Final Fantasy VI: Divergent Paths is a complete modification of Final Fantasy 6 for the SNES. At it’s heart, it is a storyline modification, re-arranging content, re-purposing content, and sometimes adding new content in order to make the game flow more naturally. Leo has been repurposed from a guest to a main character, with a full character arc, sidequests, and even his own musical theme. In addition, every named character receives an end to their story arc, both main characters and side characters.

There are more edits than just storyline modifications though. Instead of replacing an existing character, Leo is added as a 15th fully-playable character. A secret 16th character has been added too. You can even recruit crew members to the Falcon! There are new spells, new espers, new abilities, a reduced encounter rate, dummied content restored, and more. Over 2 dozen hackers are listed in the credits of the manual for contributions to this project.

Even with all of those changes listed, Divergent Paths has become somewhat noteworthy not for its changes, but for its restraint. There is no difficulty rebalancing, no retranslation, no graphical changes, and only a handful of spells and items renamed. Every change is made in service to its characters, and the core of the game remains the same. It never stops feeling like the Final Fantasy 6 you know and love.

• Database match: Final Fantasy III (USA)
• Database: No-Intro: Super Nintendo Entertainment System (v. 20210222-050638)
• File SHA-1: 258BCBC5B7BCC25098BF598C4FF2AA6AC00FDE16
• File CRC32: D184D919
• ROM SHA-1: 4F37E4274AC3B2EA1BEDB08AA149D8FC5BB676E7
• ROM CRC32: A27F1C7A