In the later 1990s, nearly all the 8-bit and 16-bit Final Fantasies, along with Chrono Trigger were re-release on the PS1. Final Fantasy 3 was the only game that didn't get re-released till 2006 on the Nintendo DS.
Final Fantasy Anthology was a 3-disk case that came with 5, 6, and a music CD with a few tracks. Europe got this collection a few years later with FF4 added.
I received the collection pack on Christmas and didn't know what games that came with it. I put 6 in the PS1 and quickly discovered that FF3 on the Super Nintendo was really the 6th game. It was the time I was learning about what FF2 and 3 really should of been called 4 and 6 and learn about the other missing Final Fantasies I never played.
The guy on the cover is an optional character, not a main character. Thanks Nintendo for confusing me on not only on the characters, but the numbering of the games.
The game start with this beautifully CGI cut scene that wasn't in the SNES version. Imagine growing up with the SNES version of the game and then seeing this opening cutscene.
Seeing this for the first time, I was like, "OMG!!! The Green-hair girl, The Thief, The Clown, The King, The Blitz Guy. The Opera Girl, Megitek armor. OMG!!! They look so real!!!"
Here's the CGI opening of the game. It ends at 3:35 of the video and continues with the SNES opening.
Yes, I know the main girl in the video has this blank look to her face throughout the video but if you play the 1st hours of the game, you learned she under mind control from the evil empire.Yes, I know she has green-hair in the game rather than blond hair. Her having blond hair was only in the artwork of the game but the CGI opening, Dissidia, and and later appearances would based her on the artwork rather than how she look in the game.
The game then shows a menu system that shows the usual options like New Game, Load, and a bonus section. On the bottom of the screen has one of the playable characters walking around. Once on a blue moon, a special cameo from another FF game walks around.
I didn't know who the Onion Knight was at the time. FF3 wouldn't be in the states for another decade as well as the crossover fighting game, Dissidia. The internet was far smaller and more slower. Plus, not everyone played PS1 ports of the SNES Final Fantasies. So there was no way I was going find out about the identity of a secret character of a Final Fantasy that was never released in America.
I assume back then that it could of been Edea from FF8.
The sprite had some sort of metal thing in the back of the head, the helmet was part of her mask before her face was fully revealed, and it look like the sprite had a cape. However Edea's colors are not red.
Enough talking about intros and stuff. On the actually game itself. The PS1 port is basically the same as the SNES but with a few differences. There is one major reason people chose the SNES over the PS1 version because of one drawback, the load times.
In SNES version, loading a battle screen only takes barely a second, PS1 version on the other hand, you wait 5 long seconds before the battle screen is loaded. It's not just battles, it's other things like loading the menu screen.
The PS1 port has a dash button and when you equip Sprint Shoes, you be flying across the screen.
If there is one improvement, is the removal of censorship. When the game came to America, Nintendo is a strict on the game and certain things were edited.
Pubs been renamed as Cafes (So kids won't drink)
The spell Holy been renamed Pearl (Called White in the SNES version FF4. Religious stuff had to be removed)
The summon Jihad been renamed as Crusader (America is mostly an Christian country and it may seem offensive to have a Muslim term like that)
Hell Rider been renamed as Rider
One of the enemies had a cigarette holder and the smoke coming out was removed.
Oh and there's the summon as Siren as well...
You can see why this was edited.
Another noticeable edit on this bosses on the beanstalk
Original
Edited
However, I don't think seeing pixalated butts is really worth the terrible loading times. If I had the choice between the two, I still go for the SNES version.
Well if there's one thing with worth seeing from PS1 version, it's the FMV ending that was made for the re-release. However you easily watch it on youtube nowdays. So the SNES version is still more worth getting.
Here is the ending- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqPjWsrHnSs
The game was re-release on the Game Boy Advance a few years later. It didn't have the terrible load times. It does have some bonus dungeons, bosses, and summons. The translation is more accurate and more true to the Japanese version but some people may not find this the best thing. The SNES translation had a certain charm to it that some fans prefer the somewhat less accurate translation. From what I heard, the main villain, Kefka isn't popular in Japan but the SNES translation made him more creepy and yet more funny, making him one of the most popular villains in Final Fantasy.
If anything, the GBA version seems like a good alternative on making choices on which version of FF6 to get.
As of recently, the game also been re-release on cellphones and Steam with the sprites and background completely redrawn. One thing is for sure, I wouldn't recommend the PS1 version.
