A lot of that is definitely personal preference, though--or at least in what's significant or good. I admit that FFVI did a some new things that other RPGs hadn't done before, but that doesn't necessarily mean they were -good- or -important- things, or that it made it a great game. I personally hated the fact that there was no main character (and ended up not caring about any of them because there was no main person for me to sympathize with--I'm glad it didn't stick in the FF series), and all the angst and tragedy and stuff was kind of overdone and kind of a turn off for me.
A character you spend the most time with, yes (in the guise of Terra/Celes) but they weren't main characters. They did not control the wheels of the world nor did they gather a rowdy bunch of miscreants together to save the world. Neither of them had any say in the military movements of The Returners, they didn't have any political power at all or have any super power that would stop the big baddie.
Technically, neither did the boy/girl/Sprite in SoM. You could argue that all the magic you needed came from Elementals, but then all FFVI's magic came from Espers (or was inherent), too. Beating the game with weapons alone is possible in both games, and the Mana Sword thing was in the last battle only when you'd pretty much beaten the game without the "super powers" already. None of them are special or anything, just normal old people. I'm not sure what the power argument is. >>"
But yeah, that whole Returners thing was another turn-off for me. I hate that whole defined good-evil thing, which was definitely there in FFVI (while not as much in SoM; Mana Beasts, people being mind-controlled, good people becoming power-mad with the seeds like Santa, the guy on Gold Isle, the people living in the resort in the Icelands, etc--without the interference of the Empire whatsoever). In FFVI, it was all Returners are good and the Empire is bad! No question, end of story! And the Empire is always bad, always evil, yep, that's it--we can kill as many soldiers and people as we like and not feel bad about it at all = typical RPG. AVALANCHE in FFVII were at least terrorists, killing innocents too and eventually feeling awful about it; ShinRa was a totally neutral party in the overall plot of the game (though FFVII is overrated, too, and I can say that even if I like the game). But that's a whole other topic...
And I don't know, I really really loved the SoM characters way more than FFVI. Even though I love Terra and Celes (and loved the fact that every character had a backstory and depth), imo the SoM girl kicks both their asses any day--I mean while Terra and Celes are all "*angst* Who am I!? I don't want to face my problems! Won't someone rescue me?" the SoM girl is like "fuck you, SoM boy, I'm gonna follow you to find the guy I have a crush on (and drag you off into sidequests on the way) and you don't have a choice in the matter so bend over and take it!" She was the first RPG girl I'd ever seen that was just an ordinary, normal girl without command or position or powers (Faris doesn't count, she was pretending to be a guy) who was just so kick-ass-take-names--"I'm going to find Dyluck, and if I save the world along the way, fine." I wish -that- had been a breakthrough that had stuck.
All in all, Final Fantasy VI had done a lot more for videogames than anything else before it. Possibly even more so than a lot that came after it.
I'm not sure what you're claiming it did--all the things you're listing that FFVI did before any other RPG (no main character, bad guys getting their goals, people contemplating suicide?) hasn't been repeated in any good RPGs I know, while all the things that were "new" in SoM have been (or sadly, haven't been or at least not well, like the awesome 3-player capability or real active-time-battle or the ring/weapon/magic/fighting system. Evermore was sadly mostly crap). I thought FFVI was a good/great game in -spite- of all the things you listed, rather than -because- of them. Maybe I'm just weird?
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A character you spend the most time with, yes (in the guise of Terra/Celes) but they weren't main characters. They did not control the wheels of the world nor did they gather a rowdy bunch of miscreants together to save the world. Neither of them had any say in the military movements of The Returners, they didn't have any political power at all or have any super power that would stop the big baddie.
Technically, neither did the boy/girl/Sprite in SoM. You could argue that all the magic you needed came from Elementals, but then all FFVI's magic came from Espers (or was inherent), too. Beating the game with weapons alone is possible in both games, and the Mana Sword thing was in the last battle only when you'd pretty much beaten the game without the "super powers" already. None of them are special or anything, just normal old people. I'm not sure what the power argument is. >>"
But yeah, that whole Returners thing was another turn-off for me. I hate that whole defined good-evil thing, which was definitely there in FFVI (while not as much in SoM; Mana Beasts, people being mind-controlled, good people becoming power-mad with the seeds like Santa, the guy on Gold Isle, the people living in the resort in the Icelands, etc--without the interference of the Empire whatsoever). In FFVI, it was all Returners are good and the Empire is bad! No question, end of story! And the Empire is always bad, always evil, yep, that's it--we can kill as many soldiers and people as we like and not feel bad about it at all = typical RPG. AVALANCHE in FFVII were at least terrorists, killing innocents too and eventually feeling awful about it; ShinRa was a totally neutral party in the overall plot of the game (though FFVII is overrated, too, and I can say that even if I like the game). But that's a whole other topic...
And I don't know, I really really loved the SoM characters way more than FFVI. Even though I love Terra and Celes (and loved the fact that every character had a backstory and depth), imo the SoM girl kicks both their asses any day--I mean while Terra and Celes are all "*angst* Who am I!? I don't want to face my problems! Won't someone rescue me?" the SoM girl is like "fuck you, SoM boy, I'm gonna follow you to find the guy I have a crush on (and drag you off into sidequests on the way) and you don't have a choice in the matter so bend over and take it!" She was the first RPG girl I'd ever seen that was just an ordinary, normal girl without command or position or powers (Faris doesn't count, she was pretending to be a guy) who was just so kick-ass-take-names--"I'm going to find Dyluck, and if I save the world along the way, fine." I wish -that- had been a breakthrough that had stuck.
All in all, Final Fantasy VI had done a lot more for videogames than anything else before it. Possibly even more so than a lot that came after it.
I'm not sure what you're claiming it did--all the things you're listing that FFVI did before any other RPG (no main character, bad guys getting their goals, people contemplating suicide?) hasn't been repeated in any good RPGs I know, while all the things that were "new" in SoM have been (or sadly, haven't been or at least not well, like the awesome 3-player capability or real active-time-battle or the ring/weapon/magic/fighting system. Evermore was sadly mostly crap). I thought FFVI was a good/great game in -spite- of all the things you listed, rather than -because- of them. Maybe I'm just weird?