I was afraid of this.  I got up today, and checked NCS as per my usual routine.

Only to read this in their mini review of the import copy of Final Fantasy VI GBA:

"Originally releaed in 1994 for the Super Famicom, Square updates the game with new dungeons, new character classes, and a bestiary.  The visuals don't look any different from the SFC original, although the music suffers a bit in the translation."

...

"As mentioned earlier, the quality of the music doesn't match up to the original SFC version and sounds slightly hollow and tinny. Once the title screen popped up, NCS imediatetly noticed that the rich and resonant quality of the SFC music was missing."

That stinks, but I still want it.  I wonder if the audio emulation extends to the rest of the game as well.  As Angela pointed out in her Final Fantasy V review the opening music for FFV is a bit off from the original, but all the rest seems to be spot on.  Has anyone gotten an import copy of FFVI who can confirm or deny this?

I have no cluw what they mean by "new character classes", though it looks like the game may be giving "class names" to the character's professions.  Full review here

Actually, the music isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Aside from the battle themes (which definitely sound much worse), the music is about as good as you could expect from the GBA sound chip. The opera singing actually sounds better.

I haven't played much of the game but reports have stated that there's some slowdown in battles. Some of the graphics seem scaled down to me as well (especially in battle). Everything else seems more or less identical. The big question is how they're going to do the English translation...

I have to wonder if they are using headphones for the music. Of course it's going to suffer if you listen through those tiny GBA or DS speakers.

-Joshua

Well, the .gsf set has been released. Judge for yourself!

This isn't really true. The graphics in the GBA version are far too bright, and the character portraits and enemy sprites were altered for the worse to account for the lower resolution.

I'm very disappointed that they didn't touch up the graphics, either. Sure, the original was already more graphically complex than IV or V, but that doesn't mean there wasn't room for improvement. As it stands, I think V has better-looking backgrounds than VI.

As for the sound quality, I'm disappointed by it as well. If I never heard the original, I'd probably think it was okay, but NCSX was right on when they said the music sounds hollow compared to the original.

I'll probably get the US version anyway, as long as there's a new translation.

I'm guessing they mean the four new Espers. The Japanese version always had class names.

I think the GBA, having fewer sound channels than the SNES, does a pretty good job of attempting FF6's music.

The opera voice samples are much better.  The new fanfare sucks because some of the notes are different, and not hearing bass thumping when listening to "Another World of Beasts" bugs me, but it's to be expected.

It is refreshing to see many of the "trademark" samples such as the metal hits in "Devil's Lab", the breath noise in "Narshe" and the "cho ko bo" sounds in "Techno de Chocobo" preserved (though at the cost of the bass track in the latter, what the heck?  ...also, the lead synth is flat, what the heck again)

Decent effort, but the more I listen to it, the more I realize that it kinda... sucks.  Ok, nevermind.

I think the most irritating piece for me is the main battle theme. The opening sounds very odd and the whole thing sounds tinny.

The technical difference in sound between GBA and SNES is huge (8bit software mixing at usually 8 or 16kHz with no interpolation and no reverb versus 16bit hardware mixing at 32kHz with gaussian interpolation and reverb). GBA couldn't even dream of reaching SNES' sound quality, why keep people still expecting it after all those years? The only part where the GBA is more flexible is the number of channels, but it's software mixing that takes away from processing power for the rest of the game which few developers are willing to sacrifice.

Agreed.  For all intents and purposes, I think the music turned out fairly well, and as Wanderer says, "about as good as you could expect from the GBA sound chip" -- just like IV and V Advance.   There are some instrument samples I found very faithful, like the flute in Kids Run Through The City Corner and Cayenne, and like Amber said, the metal hits and electronica in Devil's Lab.  And even the richer, more sonorous songs like Coin Song, Gau, and Forever Rachel resonates with equal measure from the SNES original.

At this point, I'm more curious with how the game itself plays.  shdwrlm, you're playing it, correct?  I've heard that there's quite a bit of slowdown and tearing to be found, far more than IV and V Advance.  Is it true?

I'm emulating it, so I really couldn't tell for sure. My biggest gameplay issue is actually a result of the brightness. The Chocobo and Airship sections are blindingly bright, with the horizon lines obscuring the view significantly.  I can only imagine what it must look like on a DS with the highest brightness setting.

And I think I'm in the minority that doesn't like the new opera voices. The female voice sounds rather thin, as if Hilary Duff were trying to take on opera. "Fanatics" isn't as creepy as it should be, either.

