponents body. Real civilized.....

In my opinion, this game has the greatest soundtrack of all time. The OC Remixes and soundtrack remix are AWESOME! and the remix version of Dancing Mad, Prancing Dad is my favorite heavy metal soundtrack of all time. Nobuo Uematsu at his very best!!

There are a ton of reviews of this game, but this is probably one of the best ones in a while. Your takes on the characters and writing were great and though I haven't watched your series it's obvious your recent experience with other SNES titles informed this review and that added another unique touch.

Didn't know you were ELP fan. Now I have to look up that 16bit Tarkus cover 😄

Love the Tarkus MIDI, pretty sneaky

I will forever protest that FFIII doesn't get "GOAT" status.

Kefka isn't a clown. This is a common misconception, and I think it comes from too literal an interpretation of Yoshitaka Amano's original artwork. He's more of a fop/dandy than clown/court jester.

Relics made finding and opening treasure boxes in an rpg worth it. Flying ship? Map with a lot of locations? I will go to those places so I can open treasure boxes to get relics. Such a simple idea of having items that changed how a charcter could do stuff rather than just +2 speed stat is such a big deal. It made no part of content something you did not want to go through. Plenty of games had exploration with nothing really to find. This was the first one that was different in this kind of jrpg style. No classes also meant gear had to be more intersting than "the next slightly big sword for class x, oh, and a hattier hat for class y." Espers did this too on story beats and big end rewards for going places, but relics were on exploration and the 2 worked great in tandem. Dragon quest series had the boomerang item, and that was it.

The "World of Balance' and "World of Ruin" were on the 2 sided map that came with the original release of Final Fantasy 3 US.

The number bit killed me! Comedy gold. A +, no notes.

Your setup for this review was outstanding. It could not have been a much more unique, yet perfect set up to explain the making of the perfect villain and the main character of sorts for this game. I personally would say this game is very much a GOAT for everything that in manage to achieve.

Fuck yeah, this is an all time legendary game, can't even count how many hours i've put into it.

Such an awesome series. Keep up the great work!

Fuck skimming. I've watched each video in this series, most of them multiple times. And, they're awesome. 👍🏻

This is my favorite game and probably the best review I’ve heard of it. It’s a testament to its legacy that it had never been remade or had sequels done. It’s a beginning to end complete experience.

Okay, somebody help me out here. What is the L word? Also, this game was one of my favorites growing up. I beat it every which way. I am surprised you made no mention of the famous glitches in the game. Vanish+Doom/X-zone. The paintbrush in Zozo, etc. I got my copy for 19.99 off of a "Previously Played" rack at my Local Zellers. I had played 1 and 2, and had no idea a third game existed, (I was 10 or 11, and the internet wasnt a super common thing yet) and I begged my dad to lend me 20 bucks to get it. Never regretted.

Nice work. Enjoyed this 👍

You calling the worlds Wonder Bread and Crazy Bread is the most hilarious thing I ever heard in these videos and they kinda fit too. When you said Celes is the dipping sauce of the crazy bread world made me laugh so hard I had to stop to catch my breath

Favorite game of all time. No other game changed my life more than this one. Possibly the "grandest" game ever made, honestly. UNDOUBTEDLY the greatest game music score ever composed. No one has every poured as much batshit crazy genius into "just a video game with bleeps and bloops" as Nobuo Uematsu did on this one. Unnecessarily masterful. A huge part of my career in music today was directly inspired by this game.

I approve the usage of Lagoon OST.

I think the two world names come from the map that came with the game - it was printed on either side of the poster.

I really liked your analysis of Kefka. When you think about it, Kefka is the Joker of Final Fantasy.

Kefka is a victim of the post 2000 Squaresoft not being the same. They have turned him into a mix between the Joker from the Batman tv series and the Dark Knight.

balance and ruin are in relation to the positioning of the statues.

Oh man, I've been looking forward to getting up to this video and I wasn't disappointed. Great job

Holy shit man, nice ELP midi there at the beginning!

I grew up in DesPlaines Il. when Gacy was active... He killed one of my brother's classmates.

The terms "World of Balance" and "World of ruin" are given for everyone who played the game, as Kefka shift the balance of the world by moving the statues. And i believe the manual or something said as much as well. I was 14 when i bought the game, so i do not remember that well, but the names are given.

Crushed it! Great game, great review.

Excellent choice for a 33/6th game to review

Balance and ruin were mentioned in the manual, when games came with those🤣

I rented this game as a kid and I loved it. Then the day it was supposed to be returned, I came home from school and my mom reveals she bought the game for me. So, even beyond it just being a really good game it's also special to me for that reason.

