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[Crispy]

So I'm replaying FFVI after many years and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It made me wonder how the game was received upon its original release in 1994. I'd especially like to read some actual reviews from that time. I remember a review in the Power Unlimited (a dutch gaming magazine), which rated it very low, because of the 'shitty' graphics and lack of real-time fighting.Unfortunately I don't have that copy anymore, or I'd scan it for you guys.

Do any of you still have some original reviews? I did try Google, but not much came up and all the references on the wikipedia page don't link to the actual reviews.

 

[manzoman96]

I'm interested in that review you mentioned OP. Hindsight can be pretty funny.

 

[LiK]

all i remember is people fucking loved it. sorry, my video game mags are in the closet in boxes so i can't help you look.

 

[Khrno]

I remember a review in the Power Unlimited (a dutch gaming magazine), which rated it very low, because of the 'shitty' graphics

Shitty graphics compared exactly to what? Donkey Kong Country? FFVI has some of the best graphics on SNES, and of that time, what the hell were they on?

 

[BY2K]

It would be nice to have "Review Threads" for pre-NeoGAF games.

I can see the one for Ocarina of Time being mostly: "HOLY SHIT ALL THESE 10s!"

 

[Aaron Strife]

It would be nice to have "Review Threads" for pre-NeoGAF games.

I can see the one for Ocarina of Time being mostly: "HOLY SHIT ALL THESE 10s!"

"Overrated, Nintendo's been on the decline since NES"

 

[ghibli99]

Wish I still had all my old magazines. I seem to recall Gamepro and EGM giving it stellar scores. I bought my copy from The Good Guys!, if any of you remember that store. LOL $69.99 IIRC, too.

 

[Muffdraul]

I remember a review in the Power Unlimited (a dutch gaming magazine), which rated it very low, because of the 'shitty' graphics and lack of real-time

That's hilarious. I recall it being considered a bona fide graphics masterpiece when it came out. But it was only a few weeks later that DKC stole its thunder with its pre-rendered SGI stuff. Which admittedly was pretty impressive at the time.

It got glowing reviews all around from what I remember. I really thought it was going to be a hugely popular mega hit, but that had to wait til the next FF.

 

[Ganondorfo]

I remember back in the day FF8 had a 2 page preview on PU. Nowadays games like that get 4 massive daily threads. Hype is to be small before Internet got big.

 

[Khrno]

EGM review:

 

[Stereogatari]

It would be nice to have "Review Threads" for pre-NeoGAF games.

I can see the one for Ocarina of Time being mostly: "HOLY SHIT ALL THESE 10s!"

A RTTP/LTTP for reviews? COUNT ME IN!

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Dunno about reviews but commercially it didn't do very well outside of Japan:

Schreier: So I think my readers would be very angry at me if I didn't ask you a little more about Final Fantasy VI, because that's a lot of people's favorite in America. I think it impacted people here a lot. Do you have any interesting stories that maybe we haven't heard before about what it was like to work on that game?

Sakaguchi: I'm surprised you mention VI, because at that time, it actually didn't sell too well, you know, in terms of the pixel art, and the character size, and it actually didn't jive. That's why for VII, it got bigger, we got CGI graphics and whatnot. So when I hear you and other fans saying, 'Yeah, VI was my favorite!' I'm like, 'Hey, so why didn't you buy it back then?' (laughter)

Schreier: I bought it!

Sakaguchi: [In English] Original?

Schreier: Yeah, the original. Final Fantasy III, it was called here.

Sakaguchi: [In English] Great, great. [Japanese] So with remakes and stuff, that's why the impression is a little bit better right now, but in my mind it's kind of like, at that time it was an uphill battle for me.

 

[Alcoholikaust]

DAT SUSHI X

RIP

 

[Crispy]

EGM review:

That's great! Almost forgot the amount of megs was a thing back then

 

[GregLombardi]

24 meg

 

[seat]

EGM review:

Yep, this was the review that sold me on the game. I had never played a Final Fantasy before reading this.

