The Final Fantasy series last outing on Nintendo's SNES. The chaotic scenes upon its release in Japan in 1994 were a sign of things to come, and there are many long-term fans for whom Final Fantasy VI remains the favourite of the series. One of the first 24Mb SNES cartridges, FFVI was a huge success in Japan. Square squeezed every last ounce of performance out of the machine, pushing its graphics and sound to the limit. All the special effects that the SNES could manage were packed in, as was some of the best music ever to grace the machine. Replete with the most tortuous and involved plot in the series so far, FFVI was also the first to introduce the blend of magic and technology to the series, a combination that was used again to great effect in FFVII, and as a central aspect of FFVIII. The game takes place in a world that was almost destroyed a thousand years previously, when evil powers created magical beings called Espers and pitted them against each other. Now, though a new civilisation had arisen, one based on technology and science, where magic was just an evil legend. As the game began, though, the rulers of the Empire heard rumours of an Esper encased in ice, and sent soldiers to investigate. When the soldiers found the Esper, a strange glow surrounded them, killing all but a woman called Terra. Upon awakening, she discovered that the Empire had been controlling her thoughts, and that magic was once again being reported... This was just the beginning of a story of epic proportions, which encompassed around 75 hours of gameplay. FFVI dropped the innovative class-changing system for a simplified version similar to that used in FFVII, and instead concentrated on the narrative, atmosphere and multiple plot threads. Some hardcore players accused Square of making the title too easy, but even they had to agree it was a stunning achievement. FFVI was released in the US to greater success than was expected. For the second time, though, it was decided to stick to the different numbering system, and so the US version was called FFIII.