Amazing video dude. FF6 is one of my top games ever.

1. Great review. 2. "Thirty three (six!) games in" was pwnsauce.

I still get chills whenever I see that intro.

14:21 it may not matter narratively, but you do get a Genji Glove if you say No three times. Which is a pretty big deal as there's only 3 readily available in the entire game, with the other 2 coming much much much later.

I love this game. It and the original version of VII alternate being my favorite in the series depending on my mood. I love the setting, and both Edgar and Locke are among my favorite characters in the series (Engineers and good aligned Rebels, Rogues, and Outlaws are both among my favorite character types.) I wish the defensive battles where you can move multiple parties around were replayable without reloading a pre-battle save though. Also that the Magicite system was introduced earlier because whenever I replay the game I always find myself thinking about how many magic learning points I would have if the game didn't wait so long to introduce Magicite.

Love the use of "Birth of the People" from Actraiser @1:14

I played this game when it came out. I rented it over a weekend. I thought I'd beaten the game only to realize kefka won and there was a second game to play. I was blown away.

The terms come from the official players guide. Its a beautiful guide with great artwork throughout. FF III player's guide. Did you think people made it up? Well its not surprising I guess.

I read somewhere that Gacy’s brain was preserved after his execution so it could be studied. Disturbingly they found no anomalies. Physiologically his brain is completely normal. We may never know how people like him become sadistic monsters.

Yo loved the in depth on this one.

I have no idea how you made this so fast.

Cant wait for you ps1 rpg project😊

This series is great man!

You rock, dont stop making videos.

Im currently streaming this on teitch and its my first time ever playing. When the poison thr water scene happened it REALLY made me hate him. Thats the sign of a great villain.

song name at 16:00 ? thank you so very much

Please, I *N E E D* to know the source for that 16-bit Tarkus cover. I tried everywhere and can't find it! (Also great review, really genuine stuff. I was doing a run of obscure SNES RPGs as well when I found your channel - your entire series is awesome, keep up the great work!)

0:49 What city is that? That's Las Vegas, right?

At 10:00 of this video is a moment seared into the deepest corner of my being.

This is an amazing review.

I feel really bad because I haven't played ff vi and I need a haircut

This game...one if the GOATS no question

Was I catching snippets of Tarkus in the background?

Well, we can all tell that you worked really hard on this.

ELP in the Tarkus era were all in dire need of haircuts... I don't trust them. But they sound amazing with FF6!

lol i love when you say “ three (six) different things”

Hey, Falcom most assuredly makes games like this NOW. Have you played the Legend of Hero's Series? Dozens of playable characters.

Another vid? Nice.

Good vid thanks.

In 2017 I want to Washington DC to march with the clowns I don't like the clown in Final Fantasy 6 Final Fantasy 6 is the best because it has Bigfoot

I hope that the irony of you making that observation at 4:10 isn't lost on you. 😄

Wait... did you make this one #33 just to tie it to Gacy's 33 murders?

This review is good. Somebody tell the video maker such.

What do you mean by the L word?

29:56 leitmotif?

This should be SNES RPG #66.

"Some Moogle"... ha. This is THE Moogle. First, it's the only playable Moogle in any game (along with his family here.) What they don't make obvious is that Mog is the single most powerful character they've ever created when he's fully equipped.

Mog is just cool!

What is the L word?

Big day

This was always my favorite FF game and quite frankly blows Chrono Trigger away. I was never impressed with the story in Chrono Trigger and the silent protagonist has always annoyed me and left me cold. I would put Phantasy Star 4 and maybe Lunar 2 above Chrono Trigger to be honest. FF 6 was a great example of a game pushing the SNES hardware while still telling a good story.

You know you can just press start to skip the opening walk right?

I am dumb. What's the L-Word? :')

And Mog, well, Mog is a Moogle, and if you don't like moogles, you're just as bad as Cicero... I mean, Kefka😅

The L word... Leitmotif?

What is the L word...am i stupid?

Kindly stop it with the dual numbering of the games 😂

wtf is the L word?

What the fuck is "the L word"?

Not a bad prequel to FF7

Kefka is the least-impressive Villain that people laud as great. Identifying him as merely a heel is spot-on.

Absolute shitpost with a generic internet age opinion. "The gameplay is shit but its a great game because of its shktty generic story and chenglish translation". Also kefka is barely IN the game, hes absolutely not the main character.