 

[Bugs Bunny]

Didn't read the OP good enough out of/10

 

[Khrno]

Most overrrated game of all time/10

We're not talking about FFVII.

 

[LiK]

Most overrrated game of all time/10

i love jokes

 

[Ziffles]

Shitty graphics compared exactly to what? Donkey Kong Country? FFVI has some of the best graphics on SNES, and of that time, what the hell were they on?

Everyone seemed to love the backgrounds and enemies but criticized the sprites and animations. I remember that's what Nintendo Power did.

here we go:

+ A big game that will take at least 100 hours to complete. Battery backed-up memory with three slots. Lots to see and do.

- Story is often sappy — not written for an American audience. Animations are weak and animated sequences take too long.

 

[jblank83]

Most overrrated game of all time/10

Great post, BRO. Totally on topic.

 

[Khrno]

GamePro: 5 out of 5

Nintendo Power: 3.725 out of 5

Source from Game Rankings

Everyone seemed to love the backgrounds and enemies but criticized the sprites and animations. I remember that's what Nintendo Power did.

Interesting, the sprites might be rough, not as good looking as some other games Tales of Phantasia, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, but they were great since they were following the previous 5 games, and the animations always cracked me up.

Story is often sappy — not written for an American audience.

Well fuck, not written for an American audience. The writer of that review seems to have some entitlement problems.

 

[Shion]

It's going to be near impossible to top this…

Dat prophecy.

 

[LiK]

Dat prophecy.

totally agree

 

[Bugs Bunny]

Great post, BRO. Totally on topic.

Bro? Nvm I think I miss understood the topic of this thread.

 

[Khrno]

Dat prophecy.

You have the best avatar in this thread, and probably on all of GAF.

 

[Krujo]

I remember being surprised when EGM would give a game all 10's.

 

[Ganondorfo]

totally agree

Then a year later the EGM crew got to review Chrono Trigger and changed their words.

 

[MrDaravon]

EGM review:

It really bugs me how Final Fantasy 3 is listed 3 different ways under the various editor's current favorite game listings >_>

 

[LiK]

Then a year later the EGM crew got to review Chrono Trigger and changed their words.

haha, good point. FFVI and CT are pretty on par with me in being perfect RPGs.

 

[Rahul]

So I'm replaying FFVI after many years and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It made me wonder how the game was received upon its original release in 1994. I'd especially like to read some actual reviews from that time. I remember a review in the Power Unlimited (a dutch gaming magazine), which rated it very low, because of the 'shitty' graphics and lack of real-time fighting.Unfortunately I don't have that copy anymore, or I'd scan it for you guys.

Do any of you still have some original reviews? I did try Google, but not much came up and all the references on the wikipedia page don't link to the actual reviews.

Yeah that PU review was hilarious. MobyGames has the summary:

Ik vond Final Fantasy geen leuk spel. Eerlijk gezegd vond ik het zelfs behoorlijk irritant. Het enige dat nog wel te pruimen was, was de muziek die zo onopvallend is dat ik het na een tijdje niet meer hoorde. Bij dit soort spellen krijg ik de neiging om m'n SNES ernstig te mishandelen. Heeft iemand een idee waarom dit spel zo populair is in Japan? Alle suggesties zijn welkom.

Rough translation:

I didn't think Final Fantasy was a fun game. To be honest I even thought it was quite irritating. The only thing that was amenable was the music that was so unnoticeable that after a while I didn't hear it anymore. With this kind of game I get the desire to seriously harm my SNES. Does anyone have a clue why this game is so popular in Japan? Any suggestions are welcome.

This person rated it a 56/100.

 

[WillyFive]

EGM review:

...and we complain about today's reviews being fluff.

 

[IceIpor]

It really bugs me how Final Fantasy 3 is listed 3 different ways under the various editor's current favorite game listings >_>

It's actually 4. One has a space, the other doesn't!