I'm trying it out on a flash cart now, and yeah, I see what you mean about the brightness.  The color satuation bleeds so much on the world map, that it's downright hideous.

The game seems to have a REALLY tough time keeping up a proper framerate, just like the town areas in FFV Advance -- except now, there's noticeable lag even in the indoor areas and dungeons.  (And it becomes that much worse when you're running with the Sprint Shoes.)   Battles aren't nearly as bad, but there is a bit of slowdown to be found on the more graphic-heavy attacks, like all-hitting magic spells and Edgar's Crossbow. 

The sound effects got pretty bastardized, too - the command selecting sound is annoyingly high-pitched, and some of the more subtle sound effects (like the soldiers brushing off sand from Kefka's boots) suddenly became greatly exaggerated.  Still, Kefka's laugh is spot-on, at least. ;)

The menu lag from FFIV Advance doesn't seem to be evident, thankfully.  And is it just me, or do townspeople NOT turn around to face you when you're talking to them anymore?  I mean, how RUDE is that?!

As long as Kefka's laugh is intact, all is well.

I'm listening...This isn't bad, to be honest. Not as crisp as the SNES samples, but I'm noticing stuff in a few tracks that I either didn't hear in the original tracks or never paid much attention to originally (or I've become desensitized to over the years). Mostly stuff in the background that comes through differently (louder, more distorted). Nice as an "alternative" listen...

Quick example: Listen for the rhythm guitar at around :36 in "Decisive Battle". Really has much more of an impact in the GBA version.

So where does the port fall in terms of FFIV and V?  Over all?

Hmmm......I've been really torn about getting ANY of the Gameboy FF ports, mainly due to lack of time to play them (shoot, I have yet to crack open FF Origins for the PS, much less Dawn of Souls), but also because I feel there's just SOMETHING wrong about being forced to scale down a game for the sole reason of getting it onto a handheld. And as FF6 is my favorite FF game, I'm sure the music quality would probably add to my lesser enjoyment of such. I guess I'll just stick to the FF games that I HAVEN'T yet played...or go the emulator route...

I'm hoping at least the SNES original will find its way onto the Virtual Console.

That's something I'd like to know as well. Wii's virtual console so far seems to have just first party games. I wonder if there are any liscensing deals to be made if Nintendo wants to make old third-party games available?

And these flaws with FFVI GBA are sad. I really was hoping that, like FFV GBA, FFVI would've been emulated flawlessly. Oh, well. I'll still get it.

First off, they certainly don't have only first plartyy games -- after all, there' Genesis and TG-16 games.

Secondly yes, there will be plenty of third party games, they just are releasing things quite slowly (with intent that they will make more money)

Unfortunetly, it seems they refuse to allow games that were never released in a territory to be released there on VC.

-Joshua

And remember, Square Enix IS listed on the homepage as one of the companies signed on for the virtual console.

Also, I wonder if not being able to download games from other regions has to do with licensing and who would get royalties for a game that had never had a publisher in a certain region.  I'm still hoping Hudson gives us Bomberman '94, though.  That would NOT take very much translation effort...

I had forgotten completely about that. Thanks for the correction. ^_^;

As for Nintendo systems, Tecmo was the first third party to have a third party game on, and at launch of, the Virtual Console:  Solomon's Key on NES.

1Up now has a preview of FF VI GBA: http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3155662

Here's what they say about the localization:

"As for the English version, word has it that Square Enix is mostly sticking with the game's original localization -- a sensible enough decision, since FFVI is unique among older Final Fantasies in having been graced with an English script that was neither disastrous (FFIV) nor insulting (FFV). But it won't be a simple rehash; memory limitations reportedly forced the SNES team to cut roughly half of the game's Japanese script, and everything previously lost will be restored on GBA. Although the decision not to completely overhaul the dialogue will inevitably rankle some of the game's more frothing fanatics, the resulting balance between fidelity and nostalgia should offer the full depth of the story with the charming personality of the fan-favorite translation."

Hmm, I'm not sure about this. Woolsey's translation was certainly fluid, and even had some really memorable lines. However, some of his lines were way too ambiguous or downright confusing, and I was hoping a new translation would clarify some of those. Plus, I would imagine that having someone else translate the remainder of the text would make the whole thing inconsistent. I'm just hoping 1Up got their information wrong, and that there'll be an entirely new translation.

They didn't. The author has said he talked to the localization team and that's how he got the information.

FF3's English translation was fantastic - it adds a lot of flavor to parts that were otherwise pretty dry in the Japanese version.