 

[Bugs Bunny]

Old American reviews of FFVI lack series context. Coming from the broken port of FFIV & FFI to VI made it seem like some kind of gigantic leap when it was actually 3 steps back & 1 step forward. It's half the reason people overrated the game in America so much.

 

[ghibli99]

Here's one from Gamepro, November 1994:

Hopefully this is OK to post.

 

[Scavenger]

I remember a review in the Power Unlimited (a dutch gaming magazine), which rated it very low, because of the 'shitty' graphics and lack of real-time fighting.Unfortunately I don't have that copy anymore, or I'd scan it for you guys.

Ah yes, Power Unlimited occasionally had some questionable reviews such as their review for Super Mario Kart.

+ Battle mode is fun
- Incomparable to other racing games.
- The controls are difficult

 

[Aeriscloud]

We're not talking about FFVII.

Which is why he posted it here in a FFVI thread.


V > VI

 

[Ziffles]

Well fuck, not written for an American audience. The writer of that review seems to have some entitlement problems.

Hah yep, this is before the days anime started becoming popular in the west, and the word "oriental" was used to describe Japanese music.

¯\_(&#12484_/¯ Different time.

 

[pizzacat]

EGM review:

Sushi X!

 

[Esque7]

EGM review:

I'd love to see the other reviews they list in that issue.
How confused were people when they jumped from FF III to VII?

 

[ghibli99]

I'd love to see the other reviews they list in that issue.
How confused were people when they jumped from FF III to VII?

I don't think it was that big of a deal for most folks who played FF2US and FF3US, since most magazines and RPG players talked about or knew about the renaming. However, I remember when FF7 blew up and folks were new to the series, they were confused as to what happened to 4-6. LOL

 

[Godcannon]

We're not talking about FFVII.

 

[NeonZ]

Shitty graphics compared exactly to what? Donkey Kong Country? FFVI has some of the best graphics on SNES, and of that time, what the hell were they on?

I remember thinking the graphics were bad since the sprites, even in battle, were smaller than in many other SNES RPGs, like Secret of Mana, and the enemies in battle were just static images.

Looking back, I guess I was completely ignoring the fantastic backgrounds, but I really couldn't look past the spritework when the game came out.

 

[Meesh]

Came in for SushiX, leaving satisfied.

Also...these reviews are more skimpy than I remember, huh.

 

[Bugs Bunny]

V > VI

Without question. But they are right, that's off topic here. Let the FFVI fans be.

 

[HORRORSHØW]

great thread. brings back awesome memories. my favorite in the series by far. celes and terra's theme are timeless.

 

[Mr. Poolman]

FFVI was fairly well received as I recall.

Less than a year later, Chrono Trigger beat it tough!

 

[BocoDragon]

- Story is often sappy — not written for an American audience. Animations are weak and animated sequences take too long.

Well fuck, not written for an American audience. The writer of that review seems to have some entitlement problems.

That sounds like a pretty typical perspective of that time.

It was a different time. Far less globalized of a world. Pre-weeaboo. If something felt like it was from another culture, it weirded people out a bit. You'd have to warn people...

I don't think it was that big of a deal for most folks who played FF2US and FF3US, since most magazines and RPG players talked about or knew about the renaming. However, I remember when FF7 blew up and folks were new to the series, they were confused as to what happened to 4-6. LOL

I don't think RPG fans generally knew that the American naming was out of line until 1997 and the FFVII hype circle. The rise of the internet spread that knowledge, but gaming mags of the early 90s rarely mentioned it.

 

[Madao]

Dunno about reviews but commercially it didn't do very well outside of Japan:

heh, so America is responsible of FFVII...

 

[Neff]

It did pretty good

The Super Play review alone sold me on the game, ironically a UK magazine reviewing a game that would never be released there until the GBA port (I imported the US version since I had a US SNES despite living in the UK).

Also anyone calling VI or VII overrated is simply looking for gratuitous attention.